#Saint for Catechist

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Robert Bellarmine

Doctor of the Church

1542 - 1621 Feast day: September 17 Patronage: canonists, canon lawyers, catechists, catechumens, Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Saint Robert Bellarmine was an Italian Jesuit and a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was one of the most important figures in the Counter-Reformation. He was canonized in 1930 and named a Doctor of the Church. Bellarmine is also widely remembered for his role in the Galileo affair.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[carmelitequotes]

St. Henry de Ossó: All for Jesus

Discover the inspiring life of St. Henry de Ossó, priest and educator. Explore his quotes, devotion to Christ, and legacy of leading souls to Jesus. #CarmeliteSaints

A good book is the best counselor, friend, teacher, and corrector. If you love God, you will often remember Him. Let us love St. Joseph, for he is the most beloved saint of God. Let us love our neighbor with Jesus and for Jesus. Wait and you will see great things. If you want to go to heaven, do not forget that Mary is the gate. Suffer, obey, and remain silent for Jesus. Truth suffers but…

[cruger2984]

THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT CLELIA BARBIERI The Foundress of the Congregation of the 'Suore Minime dell'Addolorata' Feast Day: July 13

Clelia was born in the town of Le Budrie, in the Diocese of Bologna, on February 13, 1847, of very religious parents, Giuseppe Barbieri and Giacinta Nanetti. Her fellow villagers and neighbours eked out a meager living by the work of their hands, but, because of the lack of resources, were often ill. When Clelia was eight her father died of cholera.

The young girl learned from her mother not only how to sew and weave wool, but, more importantly, how to love God and live a religious life. She often asked her mother: 'Tell me about God,' or 'What can I do to become holy?'

She regularly went to church, and spent time at prayer.

She earnestly applied herself to the study of the catechism. By nature she was gentle and sweet, and remarkably innocent. When she wove hemp for marketing, she used to say to her mother who was urging her on to greater speed: 'Mother, we're being paid for this work, so we have to do it as well as we can.'

She developed her soul and mind by spiritual readings, especially the work of Saint Alphonsus Liguori entitled Pratica di amare Gesù Cristo, and the Filotea of Giuseppe Riva. She availed herself of the competent spiritual guidance of Don Gaetano Guidi, pastor of the town of Le Budrie, and with his help made great strides forward in love of God and Christian perfection.

Urged on by this man of God and her own natural inclinations, she wanted to dedicate herself entirely to the service and well-being of her fellow human beings. With this in mind she and other young people of the town began to work zealously at helping the poor and instructing the young in Christian doctrine.

After Vespers on Sundays she and her three companions met regularly and they would speak together about God. Gradually they decided upon sharing a common life.

'We're so poor,' Clelia used to say, 'that we won't be accepted into any institute. So we'll join together in a common life, dedicating ourselves entirely to God and neighbour.'

As a result, on May 1, 1864, the four young girls, trusting in God alone, moved into a small house, locally known as 'The Master's House.' There they established a quiet place withdrawn from the world, called 'The Retreat of Le Budrie', which is rightly considered the cradle of the Congregation of the Minims of the Sorrowful Virgin.

At first the primary concern of the members was to care for girls deserted or neglected by their parents, and train them in good living and domestic work. A little later, during a retreat, Clelia wrote a rule of common life, which stressed prayer, sacrifice, work and love.

The group of sisters chose as their patrons the Sorrowful Virgin Mary, whose devotion the Friar Servants of Mary had fostered in the Diocese of Bologna, and Saint Francis of Paola, the most humble of the servants of God whose help they sought in the necessities of life. Gaetano Guidi, the pastor, appointed Clelia superior of the group, for God had enriched her with heavenly gifts.

This is shown by the only handwritten letter of hers which we have, a letter entitled 'Jesus, my beloved Spouse'.

Meanwhile, while Clelia progressed rapidly through the stages of sanctity, the first stages of tuberculosis appeared in her fragile body. For seven months she was confined to bed.

Her prophesized words were: 'I'm leaving, but I'll never abandon you. You will grow in number, and you will expand over plains and mountains to work in the vineyard of the Lord. The day will come when here at 'Budrie' many will arrive with carriages and horses.'

Finally, on July 13, 1870, after saying: "Be of good cheer! I'm going to Paradise, but I'll always be with you, and never desert you!"

She went to the Lord. She was 23 when she reunited with Christ in heaven.

On the first anniversary of her death, as if in fulfilment of her promise, while her companions were gathered in prayer in what had been her bedroom, a voice-which all present thought to be that of Clelia-was heard responding to the prayers of the sisters.

From this modest beginning, the Congregation of the Minims of the Sorrowful Virgin grew.

Clelia was beatified by Pope Paul VI on October 27, 1968. Her body is venerated in the chapel of the Congregation's motherhouse at Le Budrie. She is canonized a saint by St. John Paul II on April 9, 1989.

[blushcoloreddreams]

October novenas

For whoever this could interest, here’s a list of this month’s novena’s and the reasons to pray them for yourself and for others.

St. John Paul II: For healing, for courage, for the youth. Starts October 13th

All Saints Day: For intercession of all saints. Starts on October 23

Our lady of Aparecida: from October 3rd to October 10. Patron Saint of Brazil, very used to ask for help in moments of affliction

Blessed Carlos Acutis: For a greater love of the Eucharist, for the youth, for computer programmers. Starts October 3rd

St. Jude: Lost causes. Starts on October 19

Holy souls in purgatory: souls in purgatory

St. Therese of Avila: For those who suffer from headaches. Starts October 6th

St. Luke: for those preparing for surgery or recovering from surgery Starts October 9th

St. Hedwig: for the relief from debt and for help with financial difficulties Starts October 7th

All Souls’ Day: the faithful departed/ souls in purgatory. Starts on October 24

St. Anthony Mary Claret: physical healing, spiritual healing. Starts October 15

St. Gerard Majela : for a healthy pregnancy and for childbirth/ delivery Starts October 7

St. Charles Borromeo: for bishops, seminarians and catechists. Starts on October 26

St. Margarida Maria Alacoque: October 7th

Saint Ignacio of Antioquia: For conversion and for those being persecuted for their faith.

Saint Peter of Alcantara: starts on October 10th To strengthen our faith

Saint Antonio Galvão: for engineers, architects and construction workers. Starts From October 16th.

[givemearmstopraywith]

i dont think i can be a catholic at least not at this part of my life (simone weil moment) but every year when i see / think abt people confirmed at easter vigil my entire body is wrecked with fomo and longing. is this god calling me to the church or what.

i have the exact same issue! i had a long talk with my mum about it on holy saturday- we watched the vatican solemn mass and saw eight adult catechists be baptized, and i did read to her something simone weil wrote that i return to often:

I owe you the truth, at the risk of shocking you, and it gives me the greatest pain to shock you. I love God, Christ, and the Catholic faith as much as it is possible for so miserably inadequate a creature to love them. I love the saints through their writings and what is told of their lives-apart from some whom it is impossible for me to love fully or to consider as saints. I love the six or seven Catholics of genuine spirituality whom chance has led me to meet in the course of my life. I love the Catholic liturgy, hymns, architecture, rites, and ceremonies. But I have not the slightest love for the Church in the strict sense of the word, apart from its relation to all these things that I do love. I am capable of sympathizing with those who have this love, but I do not feel it. I am well aware that all the saints felt it. But then they were nearly all born and brought up in the Church. Anyhow, one cannot make oneself love. All that I can say is that if such a love constitutes a condition of spiritual progress, which I am unaware of, or if it is part of my vocation, I desire that it may one day be granted to me.

it may be that you and i suffer from the same peculiarity, a love of God and not necessarily of the church. the church is a community of people who love God: you can love God without a church, and that does not invalidate your personal relationship with him at all, many people do benefit from a sense of fellowship and community. what do you find yourself yearning for when you see baptism and confirmation? for God, or for God in others? for God, or for the community of believers?

[silvestromedia]

SAINTS OF THE DAY FOR MAY 10

ST. GORDIANUS, MARTYRED ON THE VIA LATINA

STS. QUARTUS AND QUINTUS, MARTYRED ON THE VIA LATINA

St. Peter Van, Roman Catholic Catechist and Vietnamese Martyr. A native catechist, he was arrested by authorities and beheaded. May 10

St. Solange, Roman Catholic Martyr, a shepherdess whose beauty attracted the lustful attention of a noble in Poitiers. He kidnapped her, but when she leaped from the horse on which he was carrying her off, he pursued and killed her. May 10

ST. JOHN OF AVILA, PRIEST

St. William of Pontoise, 1192 A.D. English hermit. He resided at Pontoise, in France, having gone there to take up the eremetical life. His hermitage became popular in the region. He may have been Benedictine at St. Martin's Abbey.

St. Comgall, b.516 A.D., d.601 A.D. Abbot and teacher of St. Columbanus and the monks who evangelized France and central Europe. He was born about 516 in Yester, Ireland, and studied under St. Fintan at Cluain Eidnech Monastery. After living under a harsh rule as a hermit, Comgall founded a monastery in Bangor. He was abbot for eight thousand monks. Comgall also accompanied St. Columba on a mission to Inverness, Scotland, and founded a monastery at Heth. He died at Bangor.

Bl. Damien de Veuster, 1889 A.D. The Leper Priest, the Hero of Molokai. Born in Tremelo, Belgium, on January 3, 1840, he joined the Sacred Hearts Fathers in 1860. He was born Joseph and received the name Damien in religious life. In 1864, he was sent to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he was ordained. For the next nine years he worked in missions on the big island, Hawaii. In 1873, he went to the leper colony on Molokai, after volunteering for the assignment. Damien cared for lepers of all ages, but was particularly concerned about the children segregated in the colony. He announced he was a leper in 1885 and continued to build hospitals, clinics, and churches, and some six hundred coffins. He died on April 15, on Molokai. Slandered by a Protestant minister, Mr. Hyde, Damien was defended by Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote an impassioned defense of Damien in 1905. He was declared venerable in 1977. Pope John Paul II declared him beatified on June 4, 1995.

[anastpaul]

Saint of the Day – 3 September – Saint Pope Pius X (1835-1914) “Pope of the Blessed Sacrament” – born on 2 June 1835 at Riese, Diocese of Treviso, Venice, Austria (now Italy) as Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto (familiarly known as Joseph Sarto) and died on 20 August 1914 at Vatican City. He reigned from 4 August 1903 until his death in August 1914. Patronages – First Communicants, Catechists, Pilgrims, 7 Diocese, Patriarchy of Venice. His Incorrupt body lies at St Peter’s Basilica. He was Beatified on 3 June 1951 by Pope Pius XII and Canonised on 29 May 1954 by the same Pope.

(via Saint of the Day – 3 September – Saint Pope Pius X (1835-1914) – AnaStpaul)

[ub-designs]

Saint Charles Borromeo - Light and Dark

St. Charles Borromeo is the patron saint of bishops, catechists, cardinals, seminarians, and spiritual leaders. A fun fact about him is he had a speech impediment. He organized the third and last session of the Council of Trent, in 1562–63. He had a large share in the making of the Tridentine Catechism (Catechismus Romanus).

His feast day is on November 4th, and in honor of that I have published this art on Redbubble, and will publish the art on his feast day on TeePublic so there will be a sale.

Redbubble Light Version Dark Version TeePublic Light Version Dark Version

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[eternal-echoes]

“Catechesis is a pillar of faith education and we need good catechists! Thank you for your service to the Church and in the Church. Even if at times it may be difficult and require a great deal of work, and although the results are not always what we hope for, teaching the faith is something beautiful! It is perhaps the best legacy we can pass on: the faith! To educate in the faith, to make it grow. To help children, young people and adults to know and love the Lord more and more is one of the most exciting aspects of education. It builds up the Church! To “be” catechists! Not to “work” as catechists: this will not do. I work as a catechist because I like to teach… But unless you “are” a catechist, it is no good! You will not be successful … you will not bear fruit! Catechesis is a vocation: “being a catechist”, this is the vocation, not working as a catechist. So keep this in mind: I didn’t say to do the “work” of catechists, but to “be” catechists, because this is something that embraces our whole life. It means leading people to encounter Christ by our words and our lives, by giving witness. Remember what Benedict XVI said: “The Church does not grow by proselytizing; she grows by attracting others”. And what attracts is our witness. Being a catechist means witnessing to the faith, being consistent in our personal life. This is not easy! We help, we lead others to Jesus with our words and our lives, with our witness. I like to recall what Saint Francis of Assisi used to say to his friars: “Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words”. Words come… but witness comes first: people should see the Gospel, read the Gospel, in our lives. To “be” a catechist requires love, an ever stronger love for Christ, a love for his holy people. And this love can’t be bought in stores, even in Rome. This love comes from Christ! It is Christ’s gift! And if it comes from Christ, it also starts with Christ, and we too need to start anew with Christ, from the love he gives us.”

-Pope Francis, TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE PILGRIMAGE OF CATECHISTS ON THE OCCASION OF THE YEAR OF FAITH AND OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON CATECHESIS, Paul VI Audience Hall, 27 September 2013

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading; Wednesday, April 10, 2024

march 27_april 10

VENERABLE HESYCHIUS OF JERUSALEM (C.408)

He was a priest-monk renowned in the Eastern Church as a theologian, biblical commentator, and preacher. He played a prominent role in the 5th-century controversy on the nature of Christ and was acclaimed as having annotated the whole of sacred Scripture.

Serving as a priest in the church in Jerusalem c. 412, Hesychius gained repute as a theologian and catechist so that by 429, he was recognized by chroniclers and the Orthodox Mēnologion (lives of the saints liturgically arranged by month) as the pre-eminent biblical interpreter and teacher of the church in Jerusalem and Palestine.

Most of Hesychius’ writings have been lost, although scholarship in the second half of the 20th century continues to identify more of his works hidden among Greek manuscripts and Latin translations. His biblical commentaries include interpretations of the Old Testament books of Leviticus, Job, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. A celebrated moralistic annotation on the Psalms that had long been attributed to the 4th-century spokesman for orthodoxy, Athanasius of Alexandria, is now acknowledged as Hesychius’. Some earlier commentaries of probable authenticity contain germinal terminology of the heterodox Nestorians.

As a biblical exegete, Hesychius generally followed the allegorical method of the 3rd-century Christian theologian Origen of Alexandria. Hesychius’ preoccupation with symbolism led him to deny that a literal meaning could be found for every sentence in the Scriptures. In order to avoid heretical interpretations of Scripture, he rejected such philosophical terms as person, essence, or substance to express doctrine on the nature of Christ. On this point, he allowed only the term logos sarkotheis (“the word made flesh”), a biblical concept. Against the diminution of Christ’s divinity by Arius and his Antiochene followers, he veered toward the view of the Monophysites.

Credited with the earliest known liturgical addresses on the Virgin Mary, Hesychius also wrote a church history after 428 that controverted Nestorianism and other heretical beliefs. This text was incorporated into the second Council of Constantinople proceedings in 553. The works of Hesychius were published in the series Patrologia Graeca, J.-P. Migne (ed.), vol. 27, 55, and 93 (1866).

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

THE MONKMARTYR EUSTRATIUS OF THE KIEV NEAR CAVE (1096)

Martyr Eustratius of the Caves was born in the eleventh century at Kiev into a wealthy family. As an adult, he received monastic tonsure at the Kiev Caves monastery, after giving away all his possesions to the poor. Saint Eustratius humbly underwent obediences at the monastery, strictly fulfilling the rule of prayer and passing his days in fasting and vigilance.

In 1096 the Polovetsians captured Kiev and ravaged the monastery of the Caves, doing away with many of the monks. Saint Eustratius was taken into captivity, and was sold into slavery with thirty monastic laborers and twenty inhabitants of Kiev to a certain Jew living in Korsun.

The impious Jew tried to make the captives deny Christ, threatening to kill those who refused by starving them. Saint Eustratius encouraged and exhorted his brother Christians, “Brothers! Let none of us who are baptized and believe in Christ betray the vows made at Baptism. Christ has regenerated us through water and the Spirit. He has freed us from the curse of the Law by His Blood, and He has made us heirs of His Kingdom. If we live, we shall live for the Lord. If we die, we shall die in the Lord and inherit eternal life.”

Inspired by the saint’s words, the captives resolved to die of starvation, rather than renounce Christ, Who is the food and drink of Eternal Life. Exhausted by hunger and thirst, some captives perished after three days, some after four days, and some after seven days. Saint Eustratius remained alive for fourteen days, since he was accustomed to fasting from his youth. Suffering from hunger, he still did not touch food nor water. The impious Jew, seeing that he had lost the money he had paid for the captives, decided to take revenge on the holy monk.

The radiant Feast of the Resurrection of Christ drew near, and the Jewish slave owner was celebrating the Jewish Passover with his companions. He decided to crucify Saint Eustratius. The cruel tormentors mocked the saint, offering to let him share their Passover meal. The Martyr replied, “The Lord has now bestown a great grace upon me. He has permitted me to suffer on a cross for His Name just as He suffered.” The saint also predicted a horrible death for the Jew.

Hearing this, the enraged Jew grabbed a spear and stabbed Saint Eustratius on the cross. The martyr’s body was taken down from the cross and thrown into the sea. Christian believers long searched for the holy relics of the martyr, but were not able to find them. But through the Providence of God the incorrupt relics were found in a cave and worked many miracles. Later, they were transferred to the Near Caves of the Kiev Caves monastery.

The prediction of the holy Martyr Eustratius that his blood would be avenged was fulfilled soon after his death. The Byzantine Emperor issued a decree expelling all Jews from Korsun, depriving them of their property, and putting their elders to death for torturing Christians. The Jew who crucified Saint Eustratius was hanged on a tree, receiving just punishment for his wickedness.

Source: Orthodox Church in America_OCA

ISAIAH 26:21-27:9

21 For behold, the Lord comes out of His place To punish the earth's inhabitants for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no longer cover her slain.

1 In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea. 2 In that day sing to her, “A vineyard of red wine! 3 I, the Lord, keep it, I water it every moment; Lest any hurt it, I keep it night and day. 4 Fury is not in Me. Who would set briers and thorns Against Me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together. 5 Or let him take hold of My strength, That he may make peace with Me; And he shall make peace with Me.” 6 Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, And fill the face of the world with fruit. 7 Has He struck Israel as He struck those who struck him? Or has He been slain according to the slaughter of those who were slain by Him? 8 In measure, by sending it away, You contended with it. He removes it with His rough wind on the day of the east wind. 9

Therefore, by this, Jacob's iniquity will be covered; and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: When he makes all the stones of the altar like chalkstones that are beaten to dust, wooden images and incense altars shall not stand.

GENESIS 9:18-10:1

18 Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated. 20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21 Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 So Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done to him. 25 Then he said: “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.” 26 And he said: “Blessed be the Lord, The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant. 27 May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant.” 28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.

1 Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood.

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons

Doctor of the Church

130-202

Feast Day: June 28

Patronage: Apologist and Catechist

Saint Irenaeus, one of the Fathers of the Church, and a bishop of Lyons, France combated the Gnostic heresy (that the material world was evil and had access to secret knowledge) by exposing and refuting their teaching with the true teaching of Christian orthodox teaching and apostolic authority. His work laid the foundation of Christian theology and was translated into Latin so it would be available to all. He most likely was martyred because of the persecutions of the time.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase. (website)

[myremnantarmy]

𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥

Memorial of Saint Andrew Kim Taegon, priest and martyr, and Saint Paul Chong Hasang, catechist and martyr, and their companions, martyrs

Gospel Lk 7:31-35

Jesus said to the crowds:

"To what shall I compare the people of this generation?

What are they like?

They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,

'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.

We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.'

For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine,

and you said, 'He is possessed by a demon.'

The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said,

'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,

a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'

But wisdom is vindicated by all her children."

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (November 4)

No age of the Catholic Church's history is without its share of confusion and corruption.

Still, even in moments when disorder may seem overwhelming, individuals and movements eventually arise to propose the faith with clarity and demonstrate it in action.

St. Charles Borromeo, a central figure in the Council of Trent, is remembered on November 4 as a model of such leadership in difficult times.

The circumstances of Charles' birth on 2 October 1538 could have easily allowed him to join the ranks of corrupt Renaissance-era clergy.

He was born into luxury, the son of noble parents, with a guaranteed income comparable to modern “trust funds.”

The Borromeo family was one of the most ancient and wealthy families in Lombardy, made famous by several notable men, both in the church and state.

His father Gilbert was Count of Arona. His mother Margaret was a member of the Milan branch of the House of Medici.

Early on, however, the young man signaled his intention to go against the cultural grain.

He announced his desire to serve the Church with sincerity, asking his father to give away the majority of the fund's money to the poor.

Charles could not escape a certain degree of wealth and prestige, which were expected due to his social class, but he insisted on using these forms of leverage to benefit the Church, rather than himself.

When he was 22, his opportunity came: the young lawyer and canonist's uncle was elected as Pope Pius IV.

Charles soon assumed staggering responsibilities, serving as a papal diplomat and supervisor of major religious orders.

The young man relaxed from these tasks through literature and music, taking no interest in the temptations abounding in Rome during the late Renaissance.

He considered renouncing even this temperate lifestyle for the strict observance of a monastery — but found himself more urgently needed in the work of concluding the Council of Trent.

The Church's nineteenth Ecumenical Council had begun in late 1545 but experienced many delays.

Its twofold mission was to clarify Catholic doctrine against Protestant objections and reform the Church internally against many longstanding problems.

As a papal representative, Charles participated in the council's conclusion in 1563, when he was only 25.

He also played a leading role in assembling its comprehensive summary, the Roman Catechism or 'Catechism of the Council of Trent.'

In reward for his labors, Charles received even greater responsibilities. Ordained a priest during the Council, he was named as archbishop and cardinal only months later.

He found his diocese of Milan in a state of disintegration, after two generations of virtually no local administration or leadership.

The new bishop got straight to work establishing schools, seminaries, and centers for religious life.

His reforms of the diocese, in accordance with the decrees of the council, were dramatic and effective, so much so that a group of disgruntled monks attempted to kill him. His survival was called miraculous.

The new archbishop's efforts for catechesis and the instruction of youth were especially fruitful, initiating the work of the Confraternity for Christian Doctrine and the first “Sunday School” classes.

He also gave important pastoral attention to English Catholics who fled to Italy to escape new laws against the Catholic faith.

St. Charles Borromeo's amazing diligence, frequent travel and ascetic living eventually took their toll.

The once young prodigy of the Papal Court also died young at the age of 46 on 3 November 1584.

He was beatified by Clement VIII on 12 May 1602. He was canonized by Paul V 26 years later, on 1 November 1610.

He is the patron of bishops, cardinals, seminarians, spiritual leaders, catechists, and catechumens.

[cruger2984]

THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINTS PERPETUA AND FELICITY Feast Day: March 7

The story of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, the patron saints of Carthage, has moved the hearts of generations of Christians.

Perpetua, a 22-year old noble lady of Carthage, was the mother of a baby boy; while Felicity, a young slave, at that time was pregnant. During the persecution of Lucius Septimius Severus in 203 AD, they were arrested along with three other catechumens: Revocatus, Saturninus and Secundulus.

They were baptized in prison by Saturus, their catechist, who underwent voluntary imprisonment with them. Perpetua surrendered the child to her pagan father, but remained firm in her faith despite his supplications. Felicity gave birth in prison to a child, whom a fellow Christian adopted.

After confessing their faith before the judge, the martyrs were condemned to be thrown to the wild beasts. They marched into the amphitheater, singing psalms and giving one another the customary kiss of peace.

The three men were torn to pieces by bears and leopards; while Perpetua and Felicity were exposed to a bull.

They stood hand in hand before the savage animal that tossed them repeatedly, leaving some horrible marks on their bodies. They were finally brought into the middle of the amphitheater and slaughtered with the sword. Perpetua guided to her throat the shaking hand on the inexperienced gladiator, who had failed to kill her at the first stroke.

[mnopqrstuvwxyzeus]

It's the @GrandFrostMartyr

coming from another land

It's TheBlueRidgeWitch

TheBlueWitchOfBlueRidge

It's the, it's the

HermitOfTheBlueRidgeMountains

It's the TokyoShaman

ShibuyaShaman

ShyGuyShaman

It's the, it's the

HermitOfTheBlueRidgeMountains

TheGrandFrostMartyr

TheosisSlaughterhouse

inTheNameOfTheFather

HereNotMuchLonger

ThereForever

ThereforeAllwaysHereAndThereForEverLongest

StrangestParanorman

GodWorkingOvertime

ItDon'tHurtHim

It's the

Slaughter of a Hen

Slaughter of a Rooster

It's the Ressurect

It's the Resurgence

The Revolution

It's the Sacrifice

And the Hangman And the Hermit

TheHungHermit ;)

TheJesterAndTheKhristos

ThePerfectAndTheFixable

ItsTheGreatEscape

TheGR8LostNationAndThePeoples

It'sTheHalleluyah

iPledgeOfAllegiance

EmergencySirensGoingOff

JustToSingPraises

AndSendSalahToTheGracious

ArRahman, can you say it?

ArRahīm, can you spray it?

Run it back to Allāh

when you don't know what's what

like character limits.

It's The GHOST incarnate

in an 8Bit Soldier

Souljah, how many times do u gotta spell it

to let it ferment like fine wine enjoyments

sip on it swiftly, briefly, satisfactorily,

please pop the bottle open 'for my corpse

rots in the dirt with no one to enjoy it

this that #540 #joy #core

this that say your ABC's & ZYX's & 123's 987's

0's emoji's and hexes, pleasant sigil fandom

or phantom, this that wholyphrenia

beautifull mind see it spelled out in the trap

in a room like a box with some notes

like phantom of the opera

old dreams and new ones

ñu songs get yo nudes on

sent to the best one

the best only for the best one

only from the best one

"take a look"

said the phantom

phantom

repetitive is a song

enscribing the rhythm

measuring the meter

the metronome dancing

measuring the melody

the metronome is a melody and a meter

yes sir and you heard it here first

as you heard it there second

but it was the same in the after life

and before birth so now you are so present

so now we are so present

so now i am so present

lonely like an island

I can't spell depression

sunlight shining on me

in 3 hours learn another lesson

no light gleaming on me

in this moment in a flood of the space

and the stars like the islands

sparkle and flutter

like a butterfly bladee

bonkai bones made knives

sharper than obsidian

deepest color of the origin story of all races

places and times and essence

sharpest edge was a fairy tale

a dream most dated to end as destined

dustined, probably rewire this song

thru another medium on another mark upon

the calendar and a whole new blessing

the same as the last one, old one, dead one,

young one, fresh one, yes one.

no one, ebb & flow my friend you know how

I must work this pen with all my sentience

zentience, available is a new nym for the internet

yes and I must confess

no I do not sin

habits of my dwelling

habits of my dwelling

stretch out the cave like a shadow limousine

saints row 3 dead island 4 the last of us mixd

with mirrors edge and silent hill is as obvious

as fatal frame is like crysis and metal gear rising

my tense is perfect, present.

perfect, present

my tense is breathless

how am i even living

asphyxiation in my internet history

before i men in blackd it

according to my ignorance

interested in the deep interest

of the mariana trench deep computer science

over my head with my privacy info, intelligence,

search box curiosity sold for some interest

dividends like diablic or profit of a peso

love it, gotta love it lest you hate it

gotta hate it if you feel it

transmutation kybalionistic

heard pearls in the wind of the 8bit

6-4-2bit GANGSTA

Gangstalking thru my window ya bitch

I was listening thru prophets thru Pandora's

boxes, radioheaded teen since a jit,

Kabbalistic, Catechistic, autocorrected jit to joy

it makes more sense than i dare to admit

smell it in the air it's a hit of flesh

in the flames i repent

repent best in the flames i repent

incarcerated by earth around the flames

i repent in

above my head is more flames and the earth

over head is the earth in the flames that

consume this itch, will to live

incoherently and indecisively

7 deadly sins all dead

all the sins that could be all dead

in the ceiling's end, the end.

in the ceiling's end, the end, no cap.

ain't no limit in the sky, it's end.

ain't no limit but the sky, it's dead, unlimited.

ain't no ceiling to this leveling in the 9th firmament. in the 9th end of ends.

on cloud 9 with all my best of friends

best of the best of the best of friends

in the 9th sky with the clearest heads

zone in and end. zone out, begin.

in the highest of heavens with all my friends

in the highest of highest of heaven's ends. :)

celestiality, best friend, best friend.

Al-Samawi, makes bed, makes bed.

Al-Alīy-Āwi, a mystery to scratch my head

in debt again, do my homework then i do the

forrest tekh. forrest tekhnique of dancing with

all the dead. corvette is the flesh of the spirit

strangest, strangest... melodies, parables,

I heard through the grape vine, again,

Like the winds and the canopies and the roots

of the trees and the fiber optix underwater

formed metropolis, my favorite mystery

is so basic, i could use a little bit of basic

mathematix like a varial flip

just to see what's next.

everybody lied to ya face w no shame n no blame

on they body they was just doing as they knew

no more room for improvement in e-den

before eve made a friend witta serpent n gave in

they be skating switch and regular

they be skating goofy and switch

he be skating ambidexterily

that's a good friend, unkept.

loose ends, singes, remnants, syphones,

break up, bring in, new roots, uproot those

looking like poison even if it's subjective

yeah whatever mane and i'm on and off again

new macbook or dell under nimrod hangs

under pine trees with LEDs is the perfect place

for shade for me, shady, elementary rhyme

schemes turned to exponentially fed fiends.

centipede, cry to me, I can barely see,

but i see your need. arachnology,

theologos let me learn about your needs, please,

i beg for mercy to the sweetest being which be.

ghostwriters and i'm blind in not acknowledging.

eyes see eye see i see, clarity, god's peace, lightning in the space deep, clarity, i see,

angels glistening and chanting many names

so sweet so sweet like ice ice cream

so sweet so sweet like pure ice cream

organically i eat and feed

foraging no need for agricultural technologies

jeez jeez jeez louis.

cheese on the block killed the fiend times 3

creep on the block cold centipede with blades

four feet x 16 = 66 approximately ...

evolutionarily i can't count exactly

accordingly no man beside me

may be able to tell me

what it means to be free

let alone how many legs a centipede had

last week, has currently, or will have next week...

[dankusner]

POPE LEO XIV 

‘Peace be with all of you’

The dual citizen of Peru was seen as front-runnerChicago-born priest is first American to lead Catholic Church

Cardinal Robert Prevost, the Chicago-born missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and took over the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church on Thursday.

Prevost, a 69-year-old member of the Augustinian religious order, took the name Leo XIV.

In his first words as Pope Francis’ successor, uttered from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, Leo said, “Peace be with all you,” and emphasized a message of “a disarmed and disarming peace” dialogue and missionary evangelization. 

He wore the traditional red cape and trappings of the papacy — a cape that Francis had eschewed on his election in 2013 — suggesting a return to some degree of tradition after Francis’ unorthodox pontificate.

“I would also like to thank all my brother cardinals who have chosen me to be the successor of Peter and to walk together with you as a united church, always trying to find peace, justice and always trying to work as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, without fear,” the pope said in near-perfect Italian, mentioning the saint considered the first pope.

Prevost had been a leading candidate for the papacy, but there had long been a taboo against a U.S. pope, given the country’s geopolitical power already wielded in the secular sphere. 

But Prevost was seemingly eligible because he’s also a Peruvian citizen and had lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop. ‘Latin Yankee’

The “Latin Yankee,” as he is known in Rome, worked 20 years in Peru’s poorest enclave and fell so in love with the country that he became a naturalized citizen. 

His commitment there echoes the legacy of Pope Francis, an Argentine who became the Catholic Church’s first leader from South America.

“He’s right out of Francis’ playbook,” said Kathleen Sprows Cummings, a professor of history at the University of Notre Dame who focuses on U.S. Catholics. 

“He ticks off all the boxes of a future pope: a pastoral heart, managerial experience and vision.”

Francis’ go-to man

Francis turned to Prevost on repeated occasions. 

In 2022, he had him preside over a revolutionary reform: adding three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations go forward to the pope. 

Yet his successor is considered more middle of the road, pragmatic as well as cautious.

The new pope choked back tears as he walked out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time Thursday evening in Rome. 

He read his first address in Italian, starting with, “Peace be with you all.”

“We can be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges, that is always open to receive everyone — just like in this square, to welcome everyone, in charity, dialogue and love,” he told the huge crowd assembled before him. He also issued a greeting in Spanish and a shout-out to his former diocese in Chiclayo, Peru.

An enigma

In picking Prevost, the papal conclave looked past allegations that he had mishandled or failed to act on sexual abuse cases involving priests in Peru and the United States.

He was selected despite being “an enigma to cardinals, especially to American cardinals, because he spent his life outside of the United States,” said Jon Morris, a theologian and former priest who has been in Rome to observe the transition as a Fox News contributor.

Prevost’s childhood roots were deep on Chicago’s South Side, where he grew up worshiping at St. Mary of the Assumption Church. 

Local media have reported that his father, of French and Italian ancestry, was an educator who served in the church as a catechist and that his mother, of Spanish ancestry, was a librarian. 

Members of the clergy would come to his family’s home from across Illinois for community and his mother’s tasty cooking, according to the Pillar, a Catholic media project.

As a youth, he served as an altar boy and went to the parish school and then a seminary high school. 

He attended Villanova University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1977. 

He was ordained five years later and completed a doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. 

Then came two decades of service in Peru, much of it as a missionary and parish priest.

Prevost, who is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and French, was twice elected top leader of the centuries-old Order of St. Augustine. 

Its website describes the international order as “living together in harmony, being of one mind and one heart on the way to God,” calling nothing their own and living communally.

Francis kept track

Francis tracked Prevost’s career for years, sending him back to Peru in 2014 after appointing him apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, in the country’s northwest. 

In 2015, he was named bishop there.

In 2023, the pope appointed Prevost to dual roles: president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and leader of the Dicastery for Bishops, a powerful office at the Vatican that selects bishops around the world. 

He held that latter position until Francis died April 21.

Cummings views Prevost’s selection Thursday as “an opportunity for U.S. Catholics to grow closer to the global church.” 

As for his hometown, she added, “I think the people of Chicago are just elated.”

His role in two different cases of sexual abuse by priests in Chicago and Peru ultimately did not derail him.

Questions raised

The first case dates to about 25 years ago, when Prevost led the Augustinian Province of Chicago. 

A priest who church leaders found had sexually abused minors was allowed to stay at an Augustinian monastery near a Catholic elementary school. 

The Vatican denied Prevost ever authorized that arrangement.

More recently, questions were raised about Prevost’s knowledge of abuse allegations in the Chiclayo diocese during his tenure as bishop. 

Two priests were accused of molesting three young girls, and a complaint this year by Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, alleged that “Prevost failed to open an investigation [and] sent inadequate information to Rome.”

The Vatican again denied any wrongdoing by Prevost.

“Given what we know about the pervasiveness of clerical sexual abuse, it is certainly plausible that abuse occurred on his watch; he was superior general of a congregation of priests that ministers in 50 countries across the globe,” Cummings said. 

“It’s also entirely conceivable that he failed to act decisively in punishing perpetrators and supporting victims but, sadly, that’s true of almost all the men who occupied positions of high leadership in the Catholic Church in the second half of the 20th century. 

The cardinal electors would be hard-pressed to find a man among their number whose record on this issue is spotless.”

Because he has crisscrossed multiple borders — both geographic and religious — Prevost had a prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals had, Cummings said.

In a 2023 interview with Vatican News , Prevost spoke about the essential leadership quality of a bishop.

“Pope Francis has spoken of four types of closeness: closeness to God, to brother bishops, to priests and to all God’s people,” he said. 

“One must not give in to the temptation to live isolated, separated in a palace, satisfied with a certain social level or a certain level within the church.

“And we must not hide behind an idea of authority that no longer makes sense today,” he continued. 

“The authority we have is to serve, to accompany priests, to be pastors and teachers.”

Pope Leo XIV Is Symbol of Hope

Our interest in the papacy arises from a common human search for meaning in a world of suffering

Our world needs symbols of hope, compassion and something greater than the struggles of this life.

For that reason, we believe so many people, not just Roman Catholics, pay great attention to the selection of a new pope in the belief that faith, even a faith they may not share, matters.

The election of an American, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, as the next pope was a great surprise, even if its significance remains to be fully understood. 

All we can really say is that it is significant for reasons both moral and political, and the response of people all over the world echoes that truth.

Pope Leo XIV, who left his Chicago home as a teenager for a life of missionary work in Peru, is a man of the world who represents so many places of importance to the Roman Catholic faithful, from the U.S. to Latin America to the Vatican.

We join millions of others in wishing him the best in his work leading the world’s Catholics.

The fact that so many of us, believers and nonbelievers, Christians and non-Christians, are interested in who becomes pope says something about the role of faith in human life.

That interest ascends from a natural human longing for something beyond this world, beyond its material comforts, its suffering and pain, its assurance of death. 

In Christianity, the meaning of our temporal life is defined in the belief that eternal life with the divine awaits for those who faithfully live in the light of the teachings of Jesus Christ. 

Other faiths define the path to salvation or to peace in different ways. 

But a common thread among cultures and times is the search for that path. Because all faith represents a moral frame that orders life around particular rules, it is inevitable that the papacy and politics are entwined. 

For that reason, the question of whether Pope Leo will be conservative, moderate or progressive will dominate much of the secular discussion of his papacy.

But the intense interest in his selection belies the notion that routine politics is what people care about here. 

Those questions are, so often, temporal and corporeal. 

The real work of faith is so far outside those narrow concerns that politics diminishes in the face of questions like “How was I created?” and “Why do I exist?”

The answer we so often hear now from the secular elite is that there is no answer or that any answer is as good as any other. 

Meaning itself is relative. 

Truth is fungible.

Pope Leo’s answer, we must believe, would be that we each exist as the precious creation of a loving God, born into a world of suffering and sin that is not our true home, and that we are each vested with the dignity of our common humanity.

Even those who don’t align with Catholicism or Christianity may see in the selection of a new pope a symbol of meaning beyond this world, of a greater good that humanity can achieve.

Is it any wonder then that people turn their faces toward such hope and such belief?

Prevost was ‘the pride and joy of every priest and nun’ at St. Mary’s

Catholics across the region celebrated the historic announcement Thursday that the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the church was born and raised in the Chicago area and marveled that the faithful will now be led by a relatable local boy who grew up in the south suburbs, cheers for the White Sox and hits up Aurelio’s pizza when he comes back home.

In his first words as Pope Leo XIV, 69-year-old Robert Francis Prevost proclaimed “peace be with you,” invoking a message of dialogue, unity and care for those in need from Vatican City.

“When I heard the news of the new Holy Father at that moment, at least here in Chicago, the sun came out,” said the Rev. Greg Sakowicz, rector of Holy Name Cathedral.

Some would say the sunny weather was just a coincidence, Sakowicz acknowledged.

But “a coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous,” he added.

Prevost, a longtime missionary and member of the Augustinian religious order, made his first appearance on the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday wearing the traditional red cape of the papacy.

“God loves us, all of us, evil will not prevail,” he told the world in his first message as pope. “We are all in the hands of God. Without fear, united, hand in hand with God and among ourselves, we will go forward.”

While growing up in the Chicago area, Robert Prevost often played “pretend priest,” his older brother John Prevost recalled after the announcement.

The younger brother would set up a table draped in a white cloth and recite prayers.

“He did that all the time. He took it totally serious, it was not a game,” John Prevost said Thursday outside his home in New Lenox.

John Prevost described his brother as someone with a natural calmness and deep patience, a person who was always drawn to others. He believes these qualities have shaped his path to becoming pope.

His younger brother embodies the spirit of a “second Pope Francis,” particularly in his compassion for immigrants and the poor.

John Prevost acknowledged that the role will have its challenges but that his brother is ready.

“It’s awesome, it’s a great responsibility, but he will be scrutinized left and right,” he said. “I think it will be a lot. But he has the patience of a saint.”

And most importantly, at least in terms of the new pope’s South Side credentials, John Prevost confirmed that his brother has “always” been a White Sox fan.

Local roots

Prevost was born on Sept. 14, 1955, at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, and his Catholic roots were planted in the south suburbs, where he lived in Dolton with his parents and two brothers. 

He grew up in St. Mary of the Assumption parish on the Far South Side, attending school, singing in the choir and serving as an altar boy.

Marianne Angarola, 69, who was in the same class as Prevost, remembers him as a good singer who “cared about people” and “looked for the good in things.”

St. Mary’s closed years ago and went into a state of disrepair, but Angarola and others have kept up with his career, following along on the Internet for updates as he rose through the ranks of the church.

“He was the pride and joy of every priest and nun in that school,” Angarola said. 

“Everybody knew he was special.”

Another St. Mary’s classmate, Peggy Wurtz, remembered Prevost singing at midnight Mass with his mother, who was also a talented vocalist. 

Wurtz said she was intimidated by his intelligence, even in grade school. 

During their fifth-grade science fair, Wurtz recalled being embarrassed to answer a question about her tooth decay project in front of Prevost, who was more deft in explaining his work.

“He won first prize,” Wurtz said.

The class of 1969 has an annual reunion, and she hopes they can see him at one down the line.

“I figure we should have a class reunion in Rome so he gets us all at once,” Wurtz said.

Family, childhood home, legacy

Prevost’s father, Louis, was an educator who led Glenwood School District 167 and served as principal of now-defunct Mount Carmel Elementary School in Chicago Heights. 

He died in 1997, according to his obituary.

The elementary school closed in 1990 around the same time as its parish’s church, St. Rocco, during fiscal restructuring within the Archdiocese of Chicago. 

After a push from some of the parish’s fiercely loyal members, St. Rocco Oratory — housed in a new yet smaller building in Chicago Heights — reopened, holding its first Mass on Christmas Day in 1998. 

It’s now called San Rocco.

While the Rev. Michael Gilligan, the church’s priest since 2000, didn’t personally know Prevost or his late father, he was “flabbergasted” that a “local boy” is the new pope.

He said he believes Prevost was elected because he’s a “kind, good, pastoral man.”

“All the experts said an American will never be elected,” Gilligan said. 

“And to have an American who comes from the town where I live, the parish that I serve in Chicago Heights — it’s really amazing.”

A post on the Mendel Catholic Prep Alumni Association website recounts that as a child Prevost’s “family’s life centered around St. Mary of the Assumption Church, located on 137th Street at the Chicago-Dolton border, where young Robert served as an altar boy and attended the parish school.”

Prevost’s mother, Mildred, was a librarian who worked at Holy Name Cathedral, Von Steuben High School on the North Side and Mendel Catholic Prep. 

She died in 1990 after decades of service to St. Mary’s Church.

The street where Prevost grew up, just off Indiana Avenue in Dolton, is lined with small brick cottages similar to the one in which he was raised.

On Thursday afternoon, Courtni Porter stood with a pair of real estate agents in the home’s backyard. 

Porter, 44, of Chicago said the home was “beautiful inside, though I���m sure it’s not like how it was when he grew up in it.”

The house was recently renovated and is listed for $199,900, according to agent Sebastian Regium.

On the front sidewalk of the house, 24-year-old Regium pulled up a picture of the new pope on his phone. 

Porter and a neighbor, Donna Sagna, peered over his shoulder to see what he looked like. Porter cocked her head and mused that the house had been a strong candidate for sale, but news that the pope had grown up there might be a sign to move ahead with buying it.

“That value (is) about to go up when they find out,” Regium said, laughing. Education, formation and priorities

After graduating from St. Mary’s in 1969, Prevost attended St. Augustine Seminary High School in Michigan. 

Then he briefly lived at the now-shuttered Tolentine seminary in south suburban Olympia Fields before attending Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

John Merkelis, president of Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, recalled befriending Prevost at St. Augustine Seminary in 1970. 

The two connected because they both came from south suburban communities, and Merkelis said Prevost, who was a year ahead, served as almost a religious mentor to him.

“He’s the one who kind of told me what an Augustinian is,” Merkelis said. 

“I thought ahead of time that he would have been a great pope. He is remarkably intelligent. He always has been humble. He’s very, very faith-filled.”

Merkelis said he and other school staff members were in Providence’s faculty lounge watching the news intently when they heard Prevost would succeed Francis as pope. 

He said those in the lounge “screamed and hugged each other” and that he immediately hopped on the schoolwide PA system to say a prayer for his longtime friend.

“He’s not a guy who just lives in an office,” Merkelis said. “He’s personally relatable. So I see him as falling right in line with the example of (former Pope) Francis.”

Jim Priestley attended high school and Villanova with Prevost. 

The two saw each other last summer, Priestley recalled, after Prevost came to the area to speak with parishioners at St. Jude Catholic Church in south suburban New Lenox. 

During his visit home, Prevost met with some old friends at the Aurelio’s pizza place in Homewood, where they ate and caught up.

Afterward, Priestley recounted talking with Prevost for half an hour in the parking lot, commending him on his career.

“I just kind of said, ‘Bob, congratulations, but I just can’t imagine having that much stress at our age. It seems more like a young man’s thing.’ But he’s one of these guys who can deal with it,” Priestley recalled. 

“Maybe it’s not stressful for him. He must’ve said ‘OK, I’m willing to be pope.’ I’m sure there were people who said no way, because it’s a tremendously responsible position.”

But, Priestley said, Prevost is “the type of guy who likes a challenge.”

Mike Greco, who also attended St. Augustine with Prevost, called him “a devout priest” and perhaps “the most intelligent, talented and sincere guy I’ve ever known.”

“We’ve been lifelong friends,” Greco added. “I was at his ordination in Rome. He baptized my son.”

Prevost went on to earn a degree in theology from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. 

He was ordained a priest in Rome and studied there until 1984, shuttling between church leadership positions in Chicago and Peru until 2023.

He returned to Chicago in 1998 to lead the order’s Midwest province and later as its worldwide leader. During that time, he came under fire for his handling of two sex abuse cases involving Augustinian priests in the area. 

Survivors organizations have accused him of allowing the Rev. James Ray, a priest accused of abusing minors and whose ministry had been restricted since 1991, to live at the Augustinian’s St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park in 2000 despite its proximity to a Catholic elementary school. 

The Vatican previously has denied Prevost approved the accommodation. Prevost also has been criticized for the order’s handling of allegations against the Rev. Richard McGrath, the former president of Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox. 

McGrath served for 32 years as principal and then president of the school before retiring amid complaints that he had abused a student and had pornography on his phone. 

The order settled one accuser’s lawsuit for $2 million in 2023. McGrath was never criminally charged. 

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests filed a complaint against Prevost with the Vatican in March.

James Egan, a spokesperson for SNAP from Chicago, said the nonprofit was “disappointed” that Prevost was selected as pope.

“It certainly does not give us a lot of hope right now. It hurts,” Egan said. 

“We have serious questions about his commitment to actually protecting children and giving victims of child abuse by Catholic clergy the justice that they deserve.”

Despite these worries, Egan said he hopes SNAP can collaborate with Prevost to end abuse.

“We can get to a post-abuse church, and we really hope we can work with Robert Prevost on that,” Egan said.

Prevost was head of the Augustinians from 2001 to 2013, based in Rome. In 2014, he was named apostolic administrator and then bishop of Chiclayo, in northern Peru in a region where the Chicago Augustinians have long had a presence.

In 2023, his predecessor, Pope Francis, named Prevost to take over the Vatican’s powerful bishops’ office that vets nominations around the globe from a retiring Canadian who had recently been accused of sexual misconduct. The crucial Holy See office also investigates allegations of abuse or negligence against bishops.

“This is a historic day,” said Robert Orsi, professor of religion at Northwestern University. “Robert Francis Prevost was a favorite of Pope Francis, who made him cardinal only two years ago.”

The new pope’s namesake, Leo XIII, was known for his outspoken defense of the rights of working people to a living wage, Orsi added.

“By taking this name, Pope Leo XIV clearly signals his priorities. Pope Leo XIII was also profoundly wary of nationalists, especially those who would divide the church over political disputes. The Pope Leo of the early 21st century, who spent most of his 69 years outside the United States, appears already to be calling Catholics back to a truly global, truly open-hearted faith.”

Politics and faith

As word trickled in about the new pope with local ties at the Illinois State Capitol on Thursday afternoon, state Rep. Norine Hammond took a moment in the House chamber to beam with pride that the new pontiff was originally from the state.

“We have a pope from Chicago, Illinois,” Hammond, a Republican from Macomb, said to a big applause in the chamber that lasted about 15 seconds. “We are so excited and praying for (Pope Leo XIV) that he is able to guide the entire world in a peaceful manner.”

That pride was more localized for state Rep. Will Davis, a Democrat from south suburban Homewood whose district includes Dolton, where the new pope was raised.

“There’s a desire that he will continue to acknowledge the poor people in the world, the people who need help, who need guidance, and will work to try to bring people together as popes often do,” Davis said.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also acknowledged the momentous occasion.

“This is one of the biggest moments in the modern history of our city,” Johnson said in a statement. 

“Pope Leo XIV will be a champion for workers all over the world. It’s only right that he was born and educated in the most pro-worker city in America. The Catholic Church has a strong tradition of standing up for the poor and the vulnerable, and I know that Pope Leo XIV will continue that tradition. This is a tremendous moment for our Catholic community and for all Chicagoans.”

An account on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, seemingly belonging to Prevost has posted many times about political issues for more than a decade, and as recently as this year.

“JD Vance is wrong,” one of the most recent posts from the account said, quoting an opinion piece from National Catholic Reporter that criticized the vice president’s comments about how to prioritize loving others.

The account also retweeted posts criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration policies and one tweet from Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut calling for action over “thoughts and prayers” in the wake of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Prevost also seemingly reposted an article from Catholic News Agency in 2017 about calls for a veto of a state abortion funding bill, which then-Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, later signed into law.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, the firebrand pastor of St. Sabina church in Chicago, said he was encouraged by Prevost’s selection, believing he will continue the late Pope Francis’ legacy of tending to the poor and caring for social justice.

Pfleger said Prevost’s politics are a counterpoint to other trends in American life where some people are “refining what Jesus was and what the scriptures are to beat up people.”

“He’s going to be conservative on doctrine, like Francis was. Francis wasn’t for women priests,” Pfleger said. “But I think Prevost’s heart for people and heart for justice and his experiences in Peru are going to be very, very important to the future of the Catholic Church.”

Local Catholics rejoice

Close to 100 people were at noon Mass at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago on Thursday. Near the end of the service, the rector announced who the pope was — an American-born from Chicago.

The crowd erupted in applause.

Julie Bartholomae from Lincoln Park stepped outside to take a call from her sister, who was telling her the name of the pope.

Her eyes lit up when she found out the new leader of more than a billion Catholics worldwide was from Chicago.

“I think this is so exciting — a U.S. pope and he’s from Chicago,” she said.

The announcement of a new pope brought Katherine Gehl, a parishioner at Holy Name, tears of happiness. She was walking home from the gym when she heard the news and ran to Holy Name.

“It was extraordinary to be here, you know, in the presence of other Catholics,” she said. “All I can say is, I’m just praying that this pope brings a call for unity. 

That’s what we need, because we have so many challenges worldwide and in division, we shall not solve them. They will only be solved in unity.”

During a news conference at the cathedral Thursday, Bishop Lawrence Sullivan, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago, said, “The most important thing is that a successor of St. Peter has been elected.”

“So while there’s a sense that we’re proud he’s from Chicago …. But Pope Leo XIV is first and foremost, a child of God,” Sullivan said. “And that means he is here to serve all of God’s people.”

When administrators at St. Rita of Cascia High School, an Augustinian-run school on the South Side, announced the news of the appointment over the intercom, the school erupted in cheers, students recalled.

Classes turned on the live stream from Rome.

“We just stopped class,” said St. Rita student Nick Herman, 18. “It felt like he blessed us.”

Prevost was a substitute physics teacher at the school about 50 years ago, said the Rev. Tom McCarthy, St. Rita’s director of community outreach.

McCarthy said the next pope was 10 years ahead of him in the Augustinian order. He had been sending Prevost emails over the past week and praying for him. He had told his students to do the same.

“I could imagine St. Augustine smiling down from heaven,” said McCarthy. “I could only imagine how proud he is that one of his sons is now the pope.” McCarthy said Prevost took a risk by naming him principal of St. Rita High School in 1999 when he was just 35.

“I think he’ll be a guiding light to the church and to the world. I really do,” McCarthy said.

Pope Leo XIV’s family and deep Chicago ties

Pope Leo XIV’s mother, Millie Prevost, worked as a librarian at Mendel Catholic Prep for many years and was pictured in the school’s 1971 yearbook. 

Here’s a look at what we discovered about some of Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV’s family members in the Tribune archives:

Mildred A. Martinez Prevost (mother): 

Raised in Chicago with five sisters — including two who became nuns — she graduated from Immaculata High School for girls in June 1929, according to Tribune archives.

The contralto was a soloist in a 1940 Mundelein College performance and as a competitor in the 1941 Chicagoland Music Festival. 

Mildred Prevost obtained a graduate degree from DePaul University’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences in February 1947.

Her post-college exploits all appear to be rooted in faith. 

In December 1950, Mildred Prevost presented a book review of “Helena” by British author Evelyn Waugh to the Chicago circle of the International Federation of Catholic Alumnae. 

The book chronicles the life of Helena of Constantinople, whose son was Roman conqueror Constantine I. 

In October 1951, she was a member of a committee that produced a concert by the Gay Twins, dual pianists and nuns who were sightless since birth. Described as a homemaker in March 1952, Mildred Prevost participated in a forum called “The Catholic Woman in the Professional World.”

As president of the Mendel Catholic High School Mothers Club, Mildred Prevost presided over a hootenanny in September 1968 that featured Father Gale White and the Firemen.

Mildred Prevost died in 1990. Her death notice in the Tribune requested that contributions be made to the Augustinian Mission in Peru in lieu of flowers. Louis M. Prevost (father):He received a degree from Woodrow Wilson Junior College (now Kennedy-King College) in June 1940 then graduated from DePaul University in June 1949 — the school’s golden jubilee — with a master of arts degree.

Navy Lt. Louis Prevost’s education was interrupted by World War II. He was promoted to the command of a landing craft in the Mediterranean Sea, according to a story published in the Tribune in May 1945. “He received his commission in November, 1943 … has been overseas 15 months.”

While superintendent of school district 169 in Bloom Township, Louis Prevost asked for the district’s Board of Education to hold a new election to issue bonds for an addition to Cottage Grove School, near Chicago Heights. He said space for athletic activity was a concern — there was none. The school’s gym had been converted into classrooms.

“Our greatest problem,” he told the Tribune in March 1952, “is finding room for physical education. On cold days all we can do to abide by the state requirements for 200 minutes of physical education per week is to have the children do setting-up exercises in the classrooms.” Voters approved the issuing of bonds and construction of an addition to the school. He died on Nov. 8, 1997, and is buried next to his wife in Assumption Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum in Glenwood, according to Find A Grave.

Sr. Mary Amarita (aunt):A sister to Mildred Prevost, she was born on Nov. 26, 1906, and took her first vows on Aug. 15, 1928, according to the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary based in Dubuque, Iowa. Their records show she served as a music teacher at schools in Clinton, Iowa, and Tigard, Oregon. She also spent one year as a music teacher at St. Gilbert in Grayslake. She preceded her mother in death in 1945.

Sr. Mary Sulpice Martinez (aunt):Another sister to Mildred Prevost, she was a member of the Sisters of Mercy for 77 years, according to her death notice published March 2, 1999, in the Tribune. She was interred at Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum, which is also where Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley is buried.