century in Llivia, Spanish Catalonia. He joined the Dominicans in 1217 and received the habit from St. Dominic himself. In 1218, he founded the convent of Lyon, France, with Arnaud of Toulouse. Serving

1226) The arrival of Saint Francis at Saint Mary of the Angels Here is the story of the arrival of St. Francis at the Porziuncola (1): When this church too was at length finished he [Saint Francis] came

conference with us. I then read the confession made by the 15 000 demons coming out of the Albigensian whom St Dominic had exorcised by means of the Rosary: "This Mother of Jesus Christ is all-powerful to prevent

true God born of true God." According to tradition, the Hodegitria icon from Smolensk was painted by St. Luke for the community of Antioch (in present day Turkey). It was later moved to Constantinople and

reference to the King of France? Quite simply because in 1689, when Jesus revealed his Sacred Heart to St Margaret Mary, he also made a very important request: "Make it known to the oldest son of my Sacred

ones that affected me was the visit to the city of Ephesus. When I saw it, it was a wilderness; when St Paul saw it, it was called the "Treasure House of Asia." He looked out on the great glory of the temple

civilization was advanced. On the east coast of present-day Algeria, Carthage was the great city of St Augustine, a Christian Berber who became Bishop of Hippo, famous for his theological writings and one

ready to fall; lifts us up when we have fallen; takes us back, as a charitable Mother, when we fail. St. Bernard tells us that in following her we do not go astray. A true child of Mary will not be deceived

paying due homage to the Virgin is not an optional extra that can be passed over. In the 8th century, St. John of Damascus wrote that the title Theotokos “contains the whole mystery of the Incarnation.”

of Mary. Translated and adapted from: Library of Marian Writings (1) Franciscan monastery founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe in 1927, located in Terezin, west of Warsaw, Poland.