February 6 – Apostle of Flanders

February 4, 2016

St. Amandus One of the great apostles of Flanders; born near Nantes, in France, about the end of the sixth century. He was, apparently, of noble extraction. When a youth of twenty, he fled from his home and became a monk near Tours, resisting all the efforts of his family to withdraw him from his […]

Read the full article →

February 7 – Refused admission to the Pontifical Noble Guard, he became Pope instead

February 4, 2016

Pope Blessed Pius IX (GIOVANNI MARIA MASTAI-FERRETTI). Pope from 1846-78; born at Sinigaglia, 13 May, 1792; died in Rome, 7 February, 1878. BEFORE HIS PAPACY His early years. After receiving his classical education at the Piarist College in Volterra from 1802-09 he went to Rome to study philosophy and theology, but left there in 1810 […]

Read the full article →

February 7 – Saintly King, and Father of Three More Saints

February 4, 2016

St. Richard, King and Confessor This saint was an English prince, in the kingdom of the West-Saxons, and was perhaps deprived of his inheritance by some revolution in the state: or he renounced it to be more at liberty to dedicate himself to the pursuit of Christian perfection. His three children, Winebald, Willibald, and Warburg… […]

Read the full article →

February 8 – Mary Queen of Scots

February 4, 2016

Mary Queen of Scots Mary Stuart, born at Linlithgow, 8 December, 1542; died at Fotheringay, 8 February, 1587. She was the only legitimate child of James V of Scotland. His death (14 December) followed immediately after her birth, and she became queen when only six days old. The Tudors endeavored by war to force on […]

Read the full article →

February 8 – A strong and mighty Angel – calm, terrible, and bright – the cross in blended red and blue, upon his mantle white

February 4, 2016

Saint John of Matha Founder of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity. He was born into Provencal nobility in 1154 at Faucon-de-Barcelonnette, France. As a youth, he was educated at Aix-en-Provence, and later studied theology at the University of Paris. While in Paris, he was urged by a vision during his first Mass to […]

Read the full article →

Pius XII: Allocution of January 15, 1949

February 4, 2016

We remind you of the fundamental and immutable duties, in all their variety and multiple aspects, imposed upon you by your station in society. Last year We delineated them for you with the brevity required by the circumstances. We do not doubt that, in examining your conscience, you have asked yourselves with what loyalty and […]

Read the full article →

February 2 – “Though in chains, he is as gay as a little bird”

February 1, 2016

St. Théophane Vénard (JEAN-THÉOPHANE VÉNARD.) French missionary, born at St-Loup, Diocese of Poitiers, 1829; martyred in Tonkin, 2 February, 1861. He studied at the College of Doue-la-Fontaine, Montmorillon, Poitiers, and at the Paris Seminary for Foreign Missions which he entered as a sub-deacon. Ordained priest 5 June, 1852, he departed for the Far East, 19 […]

Read the full article →

February 2 – He hastened to the king, exhibited his wounded body and related his vision

February 1, 2016

St. Lawrence Second Archbishop of Canterbury, d. 2 Feb., 619. For the particulars of his life and pontificate we rely exclusively on details added by medieval writers being unsupported by historical evidence, though they may possibly embody ancient traditions. According to St. Bede, he was one of the original missionaries who left Rome with St. […]

Read the full article →

February 3 – The Stuff of Which Saints Are Made

February 1, 2016

St. Anschar (Or Saint Ansgar, Anskar or Oscar.) Called the Apostle of the North, was born to the French nobility in Picardy, 8 September, 801; died 5 February, 865. He became a Benedictine of Corbie, whence he passed into Westphalia. With Harold, the newly baptized King of Denmark who had been expelled from his kingdom […]

Read the full article →

February 3 – Half Fierce Pagan Princess, Half Gentle Christian Princess

February 1, 2016

St. Werburgh of Chester (WEREBURGA, WEREBURG, VERBOURG). Benedictine, patroness of Chester, Abbess of Weedon, Trentham, Hanbury, Minster in Sheppy, and Ely, born in Staffordshire early in the seventh century; died at Trentham, 3 February, 699 or 700. Her mother was St. Ermenilda, daughter of Ercombert, King of Kent, and St. Sexburga, and her father, Wulfhere, […]

Read the full article →

February 4 – Daughter of one king and wife of another

February 1, 2016

St. Jeanne de Valois Queen and foundress of the Order of the Annonciades, b. 1464; d. at Bourges, 4 Feb., 1505. Daughter of one king and wife of another, there are perhaps few saints in the calendar who suffered greater or more bitter humiliations than did Madame Jeanne de France, the heroic woman usually known […]

Read the full article →

February 4 – Portuguese noble and favorite of the king, he strove to convert the nobility of India – and paid for it with his life

February 1, 2016

St. John de Brito Martyr, born in Lisbon, 1 March, 1647, and was brought up at Court, martyred in India 11 February, 1693. Entering the Society of Jesus at fifteen, he obtained as his mission-field Madura in southern India. In September, 1673, he reached Goa. Before taking up his work he spent thirty days in […]

Read the full article →

February 4 – Wild and dissolute, but then he heard this!

February 1, 2016

St. Andrew Corsini Of the illustrious Corsini family; born in Florence, in 1302; died 1373. Wild and dissolute in youth, he was startled by the words of his mother about what had happened to her before his birth, and, becoming a Carmelite monk in his native city, began a life of great mortification. He studied […]

Read the full article →

February 4 – Sent into Muslim lands, he sought to preach to the Sultan

February 1, 2016

St. Joseph of Leonessa In the world named Eufranio Desiderio, born in 1556 at Leonessa in Umbria; died 4 February, 1612. From his infancy he showed a remarkably religious bent of mind; he used to erect little altars and spend much time in prayer before them, and often he would gather his companions and induce […]

Read the full article →

February 4 – Probably the most learned man of his age

February 1, 2016

Blessed Maurus Magnentius Rabanus (Hrabanus, Rhabanus) Abbot of Fulda, Archbishop of Mainz, celebrated theological and pedagogical writer of the ninth century, born at Mainz about 776 (784?); died at Winkel (Vinicellum) near Mainz on 4 February, 856. He took vows at an early age in the Benedictine monastery of Fulda, and was ordained deacon in […]

Read the full article →

February 4 – Pope Gregory V

February 1, 2016

Pope Gregory V Born c. 970; died 4 February, 999. On the death of John XV the Romans sent a deputation to Otto III and asked him to name the one he would wish them to elect in the place of the deceased pontiff. He at once mentioned his chaplain and relation, Bruno, the son […]

Read the full article →

February 4 – Patron of Armenia

February 1, 2016

Gregory the Illuminator Born 257?; died 337?, surnamed the Illuminator (Lusavorich). Gregory the Illuminator is the apostle, national saint, and patron of Armenia. He was not the first who introduced Christianity into that country. The Armenians maintain that the faith was preached there by the Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddaeus. Thaddaeus especially (the hero of the […]

Read the full article →

Pius XII: Allocution of January 14, 1948

February 1, 2016

Although the present difficult circumstances have advised Us this year to give your traditional audience an external form different from the custom, neither the reception of your homages and vows nor the expression of Our best wishes for you and your families has lost any of their intimate value and profound significance. Just as the […]

Read the full article →

Norway Celebrates King Harald’s Silver Jubilee

January 28, 2016

According to The Royal Forums: The day began with a church service in the Palace Chapel, which the entire royal family attended, as did their guests from overseas: Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden. The royal family appeared on the Palace balcony to thank the gathered […]

Read the full article →

England Will Debate Anthem to Rival ‘God Save the Queen’

January 28, 2016

According to The New York Times: “God Save the Queen”…the anthem, and not just the sovereign, may be in need of saving. On Wednesday, lawmakers agreed to debate in March a bill that, while not scrapping “God Save the Queen,” would create another anthem to be played before England’s teams take on foreign rivals. …Toby […]

Read the full article →

How The Death Of A Queen Led To 68,000 People Being Fed

January 28, 2016

By Medievalists.net The death of a medieval queen was often an occasion for great sorrow throughout their own country – even more so when the lady was very popular among the people. Such was the case when Matilda, the wife of King Henry I, passed away in the year 1118. Over an eight-day period commemorations […]

Read the full article →

No One Fools Around With a Knight

January 28, 2016

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira For this very reason the man is a knight in the drawing room, amiable but distinguished, making it understood that you don’t play around with him. The knight is serious. The knight is not a joker. He is habitually serious and kind, but he does not fool around and no […]

Read the full article →

January 29 – Noble enough to cover five contemporary kings with invective

January 28, 2016

St. Gildas Surnamed the Wise; born about 516; died at Houat, Brittany, 570. Sometimes he is called “Badonicus” because, as he tells us, his birth took place the year the Britons gained a famous victory over the Saxons at Mount Badon, near Bath, Somersetshire (493 or 516). The biographies of Gildas exist — one written… […]

Read the full article →

January 30 – Cured in body and in soul

January 28, 2016

St. Hyacintha Mariscotti A religious of the Third Order of St. Francis and foundress of the Sacconi; born 1585 of a noble family at Vignanello, near Viterbo in Italy; died 30 January, 1640, at Viterbo; feast, 30 January; in Rome, 6 February (Diarium Romanum). Her parents were Marc’ Antonio Mariscotti (Marius Scotus) and Ottavia Orsini. […]

Read the full article →

January 30 – St. Martina

January 28, 2016

St. Martina Statue of St. Martina at the Basilica of St. Martina in Martina Franca, Italy. Roman virgin, martyred in 226, according to some authorities, more probably in 228, under the pontificate of Pope Urban I, according to others. The daughter of an ex-consul and left an orphan at an early age, she so openly […]

Read the full article →

January 31 – St. John Bosco Meets His First Noble Patroness

January 28, 2016

Juliette Colbert, a native of Vendée, had married Marquis Tancredi Falletti of Barolo, and of her it could be said, even as we read of Tabitha in the Acts of the Apostles: “This woman had devoted herself to good works and acts of charity… Read more here.

Read the full article →

January 31 – The Glory of the Ladies

January 28, 2016

St. Marcella (325–410)  She was a Christian ascetic in ancient Rome. Growing up in Rome, she was influenced by her pious mother, Albina, an educated woman of wealth and benevolence. Childhood memories centered around piety, and one in particular related to Athanasius, who lodged in her home during one of his many exiles. He may […]

Read the full article →

February 1 – She and Saint Patrick were “one heart and one mind”

January 28, 2016

Saint Brigid of Ireland Born in 451 or 452 of princely ancestors at Faughart, near Dundalk, County Louth; d. 1 February, 525, at Kildare. Refusing many good offers of marriage, she became a nun and received the veil from St. Macaille. With seven other virgins she settled for a time at the foot of Croghan […]

Read the full article →

February 1 – Immediately after his martyrdom, they lined up to venerate his relics

January 28, 2016

St. Henry Morse Martyr; born in 1595 in Norfolk; died at Tyburn, 1 Feb., 1644. He was received into the church at Douai, 5 June, 1614, after various journeys was ordained at Rome, and left for the mission, 19 June, 1624. He was admitted to the Society of Jesus at Heaton; there he was arrested […]

Read the full article →

Pius XII: Allocution of January 8, 1947

January 28, 2016

The homage of your loyalty and devotion, and the wishes of good tidings which you, beloved Sons and Daughters, come to offer Us each year by ancient custom, and which have been so beautifully expressed by your most excellent representative, always fill Our heart with sincere gratitude. Naturally, they usually reflect the thoughts and worries […]

Read the full article →

January 26 – She was from one of the first families of Rome

January 25, 2016

St. Paula Born in Rome, 347; died at Bethlehem, 404. She belonged to one of the first families of Rome. Left a widow in 379 at the age of 32 she became, through the influence of St. Marcella and her group, the model of Christian widows. In 382 took place her decisive meeting with St. […]

Read the full article →

January 27 – Foundress of the Ursulines

January 25, 2016

St. Angela Merici Foundress of the Ursulines, born 21 March, 1474, at Desenzano, a small town on the southwestern shore of Lake Garda in Lombardy; died 27 January, 1540, at Brescia. She was left an orphan at the age of ten and together with her elder sister came to the home of her uncle at […]

Read the full article →

January 28 – Great in every sense

January 25, 2016

Charlemagne (French for Charles the Great, Carolus Magnus, or Carlus Magnus; German Karl der Grosse). The name given by later generations to Charles, King of the Franks, first sovereign of the Christian Empire of the West; born 2 April, 742; died at Aachen, 28 January, 814. At the time of Charles’ birth, his father, Pepin […]

Read the full article →

January 28 – Angelic Doctor, Count

January 25, 2016

St. Thomas Aquinas Saint Thomas Aquinas “sets forth the three conditions that legitimize in conscience the use of armed force.” Philosopher, theologian, doctor of the Church (Angelicus Doctor), patron of Catholic universities, colleges, and schools. Born at Rocca Secca in the Kingdom of Naples, 1225 or 1227; died at Fossa Nuova, 7 March, 1274… Read […]

Read the full article →

January 28 – St. Paulinus II, Patriarch of Aquileia

January 25, 2016

St. Paulinus II, Patriarch of Aquileia Born at Premariacco, near Cividale, Italy, about 730-40; died 802. Born probably of a Roman family during Longobardic rule in Italy, he was brought up in the patriarchal schools at Cividale. After ordination he became master of the school. He acquired a thorough Latin culture, pagan and Christian. He […]

Read the full article →

January 28 – Larochejacquelein killed by the very men whose lives he spared

January 25, 2016

While Turreau was thus devastating La Vendée, where were Larochejacquelein, Stofflet, and Charette? Had they forgotten their country and its cause—were they deaf to her cries of distress? Charette still fought in the depths of the Marais; Stofflet in the recesses of the Bocage; but Larochejacquelein, the young, the brave, the chivalrous, the peasants’ idol […]

Read the full article →

Pope Pius XII: Allocution of January 16, 1946

January 25, 2016

In past years, beloved Sons and Daughters, on this occasion—after having paternally welcomed the wishes that your illustrious representative usually offers Us in your name, with such noble expressions of faith and filial devotion—We usually accompanied Our expressions of thanks with some recommendations suggested by the circumstances of the moment. We spoke to you of […]

Read the full article →

The Surprising Reason Princess Charlene – and Very Few Others – Are Allowed to Wear White to Meet the Pope

January 21, 2016

According to People: Princess Charlene of Monaco…is one of seven women in the world that has been given “the privilege of the white” – or the ability to wear white when meeting with the pope. Called le privilége du blanc in French or il privilegio del biacno in Italian, the special tradition is extended solely […]

Read the full article →

St. Louis Makes the 16-year-old Prince of Antioch a Knight and Helps Him Assume the Reigns of Government

January 21, 2016

At this point the Prince of Antioch returned to the camp, and the princess his mother; and the king [St. Louis IX] did him great honor, and made him a knight very honorably. His age was not more than sixteen years; but never have I seen a child of such discernment. He asked the king […]

Read the full article →

The Spirit of Chivalry: The Sense of One’s Dignity, Combative Love of Hierarchy and of the Proper Order of Things

January 21, 2016

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira The spirit of chivalry is a spirit of logic, coherence, and strength of soul whereby a man has an exact notion of his own dignity; of his dignity as man, and his dignity as a Catholic. Of his dignity inasmuch as he occupies, in the scale of human values, a […]

Read the full article →

January 22 – Patroness of abuse victims

January 21, 2016

Blessed Laura Vicuña Laura del Carmen Vicuña was born on April 5, 1891 in Santiago, Chile. She was the first daughter of the Vicuña Pino family. Her parents were José Domingo Vicuña, a soldier with aristocratic roots, and Mercedes Pino. Her father was in military service and her mother worked at home… Read more here. […]

Read the full article →

January 22 – The noble who often returned home barefoot

January 21, 2016

St. Vincent Mary Pallotti The founder of the Pious Society of Missions, born at Rome, 21 April, 1798; died there, 22 Jan., 1850. He lies buried in the church of San Salvatore in Onda. He was descended from the noble families of the Pallotti of Norcia and the De Rossi of Rome. His early studies […]

Read the full article →

January 22 – Blessed Prince

January 21, 2016

Blessed Prince László Batthyány-Strattmann Ladislaus Batthyány-Strattmann (1870-1931), a layman, doctor and father of a family. He was born on 28 October 1870 in Dunakiliti, Hungary, into an ancient noble family. He was the sixth of 10 brothers. In 1876 the family moved to Austria. When Ladislaus was 12 years old his mother died. He was […]

Read the full article →

January 22 – Defended by a raven

January 21, 2016

St. Vincent of Saragossa Deacon of Saragossa, and martyr under Diocletian, 304; mentioned in the Roman Martyrology, 22 Jan., with St. Anastasius the Persian, honoured by the Greeks, 11 Nov. This most renowned martyr of Spain is represented in the dalmatic of a deacon, and has as emblems a cross, a raven, a grate, or […]

Read the full article →

January 24 – They called him “Ironmonger”

January 21, 2016

Blessed William Ireland (Alias Ironmonger.) Jesuit martyr, born in Lincolnshire, 1636; executed at Tyburn, 24 Jan. (not 3 Feb.), 1679; eldest son of William Ireland of Crofton Hall, Yorkshire, by Barbara, a daughter of Ralph Eure, of Washingborough, Lincolnshire (who is to be distinguished from the last Lord Eure) by his first wife. He was […]

Read the full article →

January 24 – Saintly and Aristocrat

January 21, 2016

St. Francis de Sales Bishop of Geneva, Doctor of the Universal Church; born at Thorens, in the Duchy of Savoy, 21 August, 1567; died at Lyons, 28 December, 1622. His father, François de Sales de Boisy, and his mother, Françoise de Sionnaz, belonged to old Savoyard aristocratic families. The future saint was the eldest of […]

Read the full article →

January 25 – St. Poppo

January 21, 2016

St. Poppo Abbot, born 977; died at Marchiennes, 25 January, 1048. He belonged to a noble family of Flanders; his parents were Tizekinus and Adalwif. About the year 1000 he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with two others of his countrymen. Soon after this he also went on a pilgrimage to Rome. He […]

Read the full article →

January 25 – Blessed Teresa Grillo Michel

January 21, 2016

BL. TERESA GRILLO MICHEL was born in Spinetta Marengo (Alessandria), Italy, on 25 September 1855. She was the fifth and last child of Giuseppe, the head physician at the Civil Hospital of Alessandria, and of Maria Antonietta Parvopassau, a descendent of an illustrious family of Alessandria. At Baptism she was given the name of Maddalena. […]

Read the full article →

Pius XII: Allocution of January 14, 1945

January 21, 2016

Once again, beloved Sons and Daughters, amid the devastation, the mourning, the anxieties of every sort presently tormenting the human family, you have come to offer Us your devout best wishes, which your illustrious representative has presented Us with nobility of sentiment and delicacy of expression. We thank you for this with all Our heart, […]

Read the full article →

January 19 – Bishop Frederic Baraga

January 18, 2016

First Bishop of Marquette, Michigan, U.S.A., born 29 June, 1797, at Malavas, in the parish of Dobernice in the Austrian Dukedom of Carniola; died at Marquette, Michigan, 19 January, 1868. He was baptized on the very day of his birth, in the parish church of Dobernice, by the names of Irenaeus Frederic, the first of […]

Read the full article →

January 19 – The scion of a noble family who longed to be enrolled in the noble army of martyrs

January 18, 2016

St. Blathmac A distinguished Irish monk, b. in Ireland about 750. He suffered martyrdom in Iona, about 835. He is fortunate in having had his biography written by Strabo, Benedictine Abbot of Reichenau (824-849), and thus the story of his martyrdom has been handed down through the ages. Strabo’s life of this saint is in […]

Read the full article →

January 19 – Archbishop Senator of the Spanish Kingdom

January 18, 2016

Blessed Marcelo Rafael José María de los Dolores Hilario Spinola y Maestre, Archbishop of Seville born: 14 January 1835. died 20 January 1906 Marcelo Spínola was born on the island of San Fernando, Cádiz Province. His parents were Juan Spínola y Osorno, Marquis of Spínola and Antonia Maestre y Osorno; they had eight children, of […]

Read the full article →

January 19 – Noble martyrs of Persia

January 18, 2016

Sts. Maris, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum All martyred at Rome in 270. Maris and his wife Martha, who belonged to the Persian nobility, came to Rome with their children in the reign of Emperor Claudius II. As zealous Christians, they sympathized with and succoured the persecuted faithful, and buried the bodies of the slain. This […]

Read the full article →

January 19 – Saintly King

January 18, 2016

St. Canute IV Elected king on the death of his brother Harold about 1080, he waged war on his barbarous enemies and brought Courland and Livonia to the faith. Having married Eltha, daughter of Robert, Count of Flanders, he had a son Charles, surnamed the good. He was a strong ruler, as is proved by […]

Read the full article →

January 20 – A dove landed on his head, and you would not believe what happened next!

January 18, 2016

Pope St. Fabian (FABIANUS) Pope (236-250), the extraordinary circumstances of whose election is related by Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., VI, 29). After the death of Anterus he had come to Rome, with some others, from his farm and was in the city when the new election began. While the names of several illustrious and noble persons […]

Read the full article →

January 20 – St. Sebastian

January 18, 2016

A.D. 288. St. Sebastian was born at Narbonne, in Gaul, but his parents were of Milan, in Italy, and he was brought up in that city. He was a fervent servant of Christ, and though his natural inclinations gave him an aversion to a military life, yet, to be better able, without suspicion, to assist […]

Read the full article →

January 21 – None was held in such high honor

January 18, 2016

St. Agnes of Rome Of all the virgin martyrs of Rome none was held in such high honour by the primitive church, since the fourth century, as St. Agnes. In the ancient Roman calendar of the feasts of the martyrs (Depositio Martyrum), incorporated into the collection of Furius Dionysius Philocalus, dating from 354 and often […]

Read the full article →

January 21 – He was put to death, just for being a king

January 18, 2016

His Last Will and Testament The last Will and Testament of Louis XVI, King of France and Navarre, given on Christmas day, 1792. In the name of the Very holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. To-day, the 25th day of December, 1792, I, Louis XVI King of France, being for more than four months […]

Read the full article →

Pius XII: Allocution of January 19, 1944

January 18, 2016

Firefighters are tackling a fire which has broken out in houses at the Southwark end of Blackfriars Bridge, London 1808 drawing by Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Pugin Little was your worry, beloved Sons and Daughters, that the present trials, which interrupt and disturb the calm continuation of family and social life, might prevent you from […]

Read the full article →

New Shadow Chancellor won’t kneel for Queen

January 14, 2016

According to the Crown Chronicles: Following in Jeremy Corbyn’s footsteps, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell will not kneel for The Queen or kiss her hand when he becomes a Privy Counsellor… But he has taken the decision to not follow the traditions of the ceremony… The Privy Council is centuries old, dating back to the […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →