The still-recent deaths of Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Pell brought to mind an anecdote of each that I think worth sharing with readers. The first concerns Pope Benedict, when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger. I briefly referenced it in … Continue reading
Category: Biography
Reflections on the Second Elizabethan Age
With the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and the Accession of King Charles III, much has, and will be, written and discussed about the profound, far-reaching, and wide-ranging changes, both societal and geopolitical, which marked the seven decades of the … Continue reading
Remembering Mary Richardson
This article is about a Boston journalist who died on December 30 of 2021. Our purpose in publishing it is not to speak gratuitously ill of the dead (we hope she rests in peace), but to take the occasion of … Continue reading
Audrey Donnithorne: A Woman For All Seasons RIP (1922-2020)
The Catholic World Report, George Weigle: The first two sentences of Audrey Donnithorne’s autobiography, China in Life’s Foreground, suggest something of her character, independence of mind, and dry sense of humor: I am an Overseas Brit and a Sichuan country girl. … Continue reading
The Real Father Feeney
The recent profile by Michael Voris and Church Militant of Fr. Leonard Feeney (at first SJ and latterly MICM) — and certain other developments have resurrected interest in the much maligned native of Lynn, Massachusetts. The tragic tale of how … Continue reading
The Touching Story of Blessed Father Jerzy Popieluszko
This beloved and unassuming young priest of Poland was a true hero of that tortured land during the Soviet Communist occupation. Now a Blessed, Father Jerzy (pronounced YEH-Zhe) was beloved by everyone in his homeland, believers and non-believers alike, because … Continue reading
The Daunting Six Days of Winter SEAL Training (1974-1975): The Personal Report of a Graduate, Dr. Robert Adams
A close reading of Dr. Robert Adams’ 2017 book will, if we are honest, challenge all of us to the depths. For sure, it will inform us—and inspire us with its vividness—about many important, but still little known, things concerning … Continue reading
A Miscalculated Demolition: Evelyn Waugh’s 1942 Wartime Letter to His Wife
Some Modern Catholic (or Neo-Modernist) Churchmen have advocated –at least since Pope Pius XII’s 1950 Encyclical, Humani Generis, or soon thereafter — “the demolition of the bastions,” seeming to refer to a timely removing of the barriers between the Catholic … Continue reading
The Myth and Reality of Charles de Gaulle
Myth often usurps reality with men clinging to the former and ignoring the latter. For instance, most persons seem to persist in thinking of Ireland as still a Catholic country even though Mass is now celebrated in largely empty churches, … Continue reading
Two Valorous Officers and Their Integrity and Eccentric Ways: Evelyn Waugh and Randolph Churchill
Having recently read much of Captain Evelyn Waugh’s Diaries and Letters and Essays written during World War II, I knew that I could not briefly summarize their content and their manifold importance. But, as a result, I have come even … Continue reading
Holy Man of Russia: Blessed Leonid Feodorov
Blessed Leonid Feodorov, First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder Between Rome and Moscow, by Paul Mailleux, S.J. A Review by Eleonore Villarrubia Do you know the meaning of the title “Exarch?” I did not until I read this … Continue reading
Blessed Stanley Rother, the First American Martyr: Beautiful Priest, Beautiful Soul
Since this article was originally published, Father Rother was beatified, July 28 being established as his Feast-Day: On Dec. 1, 2016, Pope Francis officially recognized Father Rother as a martyr for the faith. He is the first martyr from the … Continue reading
The Recent Biography of Dr. Warren Carroll and The Incarnation of Christian Chivalry
This recently published biography of Dr. Warren Carroll is a genuine work of love and fitting veneration. It is written by Laura Gossin, an history major in college and herself a 1987 graduate of Christendom College, the now flourishing institution … Continue reading
Priest, Poet, Patriot: Father Abram J. Ryan
The first American-born child of Irish parents who immigrated to this country sometime before 1835, Abraham Joseph Ryan came into the world on February 5, 1838 in Hagerstown, Maryland. Matthew Ryan and Mary Coughlin Ryan, his parents, came to the … Continue reading