Thanks for a great article. There's something about us Catholics and our names. Some of us were given names that left us no choice but to wear the Catholic badge whenever we filled out a form that asked for our full name.

My parents named me Anthony Gerard and in my primary years I took another name for my confirmation, Dominic Savio. All three were saints in the Catholic tradition. They all died young (36, 29 and 15 respectively) and were in religious orders so never had sex. Not really encouraging models for a young boy in the 60s.

However, a close reading of their lives reveals them as models for scholarship, hospitality and non-violence. Which all adds up to a pretty healthy and inspiring set of patrons to guide me through this turbulent era.