Read about the lives of the saints. https://www.catholic.org Copyright 2026 Catholic Online en Sun, 23 Aug 2026 15:20:43 PDT https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=24 St. Bartholomew, 1st. century, one of the 12. All that is known of him with certainty is that he is mentioned in the synoptic gospels and Acts as one of the twelve apostles. His name, a patronymic, means "son of Tolomai" and scholars believe he is the same as Nathanael mentioned in John, who says he is from Cana and that Jesus called him an "Israelite...incapable of deceit." The Roman Martyrology says he preached in India and Greater Armenia, where he was flayed and ... Catholic Online 2026-08-24 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=24 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=23 Servite cardinal and preacher. Born in Florence, Italy, to a noble family, he was educated in Paris and Padua where he earned a doctorate in medicine and philosophy. He practiced medicine for some time, but in 1253 he joined the Servite Order in Florence. He served as a lay brother until 1259, when his superiors directed him to be ordained. Philip soon became known as one of the foremost preachers of his era, becoming master of novices at Siena in 1262 and then superior of several friaries and ... Catholic Online 2026-08-23 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=23 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=22 Archdeacon and companion of St. Donatus. Andrew and his sister, St. Bridget the Younger, were born in Ireland of noble parents.They were educated by St. Donatus, and when Donatus went on a pilgrimage to Italy, Andrew accompanied him. In Fiesole, through a miracle, Donatus was elected bishop. Andrew was ordained the archdeacon of Fiesole, serving Donatus for forty-seven years. He also founded a monastery in Mensola, Italy. Andrew died shortly after Donatus, but his sister, St. Bridget the ... Catholic Online 2026-08-22 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=22 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=21 On June 2, 1835, Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto saw the light of earth at Riesi, Province of Treviso, in Venice; on August 20, 1914, he saw the light of heaven; and on May 29, 1954, he who had become the two hundred fifty-ninth pope was canonized St. Pius X. Two of the most outstanding accomplishments of this saintly Pope were the inauguration of the liturgical renewal and the restoration of frequent communion from childhood. He also waged an unwavering war against the heresy and evils of ... Catholic Online 2026-08-21 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=21 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=20 St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church St. Bernard was born of noble parentage in Burgundy, France, in the castle of Fontaines near Dijon. Under the care of his pious parents he was sent at an early age to a college at Chatillon, where he was conspicuous for his remarkable piety and spirit of recollection. At the same place he entered upon the studies of theology and Holy Scripture. After the death of his mother, fearing the snares and temptations of the world, he resolved to embrace the ... Catholic Online 2026-08-20 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=20 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=19 John Eudes was born at Ri, Normandy, France, on November 14, 1601, the son of a farmer. He went to the Jesuit college at Caen when he was 14, and despite his parents' wish that he marry, joined the Congregation of the Oratory of France in 1623. He studied at Paris and at Aubervilliers, was ordained in 1625, and worked as a volunteer, caring for the victims of the plagues that struck Normandy in 1625 and 1631, and spent the next decade giving Missions, building a reputation as an outstanding ... Catholic Online 2026-08-19 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=19 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=18 St. Helena was the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great and an Empress of the Roman Empire. Very little is known about Helena's early life, but it is believed she is from Drepanum (later known as Helenopolis) in Asia Minor and born into a poor family and lower class in the Roman culture of the day. St. Ambrose described Helena as a "good stable-maid." Despite her background, Helena married Constantius Chlorus. With him she birthed her only son, Constantine. around the year 274. Nearly two ... Catholic Online 2026-08-18 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=18 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=17 Clare was born at Montefalco, Italy, around 1268. As a young woman she joined a convent of Franciscan tertiaries. This group established Holy Cross Convent at Montefalco in 1290, adopting the Rule of St. Augustine. Clare's sister Joan was the abbess of this community, but at her death Clare succeeded her. She led an austere life, being particularly devoted to the Passion of Christ and His Cross. When Clare died in 1308, an image of the Cross was found imprinted on her heart, and her body ... Catholic Online 2026-08-17 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=17 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=16 St. Stephen the Great (977-1038), was the son of the Magyar chieftain Geza, Stephen succeeded him as leader in 997. Already raised a Christian, in 996 he wed the daughter of Duke Henry II of Bavaria and devoted much of his reign to the promotion of the Christian faith. He gave his patronage to Church leaders, helped build churches, and was a proponent of the rights of the Holy See. Stephen also crushed the pagan counterreaction to Christianity, forcibly converting the so-called Black Hungarians ... Catholic Online 2026-08-16 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=16 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=15 Bishop and companion of St. Augustine. He was born in Tagaste, North Africa, and was raised as a friend of St. Augustine. He went to Rome to study law and became a magistrate there. When Augustine arrived in Rome, Alipius resigned his post and accompanied him to Milan. There he was baptized with Augustine in 387 or 394 by St. Ambrose. The two were ordained in Hippo, North Africa, and Alipius became the bishop of Tagaste, serving in that capacity for thirty years. Alipius' name was placed in the ... Catholic Online 2026-08-15 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=15 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=14 St. Maximilian Kolbe was born as Raymund Kolbe on January 8, 1894, in the Kingdom of Poland, part of the Russian Empire. He was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar and a martyr in the German death Camp of Auschwitz during World War II. St. Maximilian Kolbe was very active in promoting the Immaculate Virgin Mary and is known as the Apostle of Consecration to Mary. Much of his life was strongly influenced by a vision he had of the Virgin Mary when he was 12. "That night I asked the Mother of ... Catholic Online 2026-08-14 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=14 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=13 Martyr of Rome, with Concordia and other companions, he is a controversial figure who censured Pope St. Callistus I. Hippolytus was slain in Sardinia where he had been exiled for being elected as an antipope, the first in the history of the Church. He was reconciled to the Church before his martyrdom. His writings were important, including A Refutation of All Heresies, Song of Songs, and The Apostolic Tradition. Catholic Online 2026-08-13 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=13 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=12 Martyr of Vietnam. He was the mayor of a town in Vietnam when the persecution of Christians started. Michael was martyred with Blessed Anthony Dich, his son-in-law, and with St. James Nam. He was canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul II. Catholic Online 2026-08-12 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=12 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=11 St. Clare of Assisi was born in Assisi on July 16, 1194, as Chiara Offreduccio, the beautiful eldest daughter of Favorino Sciffi, Count of Sasso-Rosso and his wife Ortolana. Tradition says her father was a wealthy representative of an ancient Roman family and her mother was a very devout woman belonging to the noble family of Fiumi. As a young girl, Clare dedicated herself to prayer. At 18-years-old, she heard St. Francis of Assisi preach during a Lenten service in the church of San Giorgio ... Catholic Online 2026-08-11 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=11 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=10 The year was 258 A.D. It was a difficult beginning for what would become the First Christian Millennium. Hostility against the early followers of Jesus Christ was growing. The barbarism and severity of pagan Rome had begun to reach a fever pitch. It would soon lead to a blood lust. The newborn Christian Church, faithful to the One who had given Himself for the life of the world, continued the work of His redemption. Roman authorities charged Christians of that era with "odium humani generis" ... Catholic Online 2026-08-10 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=10 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=9 Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)Virgin and Martyr Edith Stein, born in 1891 in Breslau, Poland, was the youngest child of a large Jewish family. She was an outstanding student and was well versed in philosophy with a particular interest in phenomenology. Eventually she became interested in the Catholic Faith, and in 1922, she was baptized at the Cathedral Church in Cologne, Germany. Eleven years later Edith entered the Cologne Carmel. Because of the ramifications of politics in ... Catholic Online 2026-08-09 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=9 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=8 Saint Dominic was born in Caleruega, Spain in 1170. His parents were members of the Spanish nobility and related to the ruling family. His father was Felix Guzman, and was the royal warden of the village. His mother, Bl. Joan of Aza, was a holy woman in her own right. According to one legend, his mother made a pilgrimage to an abbey at Silos. Legend says there were many signs of the great child she would bear. One of the most common legends says that during the pilgrimage, Joan had a dream of ... Catholic Online 2026-08-08 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=8 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=7 In 1523, the Church was in sad shape. People could not get the spiritual nourishment they needed from the large numbers of uneducated and even immoral priests who took their money but returned nothing. When good priests and laypeople turned to the hierarchy for help, they found leaders at best apathetic and indifferent to their concerns. How should a good Catholic respond to this situation? We all known how Luther and others responded -- by splitting away from the Catholic Church when their ... Catholic Online 2026-08-07 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=7 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=6 Pope from 514-523, successor to St. Symmachus, and father of Pope St. Silverius Born in Frosinone, Campagna di Roma, Italy, he was an Italian, although he had a Persian name. Married and widowed prior to ordination, he succeeded St. Symmachus on July 21, 514. One of his great achievements was the ending of the Acacian Schism which had divided the Eastern and Western Churches since 484. The Church in Constantinople was reunited to Rome in 519 as a result of the confession called the ... Catholic Online 2026-08-06 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=6 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=5 A disciple of Christ sent by St. Thomas to the court of King Abgar the Black, the second century Osroene ruler. Legendary accounts claim Abgar wrote to Christ asking Jesus to cure him of an intolerable and incurable illness. Abgar's court was in Edessa in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Addal cured Abgar and converted the king and his people to the faith. One of these was Addai, who became Addal's successor. Addal is also supposed to have sent another disciple, Man, to various sites along the ... Catholic Online 2026-08-05 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=5 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=4 Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney, known as John in English, was born May 8, 1786 in Dardilly, France and was baptized the same day. He was the fourth of six children born to Matthieu and Marie Vianney. John was raised in a Catholic home and the family often helped the poor and housed St. Benedict Joseph Labre when he made his pilgrimage to Rome. In 1790, when the anticlerical Terror phase of the French Revolution forced priests to work in secrecy or face execution, young Vianney believed the ... Catholic Online 2026-08-04 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=4 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=3 Lydia Purpuraria (1st century) was born at Thyatira (Ak-Hissar), a town in Asia Minor, famous for its dye works, (hence, her name which means purple seller). She became Paul's first convert at Philippi. She was baptized with her household, and Paul stayed at her home there. Her feast date is August 3. Catholic Online 2026-08-03 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=3 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=2 Christians who breathed a sigh of relief when Constantine proclaimed Christianity the state religion, believing this would end the bloodshed and martyrdom. But it was all too short a time until they were facing persecution once more -- from others who claimed to be Christian. When Christianity became the state religion, many people adopted it for political reasons. Others adopted it without truly understanding it. Under these circumstances heresy found fertile ground. One of the most ... Catholic Online 2026-08-02 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=2 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=1 Bishop, Doctor of the Church, and the founder of the Redemptorist Congregation. He was born Alphonsus Marie Antony John Cosmos Damien Michael Gaspard de Liguori on September 27,1696, at Marianella, near Naples, Italy. Raised in a pious home, Alphonsus went on retreats with his father, Don Joseph, who was a naval officer and a captain of the Royal Galleys. Alphonsus was the oldest of seven children, raised by a devout mother of Spanish descent. Educated at the University of Naples, Alphonsus ... Catholic Online 2026-08-01 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=August&day=1 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=July&day=31 Born Inigo Lopez de Loyola in 1491, the man known as Ignatius of Loyola entered the world in Loiola, Spain. At the time, the name of the village was spelled "Loyola," hence the discrepancy. Inigo came of age in Azpeitia, in northern Spain. Loyola is a small village at the southern end of Azpeitia. Inigio was the youngest of thirteen children. His mother died when he was just seven, and he was then raised by Maria de Garin, who was the wife of a blacksmith. His last name, "Loyola" was taken ... Catholic Online 2026-07-31 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=July&day=31 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=July&day=30 St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Feast-July 30) Born at Imola, Italy in 380, St. Peter was baptized, educated, and ordained a deacon by Cornelius, Bishop of Imola. St. Peter merited being called "Chrysologus" (golden-worded) from his exceptional oratorical eloquence. In 433, Pope Sixtus III consecrated him bishop of Ravenna. He practiced many corporal and spiritual works of mercy, and ruled his flock with utmost diligence and care. He extirpated the last ... Catholic Online 2026-07-30 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=July&day=30 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=July&day=29 "Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus." This unique statement in John's gospel tells us of the special relationship Jesus had with Martha, her sister, and her brother. Apparently Jesus was a frequent guest at Martha's home in Bethany, a small village two miles from Jerusalem. We read of three visits in Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-53, and John 12:1-9. Many of us find it easy to identify with Martha in the story Luke tells. Martha welcomes Jesus and his disciples into her home and immediately ... Catholic Online 2026-07-29 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=July&day=29 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=July&day=28 Innocent was born at Albano, Italy. He became Pope, succeeding Pope St. Anastasius I, on December 22, 401. During Innocent's pontificate, he emphasized papal supremacy, commending the bishops of Africa for referring the decrees of their councils at Carthage and Millevis in 416, condemning Pelagianism, to the Pope for confirmation. It was his confirmation of these decrees that caused Augustine to make a remark that was to echo through the centuries: "Roma locuta, causa finitas" (Rome ... Catholic Online 2026-07-28 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=July&day=28