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 …
“A thousand and one things have happened”: Letters from a WWII Chaplain Read More »
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 …
Danny Thomas, St. Jude, and the Claretian Connection Read More »
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 …
Celebrating Latin American Heritage in 1960s Perth Amboy Read More »
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 …
In recognition of the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker, the patron saint of religious brothers, we share the story of Brother José María Torres Valentines, C.M.F. Brother José Torres was a Spanish-born Claretian whose self-sacrificing nature and missionary spirit has inspired decades of Claretians priests and brothers alike. After completing his Claretian spiritual …
Kristen, Associate Archivist, was browsing the stacks and came across ten archival boxes of pamphlets and booklets produced by Claretian Publications. While alphabetized, a listing had not yet been created. Her inventory now numbers over 300 titles and is filled with works that embody the Claretians’ embrace of Vatican II ideals. As Deborah, historian, began …
“Am I still a Catholic?” and Other Pamphlets of the Vatican II Era Read More »
Mexico was the mother province of the US Claretians until 1922. In the 1880s the Claretians Missionaries in Spain decided that Mexico offered a good challenge, with its “faith as robust as oak trees” but hampered by “poor circumstances for religion.” The Spanish congregation established its first residence in Mexico City in 1887, and gradually …
“A Faith as Robust as Oak Trees”: Early Claretian Missions in Mexico Read More »
When readers of The Voice of St. Jude paged through the August 1935 magazine, many paused to examine the large black and white photo of a bishop flanked by four Kuna children, in front of thatched huts. The bishop, a bit corpulent, strains a bit at his black cassock, but smiles benignly notwithstanding the draining …
“With Rings in Their Noses”: Early Claretian Missions in Panama Read More »
On December 4, 2022, Mexican Catholics will mount the 91st annual Procession and Mass to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe in East Los Angeles. The tradition began in 1931, as the Claretians took on their third parish in Los Angeles: Our Lady of Solitude, or Soledad as everyone calls it. On that December 12, fervent …
As a grade school boy in South Chicago on the cusp of the Depression, Severino Lopez was a newsboy for the Chicago Herald Examiner. For a three-cent ticket, he enjoyed the Western movies at the Petes Theater. So inspired, he played cowboys with brother, “slapping the sides of our corduroy pants to imitate the sound …
From a South Chicago Boyhood to Claretian Missionary Read More »