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Wenceslaus I, king of Bohemia

(Encyclopedia)Wenceslaus I, d. 1253, king of Bohemia (1230–53), son and successor of Ottocar I. He invited large numbers of Germans to settle in the villages and towns of Bohemia and Moravia. In some villages pea...

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...

Hugh of Lincoln, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Hugh of Lincoln, Saint, 1140–1200, bishop of Lincoln, b. Avalon, Burgundy, of a noble family. He was educated and made his profession at the priory of Augustinian canons at Villarbenoît. Hugh joine...

Pio of Pietrelcina, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Pio of Pietrelcina, Saint, 1887–1968, Italian Capuchin friar and mystic known as Padre Pio. Born Francesco Forgione, he was a sickly child who experienced visions and ecstasies at a young age and en...

Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

(Encyclopedia)Seven Sleepers of Ephesus ĕfˈĭsəs [key], in a Christian version of a widespread story, martyrs immured in a cave near Ephesus during the persecutions by Decius (c.250). Long afterward, in the 5th ...

Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de (Antoine-Marie-Roger de Saint-Exupéry) äNtwänˈ-märēˈ-rôzhāˈ də săNtĕgzüpārēˈ [key], 1900–1944, French aviator and writer. He became a commercial pilot and...

Aloysius, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Aloysius, Saint ălōĭˈshəs [key], 1568–91, Italian Jesuit, b. Luigi Gonzaga, heir to the marchese de Castiglione. Highly devout from childhood, he renounced his title and entered (1585) the Soci...

Denis, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Denis, Saint dĕnˈĭs, dənēˈ [key], fl. 3d cent.?, patron of France. He is said to have been first bishop of Paris and to have died a martyr on Montmartre. His shrine was Saint-Denis. The Latin of...

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