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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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… […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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. […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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. […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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.

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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. […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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. […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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.

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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 […]

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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 […]

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May 28 – Lily of Quito

May 26, 2022

St. Mariana de Jesús de Paredes Born at Quito, Ecuador, 31 Oct. 1618; died at Quito, 26 May, 1645. On both sides of her family she was sprung from an illustrious line of ancestors, her father being Don Girolamo Flores Zenel de Paredes, a nobleman of Toledo and her mother Doña Mariana Cranobles de Xaramilo, […]

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May 28 – St. Germain of Paris

May 26, 2022

Bishop of Paris; born near Autun, Saône-et-Loire, c. 496; died at Paris, 28 May, 576. He studied at Avalon and also at Luzy under the guidance of his cousin Scapilion, a priest. At the age of thirty-four he was ordained by St. Agrippinus of Autun and became Abbot of Saint-Symphorien near that town. His characteristic […]

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May 29 – Assassinated in the castle of St. Andrews

May 26, 2022

David Beaton (Or Bethune) Cardinal, Archbishop of St. Andrews, b. 1494; d. 29 May, 1546. He was of an honourable Scottish family on both sides, being a younger son of John Beaton of Balfour Fife, by Isabel, daughter of David Monypenny of Pitmilly, also in Fife. Educated first at St. Andrews, he went in his […]

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May 29 – Intimate friend of St. Athanasius

May 26, 2022

St. Maximinus Bishop of Trier, born at Silly near Poitiers, died there, 29 May, 352 or 12 Sept., 349. He was educated and ordained priest by St. Agritius, whom he succeeded as Bishop of Trier in 332 or 335. At that time Trier was the government seat of the Western Emperor and, by force of […]

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May 29 – Saint Laura of Constantinople

May 26, 2022

Saint Laura of Constantinople (died 1453) was a Christian who lived in Constantinople during the 15th century. She was born in Greece into a noble family: her father was a Latin knight named Michael and her mother was Albanian. Her name was Theodolinde Trasci. After she became a nun in Constantinople, she changed it into […]

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May 29 – Bartolomeu Dias

May 26, 2022

Bartolomeu Dias A famous Portuguese navigator of the fifteenth century, discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope; died at sea, 29 May, 1500. Several Portuguese historians state that he was a relative or descendant of João Dias who sailed around Cape Bojador in 1434, and of Diniz Dias who is said to have discovered the […]

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May 30 – Bl. William Filby and companions

May 26, 2022

Born in Oxfordshire between 1557 and 1560; suffered at Tyburn, 30 May, 1582. Educated at Lincoln College, Oxford, he was admitted to the seminary at Reims, 12 October, 1579. He was ordained priest at Reims, 25 March, 1581, and shortly after left for the mission. He was arrested in July, committed to the Tower, removed […]

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May 30 – Most Valiant King

May 26, 2022

Saint Ferdinand III of Castile King of Leon and Castile, member of the Third Order of St. Francis, born in 1198 near Salamanca; died at Seville, 30 May, 1252. He was the son of Alfonso IX, King of Leon, and of Berengeria, the daughter of Alfonso III, King of Castile, and sister of Blanche, the […]

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May 30 – When God chose sides in war between two Christian nations, He sent her to win it

May 26, 2022

St. Joan of Arc In French Jeanne d’Arc; by her contemporaries commonly known as la Pucelle (the Maid). Born at Domremy in Champagne, probably on 6 January, 1412; died at Rouen, 30 May, 1431. The village of Domremy lay upon the confines of territory which recognized the suzerainty of the Duke of Burgundy, but in […]

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May 30 – William Maurus Scot

May 26, 2022

Scot, William Maurits, Venerable, English Benedictine martyr, hanged at Tyburn, May 30, 1612; a younger son of William Scot of Chigwell, Essex, who married Prudence, daughter of Edmund Alabaster of Brett’s Hall. He was educated at Cambridge, at Trinity College, and at Trinity Hall. He was professed and ordained at the Abbey of St. Facundus, […]

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May 30 – Bl. Thomas Cottam

May 26, 2022

Bl. Thomas Cottam Martyr, born 1549, in Lancashire; executed at Tyburn, 30 May, 1582. His parents, Laurence Cottam of Dilworth and Anne Brewer, were Protestants. Having completed his studies at Brasenose, Oxford (M.A., 14 July, 1572) he became master of a grammer school in London. Converted there to the faith by Thomas Pound he went […]

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May 30 – Victim of the Kulturkampf

May 26, 2022

Eberhard, Matthias, Bishop of Trier, b. November 15, 1815, at Trier (Germany), d. there May 30, 1876. After successfully completing the gymnasium course of his native town, he devoted himself to the study of theology, was ordained in 1839, and soon after made assistant at St. Castor’s in Coblenz. In 1842 Bishop Arnoldi made him […]

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Gold State Coach to lead the Platinum Jubilee Pageant

May 23, 2022

According to the Royal Household: To mark the beginning of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, the bells of Westminster Abbey will peel as they did on Coronation Day. As they do so, the Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry will lead The Gold State Coach, drawn – as it always has been – by eight Windsor […]

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May 24 – Our Lady Help of Christians, to commemorate the liberation of the Pope from prison

May 23, 2022

This commemoration was introduced in the liturgical calendar by decree of Pope Pius VII on September 16, 1815, in thanksgiving for his happy return to Rome after a long and painful captivity in Savona and France due to Napoleon’s tyrannical power. By order of Napoleon, Pius VII was arrested, 5 July, 1808, and detained a […]

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Letter of Saint John Bosco to the Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, May 24, 1873

May 23, 2022

This document was found on July 14, 1873, by Father Berto while searching for some papers on St. John Bosco’s desk. Later the Saint gave it to him to be transcribed and delivered to the Emperor of Austria, Franz Joseph. As can be seen, the document is a vital message from Our Lord Jesus Christ […]

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May 24 – Bl. Hermann Joseph

May 23, 2022

Bl. Hermann Joseph Premonstratensian monk and mystic; born at Cologne about 1150; died at Hoven, 7 April, 1241. According to the biography by Razo Bonvisinus, contemporary prior of Steinfeld (Acta SS., 7 April, I, 679), Hermann was the son of poor parents who had once been rich. At the age of seven he attended school […]

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May 24 – St. Vincent of Lérins

May 23, 2022

St. Vincent of Lérins Feast on 24 May, an ecclesiastical writer in Southern Gaul in the fifth century. His work is much better known than his life. Almost all our information concerning him is contained in Gennadius, “De viris illustribus” (lxiv). He entered the monastery of Lérins (today Isle St. Honorat), where under the pseudonym […]

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May 25 – First Pope to transform a pagan temple of Rome into a Christian church

May 23, 2022

Pope St. Boniface IV Son of John, a physician, a Marsian from the province and town of Valeria; he succeeded Boniface III after a vacancy of over nine months; consecrated 25 August, 608; d. 8 May, 615 (Duchesne); or, 15 September, 608-25 May, 615 (Jaffé). In the time of Pope St. Gregory the Great he […]

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May 25 – He Forced the Emperor To Wait Three Days in the Snow

May 23, 2022

Pope St. Gregory VII (HILDEBRAND). One of the greatest of the Roman pontiffs and one of the most remarkable men of all times; born between the years 1020 and 1025, at Soana, or Ravacum, in Tuscany; died 25 May, 1085, at Salerno. The early years of his life are involved in considerable obscurity. His name, […]

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