Author: Victoria Wilson
Catholic Teaching has been with me for my entire life. I have attended Catholic intuitions since preschool and three out of the four have been named after saints. I find the concepts of saints to be incredibly interesting and thought-provoking. My go-to saint for presentations I seemed to give every year was St. Cecilia. When I studied in Paris, I went to the Pantheon, a building originally dedicated to St. Genevieve, and bought back a pendant for my sister who has taken the Saint’s name for her Confirmation name. During my freshman year, I wrote a controversial essay on Mother Theresa. In Italy, I stayed up all night sick before having to drag myself to Pope Francis’ mass so he could bless the rosaries I got for family members. While he is not a saint, several popes have become saints and the mass took place in St. Peter’s Square. This is the place where St. Peter, the first pope of the Church, was crucified. Also while in Italy, I went to a church in Trastevere that holds St. Cecilia’s biggest shrine.
Last week, I spent a day searching for videos on the Blessed John Henry Newman. Newman’s canonization is expected to take place on October 13th and my supervisor wants to update the Guide already created about him. Before this instruction, I had no previous education on the Blessed John Henry Newman. He is a fascinating figure who was considered controversial because of his conversion to Catholicism from Anglicism at age 44. He became a cardinal 34 years after his conversion and is well known for his influential religious writing. The second miracle that Pope Francis confirmed to continue Newman’s journey to sainthood is that a woman in Chicago prayed to Newman while miscarrying and was completely healed allowing her to give birth to a healthy child. Support for Newman’s canonization comes from both sides of the political spectrum which interpret his writing very differently. It appears that until I graduate, I will continue to discover more about saints and their impact on the world and the Catholic church.
Building Bridges 