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

    Michelangelo's Last Judgment fresco on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel
    The Sistine Chapel
    How a Renaissance pope's private chapel became home to Michelangelo's ceiling and Last Judgment, and why cardinals still lock themselves inside it to elect a pope.
    The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Saint Juan Diego's tilma, one of the Church's recognized Marian apparitions
    Marian Apparitions Recognized by the Church
    Guadalupe, Lourdes, and Fátima are the famous ones, but other apparitions have also received formal Church approval — here's how that process actually works.
    Leonardo da Vinci's painting of Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary, and the Christ Child
    Saint Anne, Mother of the Virgin Mary
    Why the woman honored as Mary's mother is never named in Scripture, and how an ancient tradition gave her the name Anne and a story of her own.
    A painting of Saint Anthony of Padua kneeling in adoration before the Christ Child, holding a white lily, with cherubs above.
    Saint Anthony of Padua
    How a Portuguese-born Franciscan became one of the great preachers of his century, and why he's the saint people ask for help finding lost things.
    Saint Barbara seated before the tower of her martyrdom, drawing by Jan van Eyck
    Saint Barbara, Virgin Martyr
    Who Saint Barbara was, why she is shown with a three-windowed tower, and why the Church removed her feast from its universal calendar in 1969.
    Raphael's cartoon of Paul and Barnabas at Lystra, mistaken for pagan gods
    Saint Barnabas the Apostle
    The "son of encouragement" who vouched for Saul when no one else in Jerusalem would go near him, and became an apostle without ever meeting Jesus in the flesh.
    The Roman centurion Cornelius kneeling as an angel appears to him in a vision
    Saint Cornelius the Centurion
    The story of Cornelius, the Roman officer whose vision and conversion in Acts 10 opened the Christian faith to the Gentile world.
    Icon of the Crucifixion showing Christ between the two thieves, including Saint Dismas the Good Thief
    Saint Dismas — The Good Thief Promised Paradise
    Who Saint Dismas is, what he actually said to Jesus while dying on the cross beside him, and why his last-minute conversion became a model of Christian hope.
    Saint Expeditus depicted as a Roman soldier holding a cross inscribed 'Hodie,' trampling a crow
    Saint Expeditus, Patron of Urgent Causes
    Who Saint Expeditus is said to have been, why he is invoked against procrastination, and why his very existence is a matter of scholarly debate.
    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.