We celebrate his feast day on Sept. 23. Padre Pio (1887-1968) - the Italian friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic - is one of the most famous of our 20th-century saints. We can chalk that up to his stigmata - the wounds of Christ visible on his hands, feet, and side. But why Padre Pio? And what does his stigmata mean for us?
Ten years in the making, involving the work of Marian Fathers old, new, and in formation, the book Saint Stanislaus Papczyński: Selected Writings is finally available, offering a modern English translation of the majority of the known works of the Founder of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception and one of the outstanding figures in Polish Catholic history and culture.
Thank God for the gift of Our Lady of Sorrows, whose feast we celebrate on Sept. 15, since in some fashion, it’s her sorrows that make her most familiar to us. Without the sorrows of our Lord and Our Lady, the Church would be left tongue-tied in the face of the problems of evil and suffering.
Let us never fail to call upon Mary in times of temptation and darkness. Let us faithfully pray the Rosary for peace in the world and the triumph of the Immaculate Heart, calling upon the name of Mary with every Hail Mary again and again until we come home to heaven or heaven comes to earth at the end of the world.
The 12th annual Mercy for Souls Conference will be held on Saturday, Sept. 10. More than a decade of conferences is a big commitment, but, says Fr. Dan Cambra, MIC, it’s all been worth it.
The Nativity of Our Lady, Sept. 8, falling nine months after the Dec. 8 observance of the Immaculate Conception, is a joyous feast day when Maria Gallagher remembers, in a special way, the model of grace that Mary represents.