Funeral of Queen Elizabeth: Video Highlights

September 15, 2022

Some video highlights of the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II: King Charles III leads procession behind Queen’s coffin The Queen’s journey from Balmoral to Edinburgh Queen Elizabeth II: Cortege met by cheers at Buckingham Palace  

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Pope Francis and Queen Elizabeth: Parallel Reigns

September 15, 2022

by Antoine Bellion September 14, 2022 Pope Francis and Elizabeth belong more or less to the same generation. The pope is eighty-five years old. The queen has just passed away at the venerable age of ninety-six. Both were marked by twentieth-century tragedies: the Second World War for Princess Elizabeth and the dictatorship for José-Mario Bergoglio. […]

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More French Nobles Sacrifice Themselves For Quebec’s Christianization

September 15, 2022

At the end of August, 1643, a vessel arrived at Villemarie with a reinforcement commanded by Louis d’Ailleboust de Coulonges, a pious gentleman of Champagne, and one of the Associates of Montreal. Some years before, he had asked in wedlock the hand of Barbe de Boulogne; but the young lady had, when a child, in […]

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Family Lineages: Behold What Historians Fail to Emphasise

September 15, 2022

[previous] We were facing one of the primordial events in the history of mankind. When these semi-civilised tribes were pushed toward the hills and behind the swamps, a series of family lineages was born. This is a fact that historians fail to emphasise sufficiently. A lineage is something very different from a family. What is […]

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

September 15, 2022

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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September 16 – St. Cyprian of Carthage

September 15, 2022

St. Cyprian of Carthage (Thaschus Cæcilius Cyprianus). Bishop and martyr. Of the date of the saint’s birth and of his early life nothing is known. At the time of his conversion to Christianity he had, perhaps, passed middle life. He was famous as an orator and pleader, had considerable wealth, and held, no doubt, a […]

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September 16 – Wilton Abbey and its patroness St. Edith

September 15, 2022

A Benedictine convent in Wiltshire, England, three miles from Salisbury. A first foundation was made as a college of secular priests by Earl Wulstan of Wiltshire, about 773, but was after his death (800) changed into a convent for 12 nuns by his widow, St. Alburga, sister of King Egbert. Owing to the consent given […]

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September 17 – Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi

September 15, 2022

Early in August, 1224, Francis retired with three companions to “that rugged rock ‘twixt Tiber and Arno”, as Dante called La Verna, there to keep a forty days fast in preparation for Michaelmas. During this retreat the sufferings of Christ became more than ever the burden of his meditations; into few souls, perhaps, had the […]

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September 17 – St. Peter of Arbues

September 15, 2022

(Correctly, PETER ARBUES). Born in 1441 (or 1442); died 17 Sept., 1485. His father, a nobleman, was Antonio Arbues, and his mother’s name was Sancia Ruiz. He studied philosophy, probably at Huesca, but later went to Bologna, where in the Spanish college of St. Clement he was regarded as a model of learning and piety, […]

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September 17 – Noble calm in all controversy, even when correcting the pope

September 15, 2022

St. Robert Francis Romulus Bellarmine (Also, “Bellarmino”). A distinguished Jesuit theologian, writer, and cardinal, born at Montepulciano, 4 October, 1542; died 17 September, 1621. His father was Vincenzo Bellarmino, his mother Cinthia Cervini, sister of Cardinal Marcello Cervini, afterwards Pope Marcellus II. He was brought up at the newly founded Jesuit college in his native […]

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September 17 – Greatly venerated even during her life

September 15, 2022

St. Hildegard Born at Böckelheim on the Nahe, 1098; died on the Rupertsberg near Bingen, 1179; feast 17 September. The family name is unknown of this great seeress and prophetess, called the Sibyl of the Rhine. The early biographers give the first names of her parents as Hildebert and Mechtildis (or Mathilda), speak of their […]

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September 18 – His funeral was the first time the US Congress went to Mass

September 15, 2022

Phillippe-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Tronson Du Coudray Soldier, born at Reims, France, 8 September, 1738; died at Philadelphia, U.S.A., 11 September, 1777. He was educated for the army and showed great merit as an engineer. He was adjutant­ general of artillery and considered one of the best military experts in France when, in 1776, he volunteered to go to […]

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September 19 – The Pope asks Princess Mary to marry James II of England

September 15, 2022

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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September 19 – She begged donations to ransom Christian captives

September 15, 2022

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 19 – St. Januarius

September 15, 2022

St. Januarius Martyr, Bishop of Beneventum. St. Januarius is believed to have suffered in the persecution of Diocletian, c. 305. With regard to the history of his life and martyrdom, we know next to nothing. The various collections of “Acts”, though numerous (cf. Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina, n. 4115-4140), are all extremely late and untrustworthy. Bede […]

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September 13 – He had a mouth of gold

September 12, 2022

St. John Chrysostom (Chrysostomos, “golden-mouthed” so called on account of his eloquence). Doctor of the Church, born at Antioch, c. 347; died at Commana in Pontus, 14 September, 407. John — whose surname “Chrysostom” occurs for the first time in the “Constitution” of Pope Vigilius (cf. P.L., LX, 217) in the year 553 — is […]

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September 14 – Formerly a sign of abject disgrace, it now adorns even crowns and crests

September 12, 2022

The Cross could not be decently mentioned amongst Romans, who looked upon it as an unlucky omen, and as Cicero says, not to be named by a freeman. However, the Emperor Constantine attributed his victory in the Quintian fields, near the bridge Milvius, to the Cross of the Christians, the inscription of which he caused […]

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September 14 – His gallant defeat saved Canada from the French Revolution

September 12, 2022

Marquis de Louis-Joseph Montcalm-Gozon A French general, born 28 Feb., 1712, at Candiac, of Louis-Daniel and Marie-Thérèse de Lauris; died at Quebec 14 Sept., 1759. He was descended from Gozon, Grand Master of Rhodes of legendary fame, The warlike spirit of his ancestors had given rise to the saying: “War is the tomb of the […]

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September 15 – Grandmother of Good King Wenceslaus

September 12, 2022

St. Ludmilla Wife of Boriwoi, the first Christian Duke of Bohemia, born at Mielnik, circa 860; died at Tetin, near Beraun, 15 September, 921. She and her husband were baptized, probably by St. Methodius, in 871. Pagan fanatics drove them from their country, but they were soon recalled, and after reigning seven more years they […]

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September 15 – This Saint Felt the Pains of Purgatory

September 12, 2022

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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We Mourn the Queen

September 9, 2022

By John Horvat II April 21, 1926 – September 8, 2022 An era has ended. Queen Elizabeth II is dead, and the world mourns. We can say that the twentieth century officially ended as the last pillar of the postwar order fell. The Queen had her defects. In remembering her, some decry many of her […]

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How El Cid Tuned a Cowardly Knight Into a Hero

September 8, 2022

At this time Martin Pelaez came with a caravan of laden animals, bringing provisions to the army of the Cid; and as he passed near the town [Valencia], the Moors came out in great numbers and attacked him to get the food he carried. But though Martin had few men with him, he drove them […]

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The Family at the Origin of Feudalism – Continued

September 8, 2022

[previous] The head of the family reigned as absolute master. He was called—this is the word to be found in documents of the period—“Sire”; his wife, the mother of the family, was called “dame,” domina. The family lived in its fortified residence. Men toiled, loved, and died in the same spot where they had been […]

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September 9 – Wife of a dissolute husband

September 8, 2022

Blessed Seraphina Sforza Born at Urbino about 1434; died at Pesaro, 8 September, 1478. Her parents were Guido Antonio of Montefeltro, Count of Urbino, and Cattarina Colonna. She was brought up at Rome by her maternal uncle, Martin V. In 1448 Seraphina married Alexander Sforza, Lord of Pesaro. Ten years afterwards her husband gave himself […]

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September 9 – St. Omer

September 8, 2022

St. Omer Born of a distinguished family towards the close of the sixth or the beginning of the seventh century, at Guldendal, Switzerland; died c. 670. After the death of his mother, he, with his father, entered the monastery of Luxeuil in the Diocese of Besançon probably about 615. Under the direction of Saint Eustachius, […]

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September 10 – Model of chastity

September 8, 2022

St. Nicholas of Tolentino Born at Sant’ Angelo, near Fermo, in the March of Ancona, about 1246; d. 10 September, 1306. He is depicted in the black habit of the Hermits of St. Augustine — a star above him or on his breast, a lily, or a crucifix garlanded with lilies, in his hand. Sometimes, […]

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September 10 – They always carried a copy of his Bible in battle

September 8, 2022

St. Finnian of Moville Born about 495; died 589. Though not so celebrated as his namesake of Clonard, he was the founder of a famous school about the year 540. He studied under St. Colman of Dromore and St. Mochae of Noendrum (Mahee Island), and subsequently at Candida Casa (Whithern), whence he proceeded to Rome, […]

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September 10 – Arrested while preaching

September 8, 2022

St. Edward Ambrose Barlow (Alias RADCLIFFE and BRERETON.) Priest and martyr, born at Barlow Hall, 1585; died 10 September, 1641. He was the fourth son of Sir Alexander Barlow, Knight of Barlow Hall, near Manchester, by Mary, daughter of Sir Uryan Brereton, Knight of Handforth Hall, Co. Chester, and was baptized at Didsbury Church 30 […]

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September 10 – St. Pulcheria, Empress, and her husband Marcian

September 8, 2022

St. Pulcheria Empress of the Eastern Roman Empire, eldest daughter of the Emperor Arcadius, born 19 Jan., 399; died in 453. After the death of Arcadius (408), her younger brother, Theodosius II, then only seven, became emperor under the guardianship of Anthimus. Pulcheria had matured early and had great administrative ability; she soon exerted salutary […]

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September 11 – Prince Eugen of Savoy crushes the Turks at Zenta

September 8, 2022

Although his men had already done a forced march of over ten hours that day, Eugen gave the order to advance and then galloped ahead to see the scene at first hand. He spotted how, just above the bridge on the near side of the river, the water was shallow with a sandbank leading up […]

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September 11 – His fame will last forever as that of a gallant soldier and a true Christian

September 8, 2022

Louis-Christophe-Leon Juchault de la Moricière French general and commander-in-chief of the papal army, b. at Nantes, 5 February, 1806; d. at the château of Prouzel, near Amiens, 11 September, 1865. His father was descended from an old Breton family whose device was Spes mea Deus. His mother was Desirée de Robineau de Bougon. He made […]

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September 11 – Italian army invades the Papal State without a declaration of war

September 8, 2022

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

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September 11 – Burned slowly to death at Nagasaki

September 8, 2022

Blessed Charles Spinola Born in Genoa in 1564, he was the son of the Count of Tassarolo, and the nephew of Cardinal Philip Spinola. He was educated in Spain and in the Jesuit school in Nola, Italy. He entered the noviatiate in 1584, and was ordained in 1594. In 1596, he received a letter appointing […]

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The Great Siege of Malta, May 18–September 11, 1565, was won because of one man: Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette

September 8, 2022

On the morning of August 18th the excessively heavy bombardment of Senglea warned them that an attack was imminent. It was not slow to develop. The moment that the rumble of the guns died down, the Iayalars and Janissaries were seen streaming forward across the no-man’s-land to the south. The attack developed in the same […]

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

September 8, 2022

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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Video – Redefeating the Turks: the Battle of Vienna, September 12, 1683

September 8, 2022

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 12 – Simon de Montfort Crushes the Albigensians at Muret

September 8, 2022

At the Battle of Muret on 12 September 1213 the Crusading army of Simon IV de Montfort defeated the Catharist, Aragonese and Catalan forces of Peter II of Aragon, at Muret near Toulouse. Simon IV de Montfort was the leader of the Albigensian Crusade to destroy the Cathar heresy and incidentally to join the Languedoc […]

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September 6 – Blessed Thomas Tsuji

September 5, 2022

Born to the Japanese nobility in Sonogi on the island of Kyushu about the year 1571. Educated by Jesuits at Arima, he joined the Society of Jesus in 1587. He traveled all over Japan and became known for his eloquent, persuasive preaching. After the publication of an edict banning Catholic priests, he followed eighty of […]

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September 7 – The Corbie brothers

September 5, 2022

Corbie, Ambrose, (Corby or Corbington), b. near Durham, 7 Dec., 1604; d. at Rome, 11 April, 1649. He was the fourth son of Gerald Corbie and his wife Isabella Richardson, exiles for the Faith. Of their children, Ambrose, Ralph, and Robert, having become Jesuits (Richard died as a student at St-Omers, and the two surviving […]

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September 7 – The Outrage of Anagni

September 5, 2022

It had been the practice to speak of the spiritual and temporal powers in terms of pope and emperor, and it was long before it was realized, at least on the papal side, that the civil power, defeated as emperor, had returned to the attack with more aggressive vigour as the Monarchy and the State. […]

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

September 5, 2022

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September 7 – Grandson of Queen St. Clotilda

September 5, 2022

St. Cloud, Confessor A.D. 560. St. Cloud, called in Latin Chlodoardus, is the first and most illustrious saint among the princes of the royal family of the first race in France. He was son of Chlodomir, king of Orleans, the eldest son of St. Clotilda, and was born in 522. He was scarcely three years […]

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September 7 – Milkos Zrinyi

September 5, 2022

Milkos Zrinyi Count, a Hungarian soldier, born in 1518, killed at Sziget, near the Brave, Sept. 7, 1566. When only 12 years old, Charles V. gave him a gold chain for his conduct during the siege of Vienna. He afterward became ban of Croatia, and at the siege of Sziget with 8,000 men he resisted […]

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September 8 – The Davidic ancestry of Mary

September 5, 2022

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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September 8 – He added the Agnus Dei to the Mass

September 5, 2022

Pope St. Sergius I (Reigned 687-701), date of birth unknown; consecrated probably on 15 Dec., 687; died 8 Sept., 701. While Pope Conon lay dying, the archdeacon Pascal offered the exarch a large sum to bring about his election as his successor. Through the exarch’s influence the archdeacon was accordingly elected by a number of […]

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Nobles, Commoners, and Indians Mix in Early Quebec

September 1, 2022

Now let the stranger enter the church of Notre-Dame de la Recouvrance, after vespers. It is full, to the very porch—officers in slouched hats and plumes, musketeers, pikemen, mechanics, and laborers.  Here is [Charles Jacques Huault de] Montmagny himself; Repentigny and Poterie, gentlemen of good birth; damsels of nurture ill-fitted to the Canadian woods; and, […]

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The Family at the Origin of Feudalism

September 1, 2022

[previous] Chapter 2 When the Roman Empire was at its apogee of earthly splendour and glory, when it was renowned for its administrative and judicial institutions, its cities were linked by roads that are an engineering feat, some of which still survive. These roads permitted troops to defend the Empire’s borders and to keep the […]

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

September 1, 2022

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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September 3 – Her Only Crime Was Her Attachment To The Queen

September 1, 2022

Amidst all the terrible scenes which occurred at these awful September massacres¹, none are so shocking as the murder of the Princess de Lamballe. Her sincere attachment to Marie Antoinette was her only crime. She had played no political part in the agitations of those times, and she was known to the people only by […]

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September 3 – All the principles of Catholicism can be found in his life

September 1, 2022

Pope St. Gregory I (“the Great”) Doctor of the Church; born at Rome about 540; died 12 March 604. Gregory is certainly one of the most notable figures in Ecclesiastical History. He has exercised in many respects a momentous influence on the doctrine, the organization, and the discipline of the Catholic Church. To him we […]

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September 3 – St. Hereswitha

September 1, 2022

St. Hereswitha (HAERESVID, HERESWYDE). Daughter of Hereric and Beorhtswith and sister of St. Hilda of Whitby. She was the wife of Aethelhere, King of East Anglia, to whom she bore two sons, Aldwulf and Alfwold. By the “Liber Eliensis” she is stated to have been the wife of King Anna, the elder brother of King […]

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September 4 – She predicted the speedy death of the emperor

September 1, 2022

St. Rose of Viterbo (also Rosalia, and in Sicily affectionately nicknamed La Santuzza) Virgin, born at Viterbo, 1235; died 6 March, 1252. The chronology of her life must always remain uncertain, as the Acts of her canonization, the chief historical sources, record no dates. Those given above are accepted by the best authorities… Read more […]

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September 4 – Pope Saint Boniface I

September 1, 2022

Pope Saint Boniface I Elected 28 December, 418, he died at Rome, 4 September, 422. Little is known of his life antecedent to his election. The “Liber Pontificalis” calls him a Roman, and the son of the presbyter Jocundus. He is believed to have been ordained by Pope Damasus I (366-384) and to have served […]

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September 5 – The Iroquois clamoured for his return

September 1, 2022

Pierre de Lauzon A noted missionary of New France in the eighteenth century, born at Poitiers, 26 September, 1687; died at Quebec, 5 September, 1742. Though sometimes mentioned as Jean, in his official acts he invariably signed Pierre. He joined the Jesuits at Limoges, 24 November, 1703, and after ordination was sent to Canada in […]

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September 5 – Unashamed to beg alms even from his noble family

September 1, 2022

St. Laurence Justinian, Bishop and Confessor, First Patriarch of Venice Bishop and first Patriarch of Venice, born in 1381, and died 8 January, 1456. He was a descendant of the Giustiniani, a Venetian patrician family which numbered several saints among its members. Lawrence’s pious mother sowed the seeds of a devout religious life in the […]

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September 5 – St. Bertin

September 1, 2022

St. Bertin Abbot of St. Omer, b. near Constance about 615; d. about 709. At an early age he entered the monastery of Luxeuil in France where, under the austere Rule of St. Columban, he prepared himself for his future missionary career. About the year 638 he set out, in company with two confrères, Mummolin […]

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August 30 – Saved by the cross

August 29, 2022

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… Read more here.

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August 30 – Gallant Lady

August 29, 2022

St. 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 31 – Born of a dead mother

August 29, 2022

St. Raymond Nonnatus (Not-Born) (In Spanish SAN RAMON). Born 1200 or 1204 at Portello in the Diocese of Urgel in Catalonia; died at Cardona, 31 August, 1240. His feast is celebrated on 31 August. He is pictured in the habit of his order surrounded by ransomed slaves, with a padlock on his lips. He was […]

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September 1 – Gideon the Judge

August 29, 2022

Gideon or Gedeon (Hebrew “hewer”), also called JEROBAAL (Judges, vi, 32; vii, 1; etc.), and JERUBESHETH (II Kings, xi, 21, in the Hebrew text). Gideon was one of the Greater Judges of Israel. He belonged to the tribe of Manasses, and to the family of Abiezer (Judges, vi, 34). Gideon’s father was Joas, and lived […]

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