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St. Katharine Drexel’s legacy endures as Black Catholic university she founded turns 100

By Peter Finney Jr | OSV News

NEW ORLEANS (OSV News) — In a city renowned for its seemingly genetic ability to parade, party and partake, the 100th anniversary of Xavier University of Louisiana has focused on the gifts of faith, love and reading the signs of the times.

Xavier was established in 1925 by St. Katharine Drexel on the financial strength of the multimillion-dollar inheritance she received from her Philadelphia father’s banking estate,

Stories are legendary about how the socially conscious heiress — a slight but energetic nun who overcame the hostility and indifference of society and the church — established an amazing network of schools, churches and missions specifically for Blacks and Native Americans.

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Today is the feast day of the Archangels: Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael

Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael

From Wikipedia: Michaelmas (/ˈmɪkəlməs/ MIK-əl-məs; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 September… Read more.

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Attendees Asked to “Open Wide Your Hearts” at Listening Session

by Debbie Shelley | Diocese of Baton Rouge

In 2018 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued their pastoral letter on racism, “Open Wide Your Hearts.” The document called people to have an enduring love for people of different backgrounds.

“Racism still profoundly affects our culture, and it has no place in the Christian heart … what is needed is a genuine conversion of heart, a conversion that will compel change …” the bishops wrote.

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A ‘Pilgrimage of Hope’: Relics of St. Thérèse Return to the US After 25 Years

Marking the 100th anniversary of her canonization, the faithful have the privilege of venerating the Little Flower, starting on her feast day.

By Joseph Pronechen | National Catholic Register

“I would like to travel over the whole earth to preach the Gospel,” St. Thérèse of Lisieux wrote in her autobiography, Story of a Soul. Although she never left France, her hope and desire took shape as her relics began traveling around the world. Next stop for this saint of the “Little Way” and doctor of the Church is the United States.

St. Thérèse’s relics are coming to the U.S. for the second time beginning Oct. 1, her feast day. Her relics will make 40 stops in 11 states, crisscrossing the country from coast to coast through Dec. 8. This tour is designed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of her canonization, plus the Jubilee Year.

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Hawaii welcomes Knights of Peter Claver chapter

By Lisa Dahm

It’s not often that a national Catholic service organization built for the entire family arrives in the diocese.

On Sept. 12, the Knights of Peter Claver Council 419 was officially established in Hawaii in a ceremony at St. Anthony Retreat Center in Kalihi, followed by a Mass the next day at 5 p.m. at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu.