O Blessed Lady, Please Send More Nicholas Gilroys to Us: The Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (The Extraordinary Form), Friday, October 11, 2019

J.M.J.

Nicholas Gilroy: Viva Christo Rey by Father Stephen Gemme and Deacon George O’Connor. Middle-town, Delaware, 2019. Paperback. 177 pages.

This present work, composed of twenty-two short chapters, is the second book in the Nicholas Gilroy Series. Nicholas Gilroy: Viva Christo Rey follows the inaugural volume, Nicholas Gilroy: Our Lady and the Guardian. Both are available on Amazon (www.amazon.com).

Young Nicholas is a seminarian who returns for his second year in Saint Peter’s High School Seminary in Baltimore. He is a devout, studious and athletic sophomore, and he seeks to be a good example to his fellow seminarians, 140 in all, including his close friends, Jose, Luke and Adam Marshall, who is a former gang member.

Father Stephen Reynolds, the Seminary’s respected Vice Rector, is the instructor of a course about the Sacraments. Nicholas has eagerly awaited this class. The information imparted is very useful and absolutely necessary for the future of these seminarians. Father Reynolds concludes the first class by leading his students in the “Renunciation of Sin and Profession of Faith,” a liturgical text that comes from the Mass on Easter Sunday.

The Rector of the Seminary, Father David Kelly, introduces the seminarians to the first three-day Retreat of the academic year. Father Reynolds then offers a powerful meditation, presenting the seminarians with the figure of Saint Jose Sanchez del Rio, a fifteen year-old martyr during the Cristero War in Mexico. The Retreat ends with the Mass celebrated by Cardinal Daniel Patrick Murphy, the Archbishop of Baltimore, and a sumptuous banquet.

After the delicious meal, Father Reynolds informs Nicholas and Jose that they are invited to accompany him to Saint Juan Diego High School Seminary in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, for a student exchange program during the current school year. Although the boys are not obliged to accept, they unhesitatingly agree.

Having arrived in Mexico, the trio, met by Father Enrique Ramirez, the Rector of Saint Juan Diego High School Seminary, go to their new place. They are aware that they are in the land visited by Our Blessed Lady in 1531 during the famous apparitions to Saint Juan Diego.

Nicholas and Jose concur to perform some apostolic work at the Home of the Holy Family, an orphanage for about one hundred boys, ages one to seventeen, which is operated by the Missionaries of Charity, the Religious Institute founded by Mother M. Teresa of Kolkata. The two seminarians meet Javier Santiago, a senior at Saint Thomas Aquinas Academy, which is a private Catholic high school in San Miguel de Allende. Hailing from a wealthy family, Javier confides in Nicholas and Jose that he longs to become a priest.

When not receiving the Sacraments, praying, studying or playing soccer, Nicholas, Jose and Javier work at the Home of the Holy Family and quickly become soccer coaches for the orphaned boys.

On December 12^th, Father Reynolds, Nicholas and Jose, chauffeured by Pablo, the caretaker of the Home of the Holy Family, make the three-hour trip to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City to attend Mass there on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The devotion of the Mexican people on this special day is particularly palpable.

Although Christmas Day is different for Nicholas because he is apart from his family, he is grateful for the opportunity to attend, with Jose, the Christmas Mass celebrated by Father Reynolds in the Home of the Holy Family. And during the Christmas recess at the Seminary, Father Reynolds encourages the two boys to begin a Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe, complete with daily Eucharistic Adoration, the recitation of the Holy Rosary and the Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The trio, along with Miguel, an orphan at the Home of the Holy Family, visit the home of Javier on January 6^th, the Feast of Los Reyes Magos—the Three Kings. Mr. and Mrs. Santiago and their four children heartily welcome Father Reynolds, Nicholas and Jose. But Mr. Santiago forthrightly expresses his desire to Father Reynolds: his son, Javier, must not become a priest.

Candlemas Day, February 2^nd, dawns. Mr. Santiago arranges a soccer match between the boys of the Home of the Holy Family and the students of Saint Sebastian High School in San Miguel de Allende, followed by a tamales party.

Father Reynolds schedules a pilgrimage for the spring break, with Pablo as the guide, for Nicholas, Jose and Javier to the Shrine of San Jose Sanchez del Rio in Saint James the Apostle Church in Sahuayo. The boys even walk to the town’s Cemetery where Saint Jose was martyred.  

The final four chapters of Nicholas Gilroy: Viva Christo Rey are filled with excitement and intrigue. Perhaps it would be best for this reviewer to stop here so to allow each reader the thrill of the last thirty-three pages. (And Chapter 1 has its share of mystery that will also engage the reader.)

Father Gemme and Deacon O’Connor weave a well-crafted story that is sure to edify. The two authors liberally sprinkle the text with helpful references to Catholic theology and spirituality. Let us hope that there will be a third volume.

Nicholas Gilroy is a pious, idealistic young man who is not unlike seminarians throughout the decades. We pray for many more of them.

Giving Attention to Our Lady’s Rosary: Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor, Monday, September 30, 2019

J.M.J.

There are many helpful quotations about the Rosary that are especially relevant during October. They may be incorporated into homilies, classes, Sunday parish bulletins and parish newsletters. Here are only a few quotations.

 

*“The Rosary is a prayer that always accompanies me; it is also the prayer of the ordinary people and the Saints . . . it is a prayer from my heart.” Pope Francis

*“Our Lady has never refused me a grace through the recitation of the Rosary.” Saint Pio of Pietrelcina 

*“The Rosary is the best therapy for these distraught, unhappy, fearful, and frustrated souls, precisely because it involves the simultaneous use of three powers: the physical, the vocal, and the spiritual . . .” Venerable Fulton Sheen

*“Cling to the Rosary as the creeper clings to the tree—for without Our Lady we cannot stand.” Saint Mary Teresa of Kolkata

*“Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.” Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

*“The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary’s own experience, is an exquisitely contemplative prayer. Without this contemplative dimension, it would lose its meaning, as Pope Paul VI clearly pointed out: ‘Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas, in violation of the admonition of Christ: ‘In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words’ (Mt 6:7). By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord’s life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord. In this way the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are disclosed.’” Saint John Paul II

*“Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day become a formal heretic or be led astray by the devil.” Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

*“The Holy Rosary is the storehouse of countless blessings.” Blessed Alan de la Roche

*“There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot solve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.” Servant of God Maria Lúcia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart

*“The Rosary is the most beautiful and the most rich in graces of all prayers; it is the prayer that touches most the Heart of the Mother of God . . . and if you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.” Saint Pius X

*“No prayer is more meritorious for the soul and more glorious for Jesus and Mary than a well recited Rosary.” Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

*“Today, together we confirm that the Holy Rosary is not a pious practice banished to the past, like prayers of other times thought of with nostalgia. Instead, the Rosary is experiencing a new Springtime. Without a doubt, this is one of the most eloquent signs of love that the young generation nourish for Jesus and His Mother, Mary. In the current world, so dispersive, this prayer helps to put Christ at the center, as the Virgin did, who meditated within all that was said about her Son, and also what He did and said. When reciting the Rosary, the important and meaningful moments of salvation history are relived. The various steps of Christ’s mission are traced. With Mary the heart is oriented toward the mystery of Jesus. Christ is put at the center of our life, of our time, of our city, through the contemplation and meditation of His holy mysteries of joy, light, sorrow and glory. May Mary help us to welcome within ourselves the grace emanating from these mysteries, so that through us she can ‘water’ society, beginning with our daily relationships, and purifying them from so many negative forces, thus opening them to the newness of God. The Rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical and superficial but profoundly, it brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation. It contains within itself the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, invoked with faith and love at the center of each ‘Hail Mary.’” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

*“Whoever spreads the Rosary is saved.” Blessed Bartolo Longo

" V. Gate of Heaven. R. Pray for us.": Saturday, August 31, 2019

J.M.J.

When I entered the seminary on August 24, 1984, one of the first seminarians I met was Peter. From Chicago but studying for one of the dioceses in Minnesota, Peter was generous and helpful. We recited the Holy Rosary together. More than once, we walked along the highway to an ice cream parlor a few blocks away. We discussed many things and laughed a lot. He even told me that his grandmother came to the United States on a ship from Italy with Mother Cabrini.

Peter was serious about spiritual matters. And in a short time after our friendship began, he introduced me to the “Total Consecration” Ad Iesum Per Mariam—“To Jesus through Mary”—advocated by Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort.

With a copy of A Treatise on True Devotion to Mary by Saint Louis Marie along with a slender book that offered recommended prayers and readings for the thirty-three days period of preparation, I started to ponder just what is this way of going to Christ through the Ever-Virgin.

Thirty-five years later, I understand better that what this inspiring missionary proposed requires a lifetime of continual effort. To know, love and serve Jesus Christ via the mediation of Mary is an awesome privilege—and a sacred responsibility.

This encounter with a revered method of drawing closer to the Son through His Mother remains a significant event in my life. In fact, it was pivotal. It opened an inviting horizon for me, and it taught me how Saint John Paul II himself related to the King and the Queen of the Universe.

That was not my initial contact with Our Blessed Mother. At home, we had a large painting of “Our Lady of the Grapes” in the dining room. My parents, five siblings and I honored Mary every evening during our night prayers with a decade of the Holy Rosary. One of my own sisters is named “Mary.” The Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary were our teachers in our parish’s school. Mary was all around us, and we were glad. 

Our Lady’s importance was reaffirmed for me when I, then as a priest, was sent by my Bishop to Rome to study Mariology. Now, I contemplated in-depth the Marian truths that before I knew experientially. What a treasure to have whole semesters dedicated to investigating the Divine Maternity, the Perpetual Virginity, the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption, not to mention other facets of the Marian mystery!

And, as if that were not enough, my current assignment allows me to work in the diocesan Office of the Marian Apostolate, encouraging the veneration of Mary and noting how she is present in the hearts of the Faithful.

The day-to-day interaction with my Spiritual Mother, however, is “where it’s at.” No amount of books, classes, presentations or pilgrimages can substitute for the consistent, needed receptivity to the love of Christ that Our Lady mystically models for me. She is the best human template of charity and mercy that I possess.

What more magnificent gift can I give to Our Lady other than my sincere conformity to Jesus Christ the Great High Priest? This is her desire. And, despite my weakness, I know that it must be mine, too.

That spirited, zealous Peter of decades ago? He was eventually ordained in another diocese in the Midwest. His death only a few years after his ordination was tragic, shrouded by uncertain circumstances. I will never forgot Father Peter’s kindness in ushering me into a fresh manner of venerating Our Lady. May his soul rest in peace. 

A Model Disciple and Priest: Memorial of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Monday, August 26, 2019

J.M.J.

I have begun to read, The Radiance of Christ: The Priesthood of Monsignor Kenneth W. Roeltgen (Meadville, Pennsylvania: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc., 2019, Paperback, 146 pages, $19.95) by Margaret Ann Fiore.

This looks to be a very inspiring book about a priest who loved very much the Most Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady, the Mother of Priests. 

Our Blessed Lady, Venerable Fulton Sheen and Islam: Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Thursday, August 22, 2019

J.M.J.

In The World’s First Love (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1952), Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, who is soon to be beatified, dedicated Chapter 17 to “Mary and the Moslems.” His insightful remarks seem apropos to our generation as we seek to understand better Islam and its adherents.

Bishop Sheen began by offering a snapshot of Islam. “Islam is the only great post-Christian religion of the world. Because it had its origin in the seventh century under Mohammed, it was possible to unite within it some elements of Christianity and of Judaism, along with particular customs of Arabia. Islam takes the doctrine of the unity of God, His Majesty and His Creative Power, and uses it, in part, as a basis for the repudiation of Christ, the Son of God. Misunderstanding the notion of the Trinity, Mohammed made Christ a prophet, announcing Him, just as, to Christians, Isaiah and John the Baptist are prophets announcing Christ.” (page 204)

As is well known, the Koran speaks of Our Lady. “First of all, the Koran believes in her Immaculate Conception and, also, in her Virgin Birth. The third chapter of the Koran places the history of Mary’s family in a genealogy which goes back through Abraham, Noah, and Adam. When one compares the Koran’s description of the Birth of Mary with the apocryphal Gospel of the Birth of Mary, one is tempted to believe that Mohammed very much depended upon the latter. Both books describe the old age and the definite sterility of the mother of Mary. When, however, she conceives, the mother of Mary is made to say in the Koran: ‘O Lord, I vow and I consecrate to you what is already within me. Accept it from me.’” (page 206)

Bishop Sheen offered an explanation as to the importance of Our Lady of Fatima and her connection to Islam. “Since nothing ever happens out of Heaven except with a finesse of all details, I believe that the Blessed Virgin chose to be known as ‘Our Lady of Fatima’ as a pledge and a sign of hope to the Moslem people, and as an assurance that they, who show her so much respect, will one day accept her Divine Son, too. Evidence to support these views is found in the historical fact that the Moslems occupied Portugal for centuries. At the time when they were finally driven out, the last Moslem chief had a beautiful daughter by the name of Fatima. A Catholic boy fell in love with her, and for him she not only stayed behind when the Moslems left, but even embraced the faith. The young husband was so much in love with her that he changed the name of the town where he lived to Fatima. Thus, the very place where Our Lady appeared in 1917 bears a historical connection to Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed.” (page 207)

When the Pilgrim Virgin Statue arrived in Africa and India, something unexpected occurred. “Moslems attended the Church services in honor of Our Lady; they allowed religious processions and even prayers before their mosques; and in Mozambique the Moslems, who were unconverted, began to be Christian as soon as the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima was erected.” (page 208)

Bishop Sheen made a prediction. “Missionaries in the future will, more and more, see that their apostolate among the Moslems will be successful in the measure that they preach Our Lady of Fatima. Mary is the advent of Christ, bringing Christ to the people before Christ Himself is born. In any apologetic endeavor, it is always best to start with that which people already accept. Because the Moslems have a devotion to Mary, our missionaries should be satisfied merely to expand and to develop that devotion, with the full realization that Our Blessed Lady will carry the Moslems the rest of the way to her Divine Son. She is forever a ‘traitor’ in the sense that she will not accept any devotion for herself, but will always bring anyone who is devoted to her to her Divine Son. As those who lose devotion to her lose belief in the Divinity of Christ, so those who intensify devotion to her gradually acquire that belief.” (ibid.)

The onetime National Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith concluded his comments. “Many of our great missionaries in Africa have already broken down the bitter hatred and prejudices of the Moslems against the Christians through their acts of charity, their schools and hospitals. It now remains to use another approach, namely, that of taking the forty-first chapter of the Koran and showing them that it was taken out of the Gospel of Luke, that Mary could not be, even in their own eyes, the most blessed of all the women of Heaven if she had not also borne One Who was the Saviour of the world. If Judith and Esther of the Old Testament were prefigures of Mary, then it may very well be that Fatima herself was a postfigure of Mary! The Moslems should be prepared to acknowledge that, if Fatima must give way in honor to the Blessed Mother, it is because she is different from all the other mothers of the world and that without Christ she would be nothing.” (pages 208-209)

The Holiness of Our Lady Assumed Body and Soul into Heaven Allures: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Thursday, August 15, 2019

J.M.J.

Our Blessed Lady leads us infallibly to her Divine Son. Her sanctity attracts us. We want to become holier when we encounter Mary.

Ponder those whose names are listed below. Each has a connection to the United States of America, and each is being considered for Canonization.

Five are "Blessed," while seven are "Venerable," and seventeen are the "Servant of God."

BLESSED (5)

1. Father Solanus Casey (1870-1959) . . . born in Wisconsin . . . Franciscan Capuchin . . . priest simplex, that is, he did not enjoy faculties to hear Confessions . . . encouraged thousands of those who came to him for prayer . . . Spiritual Director . . . loved the violin . . . Feast Day: July 30^th

2. Sister Miriam Teresa Demjanovich (1901-1927) . . . born in New Jersey . . . Ruthenian Catholic . . .  Religious . . . Sister of Charity . . . mystic . . . as a novice, she anonymously wrote the spiritual conferences for the professed Sisters . . . her brother was a priest . . . died at age twenty-six . . . Feast Day: May 8^th

3. Carlos Manuel Cecilio Rodríguez Santiago (1918-1963) . . . born in Puerto Rico . . . layman . . . chronically ill from ulcerative colitis . . . excellent student whose health prevented him from continuing in school . . . loved the Sacred Liturgy, especially the Easter Vigil of the night of Holy Saturday, exclaiming, Vivimos para esa noche (“We live for that night”) . . . played the organ during Mass . . . translated some liturgical texts into Spanish . . . practiced poverty, owning only one pair of shoes . . . died at age forty-four from rectal cancer . . . the first Caribbean-born layman to be beatified . . . Feast Day: July 13^th/May 4^th

4. Father Stanley Rother (1935-1981) . . . born in Oklahoma . . . attended Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary . . . diocesan priest who had a mission in Guatemala and was martyred there . . . a relative of his lives in our Diocese . . . Feast Day: July 28^th

5. Father Francis Xavier Seelos (1819-1867) . . . born in Germany . . . Religious . . . Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer . . . ordained a priest in Baltimore . . . lived in Pittsburgh with Saint John Neumann . . . proposed as a candidate for the Office of Bishop but was excused by Pope Blessed Pius IX . . . having cared for the victims of yellow fever, he contracted the disease and died from it at age forty-eight . . . Feast Day: October 5^th

VENERABLE (7)

1. Bishop Frederic Baraga (1797-1868) . . . born in Slovenia . . . ordained a priest in Ljubljana . . . missionary to the United States . . . spoke eight languages fluently . . . grammarian of a Native American language, Ojibway . . . the first Bishop of Marquette, Michigan

2. Bishop Alphonse Gallegos (1931-1991) . . . born in New Mexico . . . Religious . . . Order of Augustinian Recollects . . . Auxiliary Bishop of Sacramento . . . ministered to street gangs . . . “The Bishop of the Barrios” . . . struck by a car and killed  

3. Mother Henriette Díaz DeLille (1813-1862) . . . born in Louisiana . . . Creole . . . a Religious Foundress . . . Sisters of the Holy Family . . . died at age forty-nine in New Orleans during the Civil War when the city was occupied by the Union Army

4. Father Patrick Peyton (1909-1992) . . . born in Ireland . . . lived in the United States for many years . . . Congregation of the Holy Cross . . . promoted the recitation of the Most Holy Rosary . . . “The Family that prays together, stays together” . . . confidant of many in Hollywood

5. Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979) . . . born in Illinois . . . attended Saint Paul Seminary . . . well-known via books, radio and television . . . encouraged priests to make the daily “Hour Hour” before the Most Blessed Sacrament . . . may be beatified before the end of 2019

6. Pierre Toussaint (1766-1853) . . . born in Haiti . . . lived in New York City . . . a former slave . . . husband to a former slave whose freedom he purchased as well as a father . . . hairdresser . . . attended daily Mass for sixty-six years in Saint Peter Church, New York . . . philanthropist

7. Father Félix Varela y Morales (1788-1853) . . . born in Cuba . . . ordained a priest at age 23 for the Diocese of San Cristóbal de la Habana . . . taught philosophy, physics and chemistry . . . argued for the abolition of slavery in Cuba . . . served as a priest in New York City and later as the Vicar General of the Diocese of New York . . . theological consultant for the U. S. Bishops who wrote the Baltimore Catechism . . . developed severe asthma . . . died in Saint Augustine, Florida

THE SERVANT OF GOD (19)

1. Sister Thea Bowman (1937-1990) . . . born in Mississippi . . . African-American . . . convert from Methodism . . . Religious . . . Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration . . . obtained the Ph.D. in English . . . advocated on behalf of Catholic African-Americans

2. Father Vincent Capodanno (1929-1967) . . . born in New York . . . Maryknoll Missionary . . . U.S. Navy Chaplain assigned to a Marine Corps unit . . . killed in action in Vietnam . . . Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipient . . . “The Grunt Padre”

3. Father Walter Ciszek (1904-1984) . . . born in Pennsylvania . . . Society of Jesus . . . Missionary . . . imprisoned in the Soviet Union for almost twenty-three years . . . remembered for With God in Russia (1964) and He Leadeth Me (1973)

4. Terence Cardinal Cooke (1921-1983) . . . born in New York . . . Archbishop of New York . . . founded “Courage,” an outreach to men and women with same-sex attraction and promoted the pro-life cause . . . suffered heroically with leukemia

5. Dorothy Day (1897-1980) . . . born in New York . . . wife and mother . . . a “freethinker” who converted to the Church . . . with Peter Maurin founded the Catholic Worker Movement . . . advocated “distributism” as a way between capitalism and socialism

6. Catherine de Heuck Doherty (1896-1985) . . . born in Russia . . . founded “Madonna House” in Ontario . . . cheerfully served the poor . . . friend of Bishop Dudley’s . . . related to the de Heuck Family from Aberdeen

7. Black Elk (1863-1950) . . . (Heȟáka Sápa) . . . born in Montana . . .  second cousin of Crazy Horse’s . . . convert to the Church . . . catechist . . . buried in Saint Agnes Cemetery in Manderson, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Reservation . . . the Cause for Canonization was begun in the Diocese of Rapid City

8. Cora Evans (1904-1957) . . . born in Utah . . . wife and mother . . . convert from Mormonism . . . mystic

9. Monsignor Edward Flanagan (1886-1948) . . . born in Ireland . . . priest in the United States . . . founded “Boys Town” . . . worked with young men in moral danger and those considered “troublemakers” . . . the subject of a famous Hollywood movie

10. Father Demetrius Augustine Gallizten (1770-1840) . . . born in the Netherlands . . . from an aristocratic family . . . traveled throughout the United States . . . was ordained by Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore . . . honored as “The Apostle to the Alleghenies” 

11. Father John Hardon (1914-2000) . . . born in Pennsylvania . . . Society of Jesus . . . theologian . . . spoke at the Fatima Family Shrine in Alexandria during several summers during the 1990s . . . prolific author . . . his The Catholic Catechism (1975) and Modern Catholic Dictionary (1980) informed many

12. Mother Mary Alphonsa Hawthorne Lathrop (1851-1920) . . . born in Massachusetts . . . the daughter of American author, Nathaniel Hawthorne . . . wife and later widow . . . convert . . . the Foundress of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne

13. Father Emil Kapaun (1916-1951) . . .  born in Kansas . . . a priest of the Diocese of Wichita . . . U. S. Army Chaplain during World War II and the Korean War . . . died under hostile circumstances in Korea . . . posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart . . . had a relative in our Diocese

14. Father Joseph Kentenich (1885-1968) . . . born in Germany . . . Religious . . . Pallottine Fathers . . . Priest . . . founded the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary . . . because of his opposition to Nazism, he was arrested by the Gestapo, eventually interred at Dachau . . . destined to die in the gas chamber but rescued by a S.S. guard . . . founded more branches of Schoenstatt . . . became the parish priest of German speakers in Milwaukee . . . died in Germany on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

15. Father Eusebio Kino (1645-1711) . . . born in Italy . . . Religious . . . Society of Jesus . . . Priest . . . missionary to New Spain . . . served in Mexico, Baja, California and present-day Arizona . . . he established 24 missions

16. Mother Mary Lange (1784-1882) . . . born in Cuba in a Haitian community . . . immigrated to the United States . . . Religious and Foundress . . . a member of the first Religious Order in the United States composed of women African descent, the Oblate Sisters of Providence . . . worked to provide girls with a Catholic education

17. Bishop Vincent McCauley (1906-1982) . . . born in Iowa . . . studied at Creighton and Notre Dame . . . Religious . . . Congregation of the Holy Cross . . . Missionary to peoples of Asia and Africa . . . Bishop in Uganda

18. Sister Blandina Segale (1850-1941) . . . born in Italy . . . settled with her family in Cincinnati at age four . . . Religious and Missionary . . . Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati . . . worked for many years in New Mexico

19. Father Augustus Tolton (1854-1897) . . . born in Missouri . . . a former slave . . . the first Catholic priest in the United States known to be black when he was ordained in Rome in 1886 . . . responsible for the development and construction of Saint Monica Church on Chicago’s South Side . . . died at age forty-three in Chicago during the heat wave of 1897

"Our Lady's Juggler" by Anatole France: Monday, May 6, 2019

J.M.J.

During this Month of Our Blessed Mother, please read "Our Lady's Juggler" by Anatole France (1844-1924):

https://www.accuracyproject.org/t-France,Anatole-OurLadysJuggler.html