Above: St. Francis bids farewell to his children to enter the Society of Jesus. Four hundred and fifty years ago, on September 30, 1572, a “prince among the saints, because he was a saint among the princes” died in Rome: Saint Francis Borgia.[1] Life The fourth duke of Gandía was born in this city in…
Above: recent Latin Mass in Steubenville. Photo by Allison Girone. In 1972, the U.S Supreme Court officially declared the death penalty “unconstitutional,” even though our constitution explicitly says that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”[1] What did they think it means to deprive citizens of…
Angels are pure, created spirits. The name angel means servant or messenger of God. They are celestial or heavenly beings, on a higher order than human beings. An angel has no body and does not depend on matter for his existence or activity. They are distinct from saints, which men can become. Angels have intellect…
Readers surely know this adage: “The truth is stranger than fiction.” Mussolini began his career as an elementary school teacher; can you imagine sending your kindergartner to spend each day with Mussolini? Santa Anna—the enemy of the Republic of Texas at the Battle of the Alamo—later in life spent his time trying to sell rubber…
And where sin abounded, grace did more abound… Amidst unnecessary contentions and frequent bad news in the Church, it becomes both essential and gratifying to share good news. Enter Catholic composer Frank La Rocca and the forthcoming CD/album release of his luminous Mass of the Americas. In recent years, San Francisco’s Benedict XVI Institute has…
Pope John Paul I, whose original name was Albino Luciani, is beatified. That is, according to Benedict XIV, he can “be venerated in certain province, diocese, city or religious institute with a limited and typical of the Blesseds worship, until the solemn canonization is achieved.”[1] We leave aside the modern controversy regarding canonizations, and direct…
Six centuries have passed since that August 31, 1422, when, struck by a serious illness, an unrepentant libertine who became one of the greatest kings of his people died at the age of 35 in the château of Vincennes, at the gates of Paris: Henry V of England. The prince of Wales was born in…
While St. Lawrence is one of the greatest deacons in the Church’s history, his feastday has over time fallen into obscurity and most average Catholics are unfamiliar with the customs and practices associated with his feastday. The Feast of St. Lawrence was of such importance it was a Holy Day of Obligation for a long…
Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Fr Chad Ripperger, Dr Peter Kwasniewski, Msgr Alberto Turco, Dr William Mahrt, Dr Edward Schaefer, Fr Mark Bachmann OSB, Mr Nicholas Lemme… these are the speakers of the online International Gregorian Chant Conference, Sept 25 – Oct 2, hosted by the Gregorian Chant Academy. How did I manage to organize an International…
Today is the Feast of St. James the Greater, the apostle “friend of the Lord” together with Peter and John. Nine hundred years ago, in 1122, while the last stone of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela was being laid, Pope Calixtus II (†1124) announced the first Holy Year of Compostela for 1126, establishing that…
Above: Immaculate Conception Church postcard, c. 1910. Quietly, around the world, the Catholic faithful who believe in restoring and preserving the sacred traditions of the Catholic Church are finding each other and, with the leadership of their pastors, are helping rebuild and restore hope. We see this evidenced in a resurgence in traditional Catholic publishing,…
Please help us to meet our expenses by donating today!
