Blog

    Stories of saints, biblical events, angels, and sacred places.

    Giotto's fresco of Joachim and Anne embracing at the Golden Gate
    Saint Joachim, Traditional Father of the Virgin Mary
    Who Joachim was according to ancient Christian tradition, why his name never appears in the Bible, and what the Church actually affirms about him.
    Caravaggio's painting of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead
    Saint Lazarus of Bethany
    The man Jesus called out of his own tomb after four days dead — and why he is often confused with a different Lazarus in one of Jesus's parables.
    Caravaggio's painting of Saint Martha reasoning with her sister Mary Magdalene
    Saint Martha of Bethany
    The story of Martha of Bethany, sister of Mary and Lazarus, from the "Martha, Martha" episode in Luke's Gospel to her plea to Jesus at Lazarus's tomb in John 11.
    Tintoretto's painting of Saint Roch, patron of plague victims, in glory
    Saint Roch — The Pilgrim Who Healed the Plague-Stricken
    Who Saint Roch was, why he's shown with a dog and a wound on his leg, and how a nobleman turned pilgrim became one of the most invoked saints against plague.
    Byzantine manuscript miniature of Saint Timothy, bishop of Ephesus and disciple of Paul
    Saint Timothy — Paul's Beloved Disciple
    Who Saint Timothy was, why Paul called him his "true child in the faith," and what the two epistles addressed to him reveal about his life and death.
    Medieval fresco of Saint Titus, companion of Paul and bishop of Crete
    Saint Titus — The Gentile Paul Refused to Circumcise
    Who Saint Titus was, why his uncircumcised presence became a turning point at the Council of Jerusalem, and what tradition says about his life as bishop of Crete.
    Hans Memling's painting of Saint Veronica holding the veil bearing Christ's face
    Saint Veronica and the Veil of Christ's Face
    The story of Veronica, who wiped Christ's face on the road to Calvary, why her veil became the sixth Station of the Cross, and why she isn't named in Scripture.
    A tetramorph fresco combining the four evangelist symbols - man, lion, ox, and eagle - into one composite figure
    The Four Evangelists and Their Symbols
    Why Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are traditionally shown as a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle — and where that ancient symbolism actually comes from.
    Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, showing Christ seated at table with the Twelve Apostles
    The Twelve Apostles — The Full List, at a Glance
    Who the twelve men Jesus chose as his closest followers actually were, how each is remembered, and where to read the full story behind each name.
    The Virgin and Child surrounded by the virgin martyrs Catherine, Cecilia, Barbara, and Ursula
    Virgin Martyrs of the Early Church
    Agnes, Agatha, Lucy, Cecilia, Perpetua, and Felicity — young women who chose death over compromise, and whose names are still spoken every day at Mass.
    A painting of Joan of Arc in gleaming plate armor, gazing upward with an expression of prayerful concentration.
    Saint Joan of Arc
    How a teenage peasant girl came to lead the French army, why she was executed at nineteen, and how the Church came to canonize her nearly 500 years later.
    A gold-backed Renaissance portrait of Saint Thomas Aquinas holding an open book, with a small model church in his other hand.
    Saint Thomas Aquinas
    How the "Dumb Ox" became the Angelic Doctor of the Church, what the Summa Theologica actually set out to do, and why he stopped writing it.
    A painting of Saint Francis of Assisi kneeling on a mountainside with his face turned upward, arm outstretched, as rays connect him to a vision above.
    Saint Francis of Assisi
    How a wealthy merchant's son gave up everything to found the Franciscans, and what happened to him on Mount La Verna in 1224.
    The faded original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, showing Mary in a green star-covered mantle standing on a crescent moon, held by an angel.
    Our Lady of Guadalupe
    The story of the 1531 apparitions to Juan Diego, the image left on his cloak, and why Our Lady of Guadalupe became patroness of the Americas.
    A baroque painting of a young Saint John the Baptist seated in the wilderness, wrapped in red drapery and animal skin, holding a wooden staff.
    Saint John the Baptist
    Who John the Baptist was, why he lived alone in the wilderness before his ministry began, and why he called himself unworthy of the one he baptized.
    A candlelit 17th-century painting of Saint Joseph, the carpenter, bent over his workbench across from a young Jesus holding a lit candle.
    Saint Joseph
    Who Saint Joseph was, why he never speaks a single word in Scripture, and why the Church still calls him patron of the universal Church.
    A 19th-century painting of Jesus seated on a rock outcropping, raising one hand, teaching a crowd gathered around a hillside.
    The Sermon on the Mount
    The setting and structure of Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, why the Beatitudes open it the way they do, and why the crowds reacted the way they did.
    A dramatic baroque painting of the young David kneeling over the severed head of Goliath, tying a cord around his wrist.
    David and Goliath
    The real story behind David and Goliath — why no soldier in Israel's army would fight the Philistine champion, and what David said before the stone was thrown.
    A baroque painting of the Israelites gathering belongings and armor on the shore after crossing the parted Red Sea, with Moses standing at the water's edge.
    The Crossing of the Red Sea
    What happened at the Red Sea after the Exodus, why the Israelites were trapped before the miracle, and what the crossing has meant ever since.
    A baroque painting of angels ascending and descending a golden stairway toward heaven, above a sleeping man on the ground below.
    Jacob's Ladder
    The story behind Jacob's dream of a stairway to heaven, why he was alone and running when he had it, and what "the gate of heaven" meant to him.