Hear, O Thou Shepherd of Israel,Who dost above the Cherubs dwell,Appear within Thine ancient home.Stir up Thy mighty power, and come! Come, and display a virgin birth,Redeem the nations of the earth;Let every age the wonder see:Such life befits a Deity.St. Ambrose, Intercede qui regis Israel (4th cent.) Read more

Seen here are a group of Jesuits from the University of Santa Clara in the late nineteenth century. Read more

Can anyone identify what religious community this Sister belongs to? Read more

Marie-Clémentine Anuarite Nengapeta was a member of the Holy Family Sisters in Bafwabaka, Belgian Congo, respectively Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville) (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). She was killed during Congo’s civil war at the Simba revolt in 1964 by a soldier when she resisted his attempted rape. She was beatified on August 15, 1985 by Pope John Paul II during his visit to the country.(From Wikipedia) Read more

Born in Strasbourg, Charles Eugène de Foucauld grew up in an aristocratic family and entered the Saint-Cyr Military Academy in 1876. He served as a French army officer in Algeria but left the army in 1882 and went as an explorer to Morocco. In 1890 he joined the Cistercian Trappist order first in France and then at Akbès in Syria, but left in 1897 to follow an undefined religious vocation in Nazareth. He began to lead a solitary life of... Read more

Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain was, together with her husband Albert VII, Archduke of Austria joint sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of modern France. In some sources, she is referred to as “Clara Isabella Eugenia”. When Albert died in 1621, Isabella joined the Third Order of St Francis and was appointed the Governor of the Netherlands on behalf of the King of Spain. She was succeeded as Governor by Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand, the... Read more

Quod Iam Diu was an encyclical of Pope Benedict XV, given at Rome at St. Peter’s on December1, 1918, the fifth year of his Pontificate. It requests all Catholics everywhere in the world, no matter which side they were on, to pray for a lasting peace and for those who are entrusted to make it during the upcoming peace negotiations.(From Wikipedia) Read more

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Bright Builder of the heavenly poles,Eternal Light of faithful souls,Jesus, Redeemer of mankind,Our humble prayers vouchsafe to mind. Who, lest the fraud of hell’s black kingShould all men to destruction bring,Didst, by an act of generous love,The fainting world’s Physician prove.Roman Breviary, Creator alme siderum (Conditor alme siderum) at Vespers (Primer, 1685) (Much altered, Ambrosian, 7th century) Read more

Now here’s an interesting book, reissued by Fordham University Press as part of its Irish in the Civil War series. For three years Father William Corby, a Holy Cross Father stationed at the University of Notre Dame, served as an army chaplain with the famed Irish Brigade during the American Civil War. Anyone interested in Catholic history, Irish-American history, and/or the American Civil War will eat this right up! Lots of stories and great illustrations. Trivia: Father Corby’s statue at... Read more