A forum of Catholic Thought

Cardinal O'Connell's 1909 Thanksgiving Day addressThomas Lester

On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, 1909, Cardinal William O'Connell of Boston delivered an address to veterans of the Ninth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Veterans of the Civil War, "the fighting ...

The dedication of St. Francis Chapel in the Prudential Center Thomas Lester

On Nov. 11, 1969, Veterans Day, Cardinal Richard Cushing dedicated St. Francis Chapel located within the Prudential Center in Boston. Its origins might be traced to the 1947 arrival of the Franciscan ...

A home for Lithuanian Catholics in BostonThomas Lester

On Sunday, Oct. 20, St. Peter Lithuanian Parish in South Boston will be commemorating 120 years since the blessing of the church by its first pastor. Lithuanians began immigrating to the U.S. in significant ...

An 1839 letter to Bishop Fenwick from a Georgetown College student Thomas Lester

On Aug. 4, 1839, Joseph Ringe, a Maine native, took time to write Bishop Benedict Fenwick of Boston at the start of his summer holiday at Georgetown College. The school year had just ended. Final examinations ...

The 75th anniversary of St. Ignatius of Loyola Church, Chestnut HillThomas Lester

July 31 will mark the 75th anniversary of the dedication of St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Chestnut Hill, which serves Boston College and the surrounding community. The parish itself had been erected ...

The establishment of St. Mary Church in Newport, R.I. Thomas Lester

On Saturday, June 14, 1849, Bishop John Fitzpatrick of Boston was in Newport, Rhode Island, to lay the cornerstone of St. Mary Church. The "History of the Archdiocese of Boston" reveals that Newport ...

The 1924 convention of Catholic Students' Mission CrusadeThomas Lester

On May 29, 1924, a gathering of 15,000 Catholic students and hundreds of priests and representatives from nearly every religious order in the Archdiocese of Boston gathered on Boston College's Alumni ...

Boston and the nation respond to the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 Thomas Lester

In the early morning hours of April 18, 1906, Californians were awoken by what the U.S. Geological Survey calls "one of the most significant earthquakes of all time." Several shocks occurred throughout ...