In case you did not know, we are so blessed to celebrate a triple jubilee of St. Thomas Aquinas in the years 2023-2025. July 18, 2023 marked the 700th anniversary of St. Thomas’ canonization by Pope John XXII in 1323. March 7, 2024, today, marks the 750th anniversary of his death at Fossanova, Italy in…
ACI Prensa, CNA—In the history of the Catholic Church various saints and blesseds have described what hell is like, based on visions and messages they received during their lives. Hell’s structure St. Teresa of Ávila, a doctor of the Church, related in her Autobiography that when the Lord showed her hell, she experienced that she…
CNA—After a long journey to the Catholic faith, Hilary (born in 310) was baptized in 345 and elected bishop of Poitiers in 353. His first work, “Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew,” (the link is to an English translation) is the oldest surviving Latin commentary on that Gospel. Pope Pius IX formally recognized him as…
Saint Cardinal John Henry Newman gives us a wonderful Christmas reflection on the Shepherds, who where the first to whom the Birth of Our Saviour was announced on that history-changing night. This great saint invites you and I to echo in our hearts what drew Our Lord to these shepherds in the first place—lowliness and…
Faith at Work: This is such an eye-opening story. Not only does it showcase the vibrant integration of our Catholic faith and monasteries into the very heart of human history and communities throughout history — FOR CENTURIES UPON CENTURIES. It also showcases the intention and purpose-driven mission of Catholic-founded enterprises, masterfully founded and managed to…
CNA—Many are familiar with the story of St. Juan Diego, whose feast is celebrated on Dec. 9 in the worldwide Church. However, the story of the Franciscan friar who baptized this beloved saint is less well known. In 1521, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortes defeated the Aztec empire, tore down the pagan temples, and in their…
Have you ever wondered—beyond a general idea—what exactly is the meaning behind the trilogy of Catholic Feast Days known through the ages as All Hallows Eve (which evolved into “Halloween”), All Saints Day (a holy day of obligation) and All Souls Day?! The Catholic Business Journal has answers! Thanks to Legatus, a national and now…
William McGurn, a longtime The Wall Street Journal editorial columnist, a member of The Wall Street Journal editorial board, and a life-long Catholic, is also the godfather of now-imprisoned Hong Kong freedom activist and businessman, Jimmy Lai. Lai launched and ran the enormously popular news outlet, Apple Daily, which is now defunct due to the…
CNA—Oct. 13, 1917, marked the last Marian apparition in Fátima and the day on which thousands of people bore witness to the miracle of the dancing sun — a miracle that shattered the prevalent belief at the time that God was no longer relevant. What was the world like when the Miracle of the Sun…
“Why not become a missionary yourself, my child?” With these words, Pope Leo XIII challenged an ardent, young, American woman, Katharine Drexel. The year was 1887, and Drexel had been granted a private audience with the pope. Drexel had come to Rome to tell Pope Leo XIII of the need for religious—men and women—to staff…
Saint Andrew Kim. CNA—Pope Francis on Saturday invited Catholics in Korea to emulate the zeal of their patron saint, St. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, as his statue was blessed at St. Peter’s Basilica. “[St. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn’s] figure invites us to discover the vocation entrusted to the Korean Church, to all of you: You are called…
I share an inherited appreciation for Fr. Flanagan thanks to my father. Boys Town and similar organizations were always close to my dad’s heart and among the top of his donation pile, next to our local parish church fund. The reason is that he was sent to spend the last few years of high school…
CNA—Few young people can claim to have distinctly felt the healing touch of God or to have survived major bouts of serious cancer. Fewer still can say they’ve launched a foundation meant to help other young cancer survivors as they struggle through their own medical battles. Bryce Newman can claim all three. And he’s not…
The extraordinary story of the Ulma family is one of faith, courage, and heroic love of neighbor. Józef and Wiktoria Ulma risked their lives to protect three Jewish families during the Holocaust. On the night of March 24, 1944, German Nazis raided their farmhouse and cruelly shot all of the Jews the Ulmas were hiding…
Sponsored by the Catholic Textbook Project—Junípero Serra was born on the island of Mallorca off the Mediterranean coast of Spain on November 24, 1713. At the age of 16, he decided to become a priest, and a year later he entered the Franciscan order. For the first 19 years of his life as a Franciscan,…
August 23 we celebrate the Feast of St. Rose of Lima, a great saint and intercessor for the Order of Preachers (Dominicans)! Isabella Flores was born in Peru in 1586, and received the name Rose at her confirmation. To earn money for her struggling family, Rose spent her days working in the gardens and her…
“The Eucharist is the bread that gives strength…It is at once the most eloquent proof of his love and the most powerful means of fostering His love in us. He gives Himself every day so that our hearts as burning coals may set afire the hearts of the faithful.” —-St. Damien of Molokai Maria Lanakila…
“It’s standing.” tweeted a local regarding the Maria Lanakila Catholic Church in LaHaina, Maui,. The tweet was at 8:22pm, Wednesday evening, August 9, after a horrific fast-moving wildfire had literally wiped out the whole town around the parish. “See the steeple and cross rising above Lahaina in the background here…” (see Tweet photo to right,…
In addition to being the founder of one of the largest religious orders in the world and the author of the “Spiritual Exercises,” St. Ignatius of Loyola is also the patron saint of soldiers. Here’s how this Iberian soldier-turned-priest and missionary was canonized a saint and came to be the protector and patron of soldiers…
In October of 2020, a group of protestors trespassed on Mission San Rafael, a Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of San Francisco and desecrated and toppled a beloved statue of St. Junipero Serra. The crime was witnessed by the police, caught on videotape. Five were arrested and charged with felony vandalism. Today in court the…
