Pope Saint Leo the Great
Pope Saint Leo I is one of the only two Popes in two thousand years to be called "the Great." He is perhaps most famous for persuading Attila the Hun to abandon his plans to sack the city of Rome and to withdraw his forces beyond the Danube river (452)
Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Most Catholics think of St. Peter’s as the pope’s main church, but they are not quite right. St. John Lateran is the pope’s church, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome where the Bishop of Rome presides. The first basilica on the site was built in the fourth century when the Roman Emperor Constantine donated land he had received from the wealthy Lateran family.
Blessed John Duns Scotus
Blessed John Duns Scotus, O.F.M. is generally considered to be one of the three most important philosopher-theologians of the High Middle Ages. Scotus has had considerable influence on both Catholic and secular thought.
Saint Willibrord
Patron of convulsions, epilepsy, epileptics, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. First bishop of the archdiocese of Utrecht. Known as the Apostle to the Frisians.
Saint Leonard
Saint Leonard was born to the Frankish nobility in the 5th century. He was part of the court of the then pagan King Clovis I. Clovis' was a pivotal conversion in the history of Europe and brought Christianity in full to what is now France.
Saints Zechariah and Elizabeth
The Parents of John the Baptist. According to the Gospel, Elizabeth had lived a blameless life with her husband in one of the hill-towns of Judea. Having reached an advanced age with her prayers for a son unanswered, she thought that her barrenness was a reproach. One day, while Zachary was serving in the temple, the Angel Gabriel appeared at the right of the altar, and announced that a son would be born to Elizabeth.
Saint Charles Borromeo
Saint Charles Borromeo was one of the towering figures of the Catholic Reformation, a patron of learning and the arts, and though he achieved a position of great power, he used it with humility, personal sanctity, and unselfishness to reform the Church, of the evils and abuses so prevalent among the clergy and the nobles of the times. His feast day is November 4th. He is the patron saint of learning and the arts.
Saint Martin de Porres
St. Martin de Porres was born at Lima, Peru, in 1579. His father was a Spanish gentleman and his mother a colored freed-woman from Panama. His feast day is November 3. He is the patron of Peru, people of African decent, hair stylists, mixed-race people, poor people, public health, race relations, and social justice.
All Soul’s Day
All Souls Day follows All Saints Day, and commemorates the faithful departed, those who die in God's faith and friendship. However, Catholics believe that not all those who die in God's grace are immediately ready for the Beatific vision, i.e. the reality and goodness of God and heaven, so they must be purified of "lesser faults," and the temporal effects of sin. The Catholic Church calls this purification of the elect, "purgatory."
The Solemnity of All Saints
All Saint’s Day (or officially The Solemnity of All Saints) is instituted to honor all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful's celebration of saints' feasts during the year. In the early days the Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom.
