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St. Catherine of Siena is one of the most famous Dominican saints, one of 36 Doctors of the Church , and an influential mystic and author. Nearly 400 letters, 26 prayers, and a treatise penned by Catherine are known today, even though she didn't learn to write until she was 30 (though many of her letters were dictated to scribes). Some of her letters were later carried by soldiers as a sort of good luck charm during battle. Lifetime:  March 25, 1347 to April 29 1380 Region:  Alexandria, Egypt Patronages:  Fire; Miscarriages; Illness; Italy Iconograpy:  Crown of thorns; Lilies; Dominican habit Feast Day: April 29 Catherine was the 23rd child born to her mother, though half of her older siblings had died young. Catherine was a joyful and pious child, earning the Greek word for "joy" as a family nickname, having her first vision of  Jesus at five or six, and declaring at seven her intention to dedicate her life to God. When Catherine was 16, one of her older, ...

St. Mark the Evangelist is most famous for authoring the Gospel book that bears his name, but there are actually three to four different accounts of relevant people named "Mark" in the early church. Besides the gospel author, there is also a man referred to as "John Mark" in the book of Acts, and a Mark who is the cousin of Barnabas in the Epistles. Finally, Mark is mentioned alongside Luke in 2 Timothy. These Marks could be anywhere from all one person to four different people, but the two main traditions either interpret them as one or two individuals. The Catholic church distinguishes between Mark the Evangelist, and John Mark as two separate people. Lifetime:  5 to 68 Region:  Alexandria, Egypt Patronages:  Barristers; Venice; Egypt Iconograpy:  Writing in a scroll or book; Winged lion Feast Day: April  25 As with many saints of the very early church, not much is known about Mark's life. Instead, I'll focus on how he is depicted in iconography, some of t...