The Narthex
Memory of a Thanksgiving Past
A tribute to an early and ambitious pro-life Catholic, Mr. Gil Durand
By John M. Grondelski | November 28th 2023 12:33 PMAs we marked Thanksgiving last week, my memories reached back 50 years to Thanksgiving 1973. I remember the day well: sunny but chilly. The memory is an opportunity for me to salute a man I never met, Gil Durand. (I think it’s Durand. It might be Durant. He doesn’t come…
READ FULL BLOG POSTAn American (Priest) in Togo
The Church brings men and women holiness and addresses their basic needs
By John M. Grondelski | October 20th 2023 12:57 PMFr. William Ryan is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington who, since 2006, has served as a missionary in Togo, a country the size of Maryland, in western Africa. Ryan’s love affair with Togo dates back to the early 1970s when, before he studied for the priesthood, he joined…
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