February 7, 1478 - July 6, 1535
Lawyer, Philosopher and Statesmen
From London, England
Served in London, England
Affiliation: Catholic
"If honor were profitable, everybody would be honorable."
Joan of Arc
January 6, 1412 - May 30, 1431
Defender of and Warrior for France during the Hundred Year War
From Domrémy, France
Served in Rouen, Normandy
Affiliation: Catholic
Death: Burned at the stake by pro-English Bishop of Beauvais Pierre Cauchon
"If I am not in the state of grace, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me."
Jan Hus
1369 - July 6, 1415
Reformer and Theologian
From Czech Republic
Served in Germany
Affiliation: Hussite
Death: Burned at the stake for heresy against the doctrines of the Catholic Church
"I hope, by God's grace, that I am truly a Christian, not deviating from the faith, and that I would rather suffer the penalty of a terrible death than wish to affirm anything outside of the faith or transgress the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Catherine of Siena
John Wycliffe
1320 - December 31, 1384
Theologian, Preacher, and Translator of the Bible into English
From Yorkshire, England
Served in England
Affiliation: Catholic (Early Reformer)
Death: At mass he suffered a stroke while and died, but in 1415 his body was exhumed and his bones burned because of herasy
"Do not let friars enter your wine cellars for fear they will bless every barrel and change the wine into blood."
Dante Alighieri
Francis of Assisi
October 4, 1181 - October 3, 1226
Founder of the Franciscan Order
From Assisi
Served in Assisi
Affiliation: Catholic
"Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation. Where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice. Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt."
Anselm of Aosta
1033 - April 21, 1109
Benedictine Monk and Founder of Scholasticism
From Aosta, Kingdom of Burgundy
Served in Canterbury, England
Affiliation: Catholic
"O Lord: my heart is made bitter by its own desolation; sweeten it by Your consolation. I beseech You, 0 Lord, that having begun in hunger to seek You, I may not finish without partaking of You. I set out famished; let me not return still unfed."
Thomas Aquinas
1225 – March 7, 1274
Priest and Theologian, Known as Doctor of the Church
From Kingdom of Sicily, Italy
Served in Italy
Affiliation: Catholic
"Man’s ultimate happiness consists in the contemplation of truth, for this operation is specific to man and is shared with no other animals. Also it is not directed to any other end since the contemplation of truth is sought for its own sake. In addition, in this operation man is united to higher beings (substances) since this is the only human operation that is carried out both by God and by the separate substances (angels)."
Hildegard of Bingen
1098 - September 17, 1179
German Writer, Composer, Philosopher, and Mystic
From Germany
Served in Germany
Affiliation: Catholic
"May the Holy Spirit enkindle you with the fire of His Love so that you may persevere, unfailingly, in the love of His service. Thus you may merit to become, at last, a living stone in the celestial Jerusalem."
Bernard of Clairvaux
1098 - September 17, 1179
German Writer, Composer, Philosopher, and Mystic
From Germany
Served in Germany
Affiliation: Catholic
"May the Holy Spirit enkindle you with the fire of His Love so that you may persevere, unfailingly, in the love of His service. Thus you may merit to become, at last, a living stone in the celestial Jerusalem."
Venerable Bede
672 - May 26, 735
Monk, Writer, and considered the "Father of English History"
From Monkton, England
Served in Monkwearmouth, England
Affiliation: Catholic
"Whenever we enter the church and draw near to the heavenly mysteries, we ought to approach with all humility and fear, both because of the presence of the angelic powers and out of the reverence due to the sacred oblation; for as the Angels are said to have stood by the Lord’s body when it lay in the tomb, so we must believe that they are present in the celebration of the Mysteries of His most sacred Body at the time of consecration."
Isidore of Seville
560 - April 4, 636
Archbishop of Seville and often viewed as the last Scholar of the Ancient World
From Cartagena, Spain
Served in Seville, Spain
Affiliation: Catholic
"Letters are signs of things, symbols of words, whose power is so great that without a voice they speak to us the words of the absent; for they introduce words by the eye, not by the ear."
Benedict of Nursia
Patrick
387 - March 17, 493
Apostle to Ireland
From Roman England
Served in Ireland
Affiliation: Catholic
“I bind to myself today, the strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity: I believe the Trinity in the Unity, the Creator of the Universe. I bind to myself today. the virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism, the virtue of His crucifixion with His burial, the virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension, the virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.”
Augustine of Hippo
November 13, 354 - August 28, 430
Theologian and Writer
From Algeria
Served in Algeria
Affiliation: Catholic
"You wish to be great, begin from the least. You are thinking to construct some mighty fabric in height; first think of the foundation of humility. And how great soever a mass of building one may wish and design to place above it, the greater the building is to be, the deeper does he dig his foundation."
John Chrysostom
349 – September 14, 407
Archbishop of Constantinople
From Antioch
Served in Antioch
Affiliation: Christian
"Helping a person in need is good in itself. But the degree of goodness is hugely affected by the attitude with which it is done. If you show resentment because you are helping the person out of a reluctant sense of duty, then the person may receive your help but may feel awkward and embarrassed. This is because he will feel beholden to you. If, on the other hand, you help the person in a spirit of joy, then the help will be received joyfully. The person will feel neither demeaned nor humiliated by your help, but rather will feel glad to have caused you pleasure by receiving your help. And joy is the appropriate attitude with which to help others because acts of generosity are a source of blessing to the giver as well as the receiver."
Athanasius
296 - May 2, 373
Twentieth Bishop of Alexandria
From Alexandria, Egypt
Served in Alexandria, Egypt
Affiliation: Christian
"Dead men cannot take effective action; their power of influence on others lasts only till the grave….The Saviour is working mightily among men, every day He is invisibly persuading numbers of people all over the world, both within and beyond the Greek-speaking world, to accept His faith and be obedient to His teaching. Can anyone, in face of this, still doubt that He has risen and lives, or rather that He is Himself the Life? Does a dead man prick the consciences of men...?"
Alban
274 - June 22, 304
Early English Convert and Martyr
From Hertfordshire (Verulamium), England
Served in Hertfordshire, England
Affiliation: Catholic
Persecution broke out and Alban sheltered a cleric. He was moved by his example and received baptism. When the governor's emissaries came to search the house, Alban disguised himself in the cloak of his guest and gave himself up in his place. They dragged him before the judge, then scourged and beheaded him for his faith. He took the place of the cleric while the cleric escaped.
Tertullian
155 - 240
Theologian and Church Leader
From Carthage, Africa
Served in Carthage, Africa
Affiliation: Christian
"But carry on, good officials. You will become much better in the eyes of the people if you will sacrifice the Christians for them. Torture us! Your iniquity is the proof of our innocence. For this reason God permits us to suffer these things... Yet your tortures accomplish nothing, though each is more refined than the last; rather they are an enticement to our religion. We became more every time we are hewn down by you: the blood of Christians is seed."