On the Feast of Stephen…not Boxing Day
As the mid-19th century hymn has it, Good King Wenceslaus first went out, on the feast of Stephen, when the snow lay 'round about,...
Three Surprising Saints from the Old Testament for Advent
(December 24th, Christmas Eve, is the traditional commemoration of the 'ancestors of Christ', in particular Adam and Eve, whom we recall on this day,...
O Mary, Conceived Without Sin
(Father Marco Testa was planning to submit this reflection back on December 8th, but due to technical difficulties, the article could only be sent...
John of Kanty’s Holy Hidden Life
On this Christmas Eve's Eve, we celebrate in a subdued manner the commemoration of John of Cantius (1390 - 1473), or 'Kanty' in the...
Canisius the Indefatigable
Saint Peter Canisius (1521-1597) was a Dutch Jesuit back in the earliest days of the Order, one of the first to join Ignatius' company,...
Master in the Faith: Saint John of the Cross
(Karol Wotyla did his theological doctorate on the mystical poetry of Saint John of the Cross, so he writes here not only as Pope,...
Three Popes’ Messages On the Immaculate Conception at the Spanish Steps
It has been a long-standing papal tradition that Popes pay homage to the Immaculate Conception at the foot of the Marian column close to...
May God Raise Up More Bishops Like Ambrose
The great bishop and doctor Ambrose (340 - 397) is known for many things, not least his role in the conversion of the great...
Saint Nicholas and the Silence of Saint Thomas
It was on this day 751 years ago that Saint Thomas Aquinas stopped writing. Or, more properly, dictating - for he had scribes write...
Saint Francis Xavier
This saint, one of the Church's most illustrious missionaries. This is the apt description given to the Jesuit priest and saint St Francis Xavier,...
