Holy Donors

In part 4 of Katharine’s story, we finally see her work come to fruition. In Katharine's lifetime, she saw the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament grow from her original five sisters to 500+. When she passed away at the age of 94, she had survived typhoid fever, multiple heart attacks, bomb threats, riots, prejudices, tornadoes and more. And, through it all, her love for God and His children shined so brightly.

There is no d...

In this episode, we learn the radical choice Katharine makes for her future. But, as with most things in Katharine's life, she is not going to simply go with the flow. Instead, she creates her own path and paves a new way. She is a woman on a mission and nothing - not strikes, riots, prejudice, tornadoes, typhoid, or the KKK - will knock her off course.
The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament will take the world by storm.
...

In this episode, we discover that Katharine experienced even more tragedy in her young life. With the death of her father, Katharine lost her North Star, and she struggled to discern God's call for her life.

For six years, Katharine remained indecisive about what to do next. She was torn between life as a nun or life as a wife. The stress of loss and doubt caused her health to decline, and we learn that Katharine eventuall...

Welcome to this encore season featuring Katharine Drexel, the 2nd American born Catholic saint.  We title this season “The Saintly Socialite”, and in the coming episodes, you’ll hear the story of how Katharine makes the intentional choice to go from "riches to rags."  

This episode shares details of Katharine’s childhood, and our hosts discuss formative, albeit often tragic, events of Katharine’s youth.  Not everythi...

Welcome to another all-in-one Holy Donors season!  As we recently did with our season on George W. Strake, we’re giving you the full season about potential holy donor George Herman “Babe” Ruth, Jr. all at once!  Again, we know this makes for a long episode, but it also allows for all of the goodness to arrive at once.  

When people think of Babe Ruth, they immediately call to mind his legendary baseball career and his party ha...

Well, friends, we're trying something new this time.  Instead of spreading this encore season about George W. Strake out over an entire month, we're giving you the full season at once!  This episode is a longer episode that alleviates the impatience of waiting for the following week's episode, and it gives you the entire story of George W. Strake in one place.

What we discover in this all-in-one episode is that Geo...

Hello again!  In this week's final episode about St. Francis of Assisi, our hosts discuss Francis's legacy after death.  In a show of overwhelming support and rare speed, Pope Gregory IX declared Francis a saint less than two years after his death.  Francis's three orders, the ones he started when he was alive, are still thriving today, with members all over the world.  

The big question for this week revolves arou...

In this episode, our hosts return to the story of Francis and the mountain he was gifted, La Verna.  At 43 years old, Francis spent 40 days on La Verna in prayer and fasting, contemplating Christ's passion.  In response to Francis's fervent prayer to share in Christ's suffering, the stigmata, the wounds of Jesus, appeared on his body and remained there for the rest of his life.  

Francis passed away 2 years later, ...

This week's episode about St. Francis has it all!  Our hosts share stories of Francis and family drama, papal visits, world travel, physical violence, and more.  Most important, however, is that this episode outlines the bulk of Francis's faithful ministry. 

Francis, after hearing God's call to rebuild the Church, turns away from the family business (much to his father's chagrin) and vows to devote his life to...

Welcome back to Holy Donors!  This season we're featuring someone who is likely a crowd favorite, St. Francis of Assisi.  While St. Francis is well-known and well-loved, our hosts aim to focus on parts of St. Francis's life that listeners might not know as much about.  

In this episode, we hear stories about Francis's childhood, his family, and his fun-loving friends.  St. Francis grew up with immense wealth, and i...

Journey with Andrew, Matt, Thaddeus and Rhen as they walk through the creation of this season of Holy Donors - The Capitalist: John Raskob. Our hosts share a behind the scenes look at the research involved in the podcast creation and the process of recording the show.
As they share, our hosts remain in awe of John Raskob and all he accomplished, both in the business world and in the Catholic church. They refer back to John'...

In this episode, we come to a turning point in John’s life. It’s during the mid-1920s when he realizes that he has become someone important in the business world. From there, John understands that he can use his business skills to make a notable difference for the Church he loves so much.

Our hosts also share how John establishes a family foundation as the culmination of his philanthropy. The foundation allows John to combine...

God’s plan is the best plan. We all think we know what is best until something comes along to change our course.
As we become more acquainted with John Raskob, we discover the depth of his faith. Out of defeat and failure, he leans into his faith and comes out even stronger. When his dreams of politics fail, he pivots and asks “What’s next?”
And, what comes next looks a lot like the tallest building in the world.

---

"The man, the myth, the legend." Perhaps this phrase could have been coined after the life of John Raskob. Our hosts begin this episode by answering the question, “can John save his relationship with Pierre DuPont?”  Fortunately for everyone involved, he does save that relationship, and he and Pierre move on to bigger and better things.  
In this episode we follow John through his early career, the beginning of WWI, fi...