Desktop Wallpapers – 4 New Ones To Choose From

May 2, 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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May 2 – The princess with two sisters who are also saints

May 2, 2013

St. Mafalda of Portugal In the year 1215, at the age of eleven, Princess Mafalda (i.e. Matilda), daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal, was married to her kinsman King Henry I of Castile, who was like herself a minor. The marriage was annulled the following year on the ground of the consanguinity of the […]

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May 3 – Sword-bearer to the Emperor

May 2, 2013

St. Ansfried of Utrecht Ansfried (aka Ansfridus or Aufridus) was born ca. 940, and died May 3, 1010 near Leusden.) He was a nobleman in the Holy Roman Empire and sword-bearer for Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. Till 995 he was Count of Huy, then he became bishop of Utrecht. He is also the founder […]

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May 4 – They believed in the religious exemption, but only at first

May 2, 2013

The Carthusian Martyrs were the monks of the London Charterhouse, the monastery of the Carthusian Order in central London, who were put to death by the English state in a period lasting from the 19 June 1535 till the 20 September 1537. The method of execution was hanging, disembowelling while still alive and then quartering. […]

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The Hungarian countess whom communism sent into impoverished exile

April 29, 2013

The New York Times writes about an exiled Hungarian countess who died in New York on April 15: “The death of Ilona DeVito di Porriasa last week, at 73, went largely unnoticed beyond her family and friends. But if nothing else, her story, as recounted by surviving relatives, peels back the hard shell of the city, […]

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Dutch egalitarian anti-royalists protest their new king

April 29, 2013

According to Expatica.com: “While the Netherlands parties in gaudy orange as the new king takes the throne on April 30, a small group of defiant republicans will protest the monarchy’s very existence by wearing white…. “The monarchy is something from another century that no longer fits with democratic values,” Anjo Clement, head of the Netherlands […]

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Caving to egalitarian pressure, the UK ends male primogeniture in royal succession

April 29, 2013

According to the BBC: “A bill which ends succession to the Crown based on gender has become law. “It means the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first child could become monarch, regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl. “Under the previous law, dating back to 1701, women were superseded by their brothers […]

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9-year-old Crown Prince Alfonso’s first battle against the Moors

April 29, 2013

The King [Saint Ferdinand] was still not satisfied.Since he had not been able to go in person to the battle, which he considered his God-given mission in this world, he decided to send to it his dearest possession, his firstborn and heir the Infante, Alfonso, a boy of nine…. But the little Infante was so […]

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The Universal Scope of the Allocutions of Pius XII to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility

April 29, 2013

Chapter 2 The Universal Scope of the Allocutions of Pius XII to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility The Situation of the Italian Nobility in the Pontificate of Pius XII 1. Why Focus Specifically on the Italian Nobility? In 1947 the constitution of the Italian Republic abolished all titles of nobility. (1) The last blow was […]

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April 29 – The Templars, Knights of Calatrava, of St. Lazarus, of Alcantara, of Avis, of St. Maurice, all trace their existence to this austere monk

April 29, 2013

St. Robert of Molesme Born about the year 1029, at Champagne, France, of noble parents who bore the names of Thierry and Ermengarde; died at Molesme, 17 April, 1111. When fifteen years of age, he commenced his novitiate in the Abbey of Montier-la-Celle, or St. Pierre-la-Celle, situated near Troyes, of which he became later prior. […]

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April 29 – In 11th century Christendom, no king or bishop dare oppose him

April 29, 2013

Saint Hugh the Great Abbot of Cluny, born at Semur (Brionnais in the Diocese of Autun), 1024; died at Cluny, 28 April, 1109. His early life The eldest son of Count Dalmatius of Semur and Aremberge (Aremburgis) of Vergy, Hugh was descended from the noblest families in Burgundy. Dalmatius, devoted to war and the chase, […]

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April 30 – Crusader Pope

April 29, 2013

Pope Saint Pius V Born at Bosco, near Alexandria, Lombardy, 17 Jan., 1504 elected 7 Jan., 1566; died 1 May, 1572. Being of a poor though noble family his lot would have been to follow a trade, but he was taken in by the Dominicans of Voghera, where he received a good education and was […]

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Columbus raises a Cross in Hispaniola and miracles follow

April 25, 2013

An account of several miracles indirectly attributable to the discoverer of America is given by the Count de Lorgues in his “Christophe Colomb.” The following relates to a cross which he erected in Hispaniola, at Fort Conception: At the beginning of April, 1495, Columbus visited for the second time the Royal Plain, where the year […]

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Pius XII and the Roman nobility

April 25, 2013

He [Pius XII] belonged to a noble family, whose sphere of relations was naturally among the nobility. In 1929, one prominent member of his family was graced with the title of marquis; and the Pope’s nephews, Don Carlo Maria, Don Marcantonio, and Don Giulio Pacelli, each received the hereditary title of prince from King Victor […]

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April 26 – She inspired the Albanians to resist the Turks

April 25, 2013

Our Lady of Good Counsel January of 1467 saw the death of the last great Albanian leader, George Castriota, better known as Scanderbeg. Raised by an Albanian chief, he placed himself at the head of his own people. Subsequently, Scanderbeg inflicted stunning defeats on the Turkish army and occupied fortresses all over Albania. With Scanderbeg’s […]

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April 26 – Nephew of the Duke of Maqueda

April 25, 2013

St. Rafael Arnáiz Barón (9 April 1911, Burgos, Spain – 26 April 1938, Dueñas, Palencia, Spain) Rafael Arnáiz, known in the monastery as Brother María Rafael, was born on 9 April 1911 in the city of Burgos, in north-central Spain. He was the first of four sons born to a well-to-do, deeply Christian and Catholic […]

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April 27 – Noble Model of Confidence

April 25, 2013

Peter Armengol was born in Guárdia dels Prats, a small village in the archdiocese of Tarragon, Spain in 1238. He belonged to the house of the barons of Rocafort, descendants of the counts of Urgel, whose ancestors were directly linked to the counts of Barcelona and the monarchs of Aragon and Castile. From Brigand to […]

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Queen Elizabeth II marks 87th birthday – RoyalBlog.nl

April 22, 2013

According to the RoyalBlog.nl: The gun salutes – from the Tower of London and across the United Kingdom – will have to wait…. Queen Elizabeth II can celebrate her 87th birthday in peace and quiet Sunday, and in private, together with Prince Philip. The Queen shows no signs of slowing down much, in this the […]

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Winnipeg MP wants Queen nixed from pledge of allegiance – CBC News

April 22, 2013

According to CBC News: Winnipeg member of Parliament Pat Martin has plans for a bill that would change the way newcomers become citizens. The NDP MP wants to see new Canadians pledge their allegiance to Canada instead of Queen Elizabeth. “It’s the nation state of Canada that we’re loyal to — not the queen of […]

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Grace Kelly: Forever the princess of style – USA Today

April 22, 2013

According to USA Today: There was a sly grandeur to her, a gentility and easy grace unsullied by the smut of tabloids or Twitter. So it’s little wonder that Grace Kelly, who went on to marry a prince and sashay from glitzy Hollywood to glamorous Monaco, remains iconic to this day. To read the entire […]

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Danish royals unite to celebrate Queen Margrethe’s 73rd birthday – Hello! Magazine

April 22, 2013

According to Hello! Magazine: The Danish royal family gathered to celebrate Queen Margrethe’s 73rd birthday… Although the monarch – dressed in a fetching tartan skirt and bright red jacket – was on fine form, it was her young grandchildren who stole the show. The balcony at Copenhagen’s Amalienborg Palace was transformed into a stage for […]

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Marie Antoinette comforts the Dauphin

April 22, 2013

The rioting mob forced the French royal family to leave Versailles and settle in the Tuilleries but that Parisian palace caused a doleful impression in everyone as it had been unoccupied for some years. The six-year old Dauphin exclaimed: —“But everything is so ugly here, Mamma!” Filled with sadness, the Queen tried to comfort him, […]

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The Nobility’s Duty: To Avoid Sinking into Anonymity; To Resist the Influence of Modern Egalitarianism

April 22, 2013

Pius XII paternally insists that the nobility not let itself be diluted in the anonymity into which the indifference and hostility of many, spurred on by crude modern egalitarianism, seek to drag it. He likewise points out another relevant mission: By cultivating and disseminating its living traditions, the nobility should help preserve the values of […]

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Affinity between Dobos Torte and aristocracy: Recipe

April 22, 2013

Famous worldwide and with 100 ways to make it, Dobos Torte has become one of Hungary’s successful culinary ambassadors. The original creation of Jozsef C. Dobos, a Hungarian pastry chef, it made its debut at the National General Exhibition of Budapest in 1885. In light of its outstanding success, it was most appropriate that Hungary’s […]

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Who Was the Original Knight in Shining Armor?

April 22, 2013

St. George Martyr, patron of England, suffered at or near Lydda, also known as Diospolis, in Palestine, probably before the time of Constantine. According to the very careful investigation of the whole question recently instituted by Father Delehaye, the Bollandist, in the light of modern sources of information, the above statement sums up all that […]

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April 23 – Noble Bohemian

April 22, 2013

St. Adalbert of Bohemia Born 939 of a noble Bohemian family; died 997. He assumed the name of the Archbishop Adalbert (his name had been Wojtech), under whom he studied at Magdeburg. He became Bishop of Prague, whence he was obliged to flee on account of the enmity he had aroused by his efforts to […]

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April 24 – “I came to extirpate heresy, not to embrace it”

April 22, 2013

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen Born in 1577, at Sigmaringen, Prussia, of which town his father Johannes Rey was burgomaster; died at Sevis, 24 April, 1622. On the paternal side he was of Flemish ancestry. He pursued his studies at the University of Freiburg in the Breisgau, and in 1604 became tutor to Wilhelm von Stotzingen, […]

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Video: Thatcher’s coffin taken by gun carriage to St Paul’s Cathedral for her funeral – The Telegraph

April 18, 2013

According to The Telegraph: Margaret Thatcher’s coffin was paraded solemnly through the streets of London en route to St Paul’s Cathedral for her funeral, where the Queen led mourners from 170 countries to bid farewell… Parliament’s famous Big Ben bell was silenced as Baroness Thatcher’s coffin draped in the Union Jack was carried to a […]

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Moslem Seville surrenders to Saint Ferdinand

April 18, 2013

The Moors had no choice but to accept the iron will of that King Ferdinand, who, like a curse of Allah, crossed Andalusia exterminating Islam. The ambassadors returned with broader powers to act, and then Don Ferdinand received them. After they had been conducted to his tent, they found him waiting surrounded by his whole […]

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Organic society and human progress

April 18, 2013

 (based on a talk by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira – MNF of Sept. 29, 1993)   Organic society precedes aristocracy. The very principles from which an organic society may be reborn stem from an action of the Holy Ghost. Everything we say about organic society is part of a global view of the foundations […]

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April 18 – Blessed Marie de l’Incarnation

April 18, 2013

Bl. Marie de l’Incarnation Known also as Madame Acarie, foundress of the French Carmel, born in Paris, 1 February, 1566; died at Pontoise, April, 1618. By her family Barbara Avrillot belonged to the higher bourgeois society in Paris. Her father, Nicholas Avrillot was accountant general in the Chamber of Paris, and chancellor of Marguerite of […]

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April 19 – As pope, he led his army against the Normans

April 18, 2013

Pope St. Leo IX Pope St. Leo IX earnestly spread the Cluny reform Born at Egisheim, near Colmar, on the borders of Alsace, 21 June, 1002, Pope St. Leo IX died on 19 April, 1054. He belonged to a noble family which had given or was to give saints to the Church and rulers to […]

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April 19 – Hostage of the Danes

April 18, 2013

St. Alphege (or Elphege), Saint, born 954; died 1012; also called Godwine, martyred Archbishop of Canterbury, left his widowed mother and patrimony for the monastery of Deerhurst (Gloucestershire). After some years as an anchorite at Bath, he there became abbot, and (19 Oct., 984) was made Bishop of Winchester. In 994 Elphege administered confirmation to […]

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April 21 – The Noble Saint who tamed William the Conqueror, abolished slavery in England, and founded Scholasticism; his prayer to Saint Mary Magdalene

April 18, 2013

Saint Anselm, Confessor, Archbishop Of Canterbury (A. D. 1109) If the Norman conquerors stripped the English nation of its liberty and many temporal advantages, it must be owned that by their valor they raised the reputation of its arms and deprived their own country of its greatest men, both in church and state, with whom […]

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Arundel Castle has announced the death of Anne, Duchess of Norfolk – Bognor Regis Observer

April 15, 2013

According to the Bognor Regis Observer: Arundel Castle has announced the death of Anne, Duchess of Norfolk. She died peacefully at her home in Oxfordshire on Tuesday (April 8), aged 85, surrounded by her family, including her son, Edward Fitzalan-Howard, the 18th Duke of Norfolk. The Duchess is survived by her two sons and three […]

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Environmentalists say balloons for the king are a danger to nature – DutchNews.nl

April 15, 2013

According to DutchNews.nl: Environmental groups have called on Amsterdam city council to abandon plans to release 150,000 balloons into the air at the end celebrations to mark the investiture of King Willem-Alexander. The city’s mayor Eberhard van der Laan says the balloons are biodegradable, but the groups say it still takes considerable time before the […]

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Patton’s Leadership Demanded Discipline

April 15, 2013

On 6 March 1943 Patton was assigned as Commanding General II Corps and he hit them like “Moses descending from Mount Ararat.” But instead of the Ten Commandments he brought his own personal text of severe, unrelenting discipline. He motored around all the units, down to the battalion level, escorted by siren-screeching scout cars and […]

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The Institution of the Family

April 15, 2013

  (based on a talk by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira)   Tradition and heredity communicate a vital warmth to family life. They make of it a natural fact. They develop the psychological and affective orders. In turn, this helps enormously to accomplish the family’s goals. It is normal for relatives to have affinities, and […]

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April 16 – Martyred in the name of Equality

April 15, 2013

Just a few of the many martyrs during the French Revolution († 1792-1799) 16 April 1794 in Avrillé, Maine-et-Loire (France) Pierre Delépine layperson of the diocese of Angers born: 24 May 1732 in Marigné, Maine-et-Loire (France) Jean Ménard layperson of the diocese of Angers; married born: 16 November 1736 in Andigné, Maine-et-Loire (France) Renée Bourgeais […]

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April 17 – How a duke rescued his country out from crushing debt despite incessant war

April 15, 2013

Maximilian I Duke of Bavaria, 1598-1622, Elector of Bavaria and Lord High Steward of the Holy Roman Empire, 1623-1651; born at Munich, 17 April, 1573; died at Ingolstadt, 27 September, 1651. The lasting services he rendered his country and the Catholic Church justly entitle him to the surname of “Great”. He was the son of […]

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April 17 – One of the many nobles who spread the Cluny reform

April 15, 2013

St. Robert Founder of the Abbey of Chaise-Dieu in Auvergne, born at Aurilac, Auvergne, about 1000; died in Auvergne, 1067. On his father’s side he belonged to the family of the Counts of Aurilac, who had given birth to St. Géraud. He studied at Brioude near the basilica of St-Julien, in a school open to […]

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April 17 – St. Stephen Harding

April 15, 2013

St. Stephen Harding Confessor, the third Abbot of Cîteaux, was born at Sherborne in Dorsetshire, England, about the middle of the eleventh century; died 28 March, 1134. He received his early education in the monastery of Sherborne and afterwards studied in Paris and Rome. On returning from the latter city he stopped at the monastery […]

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Queen to attend Thatcher funeral – London Evening Standard

April 11, 2013

According to the London Evening Standard: The Queen is to show her respect for Baroness Thatcher by attending the former prime minister’s funeral next week, it has been announced. It will be the first time the Queen has attended the funeral of one of her prime ministers since Sir Winston Churchill died in 1965. Lady […]

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Prince Hisahito parts ways with school tradition – The Japan Times

April 11, 2013

According to The Japan Times: Prince Hisahito, the 6-year-old son of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, attended the enrollment ceremony Sunday at an elementary school affiliated with Ochanomizu University in Tokyo. It is the first time since the end of the war that a member of the Imperial family has attended an elementary school other […]

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The “Great Captain” Gonsalvo de Cordoba: an unmatched leader

April 11, 2013

The real laurels of victory [in the Italian Wars] belong indeed to Gonsalvo de Cordoba; for, though the French army could boast heroes of chivalry, such as Bayard the “knight without fear or stain,” and generals of skill and courage, such as D’Aubigny, it had no soldier who could in any way approach the genius […]

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April 11 – He excommunicated the king, who murdered him as he celebrated Mass

April 11, 2013

Saint Stanislaus of Cracow In pictures he is given the episcopal insignia and the sword. Larger paintings represent him in a court or kneeling before the altar and receiving the fatal blow. His parents, Belislaus and Bogna, pious and noble Catholics, gave him a religious education. After the death of his parents he distributed his […]

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April 12 – St. Teresa de los Andes

April 11, 2013

St. Teresa de Jesús “de los Andes” (1900-1920) virgin, Discalced Carmelite Nuns The young woman who is today glorified by the Church with the title of Saint, is a prophet of God for the men and women of today. By the example of her life, TERESA OF JESUS OF LOS ANDES shows us Christ’s Gospel […]

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April 13 – Blessed Margaret of Castello

April 11, 2013

Blessed Margaret of Castello (1287–1320) is an Italian Roman Catholic Church patron of the poor, crippled, and the unwanted. She was born blind, lame, deformed, hunchbacked and a dwarf, into a family of nobles in the castle of Metola, in southeast of Florence. As a child, her parents Parisio and Emilia imprisoned her for 14 […]

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April 13 – This Prince Defied His Family

April 11, 2013

St. Hermengild Date of birth unknown; died 13 April, 585. Leovigild, the Arian King of the Visigoths (569-86), had two sons, Hermengild and Reccared, by his first marriage with the Catholic Princess Theodosia. Hermengild married, in 576, Ingundis, a Frankish Catholic princess, the daughter of Sigebert and Brunhilde. Led by his own inclination, and influenced […]

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April 14 – She suffered for the moral corruption and decay of her time

April 11, 2013

Saint Lydwine In 1380, Saint Lydwine was born in the small town of Schiedam in Holland. Her father was a wealthy noble named Peter, and her mother was from a poor family who worked their own farm. Her father’s family lost their fortune, and the whole family was reduced to poverty. At that time, all […]

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April 14 – St. Peter Gonzalez (aka St. Elmo)

April 11, 2013

St. Peter Gonzalez Popularly known as St. Elmo, b. in 1190 at Astorga, Spain; d. 15 April, 1246, at Tuy. He was educated by his uncle, Bishop of Astorga, who gave him when very young a canonry. Later he entered the Dominican Order and became a renowned preacher; crowds gathered to hear him and numberless […]

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The Mystic History of St Edward’s Sapphire – Royal Central

April 8, 2013

According to the Royal Central: It is said that once when Edward was on his way to dedicate a chapel to St John the Evangelist he came across an old man begging on the side of the road. The king was moved by the sight, and because he did not have any coins on him […]

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Ferdinand the Catholic exposes himself to defend his men

April 8, 2013

The capitulation of [Velez-Malaga] followed at the end of April, 1487; and then the Christian army pushed forward to Malaga, a port famous for its commerce from the days of Phoenician traders. The enthusiasm of the troops was raised to white heat by success and by the personal bravery of Ferdinand, who, on one occasion […]

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Christian Civilization

April 8, 2013

 (based on a talk by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira)   The course of history, contrary to the claims of so many philosophers and sociologists, is not traced exclusively or preponderantly by the dictates of matter over men. Without a doubt, these have their influence in human action, but the direction of history belongs to […]

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April 8 – Don Bosco’s Prince

April 8, 2013

Blessed Augusto Czartoryski He was born on 2 August 1858 in Paris, France, the firstborn son to Prince Ladislaus of Poland and Princess Maria Amparo, daughter of the Queen of Spain. The noble Czartoryski Family had been living in exile in France for almost 30 years, in the Lambert Palace. Here, with the hope of […]

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April 9 – She persuaded her husband the Count to become a monk

April 8, 2013

St. Waltrude She was daughter to the princess St. Bertille, elder sister to St. Aldegondes, and wife to Madelgaire, count of Hainault, and one of the principal lords of King Dagobert’s court. After bearing him two sons and two daughters, she induced him to embrace the monastic state at Haumont, near Maubeuge, taking the name […]

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April 10 – Friend of Cluny

April 8, 2013

St. Fulbert of Chartres Bishop, b. between 952 and 962; d. 10 April, 1028 or 1029. Mabillon and others think that he was born in Italy, probably at Rome; but Pfister, his latest biographer, designates as his birthplace the Diocese of Laudun in the present department of Gard in France. He was of humble parentage […]

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Sophie, Countess of Wessex, is upset by oath vote – Daily Express

April 4, 2013

According to the Daily Express: …the Countess of Wessex is not relishing the quandary she has been placed in over her position as the monarch’s representative as head of the Girl Guides. The movement…is considering the extraordinary step of jettisoning its allegiance to the Queen. …if the majority decide they want to delete reference to […]

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A King With No Country – Washingtonian

April 4, 2013

According to the Washingtonian: “The [Rwandan] monarchy has come to be seen potentially as a source of moderation and ethnic reconciliation, and the regime views that very much as a threat,” Timothy Longman…says. “In Rwanda, you cannot openly embrace the king, you cannot call for the king’s return. You’ll be thrown in jail.” Royal power […]

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Love of Faith and country trump parental love

April 4, 2013

In 1475, during the siege of his city, the French sent word to Jean Blanca, Bourgeois of Perpignan and first consul, that if he did not surrender the town they would execute his son whom they held captive. In reply, the governor told the French emissaries: “—My faith and the service of my lord the […]

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