St. Declan was one of the bishops ministering to the Irish peoples before St. Patrick arrived in Ireland. Having studied in Gaul, he returned to Ireland and was consecrated to the episcopate. He founded the church of Ardmore where he is said to have built a monastery, a hermitage, and a holy well. There is also an ancient stone on a beach in Ardmore. The stone, which is the size of a boulder, is visited by numerous pilgrims during what they call "Pattern Week". These are the many stories in tradition connected with St. Declan. The holy bishop spent his last years in a hermit's cell before returning to the main settlement he built at Ardmore (died early 6th century A.D.).
St. Christina was converted to the Christian faith as a young girl. After her conversion, she destroyed the pagan images of her father. In anger, her father tied a rock around her neck and threw her into Lake Bolsena. She was however miraculously saved. Taken captive again, her tongue was cut out. She was placed in a furnace for five days, and then was executed by arrows (died 3rd century A.D.).
St. Lewina was a British woman martyred by the invading Saxon army. The story of her martyrdom was discovered in 1058 A.D. when her relics and those of St. Ideberga were transferred from a church at Seaford, Sussex, to St. Winnoc's at Bergues, Flanders (date of death unknown).
Sts. Boris and Gleb were sons of Vladimir of Kiev. After the death of their father, Boris learned of the plan of another brother to defraud him and Gleb of their inheritance. Avoiding what could be a great conflict in the family, and the use of unnecessary force, Boris went to a deserted place to pray. But his brother's followers found him and stabbed him to death with a sword. Gleb was also stabbed to death in Kiev. Another brother of Boris and Gleb got hold of their bodies and buried them in St. Basil's Church. Miracles were reported at their graves. St. Boris is the patron saint of Moscow (died ca. 1015 A.D.).
St. Christina the Astonishing was a Belgian who had an epileptic fit at twenty-one and by all appearances seemed to have died. When a Mass was being said for her, she soared to the roof of the church until the priest ordered her to come down. She reported to the priest that her soul had been to hell, purgatory and heaven, but was ordered to return to earth to pray for the poor souls of purgatory. This is only one of the incredible events that happened in St. Christina's life. She spent the last years of her life in St. Catherine's convent at Saint-Trond (died ca. 1224 A.D.).
St. Christina of Tyre was a martyr. Since she was devoutly Christian, she did not want to sacrifice to the pagan gods to save her life from execution by the pagan authorities. She was thus subjected to the most cruel tortures done in her times: a fire was lit under her; her breasts were cut off; her tongue was cut off; and she was thrown into the sea. When she miraculously survived all these tortures, she was executed with an arrow shot directly through her heart (date of death unknown).
St. John Boste studied at Queen's College, Oxford, England. He became Catholic in 1576 A.D. and was ordained in 1581 A.D. Sent on a mission to minister to the Catholics of northern England, he became wanted by the English authorities. After being found by them, he was arrested and tortured on the rack. This torture crippled him. He was however able to return to Durham but was eventually arrested again and condemned to death for his priesthood. He is one of the Martyrs of Durham (died ca. 1594 A.D.).
