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The Deacon's Bench

This should do it. Quadruplets giggling. Go ahead. Smile. H/T Creative Minority Report.

The last time I saw him, maybe a year ago, he was a shadow of his former self. He was in midtown Manhattan for an event, and they brought him into the newsroom to say hello. He was feeble, and pale, but there was still that familiar glint in his eye, and the trim white…

A fascinating glimpse at Walter Cronkite’s very first edition of the “CBS Evening News,” as replayed on the CBS late night program “Up to the Minute” in 1992. Rest in peace, Walter.

Last month, the spotlight fell on Atlanta, and its bumper crop of priestly ordinations. This month, it’s Memphis. From Rocco’s place: See, while a handful of dioceses have larger groups of seminarians, even the smallest of those are exponentially more sizable than the West Tennessee church, which’ll ordain six new priests by summer’s end —…

It’s in Florida, at one of my favorite churches: Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine (a stone’s throw from Disney World.) Details, from Florida Catholic: Good things come in threes, including basilicas within Florida. The Sunshine State will be home to the 63rd basilica in the United States when Orlando’s National Shrine of Mary, Queen…

Periodically, I’ve posted stories of father-son clergy members, where dad’s a permanent deacon and the son is a priest. (I’d love to find that situation reversed — what a story that would be!) Well, here’s one more, from Florida Catholic, which also relates how the team pictured above — the Thesings of Miami — shared…

Um, yes. That would be St. Gabriel Possenti — if a group of “handgunners” gets its way. CNS posted a brief item about their efforts to have him declared their patron saint, and that led me to this website — gunsaint.com — which tells his story and provides some interesting links. I was especially struck…

Those of you waiting for your personally autographed copy of the latest encyclical may have to wait a while. This just in, from the hills of northern Italy: Pope Benedict XVI has suffered a small fracture to his wrist after falling while on holiday in northern Italy, the Vatican and hospital officials say. The Pope,…

With diaconate ordinations booming in this of the world, it’s useful (and sobering) to see what’s happening in Asia. (H/T to Deacon Chick) Take a look-see: Three permanent deacons have been ordained here as the diocese prays for more priestly and religious vocations during the Year for Priests. Francis Cheung Ka-wai, Francis Fung Sze-chung and…

From the “Duh” Desk, old news made to sound new: Couples living together before marrying have a higher chance of getting divorced than those who wait until they were engaged or married, according to research out Tuesday in the Journal of Family Psychology. The study, carried out by researchers from the University of Denver, also…
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