SaintCast #142, Soundseeing in Athens, St. Paul and the Areopagus

This week, Paul travels to the island paradise of Molokai, Hawaii. From 1866 to 1969 thousands of men, women, and children diagnosed with leprosy were forcibly exiled to this island to die here in anonymity.  Two Catholic saints, Fr. Damien de Veuster and St. Marianne Cope ministered to them, built their houses, soothed their wounds, and helped them live lives of meaning and worth.

Join Paul in his white knuckle flight to the small Pacific island, and walk rainy and windswept paths in the rugged footsteps where St. Damien trod.  Travel across the peninsula from Kaluapapa to Kalawao, surrounded on three sides by treacherous surf, and on one side by 3000 foot cliffs.  Listen to tour guide Ian from Father Damien Tours as he recounts emotional stories of the citizens afflicted with this horrific disease, lost and forgotten on this island.

• SaintCast #58, Blessed Damien of Molokai
• SaintCast #120, Bishop Larry Silva on St. Damien
• Father Damien tours

In the wake of the 42nd annual March for Life, we revisit the life and work of Servant of God Jerome Lejeune, French geneticist and pediatrician.  The first to discover the genetic basis of a disease, Trisomy 21 or Down syndrome. Lejeune was a tireless defender of human life in its most vulnerable form, and after his incredible discovery, was vilified for his position in defense of human life.

On today's SaintCast we profile his life, and speak with the Postulator for his Cause for canonization, Aude Dugast. We learn of how he lived the virtues to a heroic degree, learn of his family life, and review his biography written by his daughter, Clara Gaymard.

Also on the SaintCast a new (old) Saint Jeopardy quiz, canonization news, and more.

•Life is a Blessing, Biography of Jerome Lejeune, by Clara Gaymard

•The Jerome Lejeune Foundation USA

•Friends of Lejeune

•Jerome Lejeune interview on YouTube, from American Life League

•Siempre Adelante, newsletter of canonization cause of Jerome Lejeune

Prior to Pope Benedict XVI, over 700 years ago, one man resigned the papacy at age 84 and was canonized a saint a short while later. Peter Angelerio, otherwise known as Pope Celestine V was a saintly monk who was chosen pope in 1294, only to resign a short 5 months later, dying a prisoner of the next man to hold the Chair of Peter in a prison at Fumone.  On this SaintCast we interview author and historian Jon Sweeney, who authored a biography of Celestine V, "The Pope Who Quit," in 2012.  He describes the difficult political and ecclesial situation in the late 13th century, the dilemma in which Celestine found himself, and the reason he believes he was truly a saintly occupant of the papal office.

Paul travels to Rome for the canonization of 7 new saints, including the North American Saints Kateri Tekakwitha and Mother Marianne Cope. Hear the excitement in the crowd of tens of thousands of pilgrims who have traveled to witness the special ceremony on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica.

Witness parts of the canonization ceremony preceding a Mass in Piazza San Pietro, with pilgrims from many nations.  The Filippino's clearly had the largest international contingent for the canonization of their second saint, and the only saint of Guam, Pedro Calungsod.  Paul interviews several of the pilgrims before heading out for lunch, at the close of a magical morning in La Citta' Eterna!

From the Cenaculum, to St. Lawrence in Rome, to Spain. . . this small stone cup has been tenaciously protected and revered for centuries. This week on the SaintCast we interview Janice Bennett, author of "St. Laurence and the Holy Grail," a book that traces the history of the Holy Chalice of Valencia, the reputed Holy Grail that Christ used at the Last Supper.  Mrs. Bennett describes her search for the Holy Grail that brought her from libraries in Madrid, across the Pyrenees to the small agate cup guarded and preserved as the sacred chalice Christ used in Jerusalem at the Last Supper.

Paul talks about his recent trip to Washington, D.C. for the March for Life.  Also, hear news of new Saint Causes from England and the story of a newly found relic cloth with 365 saint relics in Buffalo, New York.  Mail, feedback, a Saint Joke, and more on this week's SaintCast.

Paul takes SaintCast listeners on a tour of ancient Athens, touring the Acropolis, and especially the Areopagus hill, where St. Paul preached his sermon on the unknown god, found in the Acts of the Apostles.

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha miracle approved, more saints to come next year.

Feedback and Saint Jeopardy returns.  Feedback at 312-235-2278

Be my Cyril or Methodius? We naturally think of today as St. Valentine's Day. In today's SaintCast we learn of the alternate feast day patrons, Cyril and Methodius, as well as the other Saints celebrated on the liturgical calendar this week.

Today's SaintCast features one of my new patrons, eminent Baroque-age neuroscientist, anatomist, and the father of Geology, Blessed Niels Stensen.  Can love of science and religion co-exist in the same person? Tune in to find out.  Feedback, a new St. Jeopardy quiz, and more on SaintCast #141.

Back from an extended SaintCast break, Paul embarks on a trip into the New Mexico wilderness under the patronage of St. George, the patron Saint of scouting. Back with all new episodes, including stories from the back country, in 12 days.

SaintCast listener Peter Wiberg interviews Auschwitz survivor Tadeusz Raznikiewicz, from Uppsala, Sweden, eyewitness to the last days of St. Maximilian Kolbe. You won't want to miss this chilling first-hand account of life in Auschwitz, and the story of how 'Pater Kolbe' gave up his life to save a doomed young man.

Does the Catholic Church 'make' a saint? Of course not, but in this episode of the SaintCast, learn the intricate details of the canonization process from square one. Also, a profile of the great English martyr, St. John Fisher.

The Saint news segment features new on the relics of Padre Pio, Kateri Tekakwitha's cause, and the upcoming Beatification ceremony of St. John Newman.  More extras on the iPhone SaintCast App, and the Saints of the Week in the liturgical calendar on this week's SaintCast.