Father Joseph T. O'Callahan, SJ, was head of the mathematics department at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, and a professor of mathematics, physics, and philosophy. But when war broke out in 1939, he signed up to be a Navy Chaplain — the first Jesuit to do so. In March of 1945 he was assigned to the <em>USS Franklin</em>, which steamed out of Pearl Harbor on March 3. Just 16 days later, while preparing to launch bombing runs on the Japanese mainland, the <em>Franklin</em> was struck by two armor-piercing bombs. The bombs penetrated to the hangar bay. The chain reactions of explosions and fires which ensued killed hundreds almost immediately, and hundreds more over the next eleven hours. But Father O'Callahan kept his wits about him, and organized the men into firefighting squads. He personally led some men into gun turrets and ammunition magazines to remove hot rounds and toss them overboard, and to hose down some with fire hoses to keep them cool. If any of these had exploded the ship would have been torn to bits, and all the men would have died. Thanks to his actions — and those of a few others — the <em>Franklin</em> was saved, and made it back to Brooklyn, New York for major repairs. Father O'Callahan initially refused the Navy Cross approved for him, but eventually President Truman convinced him to accept the Congressional Medal of Honor — the award his actions truly merited. Father O'Callahan went back to teaching at Holy Cross. He died in 1964.
We had a splendid time visiting The Willows, the home of Joseph Warren Revere, last weekend. It sits within Fosterfields Living Historical Farm outside of Morristown, New Jersey. We were in town for a wedding, and couldn't pass on the opportunity to see this historic home. And what a well-preserved bit of history it is!
The Foster family, who bought the house from Revere's widow, preserved a number of Revere's things, including the extensive trompe l'oeil paintings he did in the foyer and dining room.
If you're ever in the Morristown, NJ area we highly recommend you take the time to visit The Willows — and the rest of Fosterfields. They have additional museums on site, plus a working farm that preserves techniques and activities from 1920s farming. You also can pet the animals and take part in the work.
In 1819, Father Samuel Sutherland Cooper was shocked when the host in his hands suddenly changed into a piece of bleeding flesh. This happened in Augusta, Georgia, just a few days after Father Cooper had boasted that a demonstration proving the doctrine of Transubstantiation would take place on Sunday. His rash boast — and he recognized its rashness as soon as he'd proclaimed it — was in response to the abuse being hurled upon the Church, and especially upon the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, by an ex-priest who still lived in the area. The remarkable happening naturally caused a sensation. Learn more about the remarkable life of Samuel Sutherland Cooper: https://americancatholichistory.org/samuel-sutherland-cooper/
Father Henry Duranquet, SJ, became known as The Apostle to the Tombs because of his work with prisoners in New York's prisons, including the one known as The Tombs.
His patient ministry brought thousands of criminals to Christ — or back to Christ. But perhaps his most spectacular work was with the notorious international murderer and thief Albert Hicks. Hicks was under a death sentence, but he went to the gallows after having returned to Christ by the hands and through the ministry of Father Hicks.
Listen to the entire episode: https://americancatholichistory.org/father-henry-duranquet-sj-apostle-to-the-tombs/
Prior to 2024, eleven national and international eucharistic congresses took place in the United States. The first was in 1895. What is a eucharistic congress? What gave rise to them? What happens at them? We talk about these questions and give some highlights from a number of the congresses of the past. Listen in!
Perry Como sold over 100 million albums, had dozens of songs reach the charts, and won 5 Emmys over a 19-year television career. Como was one of the most successful and beloved entertainers of the 20th century. But unlike contemporaries like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, or Dean Martin, he didn’t seek the limelight. Born to poor Catholic immigrant parents in bleak circumstances in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Como first made his mark as a barber. He would sing while cutting hair, in part to bring joy into the bleakness, and in part because it brought in the customers. Eventually his fiancée, Roselle Belline, some friends, and his father, pushed him to try out a career as a singer. He was a hit almost overnight. But as he went from success to success, his gentleness, humility, and genuineness won him fans and admirers where it really mattered: among his colleagues, friends, family, and the countless people whom he helped in ways large and small along the way. In spite of his success, he ...
Margaret Haughery came to America as a child in 1818 and promptly lost her entire family to disease and desertion. She married and had a child, but before her 24th birthday she lost her husband and daughter to disease. Through the help of her parish priest she turned this tragedy and pain into energy to work hard and help others. For the next 40-plus years she became one of the most prominent philanthropists in New Orleans, turning a dairy business, and then a bread empire, into orphanages, homes for indigent mothers and elderly, and schools. She became known as "The Bread Woman of New Orleans." Her death in 1882 was a public calamity. The archbishop, many priests, many politicians, and even the Pope honored her at her funeral. Two years later a public monument to her was erected, the first statue honoring a woman erected on public land in the United States.
Welcome to all our new members and supporters! Thank you for being here. We hope that you find the community enjoyable, supportive, and informative.
If you're new to Locals, a few notes on how this works.
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We hope those who are supporters will comment and post. The more people participating in the forum, the more interesting it is for everyone!
Who are supporters? Those who support our work with at least $5 each month. We actually have a great line-up of perks for supporters:
$5/month: access to all our "Supporter-Only" content. We've been working hard at developing some new content beyond our weekly podcast. Each month we plan to release a video in our new "American Catholic History On Location" series, taking you to American Catholic places near and far. Look out for our inaugural video tomorrow!
We also will be releasing longer-form interviews ...
We've been re-posting back episodes lately, but we will have another new episode later this week. Here's the Andy Warhol episode from a few months back.
https://americancatholichistory.org/andy-warhol/
Congratulations to my brother who will be starting a dream job next week! Read his reflection on this transition. https://falliblecatholic.substack.com/p/a-new-chapter
