In 1836, the Potawatomi, many of whom were Catholic, were force-marched from Indiana to Kansas. A young priest named Benjamin Petit, joined them.
Episodes about "laity"
Padre Pio and US Servicemen
St. Padre Pio had some interesting interactions with US servicemen during and after WWII, including reports of a flying friar waving off bombers.
Joyce Kilmer, Warrior Poet of World War I
The poet Joyce Kilmer was a Catholic convert who wrote “Trees” and more poems, and died heroically during World War I in France.
Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day was a champion of the rights and dignity of the poor and laborers was lauded for her holiness even as others decried her former roots in Communism.
Kentucky Catholics and Bourbon
Catholic families from Maryland moved to the Kentucky frontier where they established the Church and helped make Bourbon a thing.
Gene Kranz, NASA Mission Control
As director of mission control, Gene Kranz oversaw dozens of NASA spaceflights, including Apollo 11 and 13. And his Catholic faith played a large role.
Yogi Berra
Yankees legend Yogi Berra was perhaps the best catcher of all time, he is the source of some of the greatest quotes in American history, and a devout Catholic.
The 1918 Spanish Flu and Philadelphia’s Catholics
The Influenza pandemic of 1918 hit Philadelphia particularly hard, killing up to 16,000 people. The Catholic Church in the city stepped up to help mightily.
Fr. Pierre Gibault and Francis Vigo, Catholic Revolutionary Heroes
Fr. Pierre Gibault and Francis Vigo were instrumental in helping George Rogers Clark defeat the British in the western theatre of the Revolutionary War.