Saints

Saint Alban: “First of Britain’s sons to die”

England’s first martyr left behind no writings or foundations, yet his witness of faith and sacrifice has endured for more than sixteen centuries

The witness of the saints and martyrs

As the Church celebrates the new feast of All Saints of Scotland, this week’s Magnificat reflects on the witness of saints and martyrs who remained faithful amid suffering and injustice

Saturday Read: The young priest who would not abandon his flock

The life and death of Blessed János Brenner reveal the quiet courage of a young priest whose fidelity to his vocation outlasted the regime that sought to silence him

June is the holiest month

The Church’s calendar reveals June as a month rich in saints, solemnities and reminders of God’s plan for human flourishing

Clement Harrold

Saint Columba: the apostle of Iona

Fifteen centuries after his voyage to Iona, the legacy of St Columba remains visible across Ireland and Scotland

“Go to Jesus with love and confidence”

In his meditation on the Blessed Sacrament, St John Vianney reflects on Holy Communion as the soul’s true nourishment and the source of union with Christ

St John Vianney

The fire that remakes

The Church’s great mystics understood that the Holy Spirit does not preserve complacency, but breaks open the soul in order to renew it

St Boniface: the Englishman who became the Apostle of Germany

St Boniface became one of the most influential missionaries of the early medieval Church, helping to establish and strengthen Christianity across the German lands

Martyrs, suffering and the bread of life

From St Justin Martyr to Corpus Christi, the Church’s calendar teaches us how to give ourselves to God

St Philip Neri: Rome’s apostle of joy

Amid the corruption and exhaustion of Renaissance Rome, St Philip Neri answered spiritual crisis not with severity but with humour, friendship and irrepressible joy