Articles by Kate Olivera
'We Shall Overcome'
Jun 15, 2020 / 00:00 amWe share the stories of two Black Catholics on the path to sainthood.
“I can’t breathe”
Jun 8, 2020 / 00:00 amThis episode features the voices of a couple Black Catholics. They tell their own stories. They come from different parts of our country and different walks of life. They share their reactions to the death of George Floyd and offering their own reflections on how we as a Church, and we as a nation, can move forward.
Paradigm Shift
Jun 1, 2020 / 00:00 amWe share stories about major life shifts— stories of people whose lives took a dramatic and unexpected turn from what they were before— and often became better than those people could ever have imagined.
More than just recycling
May 26, 2020 / 00:00 amWe share some stories about the things Pope Francis writes about in his encyclical about the environment.
JPII, who were you?
May 18, 2020 / 00:00 amBiographer George Weigel and a former Swiss Guard detail the legacy of St. John Paul II. An Italian mountaineer talks about the years he spent skiing and hiking with St. John Paul II. Then, we share the story of the time an Iowa farmer invited the pope to visit his state— and the pope did!
Pilgrims’ (Perilous) Progress
May 11, 2020 / 00:00 amA group travels to the Holy Land as the coronavirus reaches pandemic levels; a proposal gone wrong on the Camino de Santiago; and a life-changing accident on a pro-life pilgrimage across the United States.
City of Angels
Apr 27, 2020 / 00:00 amRome correspondent Courtney Mares takes us on a deep dive into the history of Our Lady of Loreto. Producer Jonah McKeown asks how the largest city in California came to be entrusted to the protection of the angels.
Death Row and the Back Row
Apr 20, 2020 / 00:00 amBishop Richard Stika tells the story of the time St. John Paul II intervened in the life of a man on death row in Missouri. Then, author and photographer Chris Arnade travels the US to share the stories and faces of 'Back Row America.'
Waiting for Conversion
Apr 16, 2020 / 00:00 amJD Flynn interviews his mother about her conversion. Then, many RCIA candidates and catechumens are waiting much longer than they anticipated for their sacraments because of the coronavirus pandemic. We talk with a couple people who were affected by the delays.
Keep Palm and Carry On
Apr 6, 2020 / 00:00 amMillions of people were affected - in some way or another - by the coronavirus pandemic this Palm Sunday. We talk with a palm supplier in Florida about the impact of the coronavirus on his business. Then, a priest in Maine shares his creative alternative to palms for this year's Palm Sunday. Producer Jonah McKeown shares about the Palm Sunday Mass he attended at a parish for deaf Catholics in Maryland.
Listen at Your Leisure
Mar 30, 2020 / 00:00 amWe hear from a couple in Ohio who write fiction; Princeton professor Robbie George talks about why he plays the banjo; artist Katrina Harrington shares her plans to start a Mary Garden; a longtime FOCUS missionary talks about her new relationship with leisure; and a musician uses her leisure time to write personalized songs for people during this pandemic.
Coronavirus Comes to America
Mar 24, 2020 / 00:00 amWe talk with priests who are navigating Mass cancellations; a homeless shelter in Washington D.C. that continues its life-saving ministry to the poor; the coronavirus' impact on 12-step recovery programs; and the time Mary protected a St. Louis school from a cholera epidemic.
Italy in the time of coronavirus
Mar 23, 2020 / 00:00 amRome correspondents Hannah Brockhaus and Courtney Mares share personal essays of their experience living under lockdown in Rome. A former member of the Swiss Guard tells us about how his elderly parents are faring in the Italian city of Bergamo— one of the hardest hit cities in Italy.
The Church and disabled Catholics (Part 2)
Mar 16, 2020 / 00:00 amJeff Schinstock talks about his daughter, Regina Maria, who has severe autism. The director of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability talks about simple but effective modifications to the sacraments of initiation for Catholics with disabilities.
The Church and disabled Catholics (Part 1)
Mar 9, 2020 / 00:00 amA Catholic priest shares about his diagnosis of autism. Then, we ask how the Catholic Church can better serve Catholics with autism and we take a look into sensory-friendly Masses in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
Where's the Beef?
Mar 2, 2020 / 00:00 amD.C. correspondents Matt Hadro and Christine Rousselle taste test the Impossible Whopper at Burger King, and talk about the ethics of eating meat alternatives during Lent. Author and essayist Mary Eberstadt talks about the connection between her vegetarianism and her pro-life ethic. Then, we take a look into the lives of a community of Benedictine nuns in Northern Colorado who run a cattle ranch.
Saints of the Swamp
Feb 24, 2020 / 00:00 amIn January, the Diocese of Lafayette officially opened the causes for canonization of two Louisiana Catholics, and approved the cause of a third candidate for canonization. Senior Features Writer Mary Farrow guest hosts this week's episode about these inspiring Cajun Catholics.
Abortion regret — and redemption
Jan 13, 2020 / 00:00 amPatricia Sandoval was 12 years-old when an instructor from Planned Parenthood taught her and her classmates about "safe" sex. After three abortions and a job at Planned Parenthood, Patricia says she has found healing and redemption through Christ.
20- Cabernet + Myrrh + Baptism- 20
Jan 6, 2020 / 00:00 amWe talk with a Trappist monk who helps young monks create incense; we learn about conditional baptisms from a priest who once performed one; and a Catholic retiree who now helps run a winery near Fort Worth, Texas.
And After 8 Days. . .
Dec 30, 2019 / 00:00 amWhat was the significance of Jesus' circumcision, and of circumcision in general? We talk to priests, theologians and an art historian to find these answers. Then, we talk with a journalist who went on a years-long quest to find what some believe to be the Church's most unusual relic: the foreskin of Jesus.