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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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Sanctity now. That could be the slogan of a worldwide organization of laywomen, called the “Pro Sanctity Movement,” which has had a presence in the Diocese of Brooklyn for over 50 years. On Oct. 20, it will hold a benefit dinner at Msgr. Finnerty Hall at St. Kevin’s Church, Flushing, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the death of Italian Bisho...

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A metro area church expected to draw a large crowd for the viewing of relics of an Italian Catholic saint on Friday. Those expectations were well founded as an estimated 3,000 people had viewed the relics of St. Pio of Pietrelcina by 3 p.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church, 8005 Dorset Drive. At times, the line to get into the house of worship sn...

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As the Catholic Church reels from headlines of abuse, Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral looks to focus on healing by opening a chapter of the Maria Goretti Network and offering support to survivors of abuse.  The network was named for an 11-year-old Italian girl who died from her abuse more than 100 years ago. With help from chapters in Houston and Sea...

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For nearly 60 years, Brother Michael J. Rosenello called Wilmington home. The Oblate of St. Francis de Sales was an integral part of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, known primarily for his work at Padua Academy. Brother Mike, 92, died Sept. 20. He was a member of the Oblates for 71 years. The Padua community remembered Brother Mike at a prayer service...

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Go to a Catholic Mass anywhere in the world, and it’ll be nearly identical. Steadfast rituals and beliefs for hundreds of years: that deep-rooted sense of tradition is what has sustained parishioners like Milwaukeean Margaret Balistreri through the demolition of her Italian-American community’s spiritual home — twice. “Our church is gone, but we’ve...

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It's said Italy was a country of Saints, poets and navigators. There's no more trace of the poets and navigators but, fortunately, there are traces of the Saints. All the Italian towns are voted to a Saint and one of these is San Gennaro, well-known for his miracle. San Gennaro was born between Naples and Benevento in 272 AD (the exact place of his...

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