Many members of the Society of the Cincinnati were killed during the Terror

August 10, 2026

One of the more agreeable duties that took [the Count of] Rochambeau to Paris was the organization of the French members of the Society of the Cincinnati…. Some difficulties had to be ironed out, since no foreign order was then allowed in France, but the King was so much interested in the whole proceeding that […]

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Paris pours out its heart in welcoming the brother of the King it executed

August 10, 2026

Meanwhile, Monsieur [the Count of Chambord, the future Charles X], invested with the Lieutenancy-general of the kingdom, slowly advanced from Nancy to Paris. The formation of a royal guard greatly occupied the capital. Such devotion was shown that it was improvised in a week. In seven days seven hundred men belonging the best families in […]

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August 11 – St. Attracta

August 10, 2026

St. Attracta (Or ST. ARAGHT). A contemporary of St. Patrick from whom she received the veil. She is known as the foundress of several churches in the Counties of Galway and Sligo, Ireland. Colgan’s account of her life is based on that written by Augustine Magraidin in the last years of fourteenth century, and abounds […]

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August 11 – Feast of the Crown of Thorns and the Five Sacred Wounds

August 10, 2026

Feast of the Crown of Thorns The first feast in honour of the Crown of Thorns (Festum susceptionis coronae Domini) was instituted at Paris in 1239, when St. Louis brought thither the relic of the Crown of Thorns, which was deposited later in the Royal Chapel, erected in 1241-8 to guard this and other relics […]

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August 11 – Charcoal Burner

August 10, 2026

Alexander, Saint, known as “The charcoal burner,” was Bishop of Comana, in Pontus, Whether he was the first to occupy that see is open to discussion. The Bollandists have also a long paper as to the exact location of Comana as there were several places of that name, but decide for Pontus, near Neo-Cæsarea. The […]

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Columbus, and how to make Key Lime Pie

August 10, 2026

When Christopher Columbus discovered the New World on October 12, 1492–a feat that earned for him the title of Admiral of the Indies and for his grandson Louis and his descendants in perpetuity the noble title of Duke of Veragua–he introduced into the Americas the greatest treasure possible: the Catholic Faith. However, his epic Atlantic […]

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August 12 – St. Jane Frances de Chantal

August 10, 2026

Born at Dijon, France, 28 January, 1572; died at the Visitation Convent Moulins, 13 December, 1641. Her father was president of the Parliament of Burgundy, and leader of the royalist party during the League that brought about the triumph of the cause of Henry IV. In 1592 she married Baron de Chantal, and lived in […]

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August 12 – His pontificate was spent in opposing royal absolutism

August 10, 2026

Pope Blessed Innocent XI (Benedetto Odescalchi) Born at Como, 16 May, 1611; died at Rome, 11 August, 1689. He was educated by the Jesuits at Como, and studied jurisprudence at Rome and Naples. Urban VIII appointed him successively prothonotary, president of the Apostolic Camera, commissary at Ancona, administrator of Macerata, and Governor of Picena. Innocent […]

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Battle of Petrovaradin

August 6, 2026

The Battle of Petrovaradin also known as the Battle of Peterwardein, took place on 5 August 1716 during the Austro-Turkish War when the Ottoman army besieged the Habsburg-controlled fortress of Petrovaradin on the Military Frontier of the Habsburg monarchy (today Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia). The Ottomans attempted to capture Petrovaradin, the so-called Gibraltar on the […]

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August 6 – He told his assassins “God does not die!”

August 6, 2026

Garcia Moreno Ecuadorean patriot and statesman; born at Guayaquil, 24 December, 1821; assassinated at Quito, 6 August, 1875. His father, Gabriel García Gomez, a native of Villaverde, in Old Castile, had been engaged in commerce at Callao before removing to Guayaquil, where he married Dona Mercedes Moreno, the mother of the future Ecuadorean martyr president. […]

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August 6 – Garcia Moreno: Heroic President of Ecuador

August 6, 2026

by José Maria dos Santos Manly Catholic of intransigent principles, slain by the enemies of the Faith because of his consistency and courage in defense of the Church and Papacy Gabriel Garcia Moreno was born in Guayaquil, in southern Ecuador on December 24, 1821. His father, Gabriel Garcia Gómez was Spanish, while his mother, Doña […]

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August 7 – Octogenarian martyr

August 6, 2026

Ven. Nicholas Postgate English martyr, b. at Kirkdale House, Egton, Yorkshire, in 1596 or 1597; d. at York, 7 August, 1679. He entered Douay College, 11 July, 1621, took the college oath, 12 March, 1623, received minor orders, 23 December, 1624, the subdiaconate, 18 December, 1827, the diaconate, 18 March, 1628, and the priesthood two […]

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August 7 – Three martyrs of Lancaster

August 6, 2026

Ven. Edward Bamber (Alias Reading). Priest and martyr, b. at the Moor, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire; executed at Lancaster 7 August, 1646. Educated at the English College, Valladolid, he was ordained and sent to England. On landing at Dover, he knelt down to thank God, which act, observed by the Governor of the Castle, was the cause […]

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August 7 – Pope St. Sixtus II

August 6, 2026

Pope St. Sixtus II (XYSTUS) Elected 31 Aug., 257, martyred at Rome, 6 Aug., 258. His origin is unknown. The “Liber Pontificalis” says that he was a Greek by birth, but this is probably a mistake, originating from the false assumption that he was identical with a Greek philosopher of the same name, who was […]

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August 8 – They hated him because he enforced celibacy of the clergy

August 6, 2026

Bl. Altmann The friend of Gregory VII and Anselm, conspicuous in the contest of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, as Bishop of Passau and Papal Legate. He was born at Paderborn about the beginning of the eleventh century, presided over the school there, was chaplain at the court of Henry III, and then became Bishop of […]

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August 8 – The Rosary is really a weapon

August 6, 2026

St. Dominic Founder of the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominican Order; born at Calaroga, in Old Castile, c. 1170; died 6 August, 1221. His parents, Felix Guzman and Joanna of Aza, undoubtedly belonged to the nobility of Spain, though probably neither was connected with the reigning house of Castile, as some of […]

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August 9 – Pope St. Victor I

August 6, 2026

Pope St. Victor I (189-198 or 199), date of birth unknown. The “Liber Pontificalis” makes him a native of Africa and gives his father the name of Felix. This authority, taking the “Liberian Catalogue” as its basis, gives the years 186-197 as the period of Victor’s episcopate. The Armenian text of the “Chronicle” of Eusebius […]

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August 3 – The day the bishop cursed his country

August 3, 2026

On August 3, 1941, Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen informed his listeners in a third sermon about the continued desecration of Catholic churches, the closing of convents and monasteries, and the deportation and murder of mentally ill people (who were sent to undisclosed destinations), while a notice was sent to family members stating that […]

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August 3 – Secretive Leader

August 3, 2026

St. Nicodemus A prominent Jew of the time of Christ, mentioned only in the Fourth Gospel. The name is of Greek origin, but at that epoch such names were occasionally borrowed by the Jews, and according to Josephus (Ant. of the Jews, XIV, iii, 2) Nicodemus was the name of one of the ambassadors sent […]

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August 4 – St. Eleutherius

August 3, 2026

St. Eleutherius (Fr. Eleutière), Bishop of Tournai at the beginning of the sixth century. Historically there is very little known about St. Eleutherius, but he was without doubt the first Bishop of Tournai. Theodore, whom some give as his immediate predecessor, was either a bishop of Tours, whose name was placed by mistake on the […]

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August 4 – Carthusian Martyrs: The Lone Survivor

August 3, 2026

May 4 – First Group of Carthusian Martyrs June 19 – Second Group of Carthusian Martyrs May-June – Third and Fourth Groups August 4 – The Lone Survivor For some reason Brother William Horne was kept alive. Refusing to abandon his religious habit, he was not attainted till 1540, when he was hanged, disembowelled, and […]

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August 5 – Valor in a King

August 3, 2026

St. Oswald of Northumbria, King and Martyr The English Saxon kingdom of Northumbria was founded by Ida in 547. After his death the northern part called Bernicia was preserved by his children; but Deira, that is, the southern part, comprising Yorkshire and Lancashire, was occupied by Ælla or Alla, and after his death was recovered […]

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Recipe – A Delicious Mistake

August 3, 2026

As with many culinary successes, a mistake led to the world famous Crepes Suzette. In 1895, Henri Charpentier, a 14-year old assistant at Monte Carlo’s Cafe in Paris, was preparing dessert for the Prince of Wales and his party. Inadvertently, the brandy and Grand Marnier liqueur he put into his crepe pan caught fire and […]

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Our Lady of Deliverance, Empress of China

July 30, 2026

Our Lady of Deliverance, Empress of China In 1900, the Catholic Church was healthy and growing in China. There were forty bishops, about 800 European missionaries, 600 native Chinese priests, and the number of native Catholics throughout the whole of China proper was estimated at 700,000. It was during this time that the Boxer Uprising […]

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July 30 – Patron of Charcoal

July 30, 2026

St. Theobald Born at Provins in the Province of Champagne, France, in 1017; died at Salanigo in Italy 30 June, 1066. He was a member of a noble family. In 1054 without the knowledge of his parents he and his friend Walter gave themselves to the life of hermits at Sussy in the Ardennes, then […]

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July 30 – St. Peter Chrysologus

July 30, 2026

St. Peter Chrysologus Born at Imola, 406; died there, 450. His biography, first written by Agnellus (Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis) in the ninth century, gives but scanty information about him. He was baptised, educated, and ordained deacon by Cornelius, Bishop of Imola, and was elevated to the Bishopric of Ravenna in 433. There are indications […]

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July 31 – Militant Means Something

July 30, 2026

St. Ignatius Loyola Youngest son of Don Beltrán Yañez de Oñez y Loyola and Marina Saenz de Lieona y Balda. Born in 1491 at the castle of Loyola above Azpeitia in Guipuscoa; died at Rome, 31 July, 1556. The saint was baptized Iñigo, after St. Enecus (Innicus), Abbot of Oña: the name Ignatius was assumed […]

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July 31 – St. Germain

July 30, 2026

St. Germain Bishop of Auxerre, born at Auxerre c. 380; died at Ravenna, 31 July, 448. He was the son of Rusticus and Germanilla, and his family was one of the noblest in Gaul in the latter portion of the fourth century. He received the very best education provided by the distinguished schools of Arles […]

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August 1 – From impoverished Neapolitan nobility to Doctor of the Church

July 30, 2026

St. Alphonsus Liguori Born at Marianella, near Naples, 27 September, 1696; died at Nocera de’ Pagani, 1 August, 1787. The eighteenth century was not an age remarkable for depth of spiritual life, yet it produced three of the greatest missionaries of the Church, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, St. Paul of the Cross, and St. […]

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August 2 – St. Pierre-Julien Eymard

July 30, 2026

Founder of the Society of the Blessed Sacrament, and of the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, born at La Mure d’Isere, Diocese of Grenoble, France, February 4, 1811; died there August 1, 1868. From early childhood he gave evidence of great holiness and most tender devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. In 1829, he entered the […]

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July 27 – Hunted Priest

July 27, 2026

John Gerard Jesuit; born 4 October, 1564; died 27 July, 1637. He is well known through his autobiography, a fascinating record of dangers and adventures, of captures and escapes, of trials and consolations. The narrative is all the more valuable because it sets before us the kind of life led by priests, wherever the peculiar […]

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July 27 – St. Pantaleon

July 27, 2026

St. Pantaleon Martyr, died about 305. According to legend he was the son of a rich pagan, Eustorgius of Nicomedia, and had been instructed in Christianity by his Christian mother, Eubula. Afterwards he became estranged from Christianity. He studied medicine and became physician to the Emperor Maximianus. He was won back to Christianity by the […]

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July 27 – Wanted: Noble Men for the Missions, Never to Return Home

July 27, 2026

Martyrs of Cuncolim On Monday, 25 July, 1583 (N.S.), the village of Cuncolim in the district of Salcete, territory of Goa, India, was the scene of the martyrdom of five religious of the Society of Jesus: Fathers Rudolph Acquaviva, Alphonsus Pacheco, Peter Berno, and Anthony Francis, also Francis Aranha, lay brother. Rudolph Acquaviva was born […]

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July 28 – Nepotism Sometimes Bears Good Fruit

July 27, 2026

Pope Victor II (GEBHARD, COUNT OF CALW, TOLLENSTEIN, AND HIRSCHBERG.) Born about 1018; died at Arezzo, 28 July, 1057. The papal catalogues make him a native of the Bavarian Nordgau, while most German sources designate Swabia as his birthplace. His parents were Count Hartwig and Countess Baliza; the Emperor Henry III recognized him as a […]

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July 28 – St. Samson

July 27, 2026

St. Samson Bishop and confessor, born in South Wales; died 28 July, 565 (?). The date of his birth is unknown. His parents whose names are given as Amon of Dyfed and Anna of Gwynedd, were of noble, but not royal, birth. While still an infant he was dedicated to God and entrusted to the […]

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Father Jean Le Vacher: Hero and Missionary, Blasted to Death by Muslims

July 27, 2026

In 1647, St. Vincent de Paul sent Father Jean Le Vacher to do missionary work among the Catholics enslaved by the Barbary Coast’s Muslim corsairs and he arrived in Tunis during an epidemic of the plague and did much to comfort the captives. Upon the death of the French consul, the Bey appointed Father Le […]

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Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Saves the Philippines from the Invading Dutch

July 27, 2026

THE BATTLES OF LA NAVAL DE MANILA Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Saves the Philippines from the Invading Dutch Fleet Inside the Dominican church of Santo Domingo in Quezon City sits in celestial splendor and glory one of the most venerated and beloved image of the Most Holy Virgin in the Philippines. Among […]

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July 29 – When he finished preaching, the nobles and knights responded with a thunderous “Deus Vult”

July 27, 2026

Pope Blessed Urban II (Otho, Otto or Odo of Lagery), 1088-1099, born of a knightly family, at Châtillon-sur-Marne in the province of Champagne, about 1042; died 29 July, 1099. Under St. Bruno (afterwards founder of the Carthusians) Otho studied at Reims, where he later became canon and archdeacon. About 1070 he retired to Cluny and […]

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July 29 – He only regained the hearts of his people after his death

July 27, 2026

St. Olaf Haraldson Martyr and King of Norway (1015-30), b. 995; d. 29 July, 1030. He was a son of King Harald Grenske of Norway. According to Snorre, he was baptized in 998 in Norway, but more probably about 1010 in Rouen, France, by Archbishop Robert. In his early youth he went as a viking […]

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We’ve all forgotten our manners, so I asked a former royal butler to teach me some

July 23, 2026

h/t: www.telegraph.co.uk Enter Julius F Smith, a man who spent three decades gliding around royalty with a silver tray in hand. He served Elizabeth II on countless occasions, managed aristocratic households and looked after heads of state visiting the UK… But now he’s turned his attention to a far greater challenge: teaching Gen Z how […]

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July 23 – St. Bridget of Sweden

July 23, 2026

St. Bridget of Sweden The most celebrated saint of the Northern kingdoms, born about 1303; died 23 July, 1373. She was the daughter of Birger Persson, governor and provincial judge (Lagman) of Uppland, and of Ingeborg Bengtsdotter. Her father was one of the wealthiest landholders of the country, and, like her mother, distinguished by deep […]

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July 24 – St. John Boste

July 23, 2026

St.  John Boste (Or JOHN BOAST.) Priest and martyr, born of good Catholic family at Dufton, in Westmoreland, about 1544; died at Durham, 24 July, 1594. He studied at Queen’s College, Oxford, 1569-72, became a Fellow, and was received into the Church at Brome, in Suffolk, in 1576. Resigning his Fellowship in 1580, he went […]

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July 24 – Chaste Queen

July 23, 2026

Saint Kinga of Poland (also known as Cunegunda, Kunigunda, Kunegunda, Cunegundes, Kioga, Zinga; Polish: Święta Kinga, Hungarian: Szent Kinga) Poor Clare and patroness of Poland and Lithuania; born in 1224; died 24 July, 1292, at Sandeck, Poland. She was the daughter of King Bela IV and niece of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and from her infancy […]

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July 24 – She Was Fearless, Courageous, and Unswerving

July 23, 2026

Matilda of Canossa Countess of Tuscany, daughter and heiress of the Marquess Boniface of Tuscany, and Beatrice, daughter of Frederick of Lorraine, b. 1046; d. 24 July, 1114. In 1053 her father was murdered. Duke Gottfried of Lorraine, an opponent of the Emperor Henry III, went to Italy and married the widowed Beatrice. But, in […]

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July 25 – St. Apollinaris

July 23, 2026

St. Apollinaris The most illustrious of the Bishops of Valence, b. at Vienne, 453; d. 520. He lived in the time of the irruption of the barbarians, and unhappily Valence, which was the central see of the recently founded Kingdom of Burgundy, had been scandalized by the dissolute Bishop Maximus, and the see in consequence […]

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St. Joachim and Confidence

July 23, 2026

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira (*) The excerpts about Our Lady’s father, Saint Joachim, are taken from The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Gueranger, OSB. Joachim’s wealth, like that of the first patriarchs, consisted chiefly in flocks and herds. The holy use he made of it drew down God’s blessing upon it. But the greatest of […]

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July 26 – Blessed John Ingram

July 23, 2026

Blessed John Ingram English martyr, born at Stoke Edith, Herefordshire, in 1565; executed at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 26 July, 1594. He was probably the son of Anthony Ingram of Wolford, Warwickshire, by Dorothy, daughter of Sir John Hungerford. He was educated first in Worcestershire, then at the English College, Reims, at the Jesuit College, Pont-a-Mousson, and at […]

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July 26 – St. Anne

July 23, 2026

Anne (Hebrew, Hannah, grace; also spelled Ann, Anne, Anna) is the traditional name of the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. All our information concerning the names and lives of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary, is derived from apocryphal literature, the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and […]

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July 20 – Carolingian Reformer

July 20, 2026

St. Ansegisus Born about 770, of noble parentage; died 20 July, 833, or 834. At the age of eighteen he entered the Benedictine monastery of Fontanelle (also called St. Vandrille after the name of its founder) in the diocese of Rouen. St. Girowald, a relative of Ansegisus, was then Abbot of Fontanelle. From the beginning […]

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July 21 – He raised the king’s son back to life, but wished to be buried among the criminals

July 20, 2026

St. Arbogast (Gaelic Arascach). St. Arbogast has been claimed as a native of Scotland, but this is owing to a misunderstanding of the name “Scotia”, which until late in the Middle Ages really meant Ireland. He flourished about the middle of the seventh century. Leaving Ireland, as so many other missionaries had done, he settled […]

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July 22 – The Siege of Belgrade (1456)

July 20, 2026

The Siege of Belgrade (or Battle of Belgrade, or Siege of Nándorfehérvár) occurred from July 4 to July 22, 1456. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II was rallying his resources in order to subjugate the Kingdom of Hungary. His immediate objective was the border fort of the town of […]

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July 22 – With his lady’s permission, this lord left court to become a monk, then abbot

July 20, 2026

St. Wandrille, or Wandregisilus, Abbot [Abbot of Fontenelles, in Normandy.]  He was nearly related to Pepin of Landen and Erchinoald, the two first lords in the kingdom of Austrasia; and in his youth was made count of the palace under Dagobert I. He was humble on the highest pinnacle of honors, and mortified amidst pleasures. […]

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The Traditional Burial Ceremony of a Hapsburg Prince

July 16, 2026

This traditional ceremony for the burial of Hapsburg emperors and princes is a glorious specimen of the profound influence of Christianity on this “first family of Christendom” and a luminous example of faith for Christians not just in Austria, but throughout the world. It will be used on July 16, 2011 for the burial of […]

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July 19 – Her whole family became saints

July 16, 2026

St. Macrina the Younger Born about 330; died 379. She was the eldest child of Basil the Elder and Emmelia, the granddaughter of St. Macrina the Elder, and the sister of the Cappadocian Fathers, Sts. Basil and Gregory of Nyssa. The last-mentioned has left us a biography of his sister in the form of a […]

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July 19 – Penitent Nobility

July 16, 2026

St. Arsenius Anchorite; born 354, at Rome; died 450, at Troe, in Egypt. Theodosius the Great having requested the Emperor Gratian and Pope Damasus to find him in the West a tutor for his son Arcadius, they made choice of Arsenius, a man well read in Greek literature, member of a noble Roman family, and […]

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July 18 – After he captured Jerusalem, he refused the crown

July 16, 2026

Godfrey of Bouillon Duke of Lower Lorraine and first King of Jerusalem, son of Eustache II, Count of Boulogne, and of Ida, daughter of Godfrey the Bearded, Duke of Lower Lorraine; b. probably at Boulogne-sur-Mer, 1060; d. at Jerusalem, 18 July, 1100 (according to a thirteenth-century chronicler, he was born at Baisy, in Brabant; see […]

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July 18 – “Don’t drink water, drink beer” said the bishop

July 16, 2026

Saint Arnulf of Metz Statesman, bishop under the Merovingians, born c. 580; died c. 640. His parents belonged to a distinguished Frankish family, and lived in Austrasia, the eastern section of the kingdom founded by Clovis. In the school in which he was placed during his boyhood he excelled through his talent and his good […]

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Moving God, Moving History

July 16, 2026

Written by John Horvat II There are times when history is seen from an all-too-human perspective. Granted, man is the principal agent in history. His great deeds and misdeeds fill the history books, blending fact, myth, and legend to intrigue future generations. However, man is not the only agent. There are times when men perform […]

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July 17 – “You Do Not Know What You Do”

July 16, 2026

Execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family In the early hours of 17 July 1918, the royal family was awakened around 2:00 am, told to dress, and led down into a half-basement room at the back of the Ipatiev house. The pretext for this move was the family’s safety — that anti-Bolshevik forces were […]

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July 16 – Alfonso VIII of Castile crushes the Moors at Las Navas de Tolosa

July 16, 2026

The Almohads, the new dynasty of Moroccan fanatics who had subdued all the Moslems in al Andalus, launched an all-out attack on the Christians by moving a huge army north into south central Spain. The impetuous Alfonso VIII of Castile, without waiting for reinforcements, attempted to bar the way at Alarcos. On July 18, 1195, […]

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