(1795-1868) (Reprinted with Permission) Editor’s Introduction: In the Arab Catholic world there is a rich treasury of liturgical rites. The Ancient Syrian Rite — that of Antioch — is the “parent rite” of five “children”: The Maronite Rite, discussed at … Continue reading
Andrew Cusak recently posted a brief, uplifting tribute to a great Catholic statesman: Paul Comtois of Québec. Lieutenant-gouverneur Comtois was a scandalously un-celebrated martyr for his love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. No doubt, his lack of celebrity is … Continue reading
One year ago, I posted a column on our website about Servant of God, Francis J. Parater, an Eagle Scout, who died in 1919 while studying in Rome for the priesthood. I proposed him as a worthy candidate to one … Continue reading
This author wrote an article back in February, 2006, about four Catholic missionaries whose statues stand in Washington D.C.’s Statuary Hall. Two are beatified, two should be: Hawaii’s Blessed Damien the Leper (to be canonized this fall), Blessed Junipero Serra … Continue reading
From 1542-1834, there were 117 martyrs who shed their blood for the Faith in the land that became the United States. During those years all of them had been referred to Rome as candidates for canonization. Only the three of … Continue reading
Genocide: an ancient crime; a relatively new word; a horrific event in which one group of people attempts to completely eliminate another group; a modern crime. All of these apply to the word, one of the most awful in human … Continue reading
Having an aversion to serialized articles on the Internet, I have opted not to call this “Father Arnold Damen, Chicago’s Jesuit Apostle: Part II.” A clunky name, that. This is, nonetheless, a second article on Father Damen, but a “free-standing” … Continue reading
“Mitte Belgas” (send Belgians), implored Saint Francis Xavier in a letter written from India to his Father General, Saint Ignatius Loyola. The Indian mission of the East required religious who were not only proven in virtue but strong in physical … Continue reading
Enjoying a varied reputation as pioneering parish priest, educational trail-blazer, inspiring mission preacher, formidable religious controversialist, and, oh yes, a ghost that haunts historical buildings on Chicago’s Near West Side, Father Arnold Damen, S.J., is an important figure in American … Continue reading
If the axiom “the corruption of the best is the worst” is true of persons, it can also be true of institutions, and perhaps even of nations as well. Too often this proverb, which ought to be a perennial caveat, … Continue reading
Father Joseph Picco was born on July 4, 1867 in Nole (Turin Piemonte), Italy. He studied in the Seminary at Turin, and entered the Society of Jesus on September 22, 1885. For more than a quarter of a century he … Continue reading
The only thing I knew about Bishop Kelley was that he authored Blood Drenched Altars, the story of the persecution of the Church in Mexico under the freemason, Plutarco Elias Calles, in the 1920s. The martyr, Blessed Miguel Pro (1891-1927), … Continue reading
(Webmaster’s Note: We are indebted to the Ukrainian Catholic daily, The New Star, of Chicago, for the following inspirational excerpt.) Throughout his life Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky was a friend to Ukrainian youth.
Enormous accumulations of evil encircled the sixteenth century, making it one of the most disturbed in the history of Christendom. The enemies of the Holy Catholic Church had been tearing at her in bits and pieces, but it was not … Continue reading
The following two pieces appeared in the Denver Register in the 1950s: From the Denver Register, February 24, 1957 CONVERSION OF GEORGE WASHINGTON New York- It was a long tradition among both the Maryland Province Jesuit Fathers and the Negro … Continue reading
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