Fr. Peter Rodríguez (1931–2004) moved to the United States in his twenties to study English for Claretian missions in Japan. Instead, the soft-spoken, scholarly Spaniard was ordained in Chicago, taught briefly at St. Jude Seminary, then devoted the rest of his life to Spanish-speaking ministry in Chicago. Assigned to St. Francis of Assisi Church in […]

In the late 1960s, the Claretian Western Province was looking to expand their ministries and embrace the tide of change sweeping Catholicism on a global level. It was suggested by Fr. Bernard O’Connor to try Team Ministry, a new concept of pastoral care that was directly developed as an outgrowth of Vatican II. When the

In the late 1950s, the Claretian Eastern Province was looking to reinvigorate their approach to Claretian brother vocations. Enrollment in the program for brothers at the Claretian minor seminaries had declined, a reflection of the trend in seminaries across the country. The Claretians in the East decided that the best way to encourage Claretian brother

While working on materials from the Claretian House of Studies in Washington D.C. last year, a couple lines of correspondence caught my eye: “I heard from California that Fr. Montoya was on Grouch[o] Marx’s TV program during the week! The name of the Claretian Fathers was heard from coast to coast. The guys came home

In the early hours of June 30, 1991, a group of cursillistas in a building adjoining Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in San Antonio awoke to the sound of breaking glass. An arsonist who had been targeting houses of worship across the city had broken in and set fire to the sacristy. While firefighters were

Four months after the Second World War had been brought to America’s shores at Pearl Harbor, Fr. Leonard Cuellar CMF received permission to enlist in the US Army as a chaplain. His first letters from bases in the United States paint a picture of a rapidly militarizing country. He wrote from Pendleton Air Field, a

With the Feast of St. Jude fast approaching, let’s explore how Danny Thomas, the affable entertainer and early television personality, became the best known of St. Jude’s devotees. Raised in a Lebanese Catholic family in Toledo, Thomas had witnessed personal vows to saints. His own mother, when faced with a sick baby, got on her

On a picture perfect, late summer day in September 1968, people lined Smith Street in downtown Perth Amboy, New Jersey, to watch the Desfile Hispano Americano. Puerto Ricans made a strong showing in the parade organized by the city’s newest parish, Our Lady of Fatima. The Guayanilla Social Club’s float cruised down the street: white-gloved

As the Claretians sought to better establish themselves in the United States in the early 20th century, they sent more priests and brothers from the European provinces to mission across the country. There was an immediate need to create a house where these foreign Claretians could attend school and, vitally, learn English to serve the