March 22 – The soldier who fought with sword in one hand and rosary in the other

March 21, 2016

St. Nicholas of Flüe, patron of: -Pontifical Swiss Guards  -Switzerland -difficult marriages -large families -judges Born 21 March, 1417, on the Flüeli, a fertile plateau near Sachseln, Canton Obwalden, Switzerland; died 21 March, 1487, as a recluse in a neighboring ravine, called Ranft. He was the oldest son of pious, well-to-do peasants and from his […]

Read the full article →

March 22 – The Le Moyne: nobles of North America

March 21, 2016

Le Moyne The name of one of the most illustrious families of the New World, whose deeds adorn the pages of Canadian history. Charles Le Moyne Founder of the family, b. of Pierre Le Moyne and Judith Duchesne at Dieppe on 1 August, 1626; d. at Ville-Marie (Montreal), 1683. On reaching Canada in 1641, he […]

Read the full article →

March 22 – He Stood Up to Hitler Without Flinching

March 21, 2016

Blessed Clemens August Graf von Galen “Lion of Münster” Born     March 16, 1878 Dinklage Castle, Dinklage, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, German Confederation Died     March 22, 1946 (aged 68) Münster, Province of Westphalia, Germany Beatified     9 October 2005 Read more here.  

Read the full article →

March 23 – Generous Noble Missionary

March 21, 2016

St. Toribio Alfonso Mogrovejo (aka St. Alphonsus Turibius) Archbishop of Lima; b. at Mayorga, León, Spain, 1538; d. near Lima Peru, 23 March 1606. Of noble family and highly educated, he was professor of laws at the University of Salamanca, where his learning and virtue led to his appointment as Grand Inquisitor of Spain by […]

Read the full article →

March 24 – A deer guarded this noble saint from the unwanted advances of men

March 21, 2016

St. Catherine of Sweden Patroness against abortion and miscarriage. St. Catherine of Sweden. Photo by Smas. The fourth child of Saint Bridget and her husband, Ulf Gudmarsson, born 1331 or 1332; died 24 March, 1381. At the time of her death Saint Catherine was head of the convent of Wadstena, founded by her mother; hence […]

Read the full article →

God the Son Willed to Be Born of Royal Stock in Order to Gather in His Person Every Kind of Grandeur

March 21, 2016

[previous] From the writings on Saint Joseph by Saint Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868): When God the Father resolved to give His Son to the world, He wanted to do it honorably, for He is worthy of all honor and all praise. He thus prepared Him a court and royal service worthy of Him: God wanted, […]

Read the full article →

A Danish Queen’s Etiquette – She Made the Little Prince Apologize

March 17, 2016

The Queen of Denmark, Louise of Hesse-Kassel, wife of King Christian IX of Denmark, was strict as a military commander and tolerated no opposition to her will or moderation of such punishment as she dealt out to her children. While a mere boy her eldest son, the Crown Prince, was caught one day trying to […]

Read the full article →

Embracing Christ and the Cross – Reflections for Holy Week

March 17, 2016

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira An authentic piety penetrates every recess of our souls, naturally stirring our most intimate emotions. Piety, however, is far more than feelings. It arises deep within ourselves from our knowledge of the truths that govern an interior life formed in accord with the Faith. To be sure, these life-giving truths […]

Read the full article →

March 18 – Martyr King

March 17, 2016

Saint Edward the Martyr King of England, son to Edgar the Peaceful, and uncle to St. Edward the Confessor; born about 962; died March 18, 979. His accession to the throne on his father’s death, in 975, was opposed by a party headed by his stepmother, Queen Elfrida, who was bent on securing the crown […]

Read the full article →

March 19 – Saint Joseph, Martyr of Grandeur

March 17, 2016

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira To have an idea of what Saint Joseph—the Patron of the Church—was like, we must consider two prodigious facts: he was the foster father of the Child Jesus and he was the spouse of Our Lady. The husband must be proportional to the wife. Now who is Our Lady? She […]

Read the full article →

March 19 – St. Joseph

March 17, 2016

Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster-father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. LIFE Sources. The chief sources of information on the life of St. Joseph are the first chapters of our first and third Gospels; they are practically also the only reliable sources, for, whilst, on the holy patriarch’s life, as on many other […]

Read the full article →

March 20 – Homeless Noble Poet

March 17, 2016

Blessed Baptista Mantuanus (Or SPAGNOLI). Carmelite and Renaissance poet, born at Mantua, 17 April, 1447, where he also died, 22 March, 1516. The eldest son of Peter Spagnoli, a Spanish nobleman at the court of Mantua, Baptista studied grammar under Gregorio Tifernate, and philosophy at Pavia under Polo Bagelardi. The bad example of his schoolfellows […]

Read the full article →

March 20 – St. Wulfram

March 17, 2016

St. Wulfram Bishop of Sens, missionary in Frisi, born at Milly near Fontainebleau, probably during the reign of Clovis II (638-56); died 20 March, before 704, in which year a translation of his body took place (Duchesne, “Fastes épiscopaux de l’ancienne Gaule”, II, Paris, 1900, 413). His father Fulbert stood high in the esteem of […]

Read the full article →

March 20 – Vendor of Learning

March 17, 2016

St. Clement of Ireland Also known as Clemens Scotus (not to be confounded with Claudius Clemens). Born in Ireland, towards the middle of the eighth century, died perhaps in France, probably after 818. About the year 771 he set out for France. His biographer, an Irish monk of St. Gall, who wrote his Acts, dedicated […]

Read the full article →

March 20 – St. Cuthbert

March 17, 2016

St. Cuthbert Bishop of Lindisfarne, patron of Durham, born about 635; died 20 March, 687. His emblem is the head of St. Oswald, king and martyr, which he is represented as bearing in his hands. His feast is kept in Great Britain and Ireland on the 20th of March, and he is patron of the […]

Read the full article →

March 21-22 – James Harrison

March 17, 2016

James Harrison Priest and martyr; born in the Diocese of Lichfield, England, date unknown; died at York, 22 March, 1602. He studied at the English College at Reims, and was ordained there in September, 1583. In the following year he went on the English mission, where he laboured unobtrusively. In the early part of 1602 […]

Read the full article →

Mary, Joseph, and, Therefore, Jesus Were Born of Royal Stock

March 17, 2016

[previous] From a sermon of Saint Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444) about Saint Joseph: Firstly, let us consider the nobility of the bride, that is, the Most Holy Virgin. The Blessed Virgin was more noble than any other creature that had been born in human form, that could be or could have been begotten. For Saint […]

Read the full article →

March 15 – Pope St. Zachary

March 14, 2016

Pope St. Zachary (ZACHARIAS.) Reigned 741-52. Year of birth unknown; died in March, 752. Zachary sprang from a Greek family living in Calabria; his father, according to the “Liber Pontificalis”, was called Polichronius. Most probably he was a deacon of the Roman Church and as such signed the decrees of the Roman council of 732. […]

Read the full article →

March 15 – Her nuns earned the name “Angels of the Battlefield”

March 14, 2016

St. Louise de Marillac Le Gras Foundress of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, born at Paris, 12 August, 1591, daughter of Louis de Marillac, Lord of Ferrieres, and Marguerite Le Camus; died there, 15 March, 1660. Her mother having died soon after the birth of Louise, the education of the latter […]

Read the full article →

March 16 – Chancellor to Italy and Germany

March 14, 2016

St. Heribert, Archbishop of Cologne Born at Worms, c. 970; died at Cologne, 16 March, 1021. His father was Duke Hugo of Worms. After receiving his education at the cathedral school of Worms, he spent some time as guest at the monastery of Gorze, after which he became provost at the cathedral of Worms. In […]

Read the full article →

March 17 – The Great and Noble Patrick

March 14, 2016

St. Patrick Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in Scotland, in the year 387; died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, 17 March, 493. He had for his parents Calphurnius and Conchessa. The former belonged to a Roman family of high rank and held the office of decurio in Gaul or Britain. Conchessa was a […]

Read the full article →

March 17 – St. Gertrude of Nivelles

March 14, 2016

St. Gertrude of Nivelles Virgin, and Abbess of the Benedictine monastery of Nivelles; born in 626; died 17 March, 659. She was a daughter of Pepin I of Landen, and a younger sister of St. Begga, Abbess of Andenne… Read more here.

Read the full article →

Our Lord Jesus Christ Willed to Be Born Poor, but He Also Wanted to Have a Signal Relationship with the Aristocracy

March 14, 2016

[previous] From the allocution of Benedict XV to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility on January 5, 1917: Before God there is no preference of persons. Yet there is no doubt, writes Saint Bernard, that the virtue of nobles is more pleasing to Him, because it is more resplendent. Jesus Christ Himself was noble, as were […]

Read the full article →

St. Joan of Arc ring sold at auction

March 10, 2016

According to the BBC: The ring was bought by the Puy du Fou foundation, which runs a historical theme park in France, at auction in London for $425,000 (£300,000). Made in about 1400, the silver gilt devotional ring bears the inscription ‘IHS’ and ‘MAR’ for Jesus and Mary. The ring was offered for sale by […]

Read the full article →

Republican plans stalled in Jamaica and Barbados

March 10, 2016

According to RoyalBlog.nl: Chances are by the end of this year she [Elizabeth II] is still Queen of Jamaica and Queen of Barbados. It looks like both independent Caribbean island states will not carry out their plans to abolish the monarchy and exchange it for a republic. In both countries the Labour Party has been […]

Read the full article →

St. Louis Takes the Cross

March 10, 2016

It was the will of God that the King should be overtaken at Paris by a grievous sickness. He was brought so low, it was said, that one of the ladies who were nursing him said he was dead and wished to cover his face with the sheet. Another lady, who was on the other […]

Read the full article →

Saint Gemma Galgani: Dignity and Angelic Purity

March 10, 2016

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira This photograph is of Saint Gemma Galgani (1878-1903), a famous mystic who lived in the enchanting town of Lucca, Italy. Her countenance is impressive for several reasons. First, we note her profound reflection and the harmony of her traits. Second, the saint’s gaze has something elevated and sublime about it. […]

Read the full article →

March 11 – Saint Sophronius

March 10, 2016

Saint Sophronius Patriarch of Jerusalem and Greek ecclesiastical writer, b. about 560 at Damascus of noble parentage; d. probably March 11, 638, at Jerusalem. In company with John Moschus he traveled extensively through the East and also went to Rome. He probably became a monk in Egypt about 580 and later removed to Palestine. From […]

Read the full article →

March 11 – Constantine the Great

March 10, 2016

His coins give his name as M., or more frequently as C., Flavius Valerius Constantinus. He was born at Naissus, now Nisch in Servia [Nis, Serbia —Ed.], the son of a Roman officer, Constantius, who later became Roman Emperor, and St. Helena, a woman of humble extraction but remarkable character and unusual ability. The date […]

Read the full article →

March 11 – Saint under the Caliphs

March 10, 2016

St. Eulogius of Cordova Spanish martyr and writer who flourished during the reigns of the Cordovan Caliphs, Abd-er-Rahman II and Mohammed I (822-886). It is not certain on what date or in what year of the ninth century he was born; it must have been previous to 819, because in 848 he was a priest […]

Read the full article →

March 12 – The Mistaken Chronicler

March 10, 2016

St. Theophanes Fresco of St. Theophanes in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Melkite Catholic Patriarchate in Jerusalem. Chronicler, born at Constantinople, about 758; died in Samothracia, probably 12 March, 817, on which day he is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology. He was the son of Isaac, imperial governor of the islands of the White Sea, […]

Read the full article →

March 13 – Though not a learned man, he established a school known today as Oxford

March 10, 2016

Bl. Agnellus of Pisa Friar Minor and founder of the English Franciscan Province, born at Pisa c. 1195, of the noble family of the Agnelli; died at Oxford, 7 May, 1236. In early youth he was received into the Seraphic Order by St. Francis himself, during the latter’s sojourn in Pisa, and soon became an […]

Read the full article →

March 13 – There Is No Price Tag on Happiness

March 10, 2016

St. Euphrasia (aka Eupraxia) Virgin, born in 380; died after 410. Antigonus, the father of this saint, was a nobleman of the first rank and quality in the court of Theodosius the younger, nearly allied in blood to that emperor, and honored by him with several great employments in the state. He was married to […]

Read the full article →

March 13 – St. Leander of Seville

March 10, 2016

St. Leander of Seville Bishop of that city, born at Carthage about 534, of a Roman family established in that city; died at Seville, 13 March, 600 or 601. Some historians claim that his father Severian was duke or governor of Carthage, but St. Isidore simply states that he was a citizen of that city. […]

Read the full article →

March 13 – St. Nicephorus

March 10, 2016

St. Nicephorus St. Nikephoros I of Constantinople trample on John VII of Constantinople, who is laying on the ground with coins, miniature from Chludov Psalter. John VII of Constantinople is depicted with untidy straight hair sticking out in all directions, which was considered ridiculous by the Byzantines. Above – fragment of the Apostle St. Peter […]

Read the full article →

March 14 – Patroness of Those Falsely Accused

March 10, 2016

St. Matilda, Queen of Saxony King Henry and Queen Matilda. Photo by M. Kunz. Queen of Germany, wife of King Henry I (The Fowler), born at the Villa of Engern in Westphalia, about 895; died at Quedlinburg, 14 March, 968. She was brought up at the monastery of Erfurt. Henry, whose marriage to a young […]

Read the full article →

Nobility of Birth Seems a Fortuitous Fact, but It Results from a Benevolent Design of Heaven

March 10, 2016

[previous] 3. Nobility of Birth Seems a Fortuitous Fact, but It Results from a Benevolent Design of Heaven From the allocution of Leo XIII to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility on January 21, 1897: Our heart rejoices to see you here again, united by a concord of ideas and affections that honor you. Our charity […]

Read the full article →

March 8 – He was not a prince, but they buried him as one

March 7, 2016

St. John of God Born at Montemor o Novo, Portugal, 8 March, 1495, of devout Christian parents; died at Granada, 8 March, 1550. The wonders attending the saints birth heralded a life many-sided in its interests, but dominated throughout by implicit fidelity to the grace of God. A Spanish priest whom he followed to Oropeza, […]

Read the full article →

March 8 – Classmate of Innocent III

March 7, 2016

Bl. Vincent Kadlubek (KADLUBO, KADLUBKO). Bishop of Cracow, chronicler, born at Karnow, Duchy of Sandomir, Poland, 1160; died at Jedrzejow, 8 March, 1223. The son of a rich family in Poland, he made such progress in his studies that in 1189 he could sign his name as Magister Vincentius (Zeissberg, in “Archiv fur osterreichische Geschichte”, […]

Read the full article →

March 9 – She Could Detect Diabolical Plots

March 7, 2016

St. Frances of Rome One of the greatest mystics of the fifteenth century; born at Rome, of a noble family, in 1384; died there, 9 March, 1440. Her youthful desire was to enter religion, but at her father’s wish she married, at the age of twelve, Lorenzo de’ Ponziani. Among her children we know of […]

Read the full article →

March 9 – Incorrupt

March 7, 2016

St. Catherine of Bologna Poor Clare and mystical writer, born at Bologna, 8 September, 1413; died there, 9 March, 1463. When she was ten years old, her father sent her to the court of the Marquis of Ferrara, Nicolò d’Este, as a companion to the Princess Margarita. Here Catherine pursued the study of literature and […]

Read the full article →

March 10 – “I want no prayers from heretics!”

March 7, 2016

St. John Ogilvie Ogilvie, the son of a wealthy noble, was born into a Calvinist family near Keith in Banffshire, Scotland and was educated in mainland Europe where he attended a number of Roman Catholic educational establishments, under the Benedictines at Regensburg in Germany and with the Jesuits at Olomouc and Brno in the present […]

Read the full article →

Our Lord Jesus Christ Willed to Be Born a Noble; He Himself Loved the Aristocracy

March 7, 2016

[previous] From the allocution of Pius IX to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility on December 29, 1872: Jesus Christ Himself loved aristocracy; and if I am not mistaken, I expounded upon this idea on another occasion. He too chose to be of noble birth, of the House of David; and His Gospel shows us His […]

Read the full article →

Talleyrand’s Etiquette

March 3, 2016

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord was born in Paris, 1754, to a noble family during the reign of Louis XV. During his long life, he became a bishop, politician and diplomat, working at the highest levels of successive French governments, most commonly as foreign minister or in another diplomatic capacity. His career spanned the regimes of Louis […]

Read the full article →

The knight wants nothing for himself; he wants things for God alone

March 3, 2016

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira On the issue of chivalry, it is part of the knight’s spirit to have a generosity whereby he is very detached from himself, whereby he wants nothing for himself but only for God, and he aims very high in the things he desires. Therefore, he desires the glory of God […]

Read the full article →

March 4 – “Your Honor, was St. Augustine also a traitor?”

March 3, 2016

Blessed Christopher Bales (Or Bayles, alias Evers) Priest and martyr, b. at Coniscliffe near Darlington, County Durham, England, about 1564; executed 4 March, 1590. He entered the English College at Rome, 1 October, 1583, but owing to ill-health was sent to the College at Reims, where he was ordained 28 March, 1587.Sent to England 2 […]

Read the full article →

March 4 – This Prince had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin

March 3, 2016

St. Casimir Prince of Poland, born in the royal palace at Cracow, 3 October, 1458; died at the court of Grodno, 4 March, 1484. He was the grandson of Wladislaus II Jagiello, King of Poland, who introduced Christianity into Lithuania, and the second son of King Casimir IV and Queen Elizabeth, an Austrian princess, the […]

Read the full article →

March 5 – St. John Joseph of the Cross

March 3, 2016

St. John Joseph of the Cross Born on the Island of Ischia, Southern Italy, 1654; died 5 March, 1739. From his earliest years he was given to prayer and virtue. So great was his love of poverty that he would always wear the dress of the poor, though he was of noble birth. At the […]

Read the full article →

March 6 – Bishop Prime Minister

March 3, 2016

St. Chrodegang Bishop of Metz, born at the beginning of the eighth century at Hasbania, in what is now Belgian Limburg, of a noble Frankish family; died at Metz, 6 March, 766. He was educated at the court of Charles Martel, became his private secretary, then chancellor, and in 737 prime minister. On 1 March, […]

Read the full article →

March 7 – Saint Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart

March 3, 2016

Saint Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart Born July 15, 1747. Died March 7, 1770 in Florence. She was born Anna Maria Redi to a large noble family in Arezzo, Italy. She was the daughter of Count Ignatius Redi and Camilla Billeti. After attending the boarding school of the Benedictine nuns of St. Apollonia’s in […]

Read the full article →

Nobility Is a Gift From God

March 3, 2016

[previous] From the allocution of Pius IX to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility on June 17, 1871: One day a Cardinal, a Roman prince, presented his nephew to one of my Predecessors, who on that occasion made a very true statement: that thrones should be upheld principally through the nobility and clergy. For there is […]

Read the full article →

Photographs of the Golden Boy – The New Prince of Bhutan!

February 29, 2016

According to The Royal Forums: To celebrate His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck’s 36th birthday on 21st February, new photos of His Royal Highness The Gyalsey with his parents have been released. Wrapped in his golden blanket, the baby boy, who is yet to be named, sleeps peacefully and seemingly unaware of all the […]

Read the full article →

Dutch Golden Coach is under restoration; some MPs unhappy

February 29, 2016

According to The Royal Forums: The Dutch Golden Coach is under restoration, which will take three years. The king is paying the restoration from his own budget, with no additional costs for the tax payer. A good deal one would think. In parliament the usual suspects still found a reason to complain, as royal issues […]

Read the full article →

Solicitude of Saint Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal, Toward the Impoverished Nobility

February 29, 2016

In the life of Saint Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal (1274-1336), we read the following facts that manifest an edifying trace of her character: She took particular care in assisting people who, having lived under the norm of nobility with property, found themselves ruined, their necessity and misery increasing, and ashamed to beg. She aided these […]

Read the full article →

February 29 – The Church in China, part II

February 29, 2016

Previous Part I Part II THE QUESTION OF RITES Father Ricci, the first superior of the Jesuits in China, had remarkable success in his work of evangelizing because of the great tolerance he showed the cult rendered by the Chinese to Heaven, to Confucius, and to ancestors. Indeed, mandarins being obliged to honor officially Heaven […]

Read the full article →

March 1 – St. David of Wales

February 29, 2016

St. David (DEGUI, DEWI). Bishop and Confessor, patron of Wales. He is usually represented standing on a little hill, with a dove on his shoulder. From time immemorial the Welsh have worn a leek on St. David’s day, in memory of a battle against the Saxons, at which it is said they wore leeks in […]

Read the full article →

March 2 – This Princess Refused to Marry the Emperor

February 29, 2016

St. Agnes of Bohemia (Also called Agnes of Prague). Born at Prague in the year 1200; died probably in 1281. She was the daughter of Ottocar, King of Bohemia and Constance of Hungary, a relative of St. Elizabeth. At an early age she was sent to the monastery of Treinitz, where at the hands of […]

Read the full article →

March 2 – Warrior Bishop Prince

February 29, 2016

St. John Maron Origin of St. John Maron John Maron was born in Sarum, a prosperous town located south of the city of Antioch. His date of birth is not mentioned but many historians place it around the third decade of the seventh century. He descended from a Frankish royal family which governed Antioch, a […]

Read the full article →

March 3 — St. Katharine Drexel

February 29, 2016

St. Katharine Drexel, the second America canonized saint, was born into a wealthy family in Philadelphia in 1858. Her father was an international banker and philanthropist accustomed to spending each evening in a prayerful vigil. Although her mother passed away a few weeks after Katharine’s birth, her stepmother Emma Bouvier… Read more here.  

Read the full article →

March 3 – Empress Saint

February 29, 2016

St. Cunegundes, Empress (c. 975 – 3 March 1040 at Kaufungen), also called Cunegundes and Cunegonda ST. CUNEGUNDES was the daughter of Sigefride, the first count of Luxemburgh, and Hadeswige his pious wife. They instilled into her from her cradle the most tender sentiments of piety, and married her to St. Henry, duke of Bavaria, […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →