The Queen’s Reign in Jewels: The Imperial State Crown

June 13, 2022

According to Royal Central: At the centre of the cross on the front is one of the oldest pieces of jewellery in the royal collection: The Black Prince’s Ruby, which was gifted to the Prince of Wales (also known as The Black Prince) in 1367 by Pedro the Cruel, the King of Castile. The cushion-shaped […]

Read the full article →

Queen Elizabeth’s Official Platinum Jubilee Portrait released

June 13, 2022

According to New My Royals: …a new portrait of Queen Elizabeth II has been released by Buckingham Palace. The new photo marks the Queen’s 70th year on the throne. Queen Elizabeth II is the first Monarch in British history to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee. The portrait was taken by Ranald Mackechnie in the Victoria Vestibule […]

Read the full article →

June 14 – The entire population was slaughtered, except those who embraced Islam

June 13, 2022

Croia A titular see of Albania. Croia (pronounced Kruya, Albanian, “Spring”) stands on the site of Eriboea, a town mentioned by Ptolemy (III, xiii, 13, 41). Georgius Acropolites (lxix) mentions it as a fortress in 1251. A decree of the Venetian senate gave it in 1343 to Marco Barbarigo and his wife. In 1395 it […]

Read the full article →

June 15 – Magna Carta

June 13, 2022

Magna Carta The charter of liberties granted by King John of England in 1215 and confirmed with modifications by Henry III in 1216, 1217, and 1225. The Magna Carta has long been considered by the English-speaking peoples as the earliest of the great constitutional documents which give the history of England so unique a character; […]

Read the full article →

June 15 – The Northern Crusades

June 13, 2022

The Battle of Lyndanisse was a battle which helped King Valdemar II of Denmark establish the territory of Danish Estonia during the Northern Crusades. Valdemar II defeated the Estonians at Lyndanisse (Estonian: Lindanise), during the Northern Crusades, by orders from the Pope.   The Battle Valdemar II, along with Archbishop Anders Sunesen of Lund, Bishop […]

Read the full article →

June 15 – St. Bernard dogs carry his name

June 13, 2022

St. Bernard of Menthon Born in 923, probably in the castle Menthon near Annecy, in Savoy; died at Novara, 1008. He was descended from a rich, noble family and received a thorough education. He refused to enter an honorable marriage proposed by his father and decided to devote himself to the service of the Church. […]

Read the full article →

June 16 – Pope Innocent III

June 13, 2022

(Lotario de’ Conti) One of the greatest popes of the Middle Ages, son of Count Trasimund of Segni and nephew of Clement III, born 1160 or 1161 at Anagni, and died 16 June, 1216, at Perugia… Read more here.

Read the full article →

June 16 – Death threats meant nothing to him

June 13, 2022

Saint John Francis Regis Born 31 January, 1597, in the village of Fontcouverte (department of Aude); died at la Louvesc, 30 Dec., 1640. His father Jean, a rich merchant, had been recently ennobled in recognition of the prominent part he had taken in the Wars of the League; his mother, Marguerite de Cugunhan, belonged by […]

Read the full article →

June 16 – St. Benno

June 13, 2022

Bishop of Meissen, b., as is given in biographies written after his lifetime, about 1010; d., probably, June 16, 1106. He is said to have been the son of a Count Frederick von Woldenberg (Bultenburg) and to have been educated by his relative St. Bernward of Hildesheim. But these statements and the date of his […]

Read the full article →

Had Louis XVI Listened to His Sister, Madame Elizabeth, the Crown Would Have Been Saved

June 9, 2022

On the fatal day, 5th October [1789], when the people attacked Versailles, she was on her terrace at Montreuil when she saw the crowd advancing on the Palace, and flew at once to join the Royal Family there. Gifted as she was with an excellent judgment, Mme. Elizabeth possessed also an energy of character which […]

Read the full article →

Revolution and Counter-Revolution: Postface

June 9, 2022

[previous] Postface After reading the previous words, the reader will necessarily wonder where the revolutionary process stands today. Is the Third Revolution still alive? Or does the collapse of the Soviet empire permit us to affirm that the Fourth Revolution is erupting in the deepest levels of the political reality of Eastern Europe, or even […]

Read the full article →

June 10 – Anti-pagan Renaissance Saint

June 9, 2022

Bl. Giovanni Dominici (BANCHINI or BACCHINI was his family name). Cardinal, statesman and writer, born at Florence, 1356; died at Buda, 10 July, 1420. He entered the Dominican Order at Santa Maria Novella in 1372 after having been cured, through the intercession of St. Catherine of Siena, of an impediment of speech for which he […]

Read the full article →

June 10 – Most Sublime Figure of Portuguese Literature

June 9, 2022

Luis Vaz de Camões (OR CAMOENS) Born in 1524 or 1525; died 10 June, 1580. The most sublime figure in the history of Portuguese literature, Camões owes his lasting fame to his epic poem “Os Lusiadas,” (The Lusiads); he is remarkable also for the degree of art attained in his lyrics, less noteworthy for his […]

Read the full article →

June 11 – Blessed Ignatius Maloyan

June 9, 2022

Ignatius Maloyan (Shoukrallah), son of Melkon and Faridé, was born in 1869, in Mardin, Turkey. His parish priest, noticed in him signs of a priestly vocation, so he sent him to the convent of Bzommar-Lebanon; he was fourteen years old… Read more here.

Read the full article →

June 11 – St. Godeberta

June 9, 2022

St. Godeberta Born about the year 640, at Boves, a few leagues from Amiens, in France; died about the beginning of the eighth century, at Noyon (Oise), the ancient Noviomagus. She was very carefully educated, her parents being of noble rank and attached to the court of King Clovis II. When the question of her […]

Read the full article →

June 12 – He Crowned Charlemagne

June 9, 2022

Pope St. Leo III Date of birth unknown; died 816. He was elected on the very day his predecessor was buried (26 Dec., 795), and consecrated on the following day. It is quite possible that this haste may have been due to a desire on the part of the Romans to anticipate any interference of […]

Read the full article →

June 12 – A certain nobleman had a concubine

June 9, 2022

St. John of Sahagun Hermit, born 1419, at Sahagun (or San Fagondez) in the Kingdom of Leon, in Spain; died 11 June, 1479, at Salamanca; feast 12 June. In art he is represented holding a chalice and host surrounded by rays of light. John, the oldest of seven children, was born of pious and respected […]

Read the full article →

June 12 – Saint Guido of Acqui

June 9, 2022

Saint Guido of Acqui (also Wido) (c. 1004 – 12 June 1070) was Bishop of Acqui (now Acqui Terme) in north-west Italy from 1034 until his death. He was born around 1004 to a noble family of the area of Acqui, the Counts of Acquesana, in Melazzo where the family’s wealth was concentrated. He completed […]

Read the full article →

June 13 – He Lived Only 36 Years, But the Whole World Knows Him

June 9, 2022

St. Anthony of Padua Franciscan Thaumaturgist, born at Lisbon, 1195; died at Vercelli, 13 June, 1231. He received in baptism the name of Ferdinand. Later writers of the fifteenth century asserted that his father was Martin Bouillon, descendant of the renowned Godfrey de Bouillon, commander of the First Crusade, and his mother, Theresa Taveira, descendant […]

Read the full article →

Photos: Britain celebrates Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee

June 6, 2022

According to NPR: Huge crowds converged on London for four days of public events to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s historic Platinum Jubilee. At 96, the queen is celebrating 70 years on the throne — the most of any British royal, including her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. The royal family attended the National Service of Thanksgiving on […]

Read the full article →

Trooping the Colour 2022

June 6, 2022

According to New My Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s birthday was officially celebrated by the ceremony called Trooping the Colour which is known as The Queen’s Birthday Parade. This year, as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, The Queen’s Birthday Parade took place on Thursday 2 June. The annual event has been held for more than 260 […]

Read the full article →

June 7 – Martyr Prince of the Wends

June 6, 2022

St. Gottschalk (GODESCALCUS). Martyr, Prince of the Wends; died at Lenzen on the Elbe, 7 June 1066. His feast is noted for 7 June in the additions of the Carthusians at Brussels to the martyrology of Usuardus. He was the son of Udo, Prince of the Abrodites who remained a Christian, though a poor one […]

Read the full article →

June 7 – The Crusaders reach the walls of Jerusalem

June 6, 2022

In June of 1099 [the First Crusade] arrived before the walls of Jerusalem, which was then held by the Fatimid Arabs of Egypt. With their usual religious zeal and grim determination, the Christians prepared to attack the walls. Their fighting force had been reduced to 1,200 knights and 10,000 foot soldiers, with a similar number […]

Read the full article →

June 8 – She did what St. Ignatius could not

June 6, 2022

Ven. Anne de Xainctonge Foundress of the Society of the Sisters of St. Ursula of the Blessed Virgin, born at Dijon, 21 November, 1567; died at Dôle, 8 June, 1621. She was the daughter of Jean de Xainctonge, councillor in the Dijon Parliament, and of Lady Marguerite Collard, both of noble birth and virtuous life… […]

Read the full article →

June 8 – Accused of theft and other misconduct

June 6, 2022

St. William of York (WILLIAM FITZHERBERT, also called WILLIAM OF THWAYT). Archbishop of York. Tradition represents him as nephew of King Stephen, whose sister Emma was believed to have married Herbert of Winchester, treasurer to Henry I. William became a priest, and about 1130 he was canon and treasurer of York. In 1142 he was […]

Read the full article →

June 8 – The Noble Countess Who Dedicated Her Life to Bringing Dissolute Women to Repentance

June 6, 2022

Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart (died in Porto, Portugal, June 8, 1899), born Maria Droste zu Vischering, was a noble of Germany and Roman Catholic nun best known for influencing Pope Leo XIII’s consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Leo XIII called this consecration “the greatest act of my […]

Read the full article →

June 9 – St. Columba

June 6, 2022

St. Columba Abbot of Iona, born at Garten, County Donegal, Ireland, 7 December, 521; died 9 June, 597. He belonged to the Clan O’Donnell, and was of royal descent. His father’s name was Fedhlimdh and that of his mother Eithne. On his father’s side he was great-great-grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish […]

Read the full article →

June 9 – A simple palace servant, God confided to her the destiny of nations

June 6, 2022

Blessed Anna Maria Gesualda Antonia Taigi (Maiden name Giannetti.) Venerable Servant of God, born at Siena, Italy, 29 May, 1769; died at Rome, 9 June, 1837. Her parents, Luigi Giannetti and Maria Masi, kept an apothecary shop at Siena, but lost all their fortune and were obliged to go to Rome in search of a […]

Read the full article →

June 9 – Apostle of Brazil

June 6, 2022

St. Joseph Anchieta A famous Jesuit missionary, commonly known as the Apostle of Brazil, born on the Island of Tenerife, in 1553, of noble family; died in Brazil, 1596. After studying in Coimbra, he entered the Society of Jesus, at the age of seventeen, and when a novice nearly ruined his health by his excessive […]

Read the full article →

June 9 – Mystic

June 6, 2022

Venerable Marina de Escobar Mystic and foundress of a modified branch of the Brigittine Order b. at Valladolid, Spain, February 8, 1554; d. there June 9, 1633. Her father, Iago de Escobar, was professor of civil and canon law and for a time governor of Osuna, a man noted for his learning and his saintly […]

Read the full article →

June 9 – He celebrated the first Mass in Quebec

June 6, 2022

Jean Dolbeau Recollect friar, born in the Province of Anjou, France, 12 March, 1586; died at Orléans, 9 June, 1652. He entered the order at the age of nineteen at Balmette, near Angers, and was one of the four Recollects who were the first missionaries of Canada. He landed at Quebec in May, 1615, and […]

Read the full article →

June 9 – Rebuilder

June 6, 2022

Sebastian von Rostock Bishop of Breslau, b. at Grottkau, Silesia, 24 Aug. 1607; d. at Breslau, 9 June, 1671. He studied classics at Neisse and from 1627 to 1633, philosophy and theology at Olmutz. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1633 he was assigned to pastoral duty at Neisse, and was distinguished for his […]

Read the full article →

June 9 – Nurse and foundress

June 6, 2022

Frances Margaret Taylor (MOTHER M. MAGDALEN TAYLOR) Superior General, and foundress of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God, born 20 Jan., 1832; died in London, 9 June, 1900. Her father was a Protestant clergyman, the vicar of a Lincolnshire parish where her early years were spent in works of charity among the poor. […]

Read the full article →

June 9 – Historian

June 6, 2022

Gabriel Bucelin (Buzlin). A Benedictine historical writer, born at Diessenhofen in Thurgau, 29 December, 1599, died at Weingarten, 9 June, 1681. A scion of the distinguished line of Bucellini counts, Gabriel, at the age of thirteen, entered the Benedictine monastery at Weingarten. After a course in Philosophy and theology at Dillingen he was ordained priest […]

Read the full article →

June 9 – Gaston Jean Baptiste de Renty

June 6, 2022

Gaston Jean Baptiste de Renty Born 1611 at the castle of Beni, Diocese of Bayeux in Normandy; died 24 April, 1649. The only son of Charles, Baron de Renty, and Elisabeth de Pastoureau, Gaston studied at the Collège de Navarre in Paris, with the Jesuits at Caen, and finished at the age of seventeen at […]

Read the full article →

June 9 – Pope Gregory XVI

June 6, 2022

Pope Gregory XVI (Mauro, or Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari), b. at Belluno, then in the Venetian territory, 8 September, 1765; d. at Rome, 9 June, 1846. His father, Giovanni Battista, and his mother, Giulia Cesa-Pagani, were both of the minor nobility of the district and the families of both had in former times been prominent in […]

Read the full article →

June 9 – French opponent to Jansenism and Gallicanism

June 6, 2022

Louis Gaston de Ségur Prelate and French apologist, born 15 April, 1820, in Paris; died 9 June, 1881, in the same city. He was descended on his paternal side form the Marquis of Ségur — Marshal of France and Minister of Louis XVI, who occupied this position during the participation of France in the war […]

Read the full article →

El Cid Defeats Two Moorish Kings

June 2, 2022

Then the Moors in other places sent word to the king of Valencia that the Cid had come, and had taken Alcocer, and that if he were not stopped he would take the whole country. When the king of Valencia, whose name was Alcamin, heard this, he was much troubled, and he sent word to […]

Read the full article →

A Voyage in History Through a Maria Theresa Thaler Coin

June 2, 2022

By John Horvat II I recently attended a meeting in which someone mentioned Austria’s 1780 Maria Theresa thaler coin. The silver-dollar size piece was extremely popular and circulated all over the world. The thaler unit was also the origin of our word dollar. With so many interesting facts about the coin, I could not resist. […]

Read the full article →

June 3 – She had to witness her children kill each other

June 2, 2022

St. Clotilda, Queen of the Franks (French: CLOTILDE; German: CHLOTHILDE). Queen of the Franks, born probably at Lyons, c. 474; died at Tours, 3 June, 545. Her feast is celebrated 3 June. Clotilda was the wife of Clovis I, and the daughter of Chilperic, King of Burgundians of Lyons, and Caretena. After the death of […]

Read the full article →

June 3 – Genesius (Bishop of Clermont)

June 2, 2022

Twenty-first Bishop of Clermont, d. 662. Feast, 3 June. The legend, which is of a rather late date (Acta SS., June, I, 315), says that he was descended from a senatorial family of Auvergne. Having received a liberal education he renounced his worldly prospects for the service of the Church, became archdeacon of Clermont under […]

Read the full article →

June 4 – St. Francis Caracciolo

June 2, 2022

St. Francis Caracciolo Co-founder with John Augustine Adorno of the Congregation of the Minor Clerks Regular; born in Villa Santa Maria in the Abrusso (Italy), 13 October, 1563; died at Agnone, 4 June, 1608… Read more here.

Read the full article →

June 5 – Franciscan preacher of crusade

June 2, 2022

Bl. Pacificus of Ceredano (Also known as Pacificus of Novara, or Novariensis). Born 1420 at Cerano, in the Diocese of Novara in Lombardy, supposedly of the much respected family of Ramati; died 14 June, 1482. He entered the Franciscan Order of Observants at Novara in 1445. After his ordination, he was employed in preaching, in […]

Read the full article →

June 5 – Classmate of the Emperor

June 2, 2022

James of Edessa A celebrated Syrian writer, b. most likely in A.D. 633; d. 5 June, 708. He was a native of the village of `En-debha, in the district of Gumyah, in the province of Antioch. During several years he studied Greek and Holy Writ at the famous convent of Kennesrhe, on the left bank […]

Read the full article →

June 5 – Friendship is tested in adversity

June 2, 2022

Blessed Ferdinand of Portugal Prince of Portugal, born in Portugal, 29 September, 1402; died at Fez, in Morocco, 5 June, 1443. He was one of five sons, his mother being Philippa, daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his father King John I, known in history for his victories over the Moors and […]

Read the full article →

June 5 – My God Is Greater Than Your Tree

June 2, 2022

St. Boniface (WINFRID, WYNFRITH). Apostle of Germany, date of birth unknown; martyred 5 June, 755 (754); emblems: the oak, axe, book, fox, scourge, fountain, raven, sword. He was a native of England, though some authorities have claimed him for Ireland or Scotland. The place of his birth is not known, though it was probably the […]

Read the full article →

June 5 – Genesius, Count of Clermont

June 2, 2022

Genesius, Count of Clermont Died 725. Feast, 5 June. According to the lessons of the Breviary of the Chapter of Camaleria (Acta SS. June, I, 497), he was of noble birth; his father’s name is given as Audastrius, and his mother’s is Tranquilla. Even in his youth he is said to have wrought miracles—to have […]

Read the full article →

June 6 – St. Claudius

June 2, 2022

The Life of St. Claudius, Abbot of Condat, has been the subject of much controversy. Dom Benott says that he lived in the seventh century; that he had been Bishop of Besançon before being abbot, that he was fifty-five years an abbot, and died in 694. He left Condat in a very flourishing state to […]

Read the full article →

June 6 – Patron and Protector of Bohemia

June 2, 2022

St. Norbert Born at Xanten on the left bank of the Rhine, near Wesel, c. 1080; died at Magdeburg, 6 June, 1134. His father, Heribert, Count of Gennep, was related to the imperial house of Germany, and his house of Lorraine. A stately bearing, a penetrating intellect, a tender, earnest heart, marked the future apostle. […]

Read the full article →

May 31 – St. Mechtildis of Edelstetten

May 30, 2022

St. Mechtildis was a Benedictine abbess and renowned miracle worker. Mechtildis was the daughter of Count Berthold of Andechs, whose wife, Sophie, founded a monastery on their estate at Diessen, Bavaria, and placed their daughter there at the age of five. In 1153, the Bishop of Augsburg placed her as Abbess of Edelstetten Abbey. Mechtildis […]

Read the full article →

May 31 – St. Camilla Battista da Varano

May 30, 2022

St. Baptista Varano (also spelled Varani). An ascetical writer, born at Camerino, in the March of Ancona, 9 Apr., 1458; died there, 31 May, 1527. Her father, Julius Caesar Varano or de Varanis, Duke of Camerino, belonged to an illustrious family; her mother, Joanna Malatesta, was a daughter of Sigismund, Prince of Rimini… Read more […]

Read the full article →

June 1 – The Aristocrat Who Gave His Life for the Poor

May 30, 2022

Saint Hannibal Mary Di Francia (1851-1927)  (sometimes written as Annibale Maria Di Francia) Hannibal Mary Di Francia was born in Messina, Italy, on July 5, 1851. His father Francis was a knight, the Marquis of St. Catherine of Jonio, Papal Vice-Consul and Honorary Captain of the Navy. His mother, Anna Toscano, also belonged to an […]

Read the full article →

June 1 – Kidnapped for Christ

May 30, 2022

Bl. John Story (Or Storey.) Martyr; born 1504; died at Tyburn, 1 June, 1571. He was educated at Oxford, and was president of Broadgates Hall, now Pembroke College, from 1537 to 1539. He entered Parliament as member for Hindon, Wilts, in 1547, and was imprisoned for opposing the Bill of Uniformity, 24 Jan.-2 March, 1548-9. […]

Read the full article →

June 2 – Saved from the Byzantine Emperor’s roaster, ironically, by the Moslems

May 30, 2022

Pope Saint Eugene I Elected August 10, 654, and died at Rome, June 2, 657. Because he would not submit to Byzantine dictation in the matter of Monothelism, St. Martin I was forcibly carried off from Rome (June 18, 653) and kept in exile till his death (September, 655). What happened in Rome after his […]

Read the full article →

Platinum Pudding winner announced

May 26, 2022

According to Fortnum and Mason: …Jemma from Southport’s Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle [is] the winner of our Platinum Pudding Competition …creating a pudding that’s certain to become a delicious part of Fortnum’s history – and forever associated with Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations too. “I found out that The Queen had lemon posset […]

Read the full article →

The Hatred of Revolutionaries for the King’s Coronation Ceremony

May 26, 2022

On June 5, 1775, Louis XVI left Versailles, accompanied by the queen, Monsieur, Madame, and the Comte d’Artois, on his way to Compiègne, where he arrived at ten o’clock in the evening. On the 8th he left Compiègne to sleep at Fismes; on the 9th he took the road to Rheims. He went there to […]

Read the full article →

Revolution and Counter-Revolution: Conclusion

May 26, 2022

[previous] Having updated the first (1959) edition of Revolution and Counter-Revolution by the addition of the preceding pages, we wondered if the brief conclusion to the original text and to subsequent editions should be replaced or at least modified. After rereading it carefully, we are convinced there is no reason to omit it or even […]

Read the full article →

May 27 – St. Augustine of Canterbury

May 26, 2022

St. Augustine of Canterbury First Archbishop of Canterbury, Apostle of the English; date of birth unknown; died 26 May, 604. Symbols: cope, pallium, and mitre as Bishop of Canterbury, and pastoral staff and gospels as missionary… Read more here.

Read the full article →

May 28 – After Defeating the Saracens, He Joined the Benedictines

May 26, 2022

St. William of Gellone Born 755; died 28 May, c. 812; was the second count of Toulouse, having attained that dignity in 790. He is by some writers also given the title of Duke of Aquitaine. This saint is the hero of the ninth-century “Roman de Guillame au court nez”, but the story of his […]

Read the full article →

May 28 – Whether She Was Upstairs Or Downstairs, She Was Ever Steady

May 26, 2022

Blessed Margaret Pole Countess of Salisbury, martyr; born at Castle Farley, near Bath, 14 August, 1473; martyred at East Smithfield Green, 28 May, 1541. She was the daughter of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, and Isabel, elder daughter of the Earl of Warwick (the king-maker), and the sister of Edmund of Warwick who, under Henry […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →