Cox News Service writes: “It’s true: The cuisine we refer to as Italian is really the ultimate fusion cuisine — Italian-American — a blending of the traditions and tastes of the Old World and the New.” Click here for the story.

I should note, though, that while in Reggio Calabria, I couldn’t help but notice a favorite pizza topping for teens — French fries. It did not look enticing to me at all. Rather, it struck me that America’s love of junk food had crossed the ocean and ruined a perfectly good Italian invention. Fortunately, at the best pizzerias in the city (and there are some excellent ones), the French-fry topping was not an option.

Kate Wicker, who writes a popular blog on themes of faith and family, offers a thoughtful and thorough review of My Cousin the Saint today. The review is here.

An excerpt: “Catanoso describes himself as a ‘mostly lapsed, mostly doubtful Catholic’ and considers his spiritual life as little more than an afterthought. He remembers the ‘forced march to Mass every Sunday.’ He questions some of the Church’s teachings and in fact does indulge in a bit of rationalization by citing Garry Willis’s Why I Am a Catholic, a book that criticizes some of the core beliefs of Catholicism. At first, I admit I ‘tsked, tsked’ at the few passages that seemed to trivialize some of the Church’s teachings. But then I stopped myself and realized I had no grounds to scorn this seeker. Really, who am I to judge? Haven’t I, like Catanoso, been Catholic in name only during parts of my life?”

The friendly folks at Head House Books in Philadelphia, Pa., sent out an email flyer yesterday regarding my upcoming talk at the store on Thursday, December 4, at 7 p.m. The event is free and RSVP’s are requested by calling the store at (215) 923-9525, or sending an email to sales@headhousebooks.com. The flyer also links to this book review in The Main Line Times. The store location is illustrated here.

Video shot in Reggio Calabria in March 2008 by Michael Frierson, UNC-Greensboro film professor.

Filmed and edited by Michael Frierson, film professor at UNC-Greensboro

I was invited to offer a guest travel post today at www.amoretravelguides.com. My short feature on Reggio di Calabria is here.

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.

As I receive reader feedback, I am hearing that book clubs are reading My Cousin the Saint. That’s wonderful! To help with the discussion that is the heart and soul of every book club (until it veers off into good friends catching up with each other’s lives!), here is a set of questions to consider:

1.      How would you describe southern Italy at the turn of the 20^th century? How did Catanoso’s description of the land, the long history and the people surprise you? What role did those conditions play in the “great wave” of Italian immigration to America between 1880 and 1920?

2.      The central characters in Part I are cousins Gaetano Catanoso, the eventual saint, and Carmelo Catanoso, the author’s grandfather. How does the tenor of the times influence both men as they pursue their own profound, interior callings?

3.      My Cousin the Saint is divided into three parts – Faith, Family and Miracles. Each part begins with a short miracle story. How do those miracle stories set the tone for the chapters to follow in each part?

4.      Why does the Catholic Church, which has been doing so for 2,000 years, name saints? What is your reaction to the intricate, complex nature of this process?

5.      Pope John Paul II is still criticized by some for naming so many saints. This point is addressed in the book. Do you believe the criticism is fair?

6.      If you learned you had a saint in the family, someone whom the Vatican declares has actual miraculous powers, what would you pray for?

7.      Did reading this book temper your views on the Catholic Church or Catholicism?

8.      A central theme of Part I is America as a land of opportunity, and of biases and prejudices against recent immigrants. How does this story illuminate the current controversy over legal and illegal immigration?

9.      Catanoso, a lapsed Catholic, returns to church following the canonization of his relative and eventually comes to see that being lapsed, skeptical and doubtful is far more common in the church than he imagined. How does this story prompt you to reflect on your own faith or lack thereof?

10.  Catanoso goes off in search and faith and finds his family – scores of them in another country, most of whom don’t even speak English. It was almost as if they had been expecting him for 100 years. How much do you know about your own family history? If you connected with long-lost relatives in another place or country, what would expectations be? Is this something you would like to do?

Enjoy the discussion!

The Italian Tribune, published in Montclair, N.J., and which bills itself as “the premier Italian American weekly since 1931, reviews “My Cousin the Saint” in the Sept. 4 issue, page 25. The review is not online, but here’s an excerpt:

“Justin Catanoso’s remarkable journey comes to light for all in “My Cousin the Saint.” It chronicles a search in family history that is literally amazing, unique and undeniably interesting. Catanoso calls his book “A Search for Faithy, Family, and Miracles,” and it can safely be said that all three elements were found during his journey and chronicled elegantly in his book.”

Pope John Paul II, who wanted new contemporary saints from new places (like Padre Gaetano from Reggio Calabria) would have been intrigued by this cause; details here. Maurice Otunga was the first Kenyan to become an archbishop and cardinal. Details here.