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December 2018

December 18, 2018

Isaac Hecker: Who He is, Why He Matters

The Paulist Fathers were founded by Servant of God Isaac Hecker in 1858 as the...

December 14, 2018

Forgotten Catholic Poets: John Bannister Tabb (1845-1909)

It's hard to imagine just how profoundly different Catholics in 1800's America felt from their...

December 13, 2018

Who’s It Named For? Collins Hall, Fordham University, Bronx, New York

At so many Catholic colleges, we pass by buildings named for people associated with the...

December 12, 2018

Who’s Buried in Catholic Cemeteries: Gary Cooper

Gary Cooper wasn't raised Catholic, but his wife Veronica and daughter Maria were devout Catholics....

December 11, 2018

The Unwilling Catholic: General William Tecumseh Sherman

Not long before his death, General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) told an interviewer: "My family...

December 10, 2018

Scandal and Renewal at Gethsemani Abbey

In 1948, the book world's surprise hit was The Seven Storey Mountain, the autobiography of...

December 09, 2018

Catholics in the Movies: Raoul Walsh (1887-1980)

He was one of Golden Age Hollywood’s most prolific figures, its premier action director. Over...

December 08, 2018

Brooklyn College Dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, 1915

Right Rev. George W. Mundelein, "New Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception," The Brooklyn Eagle, September 7,...

December 07, 2018

Before Alcoholics Anonymous: Father Mathew and the Pledge

When I was growing up in Queens, I had a number of friends whose Irish-born...

December 05, 2018

Brooklyn Catholic Architect Receives Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, 1884

Patrick C. Keely Receives Laetare Medal, March 30, 1884, The Catholic Review, April 5, 1884 The...

December 04, 2018

The Sisters of Mercy in Early San Francisco

In the summer of 1854, a young Irish priest named Hugh Gallagher traveled back to...

December 03, 2018

The Feast of St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552)

Friends, this morning marks the Feast of St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552), the Jesuit missionary who...

December 02, 2018

Old Catholic Poems: “Courtesy”

Introduction Born in France and raised in England, Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953) was one of the...

December 01, 2018

Lacordaire: The Fulton Sheen of the 1800’s

Church History can often surprise you. Just when you think the Church is on her...

November 2018

November 30, 2018

Soon-to-be-Saints: Servant of God Francis J. Parater (1897-1920)

At the moment there are nearly forty American men and women who have begun the...

November 29, 2018

“McNamara’s Vlog”: Dorothy Day (1897-1980)

Friends, today marks the 38th anniversary of Servant of God Dorothy Day's passing. In 1933,...

November 28, 2018

Catholics and the American Revolution

Introduction: The Sacred Heart Review was published out of Massachusetts between 1888 and 1918, covering Catholic...

November 27, 2018

From the Pulpit

From the Pulpit: Bishop John Loughlin, St. James Pro-Cathedral, Brooklyn, New York, July 13, 1884....

November 26, 2018

Priests, Nuns, and Memphis’ Yellow Fever Epidemic, 1873-1879

Between 1873 and 1879, nearly eight thousand people died during Memphis’s Yellow Fever epidemics. While...

November 25, 2018

Old Catholic Poems: “The Carthusians”

Introduction Founded in Medieval France, the white-robed Carthusian monks are named for the Chartreuse Valley...

November 24, 2018

Civil War General Receives Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, 1896

Since 1883, the University of Notre Dame has bestowed its Laetare Medal on an outstanding...

November 23, 2018

How to Preach Missions to Non-Catholics

The parish mission, which traces it roots to 1500’s Europe, was the Catholic counterpart to...

November 22, 2018

Holiness is Contagious: The “Social Saints” of 19th Century Turin

The city of Turin in northwest Italy is famous for several reasons. During the 1860’s,...

November 21, 2018

Books: The Perfect Christmas Gift!

As it begins to look a lot like Christmas, books can be the perfect gift....

November 20, 2018

“McNamara’s Vlog”: Race, Religion, and the Healy Brothers, 1830-1910

Friends, here is a video I created some time ago, which relates to Black Catholic...

November 19, 2018

“We’re an Integral Part of the Church”: Father Cyprian Davis and Black Catholic History

November is Black Catholic History Month, a good time to commemorate the Father of Black...

November 06, 2014

Catholics in the Movies: Pedro de Cordoba (1881-1950)

Born in New York City to a French mother and a Cuban father, Pedro de...

November 05, 2014

Anti-Catholic Cartoon of the Week

The Rail Splitter was one of several anti-Catholic publications that gained a wide circulation in...

November 04, 2014

Catholics in Public Service: Senator Francis Kernan, New York (1816-1892)

As Americans go to the polls today, we profile the first Catholic to represent New...

November 02, 2014

Catholic Poetry: “Believe and Take Heart,” by John Lancaster Spalding

BELIEVE AND TAKE HEART By John Lancaster Spalding What can console for a dead world?...