Talking Catholic

In honor of the Solemnity of All Saints, we invited to the show our resident saint experts Laurie Power and Pete Sanchez of the award-winning Talking Saints podcast. The duo walk hosts Kari Jannise and Mike Walsh through a litany of saintly topics including the canonization process, their favorite saints, and how to utilize the saints. It’s a great conversation touching on many saints, both famous...

We don’t often think about the professionals working for the Church, but in every diocese in the world professionals work every day to keep the lights on, provide services, handle the accounting, staff the schools, and a myriad of other blue-collar and white-collar jobs. With that in mind we brought a few of our favorite people together to chat, both in terms of why they work for the Church and wh...

“Open wide the doors to Christ.” With these words, Pope John Paul II began his pontificate in 1978, and in the next three decades, he sought to show the masses how to embrace a life for Jesus.  In the latest Talking Saints, Laurie and Pete share the life and teachings of a Saint who wasn’t afraid to reveal his own joys and sufferings, on mission of a “springtime of evangelization” to bring God’s l...

This week, across the globe, dioceses began the process that will result in the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in 2023. This two-year worldwide conversation begins in the local church and will methodically move it’s way from parishes, to deaneries, to ecclesiastical provinces, to national conferences, and finally to the Vatican. To discuss this unique effort we brought back...

It’s been an incredibly busy few weeks in Catholic world, so Jen Mauro and Mike Walsh brought in someone working at least as much as they are to talk shop - Jose Rodrigues, the Director of Family and Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Camden. As Catholic world is in full-swing again, the trio talk about a recent, hugely successful catechist event, an upcoming Synod event that will feature the award...

At the midpoint of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15), hosts Marianela Nunez and Mike Walsh chat with two favorite returning guests, Fr. Rene Canales, pastor, Our Lady of Guaduple Parish Shrine, Lindenwold, NJ and Helen Persing, principal, Saint John Paul II Elementary School, Stratford, NJ. Fr. Canales and Mrs. Persing have been working together as pastor and principal for only a year, bu...

September 20-26 was #NationalMigrationWeek – a longstanding celebration and opportunity for the Church to reflect on the circumstances confronting migrants and refugees.  In this episode, we hear from J. Antonio Fernandez, President/CEO of Catholic Charities of San Antonio, who has years of experience in Catholic Charities leadership across the nation. He shares with Mary McCusker his perspectives...

This week we welcome back a favorite guest, Deacon Jim Hallman, of Our Lady of Peace Parish in Williamstown, NJ. He discusses with hosts Kari Janisse and Mike Walsh an upcoming presentation at his parish featuring more than 150 relics of Catholic saints, including relics of St. Maria Goretti, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Faustina...

Even when we experience disappointment and suffering, God is making a joyful life for us.  Caterina Fieschi’s desired life of entering the convent turned into a married life of spousal infidelity and financial ruin, but the Genoese woman soon understood God’s greater plan for her, after a transformative night in confession.  Hear the story of the saint we now call Catherine of Genoa on the latest...

This week we bring in 4 of our 5 co-hosts for a chat about what we are focusing on for Fall 2021 in the Catholic Church. Mike Walsh, Kari Janisse, Marianela Nunez and Jennifer Mauro discuss the opening of another youth ministry year and school year, as well as diocesan and Vatican news. It’s a great chat with a lot of things we should be excited about in the Church as we move into Autumn. Listen t...

After a little well-deserved R&R, our hosts Marianela Nunez and Mike Walsh return to the podcast with a Back to School episode featuring one of our favorite guests Dr. Bill Watson, Secretary for Catholic Education and Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Camden. The trio talk about the successes achieved by the 30+ schools in the Diocese of Camden last year as they opened for 5-day-a-week...

As summer is drawing to a close, hosts Mike Walsh and Kari Janisse took a little trip there not to catch some rays, but to eat some good food and enjoy a great chat with two of the co-owners of the Doo-Wop Drive-In Restaurant in Wildwood Crest: Bryan and Karen Grant, parishioners of Our Lady of Peace Parish, in Williamstown, NJ. We chat not only about their AMAZING food (creations of their fellow...

We FINALLY got on the show two of our most requested podcast guests, Molly & Mike Bedics. While they may not be recognizable by name, for anyone who was watching Bishop Dennis Sullivan’s live-streamed Sunday Masses during the height of the pandemic, they became local celebrities. The married duo provided the music during these Masses and comment after comment on the broadcasts praised their singin...

“It is well done.  Turn me over!” Lying on a hot gridiron, on the brink of death, Saint Lawrence kept his sense of joy and humor to the last, knowing his martyrdom would bring him to the glory that he longed for. On the feast of this 3rd century Deacon, Talking Saints hosts Laurie and Pete share the life and death of a holy man who inspired the early Catholic Church, and continues to motivate othe...

It’s been a busy Vatican Summer and with a full Vatican Autumn looming. With this in mind we asked noted Catholic Star Herald columnist and professor at Loyola University Chicago’s Institute of Pastoral Studies, Michael Canaris, Ph. D., to join us on the podcast to do a deep dive on a few topics. First up, hosts Jennifer Mauro and Mike Walsh chat with Mike about Pope Francis’ July 16th letter “Tra...

On today’s episode our hosts Mary McCusker and Mike Walsh introduce you to the new managing editor of The Catholic Star Herald, Jennifer Mauro. The official newspaper of the Diocese of Camden has seen its first change in leadership in 26 years as the former managing editor Carl Peters retired in July after 32 years at the paper. Mary and Mike give Carl a proper sendoff and then chat with Jen on he...

In another sign of the return of normalcy, we’re thrilled to be talking about the Summer in the City youth program returning in-person this August! Joining our hosts Mary McCusker and Mike Walsh are the Director of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministries for the Diocese of Camden, Jose Rodriguez, and former Summer in the City participant and current junior counselor Yen Nguyen. SITC is a week–lon...

As the world slowly seems to be getting back to normal, so does the world of Catholic news. Our solo host today, Mike Walsh, updates us about the installation of the Knights of Columbus New Jersey State Council, pro-life advocacy efforts, the upcoming World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, and a column series from Bishop Dennis Sullivan highlighting his 50 years as a priest. Then Mike welcomes...

How many of us, at the point of death, would ask that our enemies be “with me in heaven forever?” Saint Maria Goretti did say this on her deathbed, and not request just any enemy- but her murderer, Allesandro Serenelli. The faith, love, and mercy of this young Italian girl, 11-years-old when she was killed for resisting Allesandro’s advances, are recounted by our Talking Saints’ co-hosts Laurie an...

Recently, The Joy of Love & Family Conference Series was made available on-line. This virtual conference, the result of a partnership among the five Catholic dioceses of New Jersey, will run though November and offer monthly presentations from acclaimed speakers from across the Catholic landscape who will be focusing on various aspects of family life, at all its stages. Joining us on the podcast t...

This week, Mary McCusker and Mike Walsh chat with two lively, passionate members of Catholic Charities of South Jersey:  Stephanie Mekal, who works as a case manager in Camden county, and Jerry Grant, a social work intern.  Both dive into their different backgrounds and how they wound up serving at Catholic Charities.  Give it a listen to learn more about each of their roles and journeys – along w...

In today’s podcast of Talking Catholic, Marianela Nunez and Mike Walsh are thrilled to celebrate with Catholic school leaders the end of a successful year with joyful events and graduations! If you still don’t know how Catholic educators managed to stay open for in-person learning in the midst of a global pandemic, check out this podcasts for interesting insights of the school year overall. The po...

Hockey refs, much like the athletes they ensure play within the rules, are a tough bunch. On today’s show we have one of the toughest and hardest working refs to ever lace up skates in the NHL, Kerry Fraser. Our guest this week, who retired in 2010 after a 30+ year career in the NHL where he reffed the most regular season games in league history, regales our hosts Kari Janisse and Mike Walsh with...

It has been a long 15 months, but as of June 5th, in the State of New Jersey the dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass is lifted. It’s the most notable step in the “return to normalcy” since churches were reopened for Mass mid-pandemic. This benchmark got our host Mike Walsh and his guest Donna Ottaviano-Britt, director of discipleship and leadership for the Diocese of Camden, to begin t...

Considered to be the first Christian philosopher, Justin Martyr, whose Feast Day the Catholic Church celebrates today, demonstrates how the pathway to truth always leads to God.  This 2nd Century thinker/convert/martyr’s defense of the faith is unpacked by hosts Laurie and Pete this week, as the tireless saint’s writings show a man who found the goodness of the Christian life, and was determined t...