By Michael Patrick O’Brien– After the monks at the old Trappist monastery in Northern Utah befriended me when I was a boy in the early 1970s, I enjoyed the fruits…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– I first heard the fascinating (and rather sweet) story about Brother Brigham and Sister Augusta over a year ago. I was talking with Emmie Gardner, the…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Someone recently stole a St. Mary Magdalene relic from Salt Lake City’s Cathedral of the Madeleine, the lovely landmark church where my wife and I got…

By Gary Topping– Our blogger-in-chief Mike O’Brien’s recent recollections (An infamous anti-Catholic Klanniversary) of his adolescent brushes with the Ku Klux Klan trigger some recollections of my own. Larry Gerlach…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Immaturity and inexperience—including ignorance about history—often cause the mistakes of youth. That’s what happened one night long ago during my high school years in Northern Utah. …

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– I’ve heard it said that books are some of our most devoted life companions. A new book proves it’s true. I must confess to some bias…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– If you wanted to find me—or pretty much any other kid who grew up in the 1960s or 70s—at 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning, you…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– My wife Vicki has a perfectly wonderful last name (Comeau) with strong French-Canadian and European roots that might even include some French royalty. Yet, like most…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– A few years ago, the University of Notre Dame commissioned an advertising campaign called “What would you fight for?” which aired during its NBC autumn football…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– There are fifteen men from the past two centuries—a father, two grandfathers, four great grands, and eight great/great grands—who by law and blood I can call…