We cannot build up the idea of the apostolate of the laity without the foundation of the liturgy.Dorothy Day Read more

This ad for clerical tailoring ran in a seminary yearbook during the 1930’s. (The Pfundstein family not only created clerical garb, it contributed several sons and daughters to the service of the Church.) Read more

There’s never been a priest as controversial as Father Charles Coughlin in American Catholic history. Born in Canada, Coughlin was ordained for the Basilian Fathers in 1916. In 1923, he was incardinated into the Archdiocese of Detroit. In 1926, facing Klan activity in the area of his parish, Father Coughlin decided to take to the waves to combat anti-Catholicism. He soon attracted a large audience, and by the time of the Great Depression, he was speaking out on issues of... Read more

Today in 1882, Mary Josephine Rogers was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, to Abraham T. Rogers and Mary Josephine Plummer. Known as Mollie, she grew up in a middle class family. She was one of a handful of Catholics at Smith College, where she graduated in 1905. While at Smith, she was impressed with the example of her Protestant classmates who went off to the missions. When she returned to Smith as an assistant professor of Biology, she started a mission... Read more

Charity is the bond of brotherhood, the foundation of peace, the mainstay and security of unity, which is greater than both hope and faith, which excels both good works and martyrdom, which will abide with us always, eternal with God in the kingdom of heaven.St. Cyprian of Carthage, On Patience (3rd century) Read more

St. Francis Preparatory School, Brooklyn, 1916. Read more

It’s a pretty hefty book (over 900 pages), but if you really want to know more about the late, great pontiff , there’s no better place to start than George Weigel’s Witness to Hope. Read more

Born in what is now Belarus, Celine Chludzinska considered religious life before she married Joseph Borzecki at age 20. They had four children together. After her husband died, she met Father Peter Semenenko, co-founder of the Resurrectionists, who wanted to establish a female branch of the order. In 1882 Celine, her daughter Hedwig, and two other women began a life in community in Rome under the spiritual direction of Fr Semenenko. Soon, however, the little flock was sorely tried with... Read more

During the nineteenth century, it was estimated that a new religious community was founded in honor of the Blessed Mother every year. One of these was the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, founded in France in 1816 to preach the Gospel to the poor. Today marks the death of Father Joseph Fabre, who served as Superior General of the Oblates from 1861 to 1892. Born in France, he considered a medical career before joining the Oblates in 1844. Ordained in 1847,... Read more

Genuine devotion is consistent with every state in life. Like liquid, poured into a container, it adapts itself to any shape.J.P. Camus, The Spirit of St. Francis De Sales (17th century) Read more