Biographies and reflections on the lives of witnesses

The Martyrs and Saints - canonized or beatified – today’s evangelizers and those of bygone ages, these are the hands and feet of God, carrying the proclamation of the Gospel to peoples of every continent. Their hearts, minds, and activities - indeed, their very lives - announce Christ, the same yesterday, today and always.

Brother Fortunatus Thanhäuser

Bernhard Thanhäuser was born on February 27, 1918 in Berlin, the first of three children. After the Great War his parents moved to Silesia where his father, who had fought in the World War, became head of the forestry department. ...

Charles de Focauld

Charles de Foucauld was born in Strasbourg, France, on September 15, 1858, into a noble family, but to his misfortune, he lost his parents at an early age and was raised by his maternal grandfather. The young Charles soon became ...

Charles Lavigerie

Charles Lavigerie was born on October 31, 1825, in Bayonne, Southwest France, into a family that was not particularly fervent from a religious standpoint. A brief stay in the diocesan minor seminary made it clear to his superiors ...