Pope Pius X (b. 2 June 1835 – d. 20 August 1914), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, began his pontificate on 4 August 1903. He is known for opposing modernist thought and as a bishop proposed a new catechism for laymen in 1880. After his elevation to the papacy, he worked on that and released a catechism. It was, however, only used in the province of Rome and other parts of Italy and not the rest of the world. The encyclical “Vehementer Nos” was published on 11 February 1906. I

Pope Leo XIII (b. 2 March 1810 – d. 20 July 1903), born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci, began his pontificate on 20 February 1878. His papacy is the fourth longest in the history of the Church. He is known for having composed the Prayer to Archangel St Michael and for the encyclical “ Humanum Genus ” on freemasonry published on 20 April 1884. The encyclical “ Spesse Volte ” was published on 5 August 1898. It is relatively short at approximately 3,400 words in 29 par

Pope Leo XIII (b. 2 March 1810 – d. 20 July 1903), born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci, began his pontificate on 20 February 1878. His papacy is the fourth longest in the history of the Church. He is known for having composed the Prayer to Archangel St Michael and for the encyclical “ Humanum Genus ” on freemasonry published on 20 April 1884. The encyclical “ Praeclara Gratulationis Publicae ” was published on 20 June 1894. It is relatively short at approximately 5,

St John Bosco (b. 16 August 1815 – d. 31 January 1888) is known for being a priest who worked tirelessly founding and running schools that educated and looked after boys, particularly the poor, abandoned, orphaned and delinquent. John Bosco was born in Becchi, a village in Piedmont, Italy. Initially prevented from attending school, his mother did send him to school during the winter of 1824–1825. He was taught to read and write by a priest who also prepared him for his first

The Limits of Papal Authority over the Liturgy by Fr Chad Ripperger, first published in 2023, is a contribution (and response) to the recently renewed discussion of papal authority in regards to the liturgy—that is, whether the pope can change or suppress the rite. Ripperger points out the two extreme views: 1. the pope can do whatever he wants (short of changing the words of Consecration) or 2. the pope cannot change anything. Neither is correct and this book aims to “begin

An essay by J. Sottosanti titled “ Dental Surgeon’s Observance of Teeth in the Image on the Shroud of Turin ” published on 1 September 2025 supports the view that the lower teeth are partially visible on the image of the Shroud of Turin. The paper is short at just over 1,500 words and is an easy read. Many have assessed the Shroud image to be anatomically correct. Whilst the STURP team did not comment specifically on the teeth in 1978, the opinion that teeth are visible on th

Pope Leo XIII (b. 2 March 1810 – d. 20 July 1903), born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci, began his pontificate on 20 February 1878. His papacy is the fourth longest in the history of the Church. He is known for having composed the Prayer to Archangel St Michael and for the encyclical “ Humanum Genus ” on freemasonry published on 20 April 1884. The encyclicals regarding freemasonry “ Inimica Vis ” and “ Custodi Di Quella Fede ” were published on 8 December 1892. Encyc

Pope Leo XIII (b. 2 March 1810 – d. 20 July 1903), born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci, began his pontificate on 20 February 1878. His papacy is the fourth longest in the history of the Church. He is known for having composed the Prayer to Archangel St Michael and for the encyclical “ Humanum Genus ” on freemasonry published on 20 April 1884. The encyclicals regarding freemasonry “ Inimica Vis ” and “ Custodi Di Quella Fede ” were published on 8 December 1892. Encyc

Thomas Aquinas in 50 Pages: A Layman’s Quick Guide to Thomism by Dr Taylor R. Marshall is pretty much what the title states it is. It is a text about the basics of how St Thomas Aquinas thought and what he taught. The text is organized into 12 sections, excluding the introductory note and endnotes (references). The last section before the endnotes is a helpful glossary. The main text is over fifty pages if one includes this but it is still a very short book. It is an excelle