During the Revolution, Barley Sugar suffered with the nobility

January 20, 2014

In 1638, Mother Elisabeth Pidoux, cousin of the French literary genius La Fontaine, invented barley sugar. In the Benedictine tradition, she was experimenting with sugar and barley, while striving to create medications that would alleviate the plight of the sick. Her invention made the Benedictine Priory of Our Lady of the Angels at Moret-sur-Loing famous, […]

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January 21 – None was held in such high honor

January 20, 2014

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 […]

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

January 20, 2014

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 […]

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As we continue to sink, hereditary elites look better and better

January 16, 2014

According to The New York Times: How do you translate the poetry of high aspiration into the prose of effective governance? This is the common problem today. Practical knowledge is hard to see, but it is embedded in traditions of behavior. It is embedded in the lives of older legislators and public servants, and it […]

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Philip II’s admirable reaction to the defeat of the Invincible Armada

January 16, 2014

[I]t was not the English, but the elements that broke the morale of the Invincible Armada and scattered over a thousand miles of sea the timbers of the best ships and the bones of the bravest men of Spain…. Altogether about sixty per cent of the Armada came home; but less than half the men. […]

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January 17 – Scanderbeg: the hero of Christendom

January 16, 2014

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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Medieval Representative Government and the Sanctioning of Law

January 16, 2014

The ruler was obliged to “find” law, give it his sanction, and enforce that law that came from time immemorial. The law did not belong to him. To aid in this discovery process, he had to seek the assent of those affected; he often was bound to have recourse to assemblies or councilors. As a […]

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January 17 – Sister of the Grand Master of Malta

January 16, 2014

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 18 – St. Margaret of Hungary

January 16, 2014

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 16, 2014

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 16, 2014

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 16, 2014

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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Relics of martyred Queen discovered

January 13, 2014

According to Live Science: “Shah Abbas I led an army to conquer the Georgian kingdom and took Queen Ketevan as prisoner,” said study co-author Niraj Rai… Queen Ketevan languished in Shiraz, Iran, for about a decade. But in 1624, Shah Abbas asked the queen to convert to Islam from Christianity and join his harem. She […]

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Abdication doubts

January 13, 2014

According to AFP: Once almost taboo, Spaniards are now talking seriously about a possible abdication by 76-year-old King Juan Carlos as he battles a string of health woes and his youngest daughter fights a corruption scandal. A judge on Tuesday declared the king’s youngest daughter, 48-year-old Cristina, a suspect in alleged tax and money-laundering crimes. […]

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Alba: Military command at the age of sixteen

January 13, 2014

War remained the primary concern of the Toledos and therefore of Ferdinand. It was typical of the young Ferdinand’s impetuosity that he chose to go on his first military campaign, in 1524, without asking permission of anyone. The frontier fortress of Fuenterrabía was in the hands of the French and of Navarrese rebels. The sixteen […]

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In the Middle Ages, Law Was Found, Not Made

January 13, 2014

At times, unwritten custom was not sufficient; law was needed to take care of more complex situations. All law requires a legislator, an enforcing authority, and recognition by the governed. In this case, the people still made the customs, but custom became law when the ruler fulfilled his role of “finding” rather than making law. […]

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January 13 – The bold strategic vision of Cluny and its first abbot

January 13, 2014

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 13, 2014

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 13, 2014

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 13, 2014

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. His father Vasudevan Namboodiri, hailed from Kayamkulam, in present-day Kerala state, and was working as a priest at Sri Adi Kesava Perumal temple in Thiruvattar in present-day […]

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January 14 – Matriarch of Saints

January 13, 2014

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 – Most Glorious King Ceolwulp

January 13, 2014

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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January 15 – St. Maurus & St. Placidus

January 13, 2014

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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Baptism of HIRH Archduchess Maria-Stella – Photograph

January 9, 2014

The baptism took place in the parish church of Fischbach in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.   Source: Cour Grand-Ducal de Luxembourg ___________________ Also of interest: Baby daughter born to Archduke Imre Archduke Imre of Austria marries in Washington, DC

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The Prophet Daniel warns King Baltassar that he will die

January 9, 2014

King Baltassar gave a great feast to a thousand of the great men of his kingdom. He commanded for this feast that all the gold and silver vessels which his father Nabuchodonosor had taken from the Temple of Jerusalem, should be placed upon the table, that out of them his wives and his evil friends […]

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Liberal Antagonism for the Harmony Between Church and State

January 9, 2014

Someone might object that such a happy concord is not possible given the history of our secular State. To this, we would reply that we find vague echoes of a desire for concord in the writings of the Founding Fathers who, despite their personal beliefs (heavily influenced by deism and the Enlightenment), understood the indispensable […]

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January 9 – Blessed Tommaso Reggio

January 9, 2014

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 10 – Doge of Venice and Saint of Heaven

January 9, 2014

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 9, 2014

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 9, 2014

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 9, 2014

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 9, 2014

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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Unequals preach equality

January 6, 2014

According to The Telegraph: …legislation had originally been introduced to allow dukes, earls, viscounts and other hereditary peers to pass their titles along a female line of succession. Miss Stuart Taylor said: “…I have been brought up believing that girls are equal to boys…. Everything is equal….” Mary Macleod, the Conservative MP and former royal […]

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St. Vincent de Paul teaches the Queen of France

January 6, 2014

St. Vincent de Paul was frequently calumniated, but he never tried to justify himself. One of the priests under his care said to him one day, when some person had spoken untruly of him: “Father, why do you not justify yourself, since you are so falsely accused?” “My brother,” was his reply, “I will try […]

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Christianity Greatly Favors the Welfare of the State

January 6, 2014

Let those who say that the teachings of Christ are harmful to the State find armies with soldiers who live up to the standards of the teachings of Jesus. Let them provide governors, husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants, kings, judges, taxpayers and tax collectors who can compare to those who take […]

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January 7 – St. Aldric

January 6, 2014

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 – Ordered bandits of royal blood to hang from the highest mast

January 6, 2014

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 6, 2014

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 6, 2014

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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Little Prince George is Briton of the Year: Tradition and continuity

January 2, 2014

According to The Telegraph: This newspaper chose, as its Briton of the Year for 2013, a child celebrating his first Christmas – one yet to make a mark on the world, and unaware of his destiny. Yet Prince George, born in July, will one day – God willing – be King and head of state. […]

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Queen appoints Earl of Home as Knight of the Thistle

January 2, 2014

According to the Berwick Advertiser: The Earl of Home…has been awarded the highest honor in Scotland by the Queen. David Alexander Cospatrick Douglas-Home has been appointed a Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle in the New Year’s Honours. One the highest orders of chivalry, it is a personal gift […]

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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark holds New Year’s levees

January 2, 2014

According to the Danish Monarchy website: In keeping with tradition, The Queen and The Prince Consort hold New Year’s levees at Amalienborg and Christiansborg Palace, respectively, at the beginning of the New Year. For centuries, the Royal Danish House and Danes have wished each other a Happy New Year…. The origin of the contemporary New […]

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

January 2, 2014

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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Frederick of Prussia is rebuked by the General of his Hussars, a Catholic

January 2, 2014

When the Seven Years War was ended, the great General Zeithen became one of Frederick of Prussia’s greatest favorites. He was often invited to dine at the royal table, and always occupied the place of honor at the King s right hand, unless there happened to be some Prince of the royal blood present. Now […]

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The Church Is Part of the Heart and Soul of Economy

January 2, 2014

It is in these shared areas that the Church becomes a most important part of the heart and soul of economy. By safeguarding the moral law, the Church provides immeasurable social capital for the free practice of commerce. Her charity binds men together in a higher union hindering them from following only secular ends where […]

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January 2 – The Infant of Prague

January 2, 2014

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 2, 2014

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 3 – Saint Joseph Mary Tomasi

January 2, 2014

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 – They called him the “Archangel”

January 2, 2014

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 3 – The saint who twice saved Paris

January 2, 2014

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 4 – American Aristrocratic Saint

January 2, 2014

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

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How a hero faces death

January 2, 2014

Death of the Vendean generalissimo Maurice d’Elbee [Charette] was far away on his road to Noirmoutiers. During his absence in Anjou, General Haxo had traversed the Marais in all directions without effect, and Turreau, a man forever execrated as the organizer of the infernal columns, had been sent to supersede him. Upon this Haxo determined […]

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In Moral Matters, the Church Has a Right to Intervene in Temporal Society

December 30, 2013

[T]he Church clearly recognizes as proper to the temporal sphere an enormous range of activities and customs that belong to the natural development of man in society. Among these are the functions of government, the juridical order, the common defense, the mechanics of economy, and the general welfare of the nation. In all matters purely […]

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Every year, Prince Charles sends these students a Christmas cake

December 30, 2013

According to The Telegraph: …a magnificent cake…has been delivered to…Crossroads Primary School… The tradition goes back to the Fifties after Prince Charles’s grandmother…donated a cake to the pupils of the village school… Since her death in 2002, the tradition has been maintained by the Prince… Last year the cake featured for the first time a […]

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Metternich’s nobility vs. Napoleon’s rudeness

December 30, 2013

The time had come when [Prince Metternich] felt he could confront the Emperor himself at Dresden; he craved an audience and Napoleon granted it. The latter was also impatient to see Metternich and, if possible, tear the mask from the face of this “knave.” The interview took place on the 26th of June in the […]

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December 30 – Princess, Orphan, Foundress

December 30, 2013

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 30, 2013

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 30, 2013

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 30, 2013

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 30, 2013

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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