Jesuit Doorkeeper and Mystic

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez was born in Segovia, Spain, on July 25, 1532 and died October 31, 1617. He was the son of a wealthy wool merchant who took over the family business after his father’s death.  He…

Maria Goretti was born on October 16, 1890 in Corinaldo, Italy to Luigi Goretti and Assunta Carlini. The Gorettis were a poor family who worked as sharecroppers in the Pontine marshes. Along with their six children, they lived with Luigi’s partner…

St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria was born in Cremona, Italy, in 1502. His father died while Anthony was an infant, leaving his education and upbringing to his young mother, a widow at 18. By age 22, Anthony completed his studies in…

St. Elizabeth of Portugal was born in 1271, the daughter of Pedro III who would become king of Aragon. Isabel, the Spanish version of her name by which she is known in Portuguese history, was named for her great-aunt, St.…

St. Thomas, Apostle and Martyr, is best known as “Doubting Thomas,” but his faith and personality were much deeper than his doubts.

In John’s Gospel, we learn more about Thomas’ character than we do about most of the other Twelve Apostles.…

On a rainy December night in Bethlehem, a young mother will go into labor. Months ago, when she learned of her latest pregnancy, like Our Blessed Mother so long ago, she was troubled. This modern mother faces challenges much like…

I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, where many of the smaller city parishes have an ethnic affiliation — Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, and Irish to name a few. My home parish was St. Stephen of Hungary. In my childhood, we drove…

Just one week after the Chicago Bears' battled the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI, Chicago's Soldier Field will host an event honoring Major League Baseball's Champions of Faith. On February 11, 2007, Chicago Bears Co-owner Patrick McCaskey invites you…

My footprints did not reveal the one I carried.  Safely in my arms, where he couldn't eat sand or fall in the water, Tommy saw the ocean for the first time.

On July 12, the sun hid in the clouds over…

My children were playing in the next room. Michael, the oldest at 9, was preaching and teaching from the Bible. He posed this question to Elizabeth, a second-grader who is an eager learner, "What did you learn from this passage…