The Hope and Joy of Pier Giorgio Frassati
(On this Sunday, September 7th, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is being canonized, along with fellow Italian, Blessed Carlo Acutis. Both died young – Carlo... Read more.
Teresa of Calcutta’s Mission to the Poorest of the Poor
As universities gear up to receive students, we should leave the travails of this world for a moment and ponder the other-worldliness of Mother Saint Teresa of Calcutta (+1997) who... Read more.
Dina Belanger’s Unrelenting Quest for Perfection
Blessed Dina Belanger (+1929) is a home-grown Canadian saint whom we commemorate today. (The martyr Andre Grasset, whom we celebrated two days ago, is still a beatus).... Read more.
Gregory the Great, a Pope for All Seasons
One of the great joys of history is reminiscing about the past, giving hope for the present; for history is ‘eschatological’, moving towards a final purpose.... Read more.
Andre Grasset, Canada’s First Homegrown Beatus
Blessed André Grassett was the first Canadian to be beatified – not quite the first ‘saint’, which requires canonization, and that honour belongs... Read more.
The Legendary Hermit, Saints Giles, or Egidio
The life of Saint Giles, as many mediaeval saints, is steeped in legend. What we do know is that he had quite a following, his popularity attested by the countless... Read more.
Labour Day, Leisure and Life
Labour Day is a rather prosaic name for the last holiday of summer. Why not, ‘blow out day’, or ‘the end of leisure, and back to work day’... Read more.
Saint Raymond, the Not-Born, and Saint Aristedes, the Apologist
Saint Raymond Nonnatus, who died on this day in 1240, was a Mercedarian priest, whose Order, as their name implies, was taskedwith ransoming Christian slaves from... Read more.
The Not so Hidden Life of Blessed John Juvenal Ancina
Saint Philip Neri, the founder of the Oratorians and the ‘second Apostle’ of Rome, recommended reading books beginning with ‘S’, that is, lives of the saints,... Read more.
The Baptist Loses his Head
The celebration of the beheading of Saint John the Baptist – an expeditious entrance into heaven – is sort of a bookend to the summer; you may recall... Read more.