Today marks the death of Cardinal Henry Edward Manning (1808-1892), one of the leading figures in nineteenth century English Catholicism. After Oxford, he seemed destined for a shining public career, but he opted for the church. In 1833 he was ordained an Anglican priest and married, but his wife died four years later. This was [...]

Today marks the birth of a woman who became modern day martyr, Maryknoll Sister Maura Clarke (1931-1980). In 1980, she was one of four American missionaries murdered in El Salvador. Born in Queens, she joined Maryknoll out of high school. After a few years teaching stateside, she was sent to Nicaragua, where she worked with [...]

Following up an earlier post on 1800′s priests’ garb, I recently discovered this rare photo of a 19th century bishop in civvies. Shown here is Baltimore Archbishop Martin John Spalding (1810-1872) wearing a bishop’s pectoral cross over his suit. Spalding came from an old Kentucky Catholic family that’s given quite a few sons and daughters [...]