Saint Vincent de Paul: Priest, Founder and Apostle of Charity
The life of Saint Vincent de Paul, French priest who founded the Congregation of the Mission and, with Louise de Marillac, the Daughters of Charity. Separates documented history from legend, including the disputed captivity.
Saint John Bosco: Priest, Educator and Father of Youth
The life of Saint John Bosco, the Piedmontese priest who gathered poor boys in Turin, founded the Salesians, and taught the Preventive System of reason, religion and loving-kindness. Includes what is history and what is tradition.
Saint Sergius of Radonezh: Hermit, Abbot and Spiritual Father of Russia
A forest hermit who founded the Trinity monastery, revived communal monastic life in medieval Russia, and became the most beloved saint of the Russian land. His life, his disciples, the Battle of Kulikovo tradition, and what history can and cannot confirm.
Saint Basil the Great: Bishop, Monk and Defender of the Poor
A Cappadocian bishop who shaped the language of the Trinity, gave Eastern monasticism its working principles, and built a city of charity for the poor and the sick. His life, his writings, the Liturgy that bears his name, and what history can and cannot confirm.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: The Little Flower and the Little Way
A Carmelite who died at twenty-four and became a Doctor of the Church. Her life, her Little Way, Story of a Soul, and what history can and cannot confirm.
Nahariya Maronite Prayer Hall Vandalized: The Exiles, the Altar Note, and a Priest Who Forgave
Maronite prayer hall in Nahariya vandalized on All Saints Day. The note on the altar, the Lebanese exile community, Father Noura’s forgiveness, and what police know.
Saint Vincent de Paul and Anne of Austria: The Priest on the Council of Conscience, 1643
In 1643 the regent of France put Vincent de Paul on a council that chose bishops. What the sources say about the priest of the poor in the halls of power.
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.