• Our Lady of Loretto | Caravaggio

    Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

    February 10, 2020 - By 

    The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary originated at the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto in Italy and became widespread among the numerous pilgrims who visited and learned to recite it. Accordingly, it is also called the Litany of Loreto.  History The oldest written copy of the litany in existence was found in Dillingen, German in 1558. It is called ‘Letania Loretana. Ordnung der Letaney von unser lieben Frawen wie sie zu Loreto alle Samstag gehalten’ which can be translated in English as ‘The Order of the Litany of Our Lady as said every Saturday at Loreto.’  The litany was approved by Pope Sixtus…

  • Homily for the Canonization of St. Maximilian Kolbe by Pope Saint John Paul II

    Homily for the Canonization of St. Maximilian Kolbe

    January 3, 2020 - By 

    The Homily for the Canonization of St. Maximilian Kolbe was given by Pope Saint John Paul II on October 10, 1982. 150,000 people were in attendance at St. Peter’s Square for the three-hour rite, including Franciszek Gajowniczek, a former the former Auschwitz prisoner that Saint Maximilian gave his life to save. The Homily for the Canonization of St. Maximilian Kolbe “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). From today on, the Church desires to address as “Saint” a man who was granted the grace of carrying out these…