Melanie Rigney

Call it palace intrigue, call it family intrigue. Edward the Confessor’s life was filled with alliances and misalliances. After repairing a rift with his powerful father-in-law, Edward became more focused on his faith (“confessor” refers to his piety, not that he was ordained). It’s the rare family that hasn’t had some drama—someone who won’t speak to a sibling over a long-ago hurt, children estranged from their parents after a divorce. Edward’s example shows us that while relationships may never be restored to what they once were, with God’s help, respect and civility can be restored.

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli never left his roots as a northern Italian farmer’s son; it’s just that the places where he planted and sowed changed.

“Dear young people, let yourselves be taken over by the light of Christ, and spread that light wherever you are.” (St. John Paul II)