Thursday, October 16, 2025

Dina Belanger’s Unrelenting Quest for Perfection

Blessed Dina Belanger (+1929) is a home-grown Canadian saint whom we commemorate today. (The martyr Andre Grasset, whom we celebrated two days ago, is...

Gregory the Great, a Pope for All Seasons

One of the great joys of history is reminiscing about the past, giving hope for the present; for history is ‘eschatological’, moving towards a...

Andre Grasset, Canada’s First Homegrown Beatus

Blessed André Grassett was the first Canadian to be beatified - not quite the first 'saint', which requires canonization, and that honour belongs to...

The Legendary Hermit, Saints Giles, or Egidio

The life of Saint Giles, as many mediaeval saints, is steeped in legend. What we do know is that he had quite a following,...

The Not so Hidden Life of Blessed John Juvenal Ancina

Saint Philip Neri, the founder of the Oratorians and the ‘second Apostle’ of Rome, recommended reading books beginning with ‘S’, that is, lives of...

The Baptist Loses his Head

The celebration of the beheading of Saint John the Baptist - an expeditious entrance into heaven - is sort of a bookend to the...

Pope Benedict and Augustine

BENEDICT XVI GENERAL AUDIENCE Paul VI Audience Hall Wednesday, 9 January 2008 Saint Augustine of Hippo (1) Dear Brothers and Sisters, After the great Christmas festivities, I would like to...

Augustine’s Long Pilgrimage to Truth

A blessed feast of the great Saint Augustine (354-430), bishop and doctor of the Church, and one of the greatest theologians in her history....

The Persevering Prayer of Monica

Monica is the patron saint of mothers - not least, those who pray for the conversion of their children, an integral part of the...

The Black Madonna: Our Lady of Częstochowa

This feast of the 'Queen of Poland' is a national holiday in that great nation, with thousands of pilgrims flocking to her shrine at Jazna...