This new edition of the fascinating account by a medieval Franciscan friar Odoric of Pordenone of his journeys through the Middle and Far East modern-day Turkey Iran Iraq India Sri Lanka Sumatra Java Borneo Vietnam and China comes at an appropriate moment in our national life Since Sept

Dava Sobel rsquo s 1999 bestseller Galileo rsquo s Daughter made the 17th-century cloistered nun Virginia Galilei in religion Suor Maria Celeste of the Franciscan order of Poor Clares into a worldwide celebrity Despite its title however Galileo rsquo s Daughter was really about the life of t

When I learned that the subject of Garry Wills rsquo s latest book was Renaissance Venice my initial reaction was a mixture of surprise disappointment and pleasure Surprise because it seemed to stray far beyond his usual field of interest and expertise however broad that may be Disappointment

The past as one historian aptly put it has become a quot foreign country quot This is true even of our own Christian past Though much has remained the same much has at the same time changed in the landscape of our faith rendering the Christianity of the past a quot foreign country quot to

Although in the minds of many American Catholics, liturgical art of the post-war periodespecially the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’sdoes not enjoy great esteem, those decades did produce their share of artists whose works have continued to move and inspire worshipers. One such artist was Jo