Illustration accompanying an account by Lawrence Banck of the 1644 coronation of Pope Innocent X. The pope is having his testicles felt by a cardinal in order to confirm that he is a man.

The Myth of the Papal Toilet Chair

Legend holds that newly elected popes in the Middle Ages had to present their genitals for inspection to confirm that they were male.
Pilgrims raising candles to the glass tomb cover of St. Francis Xavier in the Basilica of Dom Jesus, Goa, India, 1974

The Incorruptible Body of Francis Xavier

After the co-founder of the Jesuit Society died in 1552, the miraculous preservation of his body advanced the cause of Catholicism across Europe and Asia.
Washington Arch, New York, 1907

Who Lived in Greenwich Village before the Bohemians?

The neighborhood of New York City was a haven for Catholics before it earned its reputation as a haven for artists.
Sanctuary of Fatima

Our Lady of Political Anxiety

From Our Lady of Fatima to the 1949 Virgin Mary sighting in Wisconsin, what do Marian sightings reveal about our political anxieties?
Original caption: 12/31/1916-Dorothy Day (1897-1980), American journalist and reformer, born in Brooklyn, NY. (Copyright Bettmann/Corbis / AP Images)

Dorothy Day and the Activism of the Catholic Church

We look back at the work of social activist Dorothy Day, who's staunch defense of labor unions fell in-line with the activism of the Catholic Church.
Sister Irene and children at New York Foundling orphanage

"Children at New York Foundling cph.3a23917" by Jacob Riis - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3a23917. Licensed under Public Domain via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Children_at_New_York_Foundling_cph.3a23917.jpg#/media/File:Children_at_New_York_Foundling_cph.3a23917.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>

Tracing Orphans in Your Ancestry

Modern-day DNA research is beginning to unlock longstanding mysteries regarding orphans.