The Crown of Thorns, in Paris

February 19, 2015

Baldwin the Second, Emperor of Constantinople, having come to France to solicit the king’s aid against the Greeks, who were besieging that imperial city, thought he would gain the heart of King Louis by making him a present of the Holy Crown of Thorns. He was not mistaken: the king assisted with money and troops, […]

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State blocks changes to royal succession laws

February 19, 2015

According to the Royal Central blog: Four years ago, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Australia, an agreement was made between those 16 countries…that there would be changes to the royal succession laws. Ironically, the hold-up for these changes is down the very state from which they originated in Australia. …the Western Australia […]

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Contemplating Christ in the Perfection of His Person – Part 1

February 19, 2015

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira “If any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother; he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother, whom he seeth, how can he love God whom he seeth not?” (John 4:20). I dare say that most of us have meditated, though no doubt insufficiently, on […]

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Luxembourg’s Crown Prince Guillaume and Princess Stéphanie mark 70th anniversary of the liberation of Vianden

February 19, 2015

According to the Luxemburger Wort: Vianden’s strategic location as an exit corridor for German troops caused it to be one of the last strongholds of the Wehrmacht in Luxembourg – that is until the arrival of the 1255th Engineer Combat Battalion on February 12. Prince Guillaume and Princess Stéphanie on Thursday evening led a commemorative […]

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The Crusades – Part IV

February 19, 2015

I. Origin of the Crusades; II. Foundation of Christian states in the East; III. First destruction of the Christian states (1144-87); IV. ATTEMPTS TO RESTORE THE CHRISTIAN STATES AND THE CRUSADE AGAINST SAINT-JEAN D’ACRE The news of these events caused great consternation in Christendom, and Pope Gregory VIII strove to put a stop to all […]

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February 20 – Repeatedly racked

February 19, 2015

Ven. Thomas Pormort English martyr, b. at Hull about 1559; d. at St. Paul’s Churchyard, 20 Feb., 1592. He was probably related to the family of Pormort of Great Grimsby and Saltfletby, Lincoln shire. George Pormort, Mayor of Grimsby in 1565, had a second son Thomas baptized, 7 February, 1566, but this can hardly be […]

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February 20 – Leaders and future nobility appear in times of desperate distress

February 19, 2015

Andreas Hofer A patriot and soldier, born at St. Leonhard in Passeyrthale, Tyrol, 22 Nov., 1767; executed at Mantua, 20 Feb., 1810. His father was known as the “Sandwirth” (i. e., landlord of the inn on the sandy spit of land formed by the Passeyr. The inn had been in the family for over one […]

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February 20 – Pope Martin V

February 19, 2015

Pope Martin V (Oddone Colonna) Born at Genazzano in the Campagna di Roma, 1368; died at Rome, 20 Feb., 1431. He studied at the University of Perugia, became prothonotary Apostolic under Urban VI, papal auditor and nuncio at various Italian courts under Boniface IX, and was administrator of the Diocese of Palestrina from 15 December […]

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February 21 – Shakespeare’s Inspiration

February 19, 2015

Saint Robert Southwell Poet, Jesuit, martyr; born at Horsham St. Faith’s, Norfolk, England, in 1561; hanged and quartered at Tyburn, 21 February, 1595. His grandfather, Sir Richard Southwell, had been a wealthy man and a prominent courtier in the reign of Henry VIII. It was Richard Southwell who in 1547 had brought the poet Henry […]

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February 21 – Terror of the Wicked, Supporter of the Weak

February 19, 2015

Blessed Pepin of Landen Mayor of the Palace to the Kings Clotaire II, Dagobert, and Sigebert. He was son of Carloman, the most powerful nobleman of Austrasia, who had been mayor to Clotaire I, son of Clovis I. He was grandfather to Pepin of Herstal, the most powerful mayor, whose son was Charles Martel, and […]

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February 21 – His mother almost allowed him to die

February 19, 2015

St. Peter Damian Doctor of the Church, Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia, born at Ravenna “five years after the death of the Emperor Otto III,” 1007; died at Faenza, 21 Feb., 1072. He was the youngest of a large family. His parents were noble, but poor. At his birth an elder brother protested against this new charge […]

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February 22 – The Cavalier’s Mistress Who Became a Saint

February 19, 2015

St. Margaret of Cortona A penitent of the Third Order of St. Francis, born at Laviano in Tuscany in 1247; died at Cortona, 22 February, 1297. At the age of seven years Margaret lost her mother and two years later her father married a second time. Between the daughter and her step-mother there seems to […]

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February 23 – The responsibilities of leadership are heavy

February 19, 2015

Pope Benedict XIII (PIETRO FRANCESCO ORSINI) Born 2 February, 1649; died 23 February, 1730. Being a son of Ferdinando Orsini and Giovanna Frangipani of Tolpha, he belonged to the archducal family of Orsini-Gravina. From early youth he exhibited a decided liking for the Order of St. Dominic, and at the age of sixteen during a […]

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February 23 – St. Polycarp’s martyrdom

February 19, 2015

St. Polycarp’s martyrdom Polycarp’s martyrdom is described in a letter from the Church of Smyrna, to the Church of Philomelium “and to all the brotherhoods of the holy and universal Church”, etc. The letter begins with an account of the persecution and the heroism of the martyrs. Conspicuous among them was one Germanicus, who encouraged […]

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The Crusades – Part III

February 16, 2015

I. Origin of the Crusades; II. Foundation of Christian states in the East; III. FIRST DESTRUCTION OF THE CHRISTIAN STATES (1144-87) Many dangers, unfortunately, threatened this prosperity. On the south were the Caliphs of Egypt, on the east the Seljuk Ameers of Damascus, Hamah and Aleppo, and on the north the Byzantine emperors, eager to […]

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February 17 – Marvelous Apparition of Our Lady To Seven Young Nobles

February 16, 2015

St. Alexis Falconieri Born in Florence, 1200; died 17 February, 1310, at Mount Senario, near Florence. He was the son of Bernard Falconieri, a merchant prince of Florence, and one of the leaders of the Republic. His family belonged to the Guelph party, and opposed the Imperialists whenever they could consistently with their political principles. […]

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February 18 – Charlemagne’s envoy to the pope

February 16, 2015

St. Angilbert Abbot of Saint-Riquier, died 18 February, 814. Angilbert seems to have been brought up at the court of Charlemagne, where he was the pupil and friend of the great English scholar Alcuin. He was intended for the ecclesiastical state and must have received minor orders early in life, but he accompanied the young […]

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February 18 – Confronted the Emperor and annulled the Robber Council of Ephesus

February 16, 2015

St. Flavian Bishop of Constantinople, date of birth unknown; died at Hypaepa in Lydia, August, 449. Nothing is known of him before his elevation to the episcopate save that he was a presbyter and skeuophylax or sacristan, of the Church of Constantinople, and noted for the holiness of his life. His succession to St. Proclus […]

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February 18 – Fra Angelico brought part of heaven to earth

February 16, 2015

Blessed Fra Angelico A famous painter of the Florentine school, born near Castello di Vicchio in the province of Mugello, Tuscany, 1387; died at Rome, 1455. He was christened Guido, and his father’s name being Pietro he was known as Guido, or Guidolino, di Pietro, but his full appellation today is that of “Blessed Fra […]

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February 19 – St. Conrad of Piacenza

February 16, 2015

St. Conrad of Piacenza Hermit of the Third Order of St. Francis, date of birth uncertain; died at Noto in Sicily, 19 February, 1351. He belonged to one of the noblest families of Piacenza, and having married when he was quite young, led a virtuous and God-fearing life. On one occasion, when he was engaged […]

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Queen Elizabeth prays for the repose of her father on 63rd anniversary of accession to throne

February 12, 2015

According to the Daily Express: It is always a bitter-sweet anniversary for the 88-year-old monarch, who usually spends the day at Sandringham House, where her father died in his sleep at the age of 56 after succumbing to lung cancer on February 6, 1952. The Queen, who always begins accession day with private prayers for […]

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Video: Britain marks 63 years of Queen Elizabeth as monarch

February 12, 2015

Courtesy of EuroNews:

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Newlyweds: the Dauphin of France and Marie Antoinette help the victims of a fire

February 12, 2015

The celebrations for the wedding of the future Louis XVI with Marie Antoinette of Austria came to a close in Paris with a fireworks display in the Place Louis XV (today’s Place de la Concorde). A fire broke out in the scaffolding and cannons around the king’s statue which induced panic in the crowd. 132 […]

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The Crusades – Part II

February 12, 2015

I. Origin of the Crusades; II. FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIAN STATES IN THE EAST After travelling through Burgundy and the south of France, Urban II convoked a council at Clermont-Ferrand, in Auvergne. It was attended by fourteen archbishops, 250 bishops, and 400 abbots; moreover a great number of knights and men of all conditions came and […]

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February 13 – Mystic and Counselor to Future Popes

February 12, 2015

St. Catherine de Ricci, Virgin (AD 1522 – 1589) The Ricci are an ancient family, which still subsists in a flourishing condition in Tuscany. Peter de Ricci, the father of our saint, was married to Catherine Bonza, a lady of suitable birth. The saint was born at Florence in 1522, and called at her baptism […]

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February 13 – St. Fulcran

February 12, 2015

St. Fulcran Bishop of Lodève; died 13 February, 1006. According to the biography which Bernard Guidonis, Bishop of Lodève (died 1331), has left us his saintly predecessor, Fulcran came of a distinguished family, consecrated himself at an early age to the service of the Church, became… Read more here.

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February 14 – Renounced Earthly Nobility To Obtain Heavenly Nobility

February 12, 2015

Sts. Cyril and Methodius These brothers, the Apostles of the Slavs, were born in Thessalonica, in 827 and 826 respectively. Though belonging to a senatorial family they renounced secular honors and became priests. They were living in a monastery on the Bosphorus, when the Khazars sent to Constantinople for a Christian teacher. Cyril was selected […]

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February 15 – St. Claude de la Colombière

February 12, 2015

St. Claude de la Colombière Missionary and ascetical writer, born of noble parentage at Saint-Symphorien-d’Ozon, between Lyons and Vienne, in 1641; died at Paray-le-Monial, 15 Feb., 1682. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1659. After fifteen years of religious life he made a vow, as a means of attaining the utmost possible perfection, to […]

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February 16 – Founded and ruled a religious order as his family Manorhouse, but only joined that order in his old age

February 12, 2015

St. Gilbert of Sempringham Founder of the Order of Gilbertines, born at Sempringham, on the border of the Lincolnshire fens, between Bourn and Heckington. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but it lies between 1083 and 1089; died at Sempringham, 1189. His father, Jocelin, was a wealthy Norman knight holding lands in Lincolnshire; […]

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The Crusades – Part I

February 9, 2015

The Crusades were expeditions undertaken, in fulfilment of a solemn vow, to deliver the Holy Places from Mohammedan tyranny. The origin of the word may be traced to the cross made of cloth and worn as a badge on the outer garment of those who took part in these enterprises. Medieval writers use the terms […]

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February 10 – He fought socialism in both its Nazi and Soviet forms…and paid for it with his life

February 9, 2015

BL. ALOJZIJE STEPINAC was born into a large Catholic family on 8 May 1898 in Krasic. After graduation from high school in 1916, he completed military service during World War I. In 1924 he decided to study for the priesthood and was sent to Rome, where he attended the… Read more here.

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February 10 – The Lord God Gave Her What Her Brother Would Not

February 9, 2015

St. Scholastica, Virgin (c. 480 – 10 February 547) This saint was sister to the great St. Benedict. She consecrated herself to God from her earliest youth, as St. Gregory testifies. Where her first monastery was situated is not mentioned; but after her brother removed to Mount Cassino, she choose her retreat at Plombariola, in […]

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February 11 – Elected pope while on Crusade in Palestine

February 9, 2015

Blessed Pope Gregory X Born 1210; died 10 January, 1276. Pope Gregory X was declared Blessed on July 8, 1713 by Pope Clement XI. The death of Pope Clement IV (29 November, 1268) left the Holy See vacant for almost three years. The cardinals assembled at Viterbo were divided into two camps, the one French […]

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Where do Royals Rank in World’s Admiration?

February 5, 2015

According to The Royal Forums: A new poll by market research firm YouGov…, which had 25,000 respondents in 23 countries, asked…‘Who do you most admire?’, with respondents selecting from a list of 25 worldwide figures and 5 popular local figures. Within the United Kingdom itself, the Queen came in first on the female side [and] […]

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Bishops denounce BBC depiction of St. Thomas More as a scheming villain

February 5, 2015

According to the Shropshire Star: It is the big winter drama on the BBC – but it has fallen foul of the Bishop of Shrewsbury… Right Reverend Mark Davies is among senior Catholic figures who have criticised Wolf Hall. …the historic drama…depicts Sir Thomas More…as a cruel, cold and creepy misogynist who keeps a brain-damaged […]

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The First Crusade

February 5, 2015

In 1095, Pope Urban II presided over the Council of Clermont. To induce the Faithful more efficaciously to take up the cross, he granted the remission of punishment due to sin to all who should join the Crusade for the deliverance of the Holy Land, and should die in Christian sentiments in the expedition. This […]

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Being Modern: Apostasy or Sacred Obligation?

February 5, 2015

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira In this article we discuss four pictures, two works of art from the fifteenth century, and two others from our times. The two paintings – “The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and “Saint Dominic in Prayer” – are the work of the famous fifteenth century artist Giovanni da Fiesole, […]

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February 6 – Apostle of Flanders

February 5, 2015

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 […]

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February 5 – St. Agatha

February 5, 2015

St. Agatha One of the most highly venerated virgin martyrs of Christian antiquity, put to death for her steadfast profession of faith in Catania, Sicily. Although it is uncertain in which persecution this took place, we may accept, as probably based on ancient tradition, the evidence of her… Read more here.

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

February 5, 2015

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 […]

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

February 5, 2015

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 Warburga, […]

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February 8 – Mary Queen of Scots

February 5, 2015

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 […]

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

February 5, 2015

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… Read more here.

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February 9 – Banished From the Court

February 5, 2015

St. Ansbert Archbishop of Rouen in 695, Confessor He had been chancellor to King Clotair III in which station he had united the mortification and recollection of a monk with the duties of wedlock, and of a statesman. Quitting the court, he put on the… Read more here.

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

February 2, 2015

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, […]

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February 3 – The Stuff of Which Saints Are Made

February 2, 2015

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… Read more here.

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February 4 – Daughter of one king and wife of another

February 2, 2015

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 […]

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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 2, 2015

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 […]

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February 5 – He put the Bible to verse and prose

February 2, 2015

St. Avitus (Alcimus Ecdicius). A distinguished bishop of Vienne, in Gaul, from 490 to about 518, though his death is place by some as late as 525 or 526. He was born of a prominent Gallo-Roman family closely related to the Emperor Avitus and other illustrious persons, and in which episcopal honors were hereditary. In […]

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February 5 – St. Adelaide of Cologne

February 2, 2015

St. Adelaide (of Cologne) Abbess, born in the tenth century; died at Cologne, 5 February, 1015. She was daughter of Megingoz, Count of Guelders, and when still very young entered the convent of St. Ursula in Cologne, where the Rule of St. Jerome was followed. When her parents founded the convent of Villich, opposite the… […]

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Isabella the Liberator

January 29, 2015

Queen Isabella of Castile and León—the sponsor of Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the Americas—is known in History as “Isabella the Catholic,” but she could also be seen as “Isabella the Liberator.” During the ten-year war to reconquer the Kingdom of Granada and reintegrate it into Catholic Spain, she liberated thousands of Catholic captives reduced to […]

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The Harmonic Unity and Variety of the Sea

January 29, 2015

One of the primary elements of the sea’s grandeur is its unity. The oceans of the world flow into one another and make up an immense body of water which encircles the entire globe. Anywhere in the world, when we find ourselves at the edge of the sea, one of the most agreeable spiritual considerations […]

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January 30 – Cured in body and in soul

January 29, 2015

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. […]

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January 30 – St. Martina

January 29, 2015

St. Martina 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 testified to her Christian faith that she could not escape the persecutions under Alexander […]

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

January 29, 2015

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.

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January 31 – The Glory of the Ladies

January 29, 2015

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 […]

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February 1 – Those who attended his martyrdom lined up to venerate his relics

January 29, 2015

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… Read […]

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

January 29, 2015

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 […]

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

January 29, 2015

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 […]

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

January 29, 2015

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. […]

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