“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
Category: History
The Pope’s Legion: The Multinational Fighting Force That Defended The Vatican
I have a distinct memory, from my Catholic high school days back in the 1950s, of a black and white photograph in a history textbook. It was of a soldier in a funny-looking uniform; he had an even funnier-sounding name. … Continue reading
The English College at Douay
In the year of Our Lord 1558, the last Catholic queen of England, Mary Tudor, died. Her successor, Elizabeth I, upon taking the throne, implemented the well-organized and devised scheme of re-establishing English Protestantism.[1] Through the infamous Act of Supremacy … Continue reading
Book Review: The Iron Man of China
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
The Father of California: Saint Junípero Serra
(The title of this artcile was changed from “…Blessed…” to “…Saint…” after the September 23, 2015 canonization of our subject by Pope Francis. The body text of the article has not been edited.) “For I trust that God will give … Continue reading
A Letter Home
This is the only complete letter from the first thirty-five years of Blessed Junípero Serra’s life. Today it is kept in the Capuchin Convent (monastery) in Barcelona. “Most Dear Friend in Jesus Christ, Father Francisco Serra, “Words cannot express the … Continue reading
The Jesuit Suppression
“For seventy years, more than six hundred Jesuits had toiled in Baja California, moving steadily northward, never abandoning a mission.” (De Nevi and Moholy) Now, with no regard for age or illness, they were ousted from their Indians and herded … Continue reading
Our Lady of the Pillar
Perhaps the oldest devotion to Our Lady in Europe is the devotion to Our Lady of the Pillar. In Spain, Pilar is a popular girl’s name, as is Mercedes for Our Lady of Mercy. (In fact, General Franco named one … Continue reading
Spain’s Crusade, 1936-39
When news media late last winter reported that a plaque was to be placed in the New Hampshire capitol building to honor natives of the state who served in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, … Continue reading
Santiago De Compostela
When the Apostles divided the earth and drew lots for their portions, Spain fell to Saint James the Greater. The seeds he sowed grew well, and the roots of the Faith in Spain go deep. Upon his return to Jerusalem … Continue reading
Louis IX: King, Crusader, and Saint
François Marie Arouet, known to literature and history as Voltaire, a name he assumed while serving time in prison, was an enemy of the Faith who did much to generate the intellectual atmosphere in which the French Revolution, once it … Continue reading
Origin of the Angelus
In Catholic countries, before the year 1000, it was a pious custom for the layfolk to recite three Hail Marys to honor Our Lady in her singularly exalted role as the Mother of God. This was done towards evening, usually … Continue reading
Pope Remembers Ukrainian Victims of Stalin’s Forced Famine
It is beyond our imagination. To die of starvation. Such was the sacrifice of three million Ukrainians and many other peoples under the satanic regime of Joseph Stalin. It took only one year. “And how many divisions has the Pope?” … Continue reading
Saint Olaf and the End of the Viking World
One thousand years ago, an entire world was coming to an end. It was the world of the pagan Vikings. It would be replaced by another: that of Christian Scandinavia. The vanished world and the one that replaced it are … Continue reading