Editorial

DEAR friend, bears are a protected species in Italy and, as they had completely disappeared in the north-eastern region of Trentino, three specimens were imported from Slovenia about two decades ago. Since then, the number of bears has increased from three to about one hundred, posing a danger for the safety of the population in that region. In particular, a few months ago, a 17-year-old female bear, identified as JJ4, which had previously attacked two hikers, killed a young man, Andrea Papi, while he was jogging in the woods...

DEAR friend, with the feast of St Anthony approaching, I decided to pick up a book I had not read for years: The Book on St Anthony’s Miracles. It is an extensive collection of his prodigious deeds written by the Franciscan friar Arnaldo de Serrano around 1370...

DEAR friend, you will certainly know, even if you have not visited them yet, about the shrines of Guadalupe, Fatima, Lourdes, Medjugorje… Perhaps, however, you may never have heard of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, India, which is visited annually by more than 20 million pilgrims, many of whom are not even Christian...

DEAR friend, stories told well can inspire and uplift our souls, putting us in touch with the true, the good and the beautiful. This is especially the case if they are legends related to our faith...

DEAR friend, I have known Daniela and Renato for a very long time. She is a lawyer and he is a registered nurse. They got married twelve years ago, have three children, live a quiet family life and have no major family problems...

DEAR friend, I recently hurt my left arm and I have to keep it immobile. Luckily, being right-handed, I can still do most things, including writing. This situation, that thank God is not serious, has made me think a lot about my father who passed away several years now...