Born and raised in southern Italy, Francis Anthony was a pious and reserved youth who joined the Order at age 14. During the novitiate year he befriended a gregarious novice named Antonio Lucci who told him that “the fastest way to become a saint was through laughter.” These two young friars remained friends and witnessed the importance of close fraternal bonds in the sanctification of self and the world. Francis Anthony served the community as a theology and philosophy professor,... Read more

Today marks the death of Bishop Vincent Wehrle, first Bishop of Bismarck, North Dakota. Born in Switzerland, he joined the Benedictines and came to America to start a monastery in Arkansas. He later went to serve in the Dakota territory, where his parish covered 200 miles. In 1910, he was named Bishop of Bismarck. He served as Bishop for 31 years. Read more

Born in Bavaria, Joseph Schrembs came to the United States to study for the priesthood. In 1889, he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan. In January 1911, he was named an auxiliary bishop there. That August he was named first Bishop of Toledo, Ohio. In 1921 he became Bishop of Cleveland, and Archbishop in 1939. He was instrumental in organizing both the National Council of Catholic Men and the National Council of Catholic Women. Read more

Today marks the death of Monsignor Joseph Jessing, founder of the Pontifical College Josephinun in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1888, the Josephinum is the only pontifical seminary in North America. Born in Germany, he served in the Prussian army before studying for the priesthood in the United States. In 1870 he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. Soon after his ordination he started an orphanage and a newspaper for German Catholic immigrants. He founded the Josephinun... Read more

Born to Irish immigrants in South Boston, Richard James Cushing studied at Boston College before entering the seminary for the Archdiocese of Boston. Ordained in 1921, he served in two parishes before he was assigned to the Propagation of the Faith, the archdiocesan organization that raises money for the missions. In 1929, he was named director. In 1934 he was named a monsignor and in 1939 an auxiliary Bishop to Boston’s Cardinal William H. O’Connell. When O’Connell died in 1944,... Read more

Born in Ireland, Daniel Mannix studied at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, and was ordained a priest in 1890. He was then assigned to the seminary faculty, and from 1903 to 1912 he was named president. In 1912 he was named an auxiliary bishop in Melbourne, Australia, and in 1917 he became Archbishop of Melbourne. He aroused controversy in his push for state aid to parochial schools. An ardent Irish nationalist, he spoke around the world on behalf of Irish freedom.... Read more

Gheorghe Şincai was an ethnic Romanian Transylvanian historian, philologist, translator, poet, and representative of the Enlightenment-influenced Transylvanian School. As the director of Greek Catholic education in Transylvania he brought a fundamental contribution to the process of promoting culture in rural environments. With Samuil Micu he composed the first written grammar of the Romanian language. His knowledge and culture allowed him to occupy the function of librarian of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in Rome, having permission to research... Read more

Daniel Seghers (3 December 1590–2 November 1661) was a Jesuit brother and Flemish Baroque painter who specialized in flower still lifes, and is particularly well-known for his contributions to the genre of “flower garland” painting. His paintings were collected enthusiastically by courtly patrons and he had numerous imitators. He was the elder brother of the painter Gerard Seghers. Born in Antwerp, Seghers moved to the Dutch Republic around 1601, following the death of his father Pierre and the conversion of... Read more

There is no dart in the quiver of the godly soul for anything but the Divine target. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Peace of Mind Read more

TO ASK OUR LADY’S PATRONAGE FOR A BOOK ON COLUMBUS: A FRAGMENTBy Thomas D’Arcy McGeeStar of the sea, wo thom , age after age,The maiden kneels whose lover sails the sea;Star, that the drowining death-pang can assuage,And shape the soul’s course to eternity;Mother of God, to Egypt’s realm exiled,Mother of God, in Bethlehem’s crib confined,Thee do I ask to aid my anxious mind,And make this book find favour with thy Child. Of one who lived and laboured in they ray,I... Read more