Hello everybody. I apologize for the long delay in between blog postings – I hope you find it in your hearts to forgive me. I do not foresee another delay like this happening.

I’m using today’s blog to tell you about the upcoming Salzmann Selections book discussion, to take place Thursday, May 30th starting at 6 p.m. The book that the group will be reading is “Rafael, Cardinal Merry del Val,” by Marie Buehrle. It is an older book, written in 1957.

This book looks at his life and the influences he had in the Vatican during his time there, and also shows a little background into some of the processes of deciding a new pope, granted decades ago. Here is a short summary of who Merry del Val Cardinal Rafael was:

Rafael Merry del Val y de Zulueta (10 October 1865 – 26 February 1930), Servant of God, was a British-born Spanish Roman Catholic cardinal. Before becoming a cardinal, he served as secretary of the conclave that elected Saint Pius X, who is said to have accepted his election as Pope through Merry del Val's encouragement. Pius X later appointed him as the Cardinal Secretary of State. Merry del Val composed the Litany of Humility. A cause for his canonization was opened in 1953. (information from Wikipedia).

We hope to see you there. 
Also, two of our patrons are looking at setting up another book discussion as more of a weekly or biweekly event, with Pope Benedict’s “Introduction to Christianity” as the first book. They are thinking right now of doing a chapter or two each discussion in order to break down the book and reveal the teachings hidden within. If you are interested in that, please leave a comment on the blog or contact me, my email address and phone number are listed below.

As always, if you have any ideas and comments for things I could change, please let me know. If you have any books that you have read or have read the books I mention, please leave a comment. We here at Salzmann also want to know what people are reading. Comments are always appreciated – anything I can do to make this better I will strive my best to accomplish.

Here is some basic information about the library:

• Our standard hours are Tuesdays, Thursdays, 12 to 8 p.m.; Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Our address is 3257 S. Lake Dr., St. Francis, WI 53235, right next to Henni Hall, due west of the South Parking Lot.
• The library’s phone number is (414) 747-6479. If you would like to contact me through email, it is mschrauth@sfs.edu.
• There is free Wi-Fi available.
• "Like" us on Facebook – Salzmann Library.
• The library catalog is available online.