Saints

Monk and first bishop of York. Paulinus was one of the second group of monks sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great in 601. King Edwin of Northumbria had invited the missionaries, because he wanted to become a Christian and marry Ethelburga, the Christian sister of Edbald, King of Kent. Paulinus hoped the Northumbrian people would follow their king's example. After Edwin was baptised, in a wo... Read More

Saint John Henry Newman was a priest, theologian, writer and preacher. His life spanned most of the 19th century. He was an Anglican for the first half of his life and became a Catholic in the second half. Born in London in 1801, Newman studied at Oxford's Trinity College, was a tutor at Oriel College and for 17 years vicar of the university church, St Mary the Virgin. He published eight volumes... Read More

Pope and reformer. Although few people had as great an impact on the twentieth century as Pope John XXIII, he avoided the limelight as much as possible. One writer noted that his 'ordinariness' was one of his most remarkable qualities. Born in 1881, the first son of a farming family in Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo in northern Italy, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was always proud of his down-to-earth ... Read More