In a conversation with some of our conference speakers, who are also all contributors to this web site, the question “What is Christendom?” was presented for our consideration. The hope was expressed that these writers would each offer his thoughts … Continue reading
Category: History
Jerusalem, Jerusalem
Virtually the instant I saw that Spain’s Queen Isabella the Catholic was the subject of an excellent article by Eleonore Villarrubia recently posted on the SBC website, I thought of Christopher Columbus. This was natural. Though history is largely unknown … Continue reading
Guide to the Catacombs Needs Some Guidance
Vatican: The official guide to the catacombs of Saint Priscilla thinks he sees women priests in the recently restored frescoes. UCANews: The Vatican on Tuesday unveiled newly restored frescoes in the Catacombs of Priscilla, known for housing the earliest known … Continue reading
‘Yo, La Reina’: Queen Of Half The Globe
Isabel, or Ysabel, as was the proper spelling during her own time, was an amazing woman. She has been called by many titles: First Lady of the Renaissance, The Godmother of the Americas, The Last Crusader, The Catholic Queen (an … Continue reading
Mary Our Queen
In the 1970 calendar, the feast of Immaculate Heart of Mary was moved from August 22 to June in order to show its alignment with the Sacred Heart of Jesus; the feast of the Queenship of Mary was transferred from … Continue reading
The Battle of Vienna and the Holy Name of Mary
In 1683, the forces of the Holy League, under Poland’s King Jan Sobieski, roundly defeated the Mohammedan invaders at the Battle of Vienna. Here is a brief telling of that triumphant occasion by Gary Potter (in “Saint Mary of Victory … Continue reading
Neither Communism Nor Capitalism — a Christian Society
Review of Solzhenitzyn, A Soul in Exile, by Joseph Pearce. Ignatius Press, 2012. Having recently been in a Russian kind of mood after my review of Dr. Warren Carroll’s 1917, Red Banners, White Mantle, when I saw this book in … Continue reading
Archive.org Posts Fr. Coughlin Audios
As a public service, the Internet Archive, the “Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine,” has posted, as part of their “Old Time Radio” category, the radio programs of the Canadian Born “Radio Priest,” Father Charles Edward … 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
An Army for Our Lady: the Legion of Mary
Army? Why, one may ask, do we use military terms for anything associated with our gentle Queen, like army and legion? Military terms are not new in the Church. Indeed, as children in Catholic school, did we not learn to … Continue reading
English Translation of New KoC-Funded Book on Cristeros Available
CNA: The story of the persecution of Mexican Catholics in the 1920s is being told anew, in an English translation of a book by a scholar of Mexican culture and history. Read more here.
Catholic Medals Found Around Neck of Gettysburg Hero, Protestant General Reynolds
Given the medals by his Catholic fiancee, Katherine May Hewitt, the General and Miss Hewitt made a pact. If the General died in the war, Miss Hewitt would enter a convent. The General did die, holding the hill at Gettysburg; … 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
My Country Right or Wrong?
(NOTE: At a public dinner in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1816, Stephen Decatur, naval hero of the War of 1812, famously declared: “Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be right; but our country right or wrong.” … Continue reading
Maurice Baring’s Memorable Perceptions of War
After considering several varied, but representative, insights from Maurice Baring’s 1905 book, With the Russians in Manchuria, we shall be even more grateful to reflect upon the admonitory conclusions he draws from his trenchant depiction of modern war, which he … Continue reading