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St. Barnabus is an apostle featured heavily in the book of Acts and some Epistles. He was influential in the other apostles' acceptance of St. Paul, as well as in the conversion efforts among the Gentiles. After the Paul himself, Barnabas may be the most esteemed man of the first generation of Christians besides the Twelve. Lifetime:  Unknown to ~60 Region:  Roman Cyprus Patronages: Cyprus; Antioch; Against hailstorms Iconograpy:  Flame; Gospel scroll; Olive branch Feast Day:  June 11 Barnabas appears in scripture in the book of Acts, where he is introduced as a landowner who sold all he owned and laid it at the feet of the apostles. He is identified as being known as Joseph, or Joses prior to the apostles bestowing his new name upon him. Barnabus was a Levite, the tribe of Israel dedicated to religious and educational duties serving the priests and other tribes. After his conversion, he becomes an apostle in his own right, and is entrusted with several important missions. Barnabu

St. Bede the Venerable is famous for being an author, a teacher, and a scholar in the area that is now England. He was particularly interested in calendar calculations and trying to calculate the date of Easter, and is one of the main reasons that the B.C./A.D. calendar system became popular. He's also the only native of Great Britain to be declared a Doctor of the Church .  Lifetime:  ~672 to 735 Region:  England Patronages: English writers; English historians Iconograpy:  Writing a book; Feather pen; Biretta Feast Day:  May 25 (Western); May 27 (Eastern) Little is known about Bede's early life, and most of what is known is from an autobiographical chapter in one of his books. Nothing is known about his parents except that, when Bede was seven, they sent him to live and study at a monastery, a practice which was common among Irish nobility at the time, and possibly among his own people as well. When that monastery opened a sister monastery nearby, he transferred to the new one

Father Damien famously lived out his life willingly among a Hawaiian leper colony, despite it being untreatable and considered highly contagious in that time. The model he used with the people of Molokai inspired others in the US during the height of the HIV/AIDS outbreaks. Lifetime:  1840 to 1889 Region:  Belgium; Hawaii Patronages: People with leprosy; Hawaii Iconograpy:  Missionary's hat; Lei; Leprosy wounds Feast Day:  May 10 Father Damien (as he came to be known) was born Jozef, the youngest of seven children born to corn merchant parents in Belgium. He went to school when he was young, but dropped out at 13 to help his family on the farm. However, his education did resume later when his father sent him to college, but while Damien was there, he encountered a religious mission and decided to instead pursue a religious life himself. Because of his lack of education, Damien was almost prevented from becoming a priest, but he was allowed due to his fluency in Latin, which his

St. Benedict Joseph Labre was an extreme ascetic, who voluntarily lived by begging alone. Though he died young, he was well known by his death because of his pilgrimages to major shrines throughout Europe and the ecstatic states he would achieve during contemplative prayer. Lifetime:  1748 to 1783 Region:  France; Rome Patronages: Married men; Mental illness; Beggars; Rejects Iconograpy:  Tattered clothing; Alms; Tricorn hat Feast Day:  April 16 Benedict was the oldest of fifteen children born to a wealthy shopkeeper family. As a child, he studied under his uncle, who was a parish priest, hoping to one day become a parish priest himself. However, he changed his mind at the age of sixteen and instead desired to become a monk. At eighteen, an epidemic struck, and Benedict and his uncle worked together to care for the victims, but near the end of the outbreak, his uncle too died of the illness. Benedict applied to join a Trappist abbey, but was turned away for being too uneducated and

St. Casilda was a Muslim princess who later converted to Christianity. One way that she stands out from many other convert saints, is that her life was characterized by charity and miracles even before her conversion. Lifetime:  ~950 to ~1050 Region:  Toledo and Briviesca, Spain Patronages: Muslim converts; Hemorrhages; Toledo, Spain Iconograpy:  Dress holding roses; Tiara Feast Day:  April 9 Casilda was a princess, the daughter of the king of Toledo in Spain. When she was young, Casilda’s mother died of a blood-related illness. Her parents, and Casilda herself when she was young, was Muslim. Despite their religious differences, young Casilda liked to visit the Christian prisoners and was known for showing them exceptional kindness. She often smuggled bread and meat in to feed the prisoners, hidden in her skirt. One time when Casilda was on her way to feed the prisoners, the guard saw her and stopped her. He had noticed the shape in the folds of her clothing and he demanded for her

St. Enda is considered the father of Irish monasticism. Even better, his feast day is also my birthday! Lifetime:  ~450 to ~530 Region:  Ireland Patronages: Aran islands; Irish monks Iconograpy:  Cloak (often green); Staff; Stone abbey Feast Day:  March 21 Enda was born an Irish prince in the county of Ulster. As he grew up, he became a fierce warrior, and eventually inherited the throne and became king of Oriel. However, Enda’s sister, St. Fanchea had become an abbess of a convent, and she was growing concerned about her brother and his violent ways. She begged him to lay down his arms and at least be a peaceful king. Enda thought about it, and made an agreement with his sister. He would put aside his sword and his taste for conquest, but only if she would find one of the sisters in her abbey who would marry him. His sister agreed, and found him a suitable bride, but when Enda arrived to receive his wife, he found the girl had died suddenly. His sister took the opportunity to make