During the horrors of World War II, Chiara Lubich lived with a group of young women companions in Trent, Italy. “While in the air-raid shelter, we came upon...
Wise Guides
Wise Guides essays explore how saints and holy figures offer wisdom for today. In each reflection, the author connects a historical person’s ministry to our modern spiritual and moral challenges.
Anyone who was a member of a Catholic high school or college drama club during the 1950s and ’60s no doubt knows about St. Genesius—the patron saint of actors...
Early in our marriage my husband, Stephen, an Irish immigrant to the United States, was having trouble sleeping. He was happy enough with his new life in...
I first met Caterina Benincasa, better known as St. Catherine of Siena, during a trip to her hometown in Italy. I was a college student trying to figure out...
Franz Jägerstätter paved the way for those who object to war by following a higher order. In April 1974, while serving at the U.S. Navy base in...
I hadn’t heard of the Claretians or their founder, St. Anthony Mary Claret, until a priest gave a talk about them to us eighth graders at St. Mel Grammar...
Francis and Clare. Even though he was the better known of the two, it was Clare who most captured my attention at my Franciscan high school. From the...
Blessed among women, Robert Ellsberg calls her in his book of the same name. Here Emily Dickinson appears with other spiritual giants, sharing Teresa of...
A handsome, royal-blooded Basque descendant of the Castle Navarre, St. Francis Xavier dreamed of fame and fortune and of his name being echoed with awe...
I have been a Christian for 35 years, first as a Baptist and now as a Roman Catholic convert. I grew up in the Baptist church and loved its preaching, gospel...
