Dominican friars have long been known not only as preachers, but also as friars who preach by teaching — an important dimension of the charism of the Order of Preachers. From the beginnings of the Order, St. Dominic wanted his friars to study in order better to preach the truth of the Gospel, and he sent them to the first universities. Once there, the friars soon began to receive many new vocations from the ranks of both the students and professors. It was not long before the Dominicans held chairs at the university — one need only think of St. Albert the Great or St. Thomas Aquinas, two of the most famous Dominican teachers.
That teaching mission continues today. In our province, we have two principal institutions of higher learning: Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, and the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception (the Dominican House of Studies) in Washington, D.C.
As a friar newly-assigned to teach theology at Providence College, my days are filled with the work of preparing my syllabi and lectures. Today, as I readied a lecture for a course on the Development of Western Civilization, I came across an insightful commentary on the priestly vocation to teach, penned by the well-known scripture scholar, Fr. Raymond Brown. Fr. Brown writes:
Another function of the levitical priest mentioned in Deut 33:10 is teaching: “They shall teach Jacob your ordinances, and Israel your Law.” The Torah or Law of God was in the hands of the priest to communicate to men (Jer 18:18; Mal 2:6). . . . Judaism today has not lost the sense of the sacred character of the teaching function; the honorific title of the Jewish religious leader is “Rabbi,” which is the same title of “Teacher” given by the disciples to Jesus in John 1:38. Recently in a conversation with a well-known rabbi, I mentioned that some of the Catholic religious orders whose primary work was teaching were undergoing a vocation crisis, because the young aspirants were questioning whether teaching was a proper full-time task for a priest. The rabbi literally became white and exclaimed, “Have you Christians lost to such an extent your roots in Judaism? Have you forgotten that a man who teaches is performing one of the most sacred of all functions, one that brings him close to God Himself?” I could but hear in his words a distant echo of that unknown prophet whose book is the last in the collection of the prophets, a prophet who castigated priests because they had lost the vision of their vocation: “Teaching is to be sought from the mouth of the priest, for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts; but you have turned away from that course” (Mal 2:7-8).
Happily, we have more and more men who come to us desiring to teach. May the Lord grant us many new vocations for the new millennium, new teachers of the wisdom of Christ, ever ancient and ever new!
Fr. John Farren, OP, Director of Advancement for the Province, discusses the readings for the Solemnity of the Assumption and the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time with Angelo Matera, editor of Godspy.com.
The Catholic Herald–”Britain’s leading Catholic newspaper”–recently published a story on the resurgence of the Dominican friars in England. Published on the feast of St. Dominic, the article notes the reduction in the size of the Order–and religious life generally–experienced after the Second Vatican Council. The article goes on to note a new renaissance in Dominican life in England and throughout the world.
The Dominican Order suffered after Vatican II, says Anna Arco. But the English province is at the centre of a renaissance of Dominican life
8 August 2008
From St Thomas Aquinas to Fra Angelico, St Dominic de Guzman to Meister Eckhart, the Dominicans have been a dominant force on the intellectual life of the Church. Marked by a rigorous academic tradition matched with a duty to save souls, to be both apostolic and contemplative, the Order of the Friars Preachers has been around for almost 800 years. But in the period spanning between 1963 and 1984, it looked as though the Dominicans might be among the first casualties of the collapse in religious life that followed the Second Vatican Council. Like many other religious orders, the Dominicans revised their constitutions and began to re-examine their charism. In that period, over 3,000 brethren left the Order, world-wide, and by 1975, over 700 priests were laicized, according to Fr Benedict Ashley, an American Dominican. They were in the midst of a serious identity crisis.
But today, in the English Province, the Order of the Friars Preachers, is witnessing a slow and steady resurgence. Over half the friars are under 40, while most of the older ones are over 60. The English Province has 75 friars at present and a small but constant trickle of energetic novices. Young and enthusiastic or older and experienced, they are all Dominicans. Whatever their differences as men, they see themselves as called to follow St Dominic’s mission to preach and save souls. A running catchphrase in their conversations is “that is typically Dominican” and a strong formation marks that identity. Fr Richard Finn, the Regent of Studies at Blackfriars, Oxford, says: “We are blessed with vocations and their educational backgrounds and interests are important to us. We don’t take them to turn them into a standard Dominican product, but there is a strong Dominican formation and that is a strong intellectual formation. …
To read the rest of the article, visit the Catholic Herald website by clicking here.
The homepage of the English Dominican Province can be found here. Also, the Dominican Students in England run their own website, called Godzdogz, a pun on the Latin Dominicanes, which can read as Domini Canes, the hounds of the Lord.
Annual Mass for the Health Professions
Monday, October 20, 2008
12:00 Noon ~ Church of St. Catherine of Siena
and the
Third Annual Lecture in Catholic Health Care Ethics
HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA: WHO DO WE REALLY CARE ABOUT?
presented by
SISTER CAROL KEEHAN, D.C., R.N., M.S.
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Catholic Health Association of the United States
St. Louis, Missouri
1:30 p.m. ~ Church of St. Catherine of Siena
411 East 68th Street, (between First and York Avenues)
New York, New York
The Annual Mass for the Health Professions and Lecture are open to all interested persons.
DOMINICAN FRIARS HEALTH CARE MINISTRY OF NEW YORK
ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA CHURCH AND PRIORY
411 E. 68th Street (between 1st and York Avenues), New York, New York 10021
Tel: 212-988-8300 • FAX: 212-988-6918
A well-known and high respected Dominican priest is coming to Columbus to highlight the discussion of one of the most significant and controversial Papal encyclicals of our time.
The Stella Maris chapter of Catholics United for the Faith is hosting a dinner and talk to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae (“Of Human Life”) and to call attention to this profound and prophetic teaching of Pope Paul VI. The featured speaker is Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau, O.P., a Dominican priest from St. Vincent Ferrer parish in New York City. Fr. Guilbeau was ordained in 2002 and is known for his Advent talks sponsored by the Catholic Exchange.
Humanae Vitae (“Of Human Life”) was written during the turbulent ‘60’s and released on July 25, 1968. In it Pope Paul VI reiterated what has been the constant teaching of the Catholic Church: contraception is intrinsically wrong. That stand ran counter the prevailing social views of the time. Forty years later it remains one of the most difficult aspects of Catholic doctrine for the faithful to come to grips with.
For an in-depth discussion of this critical element of our faith, make reservations for the Humanae Vitae Dinner and Talk, which will be held at Our Lady of Victory’s parish hall on Saturday, August 23rd beginning at 6:30 PM. Our Lady of Victory is located at 1559 Roxbury Road in Columbus.
The article in The Catholic Times includes additional information on cost and reservations.
In a private ceremony, 11 men received the holy habit of the Order of Friars Preachers on August 8, 2008, the Solemnity of Our Holy Father Dominic. This marks the beginning of their novitiate year at St. Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati. From left to right: Br. Gabriel Torretta, Br. Frederick Erdman, Br. Paul Marich, Br. John Devaney, Br. Joseph Fussner, Br. Maximilian Yergeau, Br. Benedict Joseph Freeman, Br. Sebastian White, Br. Boniface Endorf, Br. Innocent Smith, Br. Thomas More Garrett. To learn more about each brother…. Continue Reading »
By Joseph Duerr, Editor of The Record
The Newspaper for the Archdiocese of Louisville.
“Do we want to meet Christ? Do we want him to meet us?”
These questions were asked by Dominican Father Aquinas Guilbeau of more than 300 people attending an opening session of the Ignite Your Torch Youth Conference last week at Bellarmine University.
In response to the questions, Father Guilbeau, who is assigned to St. Vincent Ferrer Church in New York City, encouraged the youth to pray and to take advantage of the opportunities given them during the July 24-27 conference.
“Christ will come to you in the sacraments,” he said. “Pray the Lord will open the eyes of your heart to greet him and to say yes” to him.
Recently, Zenit news sat down for an interview with Sister Catherine Marie Hopkins, OP, of the Congregation of St. Cecilia in Nashville, TN. Sr. Catherine Marie was the longtime vocations director for the Nashville Dominicans and was recently appointed to the U.S. Bishops’ National Advisory Council. In her interview, Sr. Catherine Marie suggests the three highest priorities in fostering vocations: education, sacramental devotion and youth ministry that exposes young people to both prayer and evangelization. A portion of her interview can be found below.
Q: You have three brothers that are priests. Do you think there is a different strategy for discerning and fostering the vocation of young women than for young men? In what ways?
Sister Hopkins: My experience has been that, in general, men take a lot longer in the discernment process, whether it regards marriage or religious life. Once a woman has “conviction” she is usually impatient to begin a process. Continue Reading »
On Thursday, October 9th (the feast of St. Louis Bertrand, OP), the Institute of Bioethics at Franciscan University of Steubenville will present a Bioethics seminar entitled “Moral Conviction vs Political Pressure“. Among the presenters will be Bishop Anthony Fisher, OP, who is an Auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese of Sidney, Australia and the Professor of Bioethics and Moral Theology at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family. With him will also be Fr. Chris Saliga, OP, a graduate of the Franciscan University nursing program and currently the Chaplain of Walsh University.
According to their website, the seminar is intended to help healthcare professionals find their moral bearings in this ever-rising sea of ethical dilemmas. Led by internationally noted Catholic bioethics experts, this conference will provide clear guidance and personal discussion on current controversies. It will also examine the basic spiritual, ethical, and theological value and purposes of healthcare work.
The founder of the Province of St. Joseph, Father (later Bishop) Edward Dominic Fenwick, O.P. spent much of his time on horseback travelling through Ohio and Kentucky and ministering to the local Catholic communitites. In 1812, he reached Dungannon, Ohio and celebrated the first Mass in Northern Ohio in the log cabin of Daniel McCallister. This log cabin has been moved onto the grounds of St. Philip Neri parish in Dungannon, and enclosed for the purposes of historical preservation. Recently, the student brothers who are stationed in Youngstown, Ohio for the summer, Br. Bruno Shah, O.P, Br. Austin Litke, O.P., and Br. Peter Totleben, O.P., together with the prior of St. Dominic Priory in Youngstown, Fr. James Sullivan, O.P. paid a visit. The friars, some St. Dominic parishoners, and some local residents celebrated Mass in the log cabin at the altar that Fr. Fenwick used. Here are pictures from this event.
The Director of World Youth Day 2008 in Australia was Bishop Anthony Fisher, OP, an auxiliary bishop of Sidney, Australia and a Dominican friar of the Province of the Assumption in Australia. The Dominicans had a very visible role in the events of World Youth Day. As part of their activities, our brothers in Australia put together this short vocations video for those pilgrims that might be considering the religious life:
During yesterday’s Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Pope Benedict XVI offered seminarians and religious in formation several words of paternal encouragement and support. Below are the relevant paragraphs, which can also benefit those still pondering their call from God.
We have recently made a major update to the official website of our Province of Dominican friars, the Province of St. Joseph (Eastern Province). There you will find a wealth of information about our Province, our history, ministry, and life. You can find a collection of audio, video, and pictures from around the Province. The web site also gives information about how you can assist us in carrying out our mission, especially as we work to complete the expansion of our school of theology, the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception. To see some of the ministries of the friars of the Eastern Province, visit the new Provincial website is: www.op-stjoseph.org. If you have not visited the Provincial page in a while (or if you’ve never visited it), click over now and have a look.
The new website is designed to allow us to update it regularly, somake sure to bookmark the homepage and check it often: www.op-stjoseph.org.
Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau, OP, discusses the readings for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time with Fr. John Martin Ruiz-Mayorga, OP, and Fr. James Cuddy, OP.
During the conference, Fr. Saliga presented a paper entitled: “Promotion of Holistic Health via Excellent Family Planning: A Catholic Perspective”. In the paper he gave, Fr. Saliga discussed the following:
This paper explains why the Catholic Church endorses only non-contraceptive sexual intercourse between spouses, even in cases in which there is “excellent medical rationale” for practicing contraceptive sexual intercourse. At its core, it demonstrates that spouses who freely engage in non-contraceptive sexual intercourse strengthen their communion with each other and with God while those who engage in contraceptive sexual intercourse contravene both.
First, key anthropological and aretaic presuppositions are explicated to help readers clearly grasp Thomistic anthropological holism and integrated/virtuous spousal sexual activity.
Second, the one bi-partite object of non-contraceptive spousal union is fleshed out in order to demonstrate that, because every contraceptive sexual act violates the one bi-partite object of every virtuous sexual act, contraceptive sexual activity, regardless of circumstance and intention, is never good for spousal and family holistic health. Finally, practical and ethical implications that follow upon the fact that “catholic health institutions may not promote or condone contraceptive practices but should provide, for married couples and the medical staff who counsel them, instruction both about the Church’s teaching on responsible parenthood and in the methods of natural family planning” are considered.
In the end, readers come to a fuller appreciation of why the Catholic Church refuses to endorse contraceptive practices within Catholic health care organizations.
Also published on the Catholic Exchange website is an article by Fr. Christopher M. Saliga, OP. Fr. Saliga’s article - entitled “Freedom and Voluntary Death” - discusses the moral dimensions of suicide or voluntary euthanasia. The article also includes a number of resources for those seeking to better understand the Catholic perspective on this issue. The article is a part of the new Bioethics Section of the Catholic Exchange website.
Fr. Saliga’s article begins with this introduction:
Arguments for or against voluntary suicide and/or voluntary euthanasia (hereafter referred to as voluntary death) usually presuppose reductionist understandings of human attributes such as freedom. For example, folks sometimes ask: what is so terribly wrong with a person coming to a substantially-autonomous decision to die? In more personal terms, why should “you” be able to tell “me” that “I” should not voluntarily choose death on “my own” terms?
How, one might wonder, can I respond to such a line of thought in cogent and convincing fashion? One can do so by accounting for freedom more completely. For example, more than simply asking yourself what you are free from, have you ever asked yourself what you are free for? Does a sufficient lack of coercion account for the totality of your freedom? In other words, have you ever voluntarily chosen a course of action that has left you less free at the end of the day? Bearing such questions in mind, does it not seem reasonable to hold that although voluntary choice is a part of personal freedom, it is not the whole of personal freedom?
And yet, how can one prudently consider voluntary death vis-à-vis more fulsome freedom? …
Fr. Saliga is currently the full-time chaplain at Walsh University and is assigned to our priory of St. Dominic in Youngstown, OH. Fr. Saliga has his nursing degree from Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH and most recently was assigned to hospital ministry from our priory of St. Catherine in New York city.
Fr. Basil Cole, OP, has written an article on the Catholic approach to Bioethics for the Catholic Exchange website. The article, entitled, “What is Catholic Bioethics?” explains that ‘Catholic Bioethics’ is a field of medical moral theology, and thus attempts to use use the tools of Catholic moral theology in the world of medicine and science in a way to promote human flourishing and protect human dignity.
Strictly speaking, there is no such science as “Catholic Bioethics” just as there is no such thing as “Catholic Baseball,” “Catholic Dentistry,” “Catholic Garbage Collection,” or “Catholic Plumbing.” Catholics do these activities, but they are not based upon divine revelation. Bioethics is a species of the science of ethics concerned especially about the beginning and ending of bodily life as well as the morality of certain medical procedures during a person’s life. It uses reason to understand what kinds of activity done by doctors are in accord with human dignity and flourishing, and what kinds are only apparently so and actually undermine, mutilate or destroy the goods of human beings.
Now there are many issues which human reason unaided by divine revelation cannot know that should be part of the underlying principles of bioethics. Pure reason does not know that the human person’s soul is immediately created by God nor does it know that human beings are meant to become completely fulfilled in a next life by the beatific vision. Again, reason does not understand why human beings do not achieve happiness in this life and why it is next to impossible to grow and develop in a life of virtue. Reason would seem to prefer as its prime principle that virtue has its own punishment and feelings should often trump what is reasonable and proportionate, notwithstanding the objections of Aristotelian or Thomistic philosophers. …
[The entire article can be read at the Catholic Exchange website by clicking here.]
Fr. Hugh Vincent Dyer, O.P., has a new article on the GodSpy website. A newly ordained priest, Fr. Hugh Vincent reflects on the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the Church and the importance of our belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament:
I was ordained a priest on May 23rd. My life now is now bound more intensely than ever to the central Mystery of our faith, the Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. I never imagined that so soon in my priestly life would I see the Eucharist attacked so publicly.
You may have seen these stories in the press. On June 29th, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Webster Cook, a student and member of the student government at the University of Central Florida, took the Eucharist “hostage” in order to protest the use of University money to support religious organizations….
[The rest of his article can be read on the Godspy website.]
Fr. Hugh Vincent Dyer, O.P., was ordained a priest on May 23, 2008. He is currently assigned as a parochial vicar at the Church of St. Mary in New Haven, CT.
Forty years ago, on July 25th, 1968 - feast of St. James the Greater - Pope Paul VI published his Encyclical letter Humanæ Vitæ. Pope Paul VI indicated the purpose of that letter in the first two paragraphs:
The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. It has always been a source of great joy to them, even though it sometimes entails many difficulties and hardships.
The fulfillment of this duty has always posed problems to the conscience of married people, but the recent course of human society and the concomitant changes have provoked new questions. The Church cannot ignore these questions, for they concern matters intimately connected with the life and happiness of human beings.
Even after 40 years, the content of that letter remains a source of controversy in our modern world. Last summer, Fr. John Baptist Ku, O.P., gave a talk at the Dominican House of Studies on the need to preach about Humanæ Vitæ, as well as how to preach on that Encyclical. As we approach the 40th anniversary of that momentous papal letter, we again present this video of Fr. John Baptist’s talk, below.
Until recently, Fr. John Baptist has been studying theology at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. Fr. John Baptist has been assigned to teach at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.
Eleven men will begin their postulancy this July at Providence College in Providence, R.I. The Postulancy has a new director, Fr. Stephen Alcott, O.P., whose current full-time position is that of associate pastor and campus minister of the St. Thomas Moore Oratory at the University of Delaware. Read the brief biographies of these 11 men to find out what sort of men God is drawing to the Province of St. Joseph these days.
Fr. Richard J. Neuhaus ( Editor in Chief, First Things) , Fr. John Farren, OP (Director of Advancement, Dominican Province of St. Joseph), and Angelo Matera (Publisher and Editor, Godspy.com) reflect on the Pope’s recent apostolic journey to the USA, focusing particularly on his messages to American Catholics, American non-Catholics, and American culture. June 18 at 7:00 PM St. Vincent Ferrer Church Hall.
Fr. Cole’s book is meant to help priests and seminarians reckon with the seven deadly sins in a healthy and faith-filled way so that they will not be taken aback by the trials these hidden enemies bring about.
The first paragraph of Dr. Mirus’s article is below, and the remainder of the article can be read here: What Makes a Good Priest?
What makes a good priest? I’ve found the answer in fine book by Dominican Father Basil Cole entitled The Hidden Enemies of the Priesthood. From the title, you might think the book is about a conspiracy against priests. But that’s only true if you regard the work of the Devil and the temptations of human vice a conspiracy. Rather, Fr. Cole is concerned to explain the vices to which priests are often prone, and which vitiate their ministries. Clearly this also implies a standard of goodness, but let’s take the bad news first.
At the end of his article, Dr. Mirus praises Fr. Cole’s book and strongly recommends it:
The Hidden Enemies of the Priesthood provides both a lucid explanation of what it takes to become a good priest and a practical reflection on the vices which too often ruin the work. For priests and seminarians, this is essential reading.
For the upcoming Year of St. Paul, Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P. has edited a volume: Praying with St. Paul. Among the contributors to the book are two Professors at the Dominican House of Studies: Fr. John Corbett, O.P. and Fr. Francis Martin.
The Editor’s description of the book: “Praying with Saint Paul is a handbook of daily reflections that leads the reader into the richness of the writings of the great Apostle. The words of Saint Paul are very familiar to us from the readings of the eucharistic Liturgy. Yet, we rarely get a chance to reflect on Paul’s wisdom. Praying with Saint Paul offers a kind of lectio divina–a “spiritual reading”–of Paul’s letters by which one can go deeply into the mind and heart of this great saint in a very practical, convenient, and “user-friendly” way day-by-day. You will find an entry for each day of the year that starts with a short quotation from one of Paul’s letters. It is followed by an original reflection by one of the book’s thirty-two gifted spiritual authors. Each entry concludes with a thought-provoking prayer. Praying with Saint Paul will guide you through the spiritual treasury of Saint Paul’s thought–from the Letter to the Romans to the Letter to Philemon. This volume will help you to meditate, giving deeper illumination and deepening your familiarity with one of the spiritual giants of the Church. “
Fr. Christopher M. Saliga, OP, RN will be one among the poster presenters at this year’s Annual Meeting of the Society for Spirituality, Theology, and Health to take place at Duke University under the sponsorship of the Duke University School of Medicine from June 25-27, 2008. Fr. Saliga’s presentation is entitled Promotion of Holistic Health via Excellent Family Planning: A Catholic Perspective. It is designed to help participants better understand why the Roman Catholic Church absolutely opposes contraceptive practices, even when difficult circumstances and/or apparently good intentions seem to justify such practices. Simply put, contraceptive practices, by their very nature, damage family, spousal, and individual holistic health.
The New Evangelization: Overcoming the Obstaclesis a new book co-edited by Fr. Steven Boguslawski, OP, and Mr. Ralph Martin which will be available in July 2008. This book identifies and addresses the most important obstacles to the success of the new evangelization doctrinally, spiritually and pastorally, by leading experts in the field.
Fr. Steven Boguslawski is the President of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies. In addition to his new duties for the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, Fr. Boguslawksi is currently the executive director of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center. He is the author of several books focusing upon Jewish-Catholic relations in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Mr. Ralph Martin is the President of Renewal Ministries and the host of the weekly television program The Choices We Face. He is the author of several books on the Catholic Church and spirituality and audio albums on the teaching of the saints. He is the Director of Graduate Programs in The New Evangelization at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit. Ralph is also Assistant Professor of Theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in the Archdiocese of Detroit as well as Visiting Professor of Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville.
This summer, Rev. Br. Thomas Petri, O.P., will offer a summer lecture series on “Faith in the Public Square” at the Dominican Church of St. Pius V in Providence, RI. In his first lecture on Wednesday, June 25th, entitled “Evangelizing Culture, Renewing Society,” Br. Thomas will explain the nature of the Church’s social doctrine as a means of evangelizing and renewing society. The session is to cover the fundamental concepts that are necessary both to understand Church social teaching and to bring that teaching to the world. The lectures will continue throughout the summer. Click on the image above for a full-sized image (JPG) of the flyer.
On Friday, May 16, 2008 the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies held its annual commencement. The Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Carl Anderson spoke to the graduates about secularism and the challenge to build a civilization of Love.
Every summer, the student brothers are sent out to the various priories and hoses of the province to perform a summer apostolate. Br. Bruno Shah, Br. Austin Litke, and Br. Peter Totleben are spending the summer at St. Dominic’s Priory in Youngstown, Ohio. They have been getting an experience of the international fraternity of the Dominican Order.
This summer, Fr. Zafar Iqbal, O.P. has been visiting from Pakistan. Fr. Zafar was in formation in Pakistan when friars from our province had a mission there. Everyone has enjoyed hearing about the music, culture, opportunities and challenges that the Order and the Church face in Pakistan.
Recently, the brothers also enjoyed a visit from one of the brothers of the English province. Br. Bruno Clifton, O.P. is a deacon who is expected to be ordained to the priesthood in September. He is involved with the student chaplaincy at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The brothers got to get together and talk about what formation and the Order were like in England and the U.S.
Vatican City, Jun 13, 2008 / 09:23 am (CNA). The Vatican announced that the relics of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, a student and member of the Dominican Third Order, will be taken to Sydney, Australia, for World Youth Day next month.
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who was beatified by John Paul II in 1990, will be one of the 10 official patrons of World Youth Day (WYD). A release from the Pontifical Council from the Laity noted that the blessed is widely venerated in Australia and that the presence of his relic will be one of the central features of WYD.
Pier Giorgio Frassati was born in Turin, Italy, on April 6, 1901 and was raised in a very rich Catholic family. During his adolescence he cultivated a profound spiritual life and became an active member of Catholic Action, the apostolate of prayer, the Eucharistic League and the Association of University Student Adorers.
He lived an austere live and gave a large portion of his money to the poor. He was an intrepid athlete, skier and mountain climber.
When he turned 24, he was diagnosed with a terminal illness which claimed his life in only one week. He died on July 4, 1925 and was buried at the cathedral of Turin.
His relic will be transported to Sydney on June 19 and will be placed in the church of St. Benedict.
From July 11-22, the casket of the blessed will be on display in Sydney cathedral where participants in WYD will be able to come and pay homage. Hanging near his casket will be ten panels illustrating Pier Giorgio Frassati’s life and thought.
In addition, an exhibition dedicated to Pier Giorgio Frassati’s life will be held in Sydney Exhibition Hall July 15-18.
Blackfriars Repertory Theatre presents a new play by Harry Cornelius Cronin, an adaptation of a medieval miracle story transposed to the present day in which the Blessed Virgin Mary (Our Lady of Guadalupe) contends with the devil (a mariachi band member) for the soul of a dead Mexican gang leader in present-day Los Angeles.
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The Dominican Friars and the Blackfriars Repertory Theatre held a Eucharistic Prayer Service with drama and music presented in the style of the Stations of the Cross at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in New York City on the Feast of Corpus Christi Sunday 2008.
Marcus Grodi host of EWTN’s The Journey Home speaks with guest Chris Osgood, a former Baptist Youth Minister, about his journey to the Catholic Church. Chris speaks about how Br. Ignatius Schweitzer, O.P. explained certain teachings of Catholicism to him in a way that made sense and how their friendship led him into becoming a Catholic. Listen around 29:36 for this part of the show and click below for more information on the conference which changed Chris’s life: Ignite Your Torch 2008
Recently, 
Also published on the 
Fr. Basil Cole, OP, has written an 
This summer, Rev. Br. Thomas Petri, O.P., will offer a summer lecture series on “Faith in the Public Square” at the 
