Our Lady of Guadalupe
From December 9 to 12, 1531, the Blessed Virgin appeared four times to the Nahua Indian Juan Diego, a recent convert to Christianity. She asked that a shrine be built in that place, called Cuantlalápan. The Spaniards, probably thinking of the famous Marian shrine in Extremadura, Spain, altered the name to Guadalupe. The site was […]
Saint Damasus I
Damasus was pope from 366 to 384. The Liber Pontificalis calls him spanus. If this meant he was Hispanic, the claim is not backed by other sources; some suggest he was actually of Roman origin. He was the son of a cleric named Antonio and served as a deacon in the Roman clergy. At first, […]
Our Lady of Loreto
The devotion to Our Lady of Loreto traces its origins to a miraculous tradition surrounding the Holy House of Nazareth. According to Catholic tradition, this is the house where the Virgin Mary was born, received the Annunciation, and lived with the Holy Family. In the late 13th century, it is said that angels transported the […]
Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary, by a unique divine privilege, was preserved from every stain of original sin. This belief was solemnly defined as a dogma of faith by Pope Pius IX on this very day in 1854. The first traces of this feast are found in the East, around the 7th or 8th century. In the West, it […]
Saint Ambrose
Ambrose was born in Trier, where his father was praefectus praetorio of Gaul. He studied in Rome and, shortly after turning thirty, was appointed governor of Liguria and Emilia, with Milan as his residence. We know well the story of how he unexpectedly became bishop of that Church. At that time, Ambrose was only a […]
Saint Nicholas
Nicholas was bishop of Myra (in Lycia) in the 4th century. Very little is known for certain about him, since early hagiographers mixed up his life with details from other saints who shared his name. Legend presents him as a great miracle worker; for example, it is said that he once saved three of Constantine’s […]
Saint John Damascene
Yahya ibn Sargun ibn Mansur was born in Damascus around the middle of the 7th century, into a Christian Arab family. His father held a high position under the caliph — something like what we would today call “Minister of Finance.” John grew up alongside Prince Yazid, and later worked with his father in the […]
Saint Francis Xavier
Francis of Jassu and Xavier, from a noble Navarrese family, was born in the castle of Javier, near Sangüesa. He studied in Paris, where he became close to Saint Ignatius of Loyola. He was ordained a priest in Venice and later helped in Rome with the writing of the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus. […]
Saint Andrew
We know very little about the life of Saint Peter’s brother after the Ascension of the Lord. According to ancient testimonies—which, however, are far from completely reliable—Andrew’s missionary work covered a wide area: Pontus and Bithynia, Scythia and Thrace, Epirus and Achaia. The tradition that he died on an X-shaped cross is not based on […]