The Spanish were among the first Europeans to explore what is now the United States, and the first to found a permanent settlement here (St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565). From Alaska's Madre de Dios Island to Mexico, Maine, the United States is dotted with Spanish place names.Here are a few. Alamo: poplar..he Spanish were among the first Europeans to explore what is now the United States, and the first to found a permanent settlement here (St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565). From Alaska's Madre de Dios Island to Mexico, Maine, the United States is dotted with Spanish place names. Here are a few. Alamo: poplar..
Blessed John Henry Newmanâs Story. John Henry Newman, the 19th-centuryâs most important English-speaking Roman Catholic theologian, spent the first half of his life as an Anglican and the second half as a Roman Catholic. He was a priest, popular preacher, writer, and eminent theologian in both Churches.
First as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and then Pope Benedict XVI from 2005 to 2013 after John Paul II's death, he will be remembered as a foremost Catholic theologian and a sincere pastor for the Catholic faithful.n Monday, the 264th successor of St. Peter, the Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, announced that, at 8 p.m. on Feb. 28, the Chair of St. Peter would be empty. For the first time in six centuries, a Pope is resigning.