Shot on location in Reggio Calabria by Michael Frierson, film professor at UNC-Greensboro.

Eighty-eight years ago today, my father, Leonard Catanoso, was born in South Philadelphia, the fifth child of Carmelo and Caterina Catanoso. Four more children would follow. Happy birthday, Dad.

Sister Irmalinda belongs to the Sisters of St. Veronica of the Holy Face in Reggio Calabria — the order of nuns founded by Padre Gaetano Catanoso in 1934. We spoke with her at the church of Saint Gaetano in Reggio last March.

Adam Sobsey, a talented book reviewer for The Independent, an alternative weekly in Raleigh, N.C., reviews My Cousin the Saint in this week’s paper. The review is here. An excerpt:

“Although Catanoso often shows us his skeptical-journalist card (he’s a Pulitzer nominee and the executive editor of the Triad’s Business Journal), the combination of his ardent earnestness and his felicitous discoveries mark him as a man who wants very much to believe—partially for the very reason that he seems to keep finding only good news everywhere he looks. Even when people close to him die, there’s uplift at the end.”

The 51st Catanoso Family Reunion will be held tomorrow at the Avalon Campground in Clermont, NJ. These events started as small affairs with nine siblings and their children in the backyard of Uncle Tony and Aunt Phyllis’ home in North Wildwood, NJ. The events have grown in size over the years as the 22 grandchildren of Carmelo and Caterina Catanoso began families of their own. Four generations are now represented. The photo here, which is included in my book, was taken in 2003.

Journalist David Robinson, who covers religion for the Main Line Times in Armore, Pa., just outside Philadelphia, writes a long and thoughtful review of My Cousin the Saint in the current issue. The review is here.:

An excerpt:

“Catanoso weaves his story of My Cousin the Saint with threads from Padre Gaetano’s life amid the villages of southern Italy, and the American story of Carmelo Catanoso (the author’s grandfather and a cousin of the saint) who fled Italy in 1903 and never looked back. Equally compelling are the author’s confessions as he seeks to understand his God, church and the river of questions that dilute his faith.”

This video was shot in March, on location in Reggio Calabria, and filmed and produced by Michael Frierson, UNC-Greensboro film professor.

Padre Gaetano Catanoso (1879-1963) experienced a relatively quick route to sainthood — about 25 years from the start of his cause to the canonization by Pope Benedict XVI in October 2005. This blog post regarding Father Nelson H. Baker (1842-1936) of Buffalo, N.Y., is a reminder of how long and difficult the path can be for many who are already deemed saints by their ardent followers.

An excerpt: “One of the most frustrating things about the process of establishing that someone is a saint, that someone is with God and can act as an intermediary between God and those still living, is proving miracles. In Father Baker’s case, over 20 healings have been investigated so far for his cause, and none of them have passed muster in Rome.

This video was shot on a hill above Chorio, the Calabrian village where my grandfather, and the saint, were born in the late 1800s. It was shot and produced by Michael Frierson, a film professor at UNC-Greensboro.

This video was shot in Chorio, a small village in the southern Aspromonte in Calabria. The saint and his cousin, Carmelo Catanoso, who was my grandfather, were both born there. My Uncle Tony is the star of this story. He calls it The First Miracle. It is, without doubt, one of my favorite stories in the book, taking place as it does during World War II — in Chorio. Sticklers should note: this miracle was not vetted by the pope’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

This video was shot and produced by UNC-Greensboro film professor Michael Frierson in Italy last March.