July 30 – St. Theobald

July 28, 2016

St. Theobald Born at Provins in the Province of Champagne, France, in 1017; died at Salanigo in Italy 30 June, 1066. He was a member of a noble family. In 1054 without the knowledge of his parents he and his friend Walter gave themselves to the life of hermits at Sussy in the Ardennes, then […]

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July 31 – Soldier of Jesus

July 28, 2016

St. Ignatius Loyola Youngest son of Don Beltrán Yañez de Oñez y Loyola and Marina Saenz de Lieona y Balda. Born in 1491 at the castle of Loyola above Azpeitia in Guipuscoa; died at Rome, 31 July, 1556. The saint was baptized Iñigo, after St. Enecus (Innicus), Abbot of Oña: the name Ignatius was assumed […]

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July 31 – St. Germain

July 28, 2016

St. Germain Bishop of Auxerre, born at Auxerre c. 380; died at Ravenna, 31 July, 448. He was the son of Rusticus and Germanilla, and his family was one of the noblest in Gaul in the latter portion of the fourth century. He received the very best education provided by the distinguished schools of Arles […]

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July 31 – St. Helen of Sköfde

July 28, 2016

St. Helen of Sköfde Martyr in the first half of the twelfth century. Her feast is celebrated 31 July. Her life (Acta SS., July, VII, 340) is ascribed to St. Brynolph, Bishop of Skara, in Sweden (d. 1317). She was of noble family and is generally believed to have been the daughter of the Jarl […]

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August 1 – From impoverished Neapolitan nobility to Doctor of the Church

July 28, 2016

St. Alphonsus Liguori Born at Marianella, near Naples, 27 September, 1696; died at Nocera de’ Pagani, 1 August, 1787. The eighteenth century was not an age remarkable for depth of spiritual life, yet it produced three of the greatest missionaries of the Church, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, St. Paul of the Cross, and St. […]

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August 1 – Saint Ethelwold

July 28, 2016

Saint Ethelwold Bishop of Winchester. Born born there of good parentage in the early years of the tenth century; died August 1, 984. After a youth spent at the court of King Athelstan, Ethelwold placed himself under Elphege the Bald, Bishop of Winchester, who gave him the tonsure and ordained him priest along with Dunstan. […]

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Detaching Oneself From the Past Causes Uneasiness, Anxiety, and Instability

July 28, 2016

From the homily of Paul VI during a Mass he celebrated in the patriarchal basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls on November 2, 1963: We are accustomed to looking ahead, ignoring the merits of yesterday; we are not lavish in gratitude, in memory, in consistency toward our past, nor in the respect and fidelity […]

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July 26 – In memoriam: Princess Tatiana Von Metternich – who called Hitler a “stuffed doll”

July 25, 2016

According to The Telegraph: Princess Tatiana Von Metternich, who died…on July 26, 2006, aged 91, was…one of the most beautiful women of her day… …she witnessed the effect of Nazism on Germany, was close to those involved in the unsuccessful plot to kill Hitler in 1944, and was forced to make a 600-kilometre trek across […]

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July 26 – Blessed John Ingram

July 25, 2016

Blessed John Ingram English martyr, born at Stoke Edith, Herefordshire, in 1565; executed at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 26 July, 1594. He was probably the son of Anthony Ingram of Wolford, Warwickshire, by Dorothy, daughter of Sir John Hungerford. He was educated first in Worcestershire, then at the English College, Reims, at the Jesuit College, Pont-a-Mousson, and at […]

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July 27 – Wanted: Noble Men for the Missions, Never to Return Home

July 25, 2016

Martyrs of Cuncolim On Monday, 25 July, 1583, the village of Cuncolim in the district of Salcete, territory of Goa, India, was the scene of the martyrdom of five religious of the Society of Jesus: Fathers Rudolph Acquaviva, Alphonsus Pacheco, Peter Berno, and Anthony Francis, also Francis Aranha, lay brother. Rudolph Acquaviva was born 2 […]

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July 27 – St. Pantaleon

July 25, 2016

St. Pantaleon Martyr, died about 305. According to legend he was the son of a rich pagan, Eustorgius of Nicomedia, and had been instructed in Christianity by his Christian mother, Eubula. Afterwards he became estranged from Christianity. He studied medicine and became physician to the Emperor Maximianus. He was won back to Christianity by the […]

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July 28 – St. Samson

July 25, 2016

St. Samson Bishop and confessor, born in South Wales; died 28 July, 565 (?). The date of his birth is unknown. His parents whose names are given as Amon of Dyfed and Anna of Gwynedd, were of noble, but not royal, birth. While still an infant he was dedicated to God and entrusted to the […]

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July 28 – Nepotism Sometimes Bears Good Fruit

July 25, 2016

Pope Victor II (GEBHARD, COUNT OF CALW, TOLLENSTEIN, AND HIRSCHBERG.) Born about 1018; died at Arezzo, 28 July, 1057. The papal catalogues make him a native of the Bavarian Nordgau, while most German sources designate Swabia as his birthplace. His parents were Count Hartwig and Countess Baliza; the Emperor Henry III recognized him as a […]

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Respect for Tradition Absolutely Does Not Impede True Progress

July 25, 2016

From a speech of Pius XII to the Professors and students of the Liceo Ennio Quirino Visconti of Rome, February 28, 1957: It has been correctly noted that one characteristic of Romans, almost a secret of the timeless greatness of the Eternal City, is their respect for traditions. Not that such respect implies a fossilization […]

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King Canute rebukes the sycophants and stops wearing the crown

July 21, 2016

The courtiers of Canute, to please his vanity, were accustomed to extol him as the greatest of kings, whose will was obeyed by six powerful nations, the English, Scots, and Welsh, the Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians. Canute either had the good sense to despise, or affected to despise, their flattery. On one of these occasions, […]

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What the Crusader had which the Cristero did not

July 21, 2016

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira Question: Was there a certain revival of the crusading spirit in the Cristero war? No. I think there was a great religious dedication, one that was taken to a heroic degree, but not a revival of the spirit of Crusade.   Question: What would be the difference? The impression I […]

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July 22 – The Siege of Belgrade (1456)

July 21, 2016

The Siege of Belgrade (or Battle of Belgrade, or Siege of Nándorfehérvár) occurred from July 4 to July 22, 1456. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II was rallying his resources in order to subjugate the Kingdom of Hungary. His immediate objective was the border fort of the town of […]

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July 22 – With his lady’s permission, this lord left court to become a monk, then abbot

July 21, 2016

St. Wandrille, or Wandregisilus, Abbot [Abbot of Fontenelles, in Normandy.]  He was nearly related to Pepin of Landen and Erchinoald, the two first lords in the kingdom of Austrasia; and in his youth was made count of the palace under Dagobert I. He was humble on the highest pinnacle of honors, and mortified amidst pleasures. […]

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July 23 – The most celebrated saint of the Northern kingdom

July 21, 2016

St. Bridget of Sweden The most celebrated saint of the Northern kingdoms, born about 1303; died 23 July, 1373. She was the daughter of Birger Persson, governor and provincial judge (Lagman) of Uppland, and of Ingeborg Bengtsdotter. Her father was one of the wealthiest landholders of the country, and, like her mother, distinguished by deep […]

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July 24 – Chaste Queen

July 21, 2016

Saint Kinga of Poland (also known as Cunegunda, Kunigunda, Kunegunda, Cunegundes, Kioga, Zinga; Polish: Święta Kinga, Hungarian: Szent Kinga) Poor Clare and patroness of Poland and Lithuania; born in 1224; died 24 July, 1292, at Sandeck, Poland. She was the daughter of King Bela IV and niece of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and from her […]

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July 24 – She Was Fearless, Courageous, and Unswerving

July 21, 2016

Matilda of Canossa Countess of Tuscany, daughter and heiress of the Marquess Boniface of Tuscany, and Beatrice, daughter of Frederick of Lorraine, b. 1046; d. 24 July, 1114. In 1053 her father was murdered. Duke Gottfried of Lorraine, an opponent of the Emperor Henry III, went to Italy and married the widowed Beatrice. But, in […]

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July 24 – St. John Boste

July 21, 2016

St.  John Boste (Or JOHN BOAST.) Priest and martyr, born of good Catholic family at Dufton, in Westmoreland, about 1544; died at Durham, 24 July, 1594. He studied at Queen’s College, Oxford, 1569-72, became a Fellow, and was received into the Church at Brome, in Suffolk, in 1576. Resigning his Fellowship in 1580, he went […]

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July 25 – St. Apollinaris

July 21, 2016

St. Apollinaris The most illustrious of the Bishops of Valence, b. at Vienne, 453; d. 520. He lived in the time of the irruption of the barbarians, and unhappily Valence, which was the central see of the recently founded Kingdom of Burgundy, had been scandalized by the dissolute Bishop Maximus, and the see in consequence […]

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The True Friends of the People Are Traditionalists

July 21, 2016

The True Friends of the People Are Traditionalists From the apostolic letter Notre charge apostolique, August 25, 1910, of Saint Pius X: Let not the priests be led astray in the maze of contemporary opinions, in the mirage of a false democracy. Let them not borrow from the rhetoric of the worst enemies of the […]

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After Brexit, Great Britain needs a Queen as never before

July 18, 2016

According to The Spectator: While Brexit has put most people in a stew, the Queen is one person who needn’t worry… …there are certain jobs in which age is a real asset, jobs in which continuity, experience and wisdom are much more important than energy and competence at running things. These are jobs (the papacy […]

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July 19 – The knight who was afraid of water, but not afraid of martyrdom

July 18, 2016

Blessed Hroznata of Bohemia Founder of the Monasteries of Teplá and Chotěšov, born (c) 1170, died July 14, 1217. In the happy reign of Premysl, – also called Ottacar, – king of Bohemia, among the other magnates of the kingdom the first place at court, next to the king’s magnificence, was held by Hroznata, the […]

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July 19 – Her whole family became saints

July 18, 2016

St. Macrina the Younger Born about 330; died 379. She was the eldest child of Basil the Elder and Emmelia, the granddaughter of St. Macrina the Elder, and the sister of the Cappadocian Fathers, Sts. Basil and Gregory of Nyssa. The last-mentioned has left us a biography of his sister in the form of a […]

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July 19 – Penitent Nobility

July 18, 2016

St. Arsenius Anchorite; born 354, at Rome; died 450, at Troe, in Egypt. Theodosius the Great having requested the Emperor Gratian and Pope Damasus to find him in the West a tutor for his son Arcadius, they made choice of Arsenius, a man well read in Greek literature, member of a noble Roman family, and […]

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July 20 – Carolingian Reformer

July 18, 2016

St. Ansegisus Born about 770, of noble parentage; died 20 July, 833, or 834. At the age of eighteen he entered the Benedictine monastery of Fontanelle (also called St. Vandrille after the name of its founder) in the diocese of Rouen. St. Girowald, a relative of Ansegisus, was then Abbot of Fontanelle. From the beginning […]

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July 21 – Fearless in every sense

July 18, 2016

St. Lorenzo da Brindisi (Also: Lawrence, or Laurence, of Brindisi.) Born at Brindisi in 1559; died at Lisbon on 22 July, 1619. In baptism he received the names of Julius Caesar. Guglielmo de Rossi — or Guglielmo Russi, according to a contemporary writer — was his father’s name; his mother was Elisabetta Masella. Both were […]

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July 21 – He raised the king’s son back to life, but wished to be buried among the criminals

July 18, 2016

St. Arbogast (Gaelic Arascach). St. Arbogast has been claimed as a native of Scotland, but this is owing to a misunderstanding of the name “Scotia”, which until late in the Middle Ages really meant Ireland. He flourished about the middle of the seventh century. Leaving Ireland, as so many other missionaries had done, he settled […]

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By Nature, All Men Are in One Sense Equal, but in Another They Are Unequal

July 18, 2016

From the book Land Reform: A Matter of Conscience, by Archbishop Geraldo de Proença Sigaud, Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer, Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, and economist Luiz Mendonça de Freitas, in a topic composed and written by the author of the present work:   “[All men] are equal because they are creatures of God, […]

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An Empress God-Mother

July 14, 2016

When Austria was ruled by Emperor Franz Joseph, his Empress, Elizabeth, was legendary for her beauty, and also for her love of the outdoors. She often took trips in the company of her lady-in-waiting, simply dressed so as to remain incognito. One fine day, when out walking in the Tyrol, in the region of Campiglio, […]

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He who loves Our Lord Jesus Christ as he should, is sensitive to meanness done to Him

July 14, 2016

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira We should analyze a little bit the psychological genesis of this furor in order to understand it well. With that way of seeing Our Lord Jesus Christ who was being offended by the Mohammedans in the Holy Sepulcher, we can understand well the ascending and descending path of furor and […]

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July 15 – After conversion, he ordered the statues of the pagan gods chopped up and burned

July 14, 2016

St. Vladimir the Great Grand Duke of Kiev (Kieff) and All Russia, grandson of St. Olga, and the first Russian ruler to embrace Christianity, b. 956; d. at Berestova, 15 July, 1015. St. Olga could not convert her son and successor, Sviatoslav, for he lived and died a pagan and brought up his son Vladimir […]

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July 16 – Of the noble family of Odrowatz

July 14, 2016

St. Ceslaus Born at Kamien in Silesia, Poland (now Prussia), about 1184; died at Breslau about 1242. He was of the noble family of Odrowatz and a relative, probably a brother, of St. Hyacinth. Having studied philosophy at Prague, he pursued his theological and juridical studies at the University of Bologna, after which he returned […]

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July 16 – Alfonso VIII of Castile crushes the Moors at Las Navas de Tolosa

July 14, 2016

The Almohads, the new dynasty of Moroccan fanatics who had subdued all the Muslims in al Andalus, launched an all-out attack on the Christians by moving a huge army north into south central Spain. The impetuous Alfonso… Read more here.

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July 16 – Catholic Spain’s fate in the balance at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa

July 14, 2016

The following year was a memorable one for all Spain. King Alfonso of Castile, in face of the Almohade danger, had launched an alert to Christendom; answering it, the Christian princes had assembled not only from Spain but also from other countries. Pope Innocent III proclaimed a Crusade against the Moors of Spain and bestowed […]

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July 17 – When the Saracens attacked Rome…

July 14, 2016

Pope St. Leo IV (Reigned 847-55) A Roman and the son of Radoald, was unanimously elected to succeed Sergius II, and as the alarming attack of the Saracens on Rome in 846 caused the people to fear for the safety of the city, he was consecrated (10 April, 847) without the consent of the emperor. […]

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July 17 – Martyred in the Name of Equality

July 14, 2016

The Sixteen Blessed Teresian Martyrs of Compiègne Guillotined at the Place du Trône Renversé (now called Place de la Nation), Paris, 17 July, 1794. They are the first sufferers under the French Revolution on whom the Holy See has passed judgment, and were solemnly beatified 27 May, 1906. Before their execution they knelt and chanted […]

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July 17 – The day the Tsar was murdered

July 14, 2016

Execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family In the early hours of 17 July 1918, the royal family was awakened around 2:00 am, told to dress, and led down into a half-basement room at the back of the Ipatiev house. The pretext for this move was the family’s safety — that anti-Bolshevik forces were […]

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July 18 – A soldier of hell who became a soldier of heaven

July 14, 2016

Godfrey of Bouillon Duke of Lower Lorraine and first King of Jerusalem, son of Eustache II, Count of Boulogne, and of Ida, daughter of Godfrey the Bearded, Duke of Lower Lorraine; born probably at Boulogne-sur-Mer, 1060; died at Jerusalem, 18 July, 1100 (according to a thirteenth-century chronicler, he was born at Baisy, in Brabant; see […]

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July 18 – “Don’t drink water, drink beer” said the bishop

July 14, 2016

Saint Arnulf of Metz Statesman, bishop under the Merovingians, born c. 580; died c. 640. His parents belonged to a distinguished Frankish family, and lived in Austrasia, the eastern section of the kingdom founded by Clovis. In the school in which he was placed during his boyhood he excelled through his talent and his good […]

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July 18 – She Married a Man to Change Him and It Worked

July 14, 2016

Saint Hedwig, Queen of Poland Born, 1371. Died, 17 July 1399 during child birth. Hedwig was the youngest daughter of King Louis I of Hungary. Because she was great-niece to King Casimir III of Poland, she became Queen of Poland in 1382 upon her father‘s death. She was engaged to William, Duke of Austria, whom […]

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July 18 – Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future

July 14, 2016

St. Camillus de Lellis Born at Bacchianico, Naples, 1550; died at Rome, 14 July, 1614. He was the son of an officer who had served both in the Neapolitan and French armies. His mother died when he was a child, and he grew up absolutely neglected. When still a youth he became a soldier in […]

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The Suppression of Inequalities Is a Sine Qua Non for the Elimination of Religion

July 14, 2016

God did not want these inequalities only among creatures of the inferior kingdoms—the mineral, vegetable, and animal—but also among men and, therefore, among peoples and nations. With these inequalities, which God created harmonious among themselves and beneficent for each category of beings as also for each being in particular, He wanted to furnish man with […]

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July 12 – St. John Gualbert and the Vallumbrosan Order

July 11, 2016

The name is derived from the motherhouse, Vallombrosa (Latin Vallis umbrosa, shady valley), situated 20 miles from Florence on the northwest slope of Monte Secchieta in the Pratomagno chain, 3140 feet above the sea. I. THE FOUNDER St. John Gualbert, son of the noble Florentine Gualbert Visdomini, was born in 985 (or 995), and died […]

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July 13 – The Crusaders attack Jerusalem

July 11, 2016

The attack began the night of July 13, [1099,] and the defenders let loose a hail of stones and rivers of Greek fire…. The battle hung in the balance during the morning hours of July 15. Archers shot blazing firebrands to drive the defenders from the walls, but the siege towers were battered and… Read […]

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July 13 – Good King Henry

July 11, 2016

St. Henry II German King and Holy Roman Emperor, son of Duke Henry II (the Quarrelsome) and of the Burgundian Princess Gisela; b. 972; d. in his palace of Grona, at Gottingen, 13 July, 1024. Like his predecessor, Otto III, he had the literary education of his time. In his youth he had been destined […]

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July 13 – Saintly Elite

July 11, 2016

St. Marie-Azélie “Zélie” Martin née Guérin (23 December 1831 – 28 August 1877) was a French laywoman and the mother of Saint Thérèse de Lisieux. Her husband was Blessed Louis Martin. Marie-Azélie Guérin was born in Saint-Denis-sur-Sarthon, Orne, France and was the second daughter of Isidore Guérin and Louise-Jeanne Macé. She had an older sister, […]

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July 13 – Author of “The Golden Legend”

July 11, 2016

Bl. Jacopo de Voragine (Also DI VIRAGGIO). Archbishop of Genoa and medieval hagiologist, born at Viraggio (now Varazze), near Genoa, about 1230; died 13 July, about 1298. In 1244 he entered the Order of St. Dominic, and soon became famous for his piety, learning, and zeal in the care of souls. His fame as a […]

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July 13 – Saint Mildthryth

July 11, 2016

Saint Mildthryth (694–716 or 733), also Mildrith, Mildryth or Mildred, was an Anglo-Saxon abbess. Mildthryth was the daughter of King Merewalh of Magonsaete, a sub-kingdom of Mercia, and Eormenburh (Saint Eormenburga), herself the daughter of King Æthelberht of Kent, and as such appearing in the so-called Kentish royal legend. Her sisters Milburh (Saint Milburga of […]

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July 14 – St. Vincent

July 11, 2016

St. Vincent (MALDEGARIUS). Founder and abbot of the monasteries of Hautmont and Soignies, born of a noble family at Strepy les Binche, Hainault, early in the seventh century; died at Soignies, 14 July, 677. That he was not of Irish descent, as stated by Jean du Pont and some Irish writers, has been proved by […]

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July 14 – St. Francis Solanus

July 11, 2016

South American missionary of the Order of Friars Minor; born at Montilla, in the Diocese of Cordova, Spain, 10 March, 1549; died at Lima, Peru, 14 July, 1610. His parents, Matthew Sanchez Solanus and Anna Ximenes, were distinguished no less for their noble birth than for their virtue and piety. When Francis was twenty years […]

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July 14 – The Lily of the Mohawks

July 11, 2016

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks Kateri Tekakwitha was daughter of Kenneronkwa, a Mohawk chief, and Tagaskouita, a devout Roman Catholic Algonquian woman. She was born in the Mohawk fortress of Ossernenon near present-day Auriesville, New York, in 1656. Kateri’s mother was baptized and educated by French missionaries in Trois-Rivières, like many of Abenaki […]

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The Inequality of Creatures Is a Condition for Creation to Give Glory to God

July 11, 2016

  [I]t seems fitting to add some arguments from the Angelic Doctor to justify the existence of inequality among creatures. In the Summa Theologica he affirms: “Hence in natural things species seem to be arranged in degrees; as the mixed things are more perfect than the elements, and plants than minerals, and animals than plants, […]

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British Royal Family Commemoration Battle of the Somme Centenary

July 7, 2016

According to the British Monarchy: Remembering all those who fought and died at the Battle of the Somme, 1 July to 18 November 1916. Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, led the commemorations for the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme… The Queen placed a wreath at the Grave of […]

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A Rose For Stéphanie

July 7, 2016

According to Luxarazzi: The Lëtzebuerger Rousefrënn association has grown a new rose and named it for Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie. The rose Princesse Stéphanie Grande-Duchesse Héritière de Luxembourg was christened by its namesake at the palais grand-ducal today. The rose follows in the footsteps of several other flowers with the sweet smell named for members […]

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The Charm of the Curtsey

July 7, 2016

A young Englishwoman of title visited this country recently she expressed astonishment at the ignorance of the art of formal social behavior which American girls displayed. They did not know how to bow correctly, the curtsey seemed to have become an obsolete social form here; they had not learned the graceful way to proceed down the […]

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True chivalry stems from a particular way of adoring Our Lord

July 7, 2016

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira Well, we understand how in civil life this knight will be kind, amiable, dignified, magnificent, etc., according to all the nuances I gave. I would like this to be well understood because once Our Lord is adored in this fashion, the crusading spirit penetrates us. And with chivalry, countless of […]

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