103—Pope Leo XIII’s NYC Hotel

By Thomas V. Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Apr 20, 2021 | In The Catholic Culture Podcast

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Did you know there’s a hotel in NYC named after Pope Leo XIII? The Leo House was founded in the 1880s as a boarding house for German Catholic immigrants, at the behest of the Holy Father, and is still operating today as a Catholic nonprofit hotel providing charitable hospitality at a discount.

In this episode you’ll learn from the Leo House’s chairman and president, Michael Coneys, about the hotel’s fascinating history. The story involves Pope Leo’s special care for the Catholic Church in Germany as it was struggling under Protestant Prussian rule; as well as the St. Raphael Society, which helped political dissidents to escape Nazi Germany. It also involves a very providential visit from Mother Teresa! But this is also a very contemporary story of one of many Catholic nonprofits struggling to survive the past year’s lockdowns.

Links

Learn more: https://leohousenyc.com/

Donate to the Leo House: https://leohousenyc.com/donate/

Theme music: “Franciscan Eyes”, written and performed by Thomas Mirus. Download the Catholic Culture Podcast soundtrack.