October 4 – He copied the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

October 1, 2026

St. Petronius Bishop of Bologna, date of birth unknown; died before 450. The only certain historical information we possess concerning him is derived from a letter written by Bishop Eucherius of Lyons (died 450-5) to Valerianus (in P. L., L, 711 sqq.) and from Gennadius’ “De viris illustribus”, XLI (ed. Czapla, Münster, 1898, p. 94). […]

Read the full article →

September 28 – Good King Wenceslaus

September 28, 2026

(Also Vaclav, Vaceslav.) Duke, martyr, and patron of Bohemia, born probably 903; died at Alt-Bunzlau, 28 September, 935. His parents were Duke Wratislaw, a Christian, and Dragomir, a heathen. He received a good Christian education from his grandmother (St. Ludmilla) and at Budweis. After the death of Wratislaw, Dragomir, acting as regent, opposed Christianity, and […]

Read the full article →

September 28 – Franciscan money lender

September 28, 2026

Bl. Bernardine of Feltre Friar Minor and missionary, born at Feltre, Italy, in 1439 and died at Pavia, 28 September, 1494. He belonged to the noble family of Tomitano and was the eldest of nine children. In 1456 St. James of the Marches preached the Lenten course at Padua, and inspired to enter the Franciscan […]

Read the full article →

33 Years Later: Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira’s Speech for the Launching of his book

September 28, 2026

USA Book Launching of Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII   Distinguished Chairman, Mr. Morton Blackwell, Imperial and Royal Highness, Archduchess Monica of Austria, Your Grace, Duke of Maqueda, illustrious writer of the preface to the Spanish edition of the book that brings us together today, reverend and beloved Priests, […]

Read the full article →

September 29 – The Angelic Inspiration of Chivalry

September 28, 2026

Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael _____________________ Saint Michael the Archangel: “Who is like God?” In Hebraic, mîkâ’êl, means “Who is like God?” The Scriptures refer to the Archangel Saint Michael in four different passages: two of them, in Daniel’s prophesy (chap. 10, 13 and 21; and chap. 12, 1); one in Saint Jude Thaddeus (single […]

Read the full article →

September 29 – Military Orders of St. Michael

September 28, 2026

Military Orders of St. Michael (1) A Bavarian Order, founded in 1721 by Elector Joseph Clemens of Cologne, Duke of Bavaria, and confirmed by Maximilian Joseph, King of Bavaria, 11 September 1808. Pius VII, 5 Feb. 1802 granted to priests decorated with this order all the privileges of domestic prelates. Under Louis I it was […]

Read the full article →

September 29 – In battle or in prison, he never missed Mass

September 28, 2026

Blessed Charles of Blois (1320- September 29, 1364) Charles is the son of Guy I of Blois-Châtillon, count of Blois, by Margaret of Valois, a sister of king Philip VI of France. Early in life, he felt a call to be a Franciscan friar, but political duty kept him in secular life. Following his marriage […]

Read the full article →

September 30 – The cantankerous noble who became a saint

September 28, 2026

St. Jerome, Father and Doctor of the Church Born at Stridon, a town on the confines of Dalmatia and Pannonia, about the year 340-2; died at Bethlehem, 30 September, 420. He had a brother much younger than himself, whose name was Paulinian. His father, called Eusebius, was descended from a good family, and had a […]

Read the full article →

September 24 – “There is nothing so sublime as the papacy nor so exalted as the imperial throne”

September 24, 2026

Pope Innocent II (Gregorio Papereschi) Elected 14 Feb., 1130; died 24 Sept., 1143. He was a native of Rome and belonged to the ancient family of the Guidoni. His father’s name is given as John. The youthful Gregory became canon of the Lateran and later Abbot of Sts. Nicholas and Primitivus. He was made Cardinal-Deacon […]

Read the full article →

September 24 – Founding Father

September 24, 2026

Fr. François Vaillant de Gueslis Jesuit missionary, born at Orleans, 20 July, 1646; died at Moulins, 24 Sept., 1718. He entered the Society of Jesus, 10 Nov., 1665; came to Canada in 1670; and was ordained priest at Quebec, 1 Dec., 1675. He first evangelized the Mohawks (1679-84). In the beginning of 1688 he was […]

Read the full article →

September 24 – Our Lady of Mercy

September 24, 2026

Feast of Our Lady of Ransom (also Our Lady of Mercy) 24 September commemorates the foundation of the Mercedarians. On 10 August, 1223, the Mercedarian Order was legally constituted at Barcelona by King James of Aragon and was approved by Gregory IX on 17 January, 1235. The Mercedarians celebrated their institution on the Sunday nearest […]

Read the full article →

September 25 – Did he compose the Salve Regina prayer?

September 24, 2026

Hermann Contractus (Herimanus Augiensis, Hermann von Reichenau). Chronicler, mathematician, and poet; born 18 February, 1013, at Altshausen (Swabia); died on the island of Reichenau, Lake Constance, 21 September, 1054. He was the son of Count Wolverad II von Altshausen. Being a cripple from birth (hence the surname Contractus) he was powerless to move without assistance, […]

Read the full article →

September 25 – St. Aunarius

September 24, 2026

St. Aunarius (Or Aunacharius). Bishop of Auxerre in France, born 573, died 603. Being of noble birth, he was brought up in the royal court, but evinced a desire to enter the clerical state, was ordained priest by St. Syagrius of Autum, and eventually was made Bishop of Auxerre. His administration is noted for certain […]

Read the full article →

September 26 – Fr. Frederick William Faber

September 24, 2026

Fr. Frederick William Faber Oratorian and devotional writer, b. 28 June, 1814, at Calverley, Yorkshire, England; d. in London, 26 Sept., 1863. After five years at Harrow School he matriculated at Balliol in 1832, became a scholar at University College in 1834, and a fellow of that College in 1837. Of Huguenot descent Faber was […]

Read the full article →

September 27 – Fr. Peter Skarga: Court Preacher

September 24, 2026

Fr. Peter Skarga Theologian and missionary, born at Grojec, 1536; died at Cracow, 27 Sept., 1612. He began his education in his native town in 1552; he went to study in Cracow and afterwards in Warsaw. In 1557 he was in Vienna as tutor to the young Castellan, Teczynski; returning thence in 1564, he received […]

Read the full article →

September 27 – St. Vincent de Paul had special charity to the impoverished nobility

September 24, 2026

St. Vincent de Paul founded a special organization for the relief of the nobility of Lorraine who had sought refuge in Paris during the Thirty Years War. In that period of the war known as the French period Lorraine, Trois-Evechés, Franche-Comté, and Champagne underwent for nearly a quarter of a century all the horrors and […]

Read the full article →

September 27 – These exemplary nobles personified virtue

September 24, 2026

Saint Elzéar of Sabran, Count of Arian, and Saint Delphina of Glandenes St. Elzear (also spelled Eleazarus) was descended of the ancient and illustrious family of Sabran, in Provence; his father, Hermengaud of Sabran, was created count of Arian (Ariano), in the kingdom of Naples; his mother was Lauduna of Albes, a family no less […]

Read the full article →

September 21 – Pope Conon

September 21, 2026

Pope Conon Date of birth unknown; died, after a long illness, 21 September, 687. The son, seemingly, of an officer in the Thracesian troop, he was educated in Sicily and ordained priest at Rome. His age, venerable appearance, and simple character caused the clergy and soldiery of Rome, who were in disagreement, to put aside […]

Read the full article →

September 21 – Victim of intrigue

September 21, 2026

Gabriel Malagrida A Jesuit missionary to Brazil, born 18 September or 6 December, 1689, at Menaggio, in Italy; died 21 September, 1761, at Lisbon. He entered the Jesuit order at Genoa in 1711. He set out from Lisbon in 1721 and arrived on the Island of Maranhào towards the end of the same year. Thence […]

Read the full article →

September 22 – He especially sought out impoverished nobles who shrank from asking alms

September 21, 2026

St. Thomas of Villanova Educator, philanthropist, born at Fuentellana, Spain, 1488; died at Valencia, 8 September, 1555. Son of Aloazo Tomas Garcia and Lucia Martínez Castellanos, the saint was brought up in the practices of religion and charity. Every Friday his father was wont to give in alms all the meal he earned at the […]

Read the full article →

September 22 – Saint Emmeram

September 21, 2026

Saint Emmeram Bishop of Poitiers and missionary to Bavaria, born at Poitiers in the first half of the seventh century; martyred at Ascheim (Bavaria) towards the end of the same century. Of a noble family of Aquitaine, he received a good education and was ordained priest. According to some authors Emmeram occupied the See of […]

Read the full article →

How Reactionary! . . .

September 21, 2026

One of the practices of the so-called Catholic leftism consists in acting as if the matter of social justice and welfare has been addressed for the first time only in our own days, as if the preceding centuries had completely ignored the obligations of justice and charity regarding the poor. This concept is totally discredited […]

Read the full article →

September 23 – Pioneer missionary of the Flatheads

September 21, 2026

Gregorio Mengarini Pioneer missionary of the Flathead tribe and philologist of their language, b. in Rome, 21 July, 1811; d. at Santa Clara, California, 23 September, 1886. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1828, when barely seventeen, and later served as instructor in grammar, for which his philological bent particularly fitted him, at Rome, Medina, […]

Read the full article →

September 23 – He ensured the immunity of non-combatants in warfare

September 21, 2026

St. Adamnan of Ireland, Abbot He was the eighth in descent from the great Nial, king of Ireland, and from Conal the Great, ancestor of St. Columbkille. His parents were eminent for their rank and virtue. He was born in the year 626, at Rathboth, (1) now called Raphoe, in the county of Donegal, and […]

Read the full article →

September 17 – Viollet-Le-Duc

September 17, 2026

Viollet-Le-Duc, Eugène-emmanuel, architect, archeologist, and author, b. in Paris, January 27, 1814; d. at Lausanne, September 17, 1879. He gained a high reputation by his intelligent comprehension of medieval Gothic architecture and by his restorations of structures built in this style. He was a pupil of Leclere; he made long journeys for the purpose of […]

Read the full article →

September 17 – Greatly venerated even during her life

September 17, 2026

St. Hildegard Born at Böckelheim on the Nahe, 1098; died on the Rupertsberg near Bingen, 1179; feast 17 September. The family name is unknown of this great seeress and prophetess, called the Sibyl of the Rhine. The early biographers give the first names of her parents as Hildebert and Mechtildis (or Mathilda), speak of their […]

Read the full article →

September 17 – Noble calm in all controversy, even when correcting the pope

September 17, 2026

St. Robert Francis Romulus Bellarmine (Also, “Bellarmino”). A distinguished Jesuit theologian, writer, and cardinal, born at Montepulciano, 4 October, 1542; died 17 September, 1621. His father was Vincenzo Bellarmino, his mother Cinthia Cervini, sister of Cardinal Marcello Cervini, afterwards Pope Marcellus II. He was brought up at the newly founded Jesuit college in his native […]

Read the full article →

September 18 – The first time US Congress went to Mass

September 17, 2026

Phillippe-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Tronson Du Coudray Soldier, born at Reims, France, 8 September, 1738; died at Philadelphia, U.S.A., 11 September, 1777. He was educated for the army and showed great merit as an engineer. He was adjutant­ general of artillery and considered one of the best military experts in France when, in 1776, he volunteered to go to […]

Read the full article →

September 19 – She begged to ransom Christian captives

September 17, 2026

Blessed Mary de Cervellione (or De Cervello) Popularly styled “de Socos” (of Help) Saint, born about 1230 at Barcelona; died there 19 September, 1290. She was a daughter of a Spanish nobleman named William de Cervellon. One day she heard a sermon preached by Blessed Bernard de Corbarie, the superior of the Brotherhood of Our […]

Read the full article →

September 19 – The Pope asks Princess Mary to marry James II of England

September 17, 2026

Another voice, the most august of all, was now to break silence. The arguments of Kings, Cardinals, Ambassadors, and of her own family had failed to shake the purpose or convince the mind of the young Princess. Moved by a desire to benefit the Catholics of England, and as much perhaps by the solicitations of […]

Read the full article →

September 19 – St. Januarius

September 17, 2026

St. Januarius Martyr, Bishop of Beneventum. St. Januarius is believed to have suffered in the persecution of Diocletian, c. 305. With regard to the history of his life and martyrdom, we know next to nothing. The various collections of “Acts”, though numerous (cf. Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina, n. 4115-4140), are all extremely late and untrustworthy. Bede […]

Read the full article →

September 20 – Bl. Margaret Colona

September 17, 2026

Bl. Margaret Colona Poor Clare, born in Rome, date uncertain; died there, 20 September, 1284. Her parents 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 to the cardinalate by Nicholas III in 1278. Having resolutely refused […]

Read the full article →

September 20 – Starved to death for the faith

September 17, 2026

Bl. Thomas Johnson Carthusian martyr, died in Newgate gaol, London, 20 September, 1537. On 18 May, 1537, the twenty choir monks and eighteen brothers remaining in the London Charterhouse were required to take the Oath of Supremacy. Of these choir monks Thomas Johnson, Richard Bere, Thomas Green (priests), and John Davy (deacon) refused; and of […]

Read the full article →

September 14 – His gallant defeat saved Canada from the French Revolution

September 14, 2026

Marquis de Louis-Joseph Montcalm-Gozon A French general, born 28 Feb., 1712, at Candiac, of Louis-Daniel and Marie-Thérèse de Lauris; died at Quebec 14 Sept., 1759. He was descended from Gozon, Grand Master of Rhodes of legendary fame, The warlike spirit of his ancestors had given rise to the saying: “War is the tomb of the […]

Read the full article →

One of the Most Frequent and Most Grave Defects of Modern Sociology Lies in Underestimating Tradition

September 14, 2026

From the allocution of Paul VI to Slavic pilgrims of various countries, especially the United States and Canada, on September 14, 1963, the eleventh centennial of the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Greater Moravia: “It is characteristic of Catholic education to draw from history not only cultural material and reminders of events, but […]

Read the full article →

September 14 – Formerly a sign of abject disgrace, it now adorns even crowns and crests

September 14, 2026

The Cross could not be decently mentioned amongst Romans, who looked upon it as an unlucky omen, and as Cicero says, not to be named by a freeman. However, the Emperor Constantine attributed his victory in the Quintian fields, near the bridge Milvius, to the Cross of the Christians, the inscription of which he caused […]

Read the full article →

What Weight Should Be Given to St. Thomas Aquinas’s Arguments Against Equality?

September 14, 2026

A hierarchical and anti-egalitarian spirit is part and parcel of being a Catholic, as is evidenced in the writings of many popes and theologians, with special mention of St. Thomas Aquinas—upon whom Prof. Corrêa de Oliveira bases much of his argumentation. It is not without good reason that he does so: 1. St. Thomas Aquinas […]

Read the full article →

September 15 – The noble apostle of purgatory

September 14, 2026

St. Catherine of Genoa (also known as Caterina Fieschi Adorno.) Born at Genoa in 1447, died at the same place 15 September, 1510. The life of St. Catherine of Genoa may be more properly described as a state than as a life in the ordinary sense. When about twenty-six years old she became the subject […]

Read the full article →

The sin of Revolution

September 14, 2026

 (based on a talk by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira)   What is the specific sin of the Revolution? It is not just the sin of pride and sensuality. Rather it is the sin of elevating pride and sensuality to supreme values according to which life must be organized. Every one of the more profound […]

Read the full article →

September 16 – Wilton Abbey and its patroness St. Edith

September 14, 2026

A Benedictine convent in Wiltshire, England, three miles from Salisbury. A first foundation was made as a college of secular priests by Earl Wulstan of Wiltshire, about 773, but was after his death (800) changed into a convent for 12 nuns by his widow, St. Alburga, sister of King Egbert. Owing to the consent given […]

Read the full article →

Prince George starts at Eton

September 10, 2026

h/t: royalcentral.co.uk Prince George has officially begun his studies at Eton, arriving for his first day with his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales at his side. The prince, second in line to the throne, will spend five years at the school as a boarder. Eton is a twenty minute walk away from Windsor […]

Read the full article →

Prince Hisahito, Japan’s second in line to throne, turns 20

September 10, 2026

h/t: japantimes.co.jp Prince Hisahito, the son of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, turned 20 on Sunday. The prince, second in line to the throne, is a second-year student… at the University of Tsukuba, and is also engaging in official duties as a young member of the imperial family. After completing his coming-of-age ceremony […]

Read the full article →

September 10 – Model of chastity

September 10, 2026

St. Nicholas of Tolentino Born at Sant’ Angelo, near Fermo, in the March of Ancona, about 1246; d. 10 September, 1306. He is depicted in the black habit of the Hermits of St. Augustine — a star above him or on his breast, a lily, or a crucifix garlanded with lilies, in his hand. Sometimes, […]

Read the full article →

September 10 – They always carried a copy of his Bible in battle

September 10, 2026

St. Finnian of Moville Born about 495; died 589. Though not so celebrated as his namesake of Clonard, he was the founder of a famous school about the year 540. He studied under St. Colman of Dromore and St. Mochae of Noendrum (Mahee Island), and subsequently at Candida Casa (Whithern), whence he proceeded to Rome, […]

Read the full article →

September 10 – Arrested while preaching

September 10, 2026

St. Edward Ambrose Barlow (Alias RADCLIFFE and BRERETON.) Priest and martyr, born at Barlow Hall, 1585; died 10 September, 1641. He was the fourth son of Sir Alexander Barlow, Knight of Barlow Hall, near Manchester, by Mary, daughter of Sir Uryan Brereton, Knight of Handforth Hall, Co. Chester, and was baptized at Didsbury Church 30 […]

Read the full article →

September 11 – Burned slowly to death at Nagasaki

September 10, 2026

Blessed Charles Spinola Born in Genoa in 1564, he was the son of the Count of Tassarolo, and the nephew of Cardinal Philip Spinola. He was educated in Spain and in the Jesuit school in Nola, Italy. He entered the noviatiate in 1584, and was ordained in 1594. In 1596, he received a letter appointing […]

Read the full article →

September 11 – His fame will last forever as that of a gallant soldier and a true Christian

September 10, 2026

Louis-Christophe-Leon Juchault de la Moricière French general and commander-in-chief of the papal army, b. at Nantes, 5 February, 1806; d. at the château of Prouzel, near Amiens, 11 September, 1865. His father was descended from an old Breton family whose device was Spes mea Deus. His mother was Desirée de Robineau de Bougon. He made […]

Read the full article →

September 11 – Prince Eugen of Savoy crushes the Turks at Zenta

September 10, 2026

Although his men had already done a forced march of over ten hours that day, Eugen gave the order to advance and then galloped ahead to see the scene at first hand. He spotted how, just above the bridge on the near side of the river, the water was shallow with a sandbank leading up […]

Read the full article →

September 11 – Italian army invades the Papal State without a declaration of war

September 10, 2026

The King of Italy sends an ultimatum to Blessed Pope Pius IX As the French military situation deteriorated [in the Franco-Prussian War], the government in Florence grew bolder. Near the end of August [1870], the Italian cabinet issued a circular letter to all the governments of Europe, in which it declared that the time had […]

Read the full article →

September 12 – Simon de Montfort Crushes the Albigensians at Muret

September 10, 2026

At the Battle of Muret on 12 September 1213 the Crusading army of Simon IV de Montfort defeated the Catharist, Aragonese and Catalan forces of Peter II of Aragon, at Muret near Toulouse. Simon IV de Montfort was the leader of the Albigensian Crusade to destroy the Cathar heresy and incidentally to join the Languedoc […]

Read the full article →

September 12 – The Holy Name of the Virgin Mary; in thanksgiving for the victory over the Turks at Vienna

September 10, 2026

The Festival of the Holy Name of the Virgin Mary Pope Innocent XI extended this feast to the universal Church as a solemn thanksgiving for the relief of Vienna, when it was besieged by the Turks in 1683. The Turks had formerly laid siege to Vienna, under Solyman the Magnificent, in 1529, in the reign […]

Read the full article →

Why Croissants are baked in the form of a crescent

September 10, 2026

In 1683 the Turks invaded Hungary, and, completely overrunning the country, reached Vienna, to which they laid siege, for the second time in its history. Incidentally, they nearly succeeded in capturing it. During the siege, bakers’ apprentices were at work one night in underground bakehouses, preparing the bread for next day’s consumption. The lads heard […]

Read the full article →

The Crusading Bagel

September 10, 2026

Several nations claim the bagel as their own, but none of the accounts on the origins of this tasty roll are as epic as the Polish. The Poles tell us that the bagel was invented by a grateful Jewish baker in a rescued and half-destroyed Vienna. He wanted to honor King John Sobieski of Poland […]

Read the full article →

Turkish war tents turned into Mass vestments after 1683 victory in Vienna

September 10, 2026

The spoils of war from King Jan Sobieski’s great victory on September 12, 1683, against the 150,000 Muslim Turks outside Vienna were immense, but perhaps none received a better fate than the war tents. They were brought back to Poland, where loving and pious hands turned some of them into rich Mass vestments, as can […]

Read the full article →

September 13 – He had a mouth of gold

September 10, 2026

St. John Chrysostom (Chrysostomos, “golden-mouthed” so called on account of his eloquence). Doctor of the Church, born at Antioch, c. 347; died at Commana in Pontus, 14 September, 407. John — whose surname “Chrysostom” occurs for the first time in the “Constitution” of Pope Vigilius (cf. P.L., LX, 217) in the year 553 — is […]

Read the full article →

Hereditary Transmission of Qualities and Merit as Family Patrimony

September 7, 2026

As we have seen, the hereditary transmission of status through the family has been studied and verified by many sociologists. In addition to status, qualities can also be transmitted by the family. Each generation transmits to the next its moral and cultural values. This transmission of qualities within a family throughout generations is affirmed by […]

Read the full article →

September 7 – Milkos Zrinyi

September 7, 2026

Milkos Zrinyi Count, a Hungarian soldier, born in 1518, killed at Sziget, near the Brave, Sept. 7, 1566. When only 12 years old, Charles V. gave him a gold chain for his conduct during the siege of Vienna. He afterward became ban of Croatia, and at the siege of Sziget with 8,000 men he resisted […]

Read the full article →

September 7 – The Outrage of Anagni

September 7, 2026

It had been the practice to speak of the spiritual and temporal powers in terms of pope and emperor, and it was long before it was realized, at least on the papal side, that the civil power, defeated as emperor, had returned to the attack with more aggressive vigour as the Monarchy and the State. […]

Read the full article →

September 7 – Grandson of Queen St. Clotilda

September 7, 2026

St. Cloud, Confessor A.D. 560. St. Cloud, called in Latin Chlodoardus, is the first and most illustrious saint among the princes of the royal family of the first race in France. He was son of Chlodomir, king of Orleans, the eldest son of St. Clotilda, and was born in 522. He was scarcely three years […]

Read the full article →

Nobility of Blood Is a Powerful Stimulus for the Practice of Virtue

September 7, 2026

From the magnificent sermon of Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), Archbishop of Milan, on the feast of Our Lady, September 8, 1584: “The beginning of the Holy Gospel written by Saint Matthew, which was proclaimed to you from this place a short while ago by Holy Mother Church, inspires us above all to examine attentively the […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →