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 are typical examples.

We will highlight The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute in Dayton as probably the most important Marian organization in the U.S.  Accept my sincere thanks for your help.  Blessings on your new year.

Father Robert

Updates

Dr. Sarah Jane Boss, Director of the Centre for Marian Studies at the University of Roehampton in London, informed us of a series of study days on Marian shrines.  The first will be held on Saturday, February 9, 2013 from 11 am - 5 pm and will discuss Our Lady of Lourdes.  Dr. Catherine O'Brien, long-time member of the Mariological Society of America (MSA), will be one of the speakers.  For further details, please contact Dr. Boss by email at sarah.boss@roehampton.ac.uk.

Also, Val Finnell, a Deacon with the Anglo-Catholic Society of Mary (SOM), provided us with the following invitation to the Marian chapel for their local chapter located at 139 Jackson St., Dayton, Ohio:

The Anglican Society of Mary meets the first Saturday of each month at 9:00 AM in Dayton, Ohio. At the next SOM meeting on Saturday, February 2, 2013.  Attendees will pray the rosary and Father Deacon Finnell will present part of his new online course on Mariology.  Please invite your friends.

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Mary in Books, Films, and Music

Website on European Culture Full of Marian Content

The website europeana.eu allows one to "explore Europe's cultural collections."  A recent search for "blessed virgin mary" provided 1,466 results including images, text, and sound: [see europeana.eu/portal/search.html?query=blessed+virgin+mary].  Dr. Gloria Dodd suggests that this site could be a useful tool for those doing research.

Suggested A/V material

On the occasion of the Year of Faith proclaimed by Benedict XVI, the EUK Mamie Foundation, an initiative of the Home of the Mother, has taken advantage of the opportunity to launch a new program entitled, Rediscover. The program consists of two DVDs that cover various aspects of the Faith: 'Faith and Reason,' 'Faith and the Church Today,' 'What Does it Mean to Believe?', and 'Faith and Love.'

Click into an article from Zenit for more information, or view a two-minute trailer for the DVDs.  Dr. Gloria Dodd noticed Marian content in this trailer and suggested that Mary might be discussed at greater length in the video.

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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.

On Wednesday, January 30, 2013, Francesca Franchina and Christian Psychotherapist, Dr. Douglas Schoeninger, Ph.D., from West Chester, PA, discuss Intercessory Prayer, Reparative Prayer, Redemptive Suffering and Healing, and the importance of faith in all situations, citing Scripture and the work of the international Association of Christian Therapists.

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:

Dr. Gloria Falcão Dodd, Thursday, January 31, 2:30 PM on Mary, Mediatrix of all Grace I

Dr. Gloria Falcão Dodd, Friday, February 1, 2:30 PM on Mary, Mediatrix of all Grace II

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From the Marian Treasure Chest

Domingo Lazaro, S.M.--Introduction and Purpose by Father Enrique Torres, S.M.

Brother John M. Samaha, S.M. sent us the article below written by Father Enrique Torres, S.M. and translated by Brother Michael Galvin, S.M. with the following comments.
"Father Paul Landolfi provides us with this appreciation of our Marianist Servant of God, Domingo Lazaro, an exemplary Marianist Catholic educator, for inspiration during this Catholic Schools Week."

Marianist life in Spain has in Father Domingo Lázaro one of its most precious embodiments--as a teacher and educator, as a man of the Church, as a partner with other congregations dedicated to education, as a model of openness to the renewal of education and catechetics, as a witness to his faith, as a follower of Jesus, as a Marianist, and as a person of profound spirituality.  The sterling witness that he has left to us has prompted Spanish Marianists to promote this study of his character and his intellectual and spiritual legacy.  At the same time, they initiated ecclesiastical proceedings to petition the diocese to declare that Father Domingo is a model of saintliness.  Subsequently, the cause in his behalf has been submitted in Rome.

The Marianist Province of Madrid has created a canonical foundation whose basic aim and objective is to guarantee the continuity of Marianist education and ensure the future academic and management roles of secondary schools.  Having placed the foundation under the aegis of Domingo Lázaro, the Society of Mary has transferred the direction of eight educational centers to the Fundación Educación Marianista Domingo Lázaro (FEMDL)--(The Domingo Lázaro Marianist Education Foundation).  Recently, Colegio Santa Ana y San Rafael and the College of our Marianist Sisters in Madrid were incorporated in the FEMDL.  Father Domingo Lázaro abides then as a model in the FEMDL as its pedagogical and spiritual inspiration and reminds us of the rich heritage of so many committed religious and lay collaborators that have gone before us in Marianist education in Spain.

His tomb is in the Gothic church of Colegio Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Madrid.  This place of prayer is redolent with his message and spirit.  It was here that he was director of the school.  It was from here that he administered the Province of Spain and from where he helped to found the Federación de Amigos de la Enseñanza (FAE--Federation of Friends of Education).

Biography: Background and Studies (1877-1905)

Domingo Lázaro y Castro, fifth child of Julian and Petronila, was born in San Adrián de Juarros (Burgos), on May 10, 1877, into a modest family of farmers.  His mother, a woman of profound Christian convictions, was the first shaper of his faith.  From early childhood he gave evidence of lively intelligence and a marked affinity for things spiritual.  In 1889 he entered the Marianist Postulate that had just opened in Vitoria.  In 1890 he was assigned to the Postulate at Pontacq in France.  He made his novitiate in Moissac, France, where he professed his first vows in 1893.  He then moved to Besançon for studies in the Scholasticate. Before returning to Spain in 1895, he was assigned to Cannes, where he served as a teacher and prefect.  In those five years in France, he mastered French, the language in which he would always write his correspondence with the general superiors in Belgium.

He made final vows in Escoriaza, August 15, 1898.  Eventually, he studied theology at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), where he was ordained a priest on August 5, 1906.  His first assignment as a priest was as chaplain of Colegio Santa María in San Sebastian, Spain.  A year later, he was appointed director of the school.

Father Domingo Appointed Provincial of Spain in 1916
Promoter of the Marianist Mission (1916-1924)

The first Marianist community in Spain was established in 1887. A few years later, in 1895, an autonomous province was erected. From then until 1916 Provincials were appointed from among the French Marianists. Once the new province was consolidated and had established a reliable pattern of vocational recruitment, the General Administration discerned that the moment was ripe for the appointment of a Spanish Provincial. On August 15, 1916 in Vitoria, the Superior General, Father Joseph Hiss, installed the new Provincial of Spain, Father Domingo Lázaro, who was thirty-nine at the time. After his installation the new Provincial took up residence in Madrid. Marianist presence in the capital had begun in 1904 with religious who were studying and living in student residences. The SM presence was consolidated in 1907 with the establishment of Colegio Nuestra Señora del Pilar. This school began its journey in a number of buildings scattered throughout the barrio of Salamanca. This was the situation when Domingo Lázaro began his service as Provincial.

In his first year in office, while he had to attend to the needs of the individual religious and communities of the Province, he had to oversee arrangements for an event of singular importance: the centenary of the foundation of the Society of Mary in 1917. The full weight of preparation for the celebration fell upon his shoulders, since, because of the war in all of Europe at that time, no one from the General Administration could join them for the festivities.

There was an urgent need to find and acquire a building with adequate space to meet the needs of the growing Colegio Nuestra Señora del Pilar.  On January 25, 1921, amid much hesitation and uncertainty and after difficult negotiations with the heirs of Doña María Diega Desmaissiéres y Sevillano, Duchess of Sevillano, Father Domingo signed the deed for the purchase of what was to be "the most beautiful colegio in Spain" on Calle Castelló, the new home of Colegio Nuestra Señora del Pilar.  The neo-Gothic building became the base of the first Marianist educational complex in Madrid and also served as the seat of the Provincial Administration.

It also fell to Father Domingo to take the first steps along the arduous road to the establishment of the non-profit, educational foundation endowed by Doña Ana Bertodano, Marquise of Bárboles.  It was only after years of legal wrangling that the Society of Mary was able to take charge of Colegio Santa Ana y San Rafael, which from the outset made an unambiguous commitment to the poorest and most needy of the city.  In the same vein Domingo Lázaro promoted the establishment of educational centers in depressed and heavily populated areas--for example the school in Spain (at Villarrín de Campos-Zamora) and in Morocco (the school at Alcazarquivir).  He also established in Ciudad Real, a community at the service of the Instituto Popular de la Concepción, which later would evolve into the Colegio Nuestra Señora del Prado.  It was precisely because of his commitment to serve the most needy that he sent Brother Carlos Eraña to be the Director of the Instituto Popular.  Brother Carlos was a key figure in the establishment of the Marianist mission in the region of la Mancha.  He was a witness to the Faith, and a model Marianist educator.  Carlos Eraña was beatified by the Church in 1995 along with Brothers Jesús Hita y Fidel Fuidio, magnificent educators, all three of them.

Director of Colegio Nuestra Señora del Pilar of Madrid (1924-1935)
Educator in Things Christian and Things Human

At the behest of his superiors, Father Domingo resigned as Provincial in 1924 in order to assume the direction of Colegio Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Madrid.  Father Domingo was the first Spanish director, succeeding Luis Heintz, the founder and first Director of the school.  If as superior Father Domingo dedicated great attention to the community, he did likewise as Director of the school.  He was greatly concerned about two complementary aspects of the enterprise: the religious and the human.  Both dimensions can be symbolically integrated in the slogan that he had inscribed on the arch over the central staircase of the school: La verdad os hará libres, ("The truth shall make you free"), a saying of Jesus (Jn 8:32), and a watchword that came to mark the spirit of the school.  His insistent concern for truth and living a life of witness to truthfulness was such that some dubbed him el padre verdades (Father Truth).

As a Christian educator, he was concerned primarily with the religious formation of his students--in its twofold perspective: doctrinal and practical.  With respect to the doctrinal aspect, he soon ascertained the absolute inadequacy of the religion textbooks in use on both the elementary and secondary levels of instruction.  This depressing finding spurred his great initiative and creativity.  On the primary level he introduced intuitive procedures, which facilitated a better understanding of the catechism.  At the same time he provided the teachers with abundant literature on catechesis and catechetical pedagogy.

He was equally innovative in proposing change on the secondary level.  Dissatisfied with the existing school religion textbooks, he acted in the purest Marianist tradition--he wrote his own textbook--Doctrina y vida cristianas--(Doctrine and Christian Life), a classic among textbooks, which proved to be a harbinger or bellwether of what, years later, would be produced by one of the most important religious publishing houses in Spain: Ediciones SM.

If we now move away from teaching materials to consider the practical dimension, we will note Father Domingo's considerable impact on the religious formation of the students: his presiding at school-wide events, his explaining the celebration of the Eucharist, his homilies at Sunday Mass, his being available for many hours in the confessional, etc.

He took special interest in the First Communion celebrations.  Heeding the new directives of Pope Pius X, during the school year of 1910-11 at San Sebastian, he had already initiated new programs of early catechesis there.  To promote the spirit and the practice of prayer he put together a Manual of Prayers, an idea that caught on later in Marianist schools and which blossomed into some very interesting innovations and adaptations in the '50s and '60s, e.g. Hijos de Dios (Children of God).

Another important facet of Domingo Lázaro's apostolic activity was the attention he dedicated to La Congregación mariana (the Marian Sodality) which he organized at the school.  This group existed exclusively in secondary schools until 1950, when it took a leap in the adult world with the creation of the Congregación Estado de María Inmaculada (CEMI--State Sodality of Mary Immaculate).  Here, as was his practice in working with groups, he was determined to guarantee the future of this group.  Therefore, he developed a Manual for Members of the Sodality, which subsequently also served as a guidebook for other schools.  We see clearly here that Father Domingo continuously expressed his ideas and followed up on his initiatives with written materials that would serve in the future as pedagogical and catechetical guides.

Father Domingo did not limit the scope of his initiatives to his students, but rather he reached out to their families.  He worked with alumni associations and was active in society at large.  This was his practice early in San Sebastián and later in Madrid.  His reputation as a wise scholar, competent educator and upright religious spread rapidly, with the result that many people of the city flocked to his educational and religious talks and conferences, which in turn stimulated great interest and served as a catalyst for what was to come.

Founder of the Federación de Amigos de la Enseñanza (FAE--Federation of Friends of Education)
Educator and Churchman (1930)

Upon arriving in Madrid, Father Domingo made contact with the leaders of other religious institutions and with outstanding figures in philosophy and Catholic education (the philosopher, Zubiri had been his pupil, and then later a personal friend).  He was also very attentive to the new currents of philosophical thought and teaching practices in Spain at that time.  He was particularly impressed with the forcefulness and dynamism of la Institución Libre de Enseñanza (ILE--the Free Institution of Education) and its impact on the country through its Instituto Escuela (School Institute).

At that time there began a great movement among the forces of education in Spain.  And while on the one hand he was well aware of the great differences between the ILE and the Catholic Church in many ideological and religious perspectives, he was nonetheless intrigued by the profoundly innovative nature of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza.  Thinking as a pragmatic Spaniard (en cristiano), he wondered about the possibility of a project to renovate education in the context of Church: Could Colegio Nuestra Señora del Pilar be a Catholic Instituto?

Through his interactions with thinkers, politicians and Catholic educators, Lázaro became aware of the enormous deficiencies of the official educational system and the problems and dangers looming over the religious schools.  Moreover, he was cognizant of the lack of coordination among the teaching orders and lamented the fact that education was the principal concern of nobody: not the government, not the politicians, not society, not even families.  What could be done?  He responded with his usual clairvoyance and practicality: a) fight for academic freedom; b) rouse the consciousness of Catholics in this regard; and c) create a cadre of Christian educators with their "special forces" for training teachers.

Thus arose the Federación de Amigos de la Enseñanza (FAE--Federation of Friends of Education) which was designed to support educational initiatives, encourage more and better teacher preparation, and defend the interests and rights of Christian teaching.  At the outset, Father Domingo was joined by Brother Antonio Martínez, S.M, a coach at Colegio del Pilar, who was another outstanding figure of Marianist education in Spain.  Their initial strategy was executed immediately.  They gathered the directors of the teaching institutions in order to coordinate efforts.  Then, a call was made to gather the most committed Christian, lay teachers.  It was no small task, nor an easy venture to bring together divergent views and preferences.  There were moments of hesitation and temptation to abandon the project, which some deemed too complicated.

Father Domingo was commissioned to prepare a report and to present it together with the Jesuit, Enrique Herrera Oria (brother of Angel Herrera, Director of the publication, The Debate), and the Primate, Don Pedro Segura.  It was the month of March, 1930. Statutes were drafted and the first Board of Directors was selected.  They named Pedro Poveda Chairperson of the FAE.  It was he, together with another member of the FAE, Josefa Segovia, who founded the Institución teresiana.  Father Poveda was a magnificent priest, dedicated to education, to the promotion of women's rights, and to social work for the improvement of the circumstances of the most poor.  He was recently declared a saint of the Church.

In the beginning the FAE included all Catholic schools in Spain, not only the schools run by religious orders, but also diocesan institutions and schools administered by lay Christians as well.  That was the original idea of Domingo Lázaro.  So when years later when the FAE became the Federación de Religiosos de la Enseñanza (FERE--Federation of Teaching Religious), one of Domingo Lázaro's dreams was in one sense consolidated, but in another it was diminished.  The full realization of his dream came about in 2004 with the integration of FERE with Centros Católicos (CECA)” (Catholic Schools Association).

Step by step and at a brisk pace, his ambitious projects were taking shape.  The next step was the appearance, the magazine Atenas, in April 1930 offering information and guidance for teachers.  Domingo Lázaro was soul and spirit of this publication.

Beginning in 1932, every year there were gatherings called Semanas de Educació (Education Weeks), with a view to closer cooperation and unity among religious schools and especially among teachers.  Some Marianists were regular collaborators in these meetings.

In 1934 the Instituto Pedagógico (Pedagogical Institute) was established (later it became the Escuela superior de Educación (School for Higher Education), for teachers, inspectors and graduates.  Along with this, and in the same vein, Father Domingo always provided effective assistance to Catholic associations of all kinds, particularly groups of parents, teachers, Catholic Action Youth Groups, etc..

The End of a Life and the Beginning of the Great Crisis in Spain (1931-1935)

Father Domingo's life came to its end at the beginning of one of the most dramatic periods in our contemporary history, i.e. from the advent of the Second Republic to the conclusion in the confrontation among Spaniards in the Spanish Civil War.  The days that followed April 12, 1931 were progressively fraught with more and more anxiety and agitation.  The Church and the world of education suffered enormously in the storm.

In the magazine, Atenas, Father Domingo recorded and warned about the march of events: the adoption of the new Constitution (1931), the dissolution of the Society of Jesus (1932), and the shocking announcement of the "law of religious congregations" (1933) that suppressed all religious education.  The situation was so strained as to convulse all Marianist life.  It was a time of persecution arising from the process of forcible 'secularization' of religious life and legal transformations in the status of all schools.

But while people were suffering and life's normal rhythms were deteriorating, we, like the early Christians, took measures which produced fruits: Spanish Marianists founded Marianist works in Argentina, and there was a concerted effort to improve educational training among the professed religious (university degrees, etc.).  As for Colegio Nuestra Señora del Pilar, which remained the Marianist heart in Madrid, every precaution was taken to avoid the serious threat of government confiscation which loomed over the coveted building.  The loss of Pilar would mean the ruin of the Society of Mary in Spain.  To deter the government seizure, the Marianists, with the advice of competent experts, requested a declaration of bankruptcy in a court in Madrid on the grounds that they were unable to repay a debt of $60,000.00 contracted with the Province of Cincinnati (cf. Father Yeske, Brother Sauer and Brother George Deck).  The declaration was in fact a legal artifice designed to protect the Colegio from possible confiscation by the Spanish government.

During the school year of 1933-34, Don Mario González-Pons, a layman, was named the new Director of the school and several graduates were chosen to take charge of classes.  The staff was made up of twelve laymen, and twenty-four Marianists, half of whom slept in buildings scattered across the city.  Father Domingo continued to work on the projects of the FAE.  He was just preparing the Cuarta Semana de Educación (the Fourth Week of Education), when he was stricken by influenza, which within several weeks deteriorated into pneumonia.

Aware of its severity, he summoned the sub-director and the administrator to bring them up to date on matters dealing with the school and the administration of the province (work that had been assigned to him).  From that moment on, he devoted himself completely to prayer. His confessor, Father Miguel Leibar (who was later beatified as a martyr in 2007), organized turns for the brothers to pray with the patient.

On February 21, 1935 he received the anointing of the sick, and then wanted to renew his religious vows while reading the formula for religious profession: He addressed the entire community: "Be faithful to the spirit of your calling, and all of you together with your superiors and with God, go forward!  No matter what happens, work under the protection of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother."  As evening fell on the 22nd, he was visited by his brother, Mariano, a priest, coming from Burgos.  They embraced and bade each other good-bye.  Shortly later Father Domingo breathed his last about eight o'clock in the evening.

The next day all the students joined in the funeral procession through the chapel.  Parents, alumni, friends and acquaintances came to the school, attracted by the fame that he enjoyed as a holy man and one of great of integrity.  Both the funeral celebration in the parish of La Concepción and the burial were a great tribute of affection and gratitude.

The Spanish Marianists saw in Father Domingo the embodiment of what it means to be a religious and spiritual father of the province.  All looked upon him as a wise man and as a model of Christian virtues.

And his friends and those who knew him gave eloquent testimony to his qualities:

"How many religious, priests and laymen have had the benefit of his influence!  Without fail people would feel elevated to a better world on whose summits there seemed to dwell the precious soul of Father Lázaro, brilliant in thought, indefatigable in action and fervent in ministry, selfless, generous and self-sacrificing in the service of others."
(Juan Zaragüeta, Professor of Pedagogy at the University of Madrid, alumnus of San Sebastián and a priest).

"Steeped in philosophy and theology, with his experience in education and international relations, he was exceptionally well-acquainted with the problems of teaching, especially those of secondary school teaching, an area in which he was a world authority."
(Rufino Blanco, Regent of the Escuela superior de Magisterio, and outstanding authority in pedagogical literature)

Bibliography

Salaverri, Jose Maria Domingo Lázaro. Un educador entre dos grandes crisis de España (Domingo Lázaro, An Educator Between Two Great Crises of Spain) Madrid PPC 2003
Cueva, Bernardo Breve biografía del siervo de Dios R.P. Domingo Lázaro y Castro SM (A Brief Biography of the Servant of God, R. Rev. Domingo Lázaro y Castro SM) Madrid. 1987. Pro Manuscript

The Timeliness of Domingo Lázaro
Education for the Family and in the Family

The figure of Domingo Lázaro, Christian educator of youth, acquires renewed relevance in our times.  Doña Carmen Gayarre, spiritual daughter of Father Domingo and pioneer in special education in Spain, declared in her deposition as part of the process of Beatification in behalf of Father Domingo:

"Domingo Lázaro is a true model for Christian educators in these times when educators are so necessary and in these moments that so much resemble the time in which he lived."

We will pause in these lines to reflect upon an insight that is central to Father Domingo's thinking: the importance of the family in education.  It was a recurrent theme in his pedagogy already in the days when he was director in San Sebastian.  It was the topic to which he dedicated a series of articles which was published eleven years after his death in 1946 in the book, Forjando el Porvenir (Forging the Future).

Here, we will cull a number of thoughts from this book:

"The family is by its very nature an educational center and it should be the principal center of education ... Parents, while recognizing their limitations and to some extent their insufficiency, are nonetheless 'more competent than others' ... Education that takes place 'outside' the home is very incomplete and frequently it works 'at cross purposes with' the family."

"In the motherly approach there is the kernel of all pedagogy--a role animated by the spirit of self-sacrifice, enthusiasm and love.  Educators that are truly faithful to and successful in their trade owe all of their art to mothers."

"Schools can do little in terms of true education, and the little that can be done is accomplished only when the parents are educating their children at home and ... at school, through their influence, through the lingering recollection of their love, and their dignity.  The school can do little, very little, unless something of the shadow of the father is there, or unless something of the radiation of the warmth of a mother's heart glimmers there.... The family is the true center of education.  When the school acts in concert with parents, the school can work miracles.  Without them the school can do almost nothing."

"It is necessary that parents be concerned about--I am tempted to say 'obsessed with'--the education of their children.  This means that they must repeat to each other often: '... the education of our children is our primary professional duty, our essential personal duty and the fundamental and inescapable dimension of our parenthood.'  On this point there is no room for indifference. Indifference is an abdication, and abdication is malfeasance.  Parents may have many types of aspirations--humanitarian, economic, political, artistic, etc., but the primordial aspiration has to be the education of their children.  Each morning when they awake they should profess an act of commitment to this sublime mission."

I think that these words of Domingo Lázaro are very timely, even though some expressions of his time may seem quaint today.  We live in times when the family feels threatened from without and within and when parents experience difficulty in transmitting values and in inculcating principles of faith.  Educational centers--both public and private--also feel themselves to be immersed in crisis--crisis that is easy to identify but very difficult to cope with in the day-to-day task of education.

Isn't this the moment to find inspiration and support in the example of educators who like Domingo Lázaro, Servant of God, have spent their lives of service in the Christian education of children, adolescents and young adults?

Our 'saints' are our models and our intercessors before God.  Let us entrust to Father Domingo our family difficulties and all of our concerns and apprehensions with regard to the education and formation of our children.

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Current Exhibit

A Nativity Museum in the Making: Crèches from Around the World

This exhibit of nativity scenes will be held in The Marian Library Gallery from February 4 - April 29, 2013.  Click here for more 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 Spring 2013 semester will commence on February 4, 2013!

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 Spring 2013.

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In keeping with the season, we suggest Candlemas Day and Candlemas Poetry.

Material on international stamps with images of Mary exists on The Mary Page (also available in French). The latest updates were Sierra Leone, Tokelau, Zaire, and Zambia.

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 schedule for our upcoming symposium, Our Faith and Mary.  We have also posted information about a new Marian book by Dr. Gloria Dodd, The Virgin Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace.

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Deepen Your Faith During Lent

Title: The Way of Christ, and Journeying with Mary in Lent

Date: Six weeks during Lent: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 (Ash Wednesday) - Sunday, March 31, 2013 (Easter)

Location: This seasonal retreat will be led ONLINE by Professor Virginia M. Kimball as part of the Deepening Your Faith series presented by Continuing and Career Education at Assumption College.

Presented in the spirit of the Church's "Year of Faith," this online retreat will provide solid theological and spiritual material for those wanting to deepen their faith experience during Lent.  Attendees will take part in theological and spiritual enrichment each week, proceeding along the way with reflection and prayer on key passages of scripture (with the encouragement to read scripture daily in Lent); presentations on Christian life; and Marian poetic meditations presenting Mary as a model of discipleship.  It is intended for adult Catholics, including all parish members, church ecclesial staff, pastoral ministers, and catechists and teachers.

For more information click here.

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Decree of Special Indulgence for Twenty-first World Day of the Sick
Special Indulgences in occasion of the XXI World Day of the Sick
Source: Zenit (Vatican City) January 29, 2013

The Redemption was accomplished through the Holy Cross of Christ, that is, through His passion.  All human suffering, in truth, can participate in the redemptive suffering of the Lord.  In fact, the Apostle Paul says: "in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church." (Col 1:24)

In the current Year of Faith, especially dedicated to the profession of the true faith and its correct interpretation, it is worth remembering the luminous teaching of the Second Vatican Council about the Christian meaning of suffering and of its sharing among the brethren: Since the works of charity and mercy express the most striking testimony of the Christian life, apostolic formation should lead also to the performance of these works so that the faithful may learn from childhood on to have compassion for their brethren and to be generous in helping those in need. (Decree Apostolicam Actuositatem, 31c)

Therefore, driven by the desire that the annual celebration of the World Day of the Sick, this year especially solemn, may prove an ever-more-effective catechesis on the salvific meaning of suffering and may sensitize more all those who, for various reasons, are committed to the service of those who suffer in body and soul, the Holy Father has chosen as the theme of the twenty-first World Day of the Sick, which will be held from the seventh to eleventh of the coming month of February, the Good Samaritan: "Go and do likewise" (Lk 10:37), which teaches man to do good by his suffering and to do good to those who suffer (Apostolic Letter Salvifici Doloris, 30).  At the end of the Day, on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, his Excellency Mons. Zygmunt Zimowski, President of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, Special Envoy of His Holiness, will preside at the Marian Shrine of Altötting, in the Diocese of Passau, a solemn Eucharistic celebration with the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

So that the faithful may prepare themselves spiritually to participate in the event in the best way, His Holiness Benedict XVI, at the audience granted on the eighteenth of the current month of January, to the undersigned Cardinal Major Penitentiary and Regent of this Apostolic Penitentiary, has graciously bestowed the gift of Indulgences in the spirit of the following disposition, provided that the faithful, truly repentant and stimulated by charity, following the example of the Good Samaritan, in a spirit of faith and in a merciful disposition, put themselves at the service of their suffering brethren and, if they in turn are sick, bear the pains and hardships of life, raising their soul with humble trust to God and giving open witness to the faith through the way of the Gospel of suffering:

A. The Plenary Indulgence, which the faithful, with truly repentant and contrite spirit, can obtain once a day under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the intentions of the Holy Father) and also apply in relief of the souls of the faithful departed, whenever, from the seventh to the eleventh of this coming February, at the Marian shrine of Altötting or at any other place determined by the Ecclesiastical authority, they participate devoutly in a ceremony celebrated to implore from God the intentions of the World Day of the Sick and pray the Our Father, the Creed, and a pious invocation to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The faithful who in public hospitals or in any private home charitably assist, like the Good Samaritan, the sick and, as a result of their service, cannot participate in the above-mentioned functions, will obtain the same gift of the Plenary Indulgence, if in those set days for at least few hours they lend generously their charitable assistance as if they were doing it to Christ the Lord (cf. Mt 25:40) and recite the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and a pious invocation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in a spirit of total detachment from any sin and with the intention to fulfill as soon as possible the conditions required to obtain the Plenary Indulgence....

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Marian Commemoration Days

To celebrate the month of February with Mary:

• Presentation of the Lord in the Temple [February 2]

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 February.

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