Calendar

Born: c. 200 CE Died: c. 249 CE Feast: February 9 Patron saint of: Teeth, dentists, and those suffering from dental diseases Apollonia was an early Christian martyr. She lived in Alexandria during the 3rd century and was tortured by those who were persecuting the Christians there. Alexandria was not a safe , ...

Born: c. 480 CE Died: February 10, 542 CE Feast day: February 10 Patron saint of: Education, Benedictine nuns St. Scholastica and her twin brother Benedict grew up together in central Italy. According to The Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great, a narrative of the lives of some of Italy’s saints, Scholastica , ...

Born: February 7, 1909 Died: August 27, 1999 Often referred to as the “bishop of the slums,” Dom Hélder Câmara embraced liberation theology and encouraged people experiencing poverty to find their voices through group study of scripture and their own proposals for social change. He strongly criticized Brazi , ...

Born: February 12, 1809 Died: April 19, 1882 When Charles Darwin was born 200 years ago this month, no one could have guessed the impact his Origin of Species (1859) would have not only on science but on religion as well. “The name Darwin symbolizes a massive transition of our self-understanding,” Boston , ...

Born: February 15, 1564  Died: January 8, 1642 Feast: N/A Patron saint of: N/A To say Galileo Galilei’s relationship with the Catholic Church was complicated would be an understatement. Galileo’s brilliance is well known throughout the world, and he is rightfully considered one of the founding fathers , ...

Born: c. 1922 Died: February 17, 1977 Feast: February 16 (public holiday in Uganda); February 17 (Anglican calendars) Patron saint of: N/A A convert to Christianity in 1940s Uganda, Janani Luwum quickly became an enthusiast for the faith, focusing on evangelization and catechesis. He was ordained , ...

Born: 1817 Died: January 28, 1858 Feast: February 18 Patron saint of: N/A Agatha was born in the Quinlong district of Guizhou in China to Catholic parents. Her father was arrested many times for refusing to denounce his faith, and she was taught at an early age to read and write. As was the custom, her par , ...

Born: February 19, 1931 Died: August 5, 2019 The list of accolades and superlatives for Toni Morrison is justifiably long. A renowned writer, Morrison published many critically acclaimed works, such as The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, and Beloved. She was the recipient of both the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Pr , ...

Born: June 11, 1908 (Francisco), and March 11, 1910 (Jacinta) Died: April 4, 1919 (Francisco), and February 20, 1920 (Jacinta) Feast day: February 20 Patron saint of: bodily ills, Portuguese children, captives, people ridiculed for their piety, prisoners, sick people My first memory of our Fatima pilgr , ...

Born: January 22, 1913 Died: February 23, 1945 Feast: February 23 Patron saint of: N/A A priest for only eight years, Stefan Wincenty Frelichowski’s impact reverberated throughout Eastern Europe. Ordained in Poland in 1937, almost all of Stefan’s priesthood was spent under the shroud of World War II and th , ...

Born: c. 1067 CE Died: c. 1137 CE Feast: February 24 Patron saint of: N/A Adela was the youngest daughter of William the Conqueror and so lived a life befitting an English princess. She was the favorite sister of her brother, the future King Henry I, and was well-educated for a woman of her time. In her ad , ...

Born: unknown Died: February 26 or April 17, 326 or 328 CE Feast: February 26 Patron saint of: N/A Alexander was the 19th Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, and his period of leadership was marked by trials and challenges. The biggest of these challenges was an excommunicated (and reinstated and then excomm , ...