Today is the feast of the newly beatified John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890), and it’s also the day he was received into the Roman Catholic Church. Through the Oxford Movement, Newman was a leading figure in reforming the Church of England. Therefore his departure was a pretty significant event that wasn’t always well received (to put it mildly). Both as an Anglican and a Catholic, Newman was one of the leading religious thinkers of his time. In the United States,... Read more

“We see the ship of the Church today sailing merrily over very rough water. How often has she seemed to suffer shipwreck! Yet there she is, safe and sound. To investigate her past history is a most interesting, a most edifying study. The worse the scandals in the past, the greater the wonder of God’s help that has made the Church survive. The Catholic historian can look difficulties in the face. He is not bound to any theory of the... Read more

It was Pope Leo XIII who named October as the month of the rosary, and today is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. How it got started is an interesting story. In 1571, as the forces of the Ottoman Empire threatened western Europe, Pope St. Pius V persuaded the rulers of Spain, Genoa and Austria to join their forces together in a Holy League against the Turks. On this day in 1571, under the leadership of Don Juan... Read more

Dear Friends, After nearly a year of absence and bowing to popular demand, McNamara’s Blog returns to its roots. Lately I’ve become convinced there’s still enough work to be done to promote Church History. Thanks to my friends who encouraged me to come back to the world of Catholic blogging. It’s good to be back! Sincerely,Pat McNamara Read more

In his spiritual memoir My Life With the Saints, Father Jim Martin talks about different saints and how they have infleunced his life, from Joan of Arc to John XXIII. The saints, he points out, are friends who can help us along our own spiritual journeys. On my own spiritual path, a saint who’s helped me a lot is Therese of Lisieux, whose birthday we celebrate today. As Jim points out, she’s a saint who gets dismissed too easily as... Read more

Today marks the passing of one of the greatest right fielders to ever play the game of baseball, William Henry “Wee Willie” Keeler. Born in Brooklyn, he played from 1892 to 1910, primarily for the Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn Superbas in the National League, and the New York Highlanders (now the Yankees) in the American League. Keeler was a remarkable hitter, whose advice to hitters was, “Keep your eye clear, and hit ’em where they ain’t” — “they” being the... Read more

The Irish College, Rome was founded on January 1st 1628 by the Irish Franciscan, Fr. Luke Wadding O.F.M. and the Italian Cardinal, Ludivico Ludovisi, a nephew of Pope Gregory XV, who died three years before the College was established. Having been appointed Cardinal Protector of Ireland, Ludovisi was concerned that his title would not be an empty one and when he was approached by Luke Wadding to help educate Irish priests in Rome, he readily undertook the task of founding... Read more

Of the 39 graduates in West Point’s Class of 1843, sixteen became Union or Confederate generals. One, Ulysses S. Grant, became President of the United States. Grant’s roommate, George Deshon, was the only member of the class to become Superior General of a religious order. Yesterday marked his passing in 1903, and the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia has the following to say about him: Priest of the Congregation (or Institute) of St. Paul the Apostle, b. at New London, Conn., U.S.A.... Read more

Today marks the death of Marshall McCluhan, born Herbert Marshall McLuhan. He was a Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar — a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communication theorist. McLuhan’s work is viewed as one of the cornerstones of the study of media theory. McLuhan is known for the expressions “the medium is the message” and “global village“. McLuhan was a fixture in media discourse from the late 1960s to his death and he continues... Read more

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