Links
Some websites and blogsites I find I return to time and time again as I research the lives of the Saints. Here are some of them. Below them you will find lists of other useful sites.
Websites for Researching the Saints
www.catholic-forum.com/saints/patronnf.htm When determining which Saint to write about for Society of Saints this is the first port of call, in particular the 'Today on the Calendar of Saints' option. I compare this list with that in 'Butler's Lives of the Saints - New Full Edition' published 1996-1997 to make a short list to choose from.
www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/saint_a.shtml This is the Master Index for the listing of 'Saint of the Day'. When ever an internet search request turns up this website I know it will give excellent information, particularly about the lesser known saints. Used in conjunction with the 'Today on the Calendar of Saints' option (above) it is very effective.
http://www.catholickingdom.com/s_Library/Books/V/Victories_of_the_Martyrs_LIGUORI_OCR_CK.pdf This PDF link gets you to 'Victories of the Saints' by St Alphonsus de Liguori. It deals with many of the early martyrs of the Church and is a particularly good source for information about the Japanese martyrs.
www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/index_blessed_en.html This page shows the beatifications proclaimed by Blessed Pope John Paul the Great for 1979, 1997-2008. Sadly there doesn't appear to be an equivalent for Pope Benedict XVI, although 2005-2008 is present. For the missing years I depend upon 'John Paul II's Book of Saints' by Matthew, Margaret and Stephen Bunson 1999, but sometimes even they don't have an entry for a Saint in the missing period.
www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/index_saints_en.html This page shows the canonizations of Saints during the pontificate of Blessed Pope John Paul the Great, and some canonizations post 2005. Groups of Martyrs canonized are not shown here. For most of the Saints listed here there will be a photo and a biography. Google translate will help for when only non-English biographies are provided.
www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/cult-martyrum/martiri/01.html This page gives a listing of all the martyrs canonised and beatified by Blessed Pope John Paul the Great between 1981 and 2003. It is in Italian, so you need to find the segment you are interested in and then hope that Google Translate does the rest. Many of the groups of Martyrs are listed here.
www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/cult-martyrum/martini/index.html is the parent page to the page above and gives gateway links to other groups of Martyrs, eg Jesuits, Carmelites, Passionists, Cistercians, Franciscans, Mexicans. Again it is all given in Italian, so Google Translate is your friend.
www.ewtn.com/library/search.asp This is the search page for the document library at EWTN. Often it is the only place that you will find online copies of early papal documents - The Vatican website doesn't go back past around 1900, and even then many of the pre 1950 documents have not yet been posted. Once in a while they have a page about a Saint's life which contains more detail than other sites.
Other Useful Websites
www.yearofgrace.catholic.org.au This is the official website for the Australian 'Year of Grace' which runs from Pentecost 2012 (27 May) until Christ the King 2013 (24 Nov)
http://www.annusfidei.va/content/novaevangelizatio/en.html This is the official English language version of the Vatican website for the 'Year of Faith' which runs from 11 October 2012 (anniversary of the start of Vatican II and of the release of the Catechism of the Catholic Church) until Christ the King, November 2013. Within this website there is a lot of content to explore. Of special interest is the official hymn, a sung version of the Creed, and the official logo, which can both be found under the 'Annus Fidei' tab.
www.xt3.com This website was set up in preparation for World Youth Day, Sydney 2008, and remains a legacy of those days of Grace. In simple terms is a Catholic version of Facebook. If you want to find out what is going on around the world at a grass roots faith level, this is where you will find out. One of the most popular groups is 'Ask a Priest'. Finding people with common interests is done by going to 'Networks' then 'Groups' then 'Find Groups' and entering a search term like 'writers', 'vocations', 'divine mercy', 'ethics', 'apologetics' into 'Group's name' and clicking search. For example there is a group for Catholic Parents, another for Home Schoolers Brigade, yet another for those who want to talk about Theology of the Body. Your Home page gives information about Headlines all over the world related to faith matters, and its always interesting to read.
www.vatican.va/phome_en.htm is the English version home page of the Vatican website. It is THE place to go if you are looking for Papal documents and speeches. Sometimes the homily given at a beatification or canonization or at an Angelus or Audience close to those events will give extra information about a Saint, or at least underline his or her special charism.
www.40daysforlife.com/about.cfm If you are having a bad day, take a few minutes to read the articles within the Blog for this website. Many contain stories of how God's grace enabled mothers-to-be to choose life for their unborn babies. Through prayer, fasting, vigil and community awareness several abortion centres have closed, some employees have chosen to leave their jobs and hundreds of babies have been given a chance to find the path that God has for them in this life.
Catholic Blog Networks
http://guildofblessedtitus.blogspot.com.au/ The blog roll at the Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma is very impressive. Many of the bloggers are from the UK, but not all of them. Blessed Titus Brandsma was chosen as a saintly patron of Catholic bloggers because of his courageous journalism in the face of the horrors of World War II prior to his martyrdom in 1942.
http://topcatholicblogs.com/ is another way to find good Catholic blogs. On each webpage several blog-sites are shown, each with a selection of titles from recent blog posts under them. At least one of those titles is sure to intrigue a 'let's click and find out more' from you.
http://www.restlesspress.net/ is another site to find Catholic Bloggers, this time with an Australian/New Zealand talent pool. Blogging articles are grouped according to themes like Vocation, Culture, Well-being and Witness.
Recommended Twitter sources
@Pontifex for inspirational one liners from Pope Francis
@chnetwork for written and video testimonies of how people have journeyed home to the Catholic faith
@Xt3dotcom for good articles to read, and reports on current affairs
Websites for Researching the Saints
www.catholic-forum.com/saints/patronnf.htm When determining which Saint to write about for Society of Saints this is the first port of call, in particular the 'Today on the Calendar of Saints' option. I compare this list with that in 'Butler's Lives of the Saints - New Full Edition' published 1996-1997 to make a short list to choose from.
www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/saint_a.shtml This is the Master Index for the listing of 'Saint of the Day'. When ever an internet search request turns up this website I know it will give excellent information, particularly about the lesser known saints. Used in conjunction with the 'Today on the Calendar of Saints' option (above) it is very effective.
http://www.catholickingdom.com/s_Library/Books/V/Victories_of_the_Martyrs_LIGUORI_OCR_CK.pdf This PDF link gets you to 'Victories of the Saints' by St Alphonsus de Liguori. It deals with many of the early martyrs of the Church and is a particularly good source for information about the Japanese martyrs.
www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/index_blessed_en.html This page shows the beatifications proclaimed by Blessed Pope John Paul the Great for 1979, 1997-2008. Sadly there doesn't appear to be an equivalent for Pope Benedict XVI, although 2005-2008 is present. For the missing years I depend upon 'John Paul II's Book of Saints' by Matthew, Margaret and Stephen Bunson 1999, but sometimes even they don't have an entry for a Saint in the missing period.
www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/index_saints_en.html This page shows the canonizations of Saints during the pontificate of Blessed Pope John Paul the Great, and some canonizations post 2005. Groups of Martyrs canonized are not shown here. For most of the Saints listed here there will be a photo and a biography. Google translate will help for when only non-English biographies are provided.
www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/cult-martyrum/martiri/01.html This page gives a listing of all the martyrs canonised and beatified by Blessed Pope John Paul the Great between 1981 and 2003. It is in Italian, so you need to find the segment you are interested in and then hope that Google Translate does the rest. Many of the groups of Martyrs are listed here.
www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/cult-martyrum/martini/index.html is the parent page to the page above and gives gateway links to other groups of Martyrs, eg Jesuits, Carmelites, Passionists, Cistercians, Franciscans, Mexicans. Again it is all given in Italian, so Google Translate is your friend.
www.ewtn.com/library/search.asp This is the search page for the document library at EWTN. Often it is the only place that you will find online copies of early papal documents - The Vatican website doesn't go back past around 1900, and even then many of the pre 1950 documents have not yet been posted. Once in a while they have a page about a Saint's life which contains more detail than other sites.
Other Useful Websites
www.yearofgrace.catholic.org.au This is the official website for the Australian 'Year of Grace' which runs from Pentecost 2012 (27 May) until Christ the King 2013 (24 Nov)
http://www.annusfidei.va/content/novaevangelizatio/en.html This is the official English language version of the Vatican website for the 'Year of Faith' which runs from 11 October 2012 (anniversary of the start of Vatican II and of the release of the Catechism of the Catholic Church) until Christ the King, November 2013. Within this website there is a lot of content to explore. Of special interest is the official hymn, a sung version of the Creed, and the official logo, which can both be found under the 'Annus Fidei' tab.
www.xt3.com This website was set up in preparation for World Youth Day, Sydney 2008, and remains a legacy of those days of Grace. In simple terms is a Catholic version of Facebook. If you want to find out what is going on around the world at a grass roots faith level, this is where you will find out. One of the most popular groups is 'Ask a Priest'. Finding people with common interests is done by going to 'Networks' then 'Groups' then 'Find Groups' and entering a search term like 'writers', 'vocations', 'divine mercy', 'ethics', 'apologetics' into 'Group's name' and clicking search. For example there is a group for Catholic Parents, another for Home Schoolers Brigade, yet another for those who want to talk about Theology of the Body. Your Home page gives information about Headlines all over the world related to faith matters, and its always interesting to read.
www.vatican.va/phome_en.htm is the English version home page of the Vatican website. It is THE place to go if you are looking for Papal documents and speeches. Sometimes the homily given at a beatification or canonization or at an Angelus or Audience close to those events will give extra information about a Saint, or at least underline his or her special charism.
www.40daysforlife.com/about.cfm If you are having a bad day, take a few minutes to read the articles within the Blog for this website. Many contain stories of how God's grace enabled mothers-to-be to choose life for their unborn babies. Through prayer, fasting, vigil and community awareness several abortion centres have closed, some employees have chosen to leave their jobs and hundreds of babies have been given a chance to find the path that God has for them in this life.
Catholic Blog Networks
http://guildofblessedtitus.blogspot.com.au/ The blog roll at the Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma is very impressive. Many of the bloggers are from the UK, but not all of them. Blessed Titus Brandsma was chosen as a saintly patron of Catholic bloggers because of his courageous journalism in the face of the horrors of World War II prior to his martyrdom in 1942.
http://topcatholicblogs.com/ is another way to find good Catholic blogs. On each webpage several blog-sites are shown, each with a selection of titles from recent blog posts under them. At least one of those titles is sure to intrigue a 'let's click and find out more' from you.
http://www.restlesspress.net/ is another site to find Catholic Bloggers, this time with an Australian/New Zealand talent pool. Blogging articles are grouped according to themes like Vocation, Culture, Well-being and Witness.
Recommended Twitter sources
@Pontifex for inspirational one liners from Pope Francis
@chnetwork for written and video testimonies of how people have journeyed home to the Catholic faith
@Xt3dotcom for good articles to read, and reports on current affairs