There are probably millions of stories of personal heroism and courage during the time of the Nazi regime in Europe. We recently wrote of one heroic German Franciscan, Father Karl Goldmann, and his exploits as a German SS soldier. The … Continue reading
Author Archives: Eleonore Villarrubia
Father Karl Gereon Goldmann, SS, OFM
It is fascinating to contemplate the edifying life of Karl Gereon Goldmann, and to see so clearly the hand of God operating throughout it. Born in 1916, Karl was the third of seven sons of a devoutly Catholic German couple, … Continue reading
Our Lady of La Vang: The Catholic Side of Vietnam
The recent article about Vietnam by Dr. Robert Hickson, “Giving a Free Hand to the Assassins,” piqued my curiosity about the history and influence of Catholicism in Vietnam. His article clearly pits the Catholic Diem against the radical Buddhist monks … Continue reading
Valle De Los Caidos: Grand Monument to the Dead
Spain, sad to say, is an enigma for most Americans. A country of heat and passions, of Gypsy music and castanets, and lately of a teetering economy on the verge of collapse, as is much of the rest of Europe, … Continue reading
The Man Who Changed The Face of Europe
[Review of Richelieu, by Hilaire Belloc. Gates of Vienna Books, 2006.] Many years ago when I was in college, my history professors explained two theories of how and why a single man can change the course of history. Was the … Continue reading
A Conversion Story for Our Time
Review of Young Tony and the Priest: Coming to Belief in an Age of Unbelief, by Gary Potter. Loreto Publications, 2012 This, my friend Gary Potter’s first foray into fiction, is a lovely story. Lovely in that it is filled … Continue reading
Stealth Globalism: UN Agenda 21
Here is a question for you: Have you ever heard of UN Agenda 21? No? How about ICLEI? Most assuredly not! I’ll bet you have heard some of the following buzzwords: “sustainable development,” “redistribution of wealth,” “social justice,” “population change” … Continue reading
Father Walter Ciszek, Warrior for Christ in Atheist Russia
“I was born stubborn.” “…I was tough, not in the polite sense of the word, but in the sense our neighbors used to use the word those days in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, when they shook their heads and called me ‘a … Continue reading
Catholic Heroism in the Face of Nazi Domination
A Review of When Hitler Took Austria, by Kurt von Schuschnigg. Ignatius Press, 2012 When I took up this book for my reading pleasure and to add to my store of historical knowledge, I expected it to be something a … Continue reading
Wanderers of the World: The Gypsies, Their Travels and Travails
What do you imagine when you hear the word “Gypsy?” As a child growing up in New Orleans, my earliest memory of “Gypsy” was going to Mardi Gras dressed up as one — or at least my mother’s idea of … Continue reading
Solving a Two Thousand Year-Old Mystery
Review of The Bones of Saint Peter by John Evangelist Walsh. Sophia Institute Press, 2011. This fascinating and fairly short volume (178 pages) is a reprint of the original published in 1982. It tells the story of the search for … Continue reading
A Frightening Future If We Do Not Change
Review of Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025? by Patrick J. Buchanan, Thomas Dunne Books, 2011 This 428 page book, containing copious notes in the end note section (1104 of them to be exact), is so jam-packed … Continue reading
Hamish Fraser — Lion of Christ the King
If ever a man lived a life in his early years that would cause him to lose his soul, it was Hamish Fraser. The circumstances of his birth were unfortunate: his mother, a strict Scottish Calvinist, loved a Roman Catholic … Continue reading
Saint Paul: His Time, His World, Himself
[Review of The World of Saint Paul, by Joseph M. Callewaert, Ignatius Press, 2011] This little volume of fewer than two hundred pages is a fascinating look at Saint Paul, the person, the many places he evangelized, and his times. … Continue reading
The Black Legend
[The Black Legend: How Lies, Jealousy, and Hatred of Spain Have Influenced World Opinion for More Than Five Hundred Years] In order to begin to understand this complex topic, we must first settle on a working definition of the meaning … Continue reading