A Catholic’s Noble Revenge

May 21, 2015

A brave Hungarian Count, by name Péter Szapáry, was taken prisoner by the Turks, brought to the city of Ofen, and dragged before Hamsa-Bey. The cruel Turk rejoiced to see his dreaded enemy at length in his power; he loaded him with insult, condemned him to receive a hundred blows on the soles of his […]

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The Duke of Vendôme Turns Fifty

May 21, 2015

According to the Royal Forums: Prince Jean d’Orléans, the Duke of Vendome today celebrates his fiftieth birthday. He is the second son of Henri, Count of Paris, the Orléanist claimant to the defunct throne of France, and his first wife, Duchess Marie Thérèse of Württemberg. Jean…married Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart on May 2, 2009. […]

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4: The Law of Movement

May 21, 2015

The variety of movements that God has placed in the Universe is gradual and harmonic, as are the gradations of hierarchy. This harmony of movement is an element of perfection in Creation. Let’s reflect upon how life unfolds in a just man. The man is born, blossoms in adolescence with a movement rich in harmony, […]

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May 23 – Appointed bishop to replace a corrupt one, then imprisoned for defending the King’s legitimate wife

May 21, 2015

St. Ivo of Chartres (YVO, YVES). One of the most notable bishops of France at the time of the Investiture struggles and the most important canonist before Gratian in the Occident, born of a noble family about 1040; died in 1116. From the neighbourhood of Beauvais, his native country, he went for his studies first […]

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May 23 – St. John Baptist de Rossi

May 21, 2015

St. John Baptist de Rossi (De Rubeis). Born at Voltaggio in the Diocese of Genoa, 22 February, 1698; died at Rome, 23 May, 1764; feast on 23 May. His parents, Charles de Rossi and Frances Anfossi, were not rich in earthly goods, but had solid piety and the esteem of their fellow-citizens. Of their four […]

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May 23 – Chevalier of the Order of Leopold

May 21, 2015

Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet Missionary among the North American Indians, born at Termonde (Dendermonde), Belgium, 30 Jan., 1801; died at St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A., 23 May, 1873. He emigrated to the United States in 1821 through a desire for missionary labours, and entered the Jesuit novitiate at Whitemarsh, Maryland. In 1823, however, at the suggestion […]

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May 24 – Bl. Hermann Joseph

May 21, 2015

Bl. Hermann Joseph Premonstratensian monk and mystic; born at Cologne about 1150; died at Hoven, 7 April, 1241. According to the biography by Razo Bonvisinus, contemporary prior of Steinfeld (Acta SS., 7 April, I, 679), Hermann was the son of poor parents who had once been rich. At the age of seven he attended school […]

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May 24 – Our Lady Help of Christians, to commemorate the liberation of the Pope from prison

May 21, 2015

This commemoration was introduced in the liturgical calendar by decree of Pope Pius VII on September 16, 1815, in thanksgiving for his happy return to Rome after a long and painful captivity in Savona and France due to Napoleon’s tyrannical power… Read more here.

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May 24 – St. Vincent of Lérins

May 21, 2015

St. Vincent of Lérins Feast on 24 May, an ecclesiastical writer in Southern Gaul in the fifth century. His work is much better known than his life. Almost all our information concerning him is contained in Gennadius, “De viris illustribus” (lxiv). He entered the monastery of Lérins (today Isle St…. Read more here.

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May 25 – She withstood the devil

May 21, 2015

St. Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi Carmelite Virgin, born 2 April, 1566; died 25 May, 1607. Of outward events there were very few in the saint’s life. She came of two noble families, her father being Camillo Geri de’ Pazzi and her mother a Buondelmonti. She was baptized, and named Caterina, in the great baptistery. Her […]

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May 19 – Charlemagne’s Scholar

May 18, 2015

Blessed Alcuin of York An eminent educator, scholar, and theologian born about 735; died 19 May, 804. He came of noble Northumbrian parentage, but the place of his birth is a matter of dispute. It was probably in or near York. While still a mere child, he entered the cathedral school founded at that place […]

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May 20 – St. Bernardine of Siena

May 18, 2015

St. Bernardine of Siena Friar Minor, missionary, and reformer, often called the “Apostle of Italy”, b. of the noble family of Albizeschi at Massa, a Sienese town of which his father was then governor, 8 September, 1380; d. at Aquila in the Abruzzi, 20 May, 1444. Left an orphan at six Bernardine was brought up […]

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May 20 – Mentor of the Duke of Ferrara

May 18, 2015

Blessed Colomba of Rieti Born at Rieti in Umbria, Italy, 1467; died at Perugia, 1501. Blessed Colomba of Rieti is always called after her birthplace, though she actually spent the greater part of her life away from it. Her celebrity is based — as it was even in her lifetime — mainly on two things: […]

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May 20 – King of the East Angles

May 18, 2015

St. Ethelbert Date of birth unknown; died 794. King of the East Angles, was, according to the “Speculum Historiale” of Richard of Cirencester (who died about 1401), the son of King Ethelred and Leofrana, a lady of Mercia. Brought up in piety, he was a man of singular humility. Urged to marry, he declared his […]

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May 21- De Soto meets the mighty Mississippi

May 18, 2015

The next day, upon which De Soto was hoping to see the chief, a large company of Indians came, fully armed and in war-paint, with the purpose of attacking the Christians. But when they saw that the Governor had… Read more here.

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May 22 – Hanged for Printing a Book

May 18, 2015

Blessed James Duckett Martyr, born at Gilfortrigs in the parish of Skelsmergh in Westmoreland, England, date uncertain, of an ancient family of that county; died 9 April, 1601. He was a bookseller and publisher in London. His godfather was the well-known martyr James Leybourbe of Skelsmergh. He seems, however, to have been brought up a […]

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May 22 – Queen’s Confessor

May 18, 2015

Blessed John Forest Born in 1471, presumably at Oxford, where his surname was then not unknown; suffered 22 May, 1538. At the age of twenty he received the habit of St. Francis at Greenwich, in the church of the Friars Minor of the Regular Observance, called for brevity’s sake “Observants”. Nine years later we find […]

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Clematis Charlotte named for new Princess

May 14, 2015

According to The Telegraph: Wyevale Garden Centres is launching a double flowering clematis named after Princess Charlotte this week…following the popularity of Clematis George, released after the birth of the first child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2013. David Mitchell Plant Buyer at WGC said, “In 2013 the Clematis George was our […]

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Video: Prince Harry training with the Australian Defence Force

May 14, 2015

According to the British Monarchy: Just released today, we have some footage of Prince Harry training with the Australian Defence Force (ADF). His Royal Highness, or Captain Harry Wales as he is known in the Army, spent a month training with the ADF working and living alongside colleagues in the Australian Army in a number […]

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Grand Ducal Family celebrates Luxembourg’s most important religious ceremony

May 14, 2015

According to the Royal Forums: Grand Duchess Maria Teresa was joined by two of her sons…in the morning for the mass at the Cathedrale de Luxembourg held in honour of the event. Later, the family…process[ed] from the Cathedrale to the Grand Ducal Palace… A large number of the public lined the streets to celebrate with […]

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St. Francis de Sales Defends Himself When Attacked

May 14, 2015

St. Francis of Sales, though one of the gentlest of the Saints of God, knew how to defend himself from the swords of his enemies in the day of danger. During his residence in Padua, whither his father had sent him to pursue his studies, it happened that certain young men, who seemed to live […]

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3: The Law of Gradation

May 14, 2015

Divine Providence wanted to create all things in a hierarchy. In making minerals, plants, animals, men, and the angels, Divine Providence established an immense gamut of intermediary degrees within each of these categories. At one and the same time, this hierarchy is full of diversity and entirely harmonic. There is an infinity of “nuances” between […]

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May 15 – Beautiful Princess, Tragic Story

May 14, 2015

St. Dymphna Virgin and martyr. The earliest historical account of the veneration of St. Dymphna dates from the middle of the thirteenth century. Under Bishop Guy I of Cambrai (1238-47), Pierre, a canon of the church of Saint Aubert at Cambrai, wrote a “Vita” of the saint, from which we learn that she had been […]

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May 16 – Patron of Poland

May 14, 2015

Saint Andrew Bobola Saint Andrew Bobola earned the name “Hunter of Souls” due to his tireless zeal and missionary travels. Martyr, born of an old and illustrious Polish family, in the Palatinate of Sandomir, 1590; died at Janów, 16 May, 1657. Having entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus at Wilno (1611), he was […]

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May 16 – Leper King

May 14, 2015

Modern society obsessively avoids suffering, risk and danger. It secures everything with seatbelts and safety rails, air conditions the summer heat, prints warnings on coffee cups and advises that that safety glasses should be used while working with hammers. Certainly such precautions have prevented misfortune. However, since heroism and excellence are born from confronting rather […]

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May 16 – St. Honoratus of Amiens

May 14, 2015

Saint Honoratus of Amiens (Honoré, sometimes Honorius, Honortus) (d. May 16, ca. 600) was the seventh bishop of Amiens. His feast day is May 16. He was born in Port-le-Grand (Ponthieu) near Amiens to a noble family. He was said to be virtuous from birth. He was taught by his predecessor in the bishopric of […]

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The Great Siege of Malta, May 18–September 11, 1565, was won because of one man: Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette

May 14, 2015

On the morning of August 18th the excessively heavy bombardment of Senglea warned them that an attack was imminent. It was not slow to develop. The moment that the rumble of the guns died down, the Iayalars and Janissaries were seen streaming forward across the no-man’s-land to the south… Read more here.

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May 18 – St. Eric, King of Sweden, Martyr

May 14, 2015

St. Eric, King of Sweden, Martyr Eric [1] was descended of a most illustrious Swedish family: in his youth he laid a solid foundation of virtue and learning, and took to wife Christina, daughter of Ingo IV, king of Sweden. Upon the death of King Smercher in 1141, he was, purely for his extraordinary virtues […]

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May 12 – She said no to the crowns of England, France and the Holy Roman Empire

May 11, 2015

Blessed Joanna of Portugal Born at Lisbon, 16 February, 1452; died at Aveiro, 12 May, 1490; the daughter of Alfonso V, King of Portugal, and his wife Elizabeth. She was chiefly remarkable for the courage and persistence with which she opposed all attempts on the part of her father and brother to make her marry.  […]

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May 13 – “Can anyone receive Jesus into his heart and not die?”

May 11, 2015

Blessed Imelda Lambertini (1322 – May 13, 1333) is the patroness of First Holy Communicants. Imelda was born in 1322 in Bologna, the only child of Count Egano Lambertini and Castora Galuzzi. Her parents were devout Catholics and were known for their charity and generosity to the underprivileged of Bologna. As a very young girl, […]

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May 13 – St. John the Silent

May 11, 2015

St. John the Silent (Hesychastes, Silentiarius). Bishop of Colonia, in Armenia, b. at Nicopolis, Armenia, 8 Jan., 452; d. 558. His parents, Encratius and Euphemia, wealthy and honoured, belonged to families that had done great service in the State and had given to it renowned generals and governors, but they were also good Christian… Read […]

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May 14 – The Right to Revolt

May 11, 2015

May 14, 1264: Simon de Montfort Defeats King Henry III at Battle of Lewes The Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons’ War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de […]

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May 15 – Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac

May 10, 2015

Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac (December 27, 1556 – February 2, 1640) was founderess of the order The Company of Mary Our Lady. She was born in Bordeaux, France in 1556 to a prominent family. Her father, Richard de Lestonnac, was a member of the French Parliament while her mother, Jeanne Eyquem, was the sister of […]

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“Be Kind To Your Mother”

May 7, 2015

Frederick, King of Prussia, one day rang his bell, and, no one answering, he opened the door and found his page fast asleep in his elbow-chair. He advanced towards him, and was about to waken him, when he perceived a letter hanging out of his pocket. Curiosity prompted him to know what it contained; so […]

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2: The Law of Contrast

May 7, 2015

In order for their beauty to be more complete, things diverse among themselves should manifest a certain contrast, a certain opposition. There is [in the Catholic Church] a magnificent contrast between the Pope, who is at the pinnacle of power and before whom all kneel, and a humble lay brother, who would protest were anyone […]

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May 8 – When St. Michael Appeared

May 7, 2015

Well known is the apparition of St. Michael the Archangel (a. 494 or 530-40), as related in the Roman Breviary, 8 May, at his renowned sanctuary on Monte Gargano, where his original glory as patron in war was restored to him. To his intercession the Lombards of Sipontum (Manfredonia) attributed their victory over the Greek […]

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May 8 – Matriarch of the Carolingian family

May 7, 2015

Saint Itta (or Itta of Metz) (also Ida, Itte or Iduberga) (592–652) was the wife of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia. Her brother was Saint Modoald, bishop of Trier. Her sister was abbess Saint Severa. There is no direct record of their parents, but it has been suggested that she was […]

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May 9 – Known personally to the King, he was falsely accused of conspiring to murder him

May 7, 2015

Ven. Thomas Pickering Lay brother and martyr, a member of an old Westmoreland family, born circa 1621; executed at Tyburn, 9 May, 1679. He was sent to the Benedictine monastery of St. Gregory at Douai, where he took vows as a lay brother in 1660. In 1665 he was sent to London, where, as steward […]

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May 9 – St. Nicholas Albergati

May 7, 2015

Cardinal and Bishop of Bologna, born at Bologna in 1357; died at Sienna, 9 May, 1443. He entered the Carthusian Order in 1394, served as prior in various monasteries, and was made Bishop of Bologna, against his will, in 1417. In this office he still followed the Rule of his Order, was zealous for the […]

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May 9 – Isaias, Prophet and Historian, Sawn in Two

May 7, 2015

From the Prophet himself (i, 1; ii, 1) we learn that he was the son of Amos. Owing to the similarity between Latin and Greek forms of this name and that of the Shepherd-Prophet of Thecue, some Fathers mistook the Prophet Amos for the father of Isaias. St. Jerome in the preface to his “Commentary […]

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May 10 – Saint Damien: A Hero Who Died on the Battlefield of Honor

May 7, 2015

Born Joseph de Veuster in Tremelo, Belgium, he took the religious name of Damien when he joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. There are few places on Earth more beautiful than Hawaii. While this idyllic paradise may be the destination spot for tourists and honeymooners, Joseph de Veuster was eager […]

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May 11 – Holy Merovingian

May 7, 2015

St. Aldegundis Virgin and abbess (c. 639-684), variously written Adelgundis, Aldegonde, etc. She was closely related to the Merovingian royal family. Her father and mother, afterwards honored as St. Walbert and St. Bertilia, lived in Flanders in the province of Hainault. Aldegundis was urged to marry, but she chose a life of virginity and, leaving […]

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May 11 – Martyr of the House of Rochester

May 7, 2015

Blessed John Rochester Priest and martyr, born probably at Terling, Essex, England, about 1498; died at York, 11 May, 1537. He was the third son of John Rochester, of Terling, and Grisold, daughter of Walter Writtle, of Bobbingworth. He joined the Carthusians, was a choir monk of the Charterhouse in London, and strenuously opposed the […]

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May 5 – St. Hilary of Arles

May 4, 2015

Archbishop, born about 401; died 5 May, 449. The exact place of his birth is not known. All that may be said is that he belonged to a notable family of Northern Gaul, of which in all probability also came St. Honoratus, his predecessor in the See of Arles. Learned and rich, Hilary had everything […]

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May 6 – Prince, priest, pioneer

May 4, 2015

Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin Prince, priest, and missionary, born at The Hague, Holland, 22 December, 1770; died at Loretto, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., 6 May, 1840. He was a scion of one of the oldest, wealthiest, and most illustrious families of Russia. His father, Prince Demetrius Gallitzin (d. 16 March, 1803), Russian ambassador to Holland at the time […]

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May 6 – Saint Francis de Montmorency Laval

May 4, 2015

St. Francis de Montmorency Laval First bishop of Canada, born at Montigny-sur-Avre, 30 April, 1623, of Hughes de Laval and Michelle de Péricard; died at Quebec on 6 May, 1708. He was a scion of an illustrious family, whose ancestor was baptized with Clovis at Reims, and whose motto reads: “Dieu ayde au primer baron […]

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May 7 – The Pope who adopted two princes

May 4, 2015

Pope St. Benedict II Date of birth unknown; died 8 May, 685; was a Roman, and the son of John. Sent when young to the schola cantorum, he distinguished himself by his knowledge of the Scriptures and by his singing, and as a priest was remarkable for his humility, love of the poor, and generosity. […]

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May 7 – Bl. Agnellus of Pisa

May 4, 2015

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 […]

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May 7 – St. John of Beverley

May 4, 2015

St. John of Beverley Bishop of Hexham and afterwards of York; b. at Harpham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire; d. at Beverley, 7 May, 721. In early life he was under the care of Archbishop Theodore, at Canterbury, who supervised his education, and is reputed to have given him the name of John. He […]

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Baby Princess Leonore Meets the Pope

April 30, 2015

According to the Royal Forums: During her grandmother and parents’ visit to the Vatican, Princess Leonore also met Pope Francis. The baby Princess sat on her grandmother, Queen Silvia’s, lap whilst she had an audience with the Pope at the Apostolic Palace.  To read the entire article on the Royal Forums, please click here. View […]

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The Temptation of the Two Brothers

April 30, 2015

Two noble knights* were one day passing together through a thick forest on their way to a tournament. They were brothers, and each of them possessed great riches. As they were passing through this solitary place, the demon of covetousness inspired both of them with the same wicked thought: that of killing his brother, in […]

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1: The Laws Of Variety

April 30, 2015

The Law of Characteristics Characteristics are a distinct sign of authentic variety, and in them true variety is attained. Let us consider a room with a variety of objects: armchairs, paintings, chandeliers, carpets, curtains, and so on. This variety will be authentic only when each one of these objects is typically and characteristically itself. Let […]

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May 1 – St. Sigismund, King of Burgundy

April 30, 2015

This saint was son of Gondebald, the Arian king of the Burgundians; but embraced the Catholic faith through the instructions of St. Alcimus Avitus, bishop of Vienne. (1) He succeeded to the kingdom of his father in 516, and in the midst of barbarism lived humble, mortified, penitent, devout, and charitable, even on the throne; […]

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May 2 – Two sisters of this medieval princess were also saints

April 30, 2015

St. Mafalda of Portugal In the year 1215, at the age of eleven, Princess Mafalda (i.e. Matilda), daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal, was married to her kinsman King Henry I of Castile, who was like herself a minor… Read more here.

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May 3 – Finding of the Holy Cross

April 30, 2015

In the year 326 the mother of Constantine, Helena, then about 80 years old, having journeyed to Jerusalem, undertook to rid the Holy Sepulchre of the mound of earth heaped upon and around it, and to… Read more here.

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May 3 – Sword-bearer to the Emperor

April 30, 2015

St. Ansfried of Utrecht Ansfried (aka Ansfridus or Aufridus) was born ca. 940, and died May 3, 1010 near Leusden.) He was a nobleman in the Holy Roman Empire and sword-bearer for Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. Till 995 he was Count of Huy, then he became bishop of Utrecht. He is also the founder […]

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May 4 – They believed in the religious exemption, but only at first

April 30, 2015

The Carthusian Martyrs were the monks of the London Charterhouse, the monastery of the Carthusian Order in central London, who were put to death by the English state in a period lasting from the 19 June 1535 till the 20 September 1537. The method of execution was hanging,… Read more here.

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April 29 – The Templars, Knights of Calatrava, of St. Lazarus, of Alcantara, of Avis, of St. Maurice, all trace their existence to this austere monk

April 27, 2015

St. Robert of Molesme Born about the year 1029, at Champagne, France, of noble parents who bore the names of Thierry and Ermengarde; died at Molesme, 17 April, 1111. When fifteen years of age, he commenced his novitiate in the Abbey of Montier-la-Celle, or St. Pierre-la-Celle, situated near Troyes, of which he became later prior. […]

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April 29 – In 11th century Christendom, no king or bishop dare oppose him

April 27, 2015

Saint Hugh the Great Abbot of Cluny, born at Semur (Brionnais in the Diocese of Autun), 1024; died at Cluny, 28 April, 1109. His early life The eldest son of Count Dalmatius of Semur and Aremberge (Aremburgis) of Vergy, Hugh was descended from the noblest families in Burgundy. Dalmatius, devoted to war and the chase, […]

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April 30 – “Thank God for the victory”

April 27, 2015

Pope Saint Pius V Born at Bosco, near Alexandria, Lombardy, 17 Jan., 1504 elected 7 Jan., 1566; died 1 May, 1572. Being of a poor though noble family his lot would have been to follow a trade, but he was taken in by the Dominicans of Voghera, where he received a good education and was […]

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