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Folks, if you haven’t seen this, buckle up and get ready to be excited because God is on the move! Did you know that in the late 80’s an American went to Italy and there met a religious hermit – the Hermit of Lereto as he is called – and that hermit told this man that God had revealed to him that God would raise up a man to lead America back to God and he had the name of that man. When he was asked who God was raising up, the hermit replied, “Donald Trump.” You can imagine that...

Saint_Mary_Magdalen_Church_(Brighton,_Michigan)_-_Solanus_Casey_Shrine" Sixteen-month-old Elizabeth Fanning lies listlessly in her mother’s arms. Anxiously, drawn-faced Mrs. Fanning coaxes her child to take even a spoonful of the liver soup recommended by doctors. But al­though Elizabeth’s swollen belly and twiglike limbs make her look like a starvation victim, the lethargic baby has no interest in food of any kind. Little Betsy, as her parents call her, has a fatal disease in 1940: the blood cancer known as leukemia. What makes her case especially tragic is that the illness may be the result of new medical technology. Born in August 1938, Elizabeth appeared normal....

Guest Bio Father Cantalamessa Tears Down Religious Barriers CBN.com –A CALL TO PREACH   Father Cantalamessa, O.F.M., Cap., is a Franciscan Capuchin Catholic priest born in Ascoli Piceno, Italy and ordained in 1958. He is a former professor of history of ancient Christianity at the Catholic University of Milan. Father Cantalamessa’s life was transformed in 1976 when he was baptized in the Holy Spirit on a trip to Kansas City. “The love of scripture which results from receiving the Holy Spirit is unbelievable,” shares Father Cantalamessa. Then in 1979 he felt called to leave his teaching position to become a full...

PETALUMA, Calif. — Do all animals go to heaven? The National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi wants them well-positioned for the possibility by creating San Francisco's first pet columbarium, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. Church leaders are currently raising funds for the 850-square-foot pet memorial space, the city's first "final resting place for the furry and feathered," as the Chronicle cutely put it. The new columbarium, which organizers hope will be up and running by spring, will be able to hold the ashes of up to 1,000 animals, according to the Associated Press. Cremation costs have not yet...

A regional province of the Capuchin religious order that had fought allegations of sexual abuse for decades decided last year to open its files dating to the 19th century to three independent auditors, in what the order claimed to be a first in the long-running Roman Catholic Church abuse scandal in the United States. The auditors’ report, released on Tuesday, found that sexual abuse by friars in the St. Joseph Province of the Capuchin Order was discussed at meetings as far back as 1932, the first year for which minutes of meetings were available. After more than a dozen students...

Cardinal O’Malley celebrates Mass in the Archdiocese of Boston’s Bethany Chapel Watch the Rome Reports video profile.Recently I attended a funeral at which Seán Cardinal O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston, was the main celebrant. He had flown down to Washington to honour the memory of an old friend with whom he had worked for many years on charitable projects, long before he became a bishop. In listening to the cardinal, I was struck not only by his personal humility, but also by the fact that the Mass was celebrated in a mixture of English, Spanish, and Latin. His willingness to...

RIVER EDGE — A borough resident is on a mission to get saint status for a beloved Detroit priest, who he believes answered prayers to heal his son's cancer.           Ryan Blute holding photo of the Rev. Solanus Casey, whom he prayed to for a cancer cure. Kevin Blute hopes the Vatican will make the Rev. Solanus Casey the first male saint born in the U.S., and     suggested a friend's prayer group name itself after the friar. Blute's teenage son, Ryan, was diagnosed with melanoma in 2007 and has since recovered.  "I feel like I'm in gratitude to him big...

At first glance, Cesare Bonizzi looks like the archetypal Capuchin monk - round-faced, stout, with twinkling eyes and a long flowing white beard. But beneath his robes beats a heart of metal. Brother Cesare is the lead singer in a heavy metal band which has just released its second album. A former missionary in the Ivory Coast, he lives in a small friary in the Milan hinterland. The 62-year-old monk's love affair with heavy metal began when he attended a Metallica concert some 15 years ago. "I was overwhelmed and amazed by the sheer energy of it" he says. Brother...

'Some day your cousin is going to be a saint' Pequannock family hopes for canonization of cousin, The Venerable Father Solanus CaseyPEQUANNOCK - Imagine the thrill of discovering a famous artist or politician, who has taken up a branch on your family tree. Take that a step further - imagine the double blessing of having in your family background a possible saint, especially a humble Capuchin priest, known for facilitating God-given "favors" on behalf his many dedicated believers. Fifty years after the death of Venerable Father Solanus Casey, many Catholics continue to believe in his powers of intercession, responsible they...

To his thousands of followers in Italy and around the world he is the new Padre Pio. Like the country's ever-popular 20th Century saint, who displayed stigmata for the last 50 years of his life, Brother Elia is revered. With his face, hands and feet appearing covered in blood each Easter, he has earned celebrity status and his fans range from the country's poorest to World Cup-winning footballer Francesco Totti. Yesterday was supposed to be a chance for as many as 10,000 people, including visitors from Britain, to meet Brother Elia, 45, at the headquarters of the Jesuit movement in...

The Capuchin Franciscans began their 83rd General Chapter this morning in Rome with a Mass celebrated by the community's first cardinal in half a century, Boston's Sean P. O'Malley. The gathering, held at the order's International College of St Lawrence of Brindisi, runs until 17 September. The chief order of business awaiting the 200 or so delegates is the election a new General Minister in succession to Canadian Fr John Corriveau, who has reached the limit of two six-year terms. While the order will release an official summary of each day's activities, interested parties would be wise to keep...

IS THE NEW CATHEDRAL TO PADRE PIO IN SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO ACTUALLY A "MASONIC TEMPLE"? I have just received and am in the process of studying a special issue, #381 (March 2006), of the Italian religious magazine “CHIESA VIVA”. It is my understanding that in March 2006 this special issue was sent by the publisher/editor of “Chiesa Viva”, Dr. Monsignor Luigi Villa, to Catholic & 'catholic' priests, Bishops, Cardinals, as well as a selected group of Italian lay persons including members of the judiciary. This entire special issue deals with only one subject, that being the inauguration in July 2004...

When Father Solanus Casey died in Detroit in 1957, all he left after 86 years on this earth were a small crucifix, an old pair of sandals, several religious pictures, a wooden statue of St. Anthony, some dog-eared religious books, a knot of heavily darned socks and a framed, 40-year-old picture of his family. Bl. Solanus Casey (1870-1957) But he left another rich legacy — a long list of curious "favors" to an equally long list of devoted believers. Father Solanus Casey had come to Detroit to be a Capuchin friar. During his years as a priest he spent...

Felice da Nicosia (1715-1787) VATICAN CITY, OCT. 19, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is the biography issued by the Holy See of Felix of Nicosia (1715-1787), who will be canonized with four other blessed this Sunday by Benedict XVI. * * * Felix of Nicosia was born of the marriage between Filippo Amoroso and Carmela Pirro, in Nicosia, Sicily, on Nov. 5, 1715. He was baptized on the same day, and was given the names Philip James. His father, a shoemaker by trade, died Oct. 12, 1715, leaving his widow with three children. The family was poor but very religious. As...

Vera M. Calandra, 69; built shrine to Padre Pio and promoted his cause. Vera M. Calandra, 69, formerly of Norristown, who helped promote the cause for canonization of the Italian Capuchin friar Padre Pio, died Aug. 19 of heart failure at her home in Barto, Berks County. In 1966, Mrs. Calandra gave birth to her fifth child, daughter Veramarie. The baby had severe urinary tract defects and was operated on several times by Dr. C. Everett Koop at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Koop eventually removed the child's bladder and told her parents that she could not survive. At the time,...

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, US Virgin Islands - She'd been a spiritual wanderer for 20 years, studying century-old teachings of a Russian philosopher, seeking tranquility in Zen and Hinduism. For Charlene Kehoe, Catholicism was a relic of a past she thought she'd left far behind. Her bond with the Catholic Church of her youth had frayed to little more than a seasonal reflex - one token visit at Christmas that was more social than religious. And even that one service could be a sharp reminder of why she'd left. ''I was so disgusted, I think I walked out after Communion,'' Kehoe said...

ST LAWRENCE OF BRINDISI IS THE DOCTOR OF CONVERSIONS AND MISSIONS. LAWRENCE SAID THE SAVIOR WOULD HAVE COME EVEN IF ADAM HAD NOT SINNED. NO OTHER DOCTOR STATED MORE CLEARLY HOW MUCH GOD DESIRES TO SHARE ETERNAL LOVE WITH US WITH THESE PROFOUND WORDS. IN THESE WORDS, WE UNDERSTAND THAT GOD IS A LOVER FIRST AND AFTERWARDS A SAVIOR. IT IS PRIMARILY THROUGH HIS LOVE IN THE PERSON OF JESUS AS SAVIOR THAT WE KNOW HOW TO BE SAVED. JESUS' COMING REVEALS WHY WE NEED TO CONTINUE HIS MISSION WITH HIM AND HAVE A MISSION OR PURPOSE FOR OTHERS....