Tom Vander Woude with two of his grandchildren, Michael and Bobby Vander Woude (from left to right). The Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, is investigating Tom Vander Woude’s cause for sainthood almost two decades after he died saving his son. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild

CNA Staff, Sep 8, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Suffocation awaited a young man with Down syndrome when the eroded surface of a toxic sewage tank crumbled beneath his feet.

Joseph Vander Woude would have died alone in the cramped tank surrounded by toxic fumes, but his father jumped in, pushing him toward the surface with his last breath.

Even as his lungs filled with toxic gases, Tom called out to the farmhand who was trying to pull Joseph out.

“You pull, I’ll push,” he said.

Tom eventually faded into unconsciousness, still propping Joseph up until emergency responders pulled them both out of the 7-foot-deep tank.

By the time they did, Tom was dead.

It was Sept. 8, 2008, when Tom, 66, left behind his wife and seven sons. But Tom’s legacy wouldn’t end there.

Seventeen years later, a group of Catholics is now working with the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, to open his cause for sainthood.

“You’re shocked that he’s gone, and you miss him, and you don’t know what’s going to replace that void, if it ever will be replaced,” his fifth son, Chris Vander Woude, told CNA. “But then you’re like, that’s a hero.” 

More than 1,500 people attended Tom’s funeral Mass, including the local bishop, more than 75 priests, and more than 60 altar boys.

Tom’s story continues to resonate. A guild founded in his name is interviewing those who knew him, while the diocese has named a postulator and vice postulator to investigate his cause for sainthood.

Depending on what they find, his case could go to Rome.

Signs of holiness

In the Catholic Church, three things can put you on the path to sainthood: martyrdom, heroic virtue, and now — after a 2017 move by Pope Francis to expand sainthood — a sacrificial death. 

Keith Henderson never knew Tom, but as he learned about him, he was inspired to found the Tom Vander Woude Guild that is advocating for his cause by sharing his story. Alongside the guild, the Diocese of Arlington has taken several preliminary steps to open his cause, including naming a postulator and vice postulator, who are investigating and promoting the cause.

As Henderson has learned more about Tom, he found that “his entire life was one of tremendous faith and selfless service to everyone he met.”

“His selfless life and death serve as a model for how laypeople can pursue holiness in the 21st century,” he told CNA.

“He was very joyful. His charity abounds,” Chris added. “He was always helping people.”

But at the same time, Tom was ordinary.

Chris remembers his dad as “quiet” and more of a “St. Joseph character.” Born on April 24, 1942, Tom was a “South Dakota farmer boy” who married his high school sweetheart, Mary Ellen. It was a “country boy meets city girl” type of love story, Chris said. 

Tom would go on to become many more things — math whiz, Navy pilot, commercial pilot, farmer, father, and now, potential saint. 

“He was just an ordinary sort of a guy who made an extraordinary impact in so many ways, and on so many people during his life,” Henderson said.

By all accounts, Tom was a busy man: a commercial pilot with a demanding schedule, an attentive father of seven, and a dedicated farmer.

But Tom attended daily Mass often, prayed the rosary every day, and made a weekly Holy Hour from 2 to 3 a.m. — odd hours due to his flying schedule. 

“Dad was the unquestioned leader and protector of the family, and he led spiritually, too,” Chris said. “No matter what dad did that day, if it was flying or farming, he was on his knees saying the rosary.” 

Getting Josie off the sidelines 

For Chris it has been “surreal” to share his father’s story. People are praying for his father’s intercession in all sorts of scenarios — often related to having a child with special needs, Chris said. 

Tom’s third-oldest son, Dan Vander Woude, recalled how Tom went out of his way to ensure that Joseph, affectionately known as “Josie” by his family, was included.

When he was young, part of Joseph’s physical therapy entailed crawling on the ground. Tom was right there with him, crawling on the floor. 

When a grown-up Dan asked his father to coach a JV basketball team, Tom was all in — as long as Joseph could be there, too.

“I thought Joseph would simply do the warm-ups with the team and cheer them on from the bench,” Dan recalled. 

But to Dan’s surprise, during one basketball game, Tom had convinced the other coach and the referees to let Joseph play.

“Joseph went into the game and wasted no time getting a couple of fouls and chucking up some long shots,” Dan said. “Joseph was beaming because Dad had given him the opportunity to play in a real game.”

“I was deeply moved that my dad was always committed to getting Joseph off the sidelines and into the game — in basketball and all areas of life,” Dan said. 

‘Just do the right thing’

After the sewage tank accident, Joseph spent several days at the hospital recovering. Healthy now, Joseph takes care of his 81-year-old mother on the family farm. 

“Seventeen years later, Joseph actually takes care of Mom,” Chris said. “It’s just amazing to see God’s plan and providence.”

Joseph carries the groceries, gets the door for his mom, and offers her his arm when she needs it. 

“You always see Joseph and mom together — very similar to early on, you always saw Joseph and dad together in his last few years,” Chris said. 

Tom’s family continues to grow, with 39 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. His eldest son, Father Tom Vander Woude, is a Catholic priest. 

Chris had decided to spread his father’s story after telling it to a parish in Boston one day. 

“Many people were crying,” he recalled. “They were on the edge of their seats. A lot of it resonates with them.”

“Knowing that people were grateful for being able to hear the story — that was a big catalyst,” he said. “If they were grateful, there’s probably a lot of other people out there that would love to hear his story.” 

Since then, Chris is set on sharing his father’s story. In addition to several podcasts and talks he has given at local Virginia parishes and in Maryland, he plans to speak at parishes in Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, New York City, and several other states. 

“He’s a very humble man, so he’s probably not very happy with all the notoriety,” Chris said. 

Tom wasn’t one to turn a phrase, but Chris does remember a simple saying of his dad’s. Tom used to say: “Just do the right thing,” Chris recalled. “Usually, that’s pretty simple. We’re the ones that make it more complicated by thinking of all the different circumstances or possibilities.”

“Dad never aimed to do anything extraordinary. He just aimed to live every day as best he can,” Chris said. “And so I think that’s an example for all of us.”

A painting of St. Joachim, the little Virgin Mary, and St. Anne in the Church of San Francesco in Reggio Emilia, Italy. / Credit: Renata Sedmakova/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Sep 8, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church celebrates the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary on its traditional fixed date of Sept. 8, nine months after the Dec. 8 celebration of her immaculate conception as the child of Sts. Joachim and Anne.

The circumstances of the Virgin Mary’s infancy and early life are not directly recorded in the Bible, but other documents, legends, and traditions describing the circumstances of her birth are cited by some of the earliest Christian writers from the first centuries of the Church.

These accounts are not included in the canon of Scripture and thus lack authority, but they do reflect some of the Church’s traditional beliefs about the birth of Mary.

One such non-Scriptural source is the early second century “Protoevangelium of James,” an infancy gospel offering pious legends about Mary that nevertheless affirms some of the earliest teachings of the Church on the Blessed Mother.

The Protoevangelium describes Mary’s father, Joachim, as a wealthy member of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Joachim was deeply grieved, along with his wife, Anne, by their childlessness. “He called to mind Abraham,” the early Christian writing says, “that in the last day God gave him a son, Isaac.”

Joachim and Anne began to devote themselves extensively and rigorously to prayer and fasting, initially wondering whether their inability to conceive a child might signify God’s displeasure with them.

As it turned out, however, the couple was to be blessed even more abundantly than Abraham and Sarah, as an angel revealed to Anne when he appeared to her and prophesied that all generations would honor their future child: “The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth; and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.”

After Mary’s birth, according to the “Protoevangelium of James,” Anne “made a sanctuary” in the infant girl’s room and “allowed nothing common or unclean” on account of the special holiness of the child. The same writing records that when she was 1 year old, her father “made a great feast and invited the priests, and the scribes, and the elders, and all the people of Israel.”

“And Joachim brought the child to the priests,” the account continues, “and they blessed her, saying: ‘O God of our fathers, bless this child, and give her an everlasting name to be named in all generations’ ... And he brought her to the chief priests; and they blessed her, saying: ‘O God most high, look upon this child, and bless her with the utmost blessing, which shall be for ever.’”

The protoevangelium goes on to describe how Mary’s parents, along with the Temple priests, subsequently decided that she would be offered to God as a consecrated virgin for the rest of her life and enter a chaste marriage with the carpenter Joseph.

St. Augustine described the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary as an event of cosmic and historic significance and an appropriate prelude to the birth of Jesus Christ. “She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley,” he said.

The fourth-century bishop, whose theology profoundly shaped the Western Church’s understanding of sin and human nature, affirmed that “through her birth, the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.”

This story was first published on Sept. 5, 2010, and has been updated.

The Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

CNA Staff, Sep 7, 2025 / 14:56 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV announced a historic partnership between the Vatican and two famous Chicago restaurateurs, Art Smith and Phil Stefani, to open a restaurant at Borgo Laudato Si’, a 135-acre “zero environmental impact” complex in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. 

Pope Leo XIV inaugurated the project during a livestreamed ceremony on Sept. 5, viewed at a Chicago watch party attended by Stefani, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and other prominent figures.

The new restaurant will be located at Borgo Laudato Si’, which is within the historic Papal Villas, a 17th-century summer residence for popes. The site promotes Pope Francis’ teachings on environmental stewardship.

At the inauguration of Borgo Laudato Si’ village on Friday, Pope Leo XIV said it “is one of the Church’s initiatives aimed at realizing the ‘vocation to be custodians of God’s handiwork.’”

Earlier this year, a committee led by the late Pope Francis selected Smith and Stefani to oversee the unprecedented project, which will debut in spring 2026 as the estate’s sole restaurant and caterer, serving breakfast and lunch, and will include a small market.

The restaurant will serve Italian fare made from fresh, locally-sourced food with international influences, blending Chicago and Peruvian flavors in honor of Pope Leo XIV. 

Ingredients will come from a solar-powered greenhouse within Borgo Laudato Si’, which is modeled after St. Peter’s Square’s colonnade, and other local sources. The complex, which includes gardens, vineyards, training programs in organic farming, pesticide-free winemaking and olive harvesting, will also offer retreats for business leaders and ecology education programs.

The ecological complex also includes state-of-the-art insulation, photovoltaic, and circular water management systems.

Smith, a James Beard Award winner and former personal chef to Oprah Winfrey, is celebrated for his work with Common Threads, a nonprofit, and currently runs Reunion and Blue Door Kitchen & Garden in Chicago. 

Stefani, whose Italian restaurant empire began in 1980 with Stefani’s, operates the Stefani Restaurant Group, running Tavern on Rush, Stefani Prime, Tuscany, Castaways Beach Club, Stefani’s Bottega Italiana, and Broken English Taco Pub. 

“As a Catholic and Italian, this project is a dream for my family and me,” Stefani said. “To be part of a culinary experience on Vatican property is deeply meaningful to us. But we also share this honor with the city of Chicago. We have the unique opportunity to bring a taste of home, some of that unique Chicago spirit, to a global audience.” 

Johnson called Smith and Stefani “true Chicago legends” and the partnership a “striking and serendipitous win” for the city.

Another Chicago tie is Father Manuel Dorantes, appointed administrative management director of the Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education in November 2024. Previously pastor of St. Mary of the Lake-Our Lady of Lourdes Parish on Chicago’s North Side, Dorantes joined Pope Leo XIV at Friday’s ceremony.

Carlo Acutis. / Credit: carloacutis.com

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 6, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

“Dear faithful and most beloved young people, let yourselves be guided by Carlo, follow his example, follow in his footsteps, walk his path,” the bishop said.

Timothée Croux, a young seminarian from the French Diocese of Meaux, has written a book about Pier Giorgio Frassati. / Credit: Victoria Cardiel/EWTN News

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 6, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

Timothée Croux said he discovered Frassati, who was from Turin, Italy, and who died in 1925, through scouting and shares many personal affinities with the soon-to-be saint.

The Duke and Duchess of Kent stand on a balcony at Buckingham Palace during the annual Trooping the Colour Ceremony on June 15, 2013, in London. / Credit: Carfax2/CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

National Catholic Register, Sep 6, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

The Duchess of Kent’s 1994 reception into the Church by Cardinal Basil Hume marked the first public conversion of a senior British royal since the Stuart era.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died at the age of 24 in 1925, is beloved by many Catholic young people today for his enthusiastic witness to holiness that reaches “to the heights.” / Credit: Public domain

CNA Staff, Sep 6, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Pier Giorgio Frassati, the young Italian who will be canonized on Sept. 7, became a popular role model soon after he died on July 4, 1925, at the age of 24.

A view of damaged houses in the Annalee Street area of North Belfast, Northern Ireland. A spokesman for the Diocese of Down and Connor strongly condemned intimidation and attacks on Catholic families there that have led all families but one to flee their homes. The families were living in a housing development bordering a predominantly loyalist district in the north of the city. / Credit: Colum Lenehan/The Irish News

Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sep 6, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Sectarian attacks by loyalist paramilitary groups on women and children in Belfast, Northern Ireland, have led to several Catholic families being forced to leave their homes.

null / Credit: maxuser/Shutterstock

London, England, Sep 5, 2025 / 16:36 pm (CNA).

Entrepreneurs, academics, and clergy came together in Scotland’s capital to tackle the ethics of emerging AI technologies in the context of Catholic social teaching.

Pope Francis with the king and queen of Belgium during his visit to the country in 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 5, 2025 / 15:36 pm (CNA).

The Belgian bishops announced a new collection to raise the remaining 800,000 euros ($940,000) to cover the debts owed for the 2024 historic visit by Pope Francis.