St. Vincent was a deacon of the Church of Saragossa, Spain in the first years of the fourth century. In the course of the brutal persecution of the emperor Diocletian, Vincent was apprehended and ordered to surrender the sacred books. When he refused, he was...
St. Sebastian is is often depicted as tied to a tree and pierced by many arrows. Ambrose says Sebastian was from Milan and was venerated there during Ambrose's episcopate in the latter part of the 4th century. It appears Sebastian died in the great persecution...
Pope Pius XI on St. Josaphat, martyr and apostle of unity. Born in the Ukraine to Orthodox parents in 1580, St. Josaphat embraced the Catholic faith and became a Basilian monk. Ordained to the priesthood and chosen bishop of Polock, he worked for the unity...
Augustine, reflecting on the death of the martyrs who did not shrink back from drinking the same cup of suffering that Christ himself drank. Read on September 26, the feast of Saints Cosmas and Damian,...
Peter Damian on St. George. The veneration of Saint George, the courageous soldier of Christ and martyr, began as early as the fourth century at Lydda in Palestine, where a church was built in his honor. From antiquity this veneration has spread throughout both the...
December 26, The Second Day of Christmas, has been observed as the Feast Day of Saint Stephen, Protomartyr, since at least the fifth century. Fulgentius of Ruspe, a North African bishop, here notes how fitting it is that the birthday of love should be followed...
Cyprian, who himself was martyred a few years after writing this, here speaks of the invincible faith of the martyrs. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']H[/dropcaps]ow can I find the words to praise you, most courageous brethren? How can I compose a speech worthy of the...