May 10 – Saint Damien: A Hero Who Died on the Battlefield of Honor

May 10, 2012

Written by Norman Fulkerson A portrait of young Father Damien in 1868. Born Joseph de Veuster in Tremelo, Belgium, he took the religious name of Damien when he joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.   There are few places on Earth more beautiful than Hawaii. While this idyllic paradise may […]

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May 12 – Would you accept the crowns of England, France and the Holy Roman Empire? She said no

May 10, 2012

Blessed Joanna of Portugal Born at Lisbon, 16 February, 1452; died at Aveiro, 12 May, 1490; the daughter of Alfonso V, King of Portugal, and his wife Elizabeth. She was chiefly remarkable for the courage and persistence with which she opposed all attempts on the part of her father and brother to make her marry.  […]

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5 New Desktop Wallpapers

May 7, 2012

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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St. Joan of Arc 600 years later

May 7, 2012

May 2, 2012, Orleans, France – Looking appropriately cinematic, the Loire River swarmed with wooden boats carrying locals in medieval garb on Tuesday, reenacting Joan of Arc’s famous entry into the city in 1429. Later in the week, a medieval market will be the scene of period cuisine and music, while a sound and light […]

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Video: The Queen arrives at Sherborne Abbey during royal visit to Dorset

May 7, 2012

  Thousands of people lined the streets around Sherborne Abbey this morning to welcome the Queen to Dorset. Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh were visiting the town to start the South West leg of their Diamond Jubilee tour of the UK. http://www.thisisdorset.co.uk/Video-Queen-arrives-Sherborne-Abbey-royal-visit/story-15969599-detail/story.html

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Post-Napoleonic Paris’s enthusiasm at the triumphal entry of its prince

May 7, 2012

The Countess de Marigny, sister of François-René de Chateaubriand, was in Paris in 1814, when the Allies entered the city. She took notes, day by day, in thin notebooks, of the news and noise bruited about the capital. When one notebook was filled she sent it to her relatives in Brittany. These notebooks have just […]

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Marie Antoinette was destroyed after she had reformed her ways

May 7, 2012

The moment chosen for this ill-will towards Marie Antoinette was the very one when she had abandoned these faults and had become serious and exemplary…. So long as Marie Antoinette was frivolous and was guilty, not of real faults, but of imprudent actions, she was the recipient of general flattery and admiration. But so soon […]

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Chivalry and family heroes helped shape Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.

May 3, 2012

It was after his aunt read him Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe that he ultimately revealed the great effect her instruction was having. He [George S. Patton, Jr.] confided to her that he’d written a poem—in his head, for he still couldn’t write. Astonished, she transcribed his recitation with the reverent wonder of a medium receiving […]

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Aristocracy and Grandeur

May 3, 2012

The aristocrat will only fulfill his vocation when he has a clear idea of the grandeur of his country and is willing to represent it in his person. Many historical facts serve to symbolize American grandeur. One is the famous flag-raising at Iwo Jima. We may also point to such embodiments of grandeur as generals […]

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May 3 – Sword-bearer to the Emperor

May 3, 2012

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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The Carthusian Martyrs – Third and Fourth Groups and the Lone Survivor

May 3, 2012

The Third Group The next move was to seize four more monks of community, two being taken to the Carthusian house at Beauvale in Nottinghamshire, while Dom John Rochester and Dom James Walworth were taken to the Charterhouse of St. Michael in Hull in Yorkshire. They were made an “example” of on 11 May 1537, […]

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May 6 – Prince, priest, pioneer

May 3, 2012

Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin Prince, priest, and missionary, born at The Hague, Holland, 22 December, 1770; died at Loretto, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., 6 May, 1840. He was a scion of one of the oldest, wealthiest, and most illustrious families of Russia. His father, Prince Demetrius Gallitzin (d. 16 March, 1803), Russian ambassador to Holland at the time […]

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Choice in Liechtenstein: Abortion or royal family?

April 30, 2012

Liechtenstein’s hereditary Prince Alois is threatening that he and his ruling family will step down if a referendum eliminated his power to veto laws is passed. “The royal family is not willing to undertake its political responsibilities unless the prince… has the necessary tools at his disposal,” Alois said in a speech to parliament on […]

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The death of Bayard, the Chevalier sans peur et sans reproche

April 30, 2012

When the news was spread abroad through the two armies that the good Chevalier had been killed, or at least wounded to death (even in the camp of the Spanish, although he was the one man in the world of whom they had the greatest fear), all men, both gentlemen and soldiers, were exceedingly grieved […]

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The American Paradox

April 30, 2012

American society is oriented by two fundamental but antithetical principles, the principle of equality and the principle of inequality.[1] The coexistence of a commonly held democratic and egalitarian mythology with the commonly lived hierarchical reality creates a dilemma, which the simple affirmation of the inevitable existence of inequalities does not eliminate. Such a dichotomy between […]

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April 30 – Crusader Pope

April 30, 2012

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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May 2 – Two sisters of this medieval princess were also saints

April 30, 2012

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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Engagement Announcement of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg

April 26, 2012

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg: Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, have the great pleasure to announce the engagement of their son, HRH Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke, with the Countess Stephanie de Lannoy. The date of the wedding is not yet announced. Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy, aged 28, comes from an […]

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Picture gallery of the spectacular Royal Barge

April 26, 2012

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh braved heavy rain and driving winds to name a spectacular barge built to mark the Jubilee. The royal couple travelled to the East London dock where Gloriana is currently moored, awaiting the moment when it will make its way to Wandsworth Bridge on the Thames from where it […]

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Royal Wedding dress sparks fashion change in Catholic ceremonies

April 26, 2012

Kate Middleton’s long-sleeved wedding gown was the catalyst that showed the world how a bride can be both beautiful and modest. “It was the perfect storm. Brides were looking for something different, and designers were ready for a change,” says Josie Daga, founder of the resale-wedding-dress site PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com. “This beautiful, iconic princess wears a dress […]

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General MacArthur confronts President Roosevelt to save the U.S. Army

April 26, 2012

At the end of April 1933 MacArthur appeared before the House Military Affairs Committee to oppose a bill that would have placed a large number of regular officers on a forced furlough list…. Patiently MacArthur restated his arguments: “The foundation of our National Defense system is the Regular Army, and the foundation of the Regular […]

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Forms of Government: Abstract Principles and Their Influence in the Formation of a Political Mentality

April 26, 2012

It seems particularly fitting to raise some consideration regarding the pontifical documents and teachings of Saint Thomas on the forms of government included in this work [Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites].   The Concrete Usefulness of the Abstract Principles First, a reflection: These documents enunciate mainly abstract principles. Yet, many people today consider abstractions to […]

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April 26 – Mother of Good Counsel, who inspired the Albanians to resist the Turks

April 26, 2012

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 death, the Turkish army, finally […]

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April 27 – Noble Model of Confidence

April 26, 2012

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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Video – United Kingdom gun salute for the Queen’s birthday

April 23, 2012

The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired the salute at noon in Hyde Park while several other military bases across the country also carried out the tradition in honour of the Queen’s birthday. The custom dates back to the early days of sail when ships visiting foreign ports would discharge their guns before entering, proving […]

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Madame Elisabeth: the princess who confronted a Revolution

April 23, 2012

Just when a thunderstorm is about to begin, the reader may have noticed a bird seeking refuge under the branches of a tree which the lightning threatens; this dove is like the young royal maiden, who, when the Revolution broke out, was living calmly and happily at Montreuil, an angel of innocence and virtue, whose […]

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The Familial Character of Feudal Government—The King: The Father of His People

April 23, 2012

To illustrate well the familial character of the feudal government, it is advantageous to transcribe a passage from the substantial work L’Esprit Familial dans la Maison, dans la Cité et dans l’Etat [The Familial Spirit in the Home, in the City, and in the State], by Msgr. Henri Delassus, which describes the origins of that […]

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April 23 – The Original Knight in Shining Armor

April 23, 2012

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 23, 2012

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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Don John of Austria was loved as a father by his soldiers and sailors

April 19, 2012

[Don John of Austria’s] sure, sound judgment, his prudence in deciding, his frankness and courage in performing, and his firmness and energy in reprimanding and punishing revealed to all in the new leader the not unworthy son of Charles V; and his noble magnanimity towards the vanquished, his gracious compassion for the unfortunate, and his […]

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Christian Equality Does Not Suppress the Differences Among Men, but Makes of the Variety of Conditions an Admirable Harmony

April 19, 2012

From Leo XIII’s encyclical Humanum genus against Freemasonry of April 20, 1884, we draw the following passage: “Not without cause do We use this occasion to state again what We have stated elsewhere, namely, that the Third Order of Saint Francis…should be studiously promoted and sustained. “Among the many benefits to be expected from it […]

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

April 19, 2012

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

April 19, 2012

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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The Catholic Kings’ demand for payment of tribute arrears is rebuffed by Muley Abul Hassan, King of Granada

April 16, 2012

The flagrant want of faith of Muley Abul Hassan in fulfilling treaty stipulations, passed unresented during the residue of the reign of Henry the Impotent, and the truce was tacitly continued without the enforcement of tribute, during the first three years of the reign of his successors, Ferdinand and Isabella, of glorious and happy memory, […]

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The Elitist School: The discrediting of the liberal myth

April 16, 2012

Influenced by this American myth, sociologists and historians formerly simply closed their eyes to the existence of elites in our country. Vance Packard, one of the oldest representatives of what came to be known as the elitist school, writes: “Until recently, even sociologists had shrunk away from a candid exploration of social class in America. […]

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April 17 – The Cistercian Founder and Its Orders of Chivalry

April 16, 2012

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

April 16, 2012

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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Announcement – Holy Mass, Veneration of the Relic of Blessed Karl of Austria, Luncheon and Speaker

April 12, 2012

Sunday, 29 April 2012 2:00 PM (Holy Rosary and Confessions begin at 1:30 PM)St. Titus Church 952 Franklin Avenue Aliquippa, PA 15001 Celebrant: Canon Jean-Marie Moreau of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest Featuring the Duquesne University Mary Pappert School of Music Schola Cantorum Under the Direction of Sr. Marie Agatha Ozah, HHCJ […]

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Don John of Austria runs away from Court to join the Spanish fleet headed to the relief of Malta

April 12, 2012

There was nothing else talked of at the Court, or in the town, but the formidable attack of the Turks on the island of Malta, and the heroic defense made by the old Master of the Order, Jean Parissot de la Valette. The leader of the strong Ottoman squadron was Admiral Pialy, with those two […]

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Alexis de Tocqueville’s unilateral vision of America

April 12, 2012

Part of this unilateral [egalitarian] interpretation of the American reality comes from the exegesis liberal scholars made of the work of Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859). This young French aristocrat visited the United States between 1831 and 1832. In 1835 he published his celebrated work Democracy in America, which quickly became the classic reference book for […]

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April 13 – The Prince Who Defied His Family

April 12, 2012

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 12, 2012

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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The Little Barrel

April 9, 2012

(from an old French medieval tale) Between Normandy and Brittany, next to the sea, in times of old there used to be a castle so strong and so well defended that it feared no king, prince or duke of any sort. The lord that possessed it was of great stature, beautiful bearing, rich and high […]

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A Unilateral Picture of the United States – The influence of the American Myth

April 9, 2012

Throughout the [19th] century and the first half of the [20th], historical literature regarding the United States reflected diverse interpretations of the American myth.[1] According to the more radical interpretations of this myth, the United States is the “redeemer nation,”[2] entrusted with the “manifest destiny” of spreading the dominion of liberal democracy, “liberating” the nations […]

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

April 9, 2012

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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Video – Almsgiving on Maundy Thursday

April 5, 2012

If the above video does not play, you can watch it by clicking here.

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Queen Mary washes the feet of the poor on Maundy Thursday

April 5, 2012

… and on Holy Thursday, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the most Serene Queen performed the ceremony of feet-washing, thus – Her Majesty being accompanied by the Right Reverend Legate and by the Council, entered a large hall, at the head of which was my Lord Bishop of Ely as Dean (come Decano) of […]

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Queen Mary Welcomes the Sick on Good Friday

April 5, 2012

On [Good] Friday morning the offertory was performed according to custom in the Church of the Franciscan Friars, which is contiguous to the palace. After the Passion, the Queen came down from her oratory for the adoration of the Cross, accompanied by my lord the right reverend Legate, and kneeling at a short distance from […]

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April 5 – Soul on Fire

April 5, 2012

St. Vincent Ferrer Famous Dominican missionary, born at Valencia, 23 January, 1350; died at Vannes, Brittany, 5 April, 1419. He was descended from the younger of two brothers who were knighted for their valor in the conquest of Valencia, 1238. In 1340 Vincent’s father, William Ferrer, married Constantia Miguel, whose family had likewise been ennobled […]

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Holland’s Royal Gardens are abloom

April 2, 2012

The beauty of spring has arrived in the Netherlands at the world famous Keukenhof Gardens. Situated between Amsterdam and The Hague in the Bulb region, the Park is said to have approximately 7 million flower bulbs all planted by hand. The bulbs are supplied by 91 Royal Warrant Holders. Open yearly from March through May, […]

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Statue of the Blessed Virgin present at the battle of Lepanto has been found

April 2, 2012

The statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary that was on board the royal galley commanded by Don John of Austria, half brother of King Philip II of Spain, during the Battle of Lepanto, has been discovered. Our Lady of the Rosary was offered to Don John of Austria by the Venetians. Back in Spain after […]

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For Contrast: Two Royal Attitudes to Washing the Feet of the Poor

April 2, 2012

In February, he returned to Castile, arriving in time to observe Holy Week at San Lorenzo, and to wash the feet of the poor on Holy Thursday “with his usual great tenderness and humility.” On Good Friday he adored the wood of the True Cross and pardoned several men who had been condemned to death, […]

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Equality and Inequality among Men

April 2, 2012

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira A. Inequality also exists among men The observation that inequality exists in all the domains of Creation leads us to deduce that it also exists among men. Indeed, human beings are different from the tip of their toes to the summit of their souls. Fingerprints are unique to each individual […]

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Eggs Florentine – Stimulating the love of excellence in society is an important element of the nobility’s mission

April 2, 2012

When Catherine de Medici―who became Queen of France 465 years ago, on March 31, 1547―left behind her native Florence in order to marry Henry, the second son of Francis I, she brought some expert chefs with her. Their culinary productions were well received at the French court and the French nobility helped spread their fame […]

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April 4 – Mother of the Templars

April 2, 2012

Saint Aleth of Dijon (Montbard) Mother of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, she belonged to the highest nobility of Burgundy. Her husband, Tescelin, was lord of Fontaines. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux was the third of her seven children.  At the age of nine years, Bernard was sent to a much renowned school at Chatillon-sur-Seine, kept by […]

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Royal couple visit the world’s only surviving 17th century ship

April 2, 2012

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have visited the world’s only surviving 17th century ship. Admiring the Vasa warship, which sank on its maiden voyage in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1628, Camilla told King Carl XVI Gustaf: “It is very nice. Perhaps we could borrow it for the jubilee pageant. It would be […]

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April 3 – Collected the Crusader tax because he was honest with the money of others

April 2, 2012

St. Richard of Wyche Bishop and confessor, born about 1197 at Droitwich, Worcestershire, from which his surname is derived; died 3 April, 1253, at Dover. He was the second son of Richard and Alice de Wyche. His father died while he was still young and the family property fell into a state of great delapidation. […]

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April 1 – Memorial of Blessed Karl, Emperor of Austria

April 1, 2012

Crown Prince Carl Franz Joseph of Austria (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’ […]

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April 1 – Noble and Holy Constable

March 29, 2012

St. Nuno De Santa Maria Álvares Pereira (1360-1431) NUNO ÁLVARES PEREIRA was born in Portugal on 24th June 1360, most probably at Cernache do Bomjardin, illegitimate son of Brother Álvaro Gonçalves Pereira, Hospitalier Knight of St. John of Jerusalem and prior of Crato and Donna Iria Gonçalves do Carvalhal. About a year after his birth, […]

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Gonzalo de Cordoba storms Huejar to put down a Moorish insurrection

March 29, 2012

While affairs went forward so triumphantly in the capital of Granada, they excited general discontent in other parts of that kingdom, especially the wild regions of the Alpujarras. This range of maritime Alps, which stretches to the distance of seventeen leagues in a southeasterly direction from the Moorish capital, sending out its sierras like so […]

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