St. Sixtus III, Pope Feast date: Mar 28 Not much is known about the history and youth of St. Sixtus, but we do know that he was born in Rome, Italy and ascended to the papacy in 432.As the 44th Pope, he approved the results of the Council of Ephesus and actively protested against the heresies of Nestorianism and Pelagianism. He restored many Roman basilicas and corresponded frequently with St. Augustine of Hippo. He died on August 18 in the year 440 of natural causes.

St. Rupert Feast date: Mar 27 On March 27 the Catholic Church remembers the monk and bishop Saint Rupert, whose missionary labors built up the Church in two of its historic strongholds, Austria and Bavaria. During his lifetime, the “Apostle of Bavaria and Austria” was an energetic founder of churches and monasteries, and a remarkably successful evangelist of the regions – which include the homeland of the Bavarian native Pope Benedict XVI.Little is known about Rupert's early life, which is thought to have begun around 660 in the territory of Gaul in modern-day France. There is some indication that he came from the Merovignian royal line, though he embraced a life of prayer, fasting, asceticism and charity toward the poor.This course of life led to his consecration as the Bishop of Worms in present-day Germany. Although Rupert was known as a wise and devout bishop, he eventually met with rejection from the largely pagan population, who beat him savagely and forced him to leave the city.After this painful rejection, Rupert made a pilgrimage to Rome. Two years after his expulsion from Worms, his prayers were answered by means of a message from Duke Theodo of Bavaria, who knew of his reputation as a holy man and a sound teacher of the faith. Bavaria, in Rupert's day, was neither fully pagan nor solidly Catholic. Although missionaries had evangelized the region in the past, the local religion tended to mix portions of the Christian faith – often misunderstood along heretical lines – with native pagan beliefs and practices. The Bavarian duke sought Rupert's help to restore, correct, and spread the faith in his land. After sending messengers to report back to him on conditions in Bavaria, Rupert agreed. The bishop who had been brutally exiled from Worms was received with honor in the Bavarian city of Regensburg. With the help of a group of priests he brought with him, Rupert undertook an extensive mission in Bavaria and parts of modern-day Austria. His missionary journeys resulted in many conversions, accompanied by numerous miracles including the healing of diseases. In Salzburg, Rupert and his companions built a great church, which they placed under the patronage of St. Peter, and a monastery observing the Rule of St. Benedict. Rupert's niece became the abbess of a Benedictine convent established nearby.Rupert served as both the bishop of Salzburg and the abbot of the Benedictine monastery he established there. This traditional pairing of the two roles, also found in the Irish Church after its development of monasticism, was passed on by St. Rupert's successors until the late 10th century.St. Rupert died on March 27, Easter Sunday of the year 718, after preaching and celebrating Mass. After the saint's death, churches and monasteries began to be named after him – including Salzburg's modern-day Cathedral of St. Rupert (also known as the “Salzburg Cathedral”), and the Church of St. Rupert which is believed to be the oldest surviving church structure in Vienna.

St. Margaret of Clitherow Feast date: Mar 26 St. Margaret Clitherow was born in Middleton, England around the year 1555 to a protestant family. Margaret was known throughout the town for her wit and good looks, and in 1571 she married John Clitherow, and together they bore two children.Several years after her marriage to John, Margaret was introduced to the Catholic faith, and converted. She was a zealous defender of Catholicism and hid fugitive priests in her home. Eventually, Margaret was turned in to the sheriff and tried for the crime of harboring Catholic priests.While Margaret was on trial, many efforts were made to encourage her to deny the Catholic faith, but she held firmly. Finally, Margaret was condemned to be pressed to death upon sharp rocks. She was executed on March 25, 1586. Pope Paul VI canonized Margaret in 1970.

Feast date: Mar 25 St Dismas is the man known as the "Good Thief" who was crucified with Christ alongside another criminal on Calvary. He is described in Luke's Gospel (29: 39-43) as repenting from his sins and asks Jesus to "remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."   St. Dismas´ feast is March 25th. 

St. Catherine of Sweden Feast date: Mar 24 St. Catherine was born near the beginning of the fourteenth century to parents Ulfo and St. Bridget of Sweden. At the age of seven, Catherine was sent to the Abbey at Risburgh by her parents and placed under the care of the abbess to receive an education and to build a foundation for her spiritual life.At the age of 13, Catherine was taken from the abbey and given in marriage to Egard, a German nobleman. Upon meeting Egard, Catherine persuaded him to make a mutual vow of perpetual chastity with her. Catherine and Egard dedicated themselves to the service of God and encouraged each other in works of mortification, prayer and charity.Around the year 1349, after the death of her father, Catherine accompanied her mother on a pilgrimage to Rome to visit the relics of the Roman Martyrs. The two spent several years living in Rome. In 1373 St. Bridget died and Catherine returned to Sweden with her mother's body. Two years later, Catherine returned to Rome to promote the cause for her mother's canonization and to gain approval for a Rule she had written for a group of religious women.After gaining approval for her rule, Catherine returned to Sweden and became abbess of Vadzstena. Catherine served as abbess of Vadzstena until her death in 1381. During the final 25 years of her life, Catherine was known for her austere lifestyle and her practice of making daily use of the Sacrament of Confession. St. Catherine was canonized in 1484 by Pope Pius II.

St. Turibius de Mogrovejo Feast date: Mar 23 Catholics in Latin America and throughout the world will celebrate the life and ministry of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo on March 23. The 16th century bishop upheld the rights of Peru's indigenous peoples, and became one of the first canonized saints of the Americas. Turibius was born in Spain during 1538, to a noble family in the kingdom of Leon. He frequently prayed, fasted, and gave to the poor even as a child, and eventually developed the daily habit of praying the Rosary along with the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He went on to study law at the University of Salamanca, and eventually served as a judge for five years in the territory of Granada. His judicial wisdom and diligence drew the attention of King Philip II, who wanted Turibius – who was still a layman – to be consecrated as a missionary archbishop for the Spanish colony of Peru.Turibius became greatly dismayed, protesting to the king and Church authorities that he was not even a priest and could not possibly accept the charge. In a series of letters, he pled that he was not personally capable of serving as the Archbishop of Lima – nor, he reminded them, did canon law permit a layman to become an archbishop.Eventually, however, he had little choice but to comply. He was consecrated as a bishop in 1581, at the age of 43, and immediately left for Lima, Peru. The new archbishop undertook to travel throughout the rugged and mountainous diocese, where he observed many of the worst effects of colonialism – both upon the enslaved and oppressed natives, and on many of the colonists who seemed to have lost their souls in the pursuit of wealth. He responded with constant prayer and penance, as he traveled throughout his territory administering the sacraments, teaching the Catholic faith, and establishing schools, seminaries and hospitals. To the indigenous Peruvians, the archbishop was a herald of the Gospel who held their lives as more precious than their country's supplies of gold and silver. But to the many colonists whose behavior showed no sign of their Catholic origins, he was a prophetic scourge – whose efforts to awaken the public conscience earned him rebukes and opposition.Turibius ultimately managed to make three visitations of his diocese, under rugged and dangerous conditions, which occupied about half of his 25 years as Archbishop of Lima. He united the Peruvian Church at an administrative level by holding several local councils of its clergy, but was also known to spend days traveling to reach a single individual with the message of Christ. The archbishop became seriously ill in 1606. He sensed that his death was imminent, and decreed that his possessions should be distributed to the poor. St. Turibius died on March 23, and his body was found to be incorrupt the next year. He was declared a saint in 1726, and is now regarded as the patron of native peoples'

St. Lea Feast date: Mar 22 March 22 is the liturgical memorial of Saint Lea of Rome, a fourth-century widow who left her wealth behind, entered consecrated life, and attained great holiness through asceticism and prayer. Though not well-known as a figure of devotion in modern times, she was acknowledged as a saint on the testimony of her contemporary Saint Jerome, who wrote a brief description of Lea's life after she had died. Jerome, a scholarly monk best known for his Latin translation of the Bible (the Vulgate), is the Church's only source of information on St. Lea, whose biographical details are unknown. St. Jerome eulogized her in a letter written during the year 384 to his student and spiritual directee Marcella, another Roman consecrated woman who had left her aristocratic life behind after being widowed. It is clear from his letter that Lea was a mutual friend to both Jerome and Marcella. Jerome states that his account is written to “hail with joy the release of a soul which has trampled Satan under foot, and won for itself, at last, a crown of tranquility.” Jerome also contrasts the life of “our most saintly friend” with that of the late pagan public official Praetextatus, held up by Jerome as a cautionary example. “Who,” Jerome begins, “can sufficiently eulogize our dear Lea's mode of living? So complete was her conversion to the Lord that, becoming the head of a monastery, she showed herself a true mother to the virgins in it, wore coarse sackcloth instead of soft raiment, passed sleepless nights in prayer, and instructed her companions even more by example than by precept.” Jerome describes how Lea, in her great humility, “was accounted the servant of all … She was careless of her dress, neglected her hair, and ate only the coarsest food. Still, in all that she did, she avoided ostentation that she might not have her reward in this world.” Jerome's letter goes on to compare her fate to that of Praetextus – who died in the same year as Lea, after spending his life promoting a return to Rome's ancient polytheistic pagan religion. The monk retells Jesus' parable of Lazarus and Dives, with Lea in the place of the poor and suffering man. Lea, Jerome says, is “welcomed into the choirs of the angels; she is comforted in Abraham's bosom. And, as once the beggar Lazarus saw the rich man, for all his purple, lying in torment, so does Lea see the consul, not now in his triumphal robe but clothed in mourning, and asking for a drop of water from her little finger.” Thus Lea, “who seemed poor and of little worth, and whose life was accounted madness,” triumphs in salvation. But the punishment of infidelity falls on the consul-elect – who had led a triumphant procession just before his death, and been widely mourned afterward. Jerome ends his letter by urging Marcella to remember the lesson of St. Lea's life: “We must not allow …

St. Enda Feast date: Mar 21 On March 21, four days after the feast day of Ireland's patron Saint Patrick, the Catholic Church honors Saint Enda of Aran, a warrior-turned-monk considered to be one of the founders of Irish monasticism. Born during the fifth century, Enda inherited control of a large territory in present-day Northern Ireland from his father Conall. His sister Fanchea, however, had already embraced consecrated religious life with a community in Meath, and looked unfavorably on the battles and conquests of her brother. Enda is said to have made a deal with his sister, promising to change his ways if he could marry one of the young women of her convent. But this was a ruse on Fanchea's part, as the promised girl soon died. Fanchea forced him to view the girl's corpse, to teach him that he, too, would face death and judgment. In this way, Fanchea – whom the Church also remembers as a saint – succeeded in turning her brother not only from violence, but even from marriage. He left Ireland for several years, during which time he became a monk and was ordained as a priest. Upon his return to Ireland, he petitioned his King Aengus of Munster – who was married to another of Enda's sisters – to grant him land for a monastic settlement on the Aran Islands, a beautiful but austere location near Galway Bay off Ireland's west coast. During its early years, Enda's island mission had around 150 monks. As the community grew, he divided up the territory between his disciples, who founded their own monasteries to accommodate the large number of vocations. Enda did not found a religious order in the modern sense, but he did hold a position of authority and leadership over the monastic settlements of Aran – which became known as “Aran of the Saints,” renowned for the monks' strict rule of life and passionate love for God. While living on an Irish island, Enda's monks imitated the asceticism and simplicity of the earliest Egytian desert hermits. The monks of Aran lived alone in their stone cells, slept on the ground, ate together in silence, and survived by farming and fishing. St. Enda's monastic rule, like those of St. Basil in the Greek East and St. Benedict in the Latin West, set aside many hours for prayer and the study of scripture. During his own lifetime, Enda's monastic settlement on the Aran islands became an important pilgrimage destination, as well as a center for the evangelizations of surrounding areas. At least two dozen canonized individuals had some association with “Aran of the Saints.” St. Enda himself died in old age around the year 530. An early chronicler of his life declared that it would “never be known until the day of judgment, the number of saints whose bodies lie in the soil of Aran,” on account of the onetime-warrior's response to God's surprising call.

St. Herbert Feast date: Mar 20 Not much is known about the life of St. Herbert, other than he was a Hermit of England and a good friend of St. Cuthbert. Herbert was a priest, and lived as a recluse on an island in Lake Derwentwater, England which later became St. Herbert’s in his honor. Herbert had asked to die on the same day as his dear friend St. Cuthbert, and God granted Him the fulfillment of that desire.

St. Joseph Feast date: Mar 19 St. Joseph is honored with feast days throughout the Liturgical Year. This feast encourages us to look at Joseph's role as husband and head of the Holy Family.Most of what we know about the life of St. Joseph comes to us from Scripture and legends that have sprung up regarding his life. Though Joseph is only mentioned by two of the evangelists, he is paid the compliment of being a "just" man. This is a way of saying that Joseph was such a good and holy man that he shares in God's own holiness. In addition, Joseph gives us an example of how to be a just spouse and how to have holy relationships.Joseph's example as a husband can be best seen in how he respected Mary. He realized that God had a special plan for his wife and for his son, and Joseph did everything in his power to help this plan become reality. When Joseph was given chances to give up his vocation to the married life, by divorcing Mary or leaving her, he resisted the temptation and stayed by her side providing support and love.The feast of St. Joseph Husband of Mary has been celebrated throughout the church since the tenth century and has been honored as the Patron of the Universal Church since 1870. St. Joseph is the patron of workers, carpenters, Austria, Belgium, Bohemia, Canada, Mexico, Peru, and southern Vietnam.