Mary Hansen writes at MadonnasOfMexico.com. She is a former teacher and has written for the for the National Catholic Register, The Catholic Register and OnePeterFive. She has a B.A. from Queen’s University and a Master of Education and Master of Divinity from the University of Toronto (St. Michael’s). She writes from Ontario, Canada.
Author: Mary Hansen
Protector of the Indians
Above: the old and new basilicas of Our Lady of Guadalupe. All photos by the author. In the year 1527 King Charles V of Spain spent Holy Week at the Franciscan Monastery of Barajo near the city of Burgos in …
Our Lady of Pueblito Against Pagan Idols
Above: the abandoned pagan pyramid of Kukulcán, in Yucatán, Mexico, photographed in 1860. Public domain. The year was 1632. Padre Nicolas de Zamora was heartsick. Disconsolate. He was the pastor of the parish of El Pueblito, a small hamlet 6 …
St. Junípero and Franciscan Mexico
Above: Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Conca. The Franciscan presence in Mexico is enormous. Visit any city or town in the country and you are sure to see a Franciscan monastery; in many cases these are massive edifices …
Martyr for the Freedom of the Catholic Press
“We will not do it!” declared Carmelite priest Fr. Titus Brandsma, the spiritual director of the Catholic press during Nazi-occupied Holland. “Our limit has been reached! We cannot serve them!” He was reacting to the latest Nazi edict insisting that …
The Miracle of Our Lady of the Thunderbolt
August 13, 1807, was a night to remember in the Dominican convent of Jesus Maria in Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico. The church of Jesus Maria is a five minute walk from the mammoth Guadalajara Cathedral and the zocalo (the …
The Battles and Victorious Martyrdom of Blessed Miguel Pro
Father Miguel Pro could have said “No.” His Jesuit superior ordered him back to Mexico for his health. After three unsuccessful stomach operations the superior thought that a return to his homeland would aid in his recovery. It is likely …
Priests: Shed Your Blood Before You Break the Seal! Follow St. Mateo Correa
Recently, the head of France’s Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop de Moulins-Beaufort, said that the Seal of Confession should not take precedence over French law (dealing with sex crimes against children). This scandalous statement was the exact opposite of what he had said earlier. …
Why Columbus Day Matters to the Blessed Virgin Mary
“In fourteen hundred and ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue,” a chant familiar to every school-aged child in the United States. Well, let us hope that this is still the case! It marks the event, of course, in which the …
Jacques Fesch: From Cop Killer to Catholic
Jacques Fesch was living the American dream. Except he wasn’t living in America. He was living in France. His Belgian-born father was a bank president. The family was wealthy and lived in an exclusive district of Paris. Fancy vacations, private …
Hiroshima, Our Lady, and Traditionis Custodes
“Ground zero.” Such haunting words. They bring to mind, of course, the hideous images from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Unforgettable in their horror. And, ever since, the words “Ground Zero” have become embedded in our collective vocabulary. …
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