October 28 – Uncommon Valor

October 28, 2013

Col. John W. Ripley: Uncommon Valor By Jeremias Wells When a society no longer respects and honors the fighting men willing to shed their blood for its principles, the fault lies not with the fighting men but with society itself. Ingratitude is a subtle vice, but a vice nevertheless. Saint Thomas Aquinas says that a […]

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October 28 – Saint, Soldier, Statesman

October 28, 2013

Saint Alfred the Great In this incomparable prince were united the saint, the soldier, and the statesman in a most eminent degree. Sir Henry Spelman (Conc. Brit.) gives us his character in a rapture. “O, Alfred,” says he, “the wonder and astonishment of all ages! If we reflect on his piety and religion, it would […]

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October 29 – King turned monk, his people begged him to lead them in battle against Penda

October 28, 2013

Saint Sigebert King and martyr, date of birth unknown; died about 637, was the stepbrother of Earpwald, king of the East Angles. During the reign of Redwald he lived an exile in Gaul where he received baptism and became an ardent Christian. Earpwald died about 627, and East Anglia seems to have relapsed into anarchy […]

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October 30 – Patroness of the Teutonic Knights

October 28, 2013

St. Dorothea of Montau, recluse, born at Montau, 6 February, 1347, died at Marienwerder, 25 June, 1394. At the age of seventeen she married the sword-cutler Albrecht of Danzig, a hot-tempered man, whose nature underwent a change through her humility and gentleness. Both made frequent pilgrimages to Cologne, Aachen, and Einsiedeln, and they intended (1390) […]

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October 30 – St. Marcellus the Centurion, Martyr

October 28, 2013

St. Marcellus the Centurion, Martyr The birthday of the emperor Maximian Herculeus was celebrated in the year 298, with extraordinary feasting and solemnity. Pompous sacrifices to the Roman gods made a considerable part of this solemnity. Marcellus, a Christian centurion or captain of the legion of Trajan, then posted in Spain, not to defile himself […]

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Prince George baptized with water from the River Jordan

October 24, 2013

According to CBS News: Prince George of Cambridge was christened Wednesday at a rare four-generation gathering of the royal family in London. Palace officials said water from the River Jordan…would be used for the christening. The river’s waters have often been used…on…royal infants. Some royal watchers camped outside the palace for more than 24 hours […]

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Colonel José de Escandón is ennobled for establishing settlers in South Texas

October 24, 2013

[D]on José [de Escandón] lost little time in acting but did not sacrifice effectiveness to haste. Working with his lieutenants to conduct a publicity campaign along the frontier, he and his officers had little difficulty recruiting potential settlers…. Among those recruited as settlers in the new province were ranchers who already owned large herds of […]

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John Wayland: On the True Gentleman

October 24, 2013

“The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself […]

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October 24 – Confessor to the Queen

October 24, 2013

St. Antonio María Claret y Clará Spanish prelate and missionary, born at Sallent, near Barcelona, 23 Dec., 1807; died at Fontfroide, Narbonne, France, on 24 Oct., 1870. Son of a small woollen manufacturer, he received an elementary education in his native village, and at the age of twelve became a weaver. A little later he […]

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October 25 – The original hood

October 24, 2013

Hugh Capet King of France, founder of the Capetian dynasty, born about the middle of the tenth century; died about 996, probably 24 October. He was the second son of Hugh the Great, Count of Paris, and Hedwig, sister of Otto I, German Emperor, and was about ten years old when he inherited from his […]

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October 25 – Memorial of Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, Many of Them Nobles

October 24, 2013

February 27 – Are You Hiding a Priest? May 4 – They believed in the religious exemption, but only at first May 22 – Queen’s Confessor                June 19 – Execution of second group of those who believed in the religious exemption, but only at first August 30 – She smuggled a priest out of prison

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October 25 – Crispin and Crispian and the baron of Renty

October 24, 2013

Martyrs of the Early Church who were beheaded during the reign of Diocletian; the date of their execution is given as 25 October, 285 or 286. It is stated that they were brothers, but the fact has not been positively proved. The legend relates that they were Romans of distinguished descent who went as missionaries […]

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October 27 – The Christian King Who Invaded Arabia

October 24, 2013

St. Elesbaan, King of Ethiopia, Confessor The Axumite Ethiopians, whose dominions were extended from the western coast of the Red Sea, very far on the continent, were in the sixth century a powerful and flourishing nation. St. Elesbaan their king, during the reign of Justin the Elder, in all his actions and designs had no […]

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Forbidden to Stand for “God Save the Queen”

October 21, 2013

According to the Daily Express: A 74-YEAR-OLD artillery veteran was forbidden to stand up for the national anthem at a concert in case members of the audience fell into each other! This daft edict was issued by Suffolk’s Bury St Edmunds Council which later…said the guidelines had been misapplied. I cannot see that it is […]

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Buckingham Palace leaking and crumbling

October 21, 2013

According to the Daily Express: A report published this week paints a grim picture of the state of disrepair of the Queen’s main residence, while conditions are just as desperate at many of the nation’s other royal buildings. …staff are forced to use buckets to catch rainwater to protect priceless works of art around the […]

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Catholic-educated Empress Michiko celebrates birthday

October 21, 2013

According to Royal News 24: Today is the 79th birthday of Her Imperial Majesty Empress Michiko of Japan. She was educated at the University of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo and later studied at Harvard and Oxford. On the 27th November 1958 she became engaged to Crown Prince Akihito… They were married on the 10th April […]

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Amidst the Revolution, the women of Paris acclaim Marie Antoinette as their Queen

October 21, 2013

The Queen had sent for me on the morning of the 6th of October, to leave me and my father-in-law in charge of her most valuable property. She took away only her casket of diamonds. Comte Gouvernet de la Tour-du-Pin, to whom the military government of Versailles was entrusted “pro tempore,” came and gave orders […]

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What Is a Representative Character?

October 21, 2013

A representative character is a person who perceives the ideals, principles, and qualities that are desired and admired by a community or nation, and translates them into concrete programs of life and culture. We might point to famous figures like General George Patton or those lesser known people such as self-sacrificing clergy, devoted teachers, or […]

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October 21 – Hammer of Muslim invaders

October 21, 2013

Charles Martel Born about 688; died at Quierzy on the Oise, 21 October, 741. He was the natural son of Pepin of Herstal and a woman named Alpaïde or Chalpaïde. Pepin, who died in 714, had outlived his two legitimate sons, Drogon and Grimoald, and to Theodoald, a son of the latter and then only […]

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October 21 – Blessed Karl, Emperor of Austria

October 21, 2013

(Also known as Carlo d’Austria, Charles of Austria) Born August 17, 1887, in the Castle of Persenbeug in the region of Lower Austria, his parents were the Archduke Otto and Princess Maria Josephine of Saxony, daughter of the last King of Saxony. Emperor Francis Joseph I was Charles’ Great Uncle. Charles was given an expressly […]

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October 21 – The Tale of Saint Ursula

October 21, 2013

Once upon a time, there was once a just and most Christian King of Britain, called Maurus. To him and to his wife Daria was born a little girl, the fairest creature that this earth ever saw. She came into the world wrapped in a hairy mantle, and all men wondered greatly what this might […]

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October 22 – St. Wendelin of Trier

October 21, 2013

St. Wendelin of Trier Born about 554; died probably in 617. His earliest biographies, two in Latin and two in German, did not appear until after 1417. Their narrative is the following: Wendelin was the son of a Scottish king; after a piously spent youth he secretly left his home on a pilgrimage to Rome. […]

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October 23 – The amazing story of San Juan Capistrano and the Siege of Belgrade

October 21, 2013

St. John of Capistrano Born at Capistrano, in the Diocese of Sulmona, Italy, 1385; died 23 October, 1456. His father had come to Naples in the train of Louis of Anjou, hence is supposed to have been of French blood, though some say he was of German origin. His father dying early, John owed his […]

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Prince William dubs his first knight today

October 17, 2013

According to the Daily Express: The Duke of Cambridge will represent the Queen during the hour-long event on Thursday when he will hand out medals and dub new knights with a sword. …a royal insider said…“he realises this is the biggest day in the lives of some people who are being honoured, and he wants […]

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Duke and Duchess of Cambridge break with traditions in choice of royal godparents and venue

October 17, 2013

According to The Telegraph: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have once again broken with royal tradition to choose friends from their schools and university to be godparents to Prince George. The couple’s decision…is in stark contrast to William’s own godparents from his 1982 christening: the former King Constantine of Greece, Princess Alexandra, the Honourable […]

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October 17 – Anniversary of state visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Vatican

October 17, 2013

According to Royal News 24: On this day in 1980, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom made history by becoming the first British monarch to pay a state visit to the Vatican. The Queen had visited the Vatican before, first as Princess Elizabeth during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII and again […]

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October 17 – The Battle of Cholet

October 17, 2013

The Battle of Cholet was fought on 17 October 1793 during the French Revolutionary Wars, between French Republican forces under General Léchelle and French Royalist Forces under Louis d’Elbée. The battle was fought in the town of Cholet in the Maine-et-Loire department of France, and resulted in a Republican victory. D’Elbée was wounded and captured; […]

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October 18 – The day that sparked the Crusades

October 17, 2013

Destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre On October 18, 1009, under Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, orders for the complete destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also called the Church of the Resurrection, were carried out. The measures against the church were part of a more general campaign against Christian places […]

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October 19 – Barefoot from Spain to Rome

October 17, 2013

St. Peter of Alcántara Born at Alcántara, Spain, 1499; died 18 Oct., 1562. His father, Peter Garavita, was the governor of the place, and his mother was of the noble family of Sanabia. After a course of grammar and philosophy in his native town, he was sent, at the age of fourteen, to the University […]

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October 19 – Prayer was his crime

October 17, 2013

Saint Philip Howard Martyr, Earl of Arundel; born at Arundel House, London, 28 June 1557, died in the Tower of London, 19 October, 1595. He was the grandson of Henry, Earl of Surrey, the poet, executed by Henry VIII in 1547, and son of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk executed by Elizabeth 1572. Philip II of […]

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The Boal family and its gradual social rise

October 16, 2013

by Raymond Drake For many people worldwide, our pervasive liberal culture leads them to think of America as frenetic Wall Street trading or gambling in Las Vegas. Or they recall sports figures like Michael Phelps or film stars like Clint Eastwood. Others will remember our magnificent landscapes such as the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls. […]

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King of Bhutan will end polygamy in his monarchy

October 14, 2013

Today is the wedding anniversary of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Bhutan. King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck married Jetsun Pema, the granddaughter of the Governor of Trashigang, at Punakha Dzong in 2011. During the ceremony, she was presented with the Crown of the Druk Gyal-tsuen and declared Queen consort of Bhutan. Although Bhutanese […]

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For Monarchy: Marriage Boosts Popularity, Divorce Makes It Plummet

October 14, 2013

According to Hello! Magazine: The British Social Attitudes survey…found that…in 2012 only 5% of people said that they thought the monarchy should be abolished…while 45% of people said that they felt it is “very important” that Britain continues to have a monarchy. The positive result in 2012 came six years after the figure dropped to […]

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Who Was Christopher Columbus, and Why Is He Important?

October 14, 2013

Christopher Columbus (Italian CRISTOFORO COLOMBO; Spanish CRISTOVAL COLON.) Born at Genoa, or on Genoese territory, probably 1451; died at Valladolid, Spain, 20 May 1506. His family was respectable, but of limited means, so that the early education of Columbus was defective. Up to his arrival in Spain (1485) only one date has been preserved. His […]

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We Need Representative Characters Today

October 14, 2013

Our needs are different from those of feudal times. We do not seek the military chieftains who, in the face of barbarian invasions, took upon themselves the task of resisting barbarian hordes. Instead we seek those figures who take upon themselves the more subtle task of becoming what some sociologists call “representative characters” who, not […]

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The Queen’s German prince and the beef recipe in his honor

October 14, 2013

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha married his first cousin, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, when they were both 20. Contrary to today’s contraceptive culture, nine children blessed their marriage. He administered ably and expanded the patrimony of the British royal family. He championed the abolition of slavery and strove to eliminate child labor […]

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October 15 – Interior Castle

October 14, 2013

St. Teresa of Avila Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada, born at Avila, Old Castile, 28 March, 1515; died at Alba de Tormes, 4 Oct., 1582. The third child of Don Alonso Sanchez de Cepeda by his second wife, Doña Beatriz Davila y Ahumada, who died when the saint was in her fourteenth year, Teresa […]

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October 16 – Duchess and saint

October 14, 2013

St. Hedwig Duchess of Silesia, born about 1174, at the castle of Andechs; died at Trebnitz, 12 or 15 October, 1243. She was one of eight children born to Berthold IV, Count of Andechs and Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia. Of her four brothers, two became bishops, Ekbert of Bamberg, and Berthold of Aquileia; Otto […]

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October 16 – Marie Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of France and Capetian Widow

October 14, 2013

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira Most Reverend Monsignor Director of this Academy, Gentlemen Academicians: A simple listing of the titles with which she was known during her short life as Marie Antoinette of Habsburg, and later Marie Antoinette of Bourbon, brings to memory the series of extraordinary and unforeseen events that together make up the […]

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New Prince George Christening coins go on sale

October 10, 2013

According to The Telegraph: The special coins…go on sale today to mark the christening of…Prince George. The design features the Lily Font from the Tower of London and two harp-playing cherubs. At the foot of the coin is the royal motto “Dieu et mon droit” – God and my right. Prince George will be christened […]

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Grand Ducal Family honors late Grand Duchess with concert

October 10, 2013

According to the Luxemburger Wort: Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Jean together with Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Princess Stéphanie on Friday honoured Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte with a concert at the Philharmonie. Friday’s concert saw the Paris Orchestra perform… Joséphine-Charlotte was born on October 11, 1927, as the oldest child and only daughter of King Leopold […]

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Knights of Malta visit King of Sweden

October 10, 2013

According to the Swedish Royal Court: On Friday 4 October, The King received representatives of the…the Order of Malta at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. The King has been patron of the Swedish Order of Saint John since 1974. During their visit to Sweden, representatives…also visited Stockholm Nursing Home and Stockholm City Mission. The Order […]

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For Charlemagne, a king should strive to bring his people to God

October 10, 2013

“One key—probably the most important one—to Charlemagne’s political thought is Augustine’s City of God, which, next to the Bible, was his favorite book. In reflecting on the temporal and heavenly realms, the patriarch took issue with ascetics who urged withdrawal from fallen human society in pursuit of an attainable holiness. He pointed out that perfection […]

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Could the Feudal Bond Be Helpful to Us Today?

October 10, 2013

Notwithstanding its human shortcomings, [the feudal bond] is a flexible and creative bond inside a family-like relationship. It is a bond that permeated all society from top to bottom generating ties of friendship and mutual responsibility. It is a sacred bond founded upon roots of a religious unity. We find in it the balanced application […]

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Desktop Wallpapers – More To Choose From

October 10, 2013

To add any of these desktop wallpapers to your computer, click on the size that you want for that image and save it to your computer. Then right-click on the desktop – select Properties from the context menu – go the Desktop tab – Browse and open the image you made – position the image (Center, […]

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October 10 – How to overcome bad ancestry

October 10, 2013

St. Francis Borgia (also known as Francisco de Borja y Aragon), born 28 October, 1510, was the son of Juan Borgia, third Duke of Gandia, and of Juana of Aragon; died 30 September, 1572. The future saint was unhappy in his ancestry. His grandfather, Juan Borgia, the second son of Alexander VI, was assassinated in Rome […]

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October 10 – St. Paulinus, Archbishop of York

October 10, 2013

St. Paulinus Archbishop of York, died at Rochester, 10 October, 644. He was a Roman monk in St. Andrew’s monastery at Rome, and was sent by St. Gregory the Great in 601, with St. Mellitus and others, to help St. Augustine and to carry the pallium to him. He laboured in Kent — with the […]

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October 11 – Model Archduke, both spiritual and temporal

October 10, 2013

St. Bruno the Great, Archbishop of Cologne Bruno the Great (or Bruno I) (925–965) was Archbishop of Cologne, Germany, from 953 until his death, and Duke of Lotharingia from 954. He was the brother of Otto I, king of Germany and later Holy Roman Emperor. Bruno was the youngest son of Henry the Fowler and […]

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October 11 – He dared step into the gap during the crisis

October 10, 2013

Pope Boniface VIII (BENEDETTO GAETANO) Born at Anagni about 1235; died at Rome, 11 October, 1303. He was the son of Loffred, a descendant of a noble family originally Spanish, but long established in Italy—first at Gaeta and later at Anagni. Through his mother he was connected with the house of Segni, which had already […]

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October 12 – Difficulties in his youth prepared him for later trials

October 10, 2013

St. Wilfrid Bishop of York, son of a Northumbrian thegn, born in 634; died at Oundle in Northamptonshire, 709. He was unhappy at home, through the unkindness of a stepmother, and in his fourteenth year he was sent away to the Court of King Oswy, King of Northumbria. Here he attracted the attention of Queen […]

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October 12 – Martyr King

October 10, 2013

St. Edwin The first Christian King of Northumbria, born about 585, son of Aella, King of Deira, the southern division of Northumbria; died October 12, 633. Upon Aella’s death in 588, the sovereignty over both divisions of Northumbria was usurped by Ethebric of Bernicia, and retained at his death by his son Ethelfrid; Edwin, Aella’s […]

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October 13 – King Confessor

October 10, 2013

St. Edward the Confessor Saint, King of England, born in 1003; died January 5, 1066. He was the son of Ethelred II and Emma, daughter of Duke Richard of Normandy, being thus half-brother to King Edmund Ironside, Ethelred’s son by his first wife, and to King Hardicanute, Emma’s son by her second marriage with Canute. […]

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Order of the Swan

October 10, 2013

Order of the Swan A pious confraternity, indulgenced by the pope, which arose in 1440 in the Electorate of Brandenburg, originally comprising, with the Elector Frederick at their head, thirty gentleman and seven ladies united to pay special honour to the Blessed Virgin. It spread rapidly, numbering in 1464 about 330 members, as well as […]

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October 7 – How the Rosary saved Christendom

October 7, 2013

by Jeremias Wells The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary Here is but a small fraction of the victories directly obtained from God through the Holy Rosary: The Battle of Lepanto which saved Rome and Vienna, and thus the Pope and the Emperor, from Moslem subjugation The deliverance of Vienna by Sobieski The victory […]

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Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Saves the Philippines from the Invading Dutch Fleet – Part 2

October 7, 2013

(2nd in a 2-part series) (Please click here to read Part 1) THE FIVE BATTLES  First Battle Upon reaching Mariveles, the Spanish found no trace of the Dutch. Continuing on to Bolinao in Lingayen Gulf, they finally caught sight of one enemy ship in mid-morning of March 15, 1646. At 1:00 pm, after a hot […]

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Australian Prime Minister: “I regret to say that not every Australian is a monarchist”

October 7, 2013

According to The Telegraph: Tony Abbott, the Australian prime minister, has welcomed Prince Harry to Sydney – but apologised that not everyone was pleased to see him. …he said: “I regret to say that not every Australian is a monarchist, but today everyone feels like a monarchist.” He added: “You grace us as your family […]

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Princess of Kent to resume royal engagements

October 7, 2013

According to Royal News 24: Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Kent is to begin undertaking royal engagements once more after a lengthy absence due to illness. The Princess cancelled all engagements in April this year after being diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica. Tomorrow, Her Royal Highness will visit the Queen Mother’s Clothing Guild of which […]

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The Feudal Bond Was a Sacred Bond

October 7, 2013

In the ceremony of homage, the two elements of protection and service were symbolically pledged by the superior placing his hands over the other’s folded hands. An act of fealty was added whereby the parties swore on the Gospels or relics of the saints to be faithful to one another. Christ and His saints served […]

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October 9 – Even in his lifetime his reputation was for great holiness and miraculous powers

October 7, 2013

St. John Twenge Canon regular, Prior of St. Mary’s, Bridlington, born near the town, 1319; died at Bridlington, 1379. He was of the Yorkshire family Twenge, which family in Reformation days supplied two priest-martyrs and was also instrumental in establishing the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Bar Convent, York. John completed his studies […]

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October 9 – Royal penitent

October 7, 2013

Bl. Gunther A hermit in Bohemia in the eleventh century; born about 955; died at Hartmanitz, Bohemia, 9 Oct., 1045. The son of a noble family, he was a cousin of St. Stephen, the King of Hungary, and is numbered among the ancestors of the princely house of Schwarzburg. He passed the earlier of his […]

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