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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God, Exemplary Cause of the Universe

March 29, 2012

Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira The multiplicity and hierarchy of all created things manifest the marvelous order of the universe and reflect the infinite beauty of the divine Creator “God, the uncreated and infinitely beautiful Being, is reflected in a thousand ways in all other beings that He created. Accordingly, there is not even one being which in one way or another fails to reflect the uncreated beauty of God. […]

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March 29 – “I have fought for God and king, and it is for them that I am going to die”

March 29, 2012

The capture and death of the indomitable Charette On the 21st February his troop, now reduced to less than two hundred men, was attacked by General Travot, one of the ablest officers of Hoche. The Vendeans behaved with the greatest courage, but they were overwhelmed with numbers. The eldest brother of the general, Charette la […]

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March 27 – Royal Simplicity

March 28, 2012

St. Rupert (Alternative forms, RUPRECHT, Hrodperht, Hrodpreht, Roudbertus, Rudbertus, Robert, Ruprecht). First Bishop of Salzburg, contemporary of Childebert III, king of the Franks (695-711), date of birth unknown; died at Salzburg, Easter Sunday, 27 March, 718. According to an old tradition, he was a scion of the Frankish Merovingian family. The assumption of 660 as […]

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Video – Slovakian medieval castle burns down

March 26, 2012

Krasna Horka, a 14th century castle in eastern Slovakia went up in flames on Saturday. The accident is thought to have been caused by dry, cut grass that caught fire. The blaze, near Rožňava town in Kosice region, destroyed the building’s roof, as well as its interior. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/mar/11/slovakia-medieval-castle-fire-video

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Emperor Akihito having complications from heart surgery

March 26, 2012

For the second time in two weeks, HIM Emperor Akihito has had fluid drained from his chest as he recovers from heart surgery.  The Emperor reported being short of breath and was scheduled for the procedure on Tuesday at the palace.  This was the second time the Emperor has needed fluid drained since undergoing heart […]

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Of His Kingdom, there shall be no end

March 26, 2012

The Annunciation, by Father Thomas de Saint-Laurent Out of love for us, the Eternal Word was made flesh in the chaste womb of Mary. His plan was marvelously arranged. From all eternity, He chose a man after His heart who would be the virginal spouse of His divine Mother, His adopted father on earth, and […]

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Alone, Marie Antoinette confronts the revolutionary mob

March 26, 2012

Not everyone in Versailles enjoyed this truce in the night between the 5th and 6th of October. Everything was at rest, except crime. The revolt had not yet completed its task; and these demons, these disguised brigands, who were shouting for bread when their pockets were full of gold, had not yet earned their pay. […]

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Frequently, great institutions are not overthrown, they self-destruct

March 26, 2012

The end of governments is seldom a natural one; it is generally a suicide. They generally perish because, while they possess the force of right, they hesitate to use the right of force. A sort of madness leads them to lay down their arms, to spike their guns, to dismantle their fortresses, and to surrender, […]

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March 28 – Grandson of King Clovis

March 26, 2012

St. Gontran, King and Confessor He was son of King Clotaire, and grandson of Clovis I and St. Clotilda. Being the second son, whilst his brothers Charibert reigned at Paris, and Sigebert in Austrasia, residing at Metz, he was crowned King of Orleans and Burgundy in 661, making Challons on the Saone his capital. When […]

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St. Louis IX in the exercise of justice

March 22, 2012

He had arranged his business in such a fashion, that my lord of Nesle and the good Count of Soissons, and we others who were about his person after hearing mass used to go and listen to the Pleas of the Gate (which they call now “Petitions”). And when he came back from the minster, […]

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Detaching oneself from the past causes uneasiness, anxiety, and instability

March 22, 2012

From the homily of Paul VI during a Mass he celebrated in the patriarchal basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls on November 2, 1963:   “We are accustomed to looking ahead, ignoring the merits of yesterday; we are not lavish in gratitude, in memory, in consistency toward our past, nor in the respect and […]

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March 23 – Noble Missionary

March 22, 2012

St. Toribio Alfonso Mogrovejo (aka St. Alphonsus Turibius) Archbishop of Lima; b. at Mayorga, León, Spain, 1538; d. near Lima Peru, 23 March 1606. Of noble family and highly educated, he was professor of laws at the University of Salamanca, where his learning and virtue led to his appointment as Grand Inquisitor of Spain by […]

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March 22 – He fought with rosary in one hand and sword in the other

March 22, 2012

St. Nicholas of Flüe, patron of: -Pontifical Swiss Guards  -Switzerland -difficult marriages -large families -judges

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March 19 – Jesus, Mary and Joseph Were Born of Royal Stock

March 19, 2012

From a sermon of Saint Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444) about Saint Joseph: Firstly, let us consider the nobility of the bride, that is, the Most Holy Virgin. The Blessed Virgin was more noble than any other creature that had been born in human form, that could be or could have been begotten. For Saint Matthew […]

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March 19 – Saint Joseph, Martyr of Grandeur

March 19, 2012

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira To have an idea of what Saint Joseph—the Patron of the Church—was like, we must consider two prodigious facts: he was the foster father of the Child Jesus and he was the spouse of Our Lady. The husband must be proportional to the wife. Now who is Our Lady? She […]

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For 400 years his family had shown honor on the battlefield

March 19, 2012

Meanwhile the news, carried by the courier, had run through the castle and village with many added details. The abdication of the Emperor was already a fact, and despoiled of all his power Charles V had embarked at Flushing for Spain, in order to shut himself up for the rest of his days in the […]

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March 20 – Vendor of Learning

March 19, 2012

St. Clement of Ireland Also known as Clemens Scotus (not to be confounded with Claudius Clemens). Born in Ireland, towards the middle of the eighth century, died perhaps in France, probably after 818. About the year 771 he set out for France. His biographer, an Irish monk of St. Gall, who wrote his Acts, dedicated […]

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March 20 – St. Wulfram

March 19, 2012

St. Wulfram Bishop of Sens, missionary in Frisi, born at Milly near Fontainebleau, probably during the reign of Clovis II (638-56); died 20 March, before 704, in which year a translation of his body took place (Duchesne, “Fastes épiscopaux de l’ancienne Gaule”, II, Paris, 1900, 413). His father Fulbert stood high in the esteem of […]

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