The splendor of Easter is rightly reflected in the decorative elegance of even the humblest parish church. Budding tulips, blossoming azaleas, blooming hydrangeas and emblematic lilies accompany the … more

Slightly more than a stone’s throw from my family home in Woonsocket are two parishes of Ukrainian heritage. St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church is located on Blackstone Street, and, just yards … more

Retired priests engaged as part time help at a number of parishes, active pastors administering two adjacent parishes, and one or two priestly ordinations a year are unavoidable indications that … more

Winston Churchill, certainly one of the great figures of the Twentieth Century, has recently been portrayed in two motion pictures concerning an epic event during World War II. About 400,000 British … more

Just before Christmas Pope Francis “tweeted” a brief holy day reflection: “Without love, both life and faith are worthless.” And certainly it is true that a faith life lived without love can … more

The Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in Providence was brought into line with the liturgical directives of Vatican II by Bishop Russell J. McVinney in 1970-71. During the extensive renovation, as well … more

A number of Woonsocket civil officials, educators, foster parents, clergy and interested neighbors met recently at the invitation of the Rhode Island Department of Children and their Families (DCYF) … more

Over 50 years ago, when I was a seminarian at St. Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester, New York, Christine Jorgensen, the first American to undergo a sex change operation, made a guest appearance at … more

Although I am well into my retirement years, I am still known among the family as “Johnny Boy.” My grandfather was “John;” my uncle was “Jack;” so my parents settled on “Johnny Boy” … more

St. Mark does not lose any time in introducing his readers to the power of evil and specifically to the power of the Evil One. After only 23 verses into his Gospel, the evangelist writes, “Now … more