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The tradition began two centuries ago, when a mid-December procession bearing the Madonna del Triunfu from Palermo to Ciminna arrived later than expected. “They were supposed to arrive at 6 p.m., but they didn’t make it into town until 1 a.m.,” explains Tony Napoli. “They had been eating and drinking along the way, so they were happy and dancing.”...

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Senator Andy Dinniman recently joined with members and families of St. Anthony’s Lodge to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Italian-American fraternal organization that has touched the lives of so many Chester County residents. In recognition of the milestone event, Dinniman presented Anthony Mascherino, Secretary of the Board of Trustees and co-ch...

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The University of Mary’s School of Health Sciences will be named for St. Gianna Beretta Molla, a pediatrician and a mother who died after declining cancer treatment that could have harmed her unborn daughter. “How fitting it will be to have St. Gianna the namesake of our School of Health Sciences, a saint who lived out this value in her medical pra...

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The sun took a while to peek through the clouds on Sunday, Oct. 6, but nothing could cloak the light in the hearts of parishioners and guests at St. Paul Parish and St. Nicholas of Tolentine Parish, both in South Philadelphia, for a day of festivities. The former saw the dedication of a long-desired church hall and a well-received feast, while the...

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Three weeks ago, in Italy, an extraordinary young Italian woman was beatified: Blessed Benedetta Bianchi Porro. Truly a saint for our time — especially for young people who suffer from chronic or progressively debilitating illnesses and all those who care for them, specifically doctors — you will not regret getting to know her. Benedetta was born i...

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Outside the Cathedral of St. Raphael in Dubuque, Iowa, is a small park named Cathedral Square. At its center is a sculpture of several figures: a priest, a miner, a riverboat captain and a farming couple. According to the artist, each figure represents the progression of settlers who came to call this area of Iowa home more than 175 years ago. Firs...

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Hidden treasure was found in the basement of Saint Bernadette’s Shrine Church in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. Hidden for decades, the historic image of Our Lady of Pompeii has been recently restored pro bono by Cente Art Studio of NYC (307 W 38th Street-www.centerart.com).  Dyker Heights, a long-time Italian enclave, is home to thousands of Italians an...

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When Thomas Lester began his job as the Boston Archdiocese's archivist in 2014, he quickly noticed that many of the archdiocese's bound archives containing centuries of records of sacraments performed by its clergy were beginning to fall apart. "It was very obvious right from the beginning that these thousands of records were seeing a lot of use an...

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There seems to be general agreement that liberal democracy in the Western world is in crisis. We can see this in the range of political upheavals over the past few years, from the 2016 election of Donald Trump and the disconcerting reality of an American president expressing open admiration for authoritarian regimes abroad, to the ongoing chaos ove...

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On the stairs of St. Alphonsus, a century-old, ornate Catholic church in West Fresno, generations of families are lining up.  “Hey you guys we’re taking a group picture,” someone calls out. The young and the old inch a little this way and that to squeeze in more closely. They’re all here to celebrate St. Elia, the patron saint of their ancestral vi...

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