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After the Virgin Mary, St. Francis of Assisi is probably Catholicism's most popular saint. Sure, other saints do more practical things: St. Anthony can help you find lost car keys, [...]

SUBVERSIVE HABITS By Shannen Dee Williams (Duke University Press, 2022) I recently found a book I received as a first communion gift. It is about famous American Catholics and is [...]

People seeking a saint's intercession to help with their love lives might appeal to St. Valentine, but he's not the only saint available for relationship advice. Dedicating Valentine's Day to [...]

BUILDING A BRIDGE Directed by Evan Mascagni and Shannon Post (Player Piano Productions, 2021) According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, LGBTQ Catholics 'must be accepted with respect, compassion, [...]

CARRY ON: REFLECTIONS FOR A NEW GENERATION By John Lewis (Grand Central Publishing, 2021) In the summer of 2020, as people took to the streets to express their anger and [...]

Set in the southern Italian port of Bari, Edoardo Ponti's The Life Ahead weaves together the lives of marginalized people caring for one another. At the center of the story [...]

It has been more than 50 years since the FBI conspired with the Chicago Police Department to murder Black Panther leader Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) in his sleep. Shaka King's [...]

Midway through the documentary Francesco, Pope Francis endorses civil unions for same-sex couples and states that they have the right to a family. And, just like that, two minutes of [...]

On Ash Wednesday we are told to 'remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.' It can be a bleak message and may be why some churches [...]

STRANGE RITES By Tara Isabella Burton (PublicAffairs, 2020) In an era when religious questions can be contentious and divisive, Tara Isabella Burton's Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World [...]

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 Directed by Aaron Sorkin (Netflix, 2020) As The Trial of the Chicago 7 nears its finale, two of the antiwar activists on trial for [...]

HARRIET Directed by Kasi Lemmons (Focus Features, 2019) As part of a lesson on persuasive writing, students at my daughter's school recently wrote essays on the topic, 'Who was the [...]

THE IRISHMAN Directed by Martin Scorsese (Tribeca Productions and Sikelia Productions, 2019) The audible surprise of the man next to me in the theater notwithstanding, few people head into a [...]

RED STATE CHRISTIANS By Angela Denker (Fortress Press, 2019) When coming across the statistic that 81 percent of white evangelical Christians voted for Donald Trump, there usually follows a litany [...]

When we tell someone 'You're a saint,' we are usually complimenting them on their ability to selflessly shoulder a relentless torrent of mundane tasks we would rather not do. Our [...]

One of the most vivid descriptions author Shusaku Endo uses to describe his faith was to call his Catholicism an ill-fitting suit. It's such a relatable sensation that just to [...]

TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM Directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders (Magnolia Pictures, 2019) Anyone who has read a Toni Morrison novel knows she understood the power of language. Addressing the [...]

HESBURGH Directed by Patrick Creadon (O'Malley Creadon Productions, 2019) Narrated by a voiceover reading the writings of Congregation of Holy Cross Father Theodore Hesburgh and cutting back and forth between [...]

THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD Directed by Peter Jackson (Warner Bros., 2019) Peter Jackson, best known for the Lord of the Rings movies, seems to love a good gimmick. Some [...]

SAY NOTHING by Patrick Radden Keefe (Doubleday, 2019) In 1972 an armed gang barged into Jean McConville's Belfast apartment and demanded the 38-year-old widow come with them; her 10 children [...]

Directed by Alfonso Cuaron (Participant Media, 2018) The plot of ROMA, named for the neighborhood of Mexico City, where director Alfonso Cuaron grew up and where he filmed the movie, [...]

ISLAM: A LIVING FAITH by Natana J. DeLong-Bas (Anselm Academic, 2018)There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world today, yet when most people in the United States hear the word [...]

Directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West (Magnolia Pictures, 2018) Early in the documentary RBG, Ruth Bader Ginsburg addresses a group of high school students visiting the Supreme Court. Holding [...]

POPE FRANCIS: A MAN OF HIS WORD Directed by Wim Wenders (Focus Features, 2018) Midway through the documentary Pope Francis: A Man of His Word, there is an image that [...]

NOVITIATE Directed by Margaret Betts (Sony Pictures Classics, 2017) In the opening scene of Margaret Betts' Novitiate, a movie about a group of young women seeking admission to a convent [...]

CHRISTMAS: A BIOGRAPHY By Judith Flanders (St. Martin's Press, 2017) Every year, it begins. First a low rumbling, as Starbucks blows right past Thanksgiving and decks their stores in 'holiday' [...]

HACKSAW RIDGE Directed by Mel Gibson (Summit Entertainment, 2016) Based on the life of the World War II medic and conscientious objector who pulled 75 injured soldiers to safety during [...]

FIRE AT SEA Directed by Gianfranco Rosi (Rai Cinema, 2016) The opening titles of Italian documentary Fire at Sea reel off a stark, if familiar, set of statistics. Only eight [...]

THE PILGRIM JOURNEY James Harpur (BlueBridge, 2016) The basics of pilgrimage, which author James Harpur defines as 'a physical journey ... to a special destination, accompanied by a particular state [...]

watch THE FITS Directed by Anna Rose Holmer (Oscilloscope Laboratories, 2016) Reading only a quick plot summary, one could be forgiven for thinking The Fits is a horror movie: New [...]

HE HAMED ME MALALA Davis Guggenheim (Fox Searchlight, 2015) Heading in to watch the documentary He Named Me Malala, I expected to be moved. After all, what isn't moving about [...]

In a season filled with red Santa suits and green Christmas trees, the purple and pink candles of the Advent wreath can seem incongruous with many Catholic families' usual Christmas [...]

As news of Benedict XVI's resignation broke, Rome's La Repubblica newspaper sent a reporter to gauge the reaction in the streets of the city. Some said they were speechless. Others [...]

The Wolfpack Directed by Crystal Moselle (Kotva Films, 2015) After watching Star Wars as kids, no wrapping paper roll in my house was safe; my brothers and I stole them [...]

INVENTING A CHRISTIAN AMERICA By Steven K. Green (Oxford, 2015) Teaching the history of religion I frequently have to wave my students off from 'always' and 'never' statements. 'Jews and [...]

Recently, I received some free life advice at Starbucks, courtesy of the horoscopes baristas had clipped from the newspaper and taped to the back of the espresso machine. Apparently, I [...]

'71 Directed by Yann Demanqe (Roadside Attractions, 2015) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The political thriller '71 opens with soldiers training in the English countryside to be deployed to Germany to stand guard [...]

Since the early Middle Ages, all Christians have used the same method for determining the date of Easter, though they arrive at a different result. Described authoritatively in The Reckoning [...]

Since 1963 the church has taught that Catholics can be cremated, abolishing its longstanding prohibition of the practice. Cremation was fairly widespread in the ancient world, but early Christians rejected [...]

ST. VINCENT Directed by Theodore Melfi (The Weinstein Company, 2014) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] St. Vincent follows the growing friendship between Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher), a shrimpy misfit uprooted by his parents' recent [...]

Traditionally, Catholics believed that a person could reach heaven only if he or she was buried in a Catholic cemetery. But limited space meant few people could be buried in [...]

JESUS: A PILGRIMAGE By James Martin, S.J. (HarperOne, 2014) In his latest book, Jesus: A Pilgrimage, Jesuit Father James Martin travels to Israel, visiting the sites of Jesus' life. Combining [...]

In 1955, Pius XII reformed the liturgy to make foot washing part of the Holy Thursday Mass. Since the 14th century, it had been practiced in a separate liturgy. Then [...]

EARTHLY MISSION By Robert Calderisi (Yale University Press, 2013) At the end of Earthly Mission: The Catholic Church and World Development, economist and former World Bank official Robert Calderisi claims [...]

The historic news that emerged from the ecclesial council held on February 11, 2013 was Pope Benedict XVI's resignation. But that was not the day's only newsworthy event: Benedict called [...]

FRANCIS OF ASSISI By Andre Vauchez (Yale Press, 2012) Francis the ecologist, Francis the stigmatic, Francis the peace activist, Francis the crusader. With so many Francis of Assisis, anyone can [...]

If you missed the feast of Francis of Assisi in October, the Christmas season offers another opportunity to commemorate the saint. Anyone who has erected a nativity scene is following [...]

Before the obligatory 'Ave Maria' and a crazy aunt leading 'YMCA' at the reception, guests at a Catholic wedding witness 'a covenant by which a man and a woman establish [...]

REVELATIONS By Elaine Pagels (Viking Press, 2012) Seven-headed dragons, locusts with human faces, and armies of monsters could all be elements in popular fantasy novels. Instead, they have a much [...]

THE CASE OF GALILEO: A CLOSED QUESTION? By Annibale Fantoli (Notre Dame Press, 2012) Annibale Fantoli's The Case of Galileo: A Closed Question? opens where most Galileo books end--with the [...]