september 1. beatriz da silva, extreme lady in waiting

Unable to bear her cousin's presence, the Queen asked Beatriz to follow her into one of the castle's cellars. There she ordered Beatriz to open a large trunk. The impassioned queen pushed Beatriz inside, slammed down the lid, and locked it. 

september 4. rose of viterbo, baby visionary and young hermitess

Rose converted an evil sorceress by dragging a pile of wood into the town's square, stepping upon it, and setting the pyre ablaze. All the while she was preaching. There she stood without burning for three hours, until the sorceress cast herself at Rose's feet in penance. 

September 4. rosalia, who left the world to live in seclusion

She came to realize that her physical appearance was endangering her soul, and following a vision of the Blessed Virgin, she resolved to leave the world and live in seclusion. Her parents and suitor tried hard to dissuade her, and so thirteen-year-old Rosalia stole off in the night with some books, a crucifix, and “her instruments of penance.”

september 6. bega of bees, patron  of stand-up paddleboarding

Frances practiced extraordinary mortifications, especially after her husband permitted her to inflict on her body whatever hardships she pleased. She always concealed a hair-shirt and a horse-hair girdle under the silks and rich brocades that her husband lavished her with. 

SEPTEMBER 10. IGNACIA, POSSESSOR OF A RESTLESS HEART

Ignacia was her parents’ sole surviving child. At 21, they expected her to marry, but after a period in seclusion and prayer, she decided instead to live by the sweat of her face. She left her parents’ home at this time. The sole objects she took upon leaving were a needle and one pair of scissors. 

September 10. menodora of nicoMEDia, sister wife

Menodora was one of three sisters from Bithynia who were also Holy Virgins. The pious triad wanted to preserve their virginity as true brides of Christ. They withdrew from the city to the wilderness where they lived in solitude and spent their days fasting in prayer. 

september 14. notburga, austria's best dressed skeleton

Shortly before Notburga's death, she told her master to place her corpse on a ox-drawn wagon, and to bury her wherever the oxen stood still. The oxen carried her to the chapel of St. Rupert, where her skeleton is on lavish display.

September 15. catherine of genoa, purgatory's visitor

While kneeling before a priest to make a confession, Catherine received "a wound in her heart from god's immense love." A vision of her personal wretchedness accompanied the wound; the vision was so strong she nearly fainted. 

september 17. ariadne, who hid and/or died in a rock

Upon her release from her boss's dungeon, Ariadne fled the city, but he dispatched his huntsmen to trail her. She ran, calling to God to defend her from her enemies. As her pursuers neared, Ariadne came to a miraculous mountain or rock.