Saint Marianne Cope and Robert Louis Stevenson: The Poet Who Visited Kalaupapa
In May 1889 Robert Louis Stevenson spent eight days at the Kalaupapa leprosy settlement and wrote a poem to Mother Marianne Cope. The record of that visit.
Saint Josemaría Escrivá and Franco: The 1946 Retreat at El Pardo
In April 1946 Josemaria Escriva preached a retreat at El Pardo, the residence of Francisco Franco. What Opus Dei sources say, and what critics say.
Saint Joseph Calasanz and Galileo: The Schoolmaster Who Stood Near the Condemned Astronomer
Joseph Calasanz opened Europe’s first free public school in Rome and sent his Piarist priests to learn from Galileo. What the record says, and what it cost him.
Saint John Henry Newman and Gerard Manley Hopkins: The Poet He Received into the Church
In 1866 a young Oxford poet wrote to John Henry Newman, visited him, and was received at the Birmingham Oratory. The record of Newman and Gerard Manley Hopkins.
Saint Ambrose of Optina: The Elder Both Dostoevsky and Tolstoy Went to See
Dostoevsky came to Elder Ambrose of Optina grieving his son in 1878. Tolstoy came three times. What the record says about the elder behind Father Zosima.
Saint Giovanni Calabria and C. S. Lewis: The Priest Who Wrote to Him in Latin
A Verona priest read The Screwtape Letters in Italian and wrote to C. S. Lewis in Latin. Their letters ran until Calabria died in 1954. The story of an unlikely friendship.
Saint Thomas More and Henry VIII: The King Who Watched the Stars With the Man He Later Executed
Henry VIII once took Thomas More up on a rooftop to study the stars and walked an hour with an arm around his neck. Years later he sent him to the block.
Auguste Rodin and Saint Peter Julian Eymard: The Monk Who Sent a Sculptor Back to His Studio
In 1862 Auguste Rodin joined the Blessed Sacrament Fathers. Their founder, Saint Peter Julian Eymard, urged him to keep sculpting. The story behind the 1863 bust.
Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko and Lech Wałęsa: The Priest and the Solidarity Leader
Lech Wałęsa stood with Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko in Solidarity’s years and spoke at his funeral on November 3, 1984. What the record shows about the two men.
Saint Elizabeth Feodorovna and the Murder of Rasputin: What the Telegrams Do and Do Not Show
After Rasputin was killed in December 1916, Grand Duchess Elizabeth, by then a nun, is reported to have called it a patriotic act. What historians say, and what they do not.
Saint Elizabeth Feodorovna: Queen Victoria’s Granddaughter Who Became Orthodox
Princess Elisabeth of Hesse, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, became Orthodox in 1891 and later founded a convent in Moscow. Her reasons, and her fate.
Saint John of Kronstadt and Tsar Alexander III: The Priest Called to Livadia in 1894
When Tsar Alexander III lay dying at Livadia in 1894, Father John of Kronstadt was summoned to pray at his bedside. Here is what the sources do and do not say.
Mother Teresa and Priyanka Gandhi: “Come and Work With Me” After Rajiv Gandhi’s Death
Mother Teresa visited Rajiv Gandhi’s grieving family in 1991. Priyanka Gandhi says she sat by her sickbed and said, Come and work with me, and that she later did.
Malcolm Muggeridge and Mother Teresa: The Skeptic Who Introduced Her to the World
Skeptic Malcolm Muggeridge interviewed Mother Teresa for the BBC, filmed her in Calcutta, and wrote Something Beautiful for God, which introduced her to the world.
Padre Pio and Beniamino Gigli: The Tenor Who Sang Mamma in the Friary Garden
Opera star Beniamino Gigli went to San Giovanni Rotondo to meet Padre Pio, was told his soul was dirty, and confessed. He kept returning to sing Mamma for the friar.
Saint Sophrony of Essex: The Painter Who Studied Kandinsky and Advised Arvo Pärt
Before he became Saint Sophrony of Essex, Sergei Sakharov was a Moscow painter shaped by Kandinsky’s ideas. Decades later, as an elder in England, he told composer Arvo Pärt to keep writing music.
Father Samir Daou: Maronite Priest Killed in Jbeil, Lebanon, and the Villages He Served
Father Samir Daou, a married Maronite priest of three Jbeil villages, was found killed on October 29, 2026. His life, his parishes, the arrest and the funeral.
Orthodox vs Catholic: Sign of the Cross, Purgatory, Mary and the Rosary
Orthodox vs Catholic: the sign of the cross, purgatory, praying to saints and Mary, and the rosary, with the Eastern Catholic position on each.
Saint Genesius: Patron Saint of Actors Who Was Converted on Stage
Saint Genesius of Rome, patron of actors: the story of the mock baptism, what historians say, Genesius of Arles, relics, plays, patronages and prayers.
Orthodox Fasting Rules: What You Can Eat, When, and Why the Church Fasts
Orthodox fasting rules explained: Wednesday and Friday, Great Lent, the Nativity Fast (Nov 15 to Dec 24), what you can eat, who is exempt, and why the Church fasts.