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Willibald, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Willibald, Saint wĭˈlĭbôld [key], d. 787?, English missionary in Germany. He traveled in the East and was sent from Rome on a mission to aid St. Boniface. He was made first bishop of Eichstätt. S...

Benedict, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Benedict, Saint bĕnˈədĭkt [key], d. c.547, Italian monk, called Benedict of Nursia, author of a rule for monks that became the basis of the Benedictine order, b. Norcia (E of Spoleto). He went to ...

Paulinus, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Paulinus, Saint pôlīˈnəs [key], d. 644, Italian missionary, bishop of York (625–33). He was a Roman monk who went to England with the mission of St. Augustine of Canterbury in 601. For some year...

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 ...

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...

Christopher, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Christopher, Saint krĭsˈtəfər [key] [Gr.,=Christ bearer], 3d cent.?, martyr of Asia Minor. His characteristic legend is that one day when he was carrying a little child over a river, he felt the c...

Cletus, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Cletus or Anacletus, Saint klēˈtəs, ănəklēˈtəs [key], d. a.d. 88?, pope (a.d. 76?–a.d. 88?), martyr, a Roman; successor of St. Linus and predecessor of St. Clement I. Feast: Apr. 26. ...

Bernadette, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Bernadette, Saint bûrnədĕtˈ [key], 1844–79, French peasant girl who reported seeing the Virgin Mary in apparitions at a grotto near Lourdes, her home, in 1858. She was born Marie Bernarde Soubir...

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...

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. ...