Encyclopedia · A–Z
Saints, angels, Our Lady
128 names. A portrait is shown only when the picture is that person. Each page has a feast, a life, and doors into the miracles and prayers that belong to them. Aquinas is here. So is Bernadette. So is a child of Rome named Agnes.
Jump by letter. Open a name. The page is the file: who they were, how the Church keeps them, and every sign in this encyclopedia that mentions them.
At the head of the book
Our Lord, Our Lady, the angels
- Archangel · 29 September · 8 May (the Apparition)St. Michael the ArchangelWhose name means Who is like God? The Church’s warrior, the weigher of souls, the one Leo XIII saw standing over a wounded Church. He has a cave in Gargano, a castle in Rome, a rock in the sea, and — if a Marine’s letter is true — a sword in the Korean snow.
- Our Lady · 1 January · 15 August · 8 DecemberThe Blessed Virgin MaryMother of God, and therefore mother of anyone the Son will not disown. She does not replace him. She points, as at Cana: Do whatever he tells you. The apparitions in this archive are her extra sentences. The Gospel is her first.
- Our Lord · Every Sunday · Easter · Corpus ChristiJesus ChristThe miracle the Church is required to believe. Not a later wonder. The Resurrection. Every bleeding Host, every shroud, every face in the bread is a footnote to that.
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- Saint · 5 FebruarySt. AgathaVirgin martyr of Catania. Her name is in the Roman Canon.
- Saint · 21 JanuarySt. AgnesA child of Rome who would not be owned. Lambs are blessed on her feast.
- Saint · 15 NovemberSt. Albert the GreatDoctor of the Church. Teacher of Aquinas. The man who thought the created world was worth naming.
- Saint · 21 JuneSt. Aloysius GonzagaA Jesuit novice who died nursing the plague. Patron of youth.
- Saint · 1 AugustSt. Alphonsus LiguoriFounder of the Redemptorists. Moral theologian of mercy. Doctor of the Church.
- Saint · 7 DecemberSt. AmbroseBishop of Milan who baptized Augustine. Doctor of the Church.
- Saint · 30 NovemberSt. AndrewFirst-called of the apostles. Brother of Peter. Crucified on an X-shaped cross.
- Saint · 27 JanuarySt. Angela MericiFoundress of the Ursulines. Teacher of girls when that was not an industry.
- Saint · 26 JulySt. AnneMother of the Blessed Virgin. Grandmother of the Lord.
- Saint · 21 AprilSt. AnselmArchbishop of Canterbury. Father of scholasticism. Doctor of the Church.
- Saint · 13 JuneSt. Anthony of PaduaFranciscan preacher. Finder of lost things. Doctor of the Church.
- Saint · 17 JanuarySt. Anthony the GreatFather of monks. The desert as a school.
- Saint · 2 MaySt. AthanasiusBishop of Alexandria. The man who would not let Arius rename the Son.
- Saint · 28 AugustSt. Augustine of HippoDoctor of grace. The Confessions. The City of God.
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- Saint · 11 JuneSt. BarnabasCompanion of Paul. Son of encouragement.
- Saint · 24 AugustSt. BartholomewApostle. Often identified with Nathanael under the fig tree.
- Saint · 2 JanuarySt. Basil the GreatCappadocian Father. Father of Eastern monasticism. Doctor of the Church.
- Saint · 11 JulySt. Benedict of NursiaFather of Western monks. Ora et labora. His medal is still worn.
- Saint · 16 AprilSt. Bernadette SoubirousThe girl who saw a lady in a dump, who said I am the Immaculate Conception, who then spent the rest of her life trying not to be famous. She was not healed. She was made a saint. Her body still lies at Nevers.
- Saint · 20 AugustSt. Bernard of ClairvauxCistercian. Mellifluous doctor. Preacher of the Crusade and of the Name of Mary.
- Saint · 3 FebruarySt. BlaiseBishop of Sebaste. The blessing of throats.
- Saint · 15 JulySt. BonaventureFranciscan general. Doctor of the Church. The mind on fire.
- Saint · 23 JulySt. Bridget of SwedenMystic, foundress, widow, pilgrim to Rome.
- Saint · 1 FebruarySt. Brigid of IrelandMary of the Gael. Kildare. The cloak that covered a field.
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- Saint · 28 NovemberSt. Catherine LabouréThe Miraculous Medal. A novice who saw Mary in a chapel in 1830.
- Saint · 25 NovemberSt. Catherine of AlexandriaThe wheel. Patroness of philosophers and of students.
- Saint · 29 AprilSt. Catherine of SienaDoctor of the Church. Tertiary who told a pope to go home to Rome.
- Saint · 22 NovemberSt. CeciliaVirgin martyr. Patroness of music. Named in the Canon.
- Saint · 24 JulySt. Charbel MakhloufThe hermit of Annaya. Incorrupt. Oil on the grave.
- Saint · 4 NovemberSt. Charles BorromeoCardinal of Milan. Reformer of a plague city.
- Saint · 25 JulySt. ChristopherChrist-bearer. Patron of travelers.
- Saint · 11 AugustSt. Clare of AssisiFirst woman of the Franciscan life. The Poor Ladies.
- Saint · 9 JuneSt. ColumbaMonk of Iona. Apostle of the Picts.
- Saint · 16 SeptemberSt. CyprianBishop of Carthage. Martyr. The unity of the Church.
D
- Saint · 10 MaySt. Damien of MolokaiThe leper priest. He went and did not come back well.
- Saint · 8 AugustSt. DominicFounder of the Order of Preachers. The rosary’s Western father in the old telling.
- Saint · 15 MaySt. DymphnaA young woman who fled a violent house. Patron of minds that will not quiet, of nerves, of the hospital ward no one wants to name.
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- Saint · 13 OctoberSt. Edward the ConfessorKing of England. Westminster Abbey’s founder in the old telling.
- Saint · 4 JanuarySt. Elizabeth Ann SetonFirst native-born American saint. Widow, convert, foundress of Catholic schools.
- Saint · 17 NovemberSt. Elizabeth of HungaryQueen who became a servant. The roses in the cloak.
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- Saint · 5 OctoberSt. Faustina KowalskaThe secretary of Divine Mercy. A Polish nun who wrote what she was told, was doubted, and then had a pope who had grown up down the road write her into the calendar.
- Saint · 13 NovemberSt. Frances Xavier CabriniFirst American citizen saint. The immigrants’ mother.
- Saint · 24 JanuarySt. Francis de SalesBishop of Geneva. Doctor of charity. Introduction to the Devout Life.
- Saint · 4 OctoberSt. Francis of AssisiIl Poverello. The stigmata of 1224. Patron of Italy and of ecology.
- Saint · 3 DecemberSt. Francis XavierJesuit missionary. India, Japan, an island off China.
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- Saint · 29 SeptemberSt. Gabriel the ArchangelThe one who is sent. Annunciation. Daniel. Guardian of the Incarnation’s news.
- Saint · 11 AprilSt. Gemma GalganiThe stigmatic of Lucca. A Passion lived in a rented room.
- Saint · 23 AprilSt. GeorgeSoldier-martyr. The dragon is the story a nation needed; the martyr is the file.
- Saint · 16 NovemberSt. Gertrude the GreatBenedictine mystic of Helfta. The prayer for the souls in purgatory.
- Saint · 28 AprilSt. Gianna Beretta MollaPhysician, mother, who would not choose against the child.
- Saint · 3 SeptemberSt. Gregory the GreatPope. Doctor. The Pastoral Rule. The mission to England.
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I
- Saint · 17 OctoberSt. Ignatius of AntiochApostolic Father. Letters written in chains on the way to the Roman beasts.
- Saint · 31 JulySt. Ignatius of LoyolaFounder of the Jesuits. The Spiritual Exercises.
- Saint · 28 JuneSt. IrenaeusBishop of Lyons. Against Heresies. Doctor of the Church.
- Saint · 19 OctoberSt. Isaac JoguesJesuit martyr of North America. The North American Martyrs.
J
- Saint · 25 JulySt. James the GreaterApostle. Son of Zebedee. Compostela’s man.
- Saint · 12 AugustSt. Jane Frances de ChantalWidow, foundress of the Visitation with Francis de Sales.
- Saint · 19 SeptemberSt. JanuariusBishop of Benevento. The blood that liquefies in Naples.
- Saint · 30 SeptemberSt. JeromeThe Vulgate. Doctor of the Church. A bad temper in the service of the text.
- Saint · 30 MaySt. Joan of ArcThe Maid of Orléans. Voices, a campaign, a fire, a rehabilitation.
- Saint · 31 JanuarySt. John BoscoDon Bosco. Father of poor boys. The Salesians.
- Saint · 13 SeptemberSt. John ChrysostomGolden mouth. Patriarch of Constantinople. Doctor of the Church.
- Saint · 14 DecemberSt. John of the CrossCarmelite reformer. Doctor of mystical theology. The Dark Night.
- Saint · 22 OctoberSt. John Paul IIThe pope from Poland. Totus tuus. Divine Mercy as a feast.
- Saint · 24 June · 29 AugustSt. John the BaptistThe forerunner. The voice in the wilderness. The head on a platter.
- Saint · 27 DecemberSt. John the EvangelistThe beloved disciple. The Fourth Gospel. Patmos.
- Saint · 4 AugustSt. John VianneyThe Curé of Ars. Patron of parish priests. Confessor of France.
- Saint · 11 OctoberSt. John XXIIIGood Pope John. The Council. A peasant’s face on Peter’s chair.
- Saint · 19 March · 1 MaySt. JosephThe man who said nothing in the Gospel and did everything that needed doing: took the Child, took the mother, took the road to Egypt, took a trade. Patron of a good death, of workers, of the Church.
- Saint · 18 SeptemberSt. Joseph of CupertinoThe flying friar. Patron of students who cannot pass.
- Saint · 8 FebruarySt. Josephine BakhitaSlave, then Canossian sister. Patroness of Sudan and of those trafficked.
- Saint · 9 DecemberSt. Juan DiegoA widower walking to Mass who was asked to build a house for a lady. His tilma still hangs. Mexico still looks up.
- Saint · 28 OctoberSt. JudeApostle. Patron of impossible cases.
- Saint · 1 JuneSt. Justin MartyrPhilosopher. The first great apologist. The Sunday Mass described in 155.
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L
- Saint · 10 AugustSt. LawrenceDeacon of Rome. The gridiron. The treasures of the Church are the poor.
- Saint · 10 NovemberSt. Leo the GreatPope. Doctor. The Tome of Leo. The man who met Attila.
- Saint · 25 AugustSt. Louis IXKing of France. Crusader. The Sainte-Chapelle for the Crown of Thorns.
- Saint · 13 DecemberSt. LucyVirgin martyr of Syracuse. Eyes, light, December dark.
- Saint · 18 OctoberSt. LukeEvangelist. Physician. Painter in the old legend. Acts of the Apostles.
M
- Saint · 16 OctoberSt. Margaret Mary AlacoqueVisitandine of Paray-le-Monial. The Sacred Heart as a public devotion.
- Saint · 6 JulySt. Maria GorettiChild martyr of purity. She forgave her murderer, who later took a religious name.
- Saint · 25 AprilSt. MarkEvangelist. The lion. Peter’s interpreter in the old memory.
- Saint · 29 JulySt. MarthaOf Bethany. The one who served, and who said: I believe that you are the Christ.
- Saint · 3 NovemberSt. Martin de PorresDominican brother of Lima. The poor, the sick, the animals.
- Saint · 11 NovemberSt. Martin of ToursSoldier who cut his cloak. Monk, bishop, apostle of Gaul.
- Saint · 22 JulySt. Mary MagdaleneApostle to the apostles. First witness of the Resurrection.
- Saint · 21 SeptemberSt. MatthewApostle. Evangelist. The tax collector called from the booth.
- Saint · 14 AugustSt. Maximilian KolbeFranciscan. Auschwitz. He took another man’s place.
- Saint · 27 AugustSt. MonicaMother of Augustine. The widow who prayed a son into the Church.
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O
P
- Saint · 17 MarchSt. PatrickApostle of Ireland. The Confession. A slave who went back.
- Saint · 29 JuneSt. PaulApostle to the nations. The road to Damascus. The letters that built the West.
- Saint · 7 MarchSt. PerpetuaCatechumen of Carthage. Her diary from prison is the Church’s first woman’s book.
- Saint · 29 JuneSt. Peter the ApostleThe rock. The keys. The fisherman who denied and then fed the sheep.
- Saint · 26 MaySt. Philip NeriApostle of Rome. The Oratory. Joy as an ascesis.
- Saint · 11 AugustSt. PhilomenaThe child-martyr of the catacombs whose cult Mugnano kept.
- Saint · 23 SeptemberSt. Pio of PietrelcinaThe Capuchin whose hands bled for fifty years, who heard confessions until the line wrapped the square, who was silenced and then canonized.
- Saint · 21 AugustSt. Pius XPope. First Communion for children. The Oath against modernism. Incorrupt.
- Saint · 23 FebruarySt. PolycarpBishop of Smyrna. Hearer of John. The martyrdom that taught the Church how to write one.
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- Saint · 29 SeptemberSt. Raphael the ArchangelThe healer. Tobias. The road companion.
- Saint · 22 MaySt. Rita of CasciaWidow, Augustinian, thorn in the forehead. Patroness of impossible cases with Jude.
- Saint · 17 SeptemberSt. Robert BellarmineJesuit cardinal. Doctor of the Church. The catechism of a fighting age.
- Saint · 23 AugustSt. Rose of LimaFirst saint of the Americas. Dominican tertiary. The city of kings’ recluse.
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T
- Saint · 9 AugustSt. Teresa Benedicta of the CrossEdith Stein. Philosopher, Carmelite, martyr at Auschwitz.
- Saint · 15 OctoberSt. Teresa of ÁvilaCarmelite reformer. Doctor of the Church. The Interior Castle.
- Saint · 5 SeptemberSt. Teresa of CalcuttaMother Teresa. The Missionaries of Charity. The dark night in a sari.
- Saint · 1 OctoberSt. Thérèse of LisieuxThe little way. A Carmelite who died at twenty-four and then would not stay small. Patron of missionaries who never left the cloister, and of anyone in a dark night.
- Saint · 28 JanuarySt. Thomas AquinasThe Angelic Doctor. The Summa. The hymns of Corpus Christi.
- Saint · 22 JuneSt. Thomas MoreChancellor of England. The king’s good servant, but God’s first.
- Saint · 3 JulySt. Thomas the ApostleThe twin. Unless I see. My Lord and my God. India in the old mission.
