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Saint Cecilia probably lived in the second or third century, and tradition says she died about 177 AD.

After a happy childhood in a loving and religious family in Guadalupe, Mexico, Jose Ramon Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez entered the seminary in 1911 to study to become a Jesuit priest. The seminary closed when the government began to persecute Catholics. Miguel had to flee his country. He was finally ordained in Belgium in 1925 when he was 34 years old.

At a time when most children did not go to school, Catherine was privately tutored because she came from a wealthy family; her parents were said to be the pagan king and queen of Alexandria, in Egypt. She was a gifted student and especially loved science and debating. Tradition tells us that she learned about Jesus through her studies and that she made the decision to become a Christian because of everything she learned.

Andrew was a fisherman. But he was searching for something more important than life on the sea could give him. Like many faithful Jews of his time, Andrew was waiting for God to send the Savior he had promised.

Charles was raised by his grandfather in Strasbourg, France, after his parents died in 1864, when he was six. He was baptized and made his First Communion, but never really believed in the Christian life.

The Catholic Church calls Saint Francis Xavier “the Apostle to the Indies” and “the Apostle of Japan.” The word apostle means “one who is sent.” Jesus sent his twelve apostles out to announce the coming of God’s kingdom. Hundreds of years later, the Church sent Francis Xavier out to preach the same good news.

Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin was born in Mexico in 1474. Everyday, he rose before dawn and walked 15 miles to Mass in what is today Mexico City. On December 9, 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan as he passed Tepeyac Hill.

María Maravillas Pidal y Chico de Guzmán was born into an important royal family in Madrid, Spain, in 1891. Her father was also Spain’s ambassador to the Vatican. The family was very religious, and María was always encouraged to put God first in her life. She prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide her in knowing how God wanted her to serve him. God blessed María with a religious vocation.

Lucy lived so long ago that many details of her life are unknown to us. We do know that she came from the island of Sicily and that she died in the year 304. We have proof that she was beloved by the early Christians because her name is prayed in the first Eucharistic Prayer at Mass.

Born in 1542, John was raised in Spain by a widowed mother who could barely provide for her sons. At a young age, he worked in a hospital and developed a great love for the poor and the sick. He sometimes felt that he was in the presence of Jesus when he was tending the patients. But John wanted to become even closer to God. He became a Carmelite friar when he was almost 20 years old.