Tony Snow was a Catholic?

I never realized it.

My Li’l bro Thom wrote asking me if I’d know Snow was a Catholic. I hadn’t, and wondered if Thom had his info right, and he sent along this Tribute to a Catholic Journalist at Catholic Online.

Indeed, it seems Snow’s funeral will be a mass at the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Snow made his wonderful commencement address to Catholic University of America students from the steps of the Shrine in 2007 – the university’s statement on his passing is here), so there you go.

I’m sure it will be a very beautiful liturgy. We had occasion last year to attend the noon mass at the Basilica and it was all the smells, bells and Latin choir you could want – quite heavenly, really, reverent and solemn. It will have to be, to counteract this vileness by this awful crew, who make a habit of haunting and harassing people who are grieving.

It just occurred to me that my four favorite journalists have died in the past few years, Snow, Tim Russert, Michael Kelly and David Bloom, and it turns out there were all practicing Catholics, which doesn’t mean anything at all – although it may explain why none of them fit comfortably into easy labels and categories – it’s just something I notice with sadness. Have we seen a writer to equal Michael Kelly come down the pike? I still miss him!

Savkobabe has more thoughts on Snow

A little aside: If you ever have a chance to visit the Nation’s capital, and you weary of all the Federal architecture, The Basilica – which has a Byzantine flavor to it and is the largest church in the US – is a refreshing stop, although you can exhaust yourself trying to see all of the chapels of the upper and lower church. The bells are real, the grounds are gorgeous (there is a lovely sitting park with fountain in the back, adjacent to the University and across from its Rome School of Music). Another beautiful stop is the Franciscan Monastery, which is nearby and has glorious gardens and recreations of Holy Land sites.