Stocks, bonds and mutual funds make great gifts — just ask the parishioners at St. Patrick’s in downtown Toronto.

Sixty years ago — on Oct. 28, 1958 — Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was elected pope, taking the name Pope John XXIII.  His coronation Nov. 4 lasted five hours, filled with all the pomp and ceremony that accompanied the position at that time. Here’s The Register’s account of that historic day:

Sr. Mary Aquinas did not necessarily fit the stereotype of a nun in the first half of the 20th century. Aside from prayer, Sr. Aquinas was accomplished in many other fields, including aeronautics, electronics, physics and education. She earned her pilot’s license in 1942 and in 1957 was honoured by the U.S. Air Force for contributions to national security and world peace. That same year she became the first nun to fly a jet plane. She bore no resemblance to the Sally Field character in the 1960s TV sitcom The Flying Nun, but she was no less famous in her own fields of endeavour. Sr. Aquinas shared her passions across the continent, including a stop in Montreal in October of 1958, dutifully reported by The Register. Sr. Aquinas died at age 91 on Oct. 20, 1985. 

VANCOUVER – Vancouver College religion teacher Greg Van Dyk is always looking for new ways to teach the faith. So when he took a course at St. Mark’s College that compared mortal and venial sin to a broken bone versus a fracture, he knew he had something he could use.

Going to university often means leaving home and friends behind, but it doesn’t have to mean parting ways with your Catholic faith.

Andrew Chater understands he is going where no Brescia University College faculty has ever gone before, and it’s a challenge he is welcoming.

For most Catholics on the greyer side of the generation divide, student politics today definitely isn’t what it used to be.

David Sylvester was installed as the new president of the University of St. Michael’s College on Oct. 4 at St. Basil’s Church in Toronto. Here is an edited transcript of his speech that day, reflecting on the importance of the school and of Catholic education:

It was eight years ago this week that Canada’s Br. André Bessette was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI. The humble Holy Cross brother who was instrumental in the construction of St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal died Jan. 6, 1937 at the age of 91. Over his remarkable life and in the years since, he has been credited with many miraculous healings. During the six days after his death, up to a million people filed past his coffin, surrounded by hundreds of crutches and canes from pilgrims who attested to his gifts. Here is an excerpt from The Register of Jan. 21, 1937:

As lofty and august as the title superior general may sound, Basilian Fr. Kevin Storey has no illusions about his next four years leading 154 men who teach and preach in Basilian parishes, universities and high schools from Colombia to Canada.