The Feast of the Stigmata of St Francis: A Sign of Hope

September 17th is the traditional feast of the Stigmata of St Francis, commemorating the event of the saint receiving the wounds of Christ on...

Saint Hildegarde von Bingen, a Woman for All Seasons

Hildegarde von Bingen (+1179)  is one of the newest saints in the liturgical calendar, canonized 'equipollently' by Pope Benedict XVI on May 12, 2012...

Pope Benedict and Saint Cyprian

BENEDICT XVI GENERAL AUDIENCE St Peter's Square Wednesday, 6 June 2007 Saint Cyprian Dear Brothers and Sisters, In the series of our catecheses on the great figures of the ancient...

Saint Paulinus of Trier, Orthodoxy in Teaching and Church Unity

This last day of August is the liturgical feast of a great German saint, Saint Paulinus of Trier. Trier, previously known Trèves and Triers,...

St Maximillian Kolbe: The Martyr of Love

In this canonization liturgy there seems to appear before us that "martyr of love" of Oswiecim (as Paul VI called him), saying: "O Lord,...

Blessed Marco D’Aviano: The Staunch Defender of the Freedom and Unity of Christian Europe

August 13th is the feast of Blessed Marco D’Aviano, who played a curcial role in Christian Europe of the seventh century. His importance can...

St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, a Mystic for our Times

We celebrate the feast day of St Teresa Benedict of the Cross on August 9th, and we may ask, who was this great woman...

Pope Benedict’s Pastoral Visit to Saint Lawrence’s Basilica Fuori le Mura

PASTORAL VISIT TO THE BASILICA OF SAINT LAWRENCE OUTSIDE THE WALLS ON THE OCCASION OF THE 1750th ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY DEACON HOMILY OF HIS...

St John Marie Vianney, Our Life’s Companion

Recently, as I was reading, I came across a very intriguing quote by Robert Lee Fulghum, who said: The solution to alone-ness is not...

Pope Benedict and the Curé d’Ars

(The holiness of the Church - and hence the salvation of the world, and the souls thereon, depends much upon the holiness of her...