Known in the Old West as the “Hanging Judge,” Isaac Charles Parker served as a U.S. District Judge presiding over the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas for 21 years. He served in that capacity during the most dangerous time for law enforcement during the western expansion. In 21 years on the bench, Judge Parker tried 13,490 cases, 344 of which were capital crimes. Guilty pleas or convictions were handed down in 9,454 cases. Of the 160... Read more

Today marks the day that the first Passionists arrived in the United States. On this day Fathers Anthony Calandri, Albinus Magno, Stanislaus Parczyk, and Brother Lawrence Di Giacomo arrived in Pittsburgh to start the first American foundation at the request of the local bishop. One of the community’s main apostolates was preaching missions, which carried them far beyond Pittsburgh. Within a few years of their arrival the Passionists had expanded to New York, New Jersey and the Midwest. A particular... Read more

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It has been said that Gothic architecture represents the soul aspiring to God, and that Renaissance or Romanesque architecture (seen here) represents God tabernacling with men. Robert Hugh Benson Read more

This painting of St. Francis of Assisi was done by Bartolomé Estéban Murillo (1617-1682). Read more

Born to Italian immigrants in South Carolina, he attended the University of South Carolina as a pre-med major before entering the seminary system. Ordained in 1952, he served as chancellor and Vicar General of the Charleston Diocese. He attended Vatican II as a theological adviser (peritus) to his bishop. In 1966, he was named an Auxiliary Bishop in Atlanta. At 38, he was the youngest bishop in the country. In 1968 he was elected general secretary of the National Conference... Read more

On this day in 1958, the American Bishops issued a statement condemning racism as a moral evil. Seen here are a group of priests and nuns participating in the March on Selma. Read more

Today marks the death of Charles Carroll, the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence. Born to a wealthy and prominent Maryland family, he was educated at Jesuit schools in Europe. He studied law in France and practiced in Paris and London. When he returned to America, his father gave him Carrollton, a ten thousand acre estate in Maryland. He was then known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton, to distinguish him from his father. By 1770 he became a... Read more

Born in Silesia, Maria Merkert was of German ancestry. Until she was 25 she took care of her mother. After her mother’s death, she and her sister devoted themselves to serving the poor in a community that became known as the Grey Sisters of St. Elizabeth. During her lifetime approximately 500 Sisters joined the Congregation, which permitted her to enrich the Church with 90 religious houses in nine dioceses. Until her death in 1872, she was head of the community.... Read more

Today marks the death of journalist, author and media personality Malcolm Muggeridge, who converted to Catholicism at age 79. This was due in large part to the influence of Mother Teresa, the subject of his 1971 book Something Beautiful for God. Read more