Franciscan Spirit

Devotion to the heart pierced on Calvary is nearly as old as Christianity, but it has undergone many changes over the centuries.

When we look at the mystery of Jesus, this evokes quite a different sense of the divine.

When she was declared a saint, did Mother Teresa strut around heaven and rub it in that she has been officially recognized whereas most of the other souls there have not? Unlikely. We formally recognize saints not for their benefit, but for ours.

Solanus’s struggle to find his place as a priest and member of the Capuchins followed him, in a sense, to his first assignment.

The Feast of Pardon, as it is called in Italy, always attracts thousands of visitors and pilgrims to Assisi.

St. Marguerite was born in Varennes (Quebec), one of 10 children, in 1701. Her father died when she was seven. This loss left the family destitute.