Catholic Review Radio

Gregg Landry, founder of Blue Rock Productions and president of the Catholic Business Network of Baltimore, didn't set out to be a faith leader. He came to UMBC to play baseball and ended up doing suicide crisis counseling and working in Baltimore's most troubled neighborhoods. Looking back, he sees God's hand in all of it.

Mark Viviano talks with Landry about how saying yes has shaped everything since. They discuss how a single reflection question at a men's faith group — what have you said no to that could have been a blessing? — led Landry to eucharistic ministry at Good Samaritan Hospital and, eventually, prison ministry.

Whether filming celebrities, praying with hospital patients or gathering teammates before an ultimate Frisbee tournament, Landry's message is the same: bring Christ into every interaction.

Guest: Gregg Landry

Host: Mark Viviano

Producer: George P. Matysek Jr.

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He was once a rising concert pianist, performing for audiences around the world—until he answered a call he could not ignore. Catholic Review Managing Editor George Matysek speaks with Sulpician Father Paul Maillet about his journey from the concert stage to the priesthood.

A former student of the legendary Leon Fleisher, Father Maillet reflects on the discipline and demands of a professional music career – and how a vocation first sparked in high school gradually took hold through prayer, service and discernment.

Now a faculty member at St. Mary's Seminary and University in Roland Park, he continues to integrate music into his life and ministry, describing it as a powerful form of prayer. He also previews his upcoming concert at the Baltimore Basilica and offers practical insight on listening for God’s call and finding lasting peace.

What do monks, monasteries and a great bottle of Bordeaux have in common? More than you might think. On this episode of Catholic Review Radio, host Rita Buettner speaks with Emily Stimpson Chapman, a bestselling Catholic author who has spent years tracing the deeply intertwined histories of winemaking and the Church in her new coffee table book, "Sacred Wine: The Holy History and Heritage of Catholic Vintners."

Chapman explains how monks preserved and elevated winemaking after the fall of the Roman Empire – and why the Mass was central to their motivation. She also discusses her remarkable recent output of four books in six months, including "The Story of All Stories," a salvation history Bible for young Catholics, and "Around the Catholic Table," a cookbook rooted in her family's charism of hospitality and adoption.

Throughout, Chapman reflects on how motherhood, prayer and a lifelong sense of calling have shaped her life as one of Catholic publishing's most prolific voices.

When white smoke rose over the Sistine Chapel last year, Elise Ann Allen was one of the few journalists who already knew the man stepping onto the balcony. The Rome-based correspondent for Crux had first met Cardinal Robert Prevost in Peru years earlier while covering the Church's response to the abuse crisis — an encounter that eventually led to a dinner with the future pope and, after his election, the first in-depth interview with Pope Leo XIV.

George Matysek talks with Allen about her new biography of Pope Leo XIV, published this April in English. She traces how his years as an Augustinian missionary in crisis-torn Peru shaped his pastoral vision, his instinct for synodality and his quiet but effective leadership style. She also reflects on his evolving relationship with Pope Francis, his approach to the Latin Mass debate, and his recent, pointed calls for peace.

On this episode of Catholic Review Radio, host Christopher Gunty speaks with architect Mauricio Cortés Sierra, one of the lead designers guiding the completion of Barcelona’s world‑famous Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. Cortés Sierra shares the remarkable story of a church begun in 1882, shaped by Antoni Gaudí’s visionary faith, and carried forward by multiple generations of artisans. He reflects on the recent completion of the Tower of Jesus Christ – the basilica’s highest point – and its deep spiritual symbolism, designed to remain humbly below the height of God’s creation. The conversation also explores how Gaudí used architecture to proclaim the Gospel, turning the basilica’s exterior into a “Bible in stone” and its interior into a luminous forest of prayer. With Pope Leo XIV set to help inaugurate the tower, this interview offers rare insight into how beauty, faith, and architecture come together to evangelize the modern world.

Our God is a merciful God, and that is ever-present especially in the sacrament of reconciliation or confession. Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talked with Father Michael DeAscanis, pastor of St. Louis Parish in Clarksville and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Fulton, about his great joy in bringing people back into communion with God through confession. They also discuss St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy devotion promoted by the woman who saw Jesus with mercy pouring from his heart in the early part of the 20th century. Learn more about how and why the Church celebrates the feast of Divine Mercy on the Sunday after Easter each year.

This Easter marks a remarkable moment in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, where more than 1,280 catechumens and candidates entered into full communion with the Catholic Church — a number drawn from those attending formal rites and not including several hundred others welcomed at individual parishes. In this episode of Catholic Review Radio, host Rita Buettner highlights two of these journeys.

Laura Montgomery of St. Joseph in Fullerton describes how she and her family moved from a Baptist and non-denominational background in search of truth, ultimately discovering the richness of Catholic tradition, especially the Eucharist and a sense of spiritual inheritance.

Colton Shumaker of St. Peter the Apostle in Libertytown shares a personal path shaped by relationships, prayer and a gradual realization that led him to pursue the sacraments.

Together, their stories illustrate the power of community, formation through OCIA, and the many ways individuals are drawn home to the Catholic Church.

Listen to ​​Catholic Review Radio April 5 at 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on WMET 1160 AM and 103.1 FM. The show is also available Sundays on WSJF in Sykesville/Eldersburg at 11:45 a.m. and 3 p.m. Listen on your favorite podcast platform or streaming device the next day.

In this Earth Day-themed episode of Catholic Review Radio, host George Matysek explores how faith can inspire care for creation through the perspectives of two guests.

First, Father Jim Bors, a former naval officer and widowed father ordained to the priesthood in 2022, shares how his lifelong love of nature informs his ministry. Now serving as priest-secretary to Archbishop William E. Lori, he has promoted native plant gardens at the parish level and at his home in Cape St. Clair. His work focuses on restoring habitats for pollinators and encouraging practical, faith-rooted stewardship of the environment.

The episode also features Alexandra Palting, a New York-based actress, musician and writer who grew up at St. Louis Parish in Clarksville. Blending medieval chants of St. Hildegard with music generated from plant biorhythms, Palting creates a striking fusion of faith, science and art. She discusses her creative process and upcoming Clarksville concert, offering listeners a glimpse of her innovative, nature-inspired sound.

Discover the inspiring intersection of faith and America’s pastime in this week’s episode of Catholic Review Radio. Catholic Review Editor and Host Chris Gunty speaks with filmmaker John Scheinfeld, writer and director of the new documentary Baseball Beyond Belief. Inspired by John Sexton’s bestselling book “Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game,” the film explores how faith, ritual, doubt, and community shape both spiritual life and baseball fandom. Scheinfeld shares stories from players, scholars, and fans of many religious backgrounds – Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and more – revealing the universal human longing reflected in the game. They discuss memorable moments, including players balancing religious conviction with professional demands and fans who treat ballparks like modern cathedrals. The conversation also highlights the film’s unique collaboration with Paulist Productions, a Catholic organization, and the documentary’s upcoming theatrical and broadcast release.

Catholic Review Associate Publisher Christopher Gunty has two guests on the program this week. First up is Deacon Kevin Cummings of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, talking about the ministry he and other members of Deacons of Hope starteed to create residential homes for unwed women experiencing homelessness. He notes how addressing all the needs – pre-natal and post-natal – saves the women and their babies.

In the second segment, Joseph Schuler, development director and one-man band at WMET Radio in Washington, D.C., talks with Gunty about his journey of faith and how his son’s traumatic brain injury led Joseph to the “heroic mission” of working to spread the word of God over the airwaves.