A luminous mystery from the New World

Cristóbal de Villalpando (1649-1714), born and trained in Mexico City, was arguably the most important painter in the New World of the 17th century. Influenced by Europeans like Peter Paul Rubens, Villalpando created his own distinctive brand of New World Hispanic art — rich in bright colors and bold contrasts, filled with ornamental detail and biblical symbolism. Not much is known…

Where are Catholics when the collection basket gets passed?

Inspired by her parents’ commitment to sacrificial giving, when 10-year-old Lucy Menard of Albany, New York, made her first Communion, she asked her family and friends to donate money to the needy in Latin America instead of buying gifts for her. The first check that John Ricci writes each month doesn’t go to pay his mortgage or electric bills. Before…