Rev. John Trigilio, Jr.

Rev. Fr. John Trigilio, Jr., PhD, ThD, is President of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy and a member of the faculty at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He is the co-author of previous editions of Catholicism For Dummies.

Articles & Books From Rev. John Trigilio, Jr.

article / Updated 05-02-2025
The College of Cardinals elects the pope. Nope, that’s not a university where priests and bishops learn how to become cardinals. Unlike Notre Dame and The Catholic University of America, the College of Cardinals merely refers to all the cardinals around the world, just as the College of Bishops is a way of describing all the world’s Catholic bishops.
Catholicism All-in-One For Dummies
Let there be light — illuminating info about today’s Catholic church Catholicism All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition offers a path toward understanding the beliefs of the Catholic church and how the church operates. Fully updated with information on newly canonized saints, updated teachings from Pope Francis, and how Catholic beliefs intersect with the modern world, this edition gets you up to date with the last 2,000-or-so years of Catholic history.
Catholicism For Dummies
Peer through the stained glass and get an inside look at Christianity's most popular religion Catholicism can seem a bit mysterious to non-Catholics—and even Catholics. Embrace your curiosity and turn to Dummies for answers! Full of fascinating facts and written in a friendly style, Catholicism For Dummies explains the basics of Catholic beliefs like the importance of Sunday Mass; the seven sacraments; the purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; heaven, hell, and purgatory; the Trinity; and so much more.
Article / Updated 03-13-2017
According to pious Catholic tradition, in the 13th century, Mary, the Mother of God, appeared to St. Dominic de Guzman, gave him a rosary, and asked that instead of praying the Psalms on beads or knots, the faithful pray the Hail Mary, Our Father, and the Glory Be.Fifteen decades made up the original Dominican Rosary, but it was later abbreviated.
Article / Updated 09-27-2021
Feels like kind of a big question, eh? The cut-to-the-chase answer is that Catholicism is a Christian religion (just as Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy). Catholics are members of the Roman Catholic Church (which means they follow the authority of the bishop of Rome, otherwise known as the pope), and they share various beliefs and ways of worship, as well as a distinct outlook on life.
Article / Updated 03-13-2017
The word church has many meanings. Most obviously, it can signify a building where sacred worship takes place. The Catholic Church is not one particular building even though the head of the Church (the pope) lives next to Saint Peter's Basilica (the largest church in the world) in Rome.People who use the church building — the body or assembly of believers — are also known as the church.
Article / Updated 03-13-2017
Gnosticism comes from the Greek work gnosis, for knowledge. From the first century b.c. to the fifth century a.d., Gnostics believed in secret knowledge, whereas the Jews and Christians were free and public about disclosing the truth divinely revealed by God.Gnostics believed that the material world was evil and the only way to salvation was through discovering the "secrets" of the universe.
Article / Updated 03-13-2017
Here is a list of ten of the most famous Catholics, beginning with the most famous. But take heed: Just being baptized Catholic doesn't mean a person is a good Catholic. The Catholic Church believes that a good Catholic is one who regularly and faithfully practices his faith every day of his life. A person who dissents from official Catholic teaching on faith and morals, who never or only irregularly attends Mass, or who has a scandalous, immoral lifestyle is not considered a practicing — or a good — Catholic.
Article / Updated 11-24-2021
Catholics do not worship saints, but the saints are near and dear to Catholic hearts. Catholics respect and honor the saints and consider them to be the heroes of the Church. The Church emphasizes that they were ordinary people from ordinary families, and they were totally human. Here are some tidbits about the lives of 11 ordinary people who became popular saints.
Article / Updated 03-13-2017
Many were martyred during the Roman persecutions of Catholics. Martyr is actually a Greek word for witness. These faithful Christians tried to avoid persecution, but if hours of torture and a horrible death resulted from witnessing to the faith, they accepted it. St. Stephen was the first deacon of the Catholic Church and the first Christian martyr (also called the Proto-martyr).