Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
Five years ago, - way back in those halcyonic days of 2018 - on the 160th anniversary of the first apparition of Lourdes, on...
St Felix of Cantalice: The Friar who Saved the Capuchin Reform by his Holiness
On May 18th, we Capuchins celebrate the feast of St Felix of Cantalice. This humble lay brother played an important key in the way...
Popes Saint John I, and John Paul II
We celebrate today, Pope John Saint I (+526). One might wonder why it took five centuries for a Pope to be chosen with this...
Saint Paschal Baylon’s Humility and Joy
The life of Paschal Baylon (1540 - 1592) has much in common with that of his fellow Franciscan, Joseph of Cupertino (+1633). They were...
Saint Brendan the Navigator
Saint Brendan (+577) the sixth century Irish monk, called the 'Navigator', is reputed to have discovered Canada a full millennium before the Italian John...
Isidore the Farmer and Rerum Novarum
Saint Isidore, or, in his native Spanish, Isidro de Merlo y Quintana, was named after the other Saint Isidore, the bishop of Seville (whom...
Matthias’ Greatness Bestowed
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, some have greatness thrust upon them
So wrote the Bard in his 1602 play the Twelfth Night, and...
Our Lady of Fatima
The revelations of Our Lady of Fatima have been in the minds and heart of Catholics in the twentieth century, and indeed many others...
Nereus, Achilleus, and Pancras: Choosing Our Path
Today we commemorate the early martyrs Nereus and Achilleus, eunuchs and chamberlains of the court, and eventual converts to Christianity, who were put to...
The Other Saint Ignatius – of Laconi
Saint Ignatius of Laconi (1701- 1781) - not to be confused with the more famous Ignatius of Loyala - was a Franciscan friar, born...