Michael Fontana has dedicated the past 30 years of his life to producing and directing pastoral music in the Roman Catholic tradition. He also has a rich background in music as a composer — having published his first piece of organ music at the age of 18 — and has continued to compose, with several pieces published last year.
Turn left at the bottom of the steps of Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s St. Paulinus Hall in Williamsburg and your eyes are filled with a colorful mural celebrating this Brooklyn neighborhood and the return of the parish’s annual Giglio Feast.
A little creativity with Lego pieces by John and Holly Ostermeier’s six children has yielded a re-creation of the family’s parish church, St. Pius X in Appleton, right down to the altar, candle bank, piano and priest celebrating Mass.
Images of backyard shrines to the Blessed Virgin adorn the pages of many Catholic novelists. They are a place-setting device authors use to plant familiar images in the mind of the reader.
A magical thing happened in 1968 when The Irish Rovers made the pop chart Top 10 with their recording of “The Unicorn.” And how that came to be is truly a wondrous story.
During the last few weeks, writing this series of columns about how we, along with God, freely create our life stories, has helped me understand my own history better.
In conjunction with the yearlong renovation and beautification of the Jefferson City Diocese’s Cathedral of St. Joseph, Bishop W. Shawn McKnight is adorning his social media spaces throughout 2022 with “111 Sacred Works of Art.”
When Alice von Hildebrand wasn’t promoting her late husband’s work, the Catholic philosopher, professor and author spent most of her life “reminding women of the privilege of femininity and the gift of motherhood,” said Rachel Bulman, a blogger and popular speaker.
D. Anne Jones knew she wanted to use her gift of painting portraits to help others in some way. Losing her daughter in 2019, becoming guardian of her granddaughter and moving to a new part of Indiana in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic proved only to strengthen Jones’ faith and her calling.
Pope Francis’ music library contains nearly 2,000 CDs and 19 vinyl records, according to the Vatican cardinal who is curating the collection.
