(Feast Day ~ October 12) In its long history of monarchy, England has often suffered through the reigns of weak, immoral, and even wicked rulers. But it has also been blessed with some rulers whose exemplary lives gave their subjects much more than the expected prosperous economy and prestige among the nations of the world. […]

Feast Day ~ October 12 Not every saint of the Church has been universally loved. Many have had enemies – even other Christians – who opposed them for some reason, who did not share their ideas for missionary work or monastic practices, or any number of other things. We have to remember that what is […]

Feast Day ~ October 11 The small nation of Ireland has produced numerous saints who enrich the Church with the examples of their holy lives and with their intercessions in Heaven. One of these saints, Kenneth, is known to us through the writings of Adomnan, a seventh century abbot of Iona, as well as through […]

(Feast Day ~ October 10) After the initial success of St. Gregory the Great’s mission to Britain, when St. Augustine and his fellow monks had baptized King Ethelbert and begun the conversion of his people, a second group of missionary monks was sent to assist. Abbot Melitus and monks Justus, Rufianus, and Paulinus arrived in […]

(Feast Day ~ October 9) On October 9, we venerate St. Denys. As with St. Bavo, whom we venerated on October 1, St Denys was adopted as the particular saint whose prayers were requested by the people of France, their patron saint. In the early 3rd century, Denys (or Dionysius), who was Italian by birth, […]

(Feast Day ~ October 7) On October 7, we celebrate the feast day of two Roman soldiers who received the crown of martyrdom in the Diocletian persecutions. According to traditional accounts, both Sergius and Bacchus were officers serving on the frontier of the empire and were highly regarded for their bravery. However, when their Christian […]

(Feast Day ~ October 6) One of the reasons for venerating the saints of the Church is that their lives and even deaths provide us with wonderful examples to emulate. We learn from them what a courageous Christian witness, no matter the consequences, is like. We learn of bravery in the face of persecution. We […]

How, in the first 3 centuries Anno Domino, did Christianity spread? How did the knowledge of Jesus Christ pass from twelve of His followers and their families and friends to people all around the Mediterranean and beyond? How – despite sporadic and then systematic persecution – did an estimated 10% of the population of the […]