Podcasts about salesians

Alfredo Flores nació en Cancún, Quintana Roo, donde creció rodeado de una familia y de una formación que lo guiaron por el camino del servicio. Más tarde, se mudó a la Ciudad de México y, gracias a la influencia de los salesianos, creció y maduró en la fe cristiana. Es licenciado en marketing, una carrera que le ha permitido desarrollar habilidades organizativas, comunicativas y de liderazgo a través de diversas organizaciones de servicio en su parroquia. En ellas ha encontrado comunidad y sanación para su depresión. Puedes encontrarlo en Facebook, @AlfredoFloresH, e Instagram, @Alfredofh. Alfredo Flores Healing and Serving in Community Alfredo Flores was born in Cancún in the state of Quintana Roo, where he grew up surrounded by a family and a formation that guided him along the path of service. Later, he moved to Mexico City and, through the influence of the Salesians, grew in his Christian faith. He holds a bachelor's degree in marketing, a career that has allowed him to develop organizational, communication, and leadership skills through various service organizations at his parish. Through them, he has found community, but also healing for depression. You can find him at: Facebook, @AlfredoFloresH, and Instagram, @Alfredofh.

Full Text of ReadingsTuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 366The Saint of the day is Saint Joseph CafassoSaint Joseph Cafasso's story Even as a young man, Joseph loved to attend Mass and was known for his humility and fervor in prayer. After his ordination, he was assigned to a seminary in Turin. There he worked especially against the spirit of Jansenism—an excessive preoccupation with sin and damnation. He used the works of Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Alphonsus Liguori to moderate the rigorism popular at the seminary. Joseph recommended membership in the Secular Franciscan Order to priests. He urged devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and encouraged daily Communion. In addition to his teaching duties, Joseph was an excellent preacher, confessor, and retreat master. Noted for his work with condemned prisoners, he helped many of them die at peace with God. Joseph urged one of his former pupils—Saint John Bosco—to establish the Salesians congregation to work with the youth of Turin. Joseph Cafasso died in 1860, and was canonized in 1947. His liturgical feast is celebrated on June 23. Reflection Devotion to the Eucharist gave energy to all Joseph's other activities. Long prayer before the Blessed Sacrament has been characteristic of many Catholics who have lived out the gospel well: Saint Francis, Bishop Fulton Sheen, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, and Saint Teresa of Calcutta among them. Saint Joseph Cafasso is the Patron Saint of: PrisonersPrussia Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Saint Bosco of the Salesians asked St Mary Mazzarello to create the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians (aka Salesian Sisters) to care for abandoned girls. Mary Mazzarello immediately recalled a vision she had at age nine about a big building filled with orphaned girls. As her ministry grew she was on the hunt for a larger facility. She found the perfect building and realized it looked just as she remembered from her childhood dream!   The Daughters of Mary is now a world-wide organization. St Mary Mazzarello died at age 44. Her last words were "I'll see you in Heaven." There are links, photos and more about this on my website.   Pray for this war in the Middle East to end. Also, Pray for the People of Ukraine. There are links for ways to support them on my website: NikosSteves.com   I have written a contemporary novel with Christian themes entitled "The Very Fine Light" Preview it for FREE and/or purchase "The Very Fine Light" at Amazon.com   I value feedback through the comments section on my website, NikosSteves.com Or via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com Constant Procession tells of key apparitions of the Virgin Mary since she passed on from the world and how she serves humanity through Christianity. The origin of these podcasts began with my first book, The Constant Procession. Constant Procession (the podcast) is published every Tuesday morning and has links, photos, video and more information for each episode at NikosSteves.com

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest Lectionary: 321The Saint of the day is Saint John BoscoSaint John Bosco's Story John Bosco's theory of education could well be used in today's schools. It was a preventive system, rejecting corporal punishment and placing students in surroundings removed from the likelihood of committing sin. He advocated frequent reception of the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion. He combined catechetical training and fatherly guidance, seeking to unite the spiritual life with one's work, study and play. Encouraged during his youth in Turin to become a priest so he could work with young boys, John was ordained in 1841. His service to young people started when he met a poor orphan in Turin, and instructed him in preparation for receiving Holy Communion. He then gathered young apprentices and taught them catechism. After serving as chaplain in a hospice for working girls, Don Bosco opened the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales for boys. Several wealthy and powerful patrons contributed money, enabling him to provide two workshops for the boys, shoemaking and tailoring. By 1856, the institution had grown to 150 boys and had added a printing press for publication of religious and catechetical pamphlets. John's interest in vocational education and publishing justify him as patron of young apprentices and Catholic publishers. John's preaching fame spread and by 1850 he had trained his own helpers because of difficulties in retaining young priests. In 1854, he and his followers informally banded together, inspired by Saint Francis de Sales. With Pope Pius IX's encouragement, John gathered 17 men and founded the Salesians in 1859. Their activity concentrated on education and mission work. Later, he organized a group of Salesian Sisters to assist girls. Reflection John Bosco educated the whole person—body and soul united. He believed that Christ's love and our faith in that love should pervade everything we do—work, study, play. For John Bosco, being a Christian was a full-time effort, not a once-a-week, Mass-on-Sunday experience. It is searching and finding God and Jesus in everything we do, letting their love lead us. Yet, because John realized the importance of job-training and the self-worth and pride that come with talent and ability, he trained his students in the trade crafts, too. Saint John Bosco is a Patron Saint of: BoysEditorsEducators/TeachersYouth Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Delivered by Father Peter Tukan, SDB from Salesian Don Bosco Gerak in the Diocese of Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. Hebrews 10: 32-39; Rs psalm 37: 3-4.5-6.23-24.39-40; Mark 4: 26-34 STEADFAST IN HOPE   Our meditation on this day has the theme: Steadfast in Hope.  Every January 31, the Salesian Society of Don Bosco (SDB), the Salesian Family, and many others who live the spirit of Saint John Bosco celebrate it as a feast, which is the day of the death of the saint from Turin, Northern Italy. He was a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Turin, endowed with a special charism by the Holy Spirit, to work for the education of the most abandoned and poor young people.   He founded a men's consecrated life society named SDB (Salesian of Don Bosco), and a women's society named FMA (Daughters of Mary Help of Christians). He also founded a lay collaborator called the Salesian Cooperator. He followed the spiritual intuition and teaching of Saint Francis of Sales, Bishop of Geneva (Switzerland) who lived more than 200 years before Don Bosco, so the institutes and large families he founded are called the Salesians. The education system for young people popularized by Don Bosco, recognized by the Church and used as an effective Catholic education system, is called the preventive system.   Early in his work for the good and salvation of adolescents and youth of the city of Turin, Don Bosco for the fist time found their lives and circumstances to be very poor. They were the same as garbage thrown away and trampled or destroyed. Family and community life with the condition of the young generation like this is clearly included in the category of humanitarian emergency. Poverty, ignorance, crime, illness, harassment and forced labor in factories or industries, were common situations of the young generation at that time. It seems that the loss of hope for the Church and society was very real.   But Don Bosco was steadfast in his faith and humanitarian initiative underpinned by a change mentality for the better. Don Bosco was an original product of the enlightenment after the medieval period of the world. He wanted changes and new methods in education. He wanted his steadfastness of faith and humanitarian initiative to bring in society and the Church a hope of newness. It should start with the education of the younger generation, which in turn will create change and spread it around the world.   The Letter to the Hebrews of today's reading reinforces us that, like Don Bosco, we have the responsibility to hold fast to hope, which is manifested by mutual concern and support in love among us. The light and strength that we have must be shareable. What is with us and what is shared will be added more and more by God. Let us pray. In the name of the Father... O Lord Jesus, make us bearers and spreaders of hope to our neighbors. Our Father who art in heaven... In the name of the Father...

Saint John Bosco was called at an early age by the Virgin Mary who tasked him with helping orphans wandering the streets during the early days of the Industrial Revolution. His ways with the youth included fun and games and always learning the word of God. From whistling to singing, from confessions and communion, to education for better jobs, his mission grew and continues with the international work of the Salesians or Society of St Frances de Sales today.   There are links, photos and more about this on my website. Pray for this war in the Middle East to end. Also, Pray for the People of Ukraine. There are links for ways to support them on my website: NikosSteves.com   I have written a contemporary novel with Christian themes entitled "The Very Fine Light" Preview it for FREE and/or purchase "The Very Fine Light" at Amazon.com   I value feedback through the comments section on my website, NikosSteves.com Or via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com Constant Procession tells of key apparitions of the Virgin Mary since she passed on from the world and how she serves humanity through Christianity. The origin of these podcasts began with my first book, The Constant Procession. Constant Procession (the podcast) is published every Tuesday morning and has links, photos, video and more information for each episode at NikosSteves.com

Full Text of ReadingsMonday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 365The Saint of the day is Saint Joseph CafassoSaint Joseph Cafasso's story Even as a young man, Joseph loved to attend Mass and was known for his humility and fervor in prayer. After his ordination, he was assigned to a seminary in Turin. There he worked especially against the spirit of Jansenism—an excessive preoccupation with sin and damnation. He used the works of Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Alphonsus Liguori to moderate the rigorism popular at the seminary. Joseph recommended membership in the Secular Franciscan Order to priests. He urged devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and encouraged daily Communion. In addition to his teaching duties, Joseph was an excellent preacher, confessor, and retreat master. Noted for his work with condemned prisoners, he helped many of them die at peace with God. Joseph urged one of his former pupils—Saint John Bosco—to establish the Salesians congregation to work with the youth of Turin. Joseph Cafasso died in 1860, and was canonized in 1947. His liturgical feast is celebrated on June 23. Reflection Devotion to the Eucharist gave energy to all Joseph's other activities. Long prayer before the Blessed Sacrament has been characteristic of many Catholics who have lived out the gospel well: Saint Francis, Bishop Fulton Sheen, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, and Saint Teresa of Calcutta among them. Saint Joseph Cafasso is the Patron Saint of: PrisonersPrussia Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Live 95's Gillian is joined by Limerick mum Michelle to discuss plans for a former Salesian School at Fernbank to be used as a temporary accommodation centre for people fleeing the war in Ukraine following Frankie Daly's interview on the topic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest Lectionary: 325The Saint of the day is Saint John BoscoSaint John Bosco's Story John Bosco's theory of education could well be used in today's schools. It was a preventive system, rejecting corporal punishment and placing students in surroundings removed from the likelihood of committing sin. He advocated frequent reception of the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion. He combined catechetical training and fatherly guidance, seeking to unite the spiritual life with one's work, study and play. Encouraged during his youth in Turin to become a priest so he could work with young boys, John was ordained in 1841. His service to young people started when he met a poor orphan in Turin, and instructed him in preparation for receiving Holy Communion. He then gathered young apprentices and taught them catechism. After serving as chaplain in a hospice for working girls, Don Bosco opened the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales for boys. Several wealthy and powerful patrons contributed money, enabling him to provide two workshops for the boys, shoemaking and tailoring. By 1856, the institution had grown to 150 boys and had added a printing press for publication of religious and catechetical pamphlets. John's interest in vocational education and publishing justify him as patron of young apprentices and Catholic publishers. John's preaching fame spread and by 1850 he had trained his own helpers because of difficulties in retaining young priests. In 1854, he and his followers informally banded together, inspired by Saint Francis de Sales. With Pope Pius IX's encouragement, John gathered 17 men and founded the Salesians in 1859. Their activity concentrated on education and mission work. Later, he organized a group of Salesian Sisters to assist girls. Reflection John Bosco educated the whole person—body and soul united. He believed that Christ's love and our faith in that love should pervade everything we do—work, study, play. For John Bosco, being a Christian was a full-time effort, not a once-a-week, Mass-on-Sunday experience. It is searching and finding God and Jesus in everything we do, letting their love lead us. Yet, because John realized the importance of job-training and the self-worth and pride that come with talent and ability, he trained his students in the trade crafts, too. Saint John Bosco is a Patron Saint of: BoysEditorsEducators/TeachersYouth Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Friends of the Rosary: Every January 31, the Catholic Church honors St. John Bosco (or “Don Bosco”), a 19th-century Italian priest who reached out to young people to remedy their lack of education, opportunities, and faith. He was an enlightened educator and innovator. St. John Bosco was the founder of the Salesian Society, named in honor of St. Francis de Sales, and of the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians. His lifework was the welfare of young boys and girls, hence his title, "Apostle of Youth." He had no formal system of education, but rather his methods centered on persuasion, authentic religiosity, and love for young people. At age nine, he had a prophetic dream in which unruly young boys were uttering words of blasphemy. Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary appeared to John in the dream, saying he would bring such youths to God through the virtues of humility and charity. Later on, this dream would help John to discern his calling as a priest.He'd become a spiritual guide and provider along with his fellow Salesian priests and brothers, giving boys religious instruction, lodging, education, and work opportunities.  This success did not come easily, as the priest struggled to find reliable accommodations and support for his ambitious apostolate. Italy's nationalist movement made life difficult for religious orders, and its anti-clerical attitudes even led to assassination attempts against Don Bosco. However, such hostility did not stop the Salesians from expanding in Europe and beyond. They were helping 130,000 children in 250 houses by the end of Don Bosco's life. “I have done nothing by myself,” he stated, saying it was “Our Lady who has done everything” through her intercession with God. St. John Bosco died on January 31, 1888, after conveying a message: “Tell the boys that I shall be waiting for them all in Paradise.” He was canonized on Easter Sunday of 1934 and is a patron saint of young people, apprentices, and Catholic publishers and editors. Ave Maria!Jesus, I Trust In You!St. John Bosco, Pray for Us! To Jesus through Mary!Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will! + Mikel A. | RosaryNetwork.com, New York • ⁠January 31, 2024, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. John Bosco, 1815-1888; ordained in 1841; served as a chaplain in a hospice for working girls, and then opened the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales for boys; in 1854, he and his followers informally banded together, inspired by Saint Francis de Sales; in 1859 he and 17 men founded the Salesians; he later organized a group of Salesian sisters to assist girls Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 1/31/24 Gospel: Mark 6:1-6

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - A retired Catholic priest with the Diocese of Orlando and his sister were among the four people killed in Sunday afternoon shootings in Palm Bay, Florida, according to a diocesan statement. Father Robert Hoeffner, who celebrated his 50th year in the priesthood last year, was allegedly killed by a 24-year-old man named Brandon Kapas on Sunday, January 28. In addition to Hoeffner and his sister, Sally, the suspected shooter also allegedly killed his grandfather, William Kapas, and one other person whose name has not yet been released. The shooting of Hoeffner and his sister took place at a different location than the shooting of Kapas' grandfather and the person who has not yet been identified. The motive for the shootings is still unclear. Police shot and killed the alleged gunman on Sunday after he shot at police and injured two officers, according to Palm Bay Police Chief Mariano Augello, who addressed the incidents in a news conference. Both officers “are going to survive,” Augello said. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256676/orlando-catholic-priest-among-four-killed-in-palm-bay-shooting Pope Francis confirmed that he will meet with the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, who will be attending the canonization of Blessed María Antonia of Saint Joseph — also known as Mama Antula — the first Argentine female saint, to be held Febuary 11 in Rome. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256678/argentine-president-javier-milei-pope-francis-to-meet The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on Monday revived a 2019 lawsuit brought by a number of abortion providers in the state that challenges, on discrimination grounds, a longtime state law barring public funding for most abortions. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256686/pennsylvania-supreme-court-opens-the-door-to-public-funding-for-abortion Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Nigeria shared details of the worsening persecution of Christians in Nigeria, accusing members of the government there of being complicit in what he called a Christian “genocide” and an erasure of the Christian presence from the country. Anagbe, who leads the Makurdi Diocese, warned that if greater action is not taken he believes the Christian population, which currently numbers over 86 million, roughly half of the total Nigerian populace, could disappear entirely in the next few decades. Though the Nigerian Christian population is massive and is known as having some of the most devoted faithful in the world, Anagbe said the Christian presence in Nigeria is “gradually and systematically” being reduced by radical Islamists through “killings, kidnappings, torture, and burning of churches.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256683/is-the-persecution-in-nigeria-a-christian-genocide-this-bishop-says-yes Today, the church celebrates Saint John Bosco (or “Don Bosco”), a 19th century Italian priest who reached out to young people to remedy their lack of education, opportunities, and faith. John Bosco was born in August of 1815 into a family of peasant farmers in Castelnuovo d'Asti – a place which would one day be renamed in the saint's honor as “Castelnuovo Don Bosco.” In 1841, John Bosco was ordained a priest. In the city of Turin, he began ministering to boys and young men who lived on the streets, many of whom were without work or education. The priest was determined to save as many young people as he could from a life of degradation. He established a group known as the Oratory of Saint Francis de Sales, and became a kindly spiritual father to boys in need. The Salesians were helping 130,000 children in 250 houses by the end of Don Bosco's life. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-john-bosco-133

Adam Wright and Patty Schneier are at the SEEK 2024 Conference.  This afternoon their guests include:  Dr. Pat Castle of Liferunners; Sister Anne from the Salesians; Sister Gemma from the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity; Marie Miller - Musician; Father Patrick Mary from the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word.  For more information about Covenant Network, please visit our website at www.OurCatholicRadio.org.

NOTE: Though I mentioned timestamping, I've decided to forego that for now to allow me to go ahead and get this episode out without additional delay. I may well add it in retroactively at some point but for now you'll just have to survive with the free full transcript, below. https://columbuscatholic.org/chancery https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253959/cardinal-hollerich-there-s-space-to-expand-church-teaching-on-all-male-priesthood  Hello everyone, welcome back to Popeular History, a library of Catholic knowledge and insights and I'm going to be skipping the brought to you daily part because I've switched, at least for the time being, back to a model that basically can best be described as brought to you as I am able: something every month, probably. Which, I admit, doesn't roll off the tongue quite so well, but it's the right move. Anyways, it's good to be back talking with you again, I've been using the time away wisely, taking care of family and household stuff that needed my attention. Thank you for understanding. This is going to be something of a glossary of various roles within the Catholic Church that are gonna keep popping up, so consider this your cheat sheets to consult as needed. Oh and good news, I learned how to timestamp show notes, at least on some catchers, so see if it works for you. Let me know if it doesn't. See the show notes.  Without further ado, let's get into these church roles, starting with church roles you may recognize from the Bible but which are no longer a thing unless you're like a Mormon or something. First, APOSTLE. The most familiar use of this term is referring to one of the 12 Apostles, Jesus' closest followers: Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, the other James, Judas (not *that* Judas), Simon, and Judas (yes *that* Judas). At least, that's the listing of the 12 as given in the book of Acts, my favorite reference point as this podcast talks about Church history and Church history actually happens in Acts, unlike the Gospels where it's pre-Pentecost so it's not really Church history yet, per se. And really, *that* Judas, Judas Iscariot, is replaced by Matthias for most purposes when you're talking about the apostles because since Judas betrayed Jesus he's a bit of an embarrassment to the group, which, fair enough. In the end, Apostle is the only one of these titles where I'm going to name the main holders individually in this episode, though of course through future episodes of the podcast I'll name all the Popes and Cardinals I have documentation of any kind for and we should also recognize that the term Apostle is used outside the Twelve as well at various points, including most prominently Saint Paul and even the almost certainly female Junia in his Letter to the Romans. The broader term for one of the earlier followers of Jesus is a DISCIPLE, and while this one does have some use in contemporary Catholicism, for example my parish has a slogan of "making disciples and disciple makers", the title of disciple as a specific identifier is something you're going to encounter in the Bible rather than in the day-to-day, where it's more of a general goal as a follower of Jesus. Meanwhile, an EVANGELIST is one who wrote one of the Gospels. Earlier I committed to the Apostles being the only one of these titles where I'd name all 12 of the main holders and I'm going to stick to that, but yeah, it's that simple. Note that this is actually more restrictive than being one of the writers of Scripture in general, for instance even though he wrote a good chunk of the New Testament, Saint Paul doesn't get described as an Evangelist. That isn't to say there isn't a bit of a tradition of using even this term someone analogously for anyone who spreads the message of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, for example the decidedly non-Catholic phenomenon of Televangelists get their name as a play on this word. Our last Bible-times Church role is that of PROPHET. Simply put, a prophet is someone inspired by the Holy Spirit to deliver a message, John the Baptist being the most famous New Testament example though especially if you look closely at the Book of Acts you can find other examples. There have been a number of folks who have made claims to be prophets in some form or another, generally the Church has frowned on such pronouncements. Officially, all new *public* revelation closed with the death of John the last Apostle around the year 100. However, the door to being a legitimate prophet is not completely closed, since *private* revelation is still possible, for example the various Marian apparitions like Lourdes and Fatima. What makes revelation considered "private" is not so much its actual privacy as its non-binding nature. All Catholics are obliged to accept public revelation, namely the Bible; no one is obliged to accept any private revelation like latter-day Prophets, though such individuals can gain the basic endorsement of the Church, which is what made Fatima, for example, so influential. That bit of a gray area bringing a Biblical role to the present is a good transition to the category of Church roles we'll talk about next, namely the basic roles in and structure of the Catholic Church today. As a periodic reminder, the default perspective and focus of this show is Catholic Christianity. I say that because there are plenty of Christian groups that follow models different than what I'll be describing here, though in broad terms what we'll be talking about is the dominant structure of Christianity and has been for centuries if not millennia. The fundamental concept to understand for this part–and really, to understand much of Catholicism–is APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION. Apostolic succession is the notion that the Apostles were the first BISHOPS and picked folks to succeed them in their ministry as bishops. I'm not here to convince you that that's what happened, but since this show runs with Pope-colored glasses, it's what we're rolling with. In this framework, not just anyone can have authority in the Church, only those who have this apostolic succession. You can still get wrinkles, like MYSTICS that influence the bishops, but ultimately, whether a mystic has lasting influence is going to depend on whether any bishops- that is anyone who has apostolic succession- listens to her. And I say her because such mystics are typically female. And actually, I wasn't planning on covering mystics in this overview, but I guess I really should give them their own timestamp in the summary here since I've gone off on a tangent. I talked about them earlier in the context of modern day prophets. Basically, a mystic is someone who has some sort of special connection to revelation, whether God or the Blessed Virgin Mary or whoever. But anyways, back to bishops, because while stuff like mystics are fun, the majority of church admin is done in much more mundane fashion by the regular clergy like the Bishops. Catholic Bishops are always male, because in Catholicism ordination is what makes someone a bishop, and Catholic teaching holds that women cannot be ordained. Another particularity of ordination is that someone who is ordained can't get married, though put a pin in that because it's going to get more complicated when we talk about priests and especially deacons. Only bishops can carry out ordinations, and it involves physical touch so they cannot be done remotely. To minimize concerns about who has apostolic succession and who does not, for many years the standard has been that at least three bishops should participate in the ordination of a bishop, though this is not strictly speaking a requirement. With all of this apostolic succession and ordination business, the Catholic world is divided in two: the CLERGY, that is, those who are ordained, and the LAITY, that is, those who are not ordained. There's also sort of a third category but shush I'm keeping it simple and don't worry we'll get into that before we're done today. LAY, the shortened form of Laity, can also be used as an adjective in Church terminology, for instance in the phrase LAY EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS, or LAY CARDINALS, in both cases emphasizing that the individual being described is not as ordained as one might expect. Meanwhile, CLERG is not a word, pleaae don't try to make it a thing. Anyways, once ordained, bishops are typically assigned a specific geographic area called a DIOCESE. Their main base of operations will tend to be in what's called a CATHEDRAL that's generally in the most prominent city in that diocese, and the Diocese is generally named after the city, for instance my home diocese of Columbus is named after the city of Columbus in Ohio. In some ways bishops are equals, for instance all bishops can ordain successors. But in other ways they aren't, for instance Catholicism is somewhat famously centered around the Bishop of Rome, aka the POPE, who is prominent because the Diocese of Rome was where Saint Peter, the foremost disciple, settled down, never mind that by all accounts he also ran the Church in Antioch for a while. Collectively, all the Catholic Bishops in the world are called the COLLEGE OF BISHOPS, and according to the very handy and highly recommended Gcatholic.org there are well over 5000 such Catholic bishops alive today. Of course, there are also a good number of bishops who aren't Catholic, meaning they aren't in communion with the Pope, especially the Eastern Orthodox. And forgive me if I explain being in communion as like the Church version of being facebook friends. It's obviously more solemn than that, but basically yes, it's a mutual public acknowledgement that you're on good terms with someone else. Bishops who aren't in communion with Rome are still bishops- meaning they still have apostolic succession and can still create their own successors, which has lead to a fair amount of drama, historically. When I mentioned not all bishops are created equally, I wasn't just talking about the Pope. There are several different kinds of bishops to consider, so let's hit the highlights. In addition to a regular bishop who heads a diocese, there's a higher level bishop called an ARCHBISHOP who runs what's called an ARCHDIOCESE or you might see the term PROVINCE. Technically I believe a province is the combination of an Archdiocese and any regular diocese that are under its jurisdiction, which are called SUFFRAGAN diocese in that context while the Archdiocese is called the METROPOLITAN, which is also a shorthand way of referring to the archbishop in that arrangement, or you might more fully call him the METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOP. To return to my home diocese as an example, the Metropolitan for the Diocese of Columbus is the Archbishop of Cincinnati. Not every Archbishop is a Metropolitan Archbishop, because not every Archdiocese has a suffragan diocese. You can also find cases where a person is personally made an Archbishop but is not put in charge of an Archdiocese, those cases are called "PRO HAC VICE", which is basically Latin for "for this occasion”, meaning while the person is being made an archbishop their diocese is not being made an archdiocese. There are weirder scenarios that can pop up as well, but I'm trying to focus on the highlights to keep this manageable and will point out the more unusual stuff when and if it pops up. In terms of territory, the next step above a province would typically be a REGION, which is generally just an administrative subdivision of a national bishops' Conference. Columbus is in a region with all the dioceses–it's hard to pluralize that–in Ohio and Michigan, called Region VI. This particular layer of admin is completely unremarkable and has no special titles or roles associated with it. At the top of the national level there's generally what's called a BISHOP'S CONFERENCE, an organization made up of the bishops and perhaps their equivalents across a given nation. Depending on the scale of things you might also see bishop's conferences that cover multiple countries or I think I've even seen some sub-national bishops' conferences here and there, it just depends on what makes sense given the geopolitics and the nature of the Catholic Community. Though there isn't a special churchy title for the leadership of a Bishops' Conference- they're just called President or whatever- I will tend to note when someone I'm going over holds a leadership post here since it's at the national level. Getting back to church titles rather than standard admin structure, it's worth noting that, in a nutshell, the older a diocese is the more prestige and gravitas it has. Historically, the oldest diocese in a given country had special importance and was something a bit above a regular archdiocese called a PRIMATIAL SEE held by a PRIMATE- not the monkey though sure joke away– oh and see by the way is just another word for a diocese, that's S-E-E. It's specifically referring to the bishop's "seat", which is the same concept that makes the head church of a Diocese called a Cathedral, cathedra being a Latin word for Chair. And yeah, it's a bit weird to have so much focus on what someone is sitting on but keep in mind thrones for kings kind of fill the same concept, it's basically the idea that it's the office that has its own importance that accumulates with each officeholder. Some diocese are dignified at an even higher level and are called Patriarchates, with bishops of those diocese being called Patriarchs. Historically the core group of patriarchates was Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem. Others have been added through the years, notably Moscow in the East. Generally Patriarchates are more associated with Eastern Orthodoxy since the highest ranking churchmen there are the Patriarchs, though the Popes would also flaunt their Papal powers over the church generally by setting up some new Western Patriarchates as well, like Lisbon and Venice. I'll definitely be spending a lot of time talking about all the various patriarchates in the main narrative, so stay tuned. Recently a new role has been developed, and of course I mean recently in church terms so, you know, in living memory, and that's the role of what's termed a "MAJOR ARCHBISHOP", just half a hair down from a Patriarch in dignity, and of course overseeing a "MAJOR ARCHBISHOPRIC". Check out my episode on Sviatoslav Shevchuk for more on that, basically the Vatican wanted to grant the Ukranians higher honor but could not fully commit to a new Patriarchate because of pressure from Moscow, so the position was developed as a compromise. There are now a total of four Major Archbishops, all Eastern Catholics. To explain very briefly, now that I'm mentioning Eastern Catholics, the Catholic Church is actually made up of a total of 24 sui iuris- that is, "self governing" Churches, called Particular churches. The one you're probably most familiar with is the biggest, what's called the Latin Church, but the other 23 are equally important at least in theory even though in practice they often get sidelined or overlooked. A single city may have multiple bishops because of these different rites, and also because of non-Catholic bishops, for example there are currently five people claiming the role of Patriarch of Antioch, three Catholic bishops from different sui iuris particular churches in union with Rome, and two Orthodox bishops not in union with Rome. None of these Patriarchs of Antioch are based in Antioch, modern Antakya. It's complicated. Collectively members of these non-Latin Sui Iuris churches are called Eastern Catholics and In most cases these are the results of various splits and reunions throughout Church history, resulting in a variety of local traditions maintained because 1 tradition is beautiful and 2 union with the Pope is more important to the Pope then making everyone do exactly the same thing, though there have certainly been pushes for that, and I hope that somewhat tongue-in-cheek brief overview isn't too insulting but long story short the variety resulting from these different traditions could easily double the length of this episode, but given the main purpose of this was to allow Cardinal-Watchers to follow Cardinal Numbers without getting too lost I'm going to let the Latin rite examples I've given form the core and I'll explain Eastern titles- such as calling most bishops EPARCHS and most Dioceses EPARCHIES- as they appear in individual episodes. Now, believe it or not, there's still a few more bishop-tier titles to go. First, a TITULAR BISHOP is a bishop who has been assigned a non-functional diocese, which sounds like a bit of a raw deal- and to be clear, it is- but it generally allows them to focus on other stuff they need to be doing while officially giving them the status and dignity of being a bishop. There are also titular archbishops and even titular patriarchs, basically the next few terms function as adjectives. Another modifier you might see before someone's bishop title is "Auxiliary". An AUXILIARY BISHOP is a bishop who assists in the administration of a see- typically an archdiocese or a patriarchate- while being titular bishop of another see. This keeps one person as the overall pastor but allows for easing the burden when there's a lot of bishopping to be done. There's another kind of bishop called a COADJUTOR. As the co- part might suggest, a coadjutor bishop acts alongside the regular bishop. Generally speaking a coadjutorship is a short term arrangement, designed to ease the transition when the regular bishop retires, with the coadjutor having automatic succession. Unlike Auxiliary bishops, coadjutor bishops are not typically given a separate titular see reflecting this even closer association with the diocese. Normally the goal is one bishop per diocese and one diocese per bishop, coadjustorships are treated as an exception to that ideal for the sake of smooth transition. Another adjective you'll see applied to someone's title as bishop is emeritus, and this one I think is more familiar to folks. A BISHOP EMERITUS is the former bishop of a diocese. In modern practice most Bishops are required to submit their resignation to the Pope once they turn 75, so that's the typical retirement age, but early retirements due to health reasons or air quotes "health reasons" are not unheard of, and sometimes folks are left in their posts for a bit longer. When a diocese has no serving bishop, that period is called a SEDE VACANTE, or "vacant seat". Most folks hear that in connection with the Pope, though the term can be used for all diocese, not just Rome. If the vacancy is a longer one, you'll often see what's called an APOSTOLIC ADMINISTRATOR appointed for the interim, someone to keep things running who may or may not already be a bishop of another diocese, often the metropolitan. Finally, there's a broader term that includes but is not limited to bishops that I've been studiously avoiding: an ORDINARY. Most often the ordinary is a bishop, but there are some special jurisdictions outside the normal diocesan structure that are served by a non-episcopal-AKA non-bishop- ordinary. Such jurisdictions are called ORDINARIATES. And yeah, don't let the wording fool you, ordinariates headed by an ordinary are not, you know, the ordinary arrangement, those are for special circumstances. The most common type of ordinariate is a MILITARY ORDINARIATE. Given the special needs of armed forces and the families serving in them, many nations have a specific ordinariate dedicated to military families. There is also something called a PERSONAL ORDINARIATE, which in modern times is best understood as a bridge between Anglicanism and Catholicism, something Anglican leaders aren't particularly thrilled about but that didn't stop Pope Benedict XVI from setting up the structure a few years back. This is also as good a time as any to note that a CHAPLIN is like the priest-level edition of an ordinary, in the sense that they're dedicated to a specific group of people that isn't a geographic thing, and also in the sense that it's often something you'll see in a military or other institutional context, and *also* in the sense that a chaplain might not actually be a priest even though they carry out many similar functions, much like an ordinary may not actually be a bishop. Alright, next up, let's start looking at what's going on within a typical diocese, especially at Mass, that most Catholic of ceremonies. As you might have guessed, we're going to be talking a fair bit about PRIESTS today, so let's dive in there. Priests, like bishops, receive Holy Orders through ordination. They effectively function as a stand-in for the bishop, serving as his delegates in the local churches called PARISHES. They have apostolic succession only in a secondary sense- their holy orders are valid because of their bishop's valid apostolic succession, and they cannot ordain successors themselves. Unless of course they also happen to be a bishop, which, yes, Mr Offscreen Pedant, bishops are also priests, but I'm speaking specifically about priests who are not also bishops. All bishops are priests and deacons to boot, holy orders is a three-part deal that stacks up like that. Of course, not all deacons are priests, and not all priests are bishops. It's a squares and rectangles kind of thing. The primary function of a priest is to administer sacraments, especially saying Mass and hearing confessions. I actually have my sacraments series done for the Solemn High Pod, so check out the three part Popeular History episode 0.20 if you want to know more about Mass and the sacraments. If 0.23 and dare I hope 0.31 are done by the time you're listening to this you can check out those as well for more on the Mass. Like Bishops, priests are generally expected to practice clerical celibacy, especially in the Latin church but also in the East in the sense that they cannot get married after ordination. So if they want to join the ranks of the married clergy, they better already have the married part done before they do the clergy part. A priest is the most essential person when it comes to Mass, because priests are the ones who either celebrate or say Mass–either of those verbs will work, by the way, and I'm not actually aware of a difference in meaning. Anyways, this is brought home by the fact that priests can literally say Mass by themselves, with no one else present. And I don't want to go too far into theology in this org chart overview, but I really should note that ultimately, on a theological level, it's not so much the priests themselves saying Mass or hearing confessions, rather it's Christ acting through them. What about deacons? Well, first off, there are two kinds of deacons in current practice: TRANSITIONAL DEACONS and PERMANENT DEACONS. The transitional deaconate is a step towards priesthood, and typically lasts a year. It's the first rung of Holy Orders, the first ordination the future priest will receive. In the case of permanent deacons, rather than a stepping stone the diaconate is its own vocation, with the recruiting focus being on men ages 35-55 or so depending on the diocese. Even in the west married permanent deacons are normal, though still with the same caveat that I mentioned for eastern priests earlier: once you're ordained no more new marriages for you. Deacons have an assisting role at Mass and administering other rites and sacraments but historically their main role has been more in the realm of what's called works of mercy, aka helping the poor, as that was the original idea behind setting up the diaconate as outlined in the biblical Book of Acts. It was only in recent times–recent times in the scale of Catholicism of course meaning in you know, living memory, it's a big timeline–anyways it was only in recent times that the permanent diaconate was revived after a millenium of suppression. Technically, to be sure, there were some deacons in the middle ages–Pope Gregory VII gained his reputation as Deacon Hildebrand- but outside of the Papal court, where titles tend to carry on regardless, DROPDROP they were scarcely more than a step to the priesthood, DROPDROP that transitional model I mentioned earlier. Before that decline, deacons were actually generally more impactful than priests, often serving as the bishop's right hand, especially in the form of ARCHDEACONS. This model is still largely present in the Eastern Churches, especially if you recall that Arkdiyakon role I mentioned in the context of the Thomas Christians I mentioned last month. Finally, I should note that there is strong historical evidence for a female diaconate in the early Church, for example in Romans 16 Saint Paul refers to a certain Phoebe as a deaconess, and unlike in the historical argument over female priests and bishops, the Church accepts a form of female diaconate as a historical reality. However, it is argued that women deacons were not ordained, that their role was fundamentally different from that of male deacons. Whether to revive an unordained form of female diaconate is an active topic of discussion in Rome. Of course, we're well into the weeds now. Things have changed. But before we make our way back to the modern Church, let's take a quick look at how Holy Orders worked prior to the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. Before Vatican II, Holy Orders didn't start with the diaconate, the priesthood was actually the culmination of a seven-step process that began with what's called the minor orders. The lowest rung of this ladder was the PORTER, being basically the church doorman. After that, the LECTOR, in charge of some of the Bible reading at Mass, and a role which largely survived the council but was taken out of the context of a step on the path to priesthood, to the extent that even shock of shocks women can be Lectors. Next up was the ever crowd-pleasing role of EXORCIST, one trained to cast out demons, and perhaps surprisingly that's another role that's still with us, now taking the form of a special category of priests. As I understand it, to this day each Diocese has at least one exorcist, though their identities are typically kept secret because, ya know, kooks who won't stop bugging him because, I mean, real-life-exorcist. Cool. Finally, up at the top of the minor orders there was the role of ACOLYTE. Think alter server but one of the more active ones, not just a candle-holder. And yes, a role that was once higher than an exorcist is now generally occupied by a middle schooler. Right above the minor orders was the first rank that required ordination- no, not the deacon, the SUB-DEACON. Like all the other minor orders suppressed in the West, this role has been preserved in the East. Take this how you will, but the East has tended to more scrupulously preserve tradition than the Latin Church. It probably helps that they have no one with sufficient authority to come close to mucking around with tradition. I honestly don't think we'll be talking about sub-deacons much, but just know they're, well, right below a standard-issue deacon in the medieval pecking order, as you might have guessed, assisting at mass in similar but different roles. This office went away in the West with the abolition of the minor orders in Vatican II. After the sub-deacon the medieval and early modern seven stages of Holy Orders culminated with the familiar roles of Deacon- full on deacon this time- and then priest. Note that Bishop was not really considered a part of this progression in this model. Now, let's take a moment to chat through a couple other church roles largely or totally left to history while we're in the neighborhood. First, who can forget the fact that there's a whole Canterbury tale dedicated to the PARDONER. This wasn't someone who specialized in hearing confessions and absolving sins as you might expect after that episode we did on the newly elevated Cardinal Dri, the elderly Argintinian Capuchin with that focus. Instead, the focus of the Pardoner was on selling indulgences, those get-out-of-Purgatory-free cards that brought enough scandal to destroy the unity of western Christendom. And yes, I'm kind of acting like you already know about the Protestant Reformation in the same episode where I explain at a basic level what a priest is. Anyways, speaking of Protestants–or quasi-Protestants, or whatever you want to call them, perhaps just Anglicans– speaking of Anglicans, in many ways they're an even better time capsule for preserving some things lost to modern Catholicism than the East. Obviously not in all stripes of Anglicanism, as that wide tent contains a lot of innovations, but, well, on the traditionalist Anglo-Catholic end of the spectrum you can still find things like CANONS and PREBENDS. Canons with one N of course, the church kind, though of course the martial Pope Julius II was fond of two-N cannons as well. Anyways, even ruling out the military cannons I need to specify, as there are not one not two but three distinct meanings of a one-N canon in medieval Catholicism and actually in contemporary Catholicism as well, though the role of canon- by definition our focus on this episode on roles in the Catholic Church- the role is much less common than it once was. But first, the most common meaning of the term Canon in contemporary Catholicism is in the context of Canon law, because that's the term for way the Church governs itself and specific sections of the overall governing document are called canons. Similarly, church councils, that is, gatherings of church leaders, also tend to produce canons, especially the great ecumenical–that is, universal–councils of old that we'll start discussing when we get to the fourth century. So for example someone might cite the first canon of the Council of Nicea, where the Church of old ruled on the pressing question of how being castrated would or would not impact one's ability to serve as a priest. There's also something called the Canon of the Mass, and really the root word helps to understand the meaning of both this and the law slash council thing, because a canon in Latin is something like a fixed measuring stick. The fixed part of Mass is the section of prayers that are always the same, or at least that were always the same until our old friend Vatican II made other options available (again, as I understand it). Nowadays the Canon of the Mass, also called the Roman Canon, is additionally referred to as Eucharistic Prayer 1, implying the existence of Eucharistic Prayer 2, which isn't just a theoretical thing but a real life shorter form that liturgical traditionalists like myself tend to hate. There's also Eucharistic Prayers 3 and 4, which are less egregious, but still, stick with Eucharistic Prayer 1, aka the Roman Canon, if you would be so kind. The third kind of Canon is, at last, the role, and interestingly the etymology here is the same root as the others, giving the sense of something standardized or fixed in place. In this case, the standardization is because the "Canons" of a cathedral or other significant church were a group of priests who had decided to live communally and establish their spiritual and physical lives around a set of rules, you know, standardizing them. Canonizing their lives, if you will. They were basically members of a religious order, though not one centrally governed. Oh, and I suppose I should also note that the term canonization fits into this overall picture in a similar way: it's called canonization because what canonization does is standardize the cult of a particular saint across the universal church. Oh and stop saying cult like it's a bad thing, in this case that's just the word used. It's not a wink and a nod to kool-aid. Also, a canon in the sense of a cathedral canon or other role in a religious order is different from a canon*ist* or a canon lawyer, which is one who studies and explains or practices Church law, respectively. Clear as mud? Fair. Oh, and the PREBEND I mentioned, well, that's basically just a fancier kind of Cathedral canon. Let's move on though. The last historical Church role I want to talk about today is the KING. Or the EMPEROR. Or, you know, whoever the relevant feudal LORD would be. Because such secular leaders were nevertheless seen as having a critical role within the Church, with the civil government and the Church not then tending to have the separation we're used to these days. Really, nobility in general was a big deal for the church until the last century or so. Ok, so we've talked about the various forms of bishops and their territories, and about who you might see at Mass. What about those between? Well, one of the most important functions in Church organization is training up the next generation of leadership, and that training of new priests tends to take place at special institutes called SEMINARIES. You can basically think of seminaries as universities for future priests, and there's also a junior league of sorts for younger students that's basically a kind of boarding school called a MINOR SEMINARY. Those who study at seminaries are called SEMINARIANS, and those who teach there are nowadays generally titled PROFESSORS having the same basic sense as in the secular world but with Catholicism baked in. Kind of like this show verses a generic non-Popeular podcast. The head of a seminary is generally called a RECTOR, though I'm sure there's some variety in that. As you may know depending on what's common in your neck of the woods, rector can also have the same basic sense in secular institutes of higher learning as well, which makes sense when you take a look at the root word there: basically, "ruler". Etymology is our friend here, there, and everywhere. Outside of seminary education, there's also the topic of the general administrative structure of a given diocese. Obviously the bishop is on top, and as you probably already guessed the priests of the diocese typically have admin roles in addition to saying Mass. As an American Catholic, I'm mostly used to hearing the term PASTOR for a priest who's tasked with running a local church community called a PARISH, though I gather canonically the Anglican sounding term VICAR is more precise. You'll also hear the term PARISH PRIEST used in the same sense. A single parish may have more than one priest assigned to it by the diocesan powers that be. A secondary priest is called a PAROCHIAL VICAR in more  official stuff but ASSOCIATE PASTOR is the term you'll hear in common parlance, at least in American use. You might also see someone described as a CURATE, which in modern use designates a priest who assists the principal Vicar or Pastor or Rector of whatever, but historically would refer to the pastor themselves, and yes, it's complicated. There are higher levels to consider as well, both administratively and in terms of honorary titles. For example, MONSIGNOR is a special honorary title given to seasoned priests at the discretion of the Pope. It's not really a role, since it's purely a title and has no special function, but I figured I'd include it here. There are three levels within being titled a Monsignor, first a "CHAPLAIN OF HIS HOLINESS", second an "HONORARY PRELATE", and finally a "PROTONOTARY APOSTOLIC". These sorts of honorifics are currently out of favor in Rome given Pope Francis' strong preference for simple aesthetics and not seeking honor and titles, but he's pushing against a very long tradition of honors and titles in Roman culture, long enough that it goes back to the Cursus Honorum of ancient Pagan Rome, and I expect with the back-and-forth way the Papacy and the Curia operate, we haven't seen the last of ecclesiastical honorifics. After a fat Pope, the saying goes, a skinny Pope. Oh, there's even a kind of honorific for church buildings that functions in kind of the same way as making a priest a Monsignor, namely the status of BASILICA, which is basically just a way for the powers that be to say "hey check out this church it's extra nifty". Of course, not all higher titles within a Diocese are honorifics, there are functional roles as well. The overall day-to-day admin of the diocese is typically not run by the Bishop personally but by an office called the CHANCERY run by a CHANCELLOR, another term you may have heard in higher education because there's historical overlap between higher education and the admin of the Catholic Church or, you know, medieval courts in general. VICE-CHANCELLORS are also a thing, being second in command, behind the Chancellor. If you want a little more insight into what a Diocesan Chancery does, my home Diocese of Columbus has a write-up on their website that explains it better than I would so allow me to just quote them: "The Chancery includes those offices and persons who directly assist the Bishop in the pastoral and administrative governance of the Diocese of Columbus. The Chancery, on behalf of the Bishop, expedites canonical matters; collects and preserves diocesan and parish records; assists parishes and priests with civil matters; maintains files on priests and parishes; collects statistical information for the Diocese; facilitates communications with other dioceses and the Vatican; provides information on the Church or directs inquirers to appropriate sources; facilitates pre-Marriage dispensations and permissions and transmits to other dioceses pre-marriage files; and oversees diocesan offices." The rough Papal equivalent to the diocesan Chancery is the Roman CURIA. In Rome, the Church bureaucracy is sprawling. It's no secret that bureaucracies tend to grow over time when left unchecked, and historically Rome was just about the last place to look for a check on a bureaucracy. Even the ancient pre-Christian Romans exalted bureaucracy, with their skills as administrators being credited as a major unifying force for the Empire. Of course, administrative skills and bureaucracy can almost be contradictory concepts– after all, getting things done requires moving beyond committee after committee. But ultimately the purpose of the Curia is to spread the faith handed down from the Apostles throughout the world, and with that emphasis on handing down, tradition is a huge part of things. When you combine an emphasis on tradition with a massive scale- there are well over a billion Catholics in the world today- and a global scope–well, the Curia is absolutely massive and, despite repeated efforts at overhauling things, it's complicated as well. It would be deeply ironic but not inaccurate to call it Byzantine, a term for “really really complicated” drawn from another institution derived from ancient Rome, though the Byzantine empire is no more and the papacy is more globalized than ever. Pope Francis has been toying with the formula more than any other Pope in recent history, time will tell if the changes stick. One of the most apparent changes Pope Francis has made to the Curia, certainly in the context of our rundown of specific terms, is rebranding the various PONTIFICAL COUNCILS and CONGREGATIONS to DICASTERIES. The practical effect of this is minor but it's helpful to recognize these terms as referring to high level Curial departments–often but not always headed by Cardinals, indeed Pope Francis has structured things so there is no longer any official bar to Dicasteries headed by, say, a woman, though that hasn't actually happened yet. In any event, the heads of Dicasteries or Congregations or Pontifical Councils or whatever you want to call them are called PREFECTS, with the second in command being listed as SECRETARIES, and then things like UNDERSECRETARIES appearing further down the chain of command but still fairly high on the overall curial org chart. The CARDINALS I mentioned there are a special role connected to the Diocese of Rome. As a group they are called the COLLEGE OF CARDINALS, in much the same way that the bishops throughout the world collectively make up the COLLEGE OF BISHOPS. Most famously, it is the eligible Cardinals under the age of 80 who pick the next pope in a closed voting contest called a CONCLAVE during a Papal Sede Vacante, in a period of “vacant see”, you know, “empty chair”. Meetings of Cardinals more broadly speaking are called CONSISTORIES, because yeah, pretty much everything has a special term here, that's why you're listening to this episode. The office of Cardinal has historical connections to the clergy of Rome but it is not by definition an ordained role, meaning there could conceivably be women as Cardinals in the future as I discussed in my September 28th episode this year. There are three fundamental orders of Cardinals, the names of which are rooted in the origins of the college but which are no longer tied to their respective levels of Holy Orders in any particular way as all modern Cardinals are at least priests and most are bishops. Nevertheless, Cardinals are Categorized as either CARDINAL-BISHOPS, the highest level, or CARDINAL-PRIESTS, in the middle, or CARDINAL DEACONS, the lowest category, though really if you're a Cardinal even at the lowest level you're still pretty high up in the Church's pecking order. Special roles within the College of Cardinals include the PROTOPRIEST and the PROTODEACON, the longest serving of those respective orders. Historically, it was the Protodeacon's job to crown the Pope, though Popes haven't opted for crowns in decades. It's also the job of the most senior cardinal deacon participating in the Conclave to announce the new Pope through what's called the HABEMUS PAPAM, Latin for "we have a Pope". A specific name for a specific speech. Speaking of Conclaves and Papal Sede Vacantes and such, the CAMERLENGO OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH is the one who runs the show when there's no Pope around, assisted, of course, by a VICE CAMERLENGO. And to give you an idea of *just* *how* *wonky* the Curia can be, though the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is generally a Cardinal, he should not be confused with the CAMERLENGO OF THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS, a role dedicated to administering the financial affairs of the Cardinals which has, mercifully, recently been allowed to lapse. So, yeah. There are a huge number of special roles and titles connected to the Curia. We'll be seeing them in action repeatedly as we go, but I don't want to get too hung up on them in this overview. Needless to say, Rome is a special case, full of special cases. Before we go, I do want to point out the NUNCIOS are effectively Papal Ambassadors, and the offices they head are called NUNCIATURES. A small step down the latter of diplomatic precedence there are PRO-NUNCIOS who have PRO-NUNCIATURES and who perhaps aspire to be full-on Nuncios one day–yes, oddly, in this case the "pro" prefix actually signifies as a *lower* rank. Finally, it would be just plain wrong of me to skip the fact that there is an important role called the LIBRARIAN OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, and which was historically also known as the BIBLIOTHECARIUS. Don't worry, we'll be following them especially closely. Anyways, any more standard diocese, including Columbus, may not have something as deep and extensive as the Curia, but they still have their own complexities not only within but also beyond the walls of the Chancery, often being subdivided into units called DEANERIES, which are groups of parishes. These multi-parish groups are headed, as you might have guessed, by someone called a DEAN, though you might have also guessed that a more official and less intuitive name exists in canon law: a deanery can also be listed as a FORANE VICARIATE, headed by a VICAR FORANE. There are other roles that aren't geographically based but are still critical to the functioning of the diocese, such as NOTARIES, who are permitted to draw up official documents on behalf of the local Church, and CONSULTORS, who, well, are there for the bishop to consult with on specific topics where he may need their advice. Ok, we're getting there. Now, you might think you know what RELIGIOUS means, but in a Catholic context it has a narrower definition. Being *a* religious means you have taken RELIGIOUS VOWS, specifically THE EVANGELICAL COUNSELS of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. Obedience, in this case, meaning obedience to a religious superior. Welcome to the world of RELIGIOUS ORDERS, which you might also know variously as RELIGIOUS INSTITUTES, INSTITUTES OF CONSECRATED LIFE, SOCIETIES OF APOSTOLIC LIFE, or even CONGREGATIONS, depending on a variety of factors and generally distinguished at a deeper level than I want to get into today. A fair amount of the variety comes from the various religious orders having their own distinct rules, called, well, RULES, and particular focuses, called CHARISMS. They also traditionally have distinct uniforms, called HABITS. You can typically recognize members of different religious orders by their habits, for example white and black robes will most often be a Dominican, brown or sometimes gray will trend to signify a Franciscan of some sort, though there are a lot more religious orders than there are basic colors so brown is also the dominant color in the unrelated Carmelite order. Anyways, the most classic form of a religious order is a MONASTERY with the members of the order being known as MONKS in the case of males or NUNS in the case of females– and monasteries have always been segregated by gender though there were historically sometimes what was called DOUBLE MONASTERIES with male and female wings. Given everyone involved had taken a vow of chastity, such a separation was seen as a practical step. Now, you might be surprised to hear me mentioning nuns in the context of a monastery, rather a CONVENT, a similar institution, which in contemporary English is where you'd expect to find nuns, with monasteries being reserved for monks. But I want to give you some historical understanding as well, and historically the distinction between a convent and a monastery was not one of gender but of specific type. Monasteries tended to be more rural and therefore removed from worldly concerns but could be communities of either gender, while convents tended to be more urban and therefore a bit more integrated into secular society. But that historical sense has faded sufficiently in English that you'll get weird looks if you say there are nuns in a monastery or monks in a convent. You may be technically correct, which is indeed the best kind of correct, but just be aware that the non-gendered sense of the terms is now not as common as it once was. Either way, members of religious communities are generally called BROTHER or SISTER as the default form of address unless another title supersedes. The head of a monastery is typically called an ABBOT in the case of a male CONGREGATION or an ABBESS in the case of a female congregation- the congregation being the community itself. Second in command in the case of a larger community or perhaps in overall command of a smaller community that is itself subordinated to a mother house is a PRIOR or PRIORESS, the former for a male community and the latter for a female community. In terms of the overall building, if the person in charge is an Abbott or Abbess then it's an ABBEY, if it's run by a Prior or a Prioress it's called a PRIORY, though it's not unusual for folks to simply fall back on the simplified and gendered newer meanings of monastery and convent I described earlier. A generic term for those in charge of a religious community is a SUPERIOR, or perhaps MOTHER SUPERIOR, with the leadership of the overall global order being typically called a SUPERIOR GENERAL. There's also a middle range of governance called a PROVINCE, giving that word a similar meaning to what we saw on the Diocesan side of things. All of these communities vary in a number of ways. Some are more removed from worldly affairs, with few to no outside visiters, those communities are called CLOISTERED. These communities go back to the origins of Christian monasticism, where an individual would often feel inspired to withdraw from the world and live a life of severe ASCETICISM, that is, renouncing pleasure and embracing prayer and PENANCE-reparations for sins-  in the hope of spiritual rewards. In the common narrative, folks would come out to such HERMITS, who might be called DESERT FATHERS or DESERT MOTHERS, and seek to follow their example, forming a community. The term for the individual ascetic who vows to follow the evangelical counsels is a hermit like I mentioned or you might also call them an ANCHORITE, and that form of monasticism is EREMITIC, from same root word as "hermit". Once you're talking about living in community, that particular form of monasticism is called CENOBITIC monasticism, combining the greek words for "common" and "life". Not all monasticism is that degree of renunciation of the world, though certainly that form was most established in the early Church. But over time other orders with various special charisms- special focuses- emerged, with the rise of the MENDICANT orders- those that essentially live by begging- occurring in the 13th century, with the Franciscans and the Dominicans being classic examples. Male mendicants are called FRIARS. In time there would also be MISSIONARY orders such as the Jesuits or the Salesians, as you might guess those being dedicated to spreading Christianity to areas where Christianity was a minority. Members of missionary orders are simply called brothers or sisters, leaving the monk and nun labels to those living in more traditional communities. In a number of cases the communally living religious orders have established affiliated entities designed to allow those who live outside their actual communal life to nevertheless observe some form of their rule and wear some form of their habit. These are called THIRD ORDERS, the first and second orders being by implication the monks and the nuns in their communities. Members of third orders are also called TERTIARIES. Historically similar to third orders were things like BEGUINES and their male equivalents, BEGHARDS, though those were as much defined by their lack of official status in the Church as anything else, which makes them an awkward addition to this episode. So I'll leave it at that. Anyways, with the permission of their superior- keep in mind obedience is one of the monastic vows–the others being poverty and chastity if you need a refresher–anyway with the permission of their superior male religious are able to receive ordination and become clergy. Religious who become priests are called RELIGIOUS PRIESTS, which is fair enough as a title but does have an amusing effect in that priests who are not members of a religious order are called SECULAR PRIESTS, a term that made me laugh when I first saw it and which still makes me chuckle from time to time. They can also be called DIOCESAN PRIESTS, but what's the fun in that? Believe it or not, this overview has left a lot out. Like, I never told you about how CATHOLICOS was originally a title for a bishop whose territory was more devoted to a region than a specific city, but that it evolved to be the highest title in the Church of the East. But that's in part because while I intend to cover all 23 SUI IURIS–that is, self governing– churches that make up the overall Catholic church, nevertheless the ROMAN or LATIN CHURCH is the dominant stream of Catholic history, making up over 98% of Catholics today. In case I haven't made it clear enough yet, let me emphasize again that this stuff does get complicated and you don't need to feel bad about not knowing it all offhand. I've thought about this stuff for hours daily and I don't meet that bar, this episode required research like every other. But I hope this guide helps bring some clarity and can serve as a useful reference as you go. If I didn't explain it here, and possibly even if I did, I promise I'll explain it when it comes up as we go. Thank you for listening, God bless you all!

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - In preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year, two of the massive entry doors at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, have been sealed. Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, blessed and sealed the two doors, which are scheduled to be reopened on Christmas Eve next year as a Holy Door for pilgrims. The ceremony took place on the first Sunday of Advent — a little more than one year before the start of the 2025 Jubilee Year, which will center on the theological virtue of hope. Broglio said the jubilee theme “Pilgrims of Hope” indicates that “we are on a journey and not pessimistic travelers,” highlighting the need for a message of hope amid ongoing crises around the world. Holy Doors, which are traditionally sealed prior to jubilee years, provide special graces for pilgrims who walk through them. A pilgrimage through a Holy Door also permits one to receive a plenary indulgence when the other normal conditions for such an indulgence are met. The 2025 Jubilee Year begins on December 24, 2024 (Christmas Eve), and concludes on January 6, 2026 — slightly more than one calendar year. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256174/holy-doors-sealed-at-nation-s-largest-catholic-church Climate activists in Italy over the weekend disrupted a Mass celebrated by Turin Archbishop Roberto Repole, with the demonstrators reading from Pope Francis' works on the environment during the incident. Activists with the climate group Extinction Rebellion appeared at the Turin Cathedral on Sunday during the archbishop's Mass there, according to the Italian newspaper la Republicca. The incident reportedly took place “in the moments before the homily,” the paper said, in which “activists stood up one at a time and read aloud the two writings.” The paper said the demonstrators quoted in part from Laudato Si' by repeating Francis' call for “a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256172/climate-activists-disrupt-archbishop-s-mass-in-turin The bishop of Saltillo in the Mexican border state of Coahuila, Hilario González García, has announced the automatic excommunication (“latae sententiae”) of the one or more thieves who broke into a Catholic church and stole and desecrated the Eucharist. The incident occurred the morning of November 25 at Sacred Heart of Jesus chapel, part of Our Lady of Schoenstatt Parish located on the outskirts of the city. “For the very serious offense committed against Our Lord,” González invited all the faithful to join in prayer, “performing acts of reparation and promoting love for Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.” For now, he explained, Mass will not be possible until reparation is made for the offense. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256176/mexican-bishop-states-thief-who-stole-eucharist-is-excommunicated Today, the Church celebrates Saint Gerald, an English monk, and the bishop of Mayo in Ireland. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-gerald-bishop-of-mayo-74 The Church also celebrates Blessed Phillip Rinaldi, a 19th-century Salesian who served as Salesian provincial superior in Spain, where he opened many new houses and then served as vicar-general of the Salesians before becoming the Rector Major in 1922, Don Bosco's third successor. His humble and quiet leadership of the order combined with his tremendous saintly virtue and apostolic zeal, and a healing miracle attributed to him at the end of the Second World War, prompted his cause for canonization. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/blessed-phillip-rinaldi-408

HEADLINES: 11th to 18th November 2023 : India: South Asia Salesian Family Holds Joint Meeting. Fr. Innocent Panmei reports from Dimapur   *    India: Salesian Teachers Get Trained for Culture of Peace. Miss Neelam Rodrigues reports from Mumbai    *    India: School Prefect Snatches National Boxing Title. Teacher Meenakshi Subba reports from Siliguri   *   India: Inter-college mega fest champions global peace. Pragya Adhikari reports from Siliguri   *    Philippines: Salesian Family Youth Celebrate Rosary for vocations. Youth Volunteer Jillian B. Belamide reports from Canlubang   *   Vietnam: Remembering Deceased Salesians, celebrating future Salesians. Fr Augustine DuPhuoc reports from Saigon. This episode was produced by Fr. C.M. Paul director of Radio Salesian and Salesian TV with technical assistance of Program director of Salesian TV Mr. Bruno Thapa. "For the latest Asia-Pacific Salesian Family news log on to Don Bosco South Asia portal and the news link as https://donboscosouthasia.org/News  and  www.eao.bosco.lin

Fr. Steve shares with Amy and Vicky about the founding of the Salesians of Don Bosco and the great ability that Don Bosco had to accompany the young from receiving the spirit of Valdocco to living it out themselves. If you want more episodes likes this one, subscribe to join in on the fun! For more information about the Salesian Family please visit: https://salesians.org https://salesiansisters.org https://www.instagram.com/sym_bosco/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SalesiansofDonBosco https://www.facebook.com/salesianym https://www.salesianlaymissioners.org https://www.tiktok.com/@salesiansofdonbosco?lang=en  

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - At the Vatican, Pope Francis will mark the first days of November, a holy and significant season, with prayer and two liturgies. On the solemnity of All Saints on November 1, Pope Francis will give a short address and lead the Angelus, a traditional Marian prayer, from a window overlooking Saint Peter's Square at noon Rome time. Since All Saints' Day falls on a Wednesday this year, Francis will not hold his usual weekly general audience. For All Souls' Day on November 2, he will continue his recent custom of holding a Mass at a cemetery to pray for the dead. The following morning, on November 3, Pope Francis will preside over a Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica for the repose of the soul of Pope Benedict XVI and the bishops and cardinals who have died in the previous year. It is the pope's practice to offer this Mass sometime during the first week of November. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255871/here-is-what-pope-francis-is-doing-for-the-week-of-all-saints-and-all-souls-days An assault at a San Francisco Catholic church on Sunday led to a police pursuit that reportedly included the possible use of a pipe bomb. It happened at Saints Peter and Paul Church, run by the Salesians of Don Bosco of the Western United States. Archdiocesan spokesman Peter Marlow told CNA on Monday that the incident began after an individual received Communion but did not consume the host, and then punched a person who tried to stop him and fled. It is unclear what happened to the Host. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255869/assault-at-san-francisco-catholic-church-leads-to-police-pursuit-reported-pipe-bomb For the first time since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, the Catholic Church of the Holy Land gathered around its patriarch on the feast day of Our Lady, Queen of Palestine and the Holy Land and reconsecrated the local Church and the entire land to her. On Sunday, October 29, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over a Mass at the shrine dedicated to the Blessed Mother in Deir Rafat in the presence of a few hundred faithful. The feast in honor of Our Lady, Queen of Palestine and patroness of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, was first celebrated on August 15, 1928. Since 1971, following the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council, the feast was moved to October 25, and since then, it has been celebrated on the last Sunday of the month. At the end of the Mass, the Act of Consecration of the Holy Land to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was read. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255863/latin-patriarch-of-jerusalem-reconsecrates-holy-land-to-our-lady-queen-of-palestine Today, the Church celebrates Saint Alonso Rodriguez, a man whose humble occupation gave the world only glimpses of his extraordinary holiness. During his lifetime, Jesuit Brother Alonso Rodriguez never became a priest, published a book, or advanced professionally. But writings discovered after his death revealed a true mystic, who attended to a rich spiritual life while he worked as a doorkeeper and porter. Alonso carried bags and ran errands for 46 years. He was declared a saint in 1887. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-alonso-rodriguez-640

When our loved ones, die there doesn't seem much that we can do after the funeral, but for Catholics, this is just the beginning of what we can do our loved ones in eternity. In this episode Jennifer and Andrea sit down with Fr. Chihn Nguyen of the Salesians in Stockton, Ca to discuss the role of the mass, All Saint's Day, and All Souls Day and answer these important questions that so many Christians and Catholics may have about the significant of prayer and Catholic celebrations. We answer some big questions Why do Catholics have masses instead of Celebrations of Life? What's the big deal about the month of November? What's the big deal with the Rosary? and mostly importantly, what we can do for our loved ones to ensure their place in heaven. If you have questions that you'd like to ask Jennifer, Andrea or Fr. Chihn, email us at mourningglorypodcast@gmail.com You can also check out our Instagram or Facebook pages @mourningglorypodcast www.andreabearauthor.com www.jenniferjthomas.com

LINKS Vatican bio of Cardinal STURLA BERHOUET: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_sturla-berhouet_df.html Cardinal STURLA BERHOUET on FIU's Cardinals Database (by Salvadore Miranda): https://cardinals.fiu.edu/bios2015.htm#Sturla Cardinal STURLA BERHOUET on Gcatholic.org: http://www.gcatholic.org/p/47571  Cardinal STURLA BERHOUET on Catholic-Hierarchy.org: https://catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bstbe.html  2015 Salt and Light Media write-up of the then-Cardinal-elect: https://slmedia.org/blog/meet-the-cardinals-daniel-fernando-sturla-berhouet  Archdiocese of Montevideo on Gcatholic.org: http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/mont1.htm?tab=info  Archdiocese of Montevideo on Catholic-Hierarchy.org: https://catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dmovi.html Thank you for listening, and thank my family and friends for putting up with the massive time investment and for helping me out as needed. As always, feel free to email the show at Popeularhistory@gmail.com  If you would like to financially support Popeular history, go to www.patreon.com/Popeular. If you don't have any money to spare but still want to give back, pray and tell others– prayers and listeners are worth more than gold! TRANSCRIPT Welcome to Popeular History, a library of Catholic knowledge and insights brought to you daily. To help make this library as useful as possible, this episode includes show notes with links and a transcript. You might notice that some of those words in the transcript are in capital letters. Those are either flags for me to make sure that I link back to them when I have my audio glossary set up to help you with terms, or they might be my weird phonetic way to help myself with pronunciation as best I can if I forgot to delete those. Either way, enjoy that! Today *isn't* a Saturday, but as we missed our normal Saturday modern cardinal coverage last week due to the consistory, I thought I'd go ahead and bring you the next episode in that ongoing series today, so we don't fall behind our originally planned pacing, because I know a slippery slope when I see one and I am determined to get these cardinals discussed before the next Conclave, whenever that may be. Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet was born on July 4th, 1959 in Montevideo, Uruguay. Located on the southern coast, Montevideo is Uruguay's capital and largest city. When Daniel was still a fetus, Uruguay had the news of its first Cardinal, but this isn't a Rugambwa situation, they have totally different names. I just wanted you to have a sense of some of Uruguay's Catholic history. By all accounts, Catholicism is the largest religion in Uruguay today, though it's not as dominant as you might think– I've seen it noted that Uruguay is actually the least Catholic Latin American country, with Catholics representing between 75 and 45 percent of the population today, depending on who you ask. Uruguay is a smaller country, about half the size of Germany and covered under one archdiocese, that of Montevideo, which we'll be seeing again. Getting back to young Daniel, he was the youngest of five children, and by sixteen he was an orphan. I didn't see a note on who took care of him at that point, my money is on his siblings, some combination of his three sisters named Maria and the oldest, his brother Héctor, who was 22 by that point and would later become a prominent politician. His brother's political involvement would have to wait though, because from 1973 to 1985 Uruguay was ruled by a military Junta of the sort that were common in Latin America during the latter stages of the Cold War. That situation impacted Daniel quite personally when in 1975, he was among the five Jesuits and 33 lay Catholics abducted by soldiers in Montevideo on Good Friday. That's coming from an article by Salt and Light media I have linked in the show notes which is itself based on a book by Italian journalist Nello Scavo. According to Scavo, the situation was resolved with the assistance of an Argentinean Jesuit priest named Jorge Bergoglio, yes, as in the future Pope Francis. As for Daniel, he signed up with the Salesians, joining the order in 1979 and after some theology training- and a bachelor's in civil law- he was ordained a PRIEST on November 21st, 1987. I don't usually check back in with family members after the first few sentences of these episodes, but it's worth noting that in 1990, his brother Héctor reached the peak of his political career with his one-year term as the President of the Chamber of Deputies, which is the Lower House of the General Assembly of Uruguay. Héctor would pass away within a couple of months of the end of his term. Getting back to Fr. Sturla, he carried out a number of roles within the Salesians, many of which were connected to education and new members, including directing the school where he had studied when he joined the order. He also served as a professor of Church history and earned a licentiate in theology from the Soler Theological Institute in 2006. On May 27, 2009, he was elected president of the Conference of Religious of Uruguay (CONFRU), and on December 10th, 2011 he was elected as an AUXILIARY BISHOP for the Archdiocese of Montevideo. In 2014, the previous ARCHBISHOP of Montevideo retired and bishop Sturla became Archbishop Sturla. In 2015, he became the Second Cardinal in Uruguayan history, when Pope Francis elevated him to the rank of Cardinal-Priest and assigned the TITULAR CHURCH of Saint Galla to him. Later that year, he was named member of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life; and of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization. On March 18, 2020, Pope Francis named him member of the Cardinalitial Commission of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, which definitely has its own backstory I'll be getting into at some point here, and on June 1, 2022, the holy father also named him member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Cardinal Sturla is eligible to participate in future conclaves until he turns 80 in 2039. That's enough for today. I'm sure tomorrow will be a banger as we finally, at long last, return to the main narrative and learn more traditions surrounding Deacon Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch for us to analyze further. Thank you for listening, God bless you all.

Solemn High Pods and Solemnities: https://www.popeularhistory.com/episodes/solemn-high-pods  Cardinal-Elect Fernández Artime Catholic-Hierarchy.org: https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bferart.html           Cardinal-Elect Fernández Artime on Gcatholic.org: http://www.gcatholic.org/p/55375 Salesians of Saint John Bosco on Catholic-Hierarchy.org: https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dqsdb.html   Salesians of Saint John Bosco on Gcatholic.org: http://www.gcatholic.org/orders/008.htm Government of Asturias description of Luanco, Fr. Fernández Artime's hometown: https://www.turismoasturias.es/descubre/costa/villas-marineras/marinera-luanco  La Nueva España write up of Fr. Fernández Artime on his appointment as Salesian Rector Major: https://www.lne.es/sociedad/2014/04/27/angel-fernandez-maximo-responsable-salesianos-20050852.html  Interview with his mother: https://www.sdb.org/en/Rector_Major/Documents/Interviews_Comments/Interview_Isabel_Artime_Rector_Major_mother  More bio info via Catholic News Agency: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/29319/salesians-new-leader-worked-with-bergoglio-in-argentina  Aleteia commentary on the Cardinal-Elect and his future plans: https://aleteia.org/2023/09/14/angel-fernandez-artime-a-cardinal-successor-to-don-bosco/  Vatican press coverage of the Angelus announcing the new Cardinals (Italian): https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2023/07/09/0502/01116.html Vatican News bios of the future Cardinals: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-07/get-to-know-the-future-cardinals.html IMAGE CRED: ANS (Agenzia Info Salesiana), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons This episode's image is from Wikipedia since they're pretty chill about image-sharing as long as I credit them and I don't have time to go creating a new image-permission request every day, I've got stuff to talk about. Also, yes, I, a degreed librarian, consult Wikipedia during my research as they are generally a solid aggregator of resources. You have my permission to consult Wikipedia as well, just remember they are not a source in their own right or else citogenesis may occur (P.S. Randall Munroe is a treasure: https://xkcd.com/978/). THANKS AND SUCH: Thank you for listening, and thank my family and friends for putting up with the massive time investment and for helping me out as needed. As always, feel free to email the show at Popeularhistory@gmail.com  If you would like to financially support Popeular history, go to www.patreon.com/Popeular. If you don't have any money to spare but still want to give back, pray and tell others–listeners and prayers are worth more than gold!

Without a brand, your business is already dead. But what is your brand doing for you? This is a great time to develop your brand into something that will bring in a consistent stream of clients.ResourceCheck out Laura's WebsiteReal Estate Marketing DudeThe Listing Advocate (Earn more listings!)REMD on YouTubeREMD on InstagramTranscript:00:00:02:05 - 00:00:28:13UnknownLaura, go ahead and tell my editor for Shownotes name website. All of your social handles, stuff like that. And so it's Laura Griffin and the website is groups within us to leads within Ask.com and the same social media handle. Or you can also do for Instagram. It's Laura Griffin Rail, a tour that's set up while we're talking here.00:00:28:15 - 00:01:59:11UnknownAll right. You ready to rock? Yeah. So you said groups to leads like the number two. No. To gay. I mean, just see. So some visuals and it'll be good to go. Ready, Rock? Yeah. All right. Three, two and one.00:01:59:13 - 00:02:18:11UnknownSo how do you attract new business? You constantly don't have to chase it. Hi, I'm Mike Webmaster Real Estate Marketing in this podcast is all about building a strong personal brand. People have come to know like trust and most importantly, refer. But remember, it is not their job to remember what you do for a living. It's your job to remind them.00:02:18:15 - 00:02:30:14UnknownLet's get started.00:02:30:16 - 00:02:54:03UnknownWhat's up? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. Another episode of the Real Estate Marketing Dude. Podcast books should It's hitting the fan. There are things happening in the marketplace. Mortgage apps are the lowest they've ever been in the history of mortgage apps. What are you going to do? I see nothing but giant opportunity in this marketplace because as agents continue to dwindle and whatnot, it's just a reality of the situation.00:02:54:05 - 00:03:11:19UnknownThe amount of agents leaving the industry is not as large as the number of homes still being transacted. So there's actually a large opportunity there. However, you need to know how to capitalize on that opportunity and anytime there's a shift. Brands are built, all right, Brands are built, and without a brand, you will not survive in this fucking space.00:03:11:19 - 00:03:28:05UnknownI don't care what you say. You need a brand to continue going forward because no one's hiring the realtor for what they do. You're it's a commodity in the consumer's eyes, but they're hiring. You force how you do it, but you have to be thought of first. You have to be top of mind first, and you have to be able to connect with people because you're no longer a real estate agent.00:03:28:05 - 00:03:55:11UnknownYour damn media company been screaming this since 2014 and I've been damn right we have probably Today show one of the best brands I've seen and we just met like, I don't know, Laura, we haven't talked before. We've met for what? Laura At 4 minutes? Yeah. 30. But I could tell you just from browsing on her website right here, her brand is one of the best I've ever seen positioned wise, especially for a real estate agent.00:03:55:13 - 00:04:15:24UnknownAnd she positions herself as a mom. And I bet you Laura can probably charge me an 8% commission and I wouldn't give a shit. I'd probably still hire her because I could connect with her so much. And there's a difference between people. Like when people are hiring you, they're hiring you for how you do things and more importantly, what you stand for.00:04:15:24 - 00:04:34:24UnknownBut it's ultimately the way you make them feel. And your brand is the direct reflection of that. The reason why I'm harping on this so much is because right now, developing your brand is going to be easier than when the market's hot. So when you're when people are like, look how many realtors stop doing video in the last time, I'm telling you, I used to do videos for hundreds of realtors.00:04:34:24 - 00:04:54:03UnknownI lost over 75% of my business in the shift and the amount of people leaving, that just it's a vacuum for attention on social media. It's a vacuum to get your face out there, because regardless of what happens when people are pulling back on their budgets, this is when you double down. But if you don't have a brand to go with it, it's going to fall on deaf ears.00:04:54:05 - 00:05:12:06UnknownSo what I want to focus this show on is how to really develop your brand and what a better example than to have Laura Griffin here today and share with us exactly how she I don't think Laura sells real estate. I think she's a mom that happens to sell real estate on the side. At least that's the way her brand is positioned.00:05:12:06 - 00:05:35:15UnknownAnd this is an unbelievable way that she's doing it from her fonts to whatever the colors are really good or sharp, but she's doing it. She did this in a cold market because she literally went to a brand new cold market, new Nobody didn't buy any leads but focused on her own personal brand, adapted that to her business, built a Facebook group and now she's talking, crushing it.00:05:35:17 - 00:05:58:14UnknownWithout further ado, let's go ahead and introduce our guests, Ms.. Laura Griffin. Laura, once say hello to everybody and tell us a little bit about who is Laura. Quick story. Where'd you go? Where you at? Where are you from? Hi, everybody. Thank you so much for that introduction when he was Laura Griffin, I'm a real estate agent, and then the Northern Virginia areas, which is my inside Washington, D.C., we moved to this area, Oh, gosh, almost 12 years ago.00:05:58:14 - 00:06:18:19UnknownMy husband was military, retired and worked for the government. And so we moved from Northern California to Northern Virginia. I didn't know anybody. I was in the corporate world, in the banking industry as a bank manager. I had my daughter that I got to be a stay at home mom. This is going to be great. And I failed at it.00:06:18:21 - 00:06:34:12UnknownAfter a few months, I was like, I think I need something to do. And I had been in the real estate industry in California in a different capacity and called the who's now my broker, who sold us our house. And they said, have they contacted real estate? How does this work? What I need to do a lot, a lot.00:06:34:14 - 00:06:55:23UnknownAnd so he hired me and said, Hey, I'm hiring my team, which later turned into a brokerage and up a thousand plus agents in our area. And I was on his team. He was our team lead, and they gave us some online Zillow and Zillow and Facebook ads, all these different things. And I quickly realized that was not my jam.00:06:56:00 - 00:07:13:23UnknownAnd if you ask him, I probably lost him thousands of dollars. And with a young child, I couldn't pick up the phone. It was like speed delete, right? And I'd always fail because there was no way I could call that Lee. The first second it came in and keep calling. And, you know, my daughter was little and and all these things and I hated it.00:07:14:00 - 00:07:31:08UnknownAnd I hated doing open houses on Sundays because I had a little child. And that was the day my husband was off to his job. And so it was like, I don't want to give up my weekends. And so I start going to mommy me classes. And I was like, I really like this networking thing. And ended up starting a Facebook group in our area for local moms.00:07:31:08 - 00:07:45:06UnknownAnd it's county wide because there are areas the county made more sense when you started that not to interrupt you, but when you started that group was real estate in mind or you just wanted to connect with other moms, just wanted other moms to go coffee with you. Because I was born, I didn't know anybody. We had no family.00:07:45:06 - 00:08:04:10UnknownWe no friends. Like it was more self-serving. It sounds really bad, but it was self-serving. I wanted I wanted friends. Okay. I'm going to bring that up in a minute. Write that down. Okay. So I wanted to friends and I had like a handful of friends I'd meet at a hospital, mom's group, and I ended up into the group and it was just like night, you know, like my kids aren't sleeping.00:08:04:10 - 00:08:21:08UnknownWhat do I do? Kind of things. And I thought, no one's going to join this group, and my friends join a few their friends over and a whole bunch of people started joining and it kind of snowballed into this thing. We're just about it. I have little mini groups too, so if you count the mini groups, we're out over 12 are over 12,000 members.00:08:21:10 - 00:08:40:12UnknownAnd I slowly realized I was better placed to face connecting and people thought I was some sort of a local celebrity. Like people will stop me at Target or the farmer's market. My kids just go, Oh my God, I please stop. And these people want to talk to me because I'm a celebrity. And I was realizing that they already knew, liked and trusted me and they were comfortable with me.00:08:40:12 - 00:08:59:16UnknownAnd so I was getting all clients that were moms with little children because they could relate to me. And I can relate to them. And their transaction with children is a little bit different than if you're downsizing or you're a first time home buyer. And most of them are trade up clients because they've little kids. They outgrew their house and they're buying a bigger home.00:08:59:16 - 00:09:24:02UnknownAnd so I started realizing that my group was powerful and I started utilizing that as my lead source and threw in a few events here. And I have a Santa event and things like that that started leveraging my group and growing it and putting in content that would not let me like stand up and say, Hey, I'm a real estate agent every 5 minutes in my group, but it's weaved into it and it's weaved into my weekly nurture system that they all get every week.00:09:24:04 - 00:09:41:00UnknownSo that way they know that I'm a realtor and it's easy. They call when someone wants to buy or sell a house, they call me and it's a nice feeling. I'm not chasing the lead like I was with the online leads. This sounds so easy and would unpack a couple of things. First, I want to deal with everyone's objections and it's free.00:09:41:02 - 00:10:00:09UnknownYeah, it's a free leads are store, which is something that is unique. So let's focus and let's unpack this because you're sitting on your treadmill right now. You're like 12,000 people. I'm not that interesting, right? That's the first thing that people say. I'm not that interesting. No one's going to pay attention to me. Well, everyone says the same thing about video, too, but I've yet to see an agent that does video consistently.00:10:00:09 - 00:10:19:08UnknownThat's not crushing it. And the reason for that is just a matter of attention. And this entire industry is based upon attention. It's a popularity contest. The best agent doesn't get the damn deal. The most popular one does. Yeah, that's nine times out of ten. 9.5. I would say 9.9 times out of ten. It's no differently in any other industry like the best lawyer.00:10:19:08 - 00:10:39:15UnknownI'm doing a ton of attorney work right now on a ton of videos with the attorneys, and the best attorney doesn't get the job, the best marketed one does. And it's the same in every single industry, you guys. But marketing without a brand falls on deaf ears. You're just a salesperson chasing a truck and you're pitching someone on your services about why they should buy or sell you, which is why the key to this whole brand that you did.00:10:39:15 - 00:10:56:23UnknownAnd I don't know if you knew what you were really onto, but it's genius because she didn't like develop this. If you look back at her story really quick, she in developed this like on a whim. She's like, I want to create a group of people that I connect with first right now, most real estate agents will come out first objection.00:10:56:23 - 00:11:15:02UnknownThey're going to have their income on say, Oh, if I'm going to position myself as a mom, well, I'm going to turn off the fucking dads. That's the first thing that agents are going to say, right? No, doesn't happen. Or hey, if I'm just working for just a mom, then I'm going to turn off this group or I'm going to do this.00:11:15:04 - 00:11:37:11UnknownLook, guys, I called myself a marketing dude and I fucking crushed it. And it's because I connected with people on a level. And the reality is, is that your brand should turn some people off. And if it's not meant to connect with every single person, because if it was, you would call yourself God. Yeah, true. So so like she she identifies.00:11:37:11 - 00:11:54:20UnknownSo what's your tribe? Look at your own business. Who do you connect with? See the brand and your content strategy. Really, what she's developing is she developed a content strategy formulated within a group, but it first starts by who's group entry? Who do I really connect with? What are you what do you do on the weekends? What do you really do on the weekends if you don't have to work?00:11:54:20 - 00:12:06:18UnknownAnd if you won the lottery but you can't move anywhere you're living in, you're stuck in a town you live in. That's the answer with whom you communicate with those 5 to 10 people you put yourself in a room with, hang out with them for the rest of your life because you don't need to worry about money anymore.00:12:06:21 - 00:12:29:10UnknownWell, that's what you build your basis about. What would you guys talk about? There's your content strategy 100%. And if you look at my group's demographics through the insights, because I'll be honest, I'm 41 and my group mainly is 35 to 44 age group. We're all moms. Most of us have two children. Most of our children under ten, which is me.00:12:29:10 - 00:12:53:04UnknownI have a ten and a seven and a half year old. And I, I will say I speak their language. And what I'm yes, the reason I'll get the call oftentimes is I understand this is going to be a shit show of us selling our own small townhome, upgrading to a bigger house. We got kids and dogs and there's like toy throw up all of our house and yeah, like we don't know what to do, but they call me because I understand it and I've lived it.00:12:53:04 - 00:13:14:07UnknownI mean, we've moved nine times this year to military. I'm going to gas you guys are up like Quantico or not. Yeah, no. As it's medically retired now, but and then I have two children and I'll say one has ADHD and autism and my other son is has ADHD as well. But it's like, I understand this like, yeah, it's going to be a shitshow.00:13:14:09 - 00:13:33:06UnknownYes, it is, but I can help you with it. And they feel comfortable with me and, and, and I will say it's always the wife that calls me, never the husband. But also when people are relocating into the area, the name of my group, the secret sauce to it is if you're going to start a group, it has to be your city, town, county, neighborhood in the name.00:13:33:06 - 00:13:49:13UnknownSo mine is loud and moms because I live in London County. So whether you're Dallas, Texas or Sacramento or whatever, you know, it should be moms or community group or whatever. But what happens is people that are relocating to our area, which we have a lot of government here near D.C., so people are relooking all the time. The first thing is the white kids on the computer.00:13:49:15 - 00:14:09:19UnknownShe searches for Moms group in our area. So I get all the relocation people because smart because they know they're they're searching this area and they find my moms group so I'm super smart. And what are the first questions that somebody who's moving into an area asks where the schools, how are the neighborhoods? Because my kids go outside and play at the park.00:14:09:21 - 00:14:27:09UnknownIs it safe? Daycare? Yeah. Where's the daycare? How much does it cost? Right. So like you could see the content strategy, but that's just stuff you're talking about anyways, isn't it? As you live lives, are you really thinking that hard or are you really just being you? Yeah. And a percent and I have content, I have a kind of a calendar and I have a content strategy.00:14:27:09 - 00:14:46:20UnknownAnd I will say I rotate my question. I have questions that I will post in a group. So stay active and there are questions that I'll post like I want. And some of them I'll do just a data data mine, my group, because I want to know. So sometimes I'll post what's the one thing in your town today, whether it's here that you want to change?00:14:46:20 - 00:15:07:09UnknownIf you could change anything about your home today, what's the one thing you would change? And it's so golden because people will comment, Oh, we're having a new baby and he knows how to get kind of smile. Okay, There's a lead. Yeah, you're just like ending. And if I know your name, I probably got your email when you joined the group with you gave it to me and or and, or I can kind of look you up in the database with our MLS.00:15:07:10 - 00:15:25:24UnknownI can find you. And so it's, it's positioning it's you're able to data mine and find people in your group that will be leads for you. Yep. Which is really easy to do. So let's get we get the group and let's get into contact now I'm the folks by okay so we have a you know you have a group, you have a group people.00:15:25:24 - 00:15:48:07UnknownNow can you tell them why forming a group is so important versus just posting them on your personal page or a business page first? Yeah. And so about it was in June of this year. I had Home Depot on the first weekend, I think Lowe's as the first Saturday of every month, they do a kids workshop. I was on my way and I posted this on my Facebook business pages.00:15:48:07 - 00:16:03:18UnknownI'm on my way to a listening appointment. It's the first Saturday my kids want. I forget what it was, I think was like a treasure box or something. We go to many times in a year and I'm hanging out with my kids, make it a treasure box on my way to a listing appointment. And I took pictures of me and the kids at Home Depot putting this thing together, and my husband did most of the work, I'll be honest.00:16:03:20 - 00:16:19:10UnknownAnd I posted on my business page, I think 100 people saw it if even I posted it in the group. So first of all, they were saying, I'm a mom, I'm relatable. There's a free activity going on right now which is giving value. Number three is he she's a real estate agent because she's going to a let's an appointment in Ashburn on her way.00:16:19:10 - 00:16:44:01UnknownThis is what she's doing in my group. Over 6000 people saw it. So 6000 people saw it. A ton of people commented and interacted with the post versus a hundred people on my business page. And the reason why is Facebook is pushing more people towards groups. They're putting a ton of money towards community and building community. And yeah, I could have put on my page and boosted it or didn't add to it, but this was organic free traffic.00:16:44:02 - 00:16:59:16UnknownAnd so people not only know I'm a mom, I'm relatable, but I'm a real estate agent. So it was free advertising, love it, ongoing content, like there's 30 days in a month, guys. So when you're creating a content calendar, it's on an annual and it's 30 times 12. It's a lot more easier to like, get your head around that right?00:16:59:16 - 00:17:17:11UnknownDon't don't fucking don't put yourself out the window before you even get in the car right. So walk me through like how you do your content strategy. Like, what do I post? What's the best stuff to post and groups? What's the cadence? Frequency all the above. Go ahead and spill the beans. So I look at my insights, right?00:17:17:11 - 00:17:31:12UnknownAnd I look at it a month that it's time I have some posts that I know are really popular and I'll and I keep a it's not fancy. It doesn't have to be fantastic. I have a Google sheet. It's like a word doc in Google and I keep track of like what was really popular and I'll put an asterisk around it.00:17:31:17 - 00:17:49:20UnknownSometimes it's it's community based, right? So hey, there is this reactivity or this, this new pizza parlor that's opening. Some of it is just engagement post like drop your like drop your favorite gif of how your morning went with your kids. People love that. Like, who doesn't have their favorite gift of a you know, because no one's morning ever goes great.00:17:49:20 - 00:18:09:00UnknownI mean, my house never does. And so I sprinkle in a little bit that spring on a little bit of real estate and I also one thing in my group is I have guides. So if you're relocating to the area, there's a relocation guide. If you're looking to buy a house, there's a buyer's guide and it's linked to my My idea site.00:18:09:02 - 00:18:27:20UnknownIf you're thinking of selling, there's a seller's guide and it's linked to my What's your homework that my broker gives us. So I get all those leads. I have guides for even more community based things like the ten things. You know, when you're interviewing a daycare in the area different and things like best parks, best firework locations, best going into fall, best pumpkin patches, stuff like that.00:18:27:20 - 00:18:48:05UnknownAnd I'll post that stuff in there, not only excuse me as a content, but it's also giving back to your community and providing value. Yep. And every single like here's the thing with like you guys years are real estate agents, right? You sell houses, but you don't sell the house before you sell the community. The house like is on, right?00:18:48:05 - 00:19:00:21UnknownSo that when it comes to content strategy, it's really just be a fucking tour guide. Like, let's not overthink this. Like literally just be a tour guide in this case, like, I'm looking at like you could be on a showing and just to give you guys some ideas, as a mom, how does the mob go to market it?00:19:01:02 - 00:19:22:17UnknownWell, showcase take pictures of yourself in the cutest kids rooms. The next houses you're going in, right? Focus on how far the communities are. You know, when when you sell a house, it's no longer just listed, just sold. It's going to be more like probably, hey, the Jones family just moved in here and their kids are just about to start Carillo Elementary School for the first time and they're relocating them.00:19:22:17 - 00:19:44:23UnknownHey, guys, can you give them a warm welcome like it's about if you realize everything she's doing is just storytelling and stuff she's already doing, and she's just taken this little six inch device out of her purse and snapping it and documenting it. That's what social media is, isn't it? It is. And you know, it like even just like the pumpkin patches.00:19:44:23 - 00:19:56:07UnknownI don't know how many moms are relocating or moving or in our area. And they're like, oh my God, thank you so much for this thing. It's like it's like my AM and five minute to Google research all. We just update it once a year. I've done it. We did it one year and we just kind of recycle it.00:19:56:07 - 00:20:12:24UnknownObviously, we have to tweak a few things, but it's providing value and they appreciate it and they know that I know what I'm talking about, right? So it builds up that know like and trust factor within the group. And then like I said, yeah, it's a little bit of real estate, but not raising my hand like I'm a real estate.00:20:13:01 - 00:20:28:06UnknownIt's real estate, it's value based like community things and it's a little bit of fun and engagement. I like to have a little bit of fun. That's why we do it. Like drop your favorite gift or, you know, my morning was a shit show when I was your and people do. That's the best you to get the region.00:20:28:08 - 00:20:43:10UnknownYeah, the best the best contents. Probably like when you're before your shower, your hair is all over the place. You got bags underneath your eyes. You look like shit and you're in your pajamas, right? That's going to be the video or the content that performs the best. And the reason is because everyone can relate to it. We all been there, and that's the key.00:20:43:10 - 00:20:59:13UnknownI was like, Authenticity is what always attracts. And if you can't find a way to be authentic, you just have the wrong brand or you need to dial it in, right? Like you have to be able to be you to do this successfully because if you weren't a mom, would. How hard would this be to do like you could it?00:20:59:15 - 00:21:14:23UnknownI can't run house group Yeah I can't wear on your mom's group before you even though I get it, I understand exactly what you're doing. I would be a fraud. Yeah, and there is some ages I've seen Start them in like you're not a mom and you're in a No offense, but it's like you're early. 28 year ago.00:21:14:23 - 00:21:34:07UnknownYou haven't lived this life. You don't understand this. And when clients talk to you about selling their house with children, you're not going to be able to have that conversation. Like I can with. Yeah, I know there's 23 up in every room of my house and you have to hide it, like shove it in something. So when people are showing your house, they don't see it everywhere and you know, it's it's been relatable.00:21:34:07 - 00:21:49:19UnknownAnd so whether I mean, maybe you're not a mom, maybe you're, you know, your military spouse or maybe you there was another agent I talked to recently. They have a foodie group in their area. They just love food. That's love. That's great. A ton of people joining that group and they're just and different restaurants because they're a foodie.00:21:49:22 - 00:22:04:19UnknownBut I'm not a flipside. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I mean, that's like, you know, we do a ton of business owner interviews and they lead to a ton of business, offer a lot of referrals just because it's not about telling people what you do, it's about reminding them what you do and when people are going to buy or sell.00:22:04:19 - 00:22:26:16UnknownLike, let's just do the numbers on your group. All right? Out of those 12,000 members you have, how many of them are local to Is it London and louder, It's a Virgin Virginia. Get loud moms like that would be fun. You got the loud and moms That's cool and that and that one yeah How many are local in the area would you guess?00:22:26:22 - 00:22:46:06Unknown12,000 members in our county. There's a little over 500,000 people. Okay. So out of these 12,000 members are. You think they're all live in this area? I'm listening to a few are relocation. So maybe they're outside of the state and they're just getting digesting content And what's the county about that almost, I would say probably 95% live here.00:22:46:08 - 00:23:12:08UnknownSo here's an an I don't know if you mind sharing these, but like what type of how many how much business is coming out of this thing. Last year did $22 million in sales. Damn. I mean, what's the average sales price for single family? About seven 5800. And then like a townhome about 500,000. So out of those 12,000 members, these are the stats because none of the stuff is theory that we're talking about a lot of people's big oh, branding is theory.00:23:12:08 - 00:23:36:05UnknownHow do you measure it? You'll never be able to exactly measure it, but 10 to 15% of those 12,000 members are moving this year. Most don't know it as she stated earlier, some of them are going to get pregnant, have to upgrade their house. Some are working to get relocated out of the area. But 100% of the people within that group, all 12,000 members of them, have the ability to refer you at least one deal per year.00:23:36:07 - 00:23:55:14UnknownSo it's never about trying to reach 300,000 people. That's the mentality that happens when you go to like the Mike vary conference isn't like oh go sell cold pork all and then until you're blue in the face right and just want to shoot yourself but out of these you don't need a large database. You need an engaged one guys, because 100% of the 12,000 people know someone who's moving.00:23:55:18 - 00:24:13:03UnknownBut just out of those 12,000 people, 10 to 15% of them are moving themselves and most of them don't even know it. Yeah, those are the industry stats. So it's not a matter of if people move, it's a matter of when because it's a life event. And despite whether the interest rates are going to at 8%, 7%, 12%, 20%, who cares?00:24:13:05 - 00:24:33:06UnknownPeople are still going to have life events that cause them to move. And the easiest way and the least expensive way is to attract them. Exactly. And I nurture that. And you have to nurture these people, too. I mean, I had a client this year that called me. Is it I mean, getting your emails once a week for three years, but now we're ready to sell our buy one.00:24:33:06 - 00:24:48:16UnknownAnd so it's it's staying in front of them because they may not be buying or selling today, but they will. And if you keep saying in front of them, they're going to they're going to realize it's all it is. How long how much does it cost you to stay in an email, contact with them, and then it cost you any extra time over that three year period.00:24:48:18 - 00:25:04:04UnknownSo I just so this last 15 months, I started doing a weekly email and I had to be honest, I am not the best writer, so I had a copywriter help me with it. I came up with the content what I wanted. I mean, anyone could use like chat, CBT or something like that if you really wanted to.00:25:04:06 - 00:25:25:21UnknownSo I paid the the copywriter. It was about $1,000 for the emails. Not bad. And then I have them in a we use active campaigns, I've got them in an email system. And so I mean, we're talking it's an hour maybe it costs me $1,000 to stay in front end to do that. And those e-mails are going to get kind of recycled after the 15 months is over.00:25:25:21 - 00:25:43:23UnknownSo it's not that expensive. And then I just throw one event per year. It's not that expensive. So let's break these two down email. It's emails. So many people don't nurture an email like we we nurture one. Our whole our whole system is one video email month with your face talking just about community events, local news and whatnot.00:25:43:23 - 00:26:01:21UnknownRight. And it's not it's just about the the reminding touch but emails another channel because you can't assume there's so many people who are just on social media like, oh, I'm just on Facebook. That's all I need. I just need Facebook. No, you don't. You're missing a lot of other opportunity are using direct mail to by any chance.00:26:01:23 - 00:26:18:03UnknownYes. So I have an email. All right. I'm sorry, a postcard that goes out once a month and then I kind of tweak it every once if I see people having like so I see people having life events and things. We start having my and then my son will go through and look at the tax roll and kind of go, okay, well, I know they live in this town.00:26:18:03 - 00:26:37:02UnknownSo this, you know, Susie Q has got to be that Susie Q in this town. And then we start mailing them content like it air, land and sea. And I might as well just take a commercial break because that is exactly what referral suite does. We help market your database through video email, direct mail and give you all the social media content each month so you can stay in front of them and take an omnipresent approach.00:26:37:02 - 00:26:58:13UnknownSo people stop forgetting you're in real estate. Back to show. So this is really, really, really interesting. I love it. This is my entire business model. Always has been. I love what you're doing. Like this is I just it's fantastic. And I wish more people would implement exactly what you're doing because it's not rocket science, is it now?00:26:58:13 - 00:27:18:04UnknownAnd it's free. You don't need to pay to do is a Facebook group and backed it. The last few years I've been getting asked from a lot of agents around the country like, how do you do this? Can you help me set up a group and things like that? So I actually just transitioned into doing I have a course on how to set up your Facebook group, how to grow your Facebook group, because that's what everyone's scared about.00:27:18:04 - 00:27:34:05UnknownLike no one's going to join. They will join if it's set up right and you have good content and it's named appropriately. And then I talk about how to nurture your group and how to utilize it to get leads, because ultimately that's that's why you're setting up the group is you're building your know like and trust factor so that you can get leads and they'll call you to help them buy or sell a house or rent.00:27:34:07 - 00:28:02:04UnknownYeah, it's just a matter of when they do. I mean, literally, guys, it is. And the bigger the group goes, the more engaged is, the better. But I want you to catch one other thing that she said and then we could get this week wrapped up a she's she's disciplined and building an audience you guys and you have to you don't know when the person on that list or the individual senior email is ever ever even going to return the favor.00:28:02:04 - 00:28:21:03UnknownIt's not about that but it's about and it's not also about trying to sell them something with every bit of communication. It's about trying to add value with every bit of communication and just sort of small little jab. Hey, don't forget I'm in real estate. Don't forget I'm in real estate. Hey, guess what? I'm in real estate. Don't forget to say you don't need to say it right.00:28:21:03 - 00:28:41:12UnknownYou could do this stuff just by simply inferring it. And you can't always talk about work with your list, with your database. You can't talk about work all the time with social media. Your wife will divorce you if you do, and you need to actually, like, go out and nurture people with human related content. So my point is, is cut the commission breath stuff off.00:28:41:12 - 00:29:09:22UnknownIt's not going to work. It doesn't work. Commission breath is contagious. We feel it. We see it. People see it. More importantly, like it looks desperate. You don't need to do it, though. What other any other tips you want to add to this? Because this is. I think you nailed it. Yeah. I mean, if anything, I am always happy if anyone wants to figure out how to how to set up a group or has passions about it, they can go to groups to lead WSJ.com.00:29:09:24 - 00:29:25:16UnknownAnd I can you know, they can there's a free webinar. It's groups to leads back slash webinar, and you can get a little bit of information. And then we've I've also got the course if you want to dive into a little bit further and how do I nurture people and how do I data them by my groups who didn't get leads?00:29:25:18 - 00:29:44:24UnknownThat's on there as well. Script Slate.com. And because like I said, you know, I see so often real estate is like, I knew, I don't know what I'm doing and blah, blah, blah. And I don't have a lot of money to put towards marketing. I get it. I was there to start a Facebook or it's free, it's easy, and if you nurture it, it'll grow and you know, it may not it's not going to be one of the things.00:29:45:00 - 00:30:08:06UnknownBut you start today and you're these leads. It's the long game, right? Yeah. And I think so often we get distracted with shiny penny things, but if you play the long game and you're not standing up every time and saying, I'm a real estate agent and using it as a billboard, but using it smartly as a billboard for your business, the leads will come to you because people will see the genuine person and they get to know.00:30:08:06 - 00:30:23:00UnknownThey get to know you better, like people know and they know my kids. Like when they stop and see me on the street, they know that's great and or that's Madison. Creepy as it is, but or they'll say, Hey, you know, my son has the same vision thing that your son has, and they'll ask me questions, which leads into the conversation of real estate.00:30:23:02 - 00:30:43:08UnknownSo it's used, you know, using my own way. I'm using my children to get business, but it's because they know and like and trust me and I'm a mom and I'm relatable. And I'm also not that scary, right? I you know, I oftentimes will see, you know, people real estate they're really Salesians up. That may be something that's scary to some of these people, whereas I'm just more approachable in my jeans, just hanging out.00:30:43:08 - 00:31:04:02UnknownThey can come and approach me and ask me questions. So it's about being relatable to your target audience. And my target audience is a mirror of me. Yeah, well put. That's a that's a really good way to look at your target audience is a mirror of yourself because people hang out with people just like them. It's just the way we're wired, you know, You don't go out and hang out with someone completely opposite of you.00:31:04:02 - 00:31:21:09UnknownLike you don't see me on Friday nights hanging out with the dude, with the shaved head, tats, earrings and doing drugs all night, you know, like, that's not my crowd. So it's like, Come on, guys, I pick your crowd. You know what your crowd is? Just be you love it. This is a really good episode. And folks, if you like exactly what should go check her out.00:31:21:13 - 00:31:44:00UnknownIt's groups two leads dot com. Check out the Facebook group and whatnot and we appreciate you listening Another episode if you really liked the content we talked about, I want you to go visit referral suite dot com as referral sweet e-comm and it's a database referral marketing system. All it is, it's very simple. It takes about an hour, 2 hours, maybe maximum to utilize and it'll keep you in front of your databases through direct mail, video, email and social media.00:31:44:00 - 00:31:59:23UnknownAnd you won't have to think about what to say because we even give you that to build the audience. It's the only recession proof business model there is. I've been in I gave you this with the last 20 years of experience, guys, so go visit that and check out Laura stuff. She shared a lot of valuable content today.00:32:00:00 - 00:32:19:06UnknownThanks. Listen other up, so don't forget to subscribe like CUBIT and visit us on the rest of our social channel and we'll see you guys next week. Picks. Thank you for watching another episode of the Real Estate Marketing Do Podcast. If you need help with video or finding out what your brand is. Visit our website at WW w dot real estate marketing dude dot com.00:32:19:09 - 00:32:34:23UnknownWe make branding and video content creation simple and do everything for you. So if you have any additional questions, visit the site, download the training and then schedule time to speak with the dude and get you rolling in your local marketplace. Thanks for watching another episode of the podcast. We'll see you next time.

Welcome back to Valdocco! Fr. Steve and Vicky sit with Brother Hubert Twagirayezu, SDB. Br. Hubert is from Rwanda but is studying finance at Iona University in New Rochelle. He shares his story about meeting the Salesians and how the generosity of people inspired him to be generous with his life and eventually become a Salesian Brother. Here is another example of how big and beautiful our Salesian family really is...from New York to Rwanda! Enjoy!   If you liked this episode, would you mind sharing it with a friend?  Remember, you can always send us an email at symbosco@gmail.com If you want more episodes likes this one, subscribe to join in on the fun! For more information about the Salesian Family please visit: https://salesians.org https://salesiansisters.org https://www.instagram.com/sym_bosco/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SalesiansofDonBosco https://www.facebook.com/salesianym https://www.salesianlaymissioners.org https://www.tiktok.com/@salesiansofdonbosco?lang=en  

HEADLINES : 9th to 15th July 2023 — Rome : Rector Major nominated Cardinal, Consistory on 30th September. Fr. Harris Pakkam reports from Rome   *   India : Salesian Family Joins Peace Concert for violence hit Manipur. Television Anchor Miss Abiegail Kharmylliem reports from Shillong   *   India : Toyota, Salesians collaborate in “Skill India Mission.” Faculty member Miss Davida Paswet reports from Shillong   *    India : Students plant trees in five acre plot. Fr Vanga Joseph reports from Warangal   *  Philippines : Salesians, Sisters hold National Youth Assembly Days. Fr Keith Amodia reports from Cebu    *   Papua New Guinea : 200 attend Wantok Bosco Youth Camp. Miss Patrina Kaboanga reports from Boroko    *   Thailand : Thai students visit Salesian Schools in Hong Kong. Miss Panita Manosantipap reports. This episode was produced by Fr. C.M. Paul director of Radio Salesian and Salesian TV with technical assistance of Program director of Salesian TV Mr. Bruno Thapa. "For the latest Asia-Pacific Salesian Family news log on to Don Bosco South Asia portal and the news link as https://donboscosouthasia.org/News  and  www.eao.bosco.lin

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Lectionary: 573The Saint of the day is Saint Joseph CafassoSaint Joseph Cafasso's story Even as a young man, Joseph loved to attend Mass and was known for his humility and fervor in prayer. After his ordination, he was assigned to a seminary in Turin. There he worked especially against the spirit of Jansenism—an excessive preoccupation with sin and damnation. He used the works of Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Alphonsus Liguori to moderate the rigorism popular at the seminary. Joseph recommended membership in the Secular Franciscan Order to priests. He urged devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and encouraged daily Communion. In addition to his teaching duties, Joseph was an excellent preacher, confessor, and retreat master. Noted for his work with condemned prisoners, he helped many of them die at peace with God. Joseph urged one of his former pupils—Saint John Bosco—to establish the Salesians congregation to work with the youth of Turin. Joseph Cafasso died in 1860, and was canonized in 1947. His liturgical feast is celebrated on June 23. Reflection Devotion to the Eucharist gave energy to all Joseph's other activities. Long prayer before the Blessed Sacrament has been characteristic of many Catholics who have lived out the gospel well: Saint Francis, Bishop Fulton Sheen, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, and Saint Teresa of Calcutta among them. Saint Joseph Cafasso is the Patron Saint of: PrisonersPrussia Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

YouTube = https://youtu.be/03VjzymNYt0  HEADLINES : 21st to 27th May 2023 —  Sri Lanka : Workshop on Youth Ministry held for young Salesians. Fr. Sebagnanam Jesudasan reports from Mankulam   *   East Timor : 15 youth join Salesian Cooperators. Fr. Jolino Vieira reports from Dili   *   India - Summer Camp Helps Vulnerable Children Learn Arts and Cultivate Dreams. Merbin Joy reports from Chennai   *   India : New Don Bosco College opens with 8 Departments. Associate Professor Dr Mary Binu reports from Bangalore. This episode was produced by Fr. C.M. Paul director of Radio Salesian and Salesian TV with technical assistance of Program director of Salesian TV Mr. Bruno Thapa. "For the latest Asia-Pacific Salesian Family news log on to Don Bosco South Asia portal and the news link as https://donboscosouthasia.org/News  and  www.eao.bosco.lin

YOUTUBE : https://youtu.be/6l7M_ycN4sI  HEADLINES : 26th March to 1st April 2023 — India : 38 Salesians from two southern theologates ordained deacons. Merbin Joy reports from Chennai   *   India : 90 Widows get Livelihood support. Fr. Joseph Charles reports from Tiruchy   *   India : 27 Seminarians graduate in Philosophy. Fr Dickson Eugene reports from Aluva   *   India : Psychospiritual Wholeness Centre marks 20 years. Founder Director Fr Jose Parapully reports from Jharjmari in Punjab   *    Myanmar : Training Held For Planning and Development Officers. Fr Andrea Maung Maung reports from Anisakan   *    Papua New Guinea : Strenna Theme Inspires Community Day Events. Cleric Thomas Warawara reports from Kokopo. This episode was produced by Fr. C.M. Paul director of Radio Salesian and Salesian TV with technical assistance of Program director of Salesian TV Mr. Bruno Thapa. "For the latest Asia-Pacific Salesian Family news log on to Don Bosco South Asia portal and the news link as https://donboscosouthasia.org/News  and  www.eao.bosco.lin 

Full Text of Readings[DAY TITLE]The Saint of the day is Saint John BoscoSaint John Bosco's Story John Bosco's theory of education could well be used in today's schools. It was a preventive system, rejecting corporal punishment and placing students in surroundings removed from the likelihood of committing sin. He advocated frequent reception of the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion. He combined catechetical training and fatherly guidance, seeking to unite the spiritual life with one's work, study and play. Encouraged during his youth in Turin to become a priest so he could work with young boys, John was ordained in 1841. His service to young people started when he met a poor orphan in Turin, and instructed him in preparation for receiving Holy Communion. He then gathered young apprentices and taught them catechism. After serving as chaplain in a hospice for working girls, Don Bosco opened the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales for boys. Several wealthy and powerful patrons contributed money, enabling him to provide two workshops for the boys, shoemaking and tailoring. By 1856, the institution had grown to 150 boys and had added a printing press for publication of religious and catechetical pamphlets. John's interest in vocational education and publishing justify him as patron of young apprentices and Catholic publishers. John's preaching fame spread and by 1850 he had trained his own helpers because of difficulties in retaining young priests. In 1854, he and his followers informally banded together, inspired by Saint Francis de Sales. With Pope Pius IX's encouragement, John gathered 17 men and founded the Salesians in 1859. Their activity concentrated on education and mission work. Later, he organized a group of Salesian Sisters to assist girls. Reflection John Bosco educated the whole person—body and soul united. He believed that Christ's love and our faith in that love should pervade everything we do—work, study, play. For John Bosco, being a Christian was a full-time effort, not a once-a-week, Mass-on-Sunday experience. It is searching and finding God and Jesus in everything we do, letting their love lead us. Yet, because John realized the importance of job-training and the self-worth and pride that come with talent and ability, he trained his students in the trade crafts, too. Saint John Bosco is a Patron Saint of: BoysEditorsEducators/TeachersYouth Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Friends of the Rosary: Today is the Memorial Day of St. John Bosco, an Italian priest (1815-1888) who was also known as Don Bosco. He founded the Society of St. Francis de Sales (Salesians) and the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, which is also known as the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Auxiliatrix. St. John Bosco was a gifted educator, innovator, and leader, who was known for his authentic religiosity, reasoning, kindness, and love for young boys and girls. During that time, Italy's nationalist movement made life difficult for religious orders, and its anti-clerical attitudes even led to assassination attempts against Don Bosco. However, such hostility did not stop the Salesians from expanding in Europe and beyond. By the end of Don Bosco's life, they were helping 130,000 children in 250 houses. Don Bosco stated, “I have done nothing by myself. Our Lady has done everything” through her intercession with God. St. John Bosco passed away in the early hours of January 31, 1888, after conveying a message, “Tell the boys that I shall be waiting for them all in Paradise.” Don Bosco was canonized 44 years after his death and was named “teacher and father to the young” by Pope John Paul II. He is considered the patron saint of young people, apprentices, and Catholic publishers and editors. Ave Maria! Jesus, I Trust In You! Don Bosco, Pray for Us! + Mikel A. | RosaryNetwork.com, New York • January 31, 2023, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

January 31: Saint John Bosco, Priest 1815–1888Memorial; Liturgical Color: WhitePatron Saint of editors, publishers, schoolchildren, and juvenile delinquents His fatherly heart radiated the warm love of GodSome saints attract the faithful by the raw power of their minds and the sheer force of their arguments. Think of Saint Thomas Aquinas or Saint Augustine. Other saints write so eloquently, with such grace and sweetness, that their words draw people to God like bees to honey. Think of Saint John Henry Newman or Saint Francis de Sales. Still other saints say and write almost nothing, but lead lives of such generous and sacrificial witness that their holiness is obvious. Think of Saint Francis of Assisi or Saint Teresa of Calcutta. Today's saint was not a first-class thinker, eloquent writer, bloody martyr, or path-breaking Church reformer. Yet his abundant gifts drew people to God in their own unique way.Saint John Bosco was, to put it in the simplest terms, a winner. His heart was like a furnace radiating immense warmth, fraternal concern, and affectionate love of God. His personality seemed to operate like a powerful magnet that pulled everyone closer and closer in toward his overflowing, priestly, and fatherly love. His country-boy simplicity, street smarts, genuine concern for the poor, and love of God, Mary, and the Church made him irresistible. Don Bosco (‘Don' being a title of honor for priests, teachers, etc.) had charm. What he asked for, he received. From everyone. He built, during his own lifetime, an international empire of charity and education so massive and so successful that it is impossible to explain his accomplishments in merely human terms.Like many great saints, Don Bosco's external, observable charisms were not the whole story. Behind his engaging personality was a will like a rod of iron. He exercised strict self-discipline and firmness of purpose in driving toward his goals. His gift of self, or self-dedication, was remarkable. Morning, noon, and night. Weekday or weekend. Rain or shine. He was always there. Unhurried. Available. Ready to talk. His life was one big generous act from beginning to end.Saint John grew up dirt poor in the country working as a shepherd. His father died when he was an infant. After studies and priestly ordination, he went to the big city, Turin, and saw first-hand how the urban poor lived. It changed his life. He began a ministry to poor boys which was not particularly innovative. He said Mass, heard confessions, taught the Gospel, went on walks, cooked meals, and taught practical skills like book binding. There was no secret to Don Bosco's success. But no one else was doing it, and no one else did it so well. Followers flocked to assist him, and he founded the Salesians, a Congregation named after his own hero, Saint Francis de Sales. The Salesian empire of charity and education spread around the globe. By the time of its founder's death in 1888, the Salesians had 250 houses the world over, caring for 130,000 children. Their work continues today.Don Bosco was not concerned with the remote causes of poverty. He did not challenge class structures or economic systems. He saw what was in front of him and went “straight to the poor,” as he put it. He did his work from the inside out. It was for others to figure out long-term solutions, not for him. Don Bosco did not know what rest was and wore himself out by being all things to all men. His reputation for holiness endured well beyond his death. A young priest who had met him in Northern Italy in 1883, Father Achille Ratti, later became Pope Pius XI. On Easter Sunday 1934, this same pope canonized the great Don Bosco whom he had known so many years before.Saint John Bosco, you dedicated your life to the education and care of poor youth. Aid us in reaching out to those who need our assistance today, not tomorrow, and here, not somewhere else. Through your intercession, may we carry out a fraction of the good that you achieved in your life.

HEADLINES : 2nd to 8th October 2022 — India : Mother province holds provincial chapter marking 100 years of arrival of first batch of Salesians. Fr. Kumuda Digal editor of Catechetics India reports from Kolkata * Vatican City : Salesian College Alumnus appointed Consultor of Vatican Dicastery for Communication. Fr Patrick Lepcha reports from Rome * India : One hundred and fifteen Youth from 11 Salesian colleges take part in Leadership Retreat. Swati Gloria Kujur reports from Shillong * Papua New Guinea : Salesian Youth plan for World Youth Day, celebrate sacraments and plant fruit trees. Fr Ambrose Pereira reports from Port Moresby * Vietnam : 41 Cooperators welcomed to Salesian Family. Fr Augustine Phuoc reports from Ho Chi Minh City * India : Street children in Kerala to get new home and better facilities. Yashna Ann Jacob, Intern at Don Bosco Veedu reports from Thiruvananthapuram. Salesian News Asia-Pacific, is a podcast service of weekly news summary about and interest to Salesian Family in 26 provinces spread out in 29 countries of the region since 24th May 2020. This episode was produced by Fr. C.M. Paul director of Radio Salesian and Salesian TV with technical assistance of Program director of Salesian TV Mr. Bruno Thapa. For the latest Asia-Pacific Salesian Family news log on to Don Bosco South Asia portal and the news link as https://donboscosouthasia.org/News and www.eao.bosco.lin

Here on C&SI we have had an intermittent series of interviews where men and women in religious life have shared their stories with us. On this weeks podcast we are delighted to welcome back to Limerick Fr Seamus Madigan who has completed a period of service as a chaplain in the Irish Defence Forces and who now returns to take up a parish appointment in Limerick diocese. Seamus shares with us his journey in religious life with the Salesians, the move to being a diocesan priest and then the rather unusual role of serving as a chaplain to the defence forces in the midst of the national decade of centenaries including the commemoration of the 1916 Rising in 2016. He also shares with us about his recent sabbatical and the next steps as he takes up his new role.

Here on C&SI we have had an intermittent series of interviews where men and women in religious life have shared their stories with us. On this weeks podcast we are delighted to welcome back to Limerick Fr Seamus Madigan who has completed a period of service as a chaplain in the Irish Defence Forces and who now returns to take up a parish appointment in Limerick diocese. Seamus shares with us his journey in religious life with the Salesians, the move to being a diocesan priest and then the rather unusual role of serving as a chaplain to the defence forces in the midst of the national decade of centenaries including the commemoration of the 1916 Rising in 2016. He also shares with us about his recent sabbatical and the next steps as he takes up his new role.In addition to our chat with Fr Seamus, we also have our regular saints of the week, reflections and lectio divina on the Sunday gospel.

YOUTUBE : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJppYzvKMGE HEADLINES : 11th to17th September 2022 — India : Rector Major directs retreat for 12 Provincial Councils of South Asia. Fr Patrick Lepcha reports from Old Goa * India : India : Rector Major Launches Don Bosco South Asia Website. Br. Sunil Kerketta reports * India : Panjim Province marks 75 years of Salesian presence in Goa with new football and futsal courts. Fr Francis Xavier reports from Panjim * India : Church Art Kolkata honours 3 Salesians for outstanding service to society. Br. Banhunlang Lyngdoh reports from Siliguri * Vietnam : Salesian Theologate starts academic year with 60 students from 16 congregations. Fr. Agustine DuPhuoc reports from Ho Chi Minh City * Myanmar : Salesian family appeals for urgent solidarity with suffering population. Director of Radio Salesian Fr. C.M. Paul reports * India : South Asia Salesian family members study best practices of Don Bosco Mission. Br. Royston Colaco reports from Shillong. Salesian News Asia-Pacific, is a podcast service of weekly news summary about and interest to Salesian Family in 26 provinces spread out in 29 countries of the region since 24th May 2020. This episode was produced by Fr. C.M. Paul director of Radio Salesian and Salesian TV with technical assistance of Program director of Salesian TV Mr. Bruno Thapa. "For the latest Asia-Pacific Salesian Family news log on to Don Bosco South Asia portal and the news link as https://www.donboscosouthasia.org/courtyard/public/News and www.eao.bosco.lin

July 9: Saint Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions, Martyrs1746–1815Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: RedNew saints for an ancient land start the Third MillenniumToday's feast commemorates one hundred and twenty martyrs, eighty-seven native Chinese and thirty-three Western missionaries, killed in a long trail of blood from 1648 to 1930. This roll call of heroes includes lay women, catechists, seminarians, bishops, priests, a cook, a farmer, a widow, a seventy-nine-year-old man and a child of nine. Some were killed while taking sanctuary inside of a church. A large number died during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, when fanatical Chinese peasants slaughtered thousands of Christian converts and foreign missionaries for no reason other than their faith and their foreignness. Some lives were ended by beheading, quickly; others by neglect in prison, slowly; and many by strangulation, painfully.The one saint the Church names on this feast is Saint Augustine Zhao Rong. Like so many other saints, he began his professional life as a soldier. As part of his military duties, Augustine was assigned to escort a French priest in China. The priest's holy example made such a deep impression on Augustine that he decided to convert to Catholicism. After his baptism, he went for the gold— he entered the seminary and became Father Augustine. His priestly ministry was short lived. Father Augustine was jailed, tortured, and left to die in prison during the reign of an emperor insanely hostile to Christianity and to Chinese priests in particular. Numerous other Chinese and foreigners were swallowed up in the same persecution along with Father Augustine. All refused to apostasize and many were atrociously tortured.After some faint contact with Christianity in the first millennium, European missionaries first ventured deep into China in the last decades of the 1500s. These missionaries were chosen for their great erudition, sagacity, and Christian spirit. In contrast, the first boatloads of Spanish missionaries unloaded into Latin America were a mixture of holy, educated men, along with others who were almost ordained pirates, adventurers whose zeal for the house of the Lord was so total that they were oblivious to the sensitive cultural realities they, and the West itself, were encountering for the first time. Mayan and Aztec Codexes' were burned, finely carved statues were shoved off temple platforms, and palaces were razed to the ground out of an authentic, but misguided, Christian fervor. No such haphazard cultural destruction took place in China. Missionaries to China were finely tuned to the local wavelength. They learned the challenging language, respected local spiritualities, and were exquisitely respectful of the ancient, studious, and complex society that had welcomed them. These sterling missionaries inspired a large number of Chinese converts who remained fully Chinese while, at the same time, becoming fully Catholic. Catholicism enriched and purified all that it meant to be Chinese.Yet the missionaries' success was also the seed of their destruction. Chinese strongmen invariably saw the missionaries as agents of Western colonialism rather than as emissaries of Jesus Christ. No matter how delicately the missionaries inculturated the faith, or how many locals converted, Catholicism was a non-native reality that threatened ancient Chinese patterns of life and thought. And so the persecutions came.The Protomartyr of China was Francis Fernández de Capillas, a Dominican priest who was tortured and beheaded in 1648 while praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. Numerous Franciscans, Salesians, Dominicans, and Jesuits were killed in the intermittent waves of persecution. These martyrs' crime was their faith and energetic evangelical efforts. They were not involved in politics or trade. They were not spies or government agents. They died for the most noble and purest of reasons—their faith. The ancient nation of China had no saints before October 1, 2000, when Pope Saint John Paul II canonized today's Chinese martyrs. Not one of the canonized was killed under the communists who have ruled China since 1949. Catholics executed by the communists await a future unfurling of their banners in St. Peter's Square. More Chinese martyrs, some already dead, some still to die, will be canonized in an unknown year by a future pope as the history of redemption reveals its secrets.Martyrs of China, you were brave in keeping a tight grip on the pearl of great price. Help all Christians to value their faith in easy times so that when times of persecution come, we may stand upright in the storm.

Welcome Back to Valdocco! On this episode Fr. Steve and Vicky sit with Fr. Marcin Kaznowski the Provincial of Krakow (PLS) which includes 15 Salesians still serving in Ukraine. Together we listened as he shared on the reality of being a provincial with part of the province at war and how the generosity of spirit is something that just pours out of people in times of great need.   We hope you enjoy this episode and remember you can always send us an email at symbosco@gmail.com , find us on social media, rate the podcast or leave us a comment below.   Know of our prayers for you! If you want more episodes likes this one, subscribe to join in on the fun! For more information about the Salesian Family please visit:   https://salesians.org https://salesiansisters.org https://www.instagram.com/sym_bosco/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SalesiansofDonBosco https://www.facebook.com/salesianym https://www.salesianlaymissioners.org https://donboscosalesianportal.org  

Full Text of ReadingsFriday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 369All podcast readings are produced by the USCCB and are from the Catholic Lectionary, based on the New American Bible and approved for use in the United States _______________________________________The Saint of the day is Saint Joseph Cafassoclass="content"> Jun 17, 2020 Franciscan Media Image: Statue de San Giuseppe Cafasso | José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro Saint of the Day for June 17 (January 15, 1811 – June 23, 1860) Audio file Saint Joseph Cafasso's story Even as a young man, Joseph loved to attend Mass and was known for his humility and fervor in prayer. After his ordination, he was assigned to a seminary in Turin. There he worked especially against the spirit of Jansenism—an excessive preoccupation with sin and damnation. He used the works of Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Alphonsus Liguori to moderate the rigorism popular at the seminary. Joseph recommended membership in the Secular Franciscan Order to priests. He urged devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and encouraged daily Communion. In addition to his teaching duties, Joseph was an excellent preacher, confessor, and retreat master. Noted for his work with condemned prisoners, he helped many of them die at peace with God. Joseph urged one of his former pupils—Saint John Bosco—to establish the Salesians congregation to work with the youth of Turin. Joseph Cafasso died in 1860, and was canonized in 1947. His liturgical feast is celebrated on June 23. Reflection Devotion to the Eucharist gave energy to all Joseph's other activities. Long prayer before the Blessed Sacrament has been characteristic of many Catholics who have lived out the gospel well: Saint Francis, Bishop Fulton Sheen, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, and Saint Teresa of Calcutta among them. Saint Joseph Cafasso is the Patron Saint of: Prisoners Prussia Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Welcome back to Valdocco! On this episode Fr. Steve and Amy sit with Fr. Benny Di Bitonto. He shares with us his own vocation story, his connection with the Salesians and friendship with Fr. Steve. Listen to here a new perspective, the joy of life and how we can each keep finding our place. We hope you enjoy this episode and remember you can always send us an email at symbosco@gmail.com , find us on social media, rate the podcast or leave us a comment below. Know of our prayers for you! If you want more episodes likes this one, subscribe to join in on the fun! For more information about the Salesian Family please visit: https://salesians.org https://salesiansisters.org https://www.instagram.com/sym_bosco/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SalesiansofDonBosco https://www.facebook.com/salesianym https://www.salesianlaymissioners.org https://donboscosalesianportal.org

Welcome back to Valdocco! In this episode Fr. Steve and Vicky sit down with Fr. Dominic Tran. Fr. Dom shares his story of growing up in Vietnam and entering formation with the Salesians before moving to the United States. He discusses his experience of the Salesians as a youth going to a Salesian parish, how one invitation opened his vocation, and his experience today of the Salesian family spirit and presence of God among us. We hope you enjoy this episode and remember you can always send us an email at symbosco@gmail.com , find us on social media, rate the podcast or leave us a comment below. Know of our prayers for you! If you want more episodes likes this one, subscribe to join in on the fun! For more information about the Salesian Family please visit: https://salesians.org https://salesiansisters.org https://www.instagram.com/sym_bosco/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SalesiansofDonBosco https://www.facebook.com/salesianym https://www.salesianlaymissioners.org https://donboscosalesianportal.org

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - The newest cardinal-elect of the island nation of East Timor says he was completely surprised by his appointment by Pope Francis over the weekend. “When I heard this news, I was so shocked I almost fainted,” Archbishop Dom Virgilio do Carmo da Silva told reporters May 30. "I never dreamed of this and I never looked for it.” East Timor, or Timor-Leste, occupies the eastern half of the island of Timor, which it shares with Indonesia. The population of the country, which was colonized by Portugal, is nearly 98% Catholic. Pope Francis had on Sunday announced the names of 21 men whom he will create as cardinals in August. Da Silva, a priest of the Salesians of St. John Bosco, has led the local Church of Dili since 2016. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251420/east-timor-cardinal-elect-almost-fainted-when-he-heard-pope-francis-had-chosen-him A Catholic woman who sued the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office claiming her son was cremated in violation of her religious beliefs will likely soon receive a settlement of nearly half a million dollars. Maria Elvira Quintanilla Cebreros, a Tijuana, Mexico woman, alleges that L.A. county failed to notify her of her son's death after he went missing three years ago, and also cremated his remains without her permission. Earlier this month, the Office of County Counsel recommended a $445,000 settlement. The Catholic Church teaches that cremation, while strongly discouraged, can be permissible under certain restrictions. A person's ashes are not to be scattered, nor kept in the home or preserved in mementos or jewelry, but instead must be “laid to rest in a sacred place," such as in a cemetery or church. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251418/catholic-woman-may-receive-settlement-over-her-sons-cremation Eleven of the Uvalde shooting victims were parishioners at the city's Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and their funerals will be held there over the next two and a half weeks. Although there will be 11 funerals, 12 lives will be commemorated and prayed for, as Joe Garcia, the 50-year-old husband of one of the teachers who was killed, Irma Garcia, will share the same funeral Mass as his wife. Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio will be the celebrant for the Garcias' funeral Mass, which will take place this morning. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251417/eleven-funerals-to-take-place-at-uvaldes-catholic-church-in-coming-weeks Today, the Church celebrates Saint Justin Martyr, an avid lover of truth with an interest in philosophy who admired Christians from a distance because of the beauty of their moral lives. After a life-changing conversation with an old man, the aspiring philosopher eventually decided to be baptized around the age of 30. Justin was most likely ordained a deacon, since he preached, did not marry, and gave religious instruction in his home. He is best known as the author of early apologetic works which argued for the Catholic faith against the claims of Jews, pagans, and non-Christian philosophers. He also wrote a very early description of the Mass and the Eucharist. Justin was scourged and beheaded by the prefect of Rome along with six companions who joined him in his confession of faith. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-justin-martyr-486

This episode Fr. Steve and Vicky sit with Gabe and Vero Talavera, Salesian Cooperators from Honduras! You'll hear the story of how they met the Salesians and decided they wanted to serve and give back in the mission. This episode was recorded in February so we are excited to finally share it with you! We hope you enjoy this episode and remember you can always send us an email at symbosco@gmail.com , find us on social media, rate the podcast or leave us a comment below.   Know of our prayers for you! If you want more episodes likes this one, subscribe to join in on the fun! For more information about the Salesian Family please visit: https://salesians.org https://salesiansisters.org https://www.instagram.com/sym_bosco/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SalesiansofDonBosco https://www.facebook.com/salesianym https://www.salesianlaymissioners.org

Fr. Steve and Vicky sit down with Mr. Seifring or as you'll hear us call him Thomas or Tommy and listen to his experience of what it's been like to stay, grow and serve in the mission alongside the Salesians at Salesian High School in New Rochelle. If you know him you know he really gives his all even on the hard days.   We hope you enjoy this episode and remember you can always send us an email at symbosco@gmail.com , find us on social media, rate the podcast or leave us a comment below.   Know of our prayers for you! If you want more episodes likes this one, subscribe to join in on the fun! For more information about the Salesian Family please visit:   https://salesians.org https://salesiansisters.org https://www.instagram.com/sym_bosco/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SalesiansofDonBosco https://www.facebook.com/salesianym https://www.salesianlaymissioners.org

St. Mary Mazzarello and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, aka Salesian Sisters. St Mary Mazzarello had a vision of a big building filled with orphaned girls. She remembered this vision when St Bosco of the Salesians asked her to create the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians to take care of abandoned young girls. It is now a world-wide organization.   There are links, photos and more about this on my website. I value feedback through the comments section on my website OR- Better via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com Constant Procession tells of key apparitions of the Virgin Mary since she passed on from the world and how she serves humanity through Christianity. The origin of these podcasts began with my book The Constant Procession. An e-book copy of the book can be found on my website: ConstantProcession.com Constant Procession (the podcast) is published every Tuesday morning and has links, photos, video and more information for each episode at ConstantProcession.com

St John Bosco, aka Don Bosco's mission was to fulfill the Virgin Mary's request: Help orphans from the slums of Turin in the mid-1800's. Today the society he created, The Society of St Francis de Sales or the Salesians of Don Bosco can be found in over 125 countries around the world.   There are links, photos and more about this on my website. I value feedback through the comments section on my website OR- Better via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com Constant Procession tells of key apparitions of the Virgin Mary since she passed on from the world and how she serves humanity through Christianity. The origin of these podcasts began with my book The Constant Procession. An e-book copy of the book can be found on my website: ConstantProcession.com Constant Procession (the podcast) is published every Tuesday morning and has links, photos, video and more information for each episode at ConstantProcession.com

Saint John Bosco, Priest1815–1888January 31—MemorialLiturgical Color: WhitePatron Saint of editors, publishers, schoolchildren and juvenile delinquentsHis person radiated the warm love of God, drawing everyone towards himSome saints attract the faithful by the raw power of their minds and the sheer force of their arguments. Think of St. Thomas Aquinas or St. Augustine. Other saints write so eloquently, with such grace and sweetness, that their words draw people to God like bees to honey. Think of Blessed John Henry Newman or St. Francis de Sales. Still other saints say and write almost nothing, but lead lives of such generous and sacrificial witness that their holiness is obvious. Think of St. Francis of Assisi or St. Teresa of Calcutta. Today's saint was not a first class thinker, eloquent writer, bloody martyr, or path breaking Church reformer. But he had abundant gifts of equal value.St. John Bosco was, to put it in the simplest terms, a winner. His heart was like a furnace radiating immense warmth, fraternal concern, and affectionate love of God to every person in the room. His personality seemed to operate like a powerful magnet that pulled everyone closer and closer in toward his overflowing, priestly, and fatherly love. His country boy simplicity, street smarts, genuine concern for the poor, and love of God, Mary and the Church made him irresistible. Don Bosco (‘Don' being a title of honor for priests, teachers, etc…) had charm. What he asked for, he received. From everyone. He built, during his own lifetime, an international empire of charity and education so massive and so successful that it is impossible to explain his accomplishments in merely human terms.Like many great saints, Don Bosco's external, observable, charisms were not the whole story. Behind his engaging personality was a will like a rod of iron. He exercised strict self discipline and firmness of purpose in driving toward his goals. His gift of self, or self dedication, was remarkable. Morning, noon, and night. Weekday or weekend. Rain or shine. He was always there. Unhurried. Available. Ready to talk. His life was one big generous act from beginning to end.St. John grew up dirt poor in the country working as a shepherd. His father died when he was an infant. After studies and priestly ordination we went to the big city, Turin, and saw first hand how the urban poor lived. It changed his life. He began a ministry to poor boys which was not particularly innovative. He said Mass, heard confessions, taught the gospel, went on walks, cooked meals, and taught practical skills like book binding. There was no secret to Don Bosco's success. But no one else was doing it, and no one else did it so well. Followers flocked to assist him and he founded the Salesians, a Congregation named after his own hero, St. Francis de Sales. The Salesian empire of charity and education spread around the globe. By the time of its founder's death in 1888 the Salesians had 250 houses the world over caring for 130,000 children. Their work continues today.Don Bosco was not concerned with the remote causes of poverty. He did not challenge class structures or economic systems. He saw what was in front of him and went “straight to the poor,” as he put it. He did his work from the inside out. It was for others to figure out long term solutions, but not for him.Don Bosco did not know what rest was and wore himself out by being all things to all men. His reputation for holiness endured well beyond his death. A young priest who had met him in northern Italy in 1883, Fr. Achille Ratti, later became Pope Pius XI and, on Easter Sunday 1934, canonized the great priest he had known so many years before.St. John Bosco, you dedicated your life to the education and care of poor youth. Aid us in reaching out to those who need our assistance today, not tomorrow, and here, not somewhere else. Through your intercession may we carry out a fraction of the good that you achieved in your life.

Adam is joined by a friend of a decade plus a couple years. They reminisce about life before each of them were married when they were members of a religious society called the Salesians.

This episode of Supply Chain Now is a part of our Logistics with Purpose series, and features Kevin Carvajal. Kevin has been a humanitarian relief practitioner since 2013. During that time, he has focused on sourcing and delivering critical goods to augment the delivery of education, development, and humanitarian services offered by the Salesians of Don Bosco for at-risk youth and other vulnerable populations. His first encounter with supply chain management began in an international beauty brand's 3PL distribution center where he audited inbound, outbound, and reverse logistics processes to ensure inventory record accuracy.This episode was sponsored by Vector Global Logistics and hosted by Enrique Alvarez, Elisa Rodriguez, Greg White, and Scott Luton. For additional information, please visit our dedicated show page at: https://supplychainnow.com/episode-410.

This episode is under a special series or season during the Novena in honor of Mary, Help of Christians. Along the way, si Mama Mary pala yung tumutulong, tumutulak at gumagabay sa aming Bokasyon! Tayo'y makipagkwentuhan kay Fr. Jayson David, SDB - the vocation promoter of the Salesians of Don Bosco sa Philippines-North Province. #BradCastEp17 #IstoryaNangIma --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kabrads/message

Adam is joined by Ronnie Chauca. A former Salesian seminarian who left the Salesians in the midst of the COVID19 Pandemic.

"I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) On this episode of (Not) The Only One, Daniel Lee shares his own story and how God is helping him to live life to the fullest. Daniel is a St. Matthew parishioner, former Life Teen Core Member, and current Seminarian with the Salesians of Don Bosco. On this episode, he shares his personal faith journey, including what it looks like to find our faith during times of suffering. We talk about discerning God's will for each of us and what the process of becoming a priest through a religious order looks like. Daniel is an incredibly positive person with a lot of wisdom to share and a deep love for the Eucharist. If you'd like to learn more about the Salesians, a religious order founded by St. Jon Bosco with a charism of youth ministry, you can click here for their website: https://salesians.org/Keep Daniel in your prayers and all our brothers & sisters in Christ discerning religious life!