The Family and Intermediary Associations

September 5, 2013

Leo XIII speaks of the family as a social matrix when he states that “the family may be regarded as the cradle of civil society, and it is in great measure within the circle of family life that the destiny of the States is fostered.”(1) Hence, we see the spirit of the family mirrored in […]

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September 5 – Unashamed to beg alms even from his noble family

September 5, 2013

St. Laurence Justinian, Bishop and Confessor, First Patriarch of Venice Bishop and first Patriarch of Venice, born in 1381, and died 8 January, 1456. He was a descendant of the Giustiniani, a Venetian patrician family which numbered several saints among its members. Lawrence’s pious mother sowed the seeds of a devout religious life in the […]

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September 6 – Blessed Thomas Tsuji

September 5, 2013

Born to the Japanese nobility in Sonogi on the island of Kyushu about the year 1571. Educated by Jesuits at Arima, he joined the Society of Jesus in 1587. He traveled all over Japan and became known for his eloquent, persuasive preaching. After the publication of an edict banning Catholic priests, he followed eighty of […]

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September 7 – The Outrage of Anagni

September 5, 2013

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. […]

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September 7: Richard the Lionheart defeats Saladin at Arsuf – Video

September 5, 2013

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September 7 – Grandson of Queen St. Clotilda

September 5, 2013

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 […]

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September 8 – The Davidic ancestry of Mary

September 5, 2013

As we celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us recall her Davidic ancestry. St. Luke (2:4) says that St. Joseph went from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be enrolled, “because he was of the house and family of David”. As if to exclude all doubt concerning the Davidic descent of Mary, the Evangelist […]

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Knights of the Cross

September 5, 2013

Knights of the Cross (Ordo Militaris Crucigerorum cum Rubea Stella.) A religious order famous in the history of Bohemia, and accustomed from the beginning to the use of arms, a custom which was confirmed in 1292 by an ambassador of Pope Nicholas IV. The grand master is still invested with a sword at his induction […]

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September 8 – He added the Agnus Dei to the Mass

September 5, 2013

Pope St. Sergius I (Reigned 687-701), date of birth unknown; consecrated probably on 15 Dec., 687; died 8 Sept., 701. While Pope Conon lay dying, the archdeacon Pascal offered the exarch a large sum to bring about his election as his successor. Through the exarch’s influence the archdeacon was accordingly elected by a number of […]

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Clare Boothe Luce argues vigorously against birth control

September 2, 2013

Ann Clare Boothe was born on April 10, 1903, in a dismal apartment house on Riverside Drive in New York City…. Clare herself once succinctly pictured her unpropitious prospects as a baby. Shortly after her conversion to Catholicism, she was attacked by an ardent disciple of Mrs. Sanger for the Catholic stand against birth control. […]

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Trust in new King of the Belgians jumps 18% in two months

September 2, 2013

According to Flanders News: Since he became the new King of the Belgians on 21 July, people are putting more trust in Filip. That’s according to a poll carried out by De Morgen, Le Soir and the commercial TV stations RTL and VTM. In June, the then crown prince Filip obtained a score of 51 […]

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Egyptian Prince marries Afghan Princess

September 2, 2013

According to NettyRoyal.nl: On 30 August 2013 Prince Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Princess Noal Zaher of Afghanistan got married at the Çirağan Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. To read the entire post in NettyRoyal.nl, please click here. _______________________ Also of interest: Egyptian prince and Afghan princess will marry this month Islamists desire to topple the […]

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Preserving the Continuity of the Family

September 2, 2013

[In] pre-modern times, the family took measures to ensure a continuity that spanned the centuries. Family members became trustees who shared not only a common blood of heredity, but a common spiritual and material inheritance that each generation must hold as a sacred trust to be safeguarded and increased. The Christian family, regardless of social […]

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September 2 – 3: The September Martyrs of the French Revolution, Blessed John du Lau and Companions

September 2, 2013

Martyrs of September (Also known as: Martyrs of Paris or Martyrs of Carmes) In 1790, the revolutionary government of France enacted a law denying Papal authority over the Church in France. The French clergy were required to swear an oath to uphold this law and submit to the Republic. Many priests and religious took the […]

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September 3 – All the principles of Catholicism can be found in his life

September 2, 2013

Pope St. Gregory I (“the Great”) Doctor of the Church; born at Rome about 540; died 12 March 604. Gregory is certainly one of the most notable figures in Ecclesiastical History. He has exercised in many respects a momentous influence on the doctrine, the organization, and the discipline of the Catholic Church. To him we […]

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September 4 – She predicted the speedy death of the emperor

September 2, 2013

St. Rose of Viterbo (also Rosalia, and in Sicily affectionately nicknamed La Santuzza) Virgin, born at Viterbo, 1235; died 6 March, 1252. The chronology of her life must always remain uncertain, as the Acts of her canonization, the chief historical sources, record no dates. Those given above are accepted by the best authorities. Born of […]

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Military Orders

September 2, 2013

Military Orders Including under this term every kind of brotherhood of knights, secular as well as religious, historians of the military orders have enumerated as many as a hundred, even after eliminating the apocryphal and stillborn. This great number is explained by the eagerness with which the Middle Ages welcomed an institution so thoroughly corresponding […]

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St. Bernard and the Templar warrior-monks: a new vocation

August 29, 2013

St. Bernard took a strong liking to Hugues, promising to compile a rule for him and find recruits. “They can fight the battle of the Lord and indeed be soldiers of Christ.” In 1128 a council was convened at Troyes and, on Bernard’s advice, Hugues attended it. Though the abbot was not present he sent […]

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The Stability of Generations

August 29, 2013

When speaking of the traditional family, we must see it as more than just the sum of living members composed of a father, mother, and children. Throughout history, the family has always been understood to mean the unity of the whole lineage of ancestors and descendants. It was only with the Enlightenment that this universally […]

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August 30 – Gallant Lady

August 29, 2013

St. Margaret Ward Martyr, born at Congleton, Cheshire; executed at Tyburn, London, 30 Aug., 1588. Nothing is known of her early life except that she was of good family and for a time dwelt in the house of a lady of distinction named Whitall then residing in London. Knowing that William Watson, the priest who […]

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August 30 – Saved by the cross

August 29, 2013

Blessed Bronislava (or Bronislawa) of Poland Born in 1230 to an important Polish family, her grandfather had founded the Premonstratensian monastery at Zwierzyniec near Cracow where Bronislava’s aunt Gertrude had entered, later becoming prioress at Imbramowice. Bronislava was also a cousin of the Dominican Saint Hyacinth and related to Saint Jacek and Blessed Czeslaw. Bronislava entered the convent at Zwierzyniec at the […]

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August 31 – Born of a dead mother

August 29, 2013

St. Raymond Nonnatus (Not-Born) (In Spanish SAN RAMON). Born 1200 or 1204 at Portello in the Diocese of Urgel in Catalonia; died at Cardona, 31 August, 1240. His feast is celebrated on 31 August. He is pictured in the habit of his order surrounded by ransomed slaves, with a padlock on his lips. He was […]

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Teutonic Order

August 29, 2013

Teutonic Order A medieval military order modeled on the Hospitallers of St. John, which changed its residence as often as the latter. These residences, marking as many stages in its development, are: (1) Accon (Acre), its cradle in Palestine (1190-1309); (2) Marienburg, Prussia, the centre of its temporal domination as a military principality (1309-1525); (3) […]

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First official photographs of Prince George released

August 26, 2013

According to Hello! Magazine: The world was treated to the first official photographs of Prince George on Monday. The snaps of the newest addition to the British royal family were surprisingly informal and relaxed. Taken at the Middleton home, the cameraman was none other than Kate’s dad Michael Middleton. William and Kate are seen smiling […]

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Son of Maori King Calls for Inspirational Leadership

August 26, 2013

According to the Waikato Times: The heir to the Kingitanga throne made his inaugural speech at Turangawaewae Marae and used the opportunity to send a message to tribal elders to…work for the future. Illness forced the Maori King, Tuheitia, to hand official duties to Whatumoana Paki, 22, and he watched as his eldest son addressed […]

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Duchess of Medinaceli – RIP

August 26, 2013

According to The Telegraph: Victoria Eugenia Fernández de Córdoba y Fernández de Henestrosa was born in Madrid on April 16 1917, the eldest daughter of Don Luis Jesús Fernández de Córdoba y Salabert, 17th Duke of Medinaceli, and Doña Ana María Fernández de Henestrosa y Gayoso de los Cobos. The Dukedom of Medinaceli, one of […]

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In Forming the Holy League, St. Pius V Prepares for Victory at Lepanto

August 26, 2013

The Holy League agreement announced on 25 May had been solemnized five days earlier in the presence of [Saint] Pius V in his capacity as Pope, and signed by representatives of himself as ruler of the Papal State, King Philip of Spain, the republics of Venice and Genoa, Grand Duke Cosimo of Tuscany, Duke Emanuele […]

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The Family: The Most Basic Institution

August 26, 2013

Although the modern world has glorified the individual, we can have no illusions. Isolated man accomplishes very little by himself. It is upon man in association with others that a civilization is built. That is why the family is so important. The family is the first and most basic social, political, and economic unit without […]

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August 26 – This noblewoman survived the Terror and founded the Daughters of the Cross

August 26, 2013

Saint Elizabeth Bichier des Ages She was born of a rich, noble family on July 5, 1773, at the Château des Ages, France. Raised in a pious home, she developed at an early age a close relationship with God and a genuine love for the poor. She was twenty-five when she first met André Hubert […]

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August 27 – Never underestimate the prayers of a mother

August 26, 2013

St. Monica Widow; born of Christian parents at Tagaste, North Africa, in 333; died at Ostia, near Rome, in 387. We are told but little of her childhood. She was married early in life to Patritius who held an official position in Tagaste. He was a pagan, though like so many at that period, his […]

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August 27 – “Conform I would not, for it was against my conscience”

August 26, 2013

Saint David Lewis, alias Charles Baker (Recté, according to his own entry in the English College David Henry Lewis). An English Jesuit martyr, born in Monmouthshire in 1616; died at Usk, 27 August, 1679. His father, Morgan Lewis, was a lax Catholic, afterwards converted; his mother, Margaret Pritchard, was a very devout Catholic. David was […]

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August 28 – Restless Heart

August 26, 2013

St. Augustine of Hippo The great St. Augustine’s life is unfolded to us in documents of unrivaled richness, and of no great character of ancient times have we information comparable to that contained in the “Confessions,” which relate the touching story of his soul, the “Retractations,” which give the history of his mind, and the […]

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Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem

August 26, 2013

Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem The military order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem originated in a leper hospital founded in the twelfth century by the crusaders of the Latin Kingdom. Without doubt there had been before this date leper hospitals in the East, of which the Knights of St. Lazarus claimed to be the […]

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Lord Moran on Churchill’s State Funeral

August 22, 2013

He was taken at night to Westminster, to the Hall of William Rufus, and there for three days he lay in state, while the people gathered in crowds that stretched over Lambeth Bridge to the far side of the river, to do honor to the man they loved for his valor. On the fourth day […]

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Nation of Vibrant Little Nations

August 22, 2013

It is only by maintaining the delicate balance between authority and vital flux that small, medium-size, and large human groups form. From those groups, a sovereign would structure a nation of vibrant little nations—a marvelous mosaic of associations, parliaments, and hierarchies.(1) It is from the order of these intermediary groups—vibrant little nations—that the State draws […]

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August 22 – The Queenship of Mary

August 22, 2013

Pope Pius XII in the Papal Encyclical Ad Coeli Reginam proposed the traditional doctrine on the Queenship of Mary and established this feast for the Universal Church. Pope Pius IX said of Mary’s Queenship: “Turning her maternal Heart toward us and dealing with the affair of our salvation, she is concerned with the whole human […]

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August 22 – The pope who preached a Crusade against the German Emperor Frederick II

August 22, 2013

Pope Gregory IX (UGOLINO, Count of Segni). Born about 1145, at Anagni in the Campagna; died 22 August, 1241, at Rome. He received his education at the Universities of Paris and Bologna. After the accession of Innocent III to the papal throne, Ugolino, who was a nephew of Innocent III, was successively appointed papal chaplain, […]

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August 23 – St. Rose of Lima

August 22, 2013

St. Rose of Lima Virgin, patroness of America, born at Lima, Peru 20 April, 1586; died there 30 August, 1617. Saint Rose was born Isabel Flores y de Oliva in the city of Lima, the Viceroyalty of Peru, then part of New Spain. She was one of the many children of Gaspar Flores, a harquebusier […]

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August 24 – Chancellor of the court

August 22, 2013

St. Ouen (OWEN; DADON, Latin Audaenus). Archbishop of Rouen, b. at Sancy, near Soissons about 609; d. at Clichy-la-Garenne, near Paris, 24 Aug., 683. His father, Autharius, and his mother, Aiga, belonged to the Gallo-Roman race. Shortly after Ouen’s birth they came to Ussy-sur-Marne, where he spent his childhood, with which tradition connects a series […]

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August 25 – King, Crusader, Saint

August 22, 2013

Saint Louis IX King of France, son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile, born at Poissy, 25 April, 1215; died near Tunis, 25 August, 1270. He was eleven years of age when the death of Louis VIII made him king, and nineteen when he married Marguerite of Provence by whom he had eleven children. […]

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Order of the Knights of Christ

August 22, 2013

Order of the Knights of Christ A military order which sprang out of the famous Order of the Temple (see Knights Templars). As Portugal was the first country in Europe where the Templars settled (in 1128), so it has been the last to preserve any remnant of that order. The Portuguese Templars had contributed to […]

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Isabel the Catholic is buried in Granada, the city she conquered for Christianity

August 19, 2013

Isabel herself knew the end was not far off, and bade those about her restrain their tears. When she heard of the processions and pilgrimages made throughout the kingdom in the hope of restoring her to health she asked that her subjects should pray “not for the safety of her life but the salvation of […]

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The Principle of Subsidiarity

August 19, 2013

A society with authority and vital flux is one of an immensely rich social life. Every family, social group, profession, region, and State tends to gather together under natural leaderships to address the needs so proper to our social nature. Each unit produces by custom and good sense that which it is capable of producing. […]

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August 19 – The prince who was made bishop at age 22

August 19, 2013

St. Louis of Toulouse Bishop of Toulouse, generally represented vested in pontifical garments and holding a book and a crosier, b. at Brignoles, Provence, Feb., 1274; d. there, 19 Aug., 1297. He was the second son of Charles II of Anjou, called the Lame, King of Naples (1288- 1309), and nephew of St. Louis IX […]

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August 20 – The Knights Templar owe him

August 19, 2013

St. Bernard of Clairvaux Born in 1090, at Fontaines, near Dijon, France; died at Clairvaux, 21 August, 1153. His parents were Tescelin, lord of Fontaines, and Aleth of Montbard, both belonging to the highest nobility of Burgundy. Bernard, the third of a family of seven children, six of whom were sons, was educated with particular […]

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August 20 – Saint Philibert of Jumièges and Recipes for Hazelnuts Named in His Honor

August 19, 2013

Saint Philibert of Jumièges (c. 608–684) was the only son of a Frankish noble, a courtier of Dagobert I. He was educated at court by Saint Ouen and entered monastic life at Rebais and was elected abbot at the age of 20. In 654, St. Philibert received a gift of land from Clovis II on […]

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August 21 – He was one of a network of aristocrat bishops

August 19, 2013

Saint Sidonius Apollinaris Gaius Sollius (Modestus) Apollinaris Sidonius or Saint Sidonius Apollinaris (November 5[1] of an unknown year, perhaps 430 – August, 489) was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius is “the single most important surviving author from fifth-century Gaul” according to Eric Goldberg.[2] He was one of four fifth-to sixth-century Gallo-Roman aristocrats whose letters […]

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Military Order of Alcántara

August 19, 2013

Military Order of Alcántara Alcántara, a town on the Tagus (here crossed by a bridge—cantara, whence the name), is situated in the plain of Estremadura, a great field of conflict for the Moslems and Christians of Spain in the twelfth century. First taken in 1167 by the King of Leon, Fernando II, Alcántara fell again […]

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Thailand celebrates birthday of Catholic-educated Queen Sirikit

August 15, 2013

According to Catholic News Agency: Catholics in Thailand are joining in prayer to celebrate the 81st birthday of Queen Sirikit…which is celebrated as both a national holiday and Mother’s Day in the country. More than 250 Catholic schools and institutions also gathered with thousands of students and parents to pray and show respect for the […]

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Prince Charles accused of too many meetings with ministers

August 15, 2013

According to The Telegraph: You have to admire the anti-monarchists’ persistence, if not their wisdom… Their latest target is the Prince of Wales, who stands accused…of exercising undue political influence by having 36 meetings with Coalition ministers over three years… …a future King should acquaint himself with the governance of the nation. Think of the […]

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The Empress who challenged the political correctness of her times

August 15, 2013

The Empress [Augusta Victoria] had always sympathized with the Roman Catholic Church, though the rumor that she had joined it had no justification. But she had many Catholic friends, and she was by nature adverse to any kind of persecution, be it religious or political. The Kulturkampf had been for her a source of great […]

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Principle of Authority as Coordinator

August 15, 2013

This complementary interplay of authority and vital flux differs completely from modern conceptions of authority as being despotic and tyrannical. Leaders must lead based on perceptions of what society needs and where it wants to go. Those manifesting the vital flux have every right to defend themselves should they be forced to act in a […]

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August 16 – His incorrupt right hand is treasured as the most sacred relic in Hungary

August 15, 2013

St. Stephen of Hungary First King of Hungary, born at Gran, 975; died 15 August, 1038. He was a son of the Hungarian chief Géza and was baptized, together with his father, by Archbishop St. Adalbert of Prague in 985, on which occasion he changed his heathen name Vaik (Vojk) into Stephen. In 995 he […]

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August 16 – Apostle of the North

August 15, 2013

St. Hyacinth Dominican, called the Apostle of the North, son of Eustachius Konski of the noble family of Odrowacz [or Odrowaz]; born 1185 at the castle of Lanka, at Kamin, in Silesia, Poland…; died 15 August, 1257, at Cracow. Feast, 16 Aug. A near relative of Saint Ceslaus, he made his studies at Cracow, Prague, […]

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August 17 – Her great beauty aroused the jealousy of the queen

August 15, 2013

St. Beatrix da Silva A Portuguese nun, died 1 September, 1490. In Portuguese she is known as Blessed Brites. She was a member of the house of Portalegre and descended from the royal family of Portugal. She accompanied the Portuguese Princess Isabel to Spain, when she married John II of Castile. There Beatrix seems to […]

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August 18 – The Empress who found the True Cross

August 15, 2013

Saint Helena (also known as Saint Helen, Helena Augusta or Helena of Constantinople) The mother of Constantine the Great, born about the middle of the third century, possibly in Drepanum (later known as Helenopolis) on the Nicomedian Gulf; died about 330. She was of humble parentage; St. Ambrose, in his “Oratio de obitu Theodosii”, referred […]

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Military Order of Calatrava – the knights who slept in armour

August 15, 2013

Founded in Castile, in the twelfth century, as a military branch of the great Cistercian family. In the Cistercian Order, then only recently formed (1098), there had been a large number of knights or sons of knights. In Calatrava, on the contrary, those who had been monks became knights. Monastic life has been called “a […]

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Royal Canadian Mint Unveil New Coins Honoring Baby Prince

August 12, 2013

According to the Daily Express: …the Royal Canadian Mint have unveiled…coins, which feature rattles, carriages and tiny shoes. One in three of the coins…show a sleeping baby in a crib with a beaver and a moose. “Canadians are delighted with the recent arrival of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first child, who will someday […]

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Overwhelming Trust in New Netherlands King

August 12, 2013

According to Dutch News: King Willem-Alexander enjoys the trust of 86% of the Dutch population, a survey by RTL news shows. A quarter of those questioned said they have ‘a great deal of trust’ in the king. Willem-Alexander, who celebrates 100 days as king today, has seen his trust rating increase from 79.2% just before […]

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Don Pelayo starts the Reconquista with the battle of Covadonga

August 12, 2013

By contrast with the catastrophic loss of Spain, the chroniclers tell us that through Divine Providence liberty was restored to the Christian people and the Asturian kingdom was brought into being. This reportedly occurred when the majority of the Goths of royal blood came to the Asturias and elected as king Pelayo (719-737), son of […]

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