Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: Distinguished Apostle, Ardent and Intrepid Polemist

October 3, 2011

by Bernardino Cardinal Echeverría Ruiz, O.F.M. The unexpected news of the death of Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira has moved us to ponder some chapters of his life and to reflect that the more intense the evils of an epoch, the more exceptional are the figures Divine Providence calls to face them. It is a reflection […]

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Who Fights for Us?

October 3, 2011

Some Americans continue to believe that the military is overwhelmingly composed of those with no other options. Charlie Rangel: “No young, bright individual wants to fight just because of a bonus and just because of educational benefits. And most all of them come from communities of very, very high unemployment. If a young fella has […]

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Frederick II, the beginning of the decline for chivalry

October 3, 2011

Although Frederick was Emperor of Germany through his father Henry VI, in spirit and moral outlook he had more in common with the Moslems and Sicilians with whom he spent his formative years. Possessing high intelligence and enormous energy, he was also beset by instability and a passionate nature that he rarely brought under self-control. […]

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October 4 – You Want Chivalry? A More Heavenly Chivalry? Try This.

October 3, 2011

The Last Will and Testament of St. Francis of Assisi This is how God inspired me, Brother Francis, to embark upon a life of penance. When I was in sin, the sight of lepers nauseated me beyond measure; but then God himself led me into their company, and I had pity on them. When I […]

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October 3 – What does a pious soldier do after a difficult assignment?

October 3, 2011

St. Gérard, Abbot of Brogne Born at Staves in the county of Namur, towards the end of the ninth century; died at Brogne or St-Gérard, 3 Oct. 959. The son of Stance, of the family of dukes of Lower Austrasia, and of Plectrude, sister of Stephen, Bishop of Liège, the young Gérard, like most men […]

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September 30 – The cantankerous noble who became a saint

September 29, 2011

St. Jerome, Father and Doctor of the Church Born at Stridon, a town on the confines of Dalmatia and Pannonia, about the year 340-2; died at Bethlehem, 30 September, 420. He had a brother much younger than himself, whose name was Paulinian. His father, called Eusebius, was descended from a good family, and had a […]

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September 29 – Who inspired Chivalry?

September 29, 2011

Saint Michael the Archangel: “Who is like God?” In Hebraic, mîkâ’êl, means “Who is like God?” The Scriptures refer to the Archangel Saint Michael in four different passages: two of them, in Daniel’s prophesy (chap. 10, 13 and 21; and chap. 12, 1); one in Saint Jude Thaddeus (single chapter, vers. 9) and, finally, in […]

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The destruction of the order par excellence

September 29, 2011

[previous] E: The destruction of the order par excellence Indeed, the order of things being destroyed is medieval Christendom. Now, medieval Christendom was not just any order, or merely one of many possible orders. It was the realization, in the circumstances inherent to the times and places, of the only authentic order among men, namely, […]

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The standard-bearer who was honored with a reprimand

September 29, 2011

One incident in the battle [of Renty] is worth recalling. The Duke’s standard-bearer M. de Saint-Phal, had started before the signal, and ridden ahead farther than he should have. The Duke [Francis, Duke of Guise], greatly vexed, galloped after him and struck him a sharp blow on the helmet to stop him. M. de Saint-Phal […]

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Video of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 (Part 5/7)

September 29, 2011

Previous segments: Part 4 Part 3 Part 2 Part 1

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September 29 – In battle or in prison, he never missed Mass

September 29, 2011

Blessed Charles of Blois (1320- September 29, 1364) Charles is the son of Guy I of Blois-Châtillon, count of Blois, by Margaret of Valois, a sister of king Philip VI of France. Early in life, he felt a call to be a Franciscan friar, but political duty kept him in secular life. Following his marriage […]

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El Cid: A living legend who was the beating heart of the Spanish Reconquista

September 26, 2011

The Reconquest of Spain from the Moslem occupation suffered several setbacks and reversals. But in the darkest hours, a selfless hero always arose to stem an impending onslaught. Such a danger threatened the Spanish Christians late in the eleventh century when a fanatical horde of North African Berbers invaded the peninsula. An overwhelming disaster was […]

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Announcement: Votive Mass of Blessed Karl, Lecture of Archduke Carl-Christian

September 26, 2011

St. Mary, Mother of God Church in Washington, D.C. will celebrate the Feast Day of Blessed Emperor Karl of Austria with a traditional Latin Solemn High Mass on Friday, October 21, at 7:30 p.m. After the Mass there will be a reception downstairs, with refreshments and a program about Blessed Karl. This is the fourth […]

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Tradition is a fertile patrimony, an inheritance that must be preserved

September 26, 2011

From an allocution of Paul VI to his fellow countrymen of Brescia, September 26, 1970: “Allow a fellow-citizen of yours from yesterday to render homage to one of the most precious values of human life, and one of the most neglected in our day: tradition. It is a fertile patrimony, a heritage to be preserved. […]

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September 27 – These exemplary nobles personified virtue

September 26, 2011

Saint Elzéar of Sabran, Count of Arian, and Saint Delphina of Glandenes St. Elzear (also spelled Eleazarus) was descended of the ancient and illustrious family of Sabran, in Provence; his father, Hermengaud of Sabran, was created count of Arian (Ariano), in the kingdom of Naples; his mother was Lauduna of Albes, a family no less […]

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Pride and Egalitarianism

September 22, 2011

[previous] A. Pride and Egalitarianism The proud person, subject to another’s authority, hates first of all the particular yoke that weighs upon him. In a second stage, the proud man hates all authority in general and all yokes, and, even more, the very principle of authority considered in the abstract. Because he hates all authority, […]

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Louis XV foregoes entertainment to prevent an officer’s suffering

September 22, 2011

  An Army officer of Louis XV who had spent his fortune in the King’s service asked His Majesty for 1,000 golden louises to replace what he had spent, thus enabling him to continue fighting. The king promised that his request would be granted, but the Treasurer said he did not have sufficient funds. The […]

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Video of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 (Part 4/7)

September 22, 2011

Previous segments: Part 3 Part 2 Part 1

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September 23 – He ensured the immunity of non-combatants in warfare

September 22, 2011

St. Adamnan of Ireland, Abbot He was the eighth in descent from the great Nial, king of Ireland, and from Conal the Great, ancestor of St. Columbkille. His parents were eminent for their rank and virtue. He was born in the year 626, at Rathboth, (1) now called Raphoe, in the county of Donegal, and […]

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Mary of Modena, the Princess who wanted to become a nun, but was asked by the Pope to marry James II of England

September 19, 2011

Another voice, the most august of all, was now to break silence. The arguments of Kings, Cardinals, Ambassadors, and of her own family had failed to shake the purpose or convince the mind of the young Princess. Moved by a desire to benefit the Catholics of England, and as much perhaps by the solicitations of […]

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The Liberty and Equality Spread by the French Revolution: Fallacious Concepts Disseminated by Most-Perfidious Philosophers

September 19, 2011

Pius VI repeatedly condemned the false concept of liberty and equality. In the Secret Consistory of June 17, 1793, quoting the words of the encyclical Inscrutabilie Divinae Sapientiae of December 25, 1775, he declared: “‘The most perfidious philosophers go farther. They dissolve all those bonds by which human beings are joined to one another and […]

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September 19 – She begged to ransom Christian captives

September 19, 2011

Blessed Mary de Cervellione (or De Cervello) Popularly styled “de Socos” (of Help) Saint, born about 1230 at Barcelona; died there 19 September, 1290. She was a daughter of a Spanish nobleman named William de Cervellon. One day she heard a sermon preached by Blessed Bernard de Corbarie, the superior of the Brotherhood of Our […]

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September 20 – Court preacher to Charles V

September 19, 2011

Saint Alonso de Orozco Mena Alphonsus de Orozco was born in Oropesa, Province of Toledo, Spain, on the 17th of October 1500, where his father was governor of the local castle. He began his studies in the nearby Talavera de la Reina and for three years he was a choir boy in the Cathedral of […]

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RIP HIRH Archduke Felix – forever in the hearts of Austrians

September 15, 2011

Archduke Felix of Austria (given names: Felix Friedrich August Maria vom Siege Franz Joseph Peter Karl Anton Robert Otto Pius Michael Benedikt Sebastian Ignatius Marcus d’Aviano; 31 May 1916 – 6 September 2011) was the last surviving child of the last Austrian Emperor Charles I and a member of the House of Hapsburg-Lorraine. He was […]

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The various aspects of revolutionary radical and metaphysical egalitarianism

September 15, 2011

[previous] a. Equality between men and God. Pantheism, immanentism, and all esoteric forms of religion aim to place God and men on an equal footing and to invest the latter with divine properties. An atheist is an egalitarian who, to avoid the absurdity of affirming that man is God, commits the absurdity of declaring that […]

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September 15 – The noble apostle of purgatory

September 15, 2011

St. Catherine of Genoa (also known as Caterina Fieschi Adorno.) Born at Genoa in 1447, died at the same place 15 September, 1510. The life of St. Catherine of Genoa may be more properly described as a state than as a life in the ordinary sense. When about twenty-six years old she became the subject […]

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The second Earl of Stair gives precedence to the Blessed Sacrament

September 15, 2011

While British Ambassador to the court of France, John Dalrymple, second Earl of Stair, forbade his coachman to give right of way to any other vehicle whatsoever. One day he came across a carriage carrying the Blessed Sacrament and his coachman asked: — “Your Lordship, would you be so kind as to allow passage for […]

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Video of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II 1953 (Part 3/7)

September 15, 2011

Previous segments: Part 2 Part 1

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September 16 – The pope who exacted tribute from the Mohammedan ruler of Tunis

September 15, 2011

Pope Blessed Victor III Born in 1026 or 1027 of a non-regnant branch of the Lombard dukes of Benevento; died in Rome, 16 Sept., 1087. Being an only son his desire to embrace the monastic state was strenuously opposed by both his parents. After his father’s death in battle with the Normans, 1047, he fled […]

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I Have Found the Precious Pearl of the Gospel

September 12, 2011

João Filipe Osório de Menezes Pita Count of Proença-a-Velha Born in Lisbon in 1928 It was with enormous joy that I accepted the invitation to collaborate with this book dedicated to outline some facets of the personality and work of Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. I never met him personally, which is an immense pity, […]

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September 12 – The Holy Name of the Virgin Mary; in thanksgiving for the victory over the Turks at Vienna

September 12, 2011

The Festival of the Holy Name of the Virgin Mary Pope Innocent XI extended this feast to the universal Church as a solemn thanksgiving for the relief of Vienna, when it was besieged by the Turks in 1683. The Turks had formerly laid siege to Vienna, under Solyman the Magnificent, in 1529, in the reign […]

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A secret unveiled by fire: Don John was the Emperor’s son

September 12, 2011

[Luis Quijada] found nothing changed in Villagarcia, Doña Magdalena was still the model of all virtues and the helper of the poor, and Jeromín [Don John of Austria] the joy of the castle and the sun which shed light and movement and happiness around him. An extraordinary event occurred at this time to strengthen more […]

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In Honor of the 1683 Battle of Vienna

September 12, 2011

To celebrate the victory of 1683 over the Turks, the bakers of Vienna designed a cake in the shape of a turban, which was the Sultan’s headdress. Sometimes this recipe is spelled Gugelhupf, which literally means “ball head.” (The Austrians write it Kugelhupf.) It soon became quite popular throughout Europe when the Emperor of Austria, […]

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Video – Sobieski at Vienna 1683

September 12, 2011

Before he set out, Sobieski had sent a letter to Innocent XI, in which he wrote: “When the good of the Church and Christianity is concerned I shed my blood to the last drop, together with the whole kingdom. Since my kingdom and I are two bulwarks of Christianity”. To commemorate Sobieski’s victory Pope Innocent […]

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September 8 – The Blessed Virgin Mary descended from King David

September 8, 2011

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

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The King of Italy sends an ultimatum to Blessed Pope Pius IX

September 8, 2011

As the French military situation deteriorated [in the Franco-Prussian War], the government in Florence grew bolder. Near the end of August [1870], the Italian cabinet issued a circular letter to all the governments of Europe, in which it declared that the time had come to end the Roman Question. On the one hand, the document […]

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Nobility of Blood Is a Powerful Stimulus for the Practice of Virtue

September 8, 2011

From the magnificent sermon of Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), Archbishop of Milan, on the feast of Our Lady, September 8, 1584: “The beginning of the Holy Gospel written by Saint Matthew, which was proclaimed to you from this place a short while ago by Holy Mother Church, inspires us above all to examine attentively the […]

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Video – Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 (Part 2/7)

September 8, 2011
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Maybe a smart king could help

September 8, 2011

On the morning the French celebrate the founding of their republic, Paris was silent. We were practically alone on the metro.   “What are you doing for July 14th?” we asked a colleague. “Nothing. I don’t celebrate it. It’s nothing to celebrate. I only recognise religious holidays. France would have been better off without the […]

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The Abuse of Liberty and Equality Leads to Socialism and Communism

September 5, 2011

In his encyclical Nostis et nobiscum of December 8, 1849, Pius IX denounces a false understanding of these words. “As regards this teaching and these theories [about distancing the peoples of Italy from obedience to the Pope and the Holy See], it is now generally known that the special goal of their proponents is to […]

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

September 5, 2011

Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 106

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After Two Centuries, US House of Representatives Page Program Ended

September 5, 2011

August 31, 2011, marked the last day of the United States House of Representatives Page Program, a tradition nearly as old as Congress itself. “According to the House of Representatives Page Program website, the history of the pages themselves goes back to the first Continental Congress of 1774 (though they were not called ‘pages’ until […]

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September 5 – Unashamed to beg alms from his family

September 5, 2011

St. Laurence Justinian, Bishop and Confessor, First Patriarch of Venice (also known as Laurence Giustiniani, Lawrence Justinian, Lorenzo Giustiniani) A.D. 1455. St. Laurence was born at Venice, in 1380. His father Bernardi Justiniani (1) held an illustrious rank among the prime nobility of the commonwealth; nor was the extraction of his mother Querini less noble. […]

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Video – Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 (Part 1/7)

September 1, 2011

Other segments: Part 3 Part 2 Part 1

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Their sole “crime” was having sheltered a priest

September 1, 2011

Notwithstanding the danger with which the least kindness shown to any royalist or Catholic was attended, there were not a few of the inhabitants of Nantes who braved the fury of the terrorists, and concealed in their houses both priests and insurgents. A touching story is told of the devotion of two young ladies to […]

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Revolution, Counter-Revolution, and Dictatorship

September 1, 2011

[previous] F. Revolution, Counter-Revolution, and Dictatorship These considerations on the position of the Revolution and of Catholic thought concerning forms of government may lead some readers to inquire whether dictatorship is a revolutionary or a counter-revolutionary factor. To provide a clear answer to this question—to which many confused and even tendentious replies have been given—it […]

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

September 1, 2011

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

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Prince of Prussia marries in Potsdam – Video and Pictures

August 29, 2011

Georg Friedrich Prince of Prussia and Princess Sophie von Isenburg were married in front of 650 guests at on the grounds of the Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam on Saturday for Germany’s own “royal” wedding. The guests included nobility from around the world, as well as famous individuals from society and politics. To read more, click […]

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The panache of a French grenadier

August 29, 2011

While inspecting a battalion of his guard in the company of the ambassador of Great Britain—a country with a tradition of warring against France in numerous conflicts—Louis XIV commented: —    “These are the bravest soldiers in my kingdom. There is not one who is not covered with scars.” —    “But Sire, what do you say […]

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A Certain Democracy Goes So Far in Perversity as to Attribute Sovereignty to the People in Society and to Aim at the Suppression and Leveling of the Classes

August 29, 2011

From the apostolic letter Notre charge apostolique of Saint Pius X, August 25, 1910: “The Sillon, impelled by an ill-understood love of the weak, has fallen into error. “In effect, the Sillon puts forward as a programme the elevation and regeneration of the working classes. But in this matter the principles of Catholic doctrine are […]

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August 30 – She smuggled a priest out of prison

August 29, 2011

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

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August 30 – Saved by the cross

August 29, 2011

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

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August 25 – The King who would rather die than sin

August 25, 2011

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

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

August 25, 2011

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

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Charles V and the banker

August 25, 2011

The Emperor set out from Valladolid on the 4th of November, 1556, at half-past three in the afternoon, after having dined in public, and forbidding absolutely that anyone besides his servants should take leave of him beyond the Puerta del Campo. In this second march he took an escort of cavalry and forty halberdiers. The […]

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The Error of Le Sillon: Only Democracy Will Usher in the Reign of Perfect Justice

August 25, 2011

previous Saint Pius X says in the apostolic letter Notre charge apostolique (August 25, 1910): “The Sillon* …therefore, sows amongst your Catholic youth erroneous and fatal notions upon authority, liberty and obedience. The same is to be said with regard to justice and equality. It strives, it says, to attain an era of equality, which, […]

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Two heroic deaths honor nobility of blood and nobility of soul

August 22, 2011

  Madame de Jourdain perished in the noyades with her three daughters. A republican rushed to save the youngest who was of remarkable beauty. He seized her as she was about to be precipitated from the boat, but she burst from his grasp into the river. Falling, however, on a heap of corpses, she cried […]

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

August 22, 2011

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

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August 22 – The Queenship of Mary

August 22, 2011

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

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Navy, air force going ‘royal’ once again

August 22, 2011

The Canadian navy and air force are going back to their royal roots. “The three branches of the armed forces will drop the bureaucratic bafflegab monikers Maritime Command, Air Command and Land Force Command and will officially revert to Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Army, respectively, names that ceased to be […]

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