Saint Jean Vianney, a Priest for Priests
On this day, August 4th, in 1859 - the same year that Darwin published his specious Origin of Species, and one year after Marx's...
Saints Eusebius of Vercelli and Peter Julian Eymard
The Church commemorates two pastors today, separated by a millennium and a half: The fourth-century Eusebius of Vercelli (+371), the first bishop we know...
Alphonsus of Ligouri, A Moral Teacher for All Ages
Saint Alphonsus Ligouri (1696 - 1787) was a renaissance man, whose kind was a rarity in his post-renaissance era, and even more so now...
The (Im)migration Question
The contrast between the disintegrating situation in Britain and Pope Leo IV’s sunny words on migration is a prompt for this brief reflection. We...
Ignatius and the Companions of Jesus
When we read the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) he at first glance seems to belong more to the early days of...
Saint Peter Chrysologous, Ravenna’s Doctor
Saint Peter Chrysologous (+450) was, as the traditional account has it, chosen bishop of Ravenna in 433 after the then-reigning pontiff, Pope, Sixtus III,...
Martha, Mary and Lazarus: What Makes a Household?
This memorial of Saint Martha, in accord with a decree from the Congregation of Divine Worship, now also includes her brother Lazarus, the one...
James the Greater, Matamoros and Humanae Vitae: Signs of Contradiction
Today we celebrate the great feast of Saint James 'the Greater', not because of any intrinsic superior quality to the other apostle James, 'the...
All Roads Lead to Rome
On this feast of Saint Bridget of Sweden, one of the four co-patrons of Europe (along with Saint Benedict, Saint Catherine of Siena and...
Saint Bridget, Sweden’s Charitable Bibliophile
Long before Sweden was known for ABBA and IKEA – two exports not to everyone’s taste, even if billion-dollar brands – along with a...
