FEATURE IMAGE (left to right): Louis IX with his counselors and Blanche de Castile (1188-1252), Louis’s mother, miniature, 15th century (NOTRE DAME IS ON FIRE!); Franz Jägerstätter on a motorbike in St. Radegund, Austria, summer 1940 (BL. FRANZ JÄGERSTÄATER, AUSTRIAN FARMER CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR MARTYR); Civil Rights leaders in photograph at the Lincoln Memorial after the March on Washington, August 28, 1963 (CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR JOB AND FREEDOM); El Castillo, Chichén-Itzá, 700 CE and 1100 CE (CHICHÉN-ITZÁ ANCIENT MAYAN CITY IN MEXICO’S YUCATÁN); Aerial view pyroclastic flow emerging from Mount St. Helens crater, USGS Photo #22 taken at 7:01 p.m., on July 22, 1980, by Harry Glicken (AMAZING NATURAL EVENT MAY 18, 1980 ERUPTION OF MOUNT ST. HELENS).
Black Lives Matter March, June 7, 2020, Downers Grove, Illinois (BLM MARCH 2020).
Bicentenary of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte – May 5, 1821, on remote St. Helena following the former Emperor of France’s disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812 that led to his forced abdication and exile in 1814.
The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812, Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Major facts of the life of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) are well known. Known as Napoleon I, the French Emperor who died two centuries ago was a shrewd, ambitious and skilled military leader who conquered much of […]
By John P. Walsh On February 18, 1943, following the illegal distribution of anti-Nazi leaflets by the White Rose at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München—the leaflets instructing students and all others to actively resist the 10-year-old Nazi regime—three young German university students were arrested. In the next four days these students will be tried in a Nazi kangaroo […]
The March On Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963: an account of the 72-minute post-march meeting of 8 civil rights leaders with President Kennedy at the White House.
Sensing a national breakthrough for civil rights, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. joined civil rights leaders to plan a March on Washington for Wednesday, August 28, 1963. The great march filled the VIP section at the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall to past the Washington Monument, a distance of almost one mile. The […]
A 2-HOUR DRIVE FROM CANCÚN’S BEACHES, THE MYSTERIOUS AND LOOMING PYRAMIDS AND TEMPLES OF CHICHÉN-ITZÁ OFFER A FASCINATING JOURNEY INTO AN ANCIENT MAYAN CITY IN MEXICO’S YUCATÁN JUNGLE INTERIOR.
Chac-Mool statue on top of the Temple of the Warriors at the ancient Mayan archeological site of Chichén-Itzá. This impressive sculpture was used in ancient times as an altar for sacrifices. Text and photographs by John P. Walsh Cancún’s sandy spit of land at the northern tip of the Yucatán peninsula was uninhabited by the […]
Blessed Titus Brandsma (1881-1942). By John P. Walsh August 14 is the Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941). Fr. Kolbe died in a Nazi concentration camp (Auschwitz) after he traded places with another camp prisoner condemned to die who was a stranger. That camp prisoner, a husband and father, survived the war. He testified to […]
St. Francis of Assisi and the Portiuncula Indulgence: since 1216, from sunset of August 1 to sunset of August 2.
Featured image above: Detail from St. Francis Receiving the Franciscan Order from Pope Honorius III by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494). The fresco, painted in the mid1480s (1483-85), was originally for Santa Trinita in Florence, Italy. It is today in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence. Ghirlandaio’s complete fresco image is included in this post. Below: Giotto […]
“Notre Dame is on Fire!”: the April 15, 2019 blaze that devastated the world-famous Gothic cathedral in Paris, its architectural history and what lies ahead.
By John P. Walsh, May 21, 2019. Flames engulf Notre Dame de Paris in an historic early evening blaze on Monday, April 15, 2019. The fire left the 850-year-old Gothic cathedral standing, but suffering extensive and serious damage. Hundreds of Paris firefighters battled the blaze for hours at Notre Dame de Paris on April 15, […]
By John P. Walsh It was fifty years ago today (June 8, 1968) that Senator Robert F. Kennedy had his funeral in Manhattan and a train procession to Washington D.C., for his burial after being shot on June 5, 1968 after winning the California Democratic primary for president of the United States. His assassination, funeral, […]
Ray Kroc’s very first McDonald’s franchise restaurant started in 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinois, is slated to meet the wrecking ball.
McDonald’s very first franchise restaurant on its original site, 1955 (replica, 1985). It is slated to be razed by McDonald’s Corporation immediately. Photograph by author, May 6, 2018. By John P. Walsh A closed-down weather-beaten replica of the very first McDonald’s franchise restaurant started by Ray Kroc (1902-1984) on April 15, 1955 standing on its […]
Prison Meditations of German Pastor and Nazi Resister Alfred Delp, S.J. (1907-1945), executed by the Nazis in Berlin’s notorious Tegel Prison towards the end of World War II.
All text by John P. Walsh unless otherwise noted. Color photographs by author are noted. FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. During World War II in Germany, Alfred Delp, S.J. (1907 – Berlin, 2 February 1945) was a member of the Kreisauer Kreis (The Kreisau Circle) composed of German men and women from a variety of backgrounds […]
Bl. Franz Jägerstätter (1907-1943): Austrian Farmer, Husband and Father, Conscientious Objector, and Martyr.
By John P. Walsh October 26, 2017/updated July 15, 2021. In his 17-minute speech at the TED conference in April 2017, Pope Francis talked about the importance of human interdependence, equality, and inclusion. Perhaps surprisingly, the pope stressed the power of the human individual to make positive change. While one might expect a pope to […]
Similar to JFK in the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Trump in 2017 must use the military and moral strength of the U.S. to seek and find a conclusion so that North Korea changes course on their nuclear weapons peacefully. By John P. Walsh, dated August 9, 2017 In addition to Twitter, the media tells […]
PART 3 – Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Chicago Freedom Movement: the Marches and Rallies of Summer 1966.
August 5, 2016 – by John P. Walsh. Released on July 4, 1966 The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer in the City” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1966 and stayed there for three consecutive weeks.1 “Hot town, summer in the city, back of my neck getting dirty and gritty, been down, isn’t it […]
History and reportage of the amazing natural news event of May 18, 1980: the eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington.
By John P. Walsh, May 18, 2016. “Nobody lies about her lodestone any more. She burned and destroyed the whole park! Killed people too – what a pity! Only scientists are out there now. What’s there to see, dear? Isn’t it all in ruins?” The Mount St. Helens eruption, May 18, 1980. This image is in the public […]
By John P. Walsh. May 12, 2016. Today marks the centenary of the final executions of Irish rebel leaders by British firing squads in connection with the 1916 Easter Rising which proclaimed an Irish Republic and left Dublin in ruins. James Connolly and Seán Mac Diarmada—the final two of 14 executions that began on May 3, 1916 […]
Corporatism and Superdelegates favor the Democratic Party establishment in 2016. Do they win the battle and lose the war?
By John Walsh – 4:00 pm Chicago time, April 27, 2016. Despite the corporate media’s unabashed favoritism for Hillary Clinton when reporting the news – it is reminiscent of the Cold War days when Americans were told about the partisan propaganda at Pravda (a frightening journalistic prospect should it ever arrive in some form to America) – the delegate […]
PARTS 1 and 2 – Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Chicago Freedom Movement in 1966: Coming to Chicago and the Start of the Campaign.
By John P. Walsh The first nonviolent civil rights campaign in the North led by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) started in Chicago, Illinois, on January 5, 1966—50 years ago this month. The multi-pronged campaign was Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s first major effort outside the South and the first following the Civil Rights […]
Christmas Essay: Kevin Costner’s “Field of Dreams”; Hinduism and the Christian Ashram Movement; Christmas clothes; Child Hunger in the U.S.
Simon Vouet (1590-1649), Model for Altarpiece in St. Peter’s, Italy, Rome, 1625, oil on canvas 16 x 24 1/4 in. (40.64 x 61.6 cm). The Ciechanowiecki Collection, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. I. Kevin Costner’s Field of Dreams: “If you build it, he will come.” Field of Dreams is […]
By John P. Walshupdated February 14, 2018: Parkland high school shooting — at least 17 killed, suspect in custody, Florida sheriff says;updated October 2, 2015; Originally posted December 6, 2014. On a typical day in the United States, not all firearms (a.k.a. guns) are used for “hunting,” “sport” or to “protect one’s family” as stated by […]
God Cherishes Simplicity: A Brief Account of the Life of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (French, 1873-1897).
Thérèse Martin at 8 years old in 1881. Thérèse Martin at 8 years old in 1881 with her sister Céline. The Martin family had moved from Alençon to Lisieux to be with the Guerin relatives. Zélie Martin had died four years before. By John P. Walsh October 1 is the feast day of Saint Thérèse […]
Battle of Flodden Field (September 9, 1513)—a young Scottish king who walked the world stage is killed.
The Flodden Window (detail) in the Parish Church of St. Leonard in Middleton near Manchester in England. Completed in 1524 by Sir Richard Assheton of an illustrious military and religious family, St. Leonard was built on previous Norman and Saxon buildings and intended to celebrate Sir Richard’s knighthood by King Henry VIII for his part in the Battle of […]