Saints

Hermit. Daniel was born at Maratha in Mesopotamia, in 409. At the age of 12 he decided he wanted to join a monastery. The abbot consulted with his parents and admitted him to the community. Years later he visited St Simeon Stylite, who lived on top of a pillar, and received a blessing from him. Daniel stayed in the monastery until he was 42, but never forgot his meeting with St Simeon. When the ... Read More

Child martyr. She was one of the early Christian martyrs of Spain. The daughter of a noble family, during the persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian, Eulalia refused to make sacrifices to the gods and was burnt alive at Merida in around 304. She was said to be only about 12 years old. The Spanish poet Prudentius wrote that a white dove flew over her as she died and snow covered her dead body. M... Read More

The feast in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the sixteenth century. According to records of the time, a poor Indigenous man named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. He was a 57-year-old widower and lived in a small village near Mexico City. On Saturday morning, December 9, 1531, he was on his way to a nearby barrio to attend Mass in honour of Our Lady. He was... Read More