Religious Figures are people who have appeared in sacred texts or helped lead religious movements. From Jesus Christ and Martin Luther to Mother Teresa, Religious Figures profoundly shape the spiritual world.
U.S. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano accused the Pope of covering up reports of sexual abuse by a U.S. cardinal in an 11-page letter. When Pope Francis was asked about the accusations on his flight back from Ireland, he said that he would not say a single word in response.
The film "Mary Magdalene," starring Rooney Mara as Jesus’s famous female follower and Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus himself, has hit theaters. Critics say it presents Magdalene as a part of a feminist effort to "refute” the theory she was a prostitute redeemed by Jesus.
First appearing in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, Saint Joseph was the earthly father of Jesus Christ and the husband of the Virgin Mary.
Billy Graham was an evangelist at revival meetings, and on radio and television for over 40 years.
Saint Nicholas was a Christian bishop who provided for the poor and sick, and is the basis for the popular character of Santa Claus.
Dalai Lama, Tibet's political leader, has strived to make Tibet an independent and democratic state from China. He and his followers are exiled to India.
Jesus is a religious leader whose life and teachings are recorded in the Bible’s New Testament. He is a central figure in Christianity and is emulated as the incarnation of God by many Christians all over the world.
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John Calvin, Martin Luther's successor as the preeminent Protestant theologian, made a powerful impact on the fundamental doctrines of Protestantism.
Benedict XVI served as pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013. He is best known for his rigid views on Catholicism and topics such as birth control and homosexuality.
Saint Patrick is Ireland's patron saint, known for spreading Christianity throughout the country as a missionary during the 5th century.
Mother Teresa was the founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic congregation of women dedicated to helping the poor. Considered one of the 20th Century's greatest humanitarians, she was canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in 2016.
Theologian Martin Luther forever changed Christianity when he began the Protestant Reformation in 16th-century Europe.
Anne Hutchinson was a Puritan woman who spread her own interpretations of the Bible, leading to the Antinomian Controversy in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Indian cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh created the spiritual practice of dynamic meditation. He started the Rancho Rajneesh commune in Oregon in the 1980s.
Spanish missionary Juniper Serra established his first U.S. mission in 1769. He built eight more California missions over the next thirteen years. He was granted sainthood in 2015.
Saint Francis of Assisi abandoned a life of luxury for a life devoted to Christianity after reportedly hearing the voice of God, who commanded him to rebuild the Christian church and live in poverty. He is the patron saint for ecologists.
French missionary and explorer Jacques Marquette is best known as the first European to see and map the northern portion of the Mississippi River.
Italian Dominican theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas was one of the most influential medieval thinkers of Scholasticism and the father of the Thomistic school of theology.
Saint George, Christian patron saint of England, was made known there by Arculphus and Adamnan. In a famous tale, he rescued a Libyan princess from a sea monster.
Pope John Paul II made history in 1978 by becoming the first non-Italian pope in more than 400 years.
One of the Twelve Apostles, Saint Thomas or “Doubting Thomas” was initially skeptical about Jesus’ resurrection, but later proclaimed Jesus, “My Lord and My God.”
Saint Stephen is recognized as a saint and the first martyr in Christian theology. He was condemned for committing blasphemy against the Jewish Temple, and was stoned to death circa the year 36.
