Leif Ericson was a Catholic. The son of Eric the Red, of Viking fame, he was converted to Christianity around the year 1000 by St. Olaf, the king of Norway. This saintly monarch sent Ericson to spread the Faith among the inhabitants of distant Iceland; but while en route, he was caught in a terrible gale and transported all the way to America. He explored the coastline from Nova Scotia down to Cape Cod and named the area Vineland because of the excellent grapes that grew there. What most people have never heard is that Leif had monks with him on the ship.
