January 17 – Sister of the Grand Master of Malta

January 15, 2015

St. Roseline of Villeneuve (or Rossolina.) Having overcome her father’s opposition Roseline became a Carthusian nun at Bertaud in the Alps of Dauphiné. Her “consecration” took place in 1288, and about 1330 she succeeded her aunt, Blessed Jeanne or Diane de Villeneuve, as Prioress of Celle-Robaud in the Diocese of Fréjus near her home. In […]

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January 17 – Scanderbeg: the hero of Christendom

January 15, 2015

In a history, where so much is spoken of the regions, from whence the miraculous Image of Our Lady of Good Counsel came, it will be of great use to take a brief glance at the once entirely Catholic nation in which it so long remained, and at the great client of its Sanctuary in […]

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January 18 – St. Margaret of Hungary

January 15, 2015

St. Margaret of Hungary Daughter of King Bela I of Hungary and his wife Marie Laskaris, born 1242; died 18 Jan., 1271. According to a vow which her parents made when Hungary was liberated from the Tatars that their next child should be dedicated to religion, Margaret, in 1245 entered the Dominican Convent of Veszprem. […]

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January 19 – Archbishop Senator of the Spanish Kingdom

January 15, 2015

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 […]

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January 19 – Noble martyrs of Persia

January 15, 2015

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 […]

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January 19 – Saintly King

January 15, 2015

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 […]

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Prince Harry signs book of condolence (Video)

January 12, 2015

According to The Royal Correspondent: On Friday, January 9, 2015, His Royal Highness Prince Harry of Wales arrived at the French Embassy in London to sign the book of condolence… Source.

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Queen Elizabeth II sends message to the people of France

January 12, 2015

According to the official website of the British monarchy: Prince Philip and I send our sincere condolences to the families of those who have been killed and to those who have been injured in the attack in Paris this morning. We send our thoughts and prayers to all those who have been affected, Elizabeth R. […]

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A Polish princess gives alms to the poor

January 12, 2015

While passing through Metz in 1725 on her way to become Queen of France, Maria Leszczynska received from the Jews of the city a rich gift of gold and silver vases. After admiring them for some moments, the Polish princess ordered them to be delivered to the city’s bishop, then sold, so that the proceeds […]

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If someone were to suffer a sudden disturbance of his eyes…

January 12, 2015

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira The famous painting by Velasquez, “The Little Girls”, is taken, and rightly so, as one of the great works of pictorial art. The childish and candid grace of “La Infanta”, the most dignified and respectful kindness of the young noble women who serve her, the proud and noble bearing of […]

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January 13 – The bold strategic vision of Cluny

January 12, 2015

Saint Berno of Cluny (c. 850 – 13 January 927) was first abbot of Cluny from its foundation in 910 until he resigned in 925. He was subject only to the pope and began the tradition of the Cluniac reforms which his successors brought to fruition across Europe. Berno was first a monk at St. […]

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January 13 – This Saint Opposed Bishop Lucifer

January 12, 2015

St. Hilary of Poitiers Bishop, born in that city at the beginning of the fourth century; died there 1 November, according to the most accredited opinion, or according to the Roman Breviary, on 13 January, 368. Belonging to a noble and very probably pagan family, he was instructed in all the branches of profane learning, […]

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January 13 – The Count Who Converted the King

January 12, 2015

St. Remigius of Rheims Apostle of the Franks, Archbishop of Rheims, b. at Cerny or Laon, 437; d. at Rheims, 13 January 533. His father was Emile, Count of Laon. He studied literature at Rheims and soon became so noted for learning and sanctity that he was elected Archbishop of Rheims in his twenty-second year. […]

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January 14 – Blessed Devasahayam Pillai

January 12, 2015

Blessed Devasahayam Pillai Devasahayam Pillai (named Neelakanda Pillai at birth) was born into an affluent Nair-caste family at Nattalam in the present-day Kanyakumari District, on 23 April 1712. Devasahayam’s family had much influence in the royal palace of Maharaja Marthanda Varma, king of Travancore, and Devasahayam went into the service of the royal palace as […]

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January 14 – Matriarch of Saints

January 12, 2015

St. Macrina the Elder Our knowledge of the life of the elder Macrina is derived mainly from the testimony of the great Cappadocian Fathers of the Church, her grandchildren: Basil (Ep. 204:7; 223:3), Gregory of Nyssa (“Vita Macrinae Junioris”), and the panegyric of St. Gregory of Nazianzus on St. Basil (Gregory Naz., Oratio 43). She […]

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January 15 – St. Maurus & St. Placidus

January 12, 2015

St. Maurus Deacon, son of Equitius, a nobleman of Rome, but claimed also by Fondi, Gallipoli, Lavello etc.; died 584. Feast, 15 Jan. He is represented as an abbot with crozier, or with book and censer, or holding the weights and measures of food and drink given him by his holy master. He is the […]

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January 14 – The Ten Year Old Saint and Some Of Her Miracles

January 12, 2015

Ven. Anne de Guigné When St. Thomas Aquinas’s sister asked him how to become a Saint, he told her to just “will it.” Venerable Anne de Guigné¹ was a child with an iron will and from the moment of her conversion, she willed only one thing…to be a Saint. “To become a Saint is to […]

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January 15 – Most Glorious King Ceolwulp

January 12, 2015

King Ceolwulf (also CEOLWULPH or CEOLULPH) Coelwulf, King of Northumbria and monk of Lindisfarne, date and place of birth not known; died at Lindisfarne, 764. His ancestry is thus given by the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle”: “Ceolwulf was the son of Cutha, Cutha of Cuthwin, Cuthwin of Leoldwald, Leoldwald of Egwald, Egwald of Aldhelm, Aldhelm of Ocga, […]

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Charlemagne and charity

January 8, 2015

When Charlemagne was informed of the death of one of his bishops he asked: — “How much did he leave for the poor?” — “Two pounds of silver.” A young priest who was present interjected, saying: — “That’s a very small viaticum to take on such a long journey.” The Emperor was pleased with the […]

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On Overcoming Difficulties

January 8, 2015

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira  from the “Saint of Day,” November 14, 1987   To live well, we must choose in life a noble and beautiful difficulty to overcome. We must desire to overcome that difficulty and prepare ourselves to do so. There is no other way. With this, life has a purpose. Imagine a […]

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January 9 – Blessed Tommaso Reggio

January 8, 2015

Blessed Tommaso Reggio Bl. Tommaso Reggio was born in Genoa, Italy, on 9 January 1818 to the Marquis of Reggio and Angela Pareto. He had a comfortable upbringing which gave him a solid Christian and cultural background and assured him of a brilliant career. However, at the age of 20 he decided to become a […]

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January 9 – St. Adrian of Canterbury

January 8, 2015

St. Adrian of Canterbury An African by birth, died 710. He became Abbot of Nerida, a Benedictine monastery near Naples, when he was very young. Pope Vitalian intended to appoint him Archbishop of Canterbury to succeed St. Deusdedit, who had died in 664, but Adrian considered himself unworthy of so great a dignity, and begged […]

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January 9 – St. Peter of Sebaste

January 8, 2015

St. Peter of Sebaste Bishop, born about 340; died 391. He belonged to the richly blest family of Basil and Emmelia of Caesarea in Cappadocia, from which also sprang St. Macrina the Younger (q.v.) and the two great Cappadocian doctors, Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa. He was the youngest of a large family, […]

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January 10 – Doge of Venice and Saint of Heaven

January 8, 2015

St. Peter Urseolus (Orseolo) Born at Rivo alto, Province of Udina, 928; at Cuxa, 10 January, 987 (997 is less probable). Sprung from the wealthy and noble Venetian family, the Orseoli, Peter led from his youth an earnest Christian life. In the service of the republic, he distinguished himself in naval battles against the pirates. […]

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January 10 – Patient to the Penitent, Inflexible to the Impenitent

January 8, 2015

St. William, Confessor, Archbishop of Bourges (c. 1155 – January 10, 1209) William Berruyer, of the illustrious family of the ancient counts of Nevers, was educated by Peter the hermit, archdeacon of Soissons, his uncle by the mother’s side. He learned from his infancy to despise the folly and emptiness of the riches and grandeur […]

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January 11 – Wounded in a duel

January 8, 2015

Blessed Bernard Scammacca, O.P. He was born in 1430 to a noble family of Catania, Sicily and given the name Anthony. As was typical of young men at that time, he fought duels. In one of them, his leg was badly wounded. As Anthony convalesced, he had time to think about his life and his […]

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January 12 – He promoted the use of stained glass

January 8, 2015

St. Benedict Biscop An English monastic founder, born of a noble Anglo-Saxon family, c. 628; died 12 January 690. He spent his youth at the court of the Northumbrian King Oswy. When twenty-five years old, he made the first of his five pilgrimages to Rome. On his return to England, Benedict introduced, whenever he could, […]

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January 12 – “The English Saint Bernard”

January 8, 2015

St. Aelred Abbot of Rievaulx, homilist and historian (1109-66). St. Aelred, whose name is also written Ailred, Æthelred, and Ethelred, was the son of one of those married priests of whom many were found in England in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. He was born at Hexham, but at an early age made the acquaintance […]

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About the Catholic monarchy ban…

January 5, 2015

According to The Telegraph: Newly-declassified documents showed Scotland’s first First Minister…consulted the Queen and the UK Government over…the ban on Roman Catholics ascending to the throne… Last year the Coalition passed the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, which meant that members of the Royal Family who married a Catholic would no longer lose their […]

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Which British Royal has the most engagements?

January 5, 2015

According to the Daily Express: The Queen, who will be 89 in April, and Prince Philip, 94 in June, both increased their workloads, as did three of her now often forgotten cousins and three out of her four children. But despite providing the glamour, William, Kate, and Harry, with 143, 91 and 94 official duties […]

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The great courtesy of the Sun-King

January 5, 2015

One day Louis XIV was informed that certain members of the court refused to invite Molière to join them for a meal since he was just a playwright. One morning, as the king sat down for breakfast, he invited Molière to join him at the table and enjoy the repast. Then, while keeping up the […]

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True Glory Can Only Be Born of Pain

January 5, 2015

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira From every side of the parade grounds, with habitual and quite natural enthusiasm, a huge crowd watches a trooping of the Queen’s Royal Grenadiers in their ceremonial uniforms. New military tactics forced uniforms like these into obsolescence long ago. Nevertheless, these black trousers, red coats with white belts, gloves and […]

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January 7 – St. Aldric

January 5, 2015

St. Aldric Bishop of Le Mans in the time of Louis le Debonnaire, born c. 800; died at Le Mans, 7 January, 856. As a youth he lived in the court of Charlemagne, at Aix la Chapelle, as well as in that of his son and successor Louis. By both monarchs he was highly esteemed, […]

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January 7 – “Royal bandits must hang from the highest mast”

January 5, 2015

St. Canut, second son of Eric the Good, king of Denmark, was made duke of Sleswig, his elder brother Nicholas being king of Denmark. Their father, who lived with his people as a father with his children, and no one ever left him without comfort, says the ancient chronicle Knytling-Saga, p. 71. died in Cyprus, […]

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January 7 – St. Kentigerna

January 5, 2015

St. Kentigerna, Widow She is commemorated on the 7th of January, in the Aberdeen Breviary, from which we learn, that she was of royal blood, daughter of Kelly, prince of Leinster in Ireland, as Colgan proves from ancient monuments. She was mother of the holy abbot St. Fœlan, or Felan. After the death of her […]

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January 8 – Hapsburg Saint

January 5, 2015

St. Gudula (Latin, Guodila) Born in Brabant, Belgium, of Witger and Amalberga, in the seventh century; died at the beginning of the eighth century. After the birth of Gudula her mother Amalberga, who is herself venerated as a saint, embraced the religious life, and according to tradition received the veil at the hands of St. […]

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January 8 – St. Severinus

January 5, 2015

St. Severinus Abbot, and Apostle of Noricum, or Austria A.D. 482. We know nothing of the birth or country of this saint. From the purity of his Latin, he was generally supposed to be a Roman; and his care to conceal what he was according to the world, was taken for a proof of his […]

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The Young Prince and The Officer

January 1, 2015

The Duke of Bourgogne, grandson of Louis XIV of France, was educated by the great Bishop of Cambrai, Fenelon. He made so much progress under this learned and virtuous tutor that, as he grew up, he was the admiration of the whole kingdom, on account of those qualities which form great princes and prepare them […]

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The Devil’s False Promise of Happiness

January 1, 2015

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira This scene is from the island of Ischia, in Italy, after a storm. Nature has recovered her cheerful appearance and an elderly peasant woman accompanied by her children – perhaps her grandchildren – walks up a hillside. The road is not made of asphalt, nor is it lined with movie […]

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January 2 – The Infant of Prague

January 1, 2015

Its earliest history can be traced back to Prague in the year 1628 when the small, 19-inch high, wooden and coated wax statue of the Infant Jesus was given by Princess Polyxena von Lobkowicz (1566–1642) to the Discalced Carmelites, to whom she had become greatly attached. The princess had received the statue as a wedding […]

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January 2 – St. Basil the Great

January 1, 2015

St. Basil the Great Bishop of Caesarea, and one of the most distinguished Doctors of the Church. Born probably 329; died 1 January, 379. He ranks after Athanasius as a defender of the Oriental Church against the heresies of the fourth century. With his friend Gregory of Nazianzus and his brother Gregory of Nyssa, he […]

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January 2 – St. Gregory of Nazianzus

January 1, 2015

St. Gregory of Nazianzus Doctor of the Church, born at Arianzus, in Asia Minor, c. 325; died at the same place, 389. He was son — one of three children — of Gregory, Bishop of Nazianzus (329-374), in the south-west of Cappadocia, and of Nonna, a daughter of Christian parents. The saint’s father was originally […]

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January 3 – Saint Joseph Mary Tomasi

January 1, 2015

Saint Joseph Mary Tomasi The very eminent servant of God Joseph Mary Tomasi, Cardinal, whom Pope Pius VII decorated with the honors of the Blessed in 1803, and whom today the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II ascribes solemnly in the book of the Saints, was born at Licata, in Sicily, the Diocese of Agrigento, on […]

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January 3 – The saint who twice saved Paris

January 1, 2015

St. Genevieve Patroness of Paris, born at Nanterre, circa 419 or 422; died at Paris, 512. Her feast is kept on 3 January. She was the daughter of Severus and Gerontia; popular tradition represents her parents as poor peasants, though it seems more likely that they were wealthy and respectable townspeople. In 429 St. Germain […]

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January 3 – Nicknamed the “Archangel”

January 1, 2015

St. Odilo Fifth Abbot of Cluny, born c. 962; died 31 December, 1048. He was descended from the nobility of Auvergne. He early became a cleric in the seminary of St. Julien in Brioude. In 991 he entered Cluny and before the end of his year of probation was made coadjutor to Abbot Mayeul, and […]

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January 4 – Patroness of those afflicted by sexual temptation

January 1, 2015

Blessed Angela of Foligno Umbrian penitent and mystical writer. She was born at Foligno in Umbria, in 1248, of a rich family; died 4 January, 1309. Married at an early age, she loved the world and its pleasures and, worse still, forgetful of her dignity and duties as wife and mother, fell into sin and […]

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January 4 – American Aristocracy

January 1, 2015

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Foundress and first superior of the Sisters of Charity in the United States, b. in New York City, 28 Aug., 1774, of non-Catholic parents of high position; d. at Emmitsburg, Maryland, 4 Jan., 1821. Her father, Dr. Richard Bayley (b. Connecticut and educated in England), was the first professor of anatomy […]

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Epiphany – The Three Kings made the Kingship of Christ Manifest to the Pagan World

January 1, 2015

The Epiphany of Our Lord Saints Balthasar, Caspar and Melchior Epiphany, which in the original Greek signifies appearance or manifestation, as St. Augustin observes, (1) is a festival principally solemnized in honor of the discovery Jesus Christ made of himself to the Magi, or wise men; who, soon after his birth, by a particular inspiration […]

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Lessons from the Holy Grotto

December 29, 2014

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira In the moral order, the world is composed largely of sinners, selfish creatures who live not to serve God, but to please themselves. These self-serving souls comprise the vast majority of mankind, especially in times of decadence – as were the days of Our Lord, as are our own. In […]

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London Palaces withdraw ceremonial guards

December 29, 2014

According to The Telegraph: The instantly recognisable Queen’s Guards have been moved from their sentry boxes in front of the various royal premises and now stand guard behind locked gates or fences. Although they had already been moved behind the gates at Buckingham Palace, the same has now happened at Clarence House, St James’s Palace […]

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Marie Antoinette the peacemaker

December 29, 2014

Amidst an ongoing argument as to who was the greatest, between those who admired Niccolò Piccinni and those who admired Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck, the former was introduced to Marie Antoinette, who immediately offered to sing for him. Having accompanied the famous composer to the piano she chose a musical score. Only later did she realize […]

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December 30 – Princess, Orphan, Foundress

December 29, 2014

Blessed Margaret Colona Poor Clare, also known as Margarita Colonna, born in Rome, date uncertain; died there, 20 September, 1284. Her father, Prince Odo Colonna, and her mother died in Rome when she was still a young girl, and she was left to the care of her two brothers, the youngest of whom was raised […]

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December 30 – He Preached Sanctity in Marriage and Chastity in Priesthood

December 29, 2014

St. Egwin Third Bishop of Worcester; date of birth unknown; d. (according to Mabillon) 20 December, 720, though his death may have occurred three years earlier. His fame as founder of the great Abbey of Evesham no doubt tended to the growth of legends which, though mainly founded on facts, render it difficult to reconcile […]

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December 31 – Ideal Bishop, Skilled Goldsmith

December 29, 2014

St. Marius Aventicus (Or AVENTICENSIS) Bishop of Avenches (Switzerland) and chronicler, born about 530 in the present Diocese of Autun; died at Lausanne, 31 December, 594. Of the events of his life little is known. From an inscription on his tomb in the church of St. Thyrsius in Lausanne (published in the “Monumenta Germ. Scriptores”, […]

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December 31 – The patrician girl who befriended St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and the Empress

December 29, 2014

St. Melania (the Younger) Born at Rome, about 383; died in Jerusalem, 31 December, 439. She was a member of the famous family of Valerii. Her parents were Publicola and Albina, her paternal grandmother of the same name is known as Melania, Senior. Little is known of the saint’s childhood, but after the time of […]

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January 1 – As bishop, he was harsh to himself, to his clergy, and to any king

December 29, 2014

St. Fulgentius (FABIUS CLAUDIUS GORDIANUS FULGENTIUS). Born 468, died 533. Bishop of Ruspe in the province of Byzacene in Africa, eminent among the Fathers of the Church for saintly life, eloquence and theological learning. His grandfather, Gordianus, a senator of Carthage, was despoiled of his possessions by the invader Genseric, and banished to Italy, his […]

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January 1 – Another hero from Cluny

December 29, 2014

St. William Abbot of Saint-Bénigne at Dijon, celebrated Cluniac reformer, born on the Island of Giuglio on Lake Orta near Novara in Piedmont in 962; died at Fecamp, one of his reformed monasteries in Normandy, 1 January 1031. At the age of seven he was brought as an oblate to the Benedictine monastery of Locedia […]

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January 1 – The Virgin Mary was “of the house of David”

December 29, 2014

Mary’s Davidic ancestry St. Luke (2:4) says that St. Joseph went from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be enrolled, “because he was of the house and family of David”. As if to exclude all doubt concerning the Davidic descent of Mary, the Evangelist (1:32, 69) states that the child born of Mary without the intervention of […]

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Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2014

 

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Royal vow is not a political promise

December 25, 2014

According to the Daily Express: On her 21st birthday in 1947 the then Princess Elizabeth took to the airwaves… “I can make my solemn act of dedication with a whole Empire listening. “I should like to make that dedication now. “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short […]

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