News Archives

We have received a number of emails from readers commending our institute and its website, The Mary Page.  Thank you all for your encouragement and support.  The following is a typical example.

I thank you for all your help.  God bless.

Jackie H.

Updates

Tuesday, October 23, 2012, marked the sixty-ninth anniversary of the founding of the Marian Library--the day on which Father John Elbert, S.M., president of the University of Dayton at that time, presented the first book to Father Lawrence Monheim, S.M., the first director of the Marian Library.  Click here for more information.

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Mary in Books, Films, and Music

Evening Video Shows at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris has regularly welcomed thousands of visitors from the world over for Night Shows.  These shows are works composed of sounds and images projected on a transparent tulle screen measuring over one-hundred square meters hanging in the nave.  These Night Shows are free of charge.

The spectacle of images projected on to this transparent fabric is staggering.  The film floats in the center of the building without blocking visibility.  The effect is halting, as if witnessing an apparition.  It is a rare chance to absorb the cathedral's spirit at nightfall, a magical time when Notre-Dame is closed to the public.

Projections take place in the evening, at a special moment when the cathedral rediscovers its calm and fascinating silence.

The projections are for children and adults alike.  Entrance is free and during the projection, you may (if you wish) contribute what you would like towards costs in order to help guarantee that these Night Services can continue.

From July to October, 2012, Notre-Dame's Night Services presented the film Notre-Dame de Paris, Living Cathedral.

This hour-long film offers an introduction to the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, a masterpiece of Gothic art, but above all "the House of the Lord and the dwelling-place of Man."

It looks at the 850-year history of the cathedral, from its construction in the Middle Ages through to the present day, its worldwide reputation and influence, and provides a detailed insight into the architecture and the building techniques employed, its facades, portals, rose windows, wooden framework, the great bell, the organs, the music of the cathedral, the pure beauty of the liturgical ceremonies held there, and much more.  This video includes exceptional views of the cathedral and 3D reconstructions.

The film, Notre-Dame de Paris, Living Cathedral, was co-produced by Notre-Dame de Paris and A. Travers Productions.  Click here for details.

Suggested A/V material

Click here to visit the official website for the Marian shrine at Lourdes in France.  This site includes a video feed of live events at the shrine.

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Radio Maria from The Marian Library

Prayer of Blessed John Paul II for Radio Maria

Mary, guide us in our major decisions and give us strength in times of trial so that we may, with humble courage, follow the hidden ways of Heaven, keeping faith with God and mankind so that we can bring the joyful message of Christ, the Savior, to the hearts and minds of all.

Mary, guiding star of evangelization, be with us.  Be with Radio Maria as guide and be its protector.

Francesca Franchina, MS Ed., a long-time member of the Marianist Family, will be doing a series of Marian broadcasts through the local stations for Radio Maria WHJM (FM 88.7) in Anna, Ohio and WULM (AM 1600) in Springfield, Ohio.  Called "Francesca and Friends: Why Mary?," the program airs every Wednesday from 12:00 - 1:00 PM EST focusing on what is going on in the world about Mary, how to speak with others about Mary, and Mary in Scripture.  CALL IN TOLL-FREE.  PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM (during the live show) 1-866-333-6279.

Francesca and Friends with Francesca Franchina, National OSIA Trustee, is now being broadcast throughout the New York City metropolitan area at 11 pm on Friday nights on WSNR 620 AM, as well as on other local  Radio Maria USA frequencies,  and streaming on radiomaria.us.  This is the replay of the program originating on the preceding Wednesday at noon EST.  Give a listen every Friday at 11 PM; Mondays at 8:30 PM and LIVE on Wednesdays at noon EST.

The broadcast may also be heard on-line at radiomaria.us  The website also provides access to some previous broadcasts.  We'll keep you informed about future programs.  An encore of each show is broadcast Monday night from 8:30-9:30 pm EST one week after the original.

Francesca is no longer doing her Tuesday program, Through the Tummy to the Heart on Radio Maria, but all programs and recipes are still posted in the Archives on the Radio Maria website at radiomaria.us.  She will inaugurate commentary and blog on www.credoapostolate.us in the near future.

Living with Mary Today! Live: Thursdays and Fridays 2:30-3:00 PM EST: From the Pontifical International Marian Research Institute (IMRI) at the University of Dayton Marian Library, internationally-known Mariologists Fathers Bertrand Buby, François Rossier, Johann Roten, and Thomas Thompson of the Society of Mary (Marianists), and other IMRI faculty; Michael Duricy, Jean Frisk, and others will discuss Marian themes such as The Blessed Mother and Ecumenism; Mary and The Family; Mary and Suffering, Marian Teachings and Writings of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI; Mary and Scripture from the Founder of the Marianists, Blessed William Joseph Chaminade; Mary and Vatican II, Marian Apparitions, and others.  The Marian Library at the University of Dayton houses the largest collection of Marian books and artifacts in the world, and IMRI is one of the two sites of post-graduate studies in Mariology for the STL and STD.  Find out more by visiting marypage.org.  The University of Dayton; The Marian Library, and IMRI are collaborators with the International Satellite Radio Maria Network and Radio Maria Ohio.  Click here for the schedule of future programs planned to date.  Click here for the audio archive!

This week's programs:

Father John Fletcher, CC, Thursday, October 25, 2:30 PM on Living with Mary as Companions of the Cross

Mr. Michael Duricy, Friday, October 26, 2:30 PM on Lourdes

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From the Marian Treasure Chest

A Year of Faith Window on the Nascent U.S.A. Church by Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.

Brother John sent us the following article on church history which was published in Catholic San Francisco, October 5, 2012, page 19.

The Year of Faith proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI marks the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the twentieth anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  From October 11, 2012, to November 24, 2013, we are invited to open the door of faith and re-value our U.S. Catholic origins and catechetical efforts.

After the American Revolutionary War was settled in favor of the colonies and the new nation formed its independent government, John Carroll was appointed the first Bishop of Baltimore.  He was ordained bishop on August 15, 1790, and soon after named his cathedral church for Mary's Assumption.

John Carroll, a native of Maryland, was ordained to the episcopacy on the feast of Mary's Assumption in 1790 in St. Mary's Chapel at Ludworth Castle in England.  This was the Weld family's ancestral home.  The Weld family had been staunch Catholics for centuries before, during, and after the Protestant Reformation.  John Carroll of Maryland chose this historic setting, and Bishop Charles Walmsley was the ordaining prelate.

The new diocese included the entire U.S.A., and Bishop John Carroll became shepherd for about 35,000 Catholics in a national population of four million.  Catholicism began to flourish in many areas.  For the next quarter-century the new bishop set the pattern for the growth of the Catholic Church in the United States.  He shaped a creative and dynamic role for Catholicism in a new type of country guided by a new form of government.

When the new diocese was a year old, Bishop Carroll convened a synod, a formal meeting of his clergy.  The diocesan synod addressed the pastoral needs of the faithful and set pastoral policies.  Twenty priests gathered at the bishop's house in Baltimore on November 7, 1791.  The first session of the diocesan synod dealt with policies for administering Baptism and Confirmation.  The following four sessions developed guidelines for admitting children to First Holy Communion and Reconciliation, faculties for the priests of the diocese, Matrimony, and religious education.  This synod was acclaimed a success both at home and abroad.  Its organization and manner of governance influenced the provincial and plenary councils of the nineteenth century and beyond.  Already the seeds were being sown for the Baltimore Catechism.  Bishop Carroll's commitment as an attentive teacher, bishop, and shepherd was clearly evident.

In the ensuing years Bishop John Carroll continued to promote the establishment of Catholic schools, the institution of religious congregations, and the creation of new parishes and dioceses.  He was effective in molding a healthy Church in his far-flung diocese, which included the original thirteen states, the Northwest Territory, and the vast Louisiana Purchase.  He is rightly credited with building a firm foundation on which the American Church would grow.

When Pope Pius VII established in 1808 the dioceses of Boston and Bardstown, Baltimore became an archdiocese and John Carroll the first archbishop in the U.S.A.

In 1815 Archbishop John Carroll died. Catholicism had grown steadily.  The number of faithful increased fourfold, and the clergy doubled in number.  Carroll had established three seminaries, three colleges for men, and several academies for women.  He encouraged religious congregations to spread to the frontiers, and they flourished across the country.  Archbishop Carroll had guided the infant Church in the new republic with faith, wisdom, and kindness.

This Year of Faith affords us a special opportunity to recall and appreciate our past history, and to review and renew our baptismal commitment to the present and future.  In celebrating this year the twentieth anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, let us value also the contribution of the Baltimore Catechism to our early religious education.

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Current Exhibit

Faces and Flowers of Mary

The University of Dayton's Marian Library Gallery will feature an exhibit of works by Marilyn Hart.  The exhibit will run from Monday, October 1, through Friday, November 9, in the gallery on the seventh floor of Roesch Library.  Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or through special arrangement by calling 937-229-4214.  Click to see more information or here for a virtual exhibit.  An artist's reception was held from on Sunday, October 7, 2012.

Click here for advanced notice about At the Manger 2012, an exhibit of nativity scenes to held in the Roesch Library Gallery, opening with a Grand Open House on Saturday, November 24.  Employees at the University of Dayton may arrange to display a Nativity set from the Marian Library in their campus department or building.  Click here for details.

We have a permanent crèche exhibit and a dedicated online giving page specifically for those who wish to support The Marian Library crèche collections.  There is also a general page to give to all areas of ML/IMRI and Roesch Library.

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Web Collaborators

Two important Catholic websites have added The Mary Page to their list of Media Partners.  CatholicWeb.com highlights items from The Mary Page in their section on Catholic News.  Catholic.net includes a Mariology section on their navbar with articles from The Mary Page.  Please visit these sites in return.  We expect continued collaboration with them in the future.

Radio Maria originated east of Milan, Italy in 1983, and is now heard in fifty-four countries.  The main USA station is in Alexandria, Louisiana with affiliate stations across the USA [including FM 88.7, WHJM,  in Anna, Ohio (north of Dayton) and AM 1600, WULM, in Springfield/Dayton, Ohio.  All USA Radio Maria stations regularly air live Marian talks from UD's Marian Library every Wednesday from 12:00-1:00 pm EST and on Thursday and Friday from 2:30-3:00 pm EST, as well as local programming originating from many other affiliated Radio Maria stations in the USA.

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International Marian Research Institute Course Schedule

IMRI courses for the Fall 2012 semester commenced on October 8, 2012.

The Pontifical Academic Program leading to STL and STD in theology with a specialization in Marian Studies offers courses in three year-round sessions.  See our course offerings for Fall 2012.

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In keeping with the season, we suggest The Rosary in Image and Text and The Rosary Since Vatican II.

Material on international stamps with images of Mary exists on The Mary Page (also available in French). The latest updates were Seychelles, St. Helena, Swaziland, Senegal, and Uganda.

We have revised and expanded our material in Chinese.  This is a work in progress, so expect more content soon.  Feel free to let us know what you think of this section.

We have posted the Call for Papers for the 2013 annual meeting of the Mariological Society of America (MSA) [due October 31, 2012] and The Year of Faith with Mary.  We have also redesigned Raphael's Madonnas on Stamps and Meditating on the Passion of Our Lord with Stamps.

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Late Raphael

Title: Exposition Raphaël, les dernières années

Date: October 11, 2012 - January 14, 2013, 9 am - 6 pm

Location: Napoleon Hall at the Louvres in Paris, France

This unprecedented exhibition, organized by the Louvre in partnership with the Prado Museum, brings together the works produced by Raphael in Rome during the last years of his short life.  It includes many well-known Madonnas.  Click here for details in English or in French.

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Marian Symposium Concludes in Rome
Syrian Deacon Reflects on Mary's Significance in the Middle East
Source: Zenit (Rome) October 5, 2012

Mary is the center of dialogue, not only between Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism, but also between Christianity and Islam.

This was one of the themes touched upon during the international symposium entitled Mary, Sign of Faith (and Only Hope), which concluded today in Rome.  Gathering together experts from around the world, the two-day symposium explored the cultural, theological, and spiritual significance of Mary throughout history....

Click here to read the complete article.

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The director and editors of The Mary Page under the auspices of the International Marian Research Institute do not necessarily endorse or agree with the events and ideas expressed in this feature.  Our sole purpose is to report on items about Mary gleaned from a myriad of papers representing the secular press.

The shrine of Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées) almost completely reopened Monday, but had to launch a new appeal for donations to repair the two-million Euros in estimated damage caused by the floods last weekend.

Pilgrims from Canada, Japan, or the Philippines were able to take the path at 8:30 from the Esplanade des Processions and the basilicas of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of the Rosary, and the crypt church.

At the same time, volunteers, municipal officers and firefighters struggled to clean the front of the cave of Massabielle and by late afternoon, the faithful were able to recite prayers and invocations again in this important place of Marian devotion at which the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858....

Click here for the complete article in French which includes some pictures.  Click here for a 2-minute video of the flooding and related damage or here for a six-minute video of Msgr Brouwet, the Bishop of Tarbes, at the opening of the shrine.

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Marian Commemoration Days

To celebrate the month of October with Mary:

• October: Month of the Rosary

The Mary Page offers a variety of resources inviting study, reflection and meditation.  We also list important Marian dates for each month of the year.  Please see Marian Commemoration Days for the month of October.

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You are invited to help us pray for our Prayer Corner intentions.  Please take a look!  This site has been updated and enhanced and now allows users to submit prayer requests directly or to volunteer as a prayer partner for these intentions!

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The Mary Page website is updated frequently. Please stop in again and see what's in the news.

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