Heroes of the Faith: Saints Who Teach Us to Love Christ

St. Ignatius lived at the beginning of the second century. He was Bishop of Antioch, one of the great centers of early Christianity. It was there, Acts tells us, that the disciples were first called Christians. (This is the fifth monthly episode of the series "Heroes of the Faith: Saints Who Teach Us to Love Christ" brought to you by Padre Mario Melendez and Father Stuart King)

St. Augustine was born in North Africa in 354. His mother, St. Monica, was a faithful Christian who prayed for him with tears and perseverance. Augustine, however, did not come easily to faith. (This is the fourth monthly episode of the series "Heroes of the Faith: Saints Who Teach Us to Love Christ" brought to you by Padre Mario Melendez and Father Stuart King)

St. Benedict was born in Italy around the year 480, when the old Roman world was breaking apart. Institutions were fragile, society was unsettled, and the Church was learning how to live faithfully in a changing age. (This is the third monthly episode of the series "Heroes of the Faith: Saints Who Teach Us to Love Christ" brought to you by Padre Mario Melendez and Father Stuart King)

St. Irenaeus lived in the second century, not long after the age of the Apostles. He was probably born in Smyrna, in Asia Minor, and as a young man he heard St Polycarp, who himself had known St John the Apostle. That matters, because Irenaeus stands very close to the living memory of the first Christian generation. (This is the second monthly episode of the series "Heroes of the Faith: Saints Who Teach Us to Love Christ" brought to you by Padre Mario Melendez and Father Stuart King)

St Athanasius was born around the year 296 in Alexandria, one of the great centers of learning in the ancient world. He was present at the Council of Nicaea in 325, when the Church faced one of the most serious questions in her history: Who is Jesus Christ? (This is the first monthly episode of the series "Heroes of the Faith: Saints Who Teach Us to Love Christ" brought to you by Padre Mario Melendez and Father Stuart King)