By Cindy Wooden / Catholic News Service MADRID — Pope Benedict XVI announced this morning that he will declare St. John of Avila the 34th “doctor of the church.” The Spanish saint, who lived 1500-1569, was famed as a preacher, confessor and spiritual writer. He is best known for the works “Audi, Filia” (“Listen, Daughter”), ...read more

Two months before his death in 1979, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen met Pope John Paul II in New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The two embraced, and the now Blessed John Paul II said to the legendary Catholic writer and broadcaster: “You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are a loyal ...read more

“Do something beautiful for God.” That’s the advice that Leonardo Defilippis received from Mother Teresa. The stage actor responded by dedicating his life to bringing the story of saints to the stage and screen through his company Saint Luke Productions. He’s told the stories of St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Francis, as well as the ...read more

In 1858, four Sisters of St. Ann traveled from Montreal to Canada’s West Coast aboard the SS Seabird with Victoria’s first Bishop, Modeste Demers (a relative of their current Bishop!).  They made the two-month voyage via a circuitous route through the Isthmus of Panama. Their goal was to aid the Bishop in his mission to ...read more

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI advanced the sainthood causes of 35 candidates, including Canadian Christian Brother Adolphe Chatillon. During a meeting April 2 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, the pope signed a decree recognizing that Brother Chatillon lived the Christian virtues ...read more

It’s becoming a common affliction across Canada: election fatigue. But as the country gets ready for its fourth federal election in seven years, the Church is reminding us just what is at stake. Hours after the government fell last week, the Canadian bishops released their 2011 Federal Election Guide. They want the faithful to evaluate ...read more

Last week, the Downtown Chapel in Portland, Oregon, made a special announcement:  they’re changing their parish name.  A recent degree by the Archbishop of Portland will change the Church’s patronage from St. Vincent de Paul to the Congregation of Holy Cross’ first saint, St. André Bessette. For any of you who have seen the documentary ...read more

In February 2009 my wife and I drove my colleague, Kris Dmytrenko, to the Buffalo, New York airport. He was flying to Rome for work, and giving him a ride to the airport gave us the opportunity to visit a few shrines in the upstate New York area. One of the shrines we visited was ...read more

Pope Benedict XVI’s Wednesday general audience this week highlights the life of St. Catherine of Genoa. Two things stood out for me about this talk: the 15th century saint’s words on purgatory and also what the Holy Father said about mystics.  He recounted the “profound union” Catherine had with God, but that she also cared ...read more

This year we celebrated Brother André’s first feast day as Saint André. There were many special celebrations throughout Canada, and at Ottawa’s Notre Dame Cathedral there was a bilingual Mass of Thanksgiving for Canada’s newest saint. Ottawa’s Archbishop Terrence Prendergast was the main celebrant.  In his homily, he spoke of the qualities that make Brother ...read more