Roving Reporter #116 – The Feast of the Covo (11min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
Every August here in the countryside of Campocavallo, Italy, the first Sunday of the month is set aside to honor the Queen of the town, the Madonna of Campocavallo. The residents of this town- located in the “campagnia”, or countryside – gather together, fashion with their own hands, and present a unique offering to the Queen, whose sanctuary (Beata Virgine Addolorata) is the heart of the town and houses the miraculous image of the Sorrowful Mother. The offering, roughly the size of a Hummer automobile or larger, is church or religious structure constructed of steel, wood, and, most importantly, the grain of the local fields. The members of a group called “The Covo” and comprised of lay people (Italians, obviously) male and female, young and old. This year the offering was a replica of the lovely Basilica of Pompei, located in the southern part of Italy.
I had the privilege of observing and filming, over a period of 5 or 6 months, the work of the Covo, and I present to you my own offering, albeit hastily done and always incomplete, to the same Queen of Campocavallo, whose feast day happens to be the day of my birth.
Roving Reporter #115 – The Fruit of Love (04min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
Marriage Day at the Aldrich Mansion – Sunday, August 16
The Marriage Day Celebration included live worship music, guest speakers, plenty of food, and activities for children. Tickets were sold for a cook-out style meal but attendees could also bring a picnic lunch. The highlight of the Sunday afternoon event was for married couples to renew their vows together at a beautiful waterfront setting.
This was a great opportunity to take a stand for marriage as it was created: between a man and a woman. Our goal is to esteem marriage to its proper place in society and make a statement that Rhode Islanders believe strongly in this cherished institution.
Roving Reporter #114 – Photo by National Catholic Register (07min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
Mark P. Shea is a popular Catholic writer and speaker who is a double-jump convert: raised more or less as an agnostic pagan, became a non-denominational Evangelical in 1979, and entered the Catholic Church in 1987. He blogs on his sight Catholic and Enjoying it at http://markshea.blogspot.com/
and contributes to Catholic Exchange at http://catholicexchange.com/
and to National Catholic Register at http://www.ncregister.com/
Ave Maria!
Roving Reporter #34 – Tour of Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine (10min) >>> Play
This is the glorious Shrine opened in July 2008 where our Marian Symposium will be held on August 21, 2010
Ave Maria!
In anticipation of the opening of the new Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in Lacrosse, WI on July 31, 2008, this Roving Reporter Special tours us through this new beautiful shrine, which at the time was under construction, and will be staffed by the Franciscans of the Immaculate. Deo Gratias!
Roving Reporter #113 – Friar Roderic and Fr Roderick Come together. (11min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
Fr. Roderick founded the Star Quest Production Network with the mission of “Leading the Way in Catholic New Media”. He hosts and produces several audio, video and live streaming shows including The Daily Breakfast, The Catholic Insider, This Week in Church, Healthy Catholic, Catholic Minute, The Secrets of Star Wars, The Secrets of Harry Potter, The Secrets of Narnia, The Secrets of the Lord of the Rings and The Secrets of the Pirates of the Caribbean. More than 200,000 SQPN shows are downloaded every month by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. -http://fatherroderick.sqpn.com
Roving Reporter #112 – A Special Offering for the Madonna in Italy (04min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
Every year in the town of Campocavallo, Italy, there’s a festival on the first Sunday in August called “The Festival of the Covo.” For the past 70 years, a group of dedicated lay people have constructed a religious sculpture to honor the miraculous image of the Madonna of Campocavallo, and have processed the sculptures through the streets of the town with much festivity. The sculptures are very unique: they’re often larger than the size of a large automobile, and they’re constructed out of steel and wood and the grain from the local fields.
The sculptures from the past few years have been particularly beautiful. They’re replicas of famous churches from around the world. Recently, Friar Terrance had the opportunity to visit the Museum of the Covo and film some of these artistic treasures.
Roving Reporter #111 – Fr. Jerome Pica and Friar Terrance speak on John Duns Scotus (23min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
Recently Friar Terrance had the opportunity to chat with Fr. Jerome Pica, F.I., and to talk with him about Bl. John Duns Scotus, a famous Franciscan scholastic philosopher/theologian who is still unknown to most of the world. The Franciscans of the Immaculate in Italy have recently finished a full-length movie on the life of Duns Scotus. We hope you enjoy the interview which we’ve titled “Who is John Duns Scotus…and why is he important?”, and we send our apologies for the setting of the interview…but it’s the best we could do!
Roving Reporter #109 – Climbing the Mount with Fra Giles M. (11min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
Recently, the friars at our house of theological studies made an “opera di amore” (an act of love) by erecting a new cross in the mountains of Cassino, Italy. We hope you enjoy this photo collage of their journey and we expect that some of you will see some familiar faces along the way.
Roving Reporter #110 – Fr. Jacinto and pilgrims pray to end abortion (10min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
On May 13, Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, 2010, a Planned Parenthood facility is consecrated to Our Lady to ask her intercession to bring about the end to abortion at this location and throughout the world. Monica Seifker lead the effort based on a plan laid out by American Life League to Marianize the pro-life movement. Fr. Jacinto performed the consecration leading the prayers of the faithful.
Roving Reporter #108 – An Italian family goes to visit the home of their Mother (11min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
Would you like to see to house in which Our Lady lived? One of our friars in Italy had the opportunity to take a pilgrimage to the Holy House of Loreto, and this is the first of 2 videos which recount the journey and tell the story of this extraordinary shrine. (Note: A view of the house is yet to come! Say a prayer that the Capuchins let me into the Basilica with a video camera!)
Roving Reporter #107 – Renaissance Art at its best at Bosco ai Frati (05 min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
Recently, Friar Terrance had the privilege of visiting the ancient Franciscan convent of Bosco ai Frati (which literally translates as “the wood(s) of the friars”), located in the central part of Italy. The history of the convent is fascinating and very rich, as are the treasures contained within its walls, and we hope you’ll enjoy this brief but interesting video of a famous convent which the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate currently occupy.
Roving Reporter #105 – Thomas S. Monaghan SFI Inductee (08min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
Friar Roderic interviews Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza, while he was in the Chicago area to be inducted into the Sports Faith International Hall of Fame as former owner of the Major League Baseball team Detroit Tigers. He talks about how he started Domino’s Pizza and how important faith is to his motivation and how he wants to use his wealth to revive Catholic higher education. He gives insight into the importance of sports in our lives for building character. Mr. Monaghan is also Chancellor of Ave Maria University, and Chairman of Ave Maria School of Law and Chairman of Legatus.
Roving Reporter #104 – Fra David with Meagan Gitchell at Halas Hall (03min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
In this year’s (Sports Faith International – Hometown Heroes Award – Athlete of the Year Award) Meagan Gitchell was one of three awarded, and this for her skills in soccer and her faith.
Sports Faith International is a Chicago-based initiative dedicated to inspiring and transforming our culture through the world of sports. It will utilize the best of new and traditional media to feature and encourage the powerful personal testimonies of outstanding athletes at all levels, who are living out their faith on and off the field.
Roving Reporter #103 – Fra David and April Ortenzo at Halas Hall (04min) >>> Play
Ave Maria!
In this year’s “Sports Faith International”, April Ortenzo was chosen as “Athlete of The Year – Female”.
Sports Faith International is a Chicago-based initiative dedicated to inspiring and transforming our culture through the world of sports. It will utilize the best of new and traditional media to feature and encourage the personal testimonies of outstanding athletes at all levels, who are living out their faith on and off the field.
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