Real Life Catholic: Sometimes we’d prefer that our lives be a different story than the one God seems to be writing. In our fragile existence it doesn’t take much to turn a romance into a drama, or an adventure into … Continue reading
Category: Lives of the Saints
14 Year-Old Seminarian Killed by Communists Beatified
National Catholic Register: “Tomorrow, one priest less,” said the political commissioner of one of the Communist Party’s “Garibaldi Brigades” of Monchio, a small town in the northern Italian province of Modena. Those words uttered in 1945 signaled the commissioner’s decision … Continue reading
Salesian, Tortured and Killed by Communists, Beatified
Catholic Culture: Stephen Sándor (1914-53), a Hungarian Salesian brother murdered by the postwar Communist regime, was beatified as a martyr in Budapest on October 19. “We respect in him the exceptional laborer who taught youth the love of work,” preached … Continue reading
Lima, Peru, City of Saints
There are five saints who graced the city of Lima, Peru, in the first half of the seventeenth century: two were born and died there, three died there who came from Spain to be missionaries. They are Saints Rose (1617, … Continue reading
Cause of 16th Century Japanese Samurai Presented to Cong. of Saints
AsiaNews: The Japanese Church has finished preparing the application for the beatification of Takayama Ukon, a feudal lord or daimyo who, after his conversion, played a pioneering role in the spread of Christianity in Japan in the 16th century. The Catholic Bishops’ … Continue reading
Happy Feast of St. Ignatius, Co-Founder Bl. Peter Faber to be Canonized
Yes, his canonization is long overdue. Deo Gratias. The innocent and devout Peter Faber, who also attended the Sorbonne while Loyola and Xavier were there, was the first called by Saint Ignatius to join him in doing the Spiritual Exercises … Continue reading
The Apostles of the Nations
In teaching the history of the Church, Brother Francis had a simple system. Along with the many historical books from well-known Catholic authors that he required his students to read, he provided an expanding list of memory items that began … Continue reading
St. Therésè’s Parents, Blesseds, Move Forward Toward Canonization
Into the West: On May 21st the tribunal in Valencia completed a pivotal stage in the process of canonization for Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin. This couple, the parents of the “greatest Saint of modern times” Therese of Lisieux, needs one … Continue reading
Korea: Rosary Marathon for Canonization of Martyrs
AsiaNews: A night of prayer attended by over a thousand people, launched on 1 July last by the Archdiocese of Seoul. It was a ” Rosary marathon” to ask for the canonization of Fr. Choi Yang-oeb, Paul Yun Ji-choong and his … Continue reading
Uganda Martyrs Slain by King for Opposing His Sodomy
Father Rutler for New Advent: Last week the Church celebrated the feast of the Martyrs of Uganda. In the late nineteenth century, French and English missionaries were welcomed by King Mutesa I of Buganda in the southern part of modern … Continue reading
She Sings on Earth from Heaven
This is an amazing story of a saint I have never heard of. Saint Clelia Barbieri “Suddenly there was the sound of a high-pitched, harmonious and heavenly voice that accompanied the singing in the choir; at times it sang solo, at … Continue reading
Queen of Savoy to be Beatified
The Eponymous Flower: For the first time after many years the beatification of a queen is imminent. The Vatican Congregation for the causes of saints will recognize the testimony of a miracle worked by Maria Christina of Savoy (1812-1836) on … Continue reading
Pope’s First Canonizations Will Be 800 Italian Martyrs, May 12
Catholic Herald: Pope Francis is preparing to canonise an estimated 800 Italian laymen killed by Ottoman soldiers in the 15th century. The canonisation service will be on May 12 in St Peter’s Square and it will be the first carried … Continue reading
Bishops of S Korea Ask Rome to Beatify Martyr Bishop and 80 Companions
AsiaNews: The bishops of South Korea have asked the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to open the beatification process for the bishop of Pyongyang Msgr. Francis Borgia Hong Yong-ho and his 80 companions, martyrs of the persecution carried out by … Continue reading
‘Come, We Go for Our People’
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