On October 16, 1793, perhaps the most disgusting crime of the French Revolution occurred: the execution of Queen Marie Antoinette of France, after a show trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal. Plinio Correa de Oliveira wrote of Marie Antoinette: “ Certain souls are great only when the winds of misfortune blow upon them. Marie Antoinette, who … Read more
The pontificate of Saint Gregory VII (1073-1085) (born Hildebrand of Soana) constitutes one of the high points of the Christian Middle Ages. The pinnacle of his pontificate is the Dictatus Papae, a collection of twenty-seven statements defining the pope’s prerogatives and his relationship with temporal authority. In it, Gregory proclaimed the pontiff’s superiority over the emperor in … Read more
Saint Catherine was born in Genoa, Italy, on April 5, 1447, the youngest of five children. His father was Giacomo Fieschi, a member of an illustrious family that gave the Church two Popes, Innocent IV and Adrian V. Catherine’s deep inner life blossomed at the age of thirteen. She felt attracted to the convent, but … Read more
Published here on the anniversary of his baptism, January 31, 1842 Everyone knows about the Marian shrines of Loreto and Pompeii, and, in Rome, the great basilicas, but not everyone knows that, in the heart of the eternal city, there is a little parochial basilica, Saint Andrea delle Fratte, also known as the Shrine of … Read more
In the Fatima message of July 13, 1917, Our Lady said: “The war is going to end, but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given … Read more
“Two lame ducks, Macron and Scholz, and a former sovereigntist ugly duckling turned into a swan, Giorgia Meloni. This is what is left of Europe after the electoral earthquake.” These words, written by the columnist Antonio Polito in the Corriere della Sera of June 11, express the essence of the electoral result of the European … Read more
Among the thousands of travelers who crowd the Termini station in Rome every day, some stop by the nearby Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Via Marsala. The church was commissioned by Pius IX, who laid the foundation stone of the new building in 1870, but due to the annexation of Rome to the Kingdom … Read more
What is the state of the world in this opening of 2024? Pope Francis outlined a broad picture in his Jan. 8 address to ambassadors to the Holy See, gathered for the traditional New Year’s audience. There is a first point that deserves to be emphasized. Pope Francis does not habitually quote Pius XII. This … Read more
There was great anticipation over the synod that opened at the Vatican on 4 October 2023, but three days later, on 7 October, international attention shifted to the Middle East, bloodied all at once by the brutal attack on Israel by Hamas. This event, preceded by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has … Read more
Allahu Akbar!—“Allah is great!” This cry has resounded all over the world through the videos that documented the violence of Islamic militants against women, children and young people of all nationalities, massacred or kidnapped on October 7, 2023, while an avalanche of rockets beat down on Israel. The same invocation—Allahu Akbar!—rang out again in the … Read more
