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Polycarp, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Polycarp, Saint pŏlˈĭkärp [key], c.a.d. 70–a.d. 156?, Greek bishop of Smyrna, Father of the Church. He was a disciple of St. John, who appointed him bishop. Thus he linked the apostles and such ...

Cajetan, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Cajetan, Saint kăjˈətăn, käˌyātänˈ [key], 1480–1547, Italian churchman and reformer. Son of the count of Thiene, he studied civil and canon law, but abandoned work as a jurist at the papal ...

Agatha, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Agatha, Saint ăgˈəthə [key], 3d cent., Sicilian virgin, martyred under Roman Emperor Decius. She is mentioned in the Martyrology of Jerome and the Calendar of Carthage in the 6th cent. Agatha is i...

Agnes, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Agnes, Saint, 4th cent., virgin martyr. A noble Roman girl martyred at the age of 13 after rejecting a well-born suitor. She was included in the Depositio Martyrum of 354. On her feast day lambs are b...

Brandon, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Brandon, Saint: see Brendan, Saint. ...

Vitus, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Vitus, Saint vīˈtəs [key], 4th cent.?, Sicilian martyr. Vitus is invoked against diseases including epilipsy, nervous disorders, and St. Vitus' Dance (Sydenham's chorea). He is one of the Fourteen ...

Catherine, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Catherine, Saint kăthˈrən, kăthˈərĭn [key], 4th cent.?, Alexandrian virgin martyr. Nothing certain is known of her life, and in 1969 her name was dropped from the liturgical calendar. According...

Cecilia, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Cecilia, Saint səsĭlˈyə, –sēl– [key], 2d or 3d cent., Roman virgin martyr. An ancient and famous account of her life is factually valueless. As patron of music, she is represented at the orga...

Swithin, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Swithin or Swithun, Saint both: swĭᵺˈən [key], fl. 860, English bishop of Winchester. He was buried, according to his wishes, outside his church, but his relics were later removed to the new cath...

Benno, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Benno, Saint, d. 1106, German prelate. He was bishop of Meissen and an ardent supporter of Pope Gregory VII against Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, and the emperor had him deposed. He was reinstated on G...