Pope (1810–1903) On February 20, 1878, Vincenzo Pecci, the sixty-eight-year-old archbishop of Perugia, was elected to succeed the long-reigning Pope Pius IX. In his nearly thirty-two years in Rome, Pius…

Pioneer of the Hospice Movement (1918–2005) Cicely Saunders—a nurse, social worker, and finally, physician—is recognized as a founder of the modern hospice movement, a holistic approach to care for the…

Abbot (ca. 480–ca. 550) Few saints have left such a palpable impact on the world as St. Benedict, founder of the great Italian monastery at Monte Cassino and author of…

Queen (1271–1336) St. Elizabeth of Portugal was the daughter of the king of Aragon. At twelve she married King Denis of Portugal, a profligate man who tolerated his wife’s piety…

Martyr (ca. 304) According to legend, St. Febronia of Nisibis (in Mesopotamia), a beautiful young woman, was raised in the convent where her aunt served as abbess. Exceptionally intelligent, Febronia…

Priest and Martyr (1939–1979) In the violence preceding the civil war in El Salvador, June 1979 was a typical month: 123 people were killed by death squads, including 30 teachers,…

Jesuit Priest and Poet (1844–1889) Gerard Manley Hopkins was born in England to a prosperous Anglican family. Though he excelled at Oxford and seemed destined for a brilliant career, these…

Jazz Musician (1910–1981) Born in Georgia and raised in Pittsburgh, Mary Lou Williams taught herself to play piano at the age of three; by six, she was helping support her…

Founder, Carmelites of Charity (1783–1854) St. Joachima was born to an aristocratic family in Catalonia. At sixteen, she married a young lawyer from Barcelona whom she had met at her…