Song of Gratitude to Our Lady of Mount Carmel From the first moments of my life, You took me in your arms. Ever since that day, dear Mother, You’ve protected me here below. To preserve my innocence, You placed me in a soft nest. You watched over my childhood In the shade of a holy cloister. Later, in the days of my youth, I heard Jesus’ call!…. In your ineffable tenderness, You showed Carmel to me. “Come, my child, be generous,”... Read more
Jon M. Sweeney, When Saint Francis Saved the Church: How a Converted Medieval Troubador Created a Spiritual Vision for the Ages (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 2014). Author Jon Sweeney has a gift for making Church history accessible, interesting and relevant for a whole new generation of readers, and his latest book ably bears out that reputation. As he writes at the beginning of the book, it isn’t a history book in the strict sense of the term. Instead,... Read more
On Friday, September 19, Orbis Books held a book launching party for my new book New York Catholics: Faith, Attitude & the Works! I offer here the remarks I made at that event: I think the theme of this book might well be summed in the words of journalist Paul Moses: “Who we are contributes to the life of this city.” This happens in numerous ways, one of them being geographical. In New York City, there’s such a thing as... Read more
This widely circulated tract did duty in several anti-Catholic campaigns in the 1910’s and 1920’s. It reads as follows: THREE THINGS THAT NEVER MARRY Three things that never marry—a bull, a bulldog, and a Catholic priest. The bull and the dog are living in harmony with the laws of nature. The priest ignores and defies the laws of nature and the commandments of God, insults decency and outrages social custom by assuming the pagan obligation of celibacy. The priest can... Read more
Very Rev. Joseph Augustine Kelly, O.P.— Born in Dublin, Ireland, 1827. Came to America at the age of ten. Reared in Philadelphia, Pa., and Louisville, Ky. Graduate St. Mary’s… [in] Bardstown, Ky. Entered Dominican Order 1843. Ordained July 27, 1850; classical course, St. Rose’s, Springfield, Ky.; St. Joseph’s, Somerset, Ohio, after ordination; 1854 was elected President of college; 1858 was elected Provincial of Dominican Fathers in eastern states, holding office until 1862. In spring, 1863, was appointed Pastor of St.... Read more
New York, October 29th, 1863 Most Holy Father Visible Head of the Church of Jesus Christ. I humbly write these lines to beseech your Holiness in the name of the same Saviour if you will provide for the salvation of the black race in the United States who is going astray from neglect on the part of those who have the care of souls. Now I would dare to say anything disrespectful against the ministers of God but the reason... Read more
My new book New York Catholics: Faith, Attitude & the Works! is now available on Amazon. It’s a celebration of the difference that 76 different Catholic women and men have made, and are making, in the life of New York City. The first half of the book profiles historical figures from St. Elizabeth Seton to Mychal Judge, while the second looks at people ranging from our own Deacon Greg Kandra of The Deacon’s Bench to Jimmy Fallon and Martin Scorsese. It’s been already... Read more
Born in New York City on September 10, 1858, Hugh J. Grant grew up in Manhattan, where he attended Manhattan College (then located in Manhattanville) before studying abroad. Upon his return he studied at Columbia Law School. An active Democrat. he soon got into politics, running unsuccessfully for Mayor at age 27. He did serve as the 88th Mayor of New York City from 1889 to 1892, as one of the nation’s youngest mayors and one of the city’s first... Read more
Born in Baltimore, John Lee Carroll was the great-great-grandson of Charles Carroll (1737-1832), the sole Catholic signatory of the Declaration of Independence. His great-grandfather Thomas Sim Lee (1745-1819) was Governor of Maryland (1779-1783, 1792-1794). John Lee Carroll studied at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and Georgetown University. He later studied law at Harvard University. After many years practicing law, Carroll was elected to the Maryland State Senate in 1867. In 1875,he ran for Governor on the Democratic ticket,... Read more
ODE FOR THE GOLDEN JUBILEE OF VILLANOVA COLLEGE (1892) By Eleanor C. Donnelly OH ! blest be the day, when the sun’s golden ray First shone on these shades, Villanova revealing! Like the sunrise that shone on King Memnou’s famed stone, Awaking a strain full of fervor and feeling! Grave doctor and sage In that long- vanished age, Their record inscribed on our history’s page, While the sons of St. Austin, with tears and with toil, Their altars uprear’d on... Read more
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