Priest and Spiritual Guide (1932–1996) Henri Nouwen, a Dutch-born priest and one of the most popular spiritual writers of his time, died thirty years ago today on September 21, 1996.…

Secretary General of the United Nations (1905-1961) On September 18, 1961, a plane crash in central Africa (most likely an assassination) took the life of Dag Hammarskjöld, secretary general of…

Anti-Apartheid Christian Witness (1915–2004) Beyers Naudé was born into a proud Afrikaner family in South Africa. His father was a founder of the Broederbond, a secret society that worked with…

Albert Schweitzer—a German theologian, musician, minister, and missionary doctor—was one of the remarkable figures of his age. In his youth he was torn between the lure of scholarship and the…

Widow (ca. 323-387) St. Monica is chiefly remembered through the loving testimony of her son, St. Augustine, who gave her special credit for his conversion: “In the flesh she brought…

Founder, Taizé (1915-2005) After World War II, Roger Schutz, a Swiss-born Protestant pastor, dreamed of founding an ecumenical monastic community that would help to heal the rifts among Christians. On…

On July 30, 1941, a prisoner escaped from Auschwitz, the notorious Nazi camp in Poland. In retaliation, the commandant lined up inmates of Cell Block Fourteen and ordered that ten…

"Worshiper of God" (First Century) Sources regarding the role of women in the early Church are limited. Those women, such as St. Lydia, singled out for particular mention, provide some…

Founder, Society of Jesus (1491–1556) Iñigo López de Loyola was born to a noble family in Basque country. He spent his youth as a courtier and later a soldier. Trained…

Pope (1810–1903) On February 20, 1878, Vincenzo Pecci, the sixty-eight-year-old archbishop of Perugia, was elected to succeed the long-reigning Pope Pius IX. In his nearly thirty-two years in Rome, Pius…