Tom Reese was almost always on the phone. As editor in chief of America, his job mainly entailed reviewing manuscripts, editing articles and proofreading galleys. In the midst of these duties, he also spent time, like any good editor, puzzling over ways to boost circulation and improve the magazine.

Here’s a surefire recipe for a hit television miniseries: Combine the most exciting aspects of The DaVinci Code with the apocalypticism of the wildly popular Left Behind novels, and toss in a bit of The X-Files for good measure. That was probably the logic, or illogic, behind NBC’s new s

Over the past months, America asked several prominent Catholics in the United States to look ahead to the challenges that will face the next pope. These American Catholics come from various parts of the country and represent a variety of perspectives. They are theologians, teachers, activists, write

By any measure, it is a stunning achievement. Since 1998, the artist Donald Jackson has been diligently at work on the first handwritten, illuminated Bible since the invention of the printing press five centuries ago. Under the auspices of Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minn., and The Lit

We get lots of stuff at America: press releases from Catholic colleges, books from Catholic publishers and, of course, letters from subscribers both pleased and angry at what we publish. Mostly the letters are friendly, charitable and pleasant. Only rarely are they vituperative. Still, even nasty le

Something important happened a few weeks ago, though you didn’t read about it in any newspaper, see it on television or hear about it on the radio. In fact, you didn’t hear about this at all: a small brass key was handed over to my mother by her neighbor across the street. But it was big

I can’t imagine what led me to focus my childish desires on St. Jude and spend in excess of three weeks’ allowance on a plastic statue instead of, say, another Archie comic book.

‘Even before dawn, there is a Mass being celebrated, and pilgrims are already here, kneeling before the space, running their hands over the rock, praying the Rosary and hoping for healing, as they have been doing since 1858.’

Something you don’t hear every day from a Jesuit: I’m here to pick up a cassock for my trip to Lourdes.

When I was a boy, my favorite day of the year was a toss-up between Christmas and the first day of school. In high school and college, it was definitely the last day of school. While toiling in the business world, it was the first day of vacation. Since becoming a Jesuit, I have a new favorite day: