Did Jesus wish to be born noble?

December 24, 2012

From the Allocution of Leo XIII to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility on January 24, 1903: And Jesus Christ, although He chose to spend His private life in the obscurity of a lowly dwelling, passing for the son of a laborer, and although in public life He so loved to associate with the common people, […]

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Antarctic territory named for Queen Elizabeth – The Guardian

December 20, 2012

According to The Guardian: Foreign Office declared that a tract of frozen land about twice the size of the UK in Antarctica was to be named after her as Queen Elizabeth Land. The area…is around 169,000 square miles (437,000 sq km), making up just under a third of the land mass of the British Antarctic […]

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Video: The Christmas Truce of 1914

December 20, 2012

The Christmas Truce of 1914

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December 23 – He Always Held His Soul in His Hands

December 20, 2012

Saint Antônio de Sant’Anna Galvão Born 1739, in the village of Santo Antonio da Vila de Guaratinguetá, Brazil; died 23 December, 1822, at the Convent of Light, São Paulo, Brazil. His father, also named Anthony, belonged to an illustrious Portuguese family and was well educated, as evidenced by his writings. He excelled in business, the […]

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December 23 – The Knights of Aviz and Their Cistercian Founder

December 20, 2012

Saint John of Cirita Memorial: 23 December Benedictine monk, also known as John Ziritu. Hermit in Galacia. Monk at Toronca, Portugal, which he helped turn into a Cistercian house. Wrote the Rule of the Knights of Aviz (Portuguese: Ordem Militar de Avis).  Died, c. 1164. The Military Order of St. Benedict of Aviz A military […]

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December 21 – Doctor of the Church & Second Apostle of Germany

December 20, 2012

St. Peter Canisius Born at Nimwegen in the Netherlands, 8 May, 1521; died in Fribourg, 21 November, 1597. His father was the wealthy burgomaster, Jacob Canisius; his mother, Ægidia van Houweningen, died shortly after Peter’s birth. In 1536 Peter was sent to Cologne, where he studied arts, civil law, and theology at the university; he […]

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There was a time when war was infused with Christian courtesy

December 20, 2012

[E]ven the stern [Blaise de Lasseran-Massencôme, seigneur de] Monluc could relax a bit at Christmas. In 1554, the Spanish commander in Northern Italy, the Marquis of Marignan, was tightening his blockade against Monluc and the French troops. Nevertheless on Christmas Eve Marignan sent Monluc as a little token of the season “half a stag, six […]

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Excerpt from Pope Pius XII’s Allocution to the Pontifical Noble Guard on December 26, 1942

December 20, 2012

“None can be envious upon seeing that We bear you such special affection. To whom, in truth, is the immediate protection of Our person entrusted, if not to you? And are you not the first of Our guards? “Guard! What lofty resonance there is in this word: the soul trembles therewith; thoughts take wing. An […]

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Queen Elizabeth sends condolences to the American people after shooting

December 17, 2012

According to the Cheshire News: After hearing about the recent school shooting, in which 26 children and adults were murdered in Connecticut, the Queen sent this message. “I have been deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the dreadful loss of life today in Newtown, Connecticut; particularly the news that so many of the dead […]

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Pralines: created for a duke, they are enjoyed today by millions

December 17, 2012

Pralines will make any child smile, and many an adult. Being so popular in both the Old and New Worlds, their story deserves to be told. It all started in la douce France, the first born daughter of the Church, with a nobleman by the name of Caesar. He was Marshall of France, 1st duke […]

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December 19 – How Tumultuous Times Reveal Noble Souls

December 17, 2012

Pope Blessed Urban V Guillaume de Grimoard, born at Grisac in Languedoc, 1310; died at Avignon, 19 December, 1370. Born of a knightly family, he was educated at Montpellier and Toulouse, and became a Benedictine monk at the little priory of Chirac near his home. A Bull of 1363 informs us that he was professed […]

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Paris and all of France rejoice at the birth of a Crown Prince

December 17, 2012

All royalist France was in commotion. The Duchess of Berry [Princess Caroline of Naples and Siciliy] was nearing her time. The municipal councils of cities and the owners of castles had Masses said and novenas made to implore Heaven for her safe delivery. It had been decided that if she brought a prince into the […]

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Pius XII: Allocution of January 8, 1947

December 17, 2012

The homage of your loyalty and devotion, and the wishes of good tidings which you, beloved Sons and Daughters, come to offer Us each year by ancient custom, and which have been so beautifully expressed by your most excellent representative, always fill Our heart with sincere gratitude. Naturally, they usually reflect the thoughts and worries […]

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December 17 – St. Olympias

December 17, 2012

Born 360-5; died 25 July, 408, probably at Nicomedia. This pious, charitable, and wealthy disciple of St. John Chrysostom came from an illustrious family in Constantinople. Her father (called by the sources Secundus or Selencus) was a “Count” of the empire; one of her ancestors, Ablabius, filled in 331 the consular office, and was also […]

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The prayer Patton commissoned before the Battle of the Bulge

December 13, 2012

Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush […]

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Video – Saint Lucy Day candle ceremony in Sweden

December 13, 2012

In Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland, Saint Lucy is venerated on her feast day, December 13, in a ceremony where a young girl is chosen to portray the noble virgin and martyr. Wearing a white gown with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head, she walks at the head of a […]

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526,421 family farms threatened by new death tax – Washington Examiner

December 13, 2012

According to the The Washington Examiner: New legislation that jumps the death tax to 55 percent of estates exceeding $1 million threatens 526,421 family farms, of about 25 percent of all farms in America, according to a Senate analysis. According to the analysis from the Senate Republican Policy Committee, chaired by Wyoming’s John Barrasso: …the […]

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Pope Pius XII: Allocution of January 16, 1946

December 13, 2012

In past years, beloved Sons and Daughters, on this occasion—after having paternally welcomed the wishes that your illustrious representative usually offers Us in your name, with such noble expressions of faith and filial devotion—We usually accompanied Our expressions of thanks with some recommendations suggested by the circumstances of the moment. We spoke to you of […]

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December 13 – Venerated From Time Immemorial

December 13, 2012

St. Lucy A virgin and martyr of Syracuse in Sicily, whose feast is celebrated by Latins and Greeks alike on 13 Dec. According to the traditional story, she was born of rich and noble parents about the year 283. Her father was of Roman origin, but his early death left her dependent upon her mother, […]

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December 13 – The Grandmother of the Marquise de Sévigné

December 13, 2012

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

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December 13 – St. Odilia

December 13, 2012

St. Odilia Patroness of Alsace, born at the end of the seventh century; died about 720. According to a trustworthy statement, apparently taken from an earlier life, she was the daughter of the Frankish lord Adalrich (Aticus, Etik) and his wife Bereswinda, who had large estates in Alsace. She founded the convent of Hohenburg (Odilienberg) […]

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December 13 – Elected Pope to Fight the Emperor

December 13, 2012

Pope Callistus II Date of birth unknown; died 13 December, 1124. His reign, beginning 1 February, 1119, is signalized by the termination of the Investiture controversy which, begun in the time of Gregory VII, had raged with almost unabated bitterness during the last quarter of the eleventh century and the opening years of the twelfth. […]

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Americans love news of Britain’s bouncing royal baby – AFP

December 10, 2012

According to AFP: “I think there is an aspect (of the British monarchy) that fascinates Americans, the whole notion of people who live in castles and palaces,” Susan Kelley…told AFP. Fascination with the British royals has been part of American celebrity culture since the storybook wedding of William’s parents Prince Charles and Princess Diana… From […]

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Empress Sisi’s secret visits to the poor

December 10, 2012

Ever-ready to propagate cruel absurdities concerning the Empress, the short-sighted, frivolous, and superficial society of the Austrian capital remained only too often blind to her innumerable acts of charity. Often, in the early hours of the morning, she would glide out of her palace on errands of mercy, accompanied by a trusted, confidential attendant. Elizabeth […]

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Pius XII: Allocution of January 19, 1944

December 10, 2012

Little was your worry, beloved Sons and Daughters, that the present trials, which interrupt and disturb the calm continuation of family and social life, might prevent you from coming, as in past years, to offer Us, with filial devotion, the homage of your best wishes. This tragic, sorrowful time, so full of anxieties and cares, […]

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December 11 – Mother Marvelous, Madre Maravillas

December 10, 2012

St. María de las Maravillas de Jesús Pidal y Chico de Guzmán was born in Madrid, Spain, on 4 November 1891. She was the daughter of Luis Pidal y Mon, Marquis of Pidal, and Cristina Chico de Guzmán y Munoz. At the time her father was the Spanish ambassador to the Holy See and she grew […]

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December 12 – Guadalupe: She Who Smashes the Serpent

December 10, 2012

by Cesar Franco Pope Pius XII gave Our Lady of Guadalupe the title of “Empress of the Americas” in 1945. Since December 12 is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, this is a propitious moment to recall how She reigns over our nation from Heaven, protecting and guiding us with Motherly solicitude and tenderness. […]

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Duke Paul in Luxembourg before the country’s fatal legalization of abortion on demand

December 6, 2012

LUXEMBOURG, November 23, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The tiny principality of Luxembourg has adopted abortion on demand in a vote yesterday of 39 to 21 in the Chamber of Deputies. The bill’s promoters in the Chamber of Deputies of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg said that the relaxation of the law will provide “punishment-free termination” and […]

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Bravery and charity in a French Prince: the Duke of Berry

December 6, 2012

The Duke of Berry appreciated his happiness all the more because his youth had been so full of trials and difficulties. Exiled from France in 1789, at the age of eleven, he did not see his native land again until 1814. He was barely sixteen when he enlisted as a volunteer in Condé’s army, and […]

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Pius XII: Allocution of January 11, 1943

December 6, 2012

How, beloved Sons and Daughters, could the warm and heartfelt greetings that the lofty words of your illustrious representative conveyed to Us in your name fail to find their response in the offerings We now raise to God on your behalf? Unvanquished by the sorrows of the present hour, We feel, at this moment, a […]

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December 6 – Good St. Nicholas

December 6, 2012

Golden Legend – Life of Saint Nicholas Here beginneth the Life of Saint Nicholas the Bishop. Nicholas is said of Nichos, which is to say victory, and of laos, people, so Nicholas is as much as to say as victory of people, that is, victory of sins, which be foul people. Or else he is […]

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December 6 – Martyr of the Muslims

December 6, 2012

St. Peter Paschal, Bishop and Martyr This saint was born in Valencia, Spain, in 1227, and descended of the ancient family of the Paschals, which had edified the Church by the triumphs of five glorious martyrs, which it produced under the Moors. Peter’s parents were virtuous and exceedingly charitable; and St. Peter Nolasco often lodged […]

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December 7 – Noble Made Bishop by Acclamation

December 6, 2012

St. Ambrose Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397; born probably 340, at Trier, Arles, or Lyons; died 4 April, 397. He was one of the most illustrious Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and fitly chosen, together with St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Athanasius, to uphold the venerable Chair of the Prince […]

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December 8 – Why We Should Celebrate Privilege

December 6, 2012

Pope Pius IX’s definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception had varied but profound repercussions from all over the civilized world. The new dogma deeply shocked the essentially egalitarian mentality of the French Revolution, which since 1789 had despotically held sway in the West. The Blessed Virgin Mary “in the first instance of her […]

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December 9 – The Banker Who Could Recite the Summa

December 6, 2012

St. Peter Fourier Known as LE BON PÈRE DE MATTAINCOURT (Good Father of Mattaincourt), born at Mirecourt, Lorraine, 30 Nov., 1565 died at Gray, Haute-Saône, 9 Dec., 1640. At fifteen he was sent to the University of Pont-à-Mousson. His piety and learning led many noble families to ask him to educate their sons. He became […]

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Duchess of Cambridge pregnant, admitted to hospital – The Telegraph

December 3, 2012

According to The Telegraph, A spokesman for St James’s Palace said: “Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby. “The Duchess was admitted this afternoon to King Edward VII Hospital in Central London with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. As the pregnancy is […]

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December 3 – St. Francis Xavier, Apostle of the Indies

December 3, 2012

St. Francis Xavier Born in the Castle of Xavier near Sanguesa, in Navarre, 7 April, 1506; died on the Island of Sancian near the coast of China, 2 December, 1552. In 1525, having completed a preliminary course of studies in his own country, Francis Xavier went to Paris, where he entered the collège de Sainte-Barbe. […]

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The deathbed advice Louis XIV gave his great-grandson and heir

December 3, 2012

Madame the Ventadour set [the Dauphin] in an armchair. For a while, [Louis XIV] looked intently at this frail successor, and then, with tears in his eyes, he said: “Dear child, you are going to be the greatest King in the world; never forget the duty you owe to God. Do not follow my example […]

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Pius XII: Allocution of January 5, 1942

December 3, 2012

Beloved Sons and Daughters, the loftily worded message of greeting that your illustrious representative has communicated to Us, wishes, it seems to us, to manifest above all that filial attachment to the Apostolic See which spurs your faith and is the finest glory of the Roman Patriciate and Nobility. With great joy and exaltation, We […]

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December 4 – From a Muslim court, he opposed the Christian Emperor, and won

December 3, 2012

St. John Damascene Born at Damascus, about 676; died some time between 754 and 787. The only extant life of the saint is that by John, Patriarch of Jerusalem, which dates from the tenth century (P.G. XCIV, 429-90). This life is the single source from which have been drawn the materials of all his biographical […]

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December 4 – Saint Osmund

December 3, 2012

Saint Osmund Bishop of Salisbury, died 1099; his feast is kept on 4 December. Osmund held an exalted position in Normandy, his native land, and according to a late fifteenth-century document was the son of Henry, Count of Séez, and Isabella, daughter of Robert, Duke of Normandy, who was the father of William the Conqueror […]

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December 4 – Saint Barbara

December 3, 2012

Saint Barbara Virgin and Martyr. There is no reference to St. Barbara contained in the authentic early historical authorities for Christian antiquity, neither does her name appear in the original recension of St. Jerome’s martyrology. Veneration of the saint was common, however, from the seventh century. At about this date there were in existence legendary […]

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December 1 – The Virgin Mary appears to General Gaston de Sonis after his army’s losses at Patay promising that France would survive

November 29, 2012

On the night of December 1 [1870], the Zouaves were ordered to advance to Patay [France], where Joan of Arc had won a renowned victory against the English. [General Louis-Gaston de] Sonis asked [Colonel Athanase de] Charette, who had no flag of his own, to lend him the Zouaves’. This banner had a curious history….  […]

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Siege of Jasna Góra, November 28-December 27, 1655

November 29, 2012

This account of the siege of  Częstochowa is based on the Memoirs of the Siege of Czestochowa by Father Augustine Kordecki (Pamietnik oblezenia Częstochowy, edited and with a preface by Jan Tokarski, London, Veritas, 1956.) Written by Friar Kordecki in response to a wish of King Casimir, these memoirs were originally published in Latin in […]

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Louis XVIII’s policy of peaceful coexistence paves the way for the French Republic

November 29, 2012

In bringing men of the most widely diverse parties around him, Louis XVIII had required them to respect each other. Any allusion to former disputes would have been severely repressed. Political quarrels, so heated elsewhere, were extinguished on the threshold of the Tuileries, where reigned those ancient traditions of politeness, so long the boast of […]

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November 29 – Grandson of the one who defeated Charles Martel in battle

November 29, 2012

St. Radbod, Bishop of Utrecht, Confessor This holy prelate was, by his father, of noble French extraction; and, by his mother, Radbod, the last king or prince of the Frisons was his great grandfather, whose name was given him by his mother. The first tincture of learning and piety he received under the tuition of […]

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December 1 – He Hid Priests in His Manorhouse

November 29, 2012

Blessed Richard Langley Ruined transept of Roche Abbey 1810 Painting by John Buckler Most of England’s medieval abbeys and monasteries were destroyed during the Protestant Reformation.   Layman and martyr, b. probably at Grimthorpe, Yorks, England, date unknown; d. at York, 1 Dec., 1586. From his father, Richard Langley, of Rathorpe Hall, Walton, he probably […]

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December 2 – Cause of Our Joy

November 29, 2012

Our Lady of Joy (aka Notre Dame de Liesse, or Causa Nostrae Laetitiae) In 1134 three Knights of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, prisoners of the Muslims in Egypt, miraculously found or received in their prison a statue of Our Lady, which they named Our Lady of Joy, or Notre Dame de Liesse. […]

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November 26 – How a Catholic Queen gave Spain its Golden Age

November 26, 2012

Queen Isabella I (“The Catholic”) Queen of Castile; born in the town of Madrigal de las Altas Torres, 22 April, 1451; died a little before noon, 26 November, 1504, in the castle of La Mota, which still stands at Medina del Campo (Valladolid). She was the daughter of John II, King of Castile, by his […]

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Perfume for Queen’s diamond jubilee – The Guardian

November 26, 2012

According to The Guardian: With compounds extracted from across the Commonwealth, a unique scent has been created especially for the Queen to mark her diamond jubilee. The chemist and perfumer Angela Stavrevska… said: “The blooming bouquet at the heart of the fragrance combines the freshness of lily-of-the-valley with classic touches of rose, Indian jasmine oil […]

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Belgian prince inspects lions of Menin Gate at memorial – The Canberra Times

November 26, 2012

According to The Canberra Times: Tens of thousands of Australian soldiers marched past the Menin Gate lions on their way to the battlefields of Belgium’s Ypres during World War I. Many never returned. Almost 100 years later Belgium’s crown prince has marched past those same stone lions – which now stand at the main entrance […]

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A French heir to the throne saves a man from suicide

November 26, 2012

As [the Duke of Berry] was out walking, he saw a very animated group of charcoal-burners, who were trying to prevent one of their number from throwing himself into the Seine. Without being recognized, he approached them and inquired the cause of the despair of the poor devil who wanted to kill himself. It was […]

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The Jacksonian Era of Popular Democracy

November 26, 2012

Andrew Jackson, elected president in 1828, was the first president of the United States who did not come from the traditional elites. His rise to the presidency marked the end of the aristocratic republic, and the beginning of a broader and more profound diffusion of the democratic ideology into the country’s political, social, and cultural […]

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November 25 & 26 – Blessed Hugh Taylor & Blessed Marmaduke Bowes

November 26, 2012

Blessed Hugh Taylor English martyr, born at Durham; hanged, drawn, and quartered at York, 25 (not 26) November, 1585. He arrived at Reims on 2 May, 1582, and having been ordained a priest was sent thence on the mission on 27 March, 1585. He was the first to suffer under the Statute 27 Eliz. c. […]

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November 27 – The king who made France “First-born daughter of the Church”

November 26, 2012

Clovis Son of Childeric, King of the Salic Franks; born in the year 466; died at Paris, 27 November, 511. He succeeded his father as the King of the Franks of Tournai in 481. His kingdom was probably one of the States that sprang from the division of Clodion’s monarchy like those of Cambrai, Tongres […]

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November 25 – The Battle of Montgisard

November 22, 2012

The Battle of Montgisard was fought between the Ayyubids and the Kingdom of Jerusalem on November 25, 1177. The 16 year old King Baldwin IV, seriously afflicted by leprosy, led an out-numbered Christian force against the army of Saladin. The Islamic force was routed and their casualties were massive, only a fraction managed to flee […]

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Effects of the French Revolution on America

November 22, 2012

Throughout the colonial period of the three Americas, the respective mother countries were governed by a regime that, some differences aside, is known generically as the Old Regime. This was the system European countries implanted in their colonies. With the successive proclamations of independence by the American nations, this regime ceased to exist in the […]

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November 22 – The Eternal Glory of the Caecilia Family

November 22, 2012

St. Cecilia Virgin and martyr, patroness of church music, died at Rome. This saint, so often glorified in the fine arts and in poetry, is one of the most venerated martyrs of Christian antiquity. The oldest historical account of St. Cecilia is found in the “Martyrologium Hieronymianum”; from this it is evident that her feast […]

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A French Prince becomes the Good Samaritan of a hurt soldier

November 22, 2012

[The Duke of Berry] was a good husband, a good friend, and a good master. Much beloved in his own house, he established perfect order there, When he learned that one of his servants had deposited money in the savings bank, he doubled the sum, so as to encourage his domestics to practice economy and […]

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November 23 – St. Trudo

November 22, 2012

St. Trudo (also called TRON, TROND, TRUDON, TRUTJEN, TRUYEN). Apostle of Hasbein in Brabant; died 698 (or perhaps 693). Feast 23 November. He was the son of Blessed Adela of the family of the dukes of Austrasia. Devoted from his earliest youth to the service of God, Trudo came to St. Remaclus, Bishop of Liège […]

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