Theater of the Word

by Alexi Sargeant

Last week I had the honor and pleasure of seeing my production of The Jeweler's Shop by Karol Wojtyla performed at the First Things office. Continue Reading »

14 Jun 2016

The Best Nuncio We’ve Had Thus Far

by George Weigel

The announcement that Archbishop Christoph Pierre will succeed Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò as Apostolic Nuncio to the United States is an opportunity to pay tribute to a courageous churchman who has served Catholicism, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis in an exemplary way during his tenure in . . . . Continue Reading »

20 Apr 2016

The Jeweler's Shop, John Paul II, and the Joy of Holiness

by Alexi Sargeant

Near the beginning of The Jeweler's Shop, by Karol Wotjyla (the future John Paul II), one of the characters, a young woman, recalls a hiking trip she took with friends. At night, in the mountains, a mysterious cry sounded, and everyone became quiet to listen for the call to sound again. Was it a . . . . Continue Reading »

11 Mar 2016

European Reconciliation

by Filip Mazurczak

Currently, visitors to the Vatican Museums in Rome have the opportunity to visit an exhibition devoted to Cardinal Bolesław Kominek (1903-1974), aptly titled “Europe’s Forgotten Founding Father.” The author of the “Pastoral Letter of the Polish Bishops to Their German Brothers,” sent . . . . Continue Reading »

18 Nov 2015

Popes in These United States

by George Weigel

The history of popes in these United States is full of surprises. And one of them, to begin at the beginning, includes the little-known fact that Blessed Paul VI was not the first pontiff to set foot on American territory, when he landed at newly-renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport on . . . . Continue Reading »

16 Sep 2015

Pope Francis's Words of Affirmation

by William Doino Jr.

During a recent televised video conference hosted by ABC’s 20/20, Pope Francis spoke to several American Catholics who had personal testimonies to share. Among them was seventeen-year-old Valerie Herrera, a student at Chicago’s Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. She has long struggled with . . . . Continue Reading »

9 Sep 2015

Jacob and Esau

by Nicholas J. Healy Jr.

From Enemy to Brother: The Revolution in Catholic Teaching on the Jews, 1933–1965 by John Connelly Harvard, 384 pages, $35 The Jewish religion,” said John Paul II on the occasion of his historic visit to the Chief Synagogue of Rome, “is not ‘extrinsic’ to us, but in a certain way is . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 2013

Russell Shaw Discusses Writing the Way

by Gayle Trotter

“I guess all of us live a double life in a sense or at least we are tempted in that direction.  We split our lives in two between the religious part and the everday part.  Escriva’s message is that it is all meant to hang together as a life lived in the service of God and other . . . . Continue Reading »

14 Mar 2011

Podcast Transcript: George Weigel Discusses John Paul II: Truths about Living and Truths about Dying, Part Two

by Gayle Trotter

The following is a transcript of part two of Gayle Trotter’s podcast interview with George Weigel.  Gayle talks with Weigel about The End and the Beginning, the newly released second part of his biography of John Paul II.  Weigel, the author of fifteen books and a weekly . . . . Continue Reading »

25 Dec 2010

George Weigel Discusses Pope John Paul II: Truths about Living and Truths about Dying

by Gayle Trotter

Gayle talks with George Weigel about The End and the Beginning, the newly released second part of his biography of John Paul II.  Weigel, the author of fifteen books and a weekly syndicated column, is a Roman Catholic theologian and Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Nov 2010