
From Leo XIII to Leo XIV: 135 years of Catholic social teaching
In 1891 a pope spoke into the chaos of the Industrial Revolution. In 2026 his namesake spoke into the age of AI. The tradition connecting them is worth knowing.

When Pope Leo XIV visits the city of Florida, Uruguay, in November, he will pray before a 400-year-old statue that watched over the birth of a nation.

At his first general audience after the summer break, the Pope drew a line between prayer as encounter with God and meditation as a tool for personal well-being.

Born into poverty on August 4 in segregated New Orleans, baptized Catholic at three weeks old, Louis Armstrong's soul was as extraordinary as his music.

A yellowed flyer found in a Florence convent pharmacy describes a 19th-century tonic made from coca leaves and kola nuts. Sound familiar?