Mary & the Saints

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, born on April 6, 1901, to a prominent and wealthy Italian family, became a popular role model soon after he died on July 4, 1925, at the age of 24. He could be declared a saint during the Catholic Church’s 2025

Forty-five years ago, The New York Times cast its gimlet eye over the first three days of Pope John Paul II’s return to his Polish homeland. Reading the signs of those times through the conventional wisdom of the day, the Grey Lady then offered a typically ex cathedra judgment, in

Pope Francis has recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Carlo Acutis, paving the way for him to become the first millennial saint. The Italian computer-coding teenager who died of cancer in 2006 is known for his great devotion to the real presence

Sometimes it’s hard to have hope. Living hopefully can be difficult ... when there seems to be more good than evil in the world; when sickness and death befall kind souls; when waiting hurts our hearts; when prayers seem to go unanswered; and when others

Affection for Blessed Imelda Lambertini, whose feast day is May 12, has spread all over the world since 1910. That’s when Pope Saint Pius X lowered the age of reception of First Holy Communion to the age of reason. But Imelda is not the only

In the book of Numbers, Moses sends twelve men to explore the Promised Land before the Israelites enter it. Ten men return discouraged, exaggerating the difficulties and stirring fear among the people. Only Joshua and Caleb encourage the Israelites, saying, “The land, which we passed

Pier Giorgio Frassati’s friends called him an “explosion of joy.” Those same words describe perfectly the worldwide reaction to the recent report that his canonization is coming in 2025. Loud applause erupted when Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, first made

Edith Stein could be declared a doctor of the Church with the title “doctor veritatis,” or “doctor of truth,” following a petition from the Discalced Carmelites. Pope Francis received an official request from the superior general of the Discalced Carmelites, Father Miguel Márquez Calle, on