Select your language
“Suffering teaches us to love,” wrote Gemma Galgani. Her short life was marked by suffering and poverty. In the Lord’s Passion she found the path to holiness and, united with the Crucified, she offered herself completely as a pleasing sacrifice to God for the conversion of sinners and the salvation of souls.
For centuries, the Canossa were an important noble family in northern Italy. In the year 1077 the famous Matilda of Canossa played a leading role as mediator during the serious diplomatic crisis between King Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII, who had excommunicated the emperor.
Saint Waltrude (Waudru) of Mons was born around 612 in Cousolre, in northern France, into a noble Frankish family. Her father, Saint Walbert, was an official at the court of Clotaire II of the Merovingians, and her mother, Saint Bertilla of Thuringia, was the daughter of a king.
Marie-Rose Julie Billiart was born on July 12, 1751, in Cuvilly, north of Paris, France. She was the seventh of nine children, many of whom died at a young age. From childhood, she felt called by the Lord to follow him. One event marked her for life: in 1774, her father survived an attempted murder. This was followed, in 1782, by a medical error that caused paralysis in her legs.
In 17th century France, schooling was no longer in step with the times. Teaching was dispersive and far from the social needs of a changing society. Culture was reserved for an elite and primary school was still based on the private individual method. A young priest had the courage to transform schooling, making it a place for anyone to prepare for life, become educated and acquire knowledge.
Peter Rosini was born in Verona around 1205 into a well-to-do family. It is possible that some of his relatives had embraced the Cathar heresy, which was widespread at the time. His father sent him to study at the University of Bologna, where he came into contact with the environment of the Domenican Friars of the Order of Preachers. He personally met Saint Dominic, who, in 1221, admitted him into his Order.
Select your language