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Gregory I, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Gregory I, Saint (Saint Gregory the Great), c.540–604, pope (590–604), a Roman; successor of Pelagius II. A Doctor of the Church, he was distinguished for his spiritual and temporal leadership. Hi...

Saint Gotthard, mountain group, Switzerland

(Encyclopedia)Saint Gotthard sānt gŏtˈhərd, gŏtˈərd [key], mountain group of the Lepontine Alps, S central Switzerland, rising to Pizzo Rotondo (10,472 ft/3,192 m high). The Reuss, Rhine, Ticino, and Rhône ...

Boniface, Saint, German missionary

(Encyclopedia)Boniface, Saint, d. 1009, German missionary, known also by his lay name, Bruno of Querfurt. He evangelized the Balts and died a martyr. He is known as the Apostle of the Prussians. Feast: June 19. ...

Saint Elmo's fire

(Encyclopedia)Saint Elmo's fire, luminous discharge of electricity extending into the atmosphere from some projecting or elevated object. It is usually observed (often during a snowstorm or a dust storm) as brushli...

Benedict of Aniane, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Benedict of Aniane, Saint, c.750–821, French abbot who became a monastic adviser to Louis I. He first founded (c.780) an austere monastic community at Aniane in Languedoc, based on Eastern asceticis...

Saint Bernard, two Alpine passes

(Encyclopedia)Saint Bernard, two Alpine passes, both used since antiquity. The Great Saint Bernard (alt. 8,110 ft/2,472 m), on the Italian-Swiss border, links Valais canton, Switzerland, with Valle d'Aosta, Italy. ...

Brébeuf, Jean de, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Brébeuf, Jean de, Saint zhäN də brāböfˈ [key], 1593–1649, French Roman Catholic missionary, one of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America. A Norman, he was sent (1625) to Quebec and did missionar...

Romero, Saint Óscar

(Encyclopedia)Romero, Saint Óscar (Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez), 1917–80, Salvadoran bishop and human rights advocate. He studied at the Gregorian Univ. in Rome and was ordained in 1942. Returning to El Sa...

Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint klrvōˈ [key], 1090?–1153, French churchman, mystic, Doctor of the Church. Born of noble family, in 1112 he entered the Cistercian abbey of Cîteaux, taking along 4 or 5...

John Chrysostom, Saint

(Encyclopedia)John Chrysostom, Saint krĭsˈəstəm, krĭsŏsˈ– [key] [Gr.,=golden-mouth], c.347–407, Doctor of the Church, one of the greatest of the Greek Fathers. He was born in Antioch and studied Greek cl...