As all of his biographers remind us, Karol Wojtyla came of age at one of the darkest moments of the twentieth century. When he was 19 years old and just commencing his university career, the Nazis rolled through his native Poland and instigated a reign
On Christmas Eve 1643, a merchant vessel left Cornwall southbound for Brittany, carrying cargo more precious than whatever filled its holds. Letting go anchor the next morning, the ship’s crew lowered a small rowboat, which left on the beach a man whose lined countenance suggested more
October 13, 1917 marked the last Marian apparition in Fatima, and the day in which thousands of people bore witness of the miracle of the dancing sun; a miracle that not only proved the validity of the Fatima Marian apparitions, but also shattered the prevalent
Pope Francis has recognized a miracle obtained through the intercession of his predecessor Venerable John Paul I, who will now be declared “blessed.” Often called “the smiling pope,” John Paul I died unexpectedly on Sept. 28, 1978, after just 33 days in office. A priority
Sometimes history looks a little more like spaghetti than a straight timeline of events. And the case of Pope John XXIII — and the case of the Johns before him — can be no different. I’m thinking of my brother who used to say, “History
I had a blessing in November when the bishops of New York State were on their Ad Limina Apostolorum — I was given the opportunity to meet the Vicar of Christ, the Holy Father, Pope Francis. As a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn in New York,
The saints are alive. When worshippers or visitors enter a Catholic church, they are surrounded by many striking paintings and statues of men and women. Sometimes these figures almost step out of the canvas or marble as if to speak or to reach out a
Renowned worldwide for his radical poverty and profound humility, St. Francis of Assisi is among the most famous of God’s saints. It is no wonder, then, that, like his master Jesus of Nazareth, Francis has been misunderstood and deliberately misappropriated for various causes that depart
With police brutality in focus around the world, one priest says it is important to remember a policeman who might one day be declared a saint: Vice-Sergeant Salvo D’Acquisto, an Italian policeman who gave his life for those he had sworn to protect. During the
Salvatore J. Cordileone is the Catholic archbishop of San Francisco. Prominent politicians lost no time in reacting hyperbolically to the Supreme Court’s decision refusing to enjoin Texas’s new law banning abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. President Biden announced a “whole-of-government effort” to find ways
