Christian Brothers College was founded November 19, 1871, by members of the Institute of the Brothers of Christian Schools, a Roman Catholic religious teaching congregation. The Brothers came to Memphis at the request of the people and clergy of the city, a move which culminated more than a decade of efforts to persuade the Brothers to open a college in Memphis.Brother Maurelian was appointed the first President. Brother Maurelian’s two terms as President totalled 33 years. During his presidency, the... Read more

Abe didn’t really say it, but there was a bogus Lincoln prophecy circulating throughout the nineteenth and into the early twentieth centuries. Catholics were also accused of having a hand in the Lincoln assassination. Read more

From the saints I must take the substance, not the accidents, of their virtues. I am not St. Aloysius, nor must I seek holiness in his particular way, but according to the requirements of my own nature, my own character, and the different conditions of my life. I must not be the dry, bloodless reproduction, however perfect. God desires us to follow the examples of the saints by absorbing the vital sap of their virtues and turning it into our... Read more

Born Ferdinando Santamaria to Peter Paul and Cecilia Santamari, his parents ran a small rope-making business. They were a devout couple. An altar server from a young age, Ferdinando was also a member of the church choir and the Solidality of the Immaculate Conception. A neighbour testified that on one occasion he saw Ferdinando lifted from the floor whilst in prayer. In 1850 members of the Passionist Congregation took possession of a monastery in the locality and Ferdinando soon became... Read more

Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne was born in Grenoble, France and died in St. Charles, Missouri. Along with Madeleine Sophie Barat, she founded the Society of the Sacred Heart. She was educated by the Visitation nuns, entered that order, saw its dispersion during the French Revolution‘s Reign of Terror, vainly attempted the reestablishment of the convent of Ste-Marie-d’en-Haut, near Grenoble, and finally, in 1804, accepted the offer of Mother Barat to receive her community into the Society of the Sacred Heart.... Read more

On this day in 1893, Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical Providentissimus Deus, which encouraged Catholic Biblical scholarship. Read more

St. Benedict the Moor, Manhattan, New York, N.Y.—The Mission of St. Benedict the Moor was established in New York City in 1883, through the efforts of three priests, Revs. Thomas Farrell, R.L. Burtsell, and Edward McGlynn, D.D. Father Farrell had been pastor of St. Joseph’s Church, Waverley Place, and had become familiar with the conditions surrounding the colored people of New York, who in the years just following the Civil War lived mostly in or near his parish. He understood... Read more

This poster was created during World War I. Read more

Admonition is naturally bitter, but when mixed with the sugar of loving kindness, and warmed by the fire of charity, it becomes acceptable, gracious, and very cordial. Jean Pierre, The Spirit of St. Francis De Sales Read more

Today marks the death of James J. Norris, the only layperson to participate in the debates of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Born in New Jersey, he joined the Trinitarian community at a young age and left just before ordination. He worked in the business world before beginning foru decades of working for the Church. He started off working at an orphanage on Staten Island and became involved in street-preaching. At the start of World War II, he joined the... Read more