Franciscan Spirit

A Look Back at the Life of Padre Pio

Fr. Bryan Shortall, OFM Cap. May 9, 2020

Throughout his life, the boy who became Padre Pio was to bear a huge resemblance to the seraphic saint.

What Is Your View on Reality?

Richard Rohr, OFM May 9, 2020

Everybody looks at the world through their own lens, a matrix of culturally inherited qualities, family influences, and other life experiences.

Saint Francis Makes Bethlehem Real

Jeremy Harrington, OFM May 9, 2020

A joyful Christmas to you! Thanks for spending a minute with me on this great day.

Statue of St. Anthony and Jeuss | Photo by Wolfgang Krzemien

Saint Anthony, the Contemplative

Jack Wintz, OFM May 9, 2020

It was not until the year 2002 that I discovered the very first book ever written about Saint Anthony, the contemplative.

Saint Juan Diego: New World Apostle

Jack Wintz, OFM May 9, 2020

Juan Diego is more well-known than any king, queen, bishop, missionary or conquistador of that era. Though famous personalities pass away, Juan Diego continues to live in the memory of the people.

A Celebration of St. Monica

Lawrence S. Cunningham May 9, 2020

Educated by a household servant, Monica cared for her father and siblings until she married Patricius, a pagan landowner and minor Roman official of the same town.

Pope Francis walks with Argentine Rabbi Abraham Skorka, left, and Omar Abboud, a Muslim leader from Argentina, as he leaves after praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem in this May 26, 2014, file photo. In his official proclamation of the Holy Year of Mercy, Pope Francis called for "fervent dialogue" between Christians, Muslims and Jews. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Owning Our Cultural Biases

Richard Rohr, OFM May 7, 2020

We’re living in a time when the far right and the far left in almost every institution are using the eccentricities and evils of the other end to justify their own extremes.