Black Catholic History
©2026 Victor R. Claveau, MJ Black Catholic history is not a recent chapter added to the story of Christianity. It is woven into the very origins of the Church founded by Jesus Christ. Long before Christianity reached many parts of Europe, the Gospel had already taken root in Africa. The history of Black Catholics begins […]
Doctors of the Church
The Church recognized these Thirty-three faithful people and teachers for their contribution to the belief and understanding of the faith. Doctors of the Church must be canonized a saint, known for their learning, and must be proclaimed such by either the Bishop of Rome or an ecumenical council. St. Athanasius, St. Ephrem the Syrian, St. […]
Robert Cardinal Bellarmine, S.J
400 years ago, on September 17, 1621, Robert Cardinal Bellarmine, S.J. (1542-1621) went home to be with Christ. “When he felt the hour of his happy transition was imminent, he prayer the Apostles’ Creed, Psalm 51, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Hail Mary, while constantly repeating the holy names of Jesus and Mary. Then he […]
Doctors of the Church
Victor R. Claveau, MJ The word “doctor” comes from the Latin verb “docere”, which means to teach or instruct. The word “docile” denotes a willingness to learn, be taught, or to accept direction. The original meaning of docile is more to the point: “readily absorbing something taught.” Three things are required to declare someone a Doctor of the […]
St. Robert Bellarmine – Doctor of the Church
by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Great Catholic Books Newsletter, Volume I, Number 9 St. Robert Bellarmine was born in 1542 in the tiny village of Monte Puciano. He died at the age of 79 in Rome in 1621. Canonized in 1930 and a year later made a Doctor of the Church, Bellarmine’s, along with […]