American Catholic History

Cora Evans grew up a good Mormon, but had a crisis of faith during her wedding at the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City. She and her husband left the Mormon faith, and eventually became Catholic. This led to hardships as they were shunned for their apostasy. They had to flee Utah for California where they lived the rest of their lives. Cora's conversion came about in part because she had been having visions of the Blessed Mother since she was very young, but it wasn't until she spoke with a Catholic priest when she was 30 that she realized who this "beautiful lady" who visited her was. Her mystical experience grew in intensity, and eventually included many visits by Jesus himself, whom she alwasy called "The Master." Jesus gave her the mission of spreading devotion to the "Mystical Humanity of Christ," and he charged her to write and document her experiences. She had never written much, and wasn't highly educated, but she was obedient and she wrote about what Christ revealed to her. Her experiences came to the attention of the Church in Los Angeles, and the archbishop had Jesuits and other priests visit her to test the authenticity of her visions. Her responses and understanding convinced the experts and the archbishop that her visions were genuine, but that they were private revelations, not to be publicized at least during her lifetime. Eventually her writings filled boxes and boxes worth of manuscripts about her experiences. Some have been published, including one published under the title Refugee from Heaven. Those who carry on her work still offer conferences and retreats to help people live a life according to the Mystical Humanity of Christ.  In 2010 her cause for canonization was officially opened, giving her the title of Servant of God.

Franciscan Fr. Juan de Padilla accompanied Coronado on his 1541 mission into New Mexico to search for the legendary Seven Cities of Gold. Father Padilla was looking for souls to evangelize and save. After Coronado’s search was frustrated, Fr. de Padilla remained behind to evangelize natives among the Ouichita — or Wichita — in modern day Kansas. Details aren't clear as to how or precisely where, but for his efforts he was the first to shed his blood for Christ in the New World. Three different markers in modern day Kansas mark places where his martyrdom could have happened. All three are within 100 miles of the geographic centerpoint of the contiguous 48 states. His martyrdom happened about 100 years prior to the first of the North American Martyrs in New York. 

Delve into the compelling thoughts of Orestes Brownson, a pioneering American Catholic thinker. Discover his belief that Catholics could be the best Americans, countering anti-Catholic perceptions. Unpack his complex views on slavery, advocating for moral treatment rather than immediate emancipation, and his eventual advocacy for abolition during the Civil War. Explore how he asserted that Catholic morals are crucial for societal integrity and the American political identity, all while navigating misconceptions about Catholic loyalty.

Discover the fascinating journey of Orestes Brownson, a 19th-century intellectual who navigated various Christian doctrines before converting to Catholicism at 41. Unearth the struggles he faced while searching for truth and the transformative moments that shaped his faith. Delve into Brownson's profound philosophical evolution from Transcendentalism to Catholicism and the significant contributions he made to religious thought and political discourse. His legacy continues to influence modern Catholicism and American culture.

Noel Dubé, Noëlle’s grandfather, was a hero of World War II, landing on D-Day and playing a key role in the breakout from the beaches and the race through the hedgerows of Normandy. He also raised ten children with his wife Toni and started a local shrine to Our Lady which drew thousands of visitors annually from across the country. His devotion to Mary began at a young age when his mother died and he took Mary to be his mother. 

Explore the intriguing life of John Wayne, an American icon who grappled with faith and masculinity. Born Marion Morrison, Wayne’s journey from Presbyterian roots to self-proclaimed 'cardiac Catholic' is captivating. His personal struggles, marked by infidelity yet seeking redemption, reveal a complex man beneath the Hollywood persona. Discover how his relationships, especially with his Catholic wives, influenced his spiritual path. Reflect on his insights about the evolving cinema landscape of the 1960s, blending toughness with tenderness in his legacy.

Since shortly after he died in 1799, questions have circulated about whether George Washington converted to Catholicism on his deathbed. The evidence isn't conclusive in either direction, but a number of factors point to this possibility. Chief among them is that Washington requested that a Catholic priest come to his bedside as he lay dying. One of the Neale brothers who was a Jesuit priest in Piscataway, Maryland, right across the Potomac from Mount Vernon, attended Washington and was with him for nearly four hours. If Washington became a Catholic convert many would not be surprised, as he had displayed an affinity for Catholics and for the Catholic Church for most of his adult life. In this episode we consider all of the evidence for the potential deathbed conversion of the Father of America.

Julia Greeley was born a slave in Missouri. After Missouri abolished slavery she moved to Denver, Colorado where she worked for the family of the first governor of Colorado. She became Catholic in 1880 and developed a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She devoted her life to helping anyone who needed assistance. She would give to others from her own meager earnings, any anything she couldn't afford she would beg for. She was a daily communicant and a prayer warrior. At least one couple overcame infertility through her prayers. She loved children and would organize days in the park for children who didn't have the opportunity. One special ministry was to firefighters. She would go around every First Friday — the day of devotion to the Sacred Heart — and bring pamphlets about the Sacred Heart devotion to all of the firehouses in Denver. She died on the feast of the Sacred Heart in 1918. She did so much good for so many that her funeral was massive. Her cause for canonization opened in 2016, when her body was exhumed and reinterred in the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver. She is the only person buried in that church, which opened in 1912.

Mother Mary Magdalene Bentivoglio was born Anna Bentivoglio into Italian and French nobility in the mid 1800s. But both of her parents died before her 27th birthday. Since she and two of her sisters were still single, Pope Pius IX took responsibility for them and they were placed in a Benedictine abbey. This experienced compelled all three to desire religious life, but a more austere experience of it. So they became Poor Clares of the Primitive Observance. Ten years after taking their final vows two of them, Mary Magdalene and one of her sisters who had been given the religious name Constanza, were selected by Pius IX to go to the United States to help a third order Franciscan community establish a school. This fell apart shortly after they arrived in the US, and they found themselves stuck in New York City with no money, no plan, and no English. They appealed to the archbishop of New York to establish a Poor Clare monastery in his archdiocese, but he refused. They appealed to other dioceses, but got many rejections until the archbishop of New Orleans welcomed them. But then they were forced to move to Cleveland. Another setback prompted them to go searching for a home again, until John Creighton, the Omaha industrialist and philanthropist, learned of their plight and pledged to build them a monastery in Omaha. Things began looking up, but there were still other trials awaiting them. But through it all, Mother Mary Magdalene brought her stubbornness, and her absolute trust in God's providence, to bear on all hardships and opportunities. She died in the early 1900s. More than 20 Poor Clare monasteries in the United States and Canada trace their roots to the trailblazing faith, zeal, and dedication of Mother Mary Magdalene Bentivoglio. Her cause for canonization was opened in 1929, and when her body was exhumed she was found to be incorrupt. In 1969 she was declared Venerable. 

St. Kateri Tekakwitha lived a life marked by tragedy and upheaval, but also a lot of grace and love. She was born to Mohawk Indian parents (though her mother was originally Algonquin), who both died from smallpox when she was four. She survived smallpox, but the disease left her face scarred and her eyesight damaged. Because of this handicap she was called, "She who bumps into things," or in Mohawk, "Tekakwitha." At a young age she pledged to remain a virgin and not get married, which was a very strange and unheard of thing among Mohawk women. After exposure to Catholic missionaries she became Catholic and was baptized with the Mohawk form of the name "Catherine," which is "Kateri." Due to the intense ridicule she suffered for her conversion she left her village and moved to Kahnawake, a village for Native Americans who had become Catholic. Surrounded by fellow Catholics and with a few particular friends who helped her to go deeper into her faith she became even more devout. She died at just 24 years old due in part to lingering health issues from her childhood bout with smallpox.