Category Archives: Church History

Deaconesses

Posted on May 16, 2016 by

Someone in Rome has said something about reviving the order of deaconesses.  This has got all of the dissenters very excited. There are a couple of points to make: Deaconess ≠ Deacon – the earliest statutes of the Church pretty … Continue reading →

Posted in Church History, Church Politics, Pope Francis I, Uncategorized | 74 Comments

Philip Jenkins on dissident Catholics

Posted on February 24, 2016 by

  Professor Philip Jenkins, Welsh-born Distinguished Professor of History at Baylor University in the United States, may be quite well known to many for his contributions to research in Christian history and criminology (no pun intended!). Long, long ago in … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, Catholic Culture, Church History, Church Politics, Interreligious relationship, Mission, Pope Francis, Saints | 21 Comments

Dome of Home documentary

Posted on September 25, 2014 by

This 25 minute documentary, with contributions from Bishop Mark Davies of the Shrewsbury Diocese, shows how the “Dome of Home” church – the Church of Ss Peter, Paul and Philomena – is thriving under the care of Canon Amaury Montjean … Continue reading →

Posted in Bishop Mark Davies, Church History, Latin Mass Society, Liturgy, Mass, Pope Benedict, Traditional Mass | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hymns of Lent 5

Posted on April 4, 2014 by

  And from Thy cross embrace me with arms outstretched to save.  (From the translation by Monsignor R.A. Knox of words attributed to St Bernard) The Epistle of the Mass of Passion Sunday, 5th Sunday of Lent, in the 1962 … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Culture, Catholic Music, Catholic Orders and Congregations, Catholic Prayers, Church History, Devotion, Hymns, Latin, Music, Saints, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Giving up gracelessly

Posted on February 15, 2014 by

According to the Church, yesterday was the feast of Ss Cyril and Methodius. According to my 1938 edition of “Garden of the Soul”, my 1962 edition of “The Manual of Christian Prayer” and the rest of the whole world, yesterday … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Prayers, Church History, Church Politics, Devotion, Oecumenical Councils, Pope Benedict, Traditional Mass | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

A symbol of our times

Posted on February 14, 2014 by

Franz von Rohden – Crucifixion The Herald reports that a work of art, hailed as a masterpiece by experts, was hung in a chapel at Ushaw until the 1970s, when it was put in cupboard (no doubt replaced by something … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Culture, Church History, Church Politics | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

ST. IGNATIUS, Bishop, Martyr.

Posted on October 17, 2013 by

Painting of Ignatius of Antioch from the Menologion of Basil II (c. 1000 AD) Whenever I am asked (usually by people entertaining strange, silly ideas that Christianity and the Church are an artefact of Constantine the Great) how I can … Continue reading →

Posted in Church History, Martyrs, Saints | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

St Teresa of Avila

Posted on October 15, 2013 by

St Teresa by Bernini A Guest Post, kindly written by William Ockham. Today is the Feast of St. Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus. Teresa was a Carmelite nun, writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Orders and Congregations, Church History, Devotion, Guest Authors, Saints | Tagged , , | 19 Comments

LMS Oxford Pilgrimage

Posted on October 14, 2013 by

Scenes from last year’s pilgrimage This Saturday, 19th October, is the Latin Mass Society’s Oxford Pilgrimage in honour of Oxford’s Catholic Martyrs. For more details please see Dr Shaw’s piece here.

Posted in Church History, Dominicans, Ecumenism, Evangelism, Latin Mass Society, Mass, Mission, New Evangelisation, Traditional Mass | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

St Wilfrid

Posted on October 12, 2013 by

St Wilfrid, as seen from the East Today is the feast of one of the greatest English saints, Wilfrid. To say that he lived a full and turbulent life is only the beginning.

Posted in Church History, Evangelism, Orthodox Church, Saints | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Ss Jean de Brébeuf & Isaac Jogues

Posted on October 11, 2013 by

From the Catholic Herald: The 32-year-old French Jesuit Jean de Brébeuf travelled to New France in North America in 1625. He worked with the Huron, an Iroquoian tribe famous for their ferocity, with whom the French settlers traded.

Posted in Catholic Orders and Congregations, Church History, Famous Catholics, Martyrs, Saints | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Maria Victrix

Posted on October 7, 2013 by

Veronese, the Doges’ palace, Venezia The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of southern European Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in … Continue reading →

Posted in Church History, Devotion, Mahometans, Marian, Rosary, The Holy Rosary | Tagged , , | 47 Comments

No Greater Love

Posted on August 14, 2013 by

CP&S re-blog from 2010: I could never have anticipated the powerful mix of emotion and awe that gripped me as I stood in the doorway of the Auschwitz cell – that hallowed place of martyrdom in which Saint Maximilian Kolbe … Continue reading →

Posted in Church History, Saints | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Film about St Winefride’s Well

Posted on June 26, 2013 by

Some of you enjoyed a film made by my son about the Dome of Home church in the Wirral. Here’s another he has made, this time about the oldest site of continuous Christian pilgrimage in Great Britain, St Winefride’s Well. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bishop Peter Brignall, Bishops, Catholic Culture, Church History, Devotion, Martyrs, Media, Saints | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

A short film about Pope (Emeritus) Benedict’s life

Posted on March 3, 2013 by

This is a short film my teenage son put together as a sort of personal tribute to our beloved Pope Emeritus.

Posted in Church History, Conclave, Ecumenism, Famous Catholics, Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, Pope Benedict, Popes, Society of St. Pius X, World Youth Day | 7 Comments