As the feast of St. Anthony (June 13) draws near, my memories go back to Padua where I spent several days in 2006. I had the opportunity to stay for a few days in the large friary of the Conventual Franciscan Friars. The friary stands right next to the magnificent Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua. I was able...
In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Tomb of Christ is marked by a shrine called the “edicule,” the successor to a series of such structures built over the tomb—and rebuilt—since the Emperor Constantine first constructed a huge basilica church and sheltered the tomb under a...
The dynamic Castro duo has a little treat for Pope Benedict XVI’s Easter basket this year: Good Friday will be celebrated as a national holiday in Cuba for the first time since the revolution in 1959. According to CNN, this raises the total number of religious holidays in that island nation to...
My coworker Susan, a lifelong Cincinnatian, says that one of the “coolest things” about living in Cincinnati is the Opening Day Parade. After many years of going down to the corner of Liberty and Race, just outside of our office, a block or so from where the parade starts, I’d have to...
It’s so easy to lose track of the days when you’re traveling, especially overseas.
So I hadn’t realized this morning was Sunday when my journalists’ tour group arrived at the Church of the Visitation in En Kerem, Israel, just outside Jerusalem.
It was a gorgeous morning — pure...
A few years ago I had a chance to tour the Emerald Isle with the AOH (Ancient Order of Hibernians or, as my sister and I called them, the Order of Ancient Hibernians). We joined the Bloody Sunday March in Derry, toured Kilmainham Gaol, walked among the graves at Glasnevin. We were supplied with expert guides...
