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St. Martha is best known for her appearance in the gospels of Luke and John, where she and her sister Mary were entertaining Jesus for a meal. Additionally, Martha and Mary are the sisters of St. Lazarus, the recipient of Christ's first resurrection miracle, and with whom they share a feast day. But Martha is also known for something that doesn't occur in Scripture, that occurred in a small town in modern France known as Tarascon. According to legend, after Pentecost when the apostles spread around to share the gospel message, Martha ended up in Tarascon, where the locals were being terrorized by a fearsome beast--part dragon, part fish, built like an ox but with swordlike teeth. The called this monster the Tarasque. The Tarasque lived in the river, sinking their boats and eating people who tried to cross it. They begged Martha to help, and she agreed. She caught the beast in the midst of devouring a man. Martha lifted her crucifix and sprinkled it with holy water, and the Tara...

St. Stephen is one of the select martyrs mentioned by name in scripture. He was one of the first seven deacons ordained by the church as mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. During his life, Stephen performed many miracles and was considered to be very holy. He was martyred by stoning after calling out the sins of the Sanhedrin, a martyrdom witnessed by Saul (who would go on to become St. Paul ). Stephen prayed for his killers' forgiveness as he died. Afterwards, many of the disciples fled the holy land for safety. Lifetime:  ~5 to ~33 Region:  Jerusalem Patronages:  Headaches; Brick layers; Altar servers; Harsh truths Iconograpy:  Stones; Censer; Deacon vestments Feast Day:  December 26 (Western); December 2 (Eastern)

Saints Anne and Joachim are the parents of Mary, the Mother of God, and thus the grandparents of Jesus. Not much is known about them, and what is part of the tradition mostly comes from apocryphal texts such as the Gospel of James, as well as the Quran. According to tradition, Anne and Joachim were not able to conceive any children until old age, where God rewarded their piety and they conceived Mary shortly before Joachim's death. Lifetime:  1st century BC Region:  Judea Patronages:  Grandparents; Married couples; Child care providers Iconograpy:  Often portrayed together; Holding young Mary Feast Day:  July 26 (Western); September 9 (Eastern)

St. Jude, one of the 12 apostles, is well-known today as the patron saint of lost causes or desperate situations. While his role in scripture is minimal and not much is known for certain about his life, tradition adds a lot of story to his life. He is the author of one of the Epistles in addition to being named in the Gospel of Luke as well as the book of Acts.   Lifetime:  1st century Region:  Galilee; Armenia Patronages:  Lost causes; Hospitals; Armenia Iconograpy:  Oar; Club; Axe; Pentecost flame Feast Day:  October 28 (Western); June 19 & 30 (Eastern)

Along with Michael and Raphael , Gabriel is one of the three archangels mentioned by name in Holy Scripture. He is the only one featured in the Gospel stories, as it is Gabriel who shares the news with Mary that she will give birth to the Christ.  In the Eastern church, Gabriel gets two feast days dedicated solely to him (plus a third shared with the other angels). One of those is the day after the feast of the Annunciation.   Lifetime:  Eternity Region:  Heaven & Earth Patronages:  Communications; Messengers; Clerics; Diplomats Iconograpy:  Angel wings; Mirror reflecting X; Lilies; Trumpet Feast Day:  September 29 (with other Archangels) (Western); November 8 (with other Archangels) (Eastern); March 24 (Eastern); July 13 (Eastern) Since everything we know about Gabriel comes from the Gospel of Luke, I thought the best way to introduce him is to simply share those passages. Here Gabriel tells Zechariah that his wife is pregnant with John the Bapt...

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 mi...

Unlike the archangels Michael  and Gabriel, Raphael only appears in the books of Tobit and Enoch, books that are not in all denominations' Bibles. However, he is also featured very prominently especially in the story of Tobit, which is a very interesting story indeed! Lifetime:  Eternity Region:  Heaven & Earth Patronages:  Pharmacists; Physicians; The blind; Lovers Iconograpy:  Angel with fish; Staff; Bottle or flask Feast Day: September 29 (with other Archangels) Raphael's name means "God healed", and his role in Tobit is a great example of that. In the book of Tobit, Tobit himself, a faithful man of God, gets blinded by... Well, there's no tame way to put this. He falls asleep and birds poop in his eyes. Afflicted by this blindness, Tobit prays that God let him die so he can stop being a burden upon his family, but the blindness persists for years. However, he eventually recalls a big bunch of money he had left behind in a far-off land, so he decides to s...

Did you know there was a saint canonized by Jesus Christ himself? It's in the Gospel of Luke! St. Dismas is the traditional name given to the penitent thief, the one who is being crucified alongside Jesus and asks Jesus to remember him when he enters the Kingdom. Jesus then promises that Dismas will see him in Paradise, thus making the executed criminal the first saint canonized by the church.  Though he is unnamed in Luke's gospel, the name Dismas comes from the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. A few other non-canonical sources provide other names for him. Lifetime:  1st Century Region:  Galilee Patronages:  Prisoners; Funeral directors; Repentant thieves Iconograpy:  Being crucified; Often contorted Feast Day: March 25 Not much is known about Dismas, including whether that is even his name. That makes it kind of hard to write a bio about him, so instead I'll write some interesting information about the Penitent Thief here. Iconography The Penitent Thief is usua...

When I first converted to the Catholic faith, I was very uncomfortable with the prayer to St. Michael. In my mind, there was something strange (or rather, even stranger) about praying for the intercession of an angel over the intercession of the saints. Initially, I refused to participate in the prayer, which at my parish is said at the end of each Mass. Eventually, though, I opted to take a childlike submission to the church's teachings for a short while, and that humility was greatly rewarded. Now, the prayer to St. Michael is one of the most commonly used tools in my arsenal against sin, and I have come to realize the power of his special place as one of the protectors of humanity.   Lifetime:  Eternity Region:  Heaven & Earth Patronages:  Grocers; Mariners; Police; Soldiers Iconograpy:  Angel with a sword; Defeating Lucifer / a dragon; Scales Feast Day:  September 29 (with other Archangels) Michael is one of only three named angels in scripture, an...

Honestly, what could I say about saints Peter and Paul to fit in a blog post? Libraries already exist about each of them, and I'm nowhere near qualified to contribute anything noteworthy to that canon.  Instead, I'd like to share Pope Francis' homily from today, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. (Translation by Catholic News Agency ) Lifetime:  First century Region:  Rome, Roman empire Patronages:  Fishers; Gentiles; Theologians; The Papacy Iconograpy:  Peter: keys to the kingdom; Paul: book or scroll of epistles; Together: lifting up a church building Feast Day:  June 29 On the feast of the two Apostles of this city, I would like to share with you two key words: unity and prophecy. Unity. We celebrate together two very different individuals: Peter, a fisherman who spent his days amid boats and nets, and Paul, a learned Pharisee who taught in synagogues. When they went forth on mission, Peter spoke to Jews, and Paul to pagans. And when their paths cro...

Today (August 24) is the feast day of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. As implied by his honorific, St. Bartholomew was one of the twelve (technically thirteen if you count both Judas and his replacement...) who closely followed Jesus during his earthly ministry. And as implied by his iconography, he was also a total badass. To celebrate their lives (and deaths), I've taken to creating LEGO minifigs of some of my influential saints. Yes, I know, I'm a nerd. Anyway, here's St. Bart: Lifetime: 1st Century Region: Galilee & Armenia Patronages: Armenia; Cheesemongers; Plasterers; Leatherworkers (ouch!) Iconograpy: Rolled-up scroll; Knife; His own flayed skin Feast Day: August 24 Following Christ's ascension, St. Bartholomew (who may have also been Nathaniel from the gospel of John) traveled a ton to spread the word. Some legends have him going as far as India or Armenia, where he was martyred for converting the local monarch to Christianity. When the king...