For those of you who plan ahead, I’m happy to say that I will be at Head House Books in Philadelphia on the evening of December 4, a Thursday, to talk about My Cousin the Saint. We will get started around 7 p.m. Please tell your friends in the Philly area!
Filmed and edited by Michael Frierson, film professor at UNC-Greensboro
I will be speaking at St. Gabriel Catholic Church in Charlotte on Wednesday night, November 12, at 6:30 p.m. The church is at 3016 Providence Road. Details are here. My topic? My cousin the saint, and how he came to be canonized.
Update:My sincere thanks to Susan Krasniewski and Father Frank at St. Gabriel for hosting me tonight. They both did a sensational job of organizing and promoting my talk and we certainly had a wonderful turnout. It was great to meet so many people afterwards. A special thanks to the Italian-American woman who traveled to Charlotte from Shelby who bought eight books and gave me to two delicious homemade meatball sandwiches!
Padre Gaetano Catanoso, ordained in 1902, was sent to Pentidattilo in 1904 to lead the hilltop parish at the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul. He served there for 17 years.
The Anniston Star in Alabama reviews My Cousin the Saint. The review is here.
I was invited to offer a guest travel post today at www.amoretravelguides.com. My short feature on Reggio di Calabria is here.
If you’ve ever wondered about the connection, your explanation is here, offered by none other than a leading expert on saints, Father James Martin, SJ. The answer to that question is brief, but Father Martin, in this simple and engaging video, shares plenty more of his expertise on this favorite topic of his.
To all long-suffering Philadelphia Phillies fans (myself included), congratulations! A great team beat a great team. Cut loose, Philly! You have waited a long, long time for this one.
Talk about faith, family and miracles! This team has it all!
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.
Three years years, I was fortunate to have a commentary aired on National Public Radio. The 3-minute audio essay is here. It aired just three days before the canonization of Padre Gaetano Catanoso. As luck would have it, a literary agent in California was listening, and before too long, I was at work on a book. A miracle? My mother has always thought so!
