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“It’s always been a wonderful time for fraternity among the seminarians. It’s the best the seminary tournament I’ve seen anywhere in the country.” | Father Robert Barron, rector of Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Ill., which hosted the annual Father Pat O’Malley Invitational basketball tournament that draws teams from seminaries around the country. Twelve teams of varying skill levels from seven states took part in the Jan. 30-Feb. 1 event; Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis claimed the tournament title. (Catholic News Service)
In the news
National shrine named a basilica
ROYAL OAK, Mich. — The National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak has been raised to national prominence again, being designated by the Vatican as the second minor basilica in Michigan and the 82nd in the United States.
In 1998, the U.S. bishops designated it as a national shrine to St. Therese of Lisieux, known as the “Little Flower.”
The basilica honor, conferred by the pope through the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, culminates a years-long application process by which shrine officials had to demonstrate the site’s worthiness as a “center of active and pastoral liturgy,” as well as meet other historical, architectural and ecclesial criteria. (CNS)
Saints under 30
Young soldier for God
In the early 20th century, Catholics in Mexico suffered persecution and repression at the hands of the government. One of the individuals who defended his faith to the end was Jose Sanchez del Rio, a teenage martyr who was beatified in 2005.
Jose was born in Michoacan, Mexico, in 1913. He joined his older brothers in the “Cristero” movement despite his mother’s resistance due to his young age, only to be captured by soldiers in 1928 and imprisoned in a church sacristy. His faith was strong as ever even as his captors tried to intimidate him: He prayed, sang and wrote a letter to his mother in which he accepted God’s will.
A few days after he was captured, Jose was tortured and marched to a cemetery where, given a final chance to deny his love of God, he again firmly refused. The teenager was shot dead as a result. (L’Osservatore Romano via www.ewtn.com)