July 17 is the feast of the sixteen Carmelites of Compiègne who were guillotined on this day in 1794 during the French Revolution. The Church often, but not always, celebrates the feast of martyrs on the day they died because it is the most glorious day of their lives. They were born … Read more
America Magazine, the house organ of Jesuits in the United States, was delighted with the announcement that Sister Simone Campbell would receive the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, on July 7, 2022. The awarding of this great honor has become brazenly political. It now serves the agenda of … Read more
St. Louis de Montfort Academy and I had the enormous privilege of assisting the nuns of the Convent of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady of Good Success in Quito, Ecuador. We helped transfer the incorrupt body of Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres to a splendid new sarcophagus. This magnificent work of … Read more
Claude Newman was a twenty-year-old African-American who, in 1943, awaited execution in a prison in Mississippi. His crime was that of ambushing and shooting a man named Sid Cook, his beloved grandmother’s abusive second husband. One day, noticing a medal hanging around the neck of a fellow prisoner, Claude asked the young … Read more
“War is Hell” General William Tecumseh Sherman once noted. Indeed there is nothing to celebrate about warfare; however unfortunately it has been present with mankind in his fallen nature since departing from the Garden of Eden. War was a common affair throughout the Old Testament. Saint Augustine understood the sometimes unfortunate necessity … Read more
The Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima The Third Apparition — July 13, 1917 Mr. Marto, father of Jacinta and Francisco, says that when the third apparition began, a little grayish cloud hovered over the holm oak, the sunlight diminished, and a cool breeze blew over the mountain range, even though … Read more
""""[vc_column_text] There are few places on Earth more beautiful than Hawaii. While this idyllic paradise may be the destination spot for tourists and honeymooners, Joseph de Veuster was eager to go there for a completely different reason. It was Joseph’s missionary zeal that attracted him to Hawaii where he volunteered to care … Read more
In 1900, the Catholic Church was healthy and growing in China. There were forty bishops, about 800 European missionaries, 600 native Chinese priests, and the number of native Catholics throughout the whole of China proper was estimated at 700,000. It was during this time that the Boxer Uprising (1898-1900) started which ushered … Read more
Innumerable volumes have been written about the miraculous apparition of Our Lady to three shepherd children in Fatima. Each one adds its own flavor and gives new insight into this most important event. Such is the case with a new book: Fatima: A Message More Urgent Than Ever, written by TFP author … Read more
In a previous article on the apostolic origins of celibacy, I wrote: Among the Apostles, only Saint Peter is known to have been married because his mother-in-law is mentioned in the Gospels. Some of the others might have been married but there is a clear indication that they left everything, including their … Read more