Quote of the Day

"Columbus was not only a good man. He was extraordinary. He was the instrument of extraordinary grace... It is one thing to say that Columbus discovered America. It is something else to realize that he opened the door to the most phenomenal spread of Christianity since the time of St. Paul.... He was the destined herald of the true faith to half of the human race."

--Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., Christopher Columbus: The Catholic Discovery of America (Eternal Life, 2012), p. 13

Quote of the Day

Landing of Columbus at the Island of Guanahaní, West Indies by John Vanderlyn (1846)

"The underlying motive of Columbus' historic voyage was the conversion of those who did not know Christ as the living Son of God who became the Son of Mary. His favorite prayer, said in Latin, was 'Jesu cum Maria sit nobis in via', which means 'May Jesus with Mary be with us on the way.' For Columbus this way meant both the voyage through time into eternity and the voyage in time to bring Mary's faith in her divine Son to a still unbelieving world."

--Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., Christopher Columbus: The Catholic Discovery of America (Eternal Life, 2012), p. 15