Saints

Bishop of Smyrna. Martyr. This 2nd century saint was a disciple of St John the Evangelist and an important link between the time of the Apostles and the earliest Christians. He was very elderly when he was arrested, during the persecutions of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. His captors tried to force him to make sacrifices to idols but he refused, saying: "For 86 years I have served Christ and he h... Read More

Franciscan sister. Margaret was the beautiful daughter of a Tuscan peasant, born in 1242. At the age of 18 she fell in love with a rich young nobleman and ran away to live with him. The couple had a son. For nine years the local community was scandalised as she is said to have ridden about dressed in fine silks and despising the poor. Her life changed dramatically when she was just 27 when her lo... Read More

Montanus, Lucius, Victoricus, Flavian and companions were ten disciples of St Cyprian of Carthage (in what is now Tunisia). They were martyred there, under the reign of the Emperor Valerian in 259. The story of their imprisonment and martyrdom is well documented. The group were arrested by an official called Solon, after St Cyprian was executed in 258. They spent many months kept in dark dungeon... Read More