<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;">Apollinaris lived in the first century and according to legend was chosen the first bishop of Ravenna by St Peter. He was also one of the first great martyrs. During the reigns of emperors Claudius and Vespasian, he was repeatedly exiled and tortured but continued to evangelize and work miracles until his martyrdom. </p>

<p>Antonio Ghislieri was born into an impoverished noble family in Italy, in 1504. He spent much of early life tending sheep. At the age of fourteen he entered the Dominican Order and became a professor. He was appointed bishop in 1556, and cardinal and inquisitor general in 1557. In 1566 he was elected pope and took the name Pius.</p>

<p>Bonaventure, known as the "Seraphic Doctor," had so great an influence in the Franciscan Order that he has been called its second founder. He was born in 1221 in Tuscany. Although baptized as Giovanni, legend has it that while still a child he was given the name Bonaventure ('Good Fortune') by St Francis of Assisi who cured him miraculously of a dangerous illness. Bonaventure joined the Friars Minor at age 20 and was sent to the University of Paris where he studied and then taught the philosophy and theology of the Franciscan school.

<p>Born in Abruzzi in central Italy, Camillus (1550-1614) became a Venetian soldier like his father. When his aged father died, Camillus pursued his mania for gambling, lost everything, but was cared for by some Capuchins. Because of a diseased leg, he was unable to join that order, but found his vocation in caring for the sick. The conditions in hospitals in the 16th century were horrific and Camillus resolved to establish an order to care for the sick and dying. He was ordained and founded the nursing congregation of the Ministers of the Sick, the Camillians.

<p>The 19th century was a time of Christian persecution in China. Imperial edicts imposed the death penalty for evangelization, as well as for the education and ordination of priests. Father Augustine Zhao Rong was a Chinese diocesan priest who had been a soldier. It was while he was escorting a missionary priest from France that he was converted and baptized. He then studied at a seminary and was ordained. In 1815, he and 119 companions were tortured and martyred, having refused the offer of clemency if they abandoned their faith.

<p>Benedict, the Father of Western monasticism, lived circa 480 to 547. He was born in Nursia in central Italy, probably of common folk. The little we know of his personal life is gleaned from two documents: the second <em>Dialogue</em> of Gregory the Great, and the <em>Rule </em>written by Benedict himself.</p>

<p>Maria Goretti was born near Ancona, Italy, in 1890. Her parents were poor farm-workers, and her father died while she was still a child. When Maria was 12, an 18-year-old neighbour, Alessandro, began to make advances towards her which she rebuffed. On July 5, 1902, he arranged that they should be alone in the house and he assaulted her, promising death if she did not yield. She chose death and in his rage Alessandro stabbed her several times. She died the following day, having forgiven him.</p>

Although popular devotion to Joseph, husband of Mary, may have begun in the West as early as the 8th century, it was not until the 15th century that his name was entered in the Church calendar. Since that time, devotion to Joseph has been marked by growing enthusiasm and, in 1955, Pope Pius XII proclaimed a second feast day in his honour: May 1, Labour Day in many countries.

<p>Anthony was born in Cremona, Italy, in 1502. Both a physician and priest, he was greatly inspired by Saint Paul. Anthony was the founder of the Clerks Regular of Saint Paul (known as the Barnabites from their headquarters at the church of Saint Barnabas in Milan). He encouraged the laity to work with the clergy in helping the poor, and also promoted the frequent reception of communion. Anthony died in 1539 at age 37, worn out by his apostolic zeal.

<p>Born at Alexandria in Egypt about 297, Athanasius is one of the Greek Fathers and a Doctor of the Church. He was present at the Council of Nicaea (325), convened to oppose the Arian heresy which denied the divinity of Christ. Bishop of Alexandria and spiritual head of the desert hermits and of Ethiopia, Athanasius was a brilliant and formidable defender of orthodoxy, incurring the wrath of a succession of non-Christian emperors who repeatedly forced him into exile.