1
CALENDAR FOR JESUITS AND FRIENDS
This calendar is intended as an aid to conversation, preaching, and
conversation. Karl Barth, in an often quoted sentence, said we should preach
with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. I would add that
this might also be a helpful way to pray. With these pages, I am in reality
stretching the newspaper, which covers events of the day, to include the
newspages, the headlines of the past.
For every day of the year, a series of interesting and/or important
dates are listed under three categories, of Christianity-Religion, History,
and Jesuit. Each and every family has a series of special dates,
anniversaries, celebration, and memories of birth and death. So too does the
Christian family, so the American and African family, so the Jesuit family.
To use a favorite word of Anthony de Mello, these dates serve to help
one grow in awareness, to deepen one’s sense of Church history, cultural
history, and Jesuit history. It may help in the preparation of liturgies, it
affords food for private prayer and reflection, and it may be a way into more
interesting conversation.
How to use this book? I suggest that for perhaps three minutes
every morning, one reads the page of the day, seeing what strikes one.
Gratitude, wonder, or petition may be the response elicited. In any case, this
brief daily reading and reflection should broaden and expand our vision, to
increase our awareness of who we are and where we come from.
One of my concerns is a loss of a sense of history - history of the
Church and more particularly, loss of the sense of the history of the Society
of Jesus. And there is a double problem too - as the Society is growing
fastest in Asia, Africa - these are precisely areas where the Society is new,
areas where the tradition has been other than Western. So it is especially
difficult for Jesuits in those areas to know and to feel at home with Jesuit
history. This calendar is one small way to move in the direction of
awareness of our history.
Many Jesuits recall hearing the Fasti Breviores and the Roman
Martyrology read at table, This no longer takes place. As I reread the Fasti
Breviores, I see that it conveys and impressive sense of mission, as Jesuit
head to new and unexplored places, many of them giving their lives. But the
Fasti Breviores was published in 1910. I have included many key dates in
the Society of Jesus since then. It seems to me that many young Jesuits
could benefit from familiarity with the great and not so great men and events
of Jesuit history.
I do list the official feast days for the American Church and for the
Society of Jesus - of course this does not replace the official Ordo. I do not
list the movable church feasts such as Easter or the first Sunday of Advent.
2
Nor movable secular feasts such as Thanksgiving or Presidents day These vary from year to year do not need to be put on a more permanent
calendar.
I include also elements from the Roman Martyrology, (both the old
and new editions) sometimes humorous and sometimes more serious. These
includes celebrations for biblical figures such as Moses, Abraham, Job, Mary
of Cleopas, and Lazarus, etc. In accord with the Jesuit ordo these men and
women of the Bible might be celebrated at the Eucharistic liturgy under
certain conditions.
Obviously the book of dates could be embellished and expanded with
more on the events listed, with quotations, reflections for each day of the
year. One might say this is basically no frills - just the facts. But to its
advantage, it is a calendar that is helpful not just for one year, 2004 or 2005,
but for every year - even as it can be added onto as major world and church
events continue to unfold.
As patron of this book of dates, I suggest the Jesuit, Blessed Peter
Favre. Why? He has not left many writings, but central to what we have of
Favre is his Memorial or diary. Almost every entry begins with the saint of
the day - and some special prayer reflection concerning that saint, his or her
example, protection. In addition Favre prayerfully notes the anniversary of
the death of his mother, and notes the anniversary of his own ordination.
These remembrances stir him to prayer - prayer of gratitude, prayer for the
repose of the soul.
It is characteristic of Favre that every event, present, but also past,
pointed him to God and to prayer. He was one of the first companions of St.
Ignatius, deeply influenced by the spirituiality of Ignatius - that of finding
and serving God in all things.
One beautiful example of Favre’s prayerful reflection is found on the
feast of All Saints day. Here he shows his belief in the communion of saints,
in the saints in heaven as living realities, not as dead.
On the Feast of All Saints I felt a great desire that this feast and
solemn celebration on earth in memory of all the heavenly host might
have on that day a corresponding celebration in heaven, with mercy
and compassion, in memory of all the inhabitants of this world and
especially of those who are sinners. I desired the celebration to be
such that not a being on earth, not a soul in purgatory would go
unremembered in heaven by the saints and that the souls in
purgatory would do the same....
Then, in the following day, All Souls Day, Favre writes:
I thought of my father, my mother, and my relatives, my deceased
brethren in the Society, our benefactors, and the relatives of all my
3
brothers.
St. Ignatius speaks of finding and serving God in all things. The
tradition of the church, the rich traditions of many cultures, and the
tradition of the Society of Jesus, all provide events, holy persons, where God
has been present and active, where the God who speaks today can also be
found. This book tries to point us, on a daily basis, to some of these events
and persons. It provides food for thought and food for prayerful reflection.
The turn of the year, the celebration of a new century or the New
Millennium point to the power of dates. They provide opportunities or
occasions to celebrate, to look back and to look ahead.
The choice of persons, events, necessarily reflects my own interests
which would include New York, Africa/Nigeria, music, poetry, sports,
ecumenism, and above all, Jesuit history. In one way this book is an
invitation for the reader to add his or her own special family dates, perhaps
at the bottom of each page. It would be appropriate to add one’s own special
dates from one’s particular family, birthdays, major events, etc. So too,
members of a particular Jesuit province could add the readily available
anniversaries the deaths of Jesuits of that Province
In amassing such data, there are bound to be omissions and
inaccuracies. It is difficiult to find exact or consistent dates for some events.
Feedback is most welcome. With computer disks, this could easily be
corrected and modified.
Peter Schineller, S.J.
4
January 1
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Octave of Christmas.Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
The Death of Basil the Great, whose feast is January 2nd.
1484. Ulrich Zwingli B. Swiss reformer, left the Catholic Church and
priesthood after secret marriage of 1522 was made public in 1525.
1956 Sudan Independence Day – from UK / Egypt.
1960. Cameroon Independent from France and UN Trusteeship.
1962. Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
1967. United States Catholic Conference (USCC) takes over the organization
and operation of the National Catholic Welfare Conference (NCWC)
1967. Apostolic Constitution of Pope Paul VI, Indulgentiarum
Doctrina, reforms the system of indulgences.
1977. Jacqueline Means, mother of four, becomes the first woman
in the USA to be ordained priest in the Episcopal Church.
HISTORY, ART, SCIENCE, SPORT
1863. Emancipation Proclamation is issued.
1946. Emperor Hirohito of Japan, disclaims divinity accredited
to him by the Japanese people.
1956. Frank Hague +. Mayor of Jersey City,1911-47."I am the law."
1960. The Independence of Cameroon.
JESUIT
1590. Pope Gregory XIV by his Bull, "Ecclesiae Catholicae" finally settled
that "the name (title) of Society of Jesus by which this praiseworthy
Order has been designated from its birth by the Apostolic See, and
has hitherto been distinguished, shall be retained by it in all future
ages." The Titular Feast of the Society of Jesus.
1591. Ricci receives the first two Chinese Jesuit novices: Chung
Ingjen and Huang Fangchi. One was a brother, and other was
imprisoned and died before ordination.
1829. A Rescript of Pope Leo XII says that the Society of Jesus
officially and canonically is restored in England.
1865. The Manila Observatory opens, operates until the Japanese take over
on January 3, 1942.
1875. Jacques Cretineau-Joly, S.J. + Historian. 6 volume history of S.J.
1890. Arnold Damen, S.J. + Chicago, missionary, educator.
1930. Response of Father General "De capillorum cultu," calls for simplicity
of hairstyle. "I advise your reverence not to permit the introduction
into your province of the practice of giving more attention to the
care of one's hair than is consonant with the simple tradition of the
Italian clergy."
1937. The Central American Mission becomes a Vice Province.
1968. Reunion of New York and Buffalo Provinces, a total of 1402 members.
1985. Joseph Labaj, S.J. + Wisconsin Provincial.
2001. Louis Plamondon, S.J. + age 70. Tanzania. He had been lst
provincial of EAP, and lst Director of Loyola High School.
5
January 2
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, bishops and doctors,
Memorial.
At Rome the commemoration of many holy martyrs, who, despising
the edict of Emperor Diocletian, which ordered that the sacred
books should be delivered up, preferred to offer their bodies to
the executioners rather than to give holy things to dogs. RM
1873. Therese of Lisieux, B.
1983. Archbishop Edward Howard died in Oregon. He was 106 years old and
a priest for 77 years.
HISTORY, ART, SCIENCE, SPORT
17. Ovid + Poet.
17.
Livy + historian.
1974. Tex Ritter dies, known as the singing cowboy.
JESUIT
1539. Paul III dispenses Ignatius from reading the divine office
because of health (exhaustion and stomach pain).
1554. The husband of Princess Juana dies. She was 19, and, under the alias
of Mateo Sanchez would soon become a Jesuit scholastic.
1726. Domenico Zipoli, S.J. dies of tuberculosis. He was a composer in the
Jesuit Reductions. He died before his ordination, which was delayed
because no bishop was near.
1848. At Rome, as Pius IX was returning to the Quirinal, angry
shouts were raised, "Death to the Jesuits." The Pope
fainted in his carriage.
1922. Formal opening of Weston College as a House of Studies.
1953. Pope Pius XII gives permission to St. Louis University President
Paul Reinert to name the new library in his honor.
1983. Cy Schommer, S.J., violinist, +.
1983. Pope John Paul II reveals his intention to make Carlo
Martini, S.J. and Henri deLubac, S.J. cardinals. There have
been 18 Jesuit cardinals.
1987. The end of a five day meeting of Jesuit Islamicists in Cairo.
1993. Victor Yanitelli + President of St. Peter's College, 1963-80,
and parochial vicar. The homilist at his funeral said:"When I
die, I want to be judged by Vic rather than by Jesus Christ."
6
January 3
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS - Optional Memorial
1521. Martin Luther, age 38, is excommunicated, at the Diet of
Worms.
1840. Blessed Damien of Malokai B. in Belgium, Damien Joseph
deVeuster. He would die of leprosy in 1889.
1864. John Hughes, the first Archbishop of New York +. He is
better known as "Dagger John."
HISTORY, ART, SCIENCE, SPORT
106. BC. Cicero B. Orator and statesman.
1892. J.R.R. Tolkien B. in South Africa. He is the author of The Hobbit,
and Lord of the Rings.
1920. New York Yankees purchase Babe Ruth for $125,000. from
Boston.
1939. Bobby Hull B. Ice Hockey Star.
1959. Alaska becomes a state.
JESUIT
1551. Ignatius Loyola ill, offers to resign as General, but
the offer is not accepted.
1589. Sixtus V, at first favorable to the Society, determined to
alter the name "Society of Jesus" and introduce choir and
other radical changes, which death alone prevented his
carrying out.
1713. In the novitiate at Naples died Joseph Di Geronimo, lay
brother, and brother of St. Francis Di Geronimo. He was
Socius to the Master of Novices for 40 years.
1816. Fr. General Brzozowski and 25 members of the Society, guarded by
soldiers, left St. Petersburg, Russia, having been banished by the
civil government.
1900. The Xavier Society for the Blind is born in the basement of the
College of St. Francis Xavier, NYC.
1964. Gustave Weigel, S.J. + ecumenist, theologian.
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January 4
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, Memorial. She died on this day in 1821.
1309. Blessed Angela of Foligno dies, a mystic of the 3rd
Order of St. Francis.
1889. Maisie Ward B. Catholic laywoman, writer. Co-founder with her
husband of Sheed and Ward.
1964. Pope Paul VI travels to the Holy Land.
1997. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith publishes a
statement notifying Fr. Tissa Balisuriya of Sri Lanka, that
he, age 76, is excommunicated.
HISTORY, ART, SCIENCE, SPORT
1785. Jakob Grimm B. Philologist, with his brother, he collected
fairy tales.
1838. General Tom Thumb B. Circus star and dwarf.
1941. Henri Bergson, philosopher, +.
1960. Albert Camus died at the age of 46, in an auto accident.
1965. T.S. Eliot dies in London. His ashes rest in East Coker.
JESUIT
1572. In Sicily, Michael Foglio, a Scholastic, is said to have
appeared after death, and to have revealed the terrible
sufferings of lax religious in Purgatory.
1634. Fr. Marcello Mastrilli, miraculously cured through prayers to Xavier
the previous day, offered a public Mass of thanksgiving - the remote
origin of the “Novena of Grace.”
1829. Publication of Pope Leo XII's Rescript, declaring the Society to
be canonically restored in England.
1928. Antonio Astrain, S.J. + Jesuit historian and biographer of St. Ignatius
dies at Loyola, Spain.
1952. Henry Davis, S.J. + He taught moral theology for 40 years,
and wrote the 4 vol. Moral and Pastoral Theology.
8
January 5
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. John Neumann, bishop. Memorial. The first USA bishop to be
canonized. He died on this day in 1860 in Philadelphia.
570. Mohammed B.
At Antioch, St. Simeon, monk... He lived for many years
standing on a pillar, and was for that reason called
Stylites. RM
1066. St. Edward, King of England, +.
1893. Archbishop Bryan McEntegart B. Brooklyn.
1964. Pope Paul VI meets Greek Orthodox Patriarch Athanagoras I in
Jerusalem, the first meeting in five centuries.
HISTORY, ART, SCIENCE, SPORT
12th Night - Wassail Evening In England.
1906. Kathleen Kenyon, B. British archeologist, famed for excavating the city
of Jericho.
1914. Ford Motor Company raises salary for an eight hour day from
$2.34 to $5.
1943. George Washington Carver +. Agricultural chemist.
1971. Sonny Liston, former heavyweight boxing champion, is
found dead, possibly due to a drug overdose.
1988. Pistol Pete Maravich, former basketball star, dies of a
heart attack, aged 40.
JESUIT
1548. Francis Suarez, S.J. B. One of the greatest theologians
of the Church. FB.
1644. Isaac Jogues returns from New France to Renne, and meets the
Jesuits. He is asked, "Any news of Jogues?" He answers,
"I am he."
1940. A Letter of Father General Ledochowski thanking Catholic
University of America for the honorary degree given him.
1968. Joseph B. O'Connell, S.J. +. He was known as JB, a renowned
Father Minister, of the New York Province.
1995. The 34th General Congregation opens to revise our law and to prepare
for the new evangelization in the new millenium.
9
January 6
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
EPIPHANY Solemnity - Twelfth Night, In England, as in the
play of Shakespeare, signifying the end of Christmas.
1275. St. Raymond of Penafort dies on this day, aged 100.
1412. Joan of Arc B. In Domremy.
1884. Gregor Johann Mendel +. He was a Roman Catholic monk, botanist,
who developed the laws of genetics.
1895. Longinqua, an encyclical of Pope Leo XIII to the bishops of the USA
on Catholicism in the USA.
1920. Paul Emeceta, the first Nigerian born priest, is ordained. He was
trained by the SMA fathers.
1937. The death of Blessed Andre Bessette, a Holy Cross Brother, worked at
St. Joseph's Oratory, Montreal. A feast in the USA
1940. David Tracy is born - theologian at University of Chicago.
1966. Harold Perry becomes auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, the
second black since 1875 to become a bishop in the USA.
1967. Paul VI institutes the Pontifical Commission on Justice
and Peace, and the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
HISTORY, ART, SCIENCE, SPORT
1706. Benjamin Franklin, B.
1822. Heinrich Schliemann B. He is said to have rediscovered Troy.
1878. Carl Sandburg B. Poet, Galesburg, Ill.
1919. President Teddy Roosevelt +.
1926. Ralph Branca B. He was the Dodger pitcher who served up the
famous home run ball to Bobby Thompson and the NY Giants.
1981. A.J. Cronin, +, author.
JESUIT
1643. The birth of Julian Garnier a linguist and expert on all Iroquois
dialects and the Huron and Algonquin languages. A missionary for
60 years in Canada, he was the first Jesuit to be ordained in Canada.
1656. Andrew White +, founder of Maryland mission. After working
among the Indians, and composing a dictionary grammar, and
catechism in their language, he was carried off to England by the
Parliamentarians and cast into Newgate prison. On being released,
he withdrew to Belgium.
1757. Threats to burn the College Louis-le-Grand in Paris because of false
charges that the Society was involved in an attempt on the life of
Louis VI.
10
January 7
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Raymond of Penyafort, priest, optional memorial. He died on
January 6th, 1275, aged 100.
1715. Francois Fenelon +. A French theologian and mystic, he was
eventually censured during the Jansenist controversies.
1800. St. Bernadette Soubirous, of Lourdes. B.
1873. Charles Peguy. B. He was a Catholic socialist writer and poet.
HISTORY, ART, SCIENCE, SPORT
1610. Galileo discovers the four moons of Jupiter.
1867. Charles Maginnis B. Architect. He designed the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception, Maryknoll Seminary, and Baltimore
Cathedral.
1972. John Berryman, poet dies of suicide.
1989. Emperor Hirohito of Japan +.
JESUIT
1544. Spain is divided into three provinces of Aragon, Castile, and Betica.
1566. The Election of Pope St. Pius V, a great friend of
St. Francis Borgia. He wished to impose the office of
Choir on the Society and actually ordered it.
1652. The l0th General Congregation opens, and elects two generals,
Fathers Gottifredo and Nickel.
1824. Bishop Du Bourg offered the Jesuits his college, which was to
become St. Louis University.
1996. Wilhelm Klein, S.J. dies at Muenster, at the age of 106. He was a
Professor and Provincial, perhaps the oldest Jesuit ever.
11
January 8
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1736. John Carroll, B. Archbishop. In the new calendar
his birthday is January 19th.
1849. Pius IX is forced to flee Rome to Gaeta on the Italian Coast.
1956. Jim Elliot and four Christian missionaries from the USA are
martyred in Ecuador.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1337. Giotto, Franciscan artist dies.
1642. Galileo dies at the age of 77.
1815. The Battle of New Orleans is won by Andrew Jackson. Old
Hickory Day
1912. The founding of the African National Congress, the South African
Liberation Movement.
1935. Elvis Presley B.
1996. Francois Mitterand dies. He was a former leader of France.
JESUIT
1537. The nine first companions of Ignatius arrive in Venice and meet him
there. “With great delight of soul, they found Ignatius awaiting
them”, according to S. Rodrigues.
1595. All members of the Society in Paris were driven into exile amid great
hardships.
1599. Fr. General Aquaviva sends the Ratio Studiorum to all provinces.
1601. Balthasar Gracian, S.J. B. Writer on courtly manners, on nobility,
and philosophy. He published his books pseudonymously. The
Compleat Gentleman, The Art of Worldly Wisdom.
1978. In Makumbi, Rhodesia, Fr. Desmond Donovan (age 50) disappears
while traveling to celebrate Mass.
12
January 9
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1562. Pope Adrian VI is elected. He is the last non-Italian pope until Pope
John Paul II is elected.
1862. Pauline-Marie Jaricot, +. She is the founder of the Society for the
Propagation of the Faith.
1902. Blessed Josemaria Escriva B. He is the founder of Opus Dei.
1970. The Mormons state their position on race relations within their church
and modify their views on discrimination against blacks.
1995. Barnabas Ahern, Scripture scholar, dies at the age of 79.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1324. Marco Polo, traveler, dies at the age of 70, in Venice.
1908. Simone de Beauvoir B. Existentialist, feminist,writer.
1913. Richard M. Nixon B.
1941. Joan Baez, B. Folksinger.
JESUIT
1567. The first missionaries to Peru, nine in number, are sent by St. Francis
Borgia.
1831. Father Peter de Smet and a few companions sail from Europe for
North
America.
1986. Michel de Certeau, S.J. dies, age 61. Writer.
1987. The death of William Lynch, S.J. He wrote on religion and literature:
Christ and Apollo, Images of Hope, Images of Faith, etc.
13
January 10
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
In Cyprus, blessed Nicanor, one of the first seven deacons. RM
St. Miltiade, Pope from Africa, in new RM. He was pope from
311-314. He signed the Edict of Milan and constructed the
Basilica of St. John Lateran.
1970. In USA, bishops may allow Saturday evening Mass to take the place
of Sunday Mass. Permission is granted by the Congregation of the
Clergy.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1863. The first section of the London underground opens.
1920. The League of Nations holds its first meeting, in Geneva.
JESUIT
1567. Two Jesuits arrive in Havana, Cuba, as a base for
evangelization.
1581. Queen Elizabeth signed the fifth Penal Statute in England inflicting
heavy fines and imprisonment on all who harbored Jesuits and
Seminary priests.
1607. St. Isaac Jogues is born in Orleans.
1910. The death of Fr. Patrick Healy, S.J. He was President, and second
founder of Georgetown University (1873-82).
1920. Vincent O'Keefe, S.J. B. He was an Assistant, and vicar general under
Pedro Arrupe.
1984. Fr. John Srna dies (76) in Czechoslovakia. As provincial of Slovakia, he
could make only one recorded trip to Rome.
14
January 11
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1892. Bishop Francis X. Ford B. Early Maryknoller, he was a missionary to
China, and imprisoned there for many years.
1960. Dom Lambert Beaudain, OSB +. He began the popular
liturgical movement in Belgium.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1842. William James B.
1843. Francis Scott Key +. He was the author of the national anthem, and
an active Episcopalian layman.
1861. Alabama secedes from the Union.
1903. Alan Paton B. In South Africa, he was a social activist, and antiapartheid writer.
1964. The US Surgeon General reports that cigarette smoking is a
definite "health hazard."
JESUIT
1559. The death of Roberto Cardinal de Nobili (age 17), uncle of the Jesuit
Roberto de Nobili. He was a boy cardinal, named at the age of 12, and
a friend of Jesuits and guided by Jesuits such as Polanco.
1573. At Milan, St. Charles Borromeo founded a College and placed it under
the care of the Society.
1582. At Rome, Cardinal Buoncompagni (afterwards Gregory XIII)
laid the foundation stone of the Roman College. After his
election as Pope, he ordered the buildings in progress to be
demolished and others on a grander scale to be erected.
1741. Charles Poree + Famed teacher of rhetoric at Paris.
Cf. Diderot’s Encyclopaedia.
1815. Charles Emmanuel, King of Piedmont, abdicated his throne and
entered the Society. He died four years later as a scholastic.
15
January 12
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, a missionary to New France.
1825. The birth of B.F. Westcott, who worked on the critical
text of the New Testament.
1996. The death of Mev Puleo, age 32, of a brain tumor. A graduate of
Weston Jesuit School of Theology, she was a lay woman,
photographer, involved in the struggle for justice.
1957. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is founded.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1167. Aelred + He was Abbot of the Cistercian abbey in Yorkshire, England,
famed as a writer, and called "the English St. Bernard."
1625. Jan Brueghel the Elder +. Flemish painter.
1729. Edmund Burke, philosopher and statesperson is born in Dublin.
1944. Joe Frazier B, Heavyweight champion.
1976. The death of Agatha Christie, writer.
1997. COMPUTER HAL 9000 became operative on this day, according to the
film “2001: Space Odyssey.”
JESUIT
1949. Paul C. Reinert was appointed as the 27th President of Saint Louis
University.
1984. Raymond Swords, S.J. +. He was President of Holy Cross from 196070.
1985. Eduardo Rodriguez + in Spain, age 83. He preached 900 missions over
43 years, usually of 12-15 days length. He never carried a suitcase,
but only a bundle or bag.
16
January 13
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Hilary, bishop and doctor, he died on this day in 367. optional memorial.
The only doctor of the Church who had been married and a parent.
1559. Menno Simons +. Anabaptist leader. He was not the founder of the
Mennonites, but their name comes from him. He was a pacifist.
1631. The Bull of Suppression of Mary Ward's Institute of the BVM
(Jesuitesses), is issued by Urban VIII, Pastoralis Romani
Pontificis. Again in 1877 they would be approved.
1691. The death of George Fox, a pacifist, and founder of the Society of
Friends (Quakers).
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1695. Jonathan Swift is ordained an Anglican priest in Ireland.
1864. Stephen Foster composer (My Old Kentucky Home, etc) dies in a
New York hotel, almost penniless.
1885. The birth of Alfred Fuller, famous as the Fuller Brush Man,
a door to door salesman.
1941. James Joyce +, age 58.
1978. Hubert H. Humphrey, Senator, +.
JESUIT
1552. In Rome, teachers jealous of the success of the first school opened by
the Jesuits invaded the premises and abused the Jesuits teaching
there.
1776. Jesuits in White Russia wrote to Rome asking what to do since they
were forbidden by the Empress Catherine to comply with the Brief of
Suppression.
1883. At Kaltern in Tyrol, died Father Joseph Kleutgen, a theologian, a
victim with Father Lezziroli of an unfortunate misunderstanding,
both being suspended because as extraordinary confessors, it was
said they had not prevented the nuns of S. Ambrogio from honoring
their deceased Superioress as a Saint.
1891. Miguel Augustin Pro, S.J. B.
1944. John Hurley, S.J. and other Jesuits enter Santo Tomas internment
camp in the Philippines after living at the Ateneo under Japanese
guards.
17
January 14
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
In Judea, St. Malachi, prophet. RM
St. Macrina, widow, the mother of St Basil and St. Emmilia, and the
grandmother of four saints. RM
1875. Albert Schweitzer B. Famed as a musician, theologian, doctor, and
missionary. In 1905 he decided to spend his life in Africa as a
medical doctor.
1892. Martin Niemoller, B. A Lutheran pastor, he was imprisoned for his
opposition to Hitler, and was a founder of the Confessing Church in
Germany.
1893. Leo XIII appoints the first Apostolic Delegate to the USA,
Archbishop Franceso Satolli.
1970. Ammon Hennacy dies. Socialist, radical, protester, Catholic
Worker, dropped out of the Church.
1980. The opening of a particular Synod of the Dutch bishops, with
Pope John Paul II. It was held in Rome until January 31.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1898. Lewis Carroll +.
1954. Joe DiMaggio marries Marilyn Monroe.
1957. Humphrey Bogart +.
1977. Anais Nin. + author.
1984. The death of Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's.
JESUIT
1703. A number of severe earthquakes occurred in and around Rome from
this day until February 2nd. At the request of the Pope the Jesuits
worked in 17 different churches in the city giving almost 30
“missions.”
1970. Emmanuel de Breuvery, S.J. +. French Jesuit, he was a friend of
Teilhard, and an economist at the UN from l952-70.
1972. President of Zaire, Mobutu, gives the "order of the Leopard" to P. Boka,
S.J., author of the Zairean national anthem.
1989. The death of John Ford, S.J. Moral theologian, teacher, at Weston
College and Boston College, age 86. He served on the papal
commission on birth control.
18
January 15
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
Blessed Maur, abbot and disciple of St. Benedict. Beginning
his discipline in infancy, he made great progress, for while he was
still under the saint's instruction he miraculously walked upon
water, a prodigy unheard of since the days of St. Peter. RM
St. John Calybita. For some time living unknown to his parents
in a corner of their house, and later in a hut on an island in the
Tiber, he was recognized by them only at his death.
1844. The University of Notre Dame is chartered in Indiana.
1909. Blessed Arnold Janssen + age 71. He was the founder of the Society of
the Divine Word - SVD's.
1915. Mary Slessor +. Scottish missionary to West Africa.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1778. Hawaii is discovered.
1838. Henry Adams is born in Boston. He is the grandson of John Quincy
Adams, the 6th President, and great-grandson of John Adams, the
2nd President and the author of Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres.
1919. A 2.5 million gallon tank of molasses explodes in the North End of
Boston. 21 persons are killed/drowned.
1923. King Tut's tomb is opened.
1929. Martin Luther King, Jr. B.
1970. Biafran forces officially surrender, ending Civil War in Nigeria.
1977. Festac opens in Lagos, Nigeria, the 2nd World Festival of Black
arts and culture.
1982. Red Smith, + sportwriter.
JESUIT
1544. Xavier writes a long and famous letter on his apostolic labors, saying
he wished to visit all the Universities of Europe in search of laborers
for our Lord's vineyard. One result of his plea was the entrance of
Nadal.
1552. At Rome, while the boys of the newly opened First Jesuit School, under
the Capitol, were at Mass, two women entered the Church, shouting
and accusing the Jesuits of robbing mothers of their children.
1623. At Louvain died Father Leonard Lessius, SJ. Age 69.
1624. At Valladolid died Ven. Father Louis de Ponte, a Spaniard,
renowned for his holiness of life and ascetical works.
1776. In Rome the Jesuit prisoners in Castel S. Angelo were
restored to liberty. Father Romberg, the German
Assistant,aged 80, expressed a wish to remain in prison.
1888. John Berchmans, Alphonsus Rodriguez, Peter Claver are
canonized.
19
1901. In the French Parliament, a Bill was introduced against
Religious Congregations. The Society had to transfer its
novitiates and Scholasticates abroad.
1906. The birth of Gustave Weigel, theologian and ecumenist.
1937. The Sacred Heart Program aired on radio for the first time, WEW,
station of St. Louis University.
1942. The Volume I, Number I issue of Review for Religious makes its debut.
It originated at St. Mary’s College, Kansas.
1955. Daniel Lord, S.J. + writer, editor of The Queen's Work.
1978. Fr. Desmond Donovan, S.J. teacher, disappears in Zimbabwe.
1987. Jesuits are forced to close their school in southern Sudan because of
civil war.
20
January 16
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1786. The Virginia legislature adapts an Ordinance of Religious Freedom
which is a model for the first Americans.
1999. Oscar Cullman, Lutheran Biblical Scholar dies. Christ and Time,
ecumenist.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1599. Edmund Spenser + age 46. The Fairie Queene.
1794. Edmund Gibbon + age 56. He wrote The Rise and Fall of the Roman
Empire.
1874. Robert D. Service B. Canadian poet and novelist; "The
Cremation of Sam McGee", "The Shooting of Dan McGrew."
1906. Marshall Field + Merchant, philanthropist.
1920. Prohibition begins on this date in 1920, one year after the l8th
Amendment is ratified on this day in 1919. It will last until l933.
1957. Arturo Toscanini +. Conductor of the NBC Symphony Orchestra.
1979. The Shah of Iran goes into exile. Khomeini will take over.
1991. The Gulf War begins with the allied bombing of Iraq. This is
a response to the Iraqi take over of Kuwait.
JESUIT
1554. St. Ignatius manifests the desire, if the Society allows, to go to Africa
and work on the mission he established there.
1656. At Meliapore died Father Robert de Nobili, nephew of Cardinal
Bellarmine. Sent to the Madura Mission, he learned to speak three
languages and for 45 years labored with great fruit among the
Brahmins of the highest caste.
1679. In Wales Fr. Ignatius Price, pursued for alleged complicity in the
Titus Oates plot, dies of exhaustion and exposure to the cold.
1860. In Calcutta, Belgian Jesuits opened St. Francis Xavier College.
21
January 17
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Anthony, abbot. Memorial. He died on this day in 356, at the age of 105. He
is called the founder of monasticism.
1377. Pope Gregory XI returns to Rome, ending the Avignon
Papacy, since 1309.
1927. Dr. Tom Dooley is born in St. Louis. He served as a doctor in IndoChina, and dies in 1961.
1968. Bob Jones, Sr. +. He was a militant fundamentalist evangelist, and
the founder of Bob Jones University in 1924.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1706. Ben Franklin B. Boston. He was a printer, writer,
statesman and inventor.
1899. Al Capone, B Chicago gangster.
1942. Cassius Clay B. Later, he is Mohammed Ali, the Greatest.
1950. Brinks Robbery takes place for big bucks.
1977. Gary Gilmore is executed in Utah and so capital punishment returns
to the USA.
JESUIT
1556. Motu Proprio is issued to the effect that the Roman College can grant
higher degrees in philosophy and theology.
1559. At Rome died Robert Cardinal de Nobili, aged 18, a candidate for the
Society but prevented by the Pope from
entering.
1706. The 15th General Congregation opened. Fr. Michael Angelo Tamburini
was elected General on January 31.
1890. Benedict Sestini, S.J. +. Astronomer, editor, founder of the
Messenger of the Sacred Heart and editor l866-85. He was a teacher
at Woodstock College, an architect and mathematician. He designed
the library ceiling at Woodstock.
1975. William T. Noon, S.J. + New York Province, Joyce scholar. He wrote
Poetry and Prayer.
1981. The Society is informed of the meeting of Fr. Arrupe with Pope John
Paul II on this day where he expresses his desire to present his
resignation as General to the 33rd General Congregation.
1996. Juan Luis Segundo, S.J. dies. A Uruguayan, he wrote extensively on
the theology of liberation.
22
January 18
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1562. The Council of Trent reconvenes after a suspension of
ten years.
1961. Doctor Tom Dooley dies, noted as a humanitarian in Indo-China
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1882. A.A. Milne B. London. He is the author of Winnie the Pooh.
1961. The death of Patrice Lumumba, nationalist leader of Zaire. He was
assassinated.
JESUIT
1615. Jesuits begin a mission in Danang, Vietnam.
1892. Anthony Maria Anderledy, S.J. dies at Fiesole and is buried there at
San Giralomo. From Switzerland, he was the 23rd General of the
Society of Jesus. He had been ordained in St. Louis, and had been a
pastor in Green Bay for two years.
1973. Edward Surtz, S.J. is killed in a bicycle accident. He was a renowned
scholar on St. Thomas More.
23
January 19
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Macarius of Egypt. His wisdom is featured in Sayings of the
Fathers. Feast day.
973. Benedict VI is elected Pope. He would die the following year in July,
date unknown, strangled by a priest.
1669. Susannah Annesley (Wesley) B. She is the mother of Charles and
John. She was the 25th child in her family, and bore 19 children
herself, the last two being John and Charles.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1807. Robert E. Lee, B. Confederate General.
1809. Edgar Allen Poe B. Boston. He was orphaned at the age of three.
1839. Paul Cezanne B.
1953. Little Ricky Jr. is born on TV to Lucille Ball and Dezi Arnez.
1974. Notre Dame ends UCLA=s 88 game winning streak in basketball.
1985. Eric Voegelin dies. Political philosopher.
1998. Cark Perkins dies. He sang “Blue Suede Shoes.”
JESUIT
Blessed James Sales, priest, and William Saultemouche,
religious; Bl. Melchior Grodecz and Stephen Pongracz,
priests. Bl. Ignatius de Azevedo, priest, and companions;
Bl. James Bonnaud, priest, and companions, martyrs; Bl. Joseph
Imbert and John Nicholas Cordier, Priests, martyrs optional
memorial.
1561. In South Africa the baptism of the powerful King of
Monomotapa, also of his mother and 300 chiefs by Father
Goncalvo de Silveira.
1565. James Laynez dies in Rome, the Second General of the Society.
He had been a papal theologian at Trent. There were 18 Provinces
and 3500 members at his death.
1754. Carvalho gave orders that none of Ours in Portugal were
to leave their Houses, thus practically imprisoning 1,500
of the Society.
1890. The Society received from Pope Leo XIII the special feast and office of
Our Lady della Strada.
1927. Fr. Alexander Burrowes died. The evolution of St. Ignatius College in
Chicago into a university was largely due to his enterprise. He later
became Provincial of the Missouri Province between 1913 and 1919.
1945. Joseph O Callaghan, S.J. receives the highest USA honor, the
Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism as chaplain on the
Franklin in WW II.
24
January 20
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Fabian, pope and martyr, and Sebastian, martyr, optional memorial.
Blessed Cyprian Michael Oweni Tansi - lst Nigerian to be beatified.
Feast Day in Nigeria. He died on this day in 1964, in Leicester,
England, as a Cistercian monk.
1645. The death of Mary Ward, according to the Old Style calendar.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1775. Andre-Marie Ampere was born. A physicist, he founded the science of
electrodynamics to measure electricity, later known as a
galvanometer. He was an alumnus of a Jesuit School during the
time of the Suppression.
1783. The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Revolutionary War.
1896. George Burns B. A comedian, he lived to the age of 100.
1981. 52 American hostages are released by Iran, after 444 days.
1984. Johnny Weismuller + age 79. He won five Olympic gold
medals in swimming, and played Tarzan in the movies.
1993. Audrey Hepburn + age 63.
JESUIT
1606. The death of Alexander Valignani at Macao. For 33 years he held the
offices of Provincial and Visitor of the Indies. He devised the farseeing missionary policies to be followed there by Ricci and
subsequent Jesuits.
1688. At Peking, the death of Father John Verbiest,
successor to Father Adam Schall as Mathematical Professor
at Peking, and Superior of the Society in China. He is also credited
with designing and operating a steam wagon in 1665, as well as
designing cannons for warfare.
1932. The first number of the Archivum Historicum Societatis Jesu appears.
1945. Carl Hausmann,S.J. dies of starvation and exposure on a Japanese
prison ship. He was a missionary to the Philippines and a chaplain
in the US Army.
1994. The death of Philip Land, S.J., from Oregon, a strong
advocate of social justice.
25
January 21
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Agnes, virgin and martyr. She died on this day in 304. Memorial.
St. Meinrad, in the monastery of Einsiedeln in Switzerland, is slain by
robbers. RM
1077. King Henry goes to Canossa, as a penitent to
Pope Gregory VII.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1793. King Louis XVI of France is executed by the guillotine.
1924. Lenin dies. This leads to a power struggle. He had a health breakdown
two years earlier.
1930. C. Tombaugh, an American astronomer, discovers the planet Pluto.
1940. Jack Nicklaus B golf champion.
1941. Placido Domingo B. Spanish tenor.
1959. Cecil B. DeMille + He was a pioneer of the motion picture industry.
1998. Pope John Paul II travels to Cuba, encouraging the Church under
Castro.
JESUIT
1622. The English Vice-Province becomes a Province, with Richard
Blount as the first Provincial.
1652. Election as General of Father Alexander Gottifredo. He died
about six weeks after his election, and before the close of the
Congregation.
1705. Claude Francois Menestrier, S.J. +. He wrote a classic
history of ballet, and created a ballet for Louis XIV performed at the
College of Louis-le-Grand.
1795. The death in Rome of Ignatius Romberg. He was the German Assistant
at the time of the Suppression and was imprisoned with Fr. General
Ricci in Castel San Angelo.
1869. Fr. Joseph O’Callaghan, the procurator from Maryland is killed in a
storm at sea while returning from Rome from a Congregation.
1911. A banquet is held at Georgetown University to honor alumnus Edward
Douglas who was Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.
1951. The Green House at Woodstock, the workers’ quarters, burns to the
ground.
26
January 22
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Vincent, deacon and martyr optional memorial.
1882. Fifth St. Presbyterian Church in Troy, NY becomes the first church in
America lit by electric lights.
1893. Fulton Oursler is born in Baltimore. A convert, he is the author of
The Greatest Story Ever Told.
1899. Pope Leo XIII issues Testem Benevolentiae against
Americanism.
1922. Pope Benedict XV +. He had been pope since 1914.
1991. Redemptoris Missio letter of Pope John Paul II issued.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1788. Lord Byron, George Gordon B.
1891. Antonio Gramsci B.
1901. Queen Victoria +.
1973. Lyndon Baines Johnson, ex-President, dies at LBJ Ranch, Texas.
1973. The Supreme Court ruling on abortion, liberalizes, and legalizes
abortion in certain cases (Black Monday). Roe vs. Wade.
1990. Northrop Frye +. Canadian literary critic, author, and
clergyman.
1994. Aristotle (Telly) Savalas dies at age 70. "Kojak".
JESUIT
1561. Pius IV abrogates the decree of Paul II and keeps the
life term of Father General.
1614. The death of Fr. Martin Costens, a Polish Jesuit, who had an iron
crown weighing 16 pounds placed on his head and tightened with a
pin until his head was crushed.
1769. On the part of his sovereign, Louis XV, the French
Ambassador, Aubeterre, presented to Clement XIII a
summary demand for the total suppression of the Society.
He found the Pope unbending.
1901. Blessed Alberto Hurtado, S.J. is born in Chile. He established Hogar
de Cristo, and worked with youth, in Catholic Action. He dies 18
August 1952.
27
January 23
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1585. Mary Ward B. She founded the Institute of Mary, or the English
Ladies, an institute of apostolic women, also called the Jesuitesses,
which was later suppressed, and she was imprisoned. This is the
date in the Old Style Calendar.
1893. Phillip Brooks dies. He was an Episcopal preacher, and
wrote “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1783. Stendhal was born in Grenoble. He is the author of The Red and
the Black.
1968. The US Naval ship, the Puebla, is captured by North Korea.
1976. Paul Robeson, + singer and actor.
1989. Salvador Dali, + artist.
JESUIT
1656. The publication of Pascal's First Provincial Letter against the Society.
Others followed at intervals until March 27, 1657. In 1658 they were
condemned at Rome, and on October l0, 1660 publicly burnt by the
French King's order.
1789. John Carroll gains the deed of land for the site and origin of
Georgetown University.
1871 Famous missionary Peter deSmet visits Woodstock College for a few
days.
1876. Blessed Rupert Mayer, S.J. B.
1893. Frederic Faura Brat, S.J. +. An astronomer, he was the founder of the
Manila Observatory, and an inventor of an aneroid barometer.
1909. The death of William Pardow, S.J., Preacher and Provincial
(1893-97). He established the first mission of the US Jesuits in
Jamaica.
1932. Decree in Spain dissolves the Society of Jesus in Spain.
It is reversed by Franco six years later.
28
January 24
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor, Memorial. He was buried on this
day in 1623.
1573. John Donne B. Poet. He was a convert from Roman Catholicism to the
Anglican Church. He was ordained a priest at age 42.
1918. Oral Roberts B. He was a preacher and the founder of Oral Roberts
University.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1848. Marshall discovers gold in California, at Sutter's
Mill. This leads to the Gold Rush of l849.
1862. Edith Wharton B author.
1908. The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by
Robert Baden-Powell.
1965. Winston Churchill +
statesman.
JESUIT
1554. Blessed Joseph Anchieta, a novice, and his Provincial, Nobrega, found
the mission of Sao Paulo (city of Sao Paulo) on the vigil of the feast
of St. Paul.
1594. Pope Clement VIII addresses the Jesuits at the Professed House in
Rome, with the changes he wants. The fathers are thunderstruck.
The changes regard the term of office, etc.
1645. Fr. Henry Morse is led a prisoner from Durham to Newgate,
London. On hearing his execution was fixed for February lst,
he exclaimed: "Welcome ropes, hurdles, gibbets, knives,
butchery of an infamous death! Welcome for the love of
Jesus, my Savior."
1679. The martyrdom at Tyburn in London of William Ireland, procurator for
the English Jesuits. He was falsely accused of plotting to kill the
king.
29
January 25
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
THE CONVERSION OF PAUL, APOSTLE
Feast.
At Damascus, the birthday of St. Ananias, who baptized the apostle Paul...
RM
1863. Rufus Jones, B. American Quaker philsoopher and educator.
1959. Pope John XXIII announces the calling of the Council, at St. Paul
Outside the Walls.
1977. George Shuster +. Educator and writer.
1983. The New Code of Canon Law is promulgated.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1759. Robert Burns, B Scot poet.
1882. Virginia Woolf B. author and critic.
1971. Idi Amin in a coup, deposes Milton Obote, and becomes
President of Uganda.
JESUIT
1540. Edmund Campion B. "The glory and patron of the English
Province."
1707. Cardinal Tournon, Papal Visitor of the missions in China, forbade the
use of the words Tien or Xant for God, and ordered the
discontinuance by the Christians of the Chinese Rites. This was the
beginning of the destruction of the mission there.
1918. The death of Fr. Thomas Gannon, S.J., he was appointed three years
earlier as the first Assistant for the American Assistancy.
30
January 26
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Timothy and Titus, bishops
Memorial.
1564. The decrees and definitions of Trent are confirmed by Pius IV in the
encyclical Benedictus Deus.
1905. Maria von Trapp B. She was an Austrian baroness, ex-religious, now
famous in The Sound of Music.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Australian Day - commemoration of lst British Settlement in 1788.
1913. Jim Thorpe admits he played semi-pro baseball, and returns his two
Olympic gold medals. They were later restored to him.
1950. India becomes a democratic republic.
1953. Peace settlement in Korea.
1961. Wayne Gretzky B Hockey star.
1977. Dietrich von Hildebrand + philosopher who taught at
Fordham University.
1990. Lewis Mumford +. He was a critic and expert on cities, on
civilization and technology.
2001. Al McGuire dies. Basketball coach at Marquette, and then
insightful, humorous sports announcer.
JESUIT
1611. The first Jesuit missionaries sail from Europe to
New France, Canada.
1616. Close of the Seventh General Congregation. One of its enactments
was to refuse support (alimenta) to members dismissed from the
Society.
1975. Josef Jungmann, S.J. + Liturgist, catechetics. His studies in the
history of liturgy contributed towards the reforms of Vatican II.
31
January 27
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Angela Merici, virgin, optional memorial. She died on
this day in 1540. She was foundress of the Ursulines,
the first order of apostolic women.
Lydia, Dorcas, and Phoebe (Lutheran Calendar/Book of Worship)
1925. Friedrich von Hugel dies, age 72. A writer on mysticism, he also
maintained contact with the modernists.
1977. Publication by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith of the
"Declaration on the Question of the Admission of Women to the
Ministerial Priesthood." It was dated 15 October, 1976.
1979. Third General Assembly of Latin American Bishops meets at
Puebla, Mexico, until February 13. It affirms and reaffirms
liberation theology.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
HOLOCAUST DAY
1302. Dante expelled from Florence, spends 20 years in exile until his death.
1756. Mozart B.
1821. Lewis Carroll B (Charles Dodgson).
1850. Samuel Gompers B London. He was the first President of the AFL
(American Federation of Labor).
1851. James Audobon B. Naturalist.
1880. Edison patents the electric lamp.
1967. Three American Astronauts die in a fire on the ground. Gus Grissom,
Edward White, and Roger Chaffee.
1972. The death of Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer.
1973. Peace in Vietnam.
2004. Jack Paar dies. Developer of TV talk shows. Ran the Tonight Show
from 1957-62.
JESUIT
407. John Chrysostom +. This has been a traditional feast for Juniors.
1602. The grotto or cave at Manresa, famous in the life of St. Ignatius,
became the property of the Society.
1805. The Maryland mission being affiliated to the Society in
Russia, Father Robert Molyneux, the First Superior of the
Mission, and Father Charles Sewall renew their
vows.
1829. The death of Fr. Luigi Fortis, the 20th General of the Society, who led
the reconstruction of the Society when it was restored after the
Suppression.
1919. One Novice and one Junior die of flu epidemic at St.
Andrew on Hudson, New York.
1984. Br. Angelo Mulatti dies in Rome, the last survivor of those who built
the Curia on the Borgo Santo Spirito. He also suggested that a statue
of the Sacred Heart be erected at the base of the old observatory.
1998. Fr. Edward Malatesta, S.J. dies. He became an expert on China.
32
January 28
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor. Memorial. While he died in 1274, this
day is the day on which his body was translated to Toulouse.
814. Blessed Charlemagne. +. The First Holy Roman Emperor. He is
honored with a local cultus. Cf. Butler, Lives of the Saints.
1077. King Henry IV was un-excommunicated by Pope Gregory VII after
penance, by going to Canossa, Italy.
1814. Frederick Faber B. He was an English Anglican priest, then he
converted and Roman Catholicism, and was a famous composer of
hymns, such as "Faith of our Fathers."
1947. The Holy See grants the Bishops of Belgium an indult to
celebrate Mass in the evening on Sunday and holydays.
1975. Maisie Ward, publisher +. A noted Catholic laywoman, she was the
wife of Frank Sheed.
1999. The death of Charles Davis, age 76. A priest, theologian, he left the
Church as he explained in his book, A Question of Conscience.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1547. Henry VIII dies in the 36th year of his reign.
1881. Fyodor Dostoyevsky dies. (New Style Calendar)
1939. William Butler Yeats, poet +. His own epitaph reads: "Cast
a cold eye / on life, on death / Horseman, Pass by.
1986. The Challenger spacecraft disaster, with seven astronauts killed.
JESUIT
1547. At London the death of Henry VIII, age 56, in the 36th year
of his reign. It was during his reign that Fathers Salmeron
and Broet went as Papal Nuncios to Scotland and Ireland.
1683. The death of St. Julian Maunoir, known as “the Apostle of Britany” for
preaching missions to the poor in the northwest of France for 42
years.
1853. Fr. Gen. John Roothaan, wishing to resign his office,
summoned a General Congregation, but died on May 8th,
before it assembled.
33
January 29
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
Feast Day in the Russian Orthodox Church of Andrei Rublev, monk,
and iconographer, famous for the Trinity, canonized by them.
1499. The birth of Katherine von Bora. She was an ex-nun, married Martin
Luther, and was the mother of six.
1685. The Edict of Nantes is revoked by Louis XIV, forcing the Huguenots
to flee.
1688. E. Swedenborg. B. Stockholm.
1860. The North American College is established in Rome.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1820. King George III of England dies, insane. His reign saw
the American and French Revolutions.
1845. Poe's poem The Raven is published pseudonymously in the
New York Evening Mirror.
1956. H.L. Mencken dies at Baltimore, age 75, critic.
1963. Robert Frost +.
1979. Nelson Rockefeller +. He suffered a heart attack visiting a friend who
was not Happy.
1980. Jimmy Durante +.
JESUIT
1688. The death of Ferdinand Verbiest, the successor to Adam Schall as
mathematical professor at the imperial court in Peking and superior
of the Society in China.
1700. At Beijing the Emperor Kang-Hsi, cured of his illness by two Jesuits,
gave to each two rolls of silk and fifty ounces of silver.
1770. Clement XIV, to please Carvalho (Pombal) promoted the Marquis'
brother Paul, a worthless man, to the dignity of Cardinal; but when
the Brief and Hat reached Lisbon, Paul was dead.
1837. Letter to the Minister of the Interior in Belgium announces a new
Society of Bollandists is to begin work after the Suppression.
1923. Scholastics at Woodstock keep a fire vigil for several months to
prevent the KKK from setting the college on fire.
1979. James J. Mertz, S.J. dies at age 96, a professor, preacher at Loyola
University, Chicago.
1997. Stefan Bamberger, S.J. dies at age 74. He organized the
first Secretariat on Jesuit Communications.
34
January 30
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1646. Mary Ward +. She founded the Institute of Mary (Jesuitesses) for
apostolic women. This was suppressed and she was imprisoned.
This is the date in the New Style Calendar.
1923. Blessed Dom Joseph Columba Marmion. + Abbot of Maredsous. He
was the author of several books with the themes of Christ, the --- of
the ---.
1972. "Bloody Sunday." 13 Roman Catholic civil rights marchers are shot to
death by British soldiers in Northern Ireland.
1998. Lesslie Newbigin dies, age 88. He was a missionary bishop to India,
strong on ecumenism. He wrote on ecumenism and on inculturation
in the modern world.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1649. King Charles I of England is beheaded.
1882. F.D. Roosevelt B
1933. Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany.
1948. Gandhi is assassinated, an apostle of non-violence.
1948. Orville Wright + aviator, age 77.
1962. African leaders agree in Lagos, Nigeria to form the OAU,
Organization of African Unity.
1968. The Tet offensive begins in Vietnam.
JESUIT
1551. As Jesuits are called to Rome to revise the Constitutions, Ignatius
writes a letter, offering to resign as Superior General because of
health. All reject the resignation except Oviedo.
1633. At Avignon died Father John Pujol, a famous Master of
Novices. He ordered one of them to water a dry stick,
which miraculously sprouted.
1760. At Paris the Society in France was condemned to pay in solidum all the
debts of Father Lavalette. Unfortunately, the Fathers appealed on
this day to Parliament against the unjust sentence. This proved a
fatal step, and led to the destruction of the Society in France by
the Duke de Choiseul and the Government.
1841. Augustine Bally, S.J. dies, a missionary to Pennsylvania, especially to
the sick. He dies at Goshenhoppen, PA, a town named after him by
the people.
1978. Leonard Feeney dies. He was a priest, poet, author. He had been
dismissed from the Society in 1949, and excommunicated in 1953.
The excommunication was lifted on November 22, 1972.
35
January 31
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
John Bosco, priest dies on this day in 1888. Memorial.
1752. Sr. Martha Turpin has her vow profession ceremony in the Ursuline
Convent, New Orleans. She is the first American born woman to
become a nun in the RCC.
1915. Thomas Merton B in France. He was a noted monk and author.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1606. Guy Fawkes is executed for the popish plot of November 1605.
1793. Lucretia Mott B, a feminist, reformer, and advocate of women's rights.
1797. Franz Schubert B.
1876. All North American Indians are ordered to move to reservations.
1919. Jackie Robinson B.
1923. Norman Mailer B, in New Jersey.
1945. Eddie Slovik is shot by firing squad in France. He is the only
US
soldier since the Civil War executed for "desertion."
1947. Nolan Ryan B Strikeout expert.
1958. USA Space Explorer I goes into the air, our first satellite.
JESUIT
1597. John Francis Regis is born in south France.
1615. At Rome died Father Claudius Acquaviva, the fifth General of the
Society . He was elected General when only 37 years of age, and
in the l3th year of his religious life. He governed it for 34 years with
consummate prudence and unflinching courage under most trying
circumstances. He is the longest reigning general - for 33 years and
11 months, serving under eight Popes.
1668. Herman Busembaum, S.J. + Moral Theologian, author of
Medulla Theologiae Moralis.
1683. The arrival of Fr. Thomas Harvey in the colony of New York.
He opened a small school near Wall St. The Jesuits had to leave five
years later.
1774. Father Laurence Ricci, General, prisoner in Castel S. Angelo, having
claimed his liberty, since his innocence had been fully vindicated,
received from the Papal Congregation the reply that they would
think about it. Pope Clement XIV was said at this time to be
mentally afflicted.
1872. The first issue of the Woodstock Letters appears. A.M. deAugustinis is
the editor.
1985. Louis Laurendeau, S.J. dies. He had been the Secretary of the Society
of Jesus from l970-83.
36
February 1
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
At Kildare in Ireland, St. Bridget, virgin. Once, when she touched the wood
of an altar, it immediately sprouted into life, in testimony of her
virginity. RM
1909. George Beverly Shea B. Singer, evangelist with Billy Graham.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1865. The 13th Amendment is approved by President Lincoln. National
Freedom Day - The Abolition of Slavery.
1650. Rene Descartes +. He was a mathematician and philosopher, who
studied for ten years under the Jesuits at La Flech. One of his
nephews was a Jesuit.
1884. The first edition of Oxford English Dictionary is published.
1923. Ernst Troeltsch +.
1942. Quisling is appointed by the Germans as minister/president of
Norway. He abolishes the constitution and becomes a dictator on
February 7th. His name continues in infamy.
1960. The first sit-ins, are held at Greensboro, North Carolina, for civil
rights.
2003. Seven astronauts killed as the Columbia space shuttle breaks apart
over Texas during re-entry.
JESUIT
1541. St. Ignatius and companions move to a house near the church of
Madonna della Strada, the site that was to be the Curia of the
Society for more than two hundred years.
1549. The first band of missioners to Brazil set sail from Lisbon. Sent by
Ignatius, they include the Superior, Manuel Nobrega.
1645. At Tyburn the glorious martyrdom of Henry Morse, S.J.
“Priest of the Plague,” so called because of his care for the plaguestriken.He is hanged, drawn, and quartered for the faith at Tyburn.
1833. Fr. General John Roothan granted Jesuit schools permission to
charge tuition in line with other days schools in the country. But
poor students were not to be turned away. Ordinatio de Minervali.
1953. The dedication of the Philosophate at Spring Hill, Alabama.
1956. Neil Boyton, S.J. dies. He was a teacher at Regis, a friend of youth,
and pastoral worker at St.Ignatius Parish, NY.
2000. Peter Levi dies, age 68. . Ex-Jesuit, poet, Oxford don.
37
February 2
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
PRESENTATION OF THE LORD - Feast. Known as Candlemas, or
Hypapante. Annual Celebration for those in Consecrated Life.
St. Cornelius, a centurion, whom the blessed apostle Peter baptized. RM
1586. Mary Ward B. She founded the Institute of Mary (Jesuitesses) which
was later suppressed. This is the date in the new style calendar.
1594. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina dies, in Rome, wrote over 100 Masses.
1831. The election of Pope Gregory XVI, a strong supporter of the
missions. He had been Prefect of Congregation for the
Propagation of the Faith.
1852. Francis Libermann +. He revitalized the Holy Ghost Fathers,
African missionaries, as their Superior General.
1882. The R. C. Church permits the organization of the Knights of
Columbus.
1974. The Apostolic Exhortation of Paul VI, Marialis Cultus, "For the Right
Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary."
It is dated Feb.2 but published on March 21.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Groundhog Day.
1882. Kazantzakis B.
1882. James Joyce B. Dublin.
1969. Boris Karloff +, "Frankenstein".
1970. Bertrand Russell, philosopher, dies in his 98th year.
JESUIT
1528. Ignatius age 36, arrives in Paris to continue his studies, including
Latin. He will stay there seven years. It was a journey of 700 miles.
1780. Catherine the Great visits the new novitiate at Polotsk, for which she
had given permission, and which helped make possible the survival
of the Society during the Suppression.
1833. A Decree of Fr. Roothaan erects the Province of Maryland.
1915. The 28th General Congregation opens, elects Wlodimir Ledochowski as
the 26th General. It issues a new edition of the Epitome.
1927. Philippine mission ascribed to the New York/Maryland Prov.
1932. The Oregon Province is established and assigned the mission of
Alaska. It is created from the California Province.
1945. Alfred Delp, S.J. is executed in Plotzensee Prison, Berlin.
1946. Br. Matthew Timmers, S.J. working at the Vatican Observatory,
discovers the first comet of 1946 and it is named after him.
1983. Henri de Lubac, S.J. and Carlo Martini, S.J. are created Cardinals.
De Lubac has permission to decline episcopal ordination.
1985. Korea established as an Independent Region.
1987. The death of Fr. Silverio de la Vega Barrio, aged 100, a Jesuit for 85
years, and a superior for 35.
38
February 3
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
St. Simeon and St. Anna (present at the Presentation) in new RM
Blase, bishop and martyr, and Ansgar, bishop optional memorials.
The Blessing of Throats.
1468. Johann Gutenberg +. Printer.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1809. Felix Mendelssohn B.
1842. Sidney Lanier, B. Confederate poet who wrote "Into the Woods My
Master Went."
1874. Gertrude Stein B. Allegheny, PA.
1913. The 16th Amendment calls for Federal Income Tax.
1989. General Alfredo Stroessner, dictator, is ousted from Paraguay
after years of ruling.
JESUIT
1578. Thomas Nelson dies a martyr at Tyburn, hanged, drawn, and
quartered.
1768. The Society of Jesus is expelled from Mexico by order of
Charles III.
1945. The Japanese internment camp, Santo Tomas, in the Philippines, is
liberated by USA troops. Jesuits and others are freed.
1958. The Philippine Province is established.
1984. The death of Francis E. Keenan, S.J. former Rector of Woodstock and
Tertian Instructor.
1988. Fr. General Kolvenbach continued his journey to Zimbabwe, Zambia,
and Egypt. He meets Presidents Mugabe and Kaunda.
1994. The death of Frederick Copleston, priest, philosopher. He wrote the
much used nine vol. History of Philosophy.
1995. C.J. McNaspy, S.J. dies. He was a man of many talents, a writer,
liturgist, musicologist, Juniorate professor and missionary.
39
February 4
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1441. The Encyclical Cantante Domino issued by Eugene IV, following
the Council of Florence and defining the biblical canon.
1906. Dietrich Bonhoeffer B.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1921. Betty Friedan B. She is the author of The Feminine Mystique.
1945. The Yalta Conference begins: Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill.
1974. Patty Hearst is kidnapped by members of the Symbionese
Liberation Army.
1987. Liberace +. Popular Pianist.
JESUIT
St. John de Brito, priest; Bl. Rudolph Acquaviva, priest,and companions;
Bl. Francis Pacheco, Charles Spinola, priests and companions;
Bl. James Berthieu, priest; St. Leo Mangin, priest, and companions,
martyrs, Paul Denn, Remy Isore, and Modeste Andlauer
Memorial. John de Brito died on this day in 1693. He had devised
a way to work with various castes in India.
1566. In South Africa, Ven. Father Goncalvo da Silveira, martyr, set out for
the kingdom of Monomotapa.
1571. In Florida, the martyrdom of Fr. Luis Quiros and two novices, Juan
Mendez and Gabriel Solis. About four days later, five others were
killed. This was an unsuccessful entrance into the USA. It was 36
years before the English settlers at Jamestown.
1617. An Imperial edict banishes missionaries from China.
1986. Pope John Paul II visits St. Xavier College, Calcutta,
speaks of dialogue and service.
1996. The death of Br. Joseph Auger, S.J.,age 86. He served for 57 years in
the Jesuit Curia in Rome.
40
February 5
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Agatha, virgin and martyr
Memorial.
1631. Roger Williams first arrives in New England. He is banished to
Rhode Island five years later.
1736. John and Charles Wesley first arrive in America.
1928. Martin Marty B. Church historian, and a prolific writer.
1928. Andrew Greeley B. A prolific writer.
1992. Robert Hovda dies. He was a liturgist and pacifist, linking liturgy and
justice.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1900. Adlai Stevenson is born.
1934. Hank Aaron B. He holds the record with 755 home runs.
1957. The first black commeercial pilot, Perry Young, flies a helicopter in
New York City.
1982. Laker Airways collapses with a debt of $270 million.
JESUIT
1597. Paul Miki, John Soan de Goto, and James Kisai are martyred on this
day. Paul was a scholastic, arrested just before his ordination, age
33. John was a scholastic, age 19, and James was a brother, age 64.
He had been married, and then his wife apostasized. He worked for
and then joined the Jesuits. They had been dragged 600 miles
through Japan, and are the first martyrs in Japan.
1820. The death of Thaddeus Brozozowski, 19th General. He was the
General after the Restoration.
1833. The first Maryland Provincial is appointed, William McSherry.
1989. Br. K.V. Peter dies in India, age 103. He had been given a government
award as a Model Postmaster.
1991. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., retired Superior General dies in Rome, age 84.
41
February 6
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Paul Miki, S.J. religious, and his companions, martyrs. Memorial. He
died on February 5, 1597.
1861. George Tyrrell B. Modernist.
1922. Cardinal Achille Ratti is elected Pope Pius XI. He will reign for 17
years.
1995. Douglas Steere, +. Quaker leader and spiritual writer.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1895. Babe Ruth B. George Herman Ruth.
1911. Ronald Reagan B.
1952. The death of George VI. He is succeeded by Queen Elizabeth.
1993. Arthur Ashe, tennis star, dies of AIDS due to a blood
transfusion.
JESUIT
1593. Bl. James Sales and William Saultemouche are martyred in France, by
Calvinists, for their defense of the Eucharist. Sales was a priest,
teacher, preacher, age 37, and Saultemouche was a brother, porter,
age 36.
1600. At Nanking, Fr. Matthew Ricci, after being expelled from this city,
returned and opened a seminary.
1612. At Rome the death of Father Christopher Clavius, the Euclid of his
age. He took a leading part in the reformation of the Calendar under
Gregory XIII.
1763. The banishment of the Society from Louisiana by order of the French
government. The exiles sail from New Orleans; run aground at the
Bahamas; and eventually arrive at Spain on April 6th.
1977. John Conway, S.J., brother; Martin Thomas, Christopher
Shepherd-Smith, priests, and their companions, are martyred in
Zimbabwe by terrorists.
1985. Lorenzo Reed, S.J. + He wrote on Jesuit Education.
1988. Fr. Al Jonson, S.J., of the Maryland Province is consecrated
bishop of Reykjavik, Iceland. He had been professor of business at
Wheeling College. Nine priests minister to 1,500
Catholics, out of a population of 240,000.
42
February 7
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
At Lucca in Tuscany, the death of St. Richard, King of England. He was the
father of St. Willebald, and of St. Walburga. RM
1478. Thomas More is born at Cheapside, London.
1878. The death of Blessed Pius IX, the longest reigning Pope. He was
sincerely devoted to the Society; and when one of the Cardinals
expressed surprise that he could be so attached to an Order against
which even high ecclesiastics brought serious charges, his reply was:
"You have to be Pope to know the worth of the Society." This is also
his feast day in the new RM
1909. Archbishop Dom Helder Camara B.
1947. The main group of the Dead Sea Scrolls is found in caves.
1977. James Keller, MM +. He founded the Christopher movement,
"better to light one candle..."
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1812. Charles Dickens B.
1837. Sir James Murray B. He prepared the first half of the
Oxford English Dictionary.
1883. Eubie Blake B.
1986. Baby Doc Duvalier departs from Haiti. He and his father held the
dictatorship there for 28 years.
JESUIT
1549. The first Jesuit martyr, Antonio Criminali, Servant of God, dies in
India. He is the Protomartyr of the Society of Jesus.
1581. The Fourth General Congregation opens. It will elect
Claudio Acquaviva.
1593. James Sales and Br. William Saultmouche die at the hands of the
Huguenots.
1878. At Chicago, the death of Fr. Ferdinard Coosemans, who had a deep
devotion to the blessed Sacrament and the Sacred Heart.
43
February 8
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
1947. Saint Josephine Bahkita dies in Italy. She
was an ex-slavey and became a religious sister in Italy. the first
Blessed of the Sudan. Optional Memorial.
Jerome Emiliani optional memorial. He died on this day in 1537.
1600. Giordano Bruno, cosmologist, is condemned as a heretic by
the Roman Inquisition.
1693. The College of William and Mary is founded, under Anglican
auspices. It is the second oldest institution of higher learning in
America.
1878. Martin Buber is born in Vienna, Austria.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1587. Mary Queen of Scots is beheaded. She had become queen when six
days old.
1828. The birth of Jules Verne. A futurist writer of great imagination, he
wrote 20,000 Leagues under the Sea.
1910. The Boy Scouts are founded.
1916. Henry James +.
1924. Joe Black B. Brooklyn Dodger pitcher.
1969. The first flight of the jumbo jet Boeing 747.
JESUIT
1885. Isidore Boudreaux dies in Chicago. He was a Master of Novices at
Florissant, from 1857-80, and was the first to enter the Society from
our college in Missouri.
1890. At Rome in the Palazzo Barberini, the death of Cardinal
Joseph
Pecci, the brother of Pope Leo XIII. He left the Society in 1847, but
some forty years later was readmitted by the Pope's desire.
1957. Pierre Scheuer, S.J. + Louvain, philosopher.
44
February 9
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
The birthday of St. Apollonia, virgin, who had all her teeth broken out by
persecutors; then, having constructed and lighted a pyre, they
threatened to burn her alive unless she uttered with them certain
impious words. Deliberating a while within herself, she suddenly
slipped from their grasp, and prompted by the greater fire of the
Holy Ghost within her, she rushed voluntarily into the fire which
they had prepared. Those responsible for her death were struck with
terror at the sight of a woman who was more willing to die than they
to kill her. RM
1824. Anne Catherine Emmerich +. Mystic, famed for her visions of the
passion.The movie “The Passion of the Christ” relies upon her
visions.
1919. Langdon Gilkey B. theologian, teacher.
1951. Ordo Sabbati Sancti is issued by Rome. It restores the
Easter Vigil ad experimentum.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1700. Daniel Bernoulli B. Swiss mathematician.
1881. Fyodor Dostoyevsky dies. (New Style Calendar)
1893. Jimmy Durante B. entertainer
JESUIT
1809. Robert Molyneux, S.J. + age 71. He was a missionary from
England, the second President of Georgetown and the first Superior
of the Jesuits in the USA.
1928. The Catholic Medical Mission Board is founded by Rev. Edward
Garesche, S.J., in New York.
1932. The Iraq mission is assigned to the New England Province.
1945. The Ateneo de Manila shelled and bombed, February 9-14th.
The Japanese leave and the Americans arrive on the 19th.
45
February 10
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Scholastica, virgin
Memorial.
Bl. Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian Cardinal. New RM
754. The Council of Constance decrees against image worship.
1939. The death of Pius XI. He had reigned since 1922. Showing great love
for the Society of Jesus, he canonized 11 and beatified 52 of Ours.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1763. By the Treaty of Paris, Great Britain, Spain and France divide up the
New World.
1879. W.C. Fields B.
1898. B. Brecht B. Dramatist and poet.
1898. Dame Judith Anderson B.
1923. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen + Discoverer of X-Rays.
1927. Leontine Price B.
1992. Alex Haley, + author of Roots.
JESUIT
1773. A copy of the proposed Brief of Suppression of the Society of Jesus,
drawn up by Monino (Florida Blanca), the Spanish Ambassador, and
revised by Cardinal Zelada, was sent with Pope Clement XIV's leave,
given reluctantly to Charles III of Spain to be communicated by him
to the Courts of France, Austria, Portugal and Naples.
1857. Ferdinand Prat, S.J. B. His writings include the Life of Christ,
Theology of St. Paul.
1928. Richard Tierney, S.J. +. Key editor of America magazine.
1963. James Sweeney, S.J. + First Provincal of New York from 1939- 45.
1971. Timothy Bouscaren, S.J. +. A canon Lawyer, he was Procurator
General of the Society of Jesus, l947 to l962. Age 86.
46
February 11
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
WORLD DAY OF THE SICK
Our Lady of Lourdes optional memorial. Mary appeared to Bernadette on
this day in l858, the first of 18 appearances, until July 16th.
680. St. Caedmon, poet + Father of English poetry.
1929. Vatican City is created as an independent sovereign state with the
signing of the Lateran Treaty between Italy and the Holy See.
1967. A.J. Muste + peacemaker, advocate of non-violence. He was
Secretary of the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
1989. Barbara Harris is consecrated first woman Episcopal Bishop, in New
England.
1990. Marie Dominique Chenu + 95 years old. Some of his writings were put
on the index in 1942. As a Dominican scholar, he developed a new
school of theology, at Le Saulchoir.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1847. Thomas Edison B.
1900. Hans-Georg Gadamer is born, a philosopher and writer
on hermeneutics.
1979. Khomeini takes over Iran.
1990. Nelson Mandela is released after 27 years in prison in South Africa.
JESUIT
1915. Wlodimir Ledochowski is elected the 26th General of the Society. He
will serve for 27 years.
1930. Fr. Ledochowski creates the Historical Institute of the Society, with
Pedro Leturia as first director.
1950. Hans Urs von Balthasar leaves the Society to work with laity.
1954. Pierre Charles, S.J. + missiologist and spiritual writer. He wrote
Prayer of All Men/Things/Times.
1997. Robert A. Graham, S.J. dies, age 84. He is an historian of Vatican
diplomacy, an expert on the relation of Pope Pius XII to the Nazis.
He also was on the staff of America magazine.
47
February 12
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Saturninus. Originally from Carthage, he was martyred in Rome, a
priest, under Diocletian in the year 304.
1663. Cotton Mather B in Boston, colonial theologian.
1691. Brother Laurence of the Resurrection dies. He is the author of The
Practice of the Presence of God.
1834. Friedrich Schleiermacher + theologian/philosopher.
1931. Vatican Radio is established by Pius XI, with help of Marconi.
1952. Life is Worth Living debuts on Dumont television, starring Bishop
Fulton J.Sheen. It shows from Tuesday 8:00 - 8:30, and lasted five
years.
1997. Alexander Peloquin, age 78, dies. He was a composer and director of
liturgical music.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
T. Kosciuszko Day.
1542. Catherine Howard +. She was the fifth wife of Henry VIII, and the
second to be beheaded.
1804. Immanuel Kant + Koenigsberg, Prussia; age 79.
1809. Abraham Lincoln B.
1809. Charles Darwin B.
1909. NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People) is founded.
1934. Bill Russell B. basketball star at USF and Boston Celtics.
1979. Jean Renoir + painter.
2000. Charles Schulz dies. Creator and writer of Peanuts cartoon for
almost fifty years.
JESUIT
1866. Pope Pius IX wrote a papal brief in favor of La Civilta Cattolica.
1958. Joseph Bonsirven, S.J. + Scripture scholar.
1964. The Jesuits, 18 Canadian Jesuits, are expelled from Haiti.
1967. Francis X. Roser, S.J. + A scientist, he worked on the measurement of
radioactivity in Brazil.
1977. Calvert Alexander +. Editor of Jesuit Missions.
2000. Richard McCormick, S.J. dies, age 77. Taught at seminaries, wrote
‘Notes on Moral Theology’ for Theological Studies, and many books
on moral theology and medical ethics.
48
February 13
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
1728. Cotton Mather + Puritan theologian.
1790. The French Constitutive Assembly suppresses monastic vows.
1888. Archbishop John Baptist Lamy dies. He was the first Bishop of Santa
Fe, and featured in Death Comes for the Archbishop.
2004. Archbishop Denis Hurley of South Africa dies. Strong opponent to
apartheid.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1635. Boston Public Latin School is founded, the oldest public school in the
USA.
1883. Richard Wagner +.
1935. Jury in New Jersey finds Bruno Hauptman guilty in the kidnap and
death of the child of the Lindberghs. Eventually he is executed.
1945. Bombing of Dresden. 1400 planses. Fires, 25,000 are killed.
1958. George Rouault + 87 years old. He was an artist and
a papal knight. Ecce Homo.
1974. Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn is expelled from the Soviet Union.
1976. Murtala Mohammed, leader of Nigeria, is assassinated in an
abortive coup
JESUIT
1557. Father Andrew Oviedo, recently consecrated bishop and Patriarch of
Ethiopia set sail from Goa for his new see. His mission to “Prester
John” was a special interest of St. Ignatius.
1562. A decree of the Parliament of Paris gives the Society legal
existence in France, albeit with severe limitations.
1585. Alfonsus Salmeron, S.J. dies. He was the youngest of the first
companions of Ignatius, a preacher, theologian, and envoy to Ireland.
1787. At Milan died Father Roger Boscovich, an illustrious mathematician,
scientist, and astronomer. At Paris he was appointed "Directeur de la
Marine". He was among the most famous scientists in Jesuit history.
His theory of the composition of matter foreshadowed in part
modern atomic theory, hinting at a field theory approach to physics.
He is pictured on a banknote in Croatia in 1993.
1880. John La Farge, S.J. is born at Newport, Rhode Island.
1946. The New Orleans Province is informed that it is assigned a mission in
Sri Lanka. The decree was dated March 12.
1949. The two top floors of the theologians house at Milltown Park go up in
flames, and one Jesuit theologian is killed.
1956. Br. Claude Ramaz, S.J. +. He served as an administrator and printer,
at the Messenger of the Sacred Heart from 1894 to 1946. He was a
pioneer in color printing for Catholic
magazines, and a promoter of devotion to the Sacred Heart.
1999. The death of Robert O’Connell, of Fordham, philosopher and
scholar, writer on St. Augustine. (Age 74)
49
February 14
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Cyril, monk, and Methodius, bishop. Memorial.
St. Valentine's Day. At Rome, on the Flaminian Road, in the
time of Emperor Claudius, the birthday of St. Valentine,
priest and martyr, who after having cured and instructed
many persons, was beaten with clubs and beheaded. RM
1983. Eric Mascall +. Anglican theologian and ecumenist, age 87.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1779. Captain Cook is stabbed to death by natives in the Sandwich
Islands (Hawaii).
1929. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago as seven of Bugsy
Moran's gang are gunned down.
1931. Bernie, "Boom, boom" Geoffrion B ice hockey star.
1941. Frank Leahy becomes coach at Notre Dame.
JESUIT
1656. At Cologne, the death of Fr. Herman Baving, a German who, when
provincial of the Lower Rhine, continually exhorted the masters in
the colleges to promote among their scholars devotion to the
guardian angels.
1831. The French novitiate at Montrouge near Paris was sacked by
revolutionaries convinced that the novices there were practicing
“small arms drills” in preparation for the Society=s conquering
France.
1891. General William Tecumseh Sherman (March to the Sea) dies. One
of his sons was a Jesuit priest.
1982. Paul Palmer, S.J. + theologian on sacraments, professor at
Woodstock.
1984. Johannes Hofinger, S.J. + in New Orleans. He founded the East Asian
Pastoral Institute, and pioneered in liturgical, pastoral, and
catechetical renewal initiated by Vatican II.
50
February 15
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
At Rome, blessed Onesimus, concerning whom the apostle Paul wrote to
Philemon. He was bishop of Ephesus after Timothy. New RM
1144. Pope Lucius II dies, the only pope to be killed in battle. Leading an
assault on the Capitol, he is injured by stones, and dies a few days
later, on February l5th.
1497. Philip Melanchthon B. He was a German humanist and reformer, and
friend of Luther, a leader of the movement after Luther's death.
1932. The death of Ben Salmon, one of the only four US Catholic
pacifists during World War I.
1964. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. + Thomist philosopher
and theologian.
1966. Camillo Torres +. Revolutionary.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1564. Galileo B, Pisa.
1820. Susan B. Anthony B Adams, Mass. She fought for equal rights for
women.
1861. Alfred North Whitehead B.
1944. 140 USA B 17 planes bomb the famous monastery at Monte Cassino,
Italy.
1965. Nat King Cole +. Singer, jazz piano.
1978. Leon Spinks wins an upset decision over Mohammed Ali.
JESUIT
St. Claude La Colombiere, priest + 1682, optional memorial. He was the
Spiritual director to St. Margaret Mary, and for two years chaplain
in England to the Duchess of York. He was then arrested, committed
to prison in connection with the Oates' Plot and banished from the
country.
1600. Jose Acosta, S.J. dies. He was a missionary, a Renaissance man,
called “the Pliny of the New World.” He wrote on the history,
culture, and fauna and flora of Peru. At the end of his life, he was
involved in politics and became opposed to Fr. General Acquaviva.
1732. Pere Chamillard, S.J. who had been reported by the Jansenists as
having died a Jansenist and working miracles, suddenly appears
alive and well.
1775. Cardinal Braschi was elected Pope Pius VI. A former pupil of the
Society of Jesus, he desired the release of Fr. Ricci, the General, and
his assistants from the prison in Castel San Angelo, but Charles III
of Spain insisted on their detention.
1961. Fr. George Ganss revealed his first plan for the Institute of Jesuit
Sources.
1985. Francis Filas, S.J. +, Chicago. Theologian, sindologist. He wrote on
St. Joseph and the Shroud of Turin.
51
February 16
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1953. Fr. Leonard Feeney is officially excommunicated. He had been
dismissed from the Society of Jesus in 1949.
1977. The Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, Janani Luwum, is
murdered by Idi Amin for his opposition to him.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1838. Henry Adams B. Boston. He is the Grandson of John Quincy Adams,
the 6th President, and Great-grandson of John Adams, the 2nd
President. He is the Author of Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres.
1923. King Tut's tomb is opened.
1959. Fidel Castro becomes the leader of Cuba.
JESUIT
1543. Pope Paul III signs a papal bill establishing a confraternity,
"Compagnia della grazia," to run the House of St. Martha for
wayward women.
1624. At Valladolid died Ven. Father Louis de Ponte, a Spaniard, justly
renowned for his holiness of life and his ascetical writings.
1624. At Toledo, Fr. Juan de Mariana dies. He was a theologian and
writer of a 30 volume history of Spain.
1776. In Rome the Jesuit prisoners in Castel S. Angelo were restored to
liberty. Father Romberg, the German Assistant, aged eighty,
expressed a wish to remain in prison.
1811. At Dublin, the death of Fr. Thomas Betagh, the last survivor of the
Irish Jesuits of the Old Society. At the Suppression he opened a
Latin school in Dublin and became curate of St. Michael's Church
there.
52
February 17
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Seven Founders of the Order of Servites optional memorial.
1600. Giordano Bruno, cosmologist and scholar, is burned to death
publicly in Rome as a heretic.
1885. Romano Guardini B in Verona, Italy.
1888. Ronald Knox B. He was a convert to RCC at age 29 and a
translator of the Bible.
1984. The Congregation for Sacred and Divine Worship notes that
henceforth Teresa of Avila is to be known as Teresa of Jesus
(her name in religion).
1986. Krishnamurti +. Spiritualist philosopher.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1673. Moliere, age 51, dies in Paris, hours after playing the leading role in
his play, the Imaginary Invalid.
1856. Heinrich Heine, poet, dies in Paris age 58.
1865. Ernst Troeltsch. B.
JESUIT
1553. Xavier's coffin is opened and his body is found incorrupt, seventyseven days after death.
1832. Jesuits returned to Portugal, where one of their earliest tasks was to
prepare and preside at the services for the as-yet unburied body of
Pombol, the man who had banished the Society from Portugal in
1759.
1900. The Scholasticate at Grand Coteau, LA burns and is left in ashes.
1970. Augustine Ellard, S.J. + One of the three founders of
Review for Religious.
1978. Georgetown University confers a degree on Archbishop Oscar Romero
in the Cathedral of San Salvador, for his leadership for justice and
human rights. He will die a martyr for justice.
53
February 18
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1546. Martin Luther dies, two months after the opening of the Council of
Trent.
1688. Quakers file their first formal protest against slavery.
1943. Hans and Sophie Scholl, arrested, will be executed four days later for
opposition to Hitler, Die Weisse Rose.
1946. Archbishop Spellman made a Cardinal.
1990. The death of Gunther Bornkamm, New Testament scholar.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1455. Fra Angelico B.
1478. Michelangelo B.
1564. Michelangelo + Genius.
1688. Quakers file the first formal protest against slavery.
1745. Alessandro Volta is born. A physicist, he invented the electric battery.
He was a Jesuit for a brief time, and his father was a Jesuit for
eleven years.
1883. N. Kazantsakis B. Crete. Zorba, the Greek.
1895. George Gipp B (win one for the Gipper).
1897. British conquer Benin City in Nigeria, and plunder the Benin bronzes,
and remove the Oba.
1901. The vacuum cleaner is patented by H. Cecil Booth. It is called a “dust
removing suction cleaner.”
1928. Sonja Henie, age l6 wins Olympic Gold medal.
1998. Harry Caray dies, voice and first fan of the Chicago Cubs: “Holy Cow!”
JESUIT
1551. At Rome the opening of the First School of the Society
in Piazza Ara Coeli, which soon developed into the famous
Roman College, eventually the Gregorian University.
1571. A Group of Spanish Jesuits is murdered by Indians in Chesapeake
Bay area after six months of activity. This leads to the withdrawal of
Jesuits from there as well as Florida.
1967. Robert Leiber, S.J. +. He was a Professor of History at the Gregorian
University, who continued updating Pastor's History of the Papacy.
1978. The death in Rome of Fr. Patrick Treanor, age 58, director of the
Vatican Observatory since 1970.
54
February 19
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1568. The death of Miles Coverdale. He was the translator and publisher of
the first complete Bible printed in English.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1473. Copernicus B.
1906. William Kellogg sells the first cornflakes. It was first developed as a
health food for psychiatric patients.
1942. Presidential order of F.D. Roosevelt on the removal of 120,000
Japanese in California to detention camps is issued.
1951. Andre Gide dies age 81 in Paris.
JESUIT
1581. The election of Father Claude Acquaviva as 5th General in the
Fourth General Congregation. He was only 37 years of age, and a
Jesuit for only l4 years. He was general under 8 popes. He had been
a fellow novice with St. Stanislaus.
1803. At. St. Inigo's, Maryland, Fr. James Walton died. He entered the
Society in 1757, was sent to Maryland in 1766 and labored for 36
years. During the Suppression, fully confident that the Society would
one day be restored, he faithfully guarded the property of the Society
which had been invested chiefly in his name.
1906. George Tyrell, modernist, theologian, leaves the Society of Jesus.
1984. The death of Fr. Nikolaus Ory, scholar. He was the unifier and leader
of the exiled, dispersed Hungarian priests, Unio Cleri Hungarici.
1984. Fr. General honors Br. Joseph Auger at dinner table, on his
75th birthday and almost 50 years of service at the Curia under
four Generals.
55
February 20
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1878. Pope Leo XIII is elected. He is Cardinal Pecci, a former pupil of the
Society at Viterbo and the Roman College. He would reign for 25
years.
1919. National Catholic Welfare Conference is called into being.
1976. Kathryn Kuhlman dies. She was an evangelist and faith healer.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1895. Frederick Douglass +. Liberator, abolitionist.
1942. Phil Esposito. B. Ice Hockey star.
1962. John Glenn becomes the first American to go into orbit.
JESUIT
1515. Ignatius commits a grave crime in Azpeitia, and a process begins
against him.
1582. Three Japanese princes sailed from Japan for Rome to pay homage to
Pope Gregory XIII. Fr. Valignani, who arranged the embassy,
accompanied them as far as Goa.
1647. Br. Cuthbert Prescott dies in prison. He used to send Catholic youth to
St. Omer by ship, in defiance of the penal laws. About 100 made the
trip annually.
1896. Henri de Lubac, S.J. B. theologian, later a Cardinal.
1927. Fr. Anthony J. Maas, S.J. + Life of Jesus, familiar to many novices.
He had also been a tertian instructor, and Provincial from 1912-18.
1947. The Maryland Provincial David Nugent announces that the province is
being given the Jamshedpur Mission, from the Ranchi and Calcutta
Provinces.
1986. The death of Fr. James Walsh, founder and long time editor
of The Way.
56
February 21
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Peter Damian, bishop and doctor optional memorial.
1109. Anselm of Canterbury + He wrote Cur Deus Homo.
1142. Peter Abelard dies. He had been a teacher and lover of
Heloise, and was then excommunicated.
1513. The death of Pope Julius II. He has been called "the bloodstained chief
of the gladiators." He held eight bishoprics and several abbeys and
benefices, and stressed territorial conquest and the patronage of the
arts.
1801. John Henry Newman B.
1922. Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val dies. He had been Vatican Secretary
of State.
2001. Pope John Paul II creates forty four new cardinals, including Cardinal
Avery Dulles, S.J.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1907. W.H. Auden B in York, England.
1925. The first issue of the New Yorker appears on the stands. Harold Ross,
founder and editor, explains, it is not "for the old lady in Dubuque."
1965. Malcolm X is shot and killed in New York City.
1972. President Nixon visits China.
1995. Robert Bolt + playwright, A Man for All Seasons.
JESUIT
1595. At Tyburn, the martyrdom of Robert Southwell after he had suffered
brutal tortures in Topcliffe's house and in prison. He embraced the
gaoler who brought him word that he was to be executed. As he
breathed his last, Lord Mountjoy, who presided over the execution,
exclaimed: "May my soul be one day with that of this man."
1616. At Seville died Father Alphonsus Rodriguez, full of days and merits,
for he had reached the 90th year of his age and the 70th in the
Society. He had been Master of Novices for 40 years and wrote that
golden work The Practice of Christian Perfection, one of the most
influential spiritual works ever written. There have been 50 editions
in Spanish, and it has been translated into twenty four languages.
1900. Fr. Genicot, S.J. + Professor of Moral Theology at
Louvain, age 44.
1984. Francis Rouleau, S.J. + He was an historian and expert on the
Chinese Rites Controversy.
57
February 22
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
CHAIR OF ST. PETER, APOSTLE
Feast.
606. Pope Sabinian + Papal abdication was extorted from him. He was
accused of profiteering on grain during a famine. His funeral
procession had to detour outside the city walls to reach St. Peter's.
He had vainly tried to succeed Pope Gregory the Great.
1076. Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV,
who interfered in the installation of clerics.
1892. John Gilmary Shea, historian +. He was a member of the Society of
Jesus between the years 1848-1852. The Father of American
Catholic Church history, he wrote a four vol. History and 15 vol.
Dictionary of Native American Languages.
1962. Encyclical of Pope John XXIII. Veterum Sapientia, promotes Latin.
1983. Fr. Paul Bussard +. Co-founder of the Catholic Digest.
2002. Dom Godfrey Diekman, O.S.B. dies, age 93. Leader of liturgical
renewal, founder of ICEL.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1732. George Washington's Birthday.
1810. Chopin B.
1819. James Russell Lowell B.
1879.F.W.Woolworth opens first “five and dime” store in Utica, NY.
1889. The Dakotas, Montana and Washington join the United States.
1932. Edward (Ted) Kennedy B.
1943. Hans and Sophie Scholl executed. Edited Die Weisse Rose vs. Hitler.
1950. Julius "Doctor" Erving B. Basketball star.
2002. Jonas Savimbi, UNITA rebel leader in Angola, anti-Marxist,
ambitious figure, is killed after thirty five years of struggle.
JESUIT
1551. The Roman College, now the Gregorian, announces its opening.
It begins the next day, indebted to the support of Francis Borgia. The
sign reads: “Classes in Grammar, the Humanities, and Christian
Doctrine. No Tuition.” It begins with 15 teachers and 60 students.
1564. At Paris, against much opposition, a Jesuit school was opened, College
Louis-le-Grand, one of the greatest Jesuit schools.
1599. By Clement VIII's order, the Generals of the Society and of the
Dominicans, with other Fathers of both Orders, met together to
settle, if possible, the controversy "De Auxiliis." Nothing came of it.
1622. 3rd translation of the body of Ignatius, 12 before his cnonization.
Already in the Gesu, it is placed under the main altar in the same
urn as now.
1624. The martyrdom at Sendai, Japan, of James Carvalho, who ministered
to miners in the northern islands of Japan until the local ruler
turned against the Christians and killed Carvalho by exposing him
in the frigid waters of a river.
58
February 23
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Polycarp, bishop and martyr
Memorial.
1867. Fr. Theophilus Verbiest dies in Mongolia. He founded the
Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM)
Scheutists.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1865. Handel B Messiah. He was a German born British composer.
1868. William Dubois B Educator and writer.
1821. Keats + age 25 of TB in Rome, near the Spanish Steps.
1836. Siege of the Alamo begins.
1945. Flag raising on Iwo Jima. It is captured in a famous photo by
AP photographer Joe Rosenthal.
1953. Paul Claudel + poet, dramatist, age 86. His final words reputedly
were "was it the sausage, doctor?"
1960. Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, home of the Dodgers, is razed.
1980. Eric Heiden wins his fifth Olympic Gold Medal in speed skating.
JESUIT
1546. LeJay is one of the theologians commissioned at Trent to draft the
decree on Scripture and tradition.
1555. A letter from St. Ignatius to Claudius, the Emperor of Ethiopia, urging
reunion with the church of Rome.
1700. Paul Hoste, S.J. dies. He was a mathematician and expert historian on
the construction of ships and naval warfare.
1945. The freeing and rescue of 76 Jesuits and others from the Philippine
internment camp, as USA troops take over.
1970. William J. Young, S.J. + writer and translator of Ignatian/Jesuit
spirituality.
1982. All Jesuit provincials assemble at Villa Cavaletti at the request of the
Pontifical Delegate, Fr. Dezza, and meet until March 3rd.
1984. Joseph Putz, S.J. + age 99 in India. He was a peritus at Vatican II,
scholar, teacher, theologian, editor of Clergy Monthly for 33 years.
1994. Joseph Fichter, S.J. + age 85, sociologist, writer. He served as Stillman
Professor of Roman Catholic studies at Harvard University.
59
February 24
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1509. Pope Julius II issues a bill condemning the practice of dueling.
1616. The Holy Office decides against Galileo. It is heretical to say that
the sun is the center of the world system.
1947. Opus Dei is approved by the Holy See as the first Secular Institute of
Pontifical Right.
1999. The death of Andre Dubus, age 62, Catholic author.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1500. The birth of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
1582. Gregory XIII reforms the Julian Calendar which moves
New Year’s Day from March 25th to January lst.
1821. The Independence of Mexico is proclaimed.
1848. Sutter discovers gold in California.
1868. The Impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson begins.
He is eventually acquitted.
JESUIT
1637. At Naples died Father Francis Pavone. Inflamed by his words and holy
example, sixty of his class of Philosophy, and the entire class of
Poetry embraced the Religious State.
1831. On this day, Fr. General Roothaan’s letter declaring Missouri an
independent mission (from Maryland) finally reaches the Missouri
Jesuits. Their superior is Fr. Theodore De Theux. He communicated
this to the 15 members of the Society in the West. This status gives
the mission the privilege of having its own novitiate.
1979. Fr. Francis Louis Martinsek, S.J. is assassinated in Mokame,
India. He was born in Pennsylvania, USA.
60
February 25
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1536. Jacob Hutter burned + .
1570. The excommunication of Queen Elizabeth by Pope St. Pius V, after he
had exhausted every means to conciliate her.
1902. Oscar Cullman B. Strasbourg. New Testament scholar.
He was the author of Christ and Time.
1988. TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart is suspended on a morals charge.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1964. Cassius Clay (later Ali) KO's Sonny Liston in the seventh round.
1969. Karl Jaspers, + philosopher.
1983. Tennesee Williams +, playwright. He leaves a large donation
to the University of the South. He died in N.Y. City, accidentally
choking to death.
JESUIT
1571. Francis Borgia is sent by Pius V with Cardinal Alessandrino into Spain
and France to try to induce the sovereigns to form a league against
the Turks.
1591. Joachim Friedrich Ritter von Spee, S.J. B. He wrote poetry, and also
Cautio Criminalis, against trials and executions of witches. A
Defender of human rights.
1931. The Oriental chapel in the Curia in Rome is blessed and
dedicated.
1990. Fr. John Houle, S.J. age 77, is cured of a heart condition through the
intercession of Blessed Claude LaColombiere. This helps lead to his
canonization.
61
February 26
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1835. The Queen of Madagascar, Ranavalona I forbids Christianity,
but the church continues to grow.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1802. Victor Hugo B. Poet and playwright.
1848. Karl Marx, age 69, publishes The Communist Manifesto, in
London.
1915. Preacher Roe, B. Brooklyn Dodger pitcher.
1932. Johnny Cash B. He is a born again Country and Western singer.
1936. Hitler launches the VW - Volkswagen, to show competition to the Ford
automobile.
1986. Philippine dictator President Marcos flees the country.
JESUIT
1611. At Ferrara died Father Anthony Possevino, employed by Gregory XIII
on many important embassies to Sweden, Russia, Poland and
Germany. Colleges and seminaries were opened by him at Cracow,
Olmutz, Prague, Braunsberg, and Vilna. With all his labors he found
time to write 24 books on history, sculpture and science.
1878. At Rome died Father Angelo Secchi, one of the leading modern
astronomers. He is honored with a bust in the Concellaria and on
the Pincio. He taught physics at Georgetown and made the first
general spectral classification of the stars at the Vatican
Observatory.
1932. Hartman Grisar dies at Innsbruck. He was a Reformation historian
and a Lutheran scholar.
1984. James Finnegan, S.J. New York Province, is killed in Beirut,
Lebanon by stray shell fire.
62
February 27
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
200. The birth of Constantine the Great, the First Roman Emperor to be
converted.
1633. George Herbert +. Poet, and Anglican priest and pastor.
1601. St. Anne Line dies a martyr. A married woman, she helped in hiding
priests.
1977. The New Rite of Reconciliation is initiated in the USA.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1807. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow B. Portland, Maine.
1902. John Steinbeck B. Novelist: The Grapes of Wrath.
1913. Paul Ricoeur B. Philosopher.
1973. Wounded Knee, South Dakota, is occupied by Sioux Indians.
2003. Fred Rogers of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, dies. A Presbyterian
minister, his TV show for children ran from 1968-2000.
JESUIT
1585. Fr. General Acquaviva wrote a severe letter forbidding members of the
Society to meddle with politics after Fr. Mathieu and the League
(Ste. Union de France) sought to hinder King Henry of Navarre, a
Protestant, from succeeding to the throne.
1767. A secret decree of Charles III banishes the Society from Spain and
seizes its property. It takes effect on April 2nd when troops will take
over properties.
1928. An attack on the life of historian, Fr. Tacchi-Venturi in the parlor of
the Jesuit Residence in Rome. He is wounded.
1982. Pope John Paul II addresses Jesuit provincials at Villa Cavaletti,
during this interim stage, between Superior Generals.
1985. West German TV shows film on life of Friedrich Spee, S.J.,
a crusader for human rights, and a poet.
63
February 28
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1759. Pope Clement XIII grants permission for the bible to be translated to
all languages of the Roman Catholic states.
1823. Ernest Renan B.
Religious critic.
1857. A. Loisy B. French Roman Catholic Modernist.
1971. Professor George La Piano dies at the age of 93. He is called the
Catholic Modernist at Harvard (1915-1947).
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1533. Michel de Montaigne B, essayist.
1916. Henry James +. age 72, London.
1986. Prime Minister of Sweden, Olof Palme is shot and killed in
Stockholm. It remains an unsolved murder.
JESUIT
1534. Pierre Favre is ordained a sub-deacon in Paris.
1573. Gregory XIII's Brief Ex Sedis Apost. benignitate,is issued.
It exempts the Society from choir, which his predecessor,
St. Pius V had imposed, and allows its members to be
ordained before the solemn profession.
1957. Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) is founded. It began in the Oregon
Province and has inspired similar ventures around the Jesuit world.
1976. Archbishop Thomas Roberts, S.J. + London. Outspoken critic.
1994. William Ward, S.J. + Lagos, Nigeria, missionary, pastoral
worker, the first Jesuit to die in Nigeria, and the first to be buried
there.
64
February 29
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1736. The birth of Ann Lee, the founder of the Shakers.
1988. The death of Paul Ramsey, a Christian ethicist.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1792. Gioacchino Rossini, composer, is born.
JESUIT
65
March 1
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
492. Pope St. Gelasius I becomes pope. He was elected the same day as his
predecessor died. He is the first to speak of the Pope as the "Vicar of
Christ."
544. St. David +. Feast in Wales.
1633. George Herbert dies, age. 40. Anglican poet and clergyman.
1835. Matthias Joseph Scheeben B. Theologian.
1958. Pius XII appoints Cardinal Stritch to head the Vatican Office for the
Propagation of the Faith - the first American appointed to head a
Roman Curia. Stritch died less than two months later in Rome, age
70.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1643. Girolamo Frescobaldi + Rome , composer.
1810. Chopin B.
1872. Yellowstone Park, the first US National Park, is established.
1927. Harry Belafonte B.
1932. Lindberg's son is kidnapped.
JESUIT
1767. Without warning or trial, Charles III expels the Jesuits from Spain.
10,000 are deported to the papal states.
1815. Congress grants Georgetown University the power to confer
degrees.
1915. At the 26th General Congregation, the American Assistancy of the
Society is set up. It consists of the existing American Provinces then
in existence: Maryland-New York, Missouri, New Orleans, and
California. Fr. Thomas Gannon is named the first American
Assistant.
1937. Hillaire Belloc lectures at Woodstock College, Maryland on
Catholicism and Civilization.
66
March 2
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1791. John Wesley + preacher, street minister, Methodist reformer.
1810. Gioacchino Pecci B. Eventually he becomes Pope Leo XIII, and serves
as pope for 25 years.
1876. Eugenio Pacelli B. later becomes Pius XII.
1928. Schubert Ogden B. Methodist theologian.
1939. Pius XII is elected Pope, and serves for 19 years.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1793. Sam Houston B. Texas Independence Day.
1807. US prohibits the importation of slaves.
1909. Mel Ott B. Baseball hall of famer
1923. Time magazine makes its debut.
1930. D.H. Lawrence dies of TB, age 45.
1931. Mikhail Gorbachev B.
1962. Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points against the NY Knicks.
JESUIT
1591. At Vilnius died Fr. Anthony Arias, a learned Spanish theologian,
remarkable for his fervor and great delicacy of conscience.
1589. At Rome, the death of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, grandson of Pope
Paul III, great benefactor of the Society and founder/builder of the
Gesu.
1606. Brother Nicholas Owen, S.J. "Little John" is martyred in the Tower of
London. For 26 years, he constructed hiding places for priests.
"Perhaps no single person contributed more to the preservation of
the Catholic religion in England during the Penal Times than
Nicholas Owen". (Butler, Lives of the Saints).
1928. A Letter of Cardinal Billot in Etudes clarifies why he resigned from the
cardinalate, and repeats his profession of obedience to the Holy See.
1991. John L. McKenzie + age 80. Scripture scholar, pacifist,
Two Edged Sword, Dictionary of the Bible. He was a former Jesuit.
67
March 3
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1955. Saint Mother Catherine Drexel dies at 96. She founded the Sisters of
the Blessed Sacrament for work among Indians and blacks. Feast
Day in new RM and USA.
St. Cunegunda, ruler, married to St. Henry I, King in Bamberg.
1928. Hans Kueng B.
1996. John Cardinal Krol + age 85. He was appointed Archbishop of
Philadelphia in 1961, with the motto, Deus Meus Rex.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1917. Representative Jeanette Rankin takes her seat in Congress, as the
first woman elected.
1931. The Star Spangled Banner becomes the official national anthem.
1983. Arthur Koestler and his wife die, after a mutual suicide pact in
London.
JESUIT
1541. The First Companions gather to write the Constitutions of the Society
in conformity with the Bull of Approval, "Regimini Militantis
Ecclesiae," of Paul III.
1591. At Rome during a great pestilence, St. Aloysius caught the infection
through serving the plague-stricken in the hospital "della
Consolazione".
1595. Clement VIII raised Robert Bellarmine to the Cardinalate, saying that
the Church had not his equal in learning.
1595. At Tyburn, Fr. Robert Southwell, after long and terrible suffering, dies
for his faith.
68
March 4
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1484. Casimir +. optional memorial.
1979. Redemptor Hominis, "Redeemer of Humankind," The first
encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1681. The charter of Pennsylvania is signed. Penn is granted lands.
1678. Antonio Vivaldi B.
1789. The first Constitutional Congress is held in the USA.
1801. Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated, the first to be inaugurated in the
new capital, Washington.
1865. President Lincoln delivers his second inaugural, "with malice toward
none, with charity for all".
1888. Knute Rockne B.
1932. Mirian Makeba B. Singer, known as Queen, Mama Africa.
1933. President Roosevelt's first inaugural. "The only thing we have to fear is
fear itself".
JESUIT
The Novena of Grace begins on this day.
1540. Simon Rodriguez sets out for India. He is the first Jesuit missionary.
1547. Ignatius wrote a letter to Jesuits in Spain on religious perfection.
1777. Disgrace and dismissal from office of Carvalho (Marquis de Pombal)
the Society's bitterest enemy, by Queen Mary of Portugal.
1887. Fr. General Beckx, the 22nd General dies. His term was 33 years long.
1911. Charles de Smedt, S.J. +. He gave new life and vigor to the Bollandists.
69
March 5
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
At Antioch, St. Phocas, who triumphed over the ageless Serpent
after many injuries which he suffered for the name of the Redeemer.
That triumph is still manifested to the people in our day, for if any
one stung by a snake touches with faith the door of the martyr's
basilica, the power of the venom disappears and he is immediately
cured. RM
1179. The 3rd Lateran Council meets, to reform the hierarchy. In the past
forty years, there were seven popes and three anti-popes.
1743. First issue of the weekly The Christian History. This is the first
religious journal published in the USA, in Boston.
1933. Cardinal Walter Kasper is born.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1512. G. Mercator B, mapmaker
1558. Smoke tobacco is introduced into Europe by the Spanish
doctor, Francisco Fernandez.
1770. Boston Massacre. British soldiers fire, five killed.
1827. Volta, Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastadio +. He was a Physicist
who invented the electric battery. The Volt a unit of the
electromotive force that drives current, was named in his honor. He
was a Jesuit for a short time, and his father was a Jesuit for eleven
years.
1946. Speech of Winston Churchhill at Fulton, Mo. on the "Iron Curtain."
1953. Joseph Stalin dies. He held power for 29 years.
1982. John Belushi + comedian, of drug overdoes. Age 33.
JESUIT
1540. At Lisbon Fr. Simao Rodriguez is cured of fever on receiving the
embrace of Francis Xavier.
1615. At Belmont, England, Thomas Pond died. He was among the first to
introduce Jesuit missioners into England.
1904. Karl Rahner, S.J. B. Theologian.
1971. Fr. General Arrupe appoints Victor Mertens as the first Regional
Assistant for Africa. The decree goes into effect on 19 March, feast of
St. Joseph.
1996. The death of Fr. Peter Kavuma, S.J.. He is the first Ugandan Jesuit
priest. He entered the Society as a priest in 1961 and then worked
and died in Zimbabwe.
70
March 6
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
In Cyprus, St. Conon, martyr. He was compelled to run before a chariot, with
his feet pierced with nails, and falling to his knees, he died in
prayer. RM.
1984. Martin Niemoller +. Pastor, Pacifist, and opponent to Hitler.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1475. Michelangelo B. Genius, and a friend and benefactor of the Society.
1836. Alamo Day - the Alamo falls.
1857. Dred Scott Decision of the US Supreme Court. Chief Justice Roger
Brooke Taney, a Roman Catholic issues it. Blacks are not considered
citizens.
1888. Louisa May Alcott, abolitionist, writer, dies in Boston.
1941. Willie Stargell B. Baseball slugger.
1957. Ghana is the first African State after Liberia to declare its
independence from Britain. Independence Day.
1982. Ayn Rand, +. Philosopher. New York City. Age 77.
JESUIT
1603. Letter from Fr. General Acquaviva to the whole Society, representing
that he and Fr. Bellarmine had left nothing undone to prevent the
latter's promotion to the Cardinalate.
1832. At Coimbra the obsequies of Carvalho were performed by Father Philip
Delvaux, the body having remained unburied since May 5, 1782.
1922. Missouri Province purchased “White House Farm”. It becomes the site
of a retreat center. It was so called because of a post Civil War
movement to transfer the national capital from Washington to St.
Louis, with the Farm serving as the President=s home.
1933. A letter of Fr. Ledochowski to all provincials urges the definition of the
dogma of Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces.
1980. William Bier, S.J. Psychologist, teacher at Fordham University, dies.
He was a pioneer in the psychological testing of candidates.
71
March 7
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
202. Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs +. Memorial.
1274. Thomas Aquinas +.
1277. Tempier, Bishop of Paris condemns 219 propositions, some of
which are directed against Thomas Aquinas.
1855. Marie Joseph Lagrange O.P. B., Father of Roman Catholic Biblical
movement. He opened the Ecole Biblique and Revue Biblique.
1889. The Encyclical letter of Leo XIII Magni Nobis to the USA bishops
establishes the Catholic University of America.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1875. Maurice Ravel B.
1876. The telephone is patented by Alexander Grahem Bell.
1971. Swiss women are allowed to vote.
JESUIT
1581. A Decree of the Fifth General Congregation binds the Professors of the
Society to adhere to the doctrine of St. Thomas.
1675. Jean Pierre Caussade, S.J. writer. B. Abandonment to Divine
Providence.
1693. The birth of Pope Clement XIII, a strong defender of the Society.
1801. The Brief of Pius VII, Catholicae Fidei, legalizes the Society of Jesus in
Russia. Second Confirmation of the Society of Jesus.
1867. Issuance of the corporate charter of Woodstock College. It would open
two and one half years later.
1893. Archbishop Thomas Roberts, S.J. is born in France. He learned he was
Archbishop of Bombay from a reporter. A liberal bishop.
1980. In India, at Sasaram in Patna/Bihar, the assassination of Fr. Matthew
Mannaparambil, S.J., parish priest, aged 42.
72
March 8
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
John of God, religious, optional memorial.
1968. Pope Paul VI appoints Terence Cooke as Archbishop of
New York, succeeding Cardinal Spellman.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
International Women's Day.
1922. Carl Furillo B. Dodger right fielder, the Reading Rifle.
1971. The Fight. Joe Frazier beats Mohammed Ali in a decision, as Ali tries
to make his comeback after being stripped of his title because he
was a conscientious objector.
1999. Joe DiMaggio dies, age 84. The Yankee Clipper. Hit in 56 consecutive
games, was married once to Marilyn Monroe.
JESUIT
1558. Fr. Nicholas Guadan, disguised as a peddler, entered Scotland as a
papal nuncio to strengthen Mary Queen of Scots in her allegiance to
the faith.
1566. The Diet of Augsburg, Germany, Peter Canisius, Jeronimo Nadal
Diego Ledesma hold public disputations with the Reformation
leaders. They were appointed by St. Pius V.
1836. A Decree is issued whereby the Society of Jesus loses the property of
the Holy House of Loyola. In the previous year, the Society was
dissolved in Spain.
1890. Oswald von Nell-Breuning, S.J. B. He was an expert in the social
teaching of the Church, and lived to be over 100 years old.
1916. Letter of Fr. General Ledochowski, De Doctrina Sancti Thomae magis,
magisque in Societate fovenda.
1982. Mitchell Dahood, S.J. + in Rome, Scripture scholar. President of
Catholic Biblical Association, and wrote the commentary on the
Psalms for the Anchor Bible.
73
March 9
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Francis of Rome, religious, optional memorial.
1074. Pope Gregory VII excommunicates all married priests.
1978. Douglas Woodruff dies. He was the editor of the London Tablet for
more than thirty years.
1979. Jean Cardinal Villot +. He was Vatican Secretary of State under three
popes.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1796. Napoleon Bonaparte marries Josephine.
1862. Monitor vs. Merrimac. The Monitor is forced to withdraw, or it ends in
a draw after a five hour battle.
1907. Mircea Eliade B. Historian of religions, and novelist.
1918. Mickey Spillane, B. writer. Brooklyn. Creator of Mike Hammer.
1943. Bobby Fischer, B. Chess Genius, world champion, from Brooklyn.
1996. George Burns dies at the age of 100. Comedian with Gracie Allen.
JESUIT
1568. The Birthday of Aloysius Gonzaga in his father's castle.
1631. Claude Francois Menestrier, S.J. B. He wrote a classic history of
ballet, Les Ballets ancient et modernes (published in 1682), and
created a ballet for King Louis XIV.
1764. In France, all Jesuits who refused to abjure the Institute were ordered
by Parliament to quit the realm within a month. Out of 4,000
members only five Priests, two Scholastics and eight lay-Brothers
took the required oath. The rest were driven into exile.
1840. Missouri is made into a Vice Province, with Peter Verhaegen as the
first vice provincial. Its members totaled 71; 23 fathers, 23
scholastics and 25 brothers.
1956. A fire at Shadowbrook. New England Province Novitiate. Four die, one
brother, three priests, including the Fr. Minister who was trying to
phone the fire department.
1997. Quentin Lauer, S.J. dies, age 79. He was a professor of philosophy at
Fordham, and a scholar on Hegel.
1998. Fr. Anton Luli, S.J. dies at the age of 88. He was an Italian missionary
to Albania, and spent 40 years in an Albanian prison, including much
of it in solitary confinement.
74
March 10
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1681. Penn gets charter - from Charles II
1969. James Earl Ray is sentenced to 99 years, pleads guilty to the murder
of Martin Luther King.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1454. Amerigo Vespucci B. He gave his name to America, and thus
St. Emeric is our patron saint.
1876. First telephone is used in Boston. "Mr. Watson, come here, I want you."
These are the words of Alexander Graham Bell.
1913. Harriet Tubman + Black liberator, abolitionist. She worked with the
Underground Railroad in her 90's.
JESUIT
1541. Ignatius and Codure begin writing the Constitutions.
1615. John Ogilvie dies a martyr of Glasgow. He was converted by Cornelius
a Lapide.
1848. At Naples a mob threatened to massacre the Jesuits unless they left
the city at once.
1925. Response of Father General Ledochowski on the use of automobiles:
"De usu ahedae "automobilis". They can be used for the greater glory
of God, but never merely for recreation.
1960. Chester Gailer, who would become pastor of St. Matthew’s church in
St. Louis, Missouri, entered the Society. He was the first AfricanAmerican priest to hold the rank of pastor in the more than 200 year
history of the Catholic Church in St. Louis.
75
March 11
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1314. Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, is
burned at the stake in Paris.
1965. . Rev. James Reeb, of Boston, is beaten and killed by whites
rights disturbance in Selma, Alabama.
in a civil
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1847. Jonathan (Johnny Appleseed) Chapman dies. He was a preacher and
the , patron saint of orchards and conservation.
1888. In New York City and Eastern USA, the great blizzard begins, 400
will die as a result.
1938. Hitler begins the Anschluss into Austria.
1985. Gorbachev succeeds Chernenko in Russia.
JESUIT
1767. At Madrid, Frs. Thomas de Lorrain and Bernard Recio, leaving for
the Provincial Congregation in Rome, received a sealed parcel
said to come from the nuncio. They were requested to take it to
someone in Rome. It contained a letter forged by de Choiseul
and de Aranda, the prime ministers of France and Spain, and
purporting to come from the General Ricci alleging Charles II to
be illegitimate. Both priests were arrested on their journey and
brought back prisoners to Madrid. The forged document, shown
to the king, whose previous affection for the Society was
converted into bitterest hatred.
1820. At Madrid, an excited mob gathering in front of the Jesuit College,
clamouring for the expulsion of the Jesuits.
1848. At Naples 114 members of the Society, after much suffering, were put
into carts and driven ignominiously out of the city and kingdom.
1976. Thomas Corbishley, S.J. + British writer, lecturer.
76
March 12
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
604. Pope St. Gregory I (Gregory the Great) dies.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1912. The Girl Scouts are founded.
1914. George Westinghouse B. Inventor and Industrialist.
1930. Gandhi begins his march to the sea, the "Salt March", defying and
protesting the salt tax.
1955. Charlie Parker + modern Jazz.
1962. Daryl Strawberry B. Potential baseball superstar.
1985. Eugene Ormandy + conductor.
JESUIT
1524. Paschase Broet, one of the first ten companions of Ignatius, is
ordained a priest long before he met St. Ignatius.
1604. At St. Omer’s died Br. Ralph Emerson, who along with Edmund
Campion and Robert Parsons were the first Jesuits to enter
England.
1622. At Rome the solemn canonization of SS. Ignatius and Francis Xavier
by Pope Gregory XV. (with St. Teresa of Avila and Philip Neri and
Isidore, the husbandman or farmer)
1633. The death of Cornelius a Lapide, S.J. Scripture scholar. He wrote
commentaries on all books of the Bible except Job and the Psalms.
1783. On this day Pope Pius VI expressed his approval of the Society in
White Russia, saying in an audience... "Approbo Societatem Jesu in
Alba Russia degentem. Approbo, approbo!”
1964. Pope Paul VI, an alumnus, visits the Gregorian University.
1977. Rutilio Grande, S.J., a pastor in El Salvador and champion of
the campesinos is murdered on his way to celebrate Mass.
1978. Robert I. Gannon, S.J. + educator, after dinner speaker. He was
President of Fordham University.
77
March 13
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1925. The governor of Tennessee signs a law that it is unlawful to teach any
theory that denies divine creation as taught in the Bible.
2004. Franz Cardinal Koenig, of Vienna dies, age 98. One of the leaders of
Vatican II. Strong on interreligious dialogue.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1781. The planet Uranus is discovered by W. Herschel.
1906. Susan B. Anthony, +. A suffragist and feminist.
1960. John F. Kennedy proposes the Alliance for Progress for Latin America.
1990. Bruno Bettelheim dies of suicide. A child psycho1ogist, aged 86.
JESUIT
1538. Diego Hozes, S.J. +. The first Jesuit to die. (even if the Society was
not yet officially approved). He was a Spanish priest who died in
Padua.
1568. Father John Segura with five companions set sail from Spain for
Florida, that fertile field of martyrs. (Nine Jesuits were killed
between 1566 and 1571).
1599. The birth of John Berchmans at Diest in Flanders.
1939. Alban Goodier, S.J. + Archbishop and spiritual writer.
1940. Auguste Coemans, S.J. + Rome, age 75.. He is the author of
Commentary on the Rules of the Society of Jesus and he prepared
the new edition of the Epitome.
78
March 14
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
In the province of Valeria, two saintly monks, who were hanged on a tree by
the Lombards, and although dead, were heard singing psalms even
by their enemies. RM
1937. Pope Pius XI issues Mit Brennender Sorge, "On the Present Position
of the Catholic Church in the German Empire."
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1864. Casey Jones, B. Train Engineer.
1879. Albert Einstein B.
1883. Karl Marx dies in London, in poverty, age 64.
2002. Hans Georg Gadamer dies, age 102. Philosopher, Truth and Method,
and spoke of the Horizontsverschmeltzung.
JESUIT
1535. St.Ignatius Loyola receives his diploma for the M.A. at the University
of Paris. His studies and exams ended 1534. This gives him the
right to be called Master Ignatius, which became his regular
title. He had received the licentiate one year earlier.
1540. St. Francis Xavier, told by Ignatius to prepare to leave for the Indies,
was ready the next day; he needed only sufficient time to have his
poor soutane mended.
1544. The Bull, "Injunctum Nobis" confirms the Society of Jesus, and allows
more than 60 to be professed fathers.
1800. At Venice, the election of Pope Pius VII (Cardinal Chiaramonti), a
Benedictine, who in 1814 restored the Society throughout the
world.
1891. The Motu Proprio of Leo XIII founds the Vatican Observatory
(Specola Vaticana).
1920. Missouri Province tells Fr. General it is sending six men to work in
Patna, India.
1976. Alban de Jerphanion (age 75) professor, is killed in Beirut, Lebanon.
1985. Fr. Nicolas Kluiters, S.J. parish priest, is kidnapped in
Lebanon.
79
March 15
CHRISTIANITY RELIGION
At Paris the birthday of St. Louise de Marillac, co-founder with St. Vincent
de Paul of the Society of the Daughters of Charity. She died on this
date in 1660.
1875. John McCloskey, Archbishop of New York, named the first United
States Cardinal.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
The ides of March - beware.
44. BC. Caesar is murdered by Brutus and Cassius. He is the author of
commentaries on the Gallic Wars.
Buzzard's Day, Hinkley, Ohio.
1493. Columbus returns to Spain.
1842. Luigi Cherubini + Church composer, wrote a Mass when 13 years old.
1845. Johnny Appleseed +.
1977. Antonio "Argentina" Rocca, wrestler of the 50's, +.
JESUIT
1561. At Monomotapa, the martyrdom of Fr. Goncalo da Silveira strangled
by Mahometans in Zimbabwe. The first martyr of sub-Saharan
Africa, he was opposed by Arab merchants.
1575. Luis Gonzalez Camara + Lisbon. From 1553-55 he took dictation of
the Autobiography of St. Ignatius.
1632. At Seville, the death of Father Diego Ruiz, the great theologian, who
studied on his knees.
1711. Eusebio Kino, S.J + in California, missionary, pioneer, cartographer,
mathematician. He worked in Mexico and Arizona, and died while
celebrating Mass. He represents the state of Arizona in the Statuary
Hall at the Capitol Building in Washington.
1797. President George Washington holds a public reception at Georgetown
University.
1893. Bernard Leeming S.J B. ecumenist, expert on Anglican orders. He
attended Xavier H.S. in New York.
1933. The death of Frederick Odenbach, S.J. called the father of American
seismology. He set up the first seismograph in the USA and was the
inventor of the electric seismograph.
1995. Joseph Fitzpatrick dies. A sociologist, an expert on Hispanics in the
USA, he was a professor at Fordham University.
1995. Richard Smith dies. age 77. He was a professor of theology and he
edited the Review for Religious from 1959-75.
80
March 16
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
In Lycaonia, the holy martyr Papas who was scourged, had his flesh torn
with iron hooks, and was compelled to walk with shoes pierced with
nails, and was finally bound to a barren tree. In leaving this world to
go to God, he rendered this same tree fruitful. RM
1892. Sister Anna Dengel B. In Austria. She founded the Society of Catholic
Medical Missionaries.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1787. George Ohm is born. A physicist, famed for Ohm’s Law. He was a
professor of math at the Jesuit College in Cologne from 1817-33. The
unit of measuring resistance is an ohm.
1802. West Point is established.
1968. My Lai, Vietnam. More than 300 civilians are massacred. Lt. William
Cally, Jr. held responsible
1988. In Iraq, an estimated 5000 are killed by Saddam Hussein by poison
gas.
JESUIT
1540. Xavier, chosen in Father Nicholas Bobadilla's place left Rome for the
Indies... St. Ignatius' parting words were, "Ite omnia incendite et
inflammate."
1649. In Canada, among the Iroquois, Jean de Brebeuf died a glorious
martyr after a series of horrible tortures, the very recital of which
makes one shudder.
1880. The French Parliament pass Jules Ferry's Bill for the closing of all the
Society's houses and colleges in France.
1988. Fr. General Kolvenbach meets Commander in Chief Fidel Castro in
Havana, Cuba.
1990. Joseph Sebes, S.J. + Chinese scholar and professor at Georgetown
University.
81
March 17
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Patrick, bishop optional memorial.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE SPORT
1919. Pete Reiser B. Dodger center fielder.
1957. Philippine President Magsaysay is killed in a plane crash.
1965. Amos Alonzo Stagg + age 102. "The Grand Old Man." Creative
football coach at the University of Chicago for four decades.
1969. Golda Meir, age 70, begins as Prime Minister of Israel.
1993. Helen Hays + Actress, "First Lady of American Theatre."
JESUIT
1581. Fr. Alessandro Valignani founds a Jesuit college in Japan.
1649. Gabriel Lalemant, S.J. dies, one of the martyrs of North America. He
dies one day after Jean de Brebeuf.
1652. Fr. Goswin Nickel is elected General in succession to
Fr. Gottifredi, who died six weeks after his election.
1667. At Paris, the death of Felipe Labbe who wrote a 17 volume
collection of the decrees of Church Councils.
1780. The ambassadors of France, Spain, and Portugal try in vain to force
Pope Pius IV to confirm the brief of Suppression and to
excommunicate the Jesuits in Russia.
1865. As Japan opens up, Fr. Pelitjean discovers 50,000 Catholics who had
kept the faith for 200 years with no priest, but only baptism.
82
March 18
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop and doctor. Optional memorial.
St. Edward, King, in England. In new RM
1123. First Lateran Council opens in Rome - first ecumenical counil held in
the West. It settles the right of investiture, the right of the church to
choose replacements for the clergy. Over 1000 bishops and abbots
attended.
12l2. St. Clare flees to a chapel where St. Francis cuts off her hair and
clothes her as a penitent. She was 18 Years old.
1455. Fra Angelico + Italian monk and painter.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1890. Bismarck resigns, on command, and is ejected from the chancery.
1932. John Updike B. Author - Rabbit series of novels.
1965. The first space walk, by Leonov Aleksei.
2003. US and British forces invade Iraq, to oust Saddam Hussein and
search in vain for weapons of mass destruction.
JESUIT
1548. Canisius leaves Rome to found a college in Sicily.
1548. The arrival of the first Jesuits missioned in Africa. These Jesuits were
sent by Fr. Simon Rodrigues, Provincial of Portugal, at the request of
the King of Kongo supported by the King of Portugal. They landed at
Pinda, and made their way two days later to Mbanza Kongo, the
capital of the kingdom of Kongo. They were four in number, Frs.
Jorge Vaz, Cristovao Ribeiro, Jacome Dias and a scholastic,
Diego do Soveral.
1606. At Villagarcia, in Spain, died Fr. John Bonifacio, after teaching
grammar for 40 years.
1956. Pietro Tacchi-Venturi, S.J. + in Rome. Jesuit historian.
1963. C.C. Martindale, S.J. + writer, pastoral theologian (Cyril Charles)
1964. Joseph T. O'Callaghan, S.J. + Congressional Medal of Honor winner
for his heroism in 1945. I Was Chaplain on the Franklin.
1969. Walter Stokes, S.J. + Philosopher.
83
March 19
CHRISTIANITY RELIGION
JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF MARY Solemnity.
1201. Joachim of Flores
+.
1813. David Livingston B. Scottish missionary and explorer. Lost to the
world, he was found by Stanley in 1871. "Dr. Livingston, I presume."
1866. Cardinal Vaughan founds the Mill Hill Missionaries.
1937. Encyclical letter of Pius XI, Divini Redemptoris, on Atheistic
Communism.
1970. Paul VI establishes a Commission for Migration and Tourism.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
The swallows return to Capistrano – mission in California.
1848. Wyatt Earp is born, famed US law officer.
JESUIT
1616. Peter Claver is ordained priest in the Cathedral of Cartagena.
1634. Antonio de Andrade + in Goa. He had been the first European to
enter Tibet.
1715. The condemnation of the Chinese Rites by Pope Clement XI. This
proved disastrous to the Chinese mission.
1971. The African Assistancy of the Society of Jesus is created. There were
1600 Jesuits in Africa.
1991. Joseph Gallen, S.J. + age 88. canon lawyer, Professor at Woodstock
College from 1940-66, writer for Review for Religious.
84
March 20
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
St. John Nepomucin dies, being thrown into the Moldau in Bohemia.
In the new RM
1866 John Keble +.
1889 Albrecht Ritschl +. The social nature of Christianity.
1897 Frank Sheed B. writer, publisher, lay theologian.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
43. BC. Ovid B.
1727. Isaac Newton +.
1770. Johann Christian Friedrich Holderlin, B. Poet.
1852. Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, anti-slavery book is
published. The first book to sell one million copies.
1948. Bobby Orr, B. Ice hockey superstar.
JESUIT
1523. At Barcelona, St. Ignatius embarks for Jerusalem.
1571. Borgia orders the Jesuits to withdraw from the Florida mission, seeing
little or no fruit of their labors. "Shake the dust from your feet."
1597. At Rome the death of Fr. James Terry, a Scotsman. When he was a
scholastic, St. Ignatius reputedly appeared to him and told him to
study less and pray more.
1873. Jules Lebreton, S.J. B. Historian and theologian.
1899. Teilhard de Chardin enters the novitiate at Aix en Provence. He joins
C.C. Martindale who was already a novice, on rest there to complete
his novitiate.
1977. Horacio de Ia Costa, S.J. + Philippine Jesuit historian, had been
provincial and then assistant to the General in Rome.
85
March 21
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
547.
St. Benedict dies on this day. His his feast is July 11.
1098. St. Robert, Benedictine monk, founds the monastery in Citeaux,
France the origin of the Cistercians on this day.
1556. Thomas Cramner + Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, martyr. He is
burned at the stake during the reign of Queen Mary.
1999. The death of Jean Guitton, French philosopher, age 97. A friend of
several popes, he was the only layperson officially at Vatican II.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Vernal, Spring Equinox occurs today or close to this day.
1685. Johann Sebastian Bach B.
1946. Kenny Washington signs with the L.A. Rams, the first black in the
modern era.
1960. Sharpeville, South Africa. A massacre in which 69 are killed.
JESUIT
1602. The second Disputatio de Auxiliis before Pope Clement VIII took place
between Fr. Gregory de Valentia, S.J., and Fr. Thomas de Lemos,
O.P.
1622. In Mexico died Fr. Nicholas Arnaya, one of the brightest ornaments of
the Society in America, and founder of the North American
Missions.
1693. At Paris the death of Fr. Vincent Huby, a great apostle and promoter
of the devotion to the Sacred Heart. He founded the Confraternity of
the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
1994. Bishop Al Jolson dies at the age of 65. From the New England
Province, and of Icelandic heritage, he was appointed bishop of
Reykjavik, Iceland.
86
March 22
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1758. Jonathan Edwards +. Teacher, preacher, and missionary to the
American Indians.
1965. Selma, Alabama. The Civil Rights March begins from Selma to
Montgomery, with 3000 marchers and Martin Luther King.
1969. DC 9, Draft Resistance, destroy draft files in protest against the
Vietnam War.
1986. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issues its second
"lnstruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation."
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1832. Johann Wolfgang Goethe + Weimar, age 82. His final words were
"Mehr Licht" (more light).
1888. The English Football league is formed.
JESUIT
1585. In Rome, the three Japanese ambassadors were received by Fr.
General with great solemnity in the Society's Church of the Gesu.
1594. Henry IV took possession of Paris after a prolonged siege. Fr.
Possevino and other Jesuits worked at effecting a reconciliation of
the king with Rome.
1655. Fr. Francis Perez died at Antwerp. He was born on Christmas Day and
died on Good Friday. He followed his two sons into the Society of
Jesus and they served his first Mass.
1980. Luis Espinal, S.J. journalist, beaten and machine- gunned, dies a
martyr, in Bolivia, aged 48. He worked for the compesinos.
87
March 23
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Turibius de Mongrovejo, bishop. Optional memorial. He died on this day in
1066. He was a reformer and a defender of the Indians in Lima,
Peru.
1966. The Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Paul VI meet in Rome, and
issue "A Common DecIaration" on cooperation and dialogue. Their
first meeting in over 400 years.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1775. Patrick Henry's speech at the Virginia Convention: "...as for me, give
me liberty or give me death."
1857. Fannie Farmer B. Boston.
1948. N. Berdyaev +.
1983. President Reagan announces the SDI, Strategic Defense Initiative,
better known as “Star Wars.”
JESUIT
1555. The death of Pope Julius III, a cause of grief for the Society. He was a
benefactor of the Roman and German Colleges.
1624. At Watten, Father Thomas Stephenson, when dying, besought the
novices to reject any thought against their vocation as a diabolical
temptation.
1656. The decision of Pope Alexander VII allows Christians to participate in
Chinese funeral rites.
1772. At Rome, Cardinal Marefoschi held a visitation of the Irish College
and accused the Jesuits of mismanagement. They were removed from
the direction of that establishment.
1942. Joseph de Guibert, S.J. + Expert on Jesuit spirituality.
88
March 24
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
752. Pope Stephen II is elected. He dies two days later, the shortest reign
of any Pope.
1396. Walter Hilton +. mystic, The Ladder of Perfection.
1564. A Brief of Pope Pius IV establishes the Tridentine Index of
(forbidden) Books.
1920. Mary is declared by Pope Benedict XV to be the principal patroness of
all aviators, in view of the transferral of the Holy House of Loretto.
1980. Archbishop Oscar Romero is assassinated while celebrating Mass in El
Salvador.
Annual day of fast and prayer in memory of martyred missionaries.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1882. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow + in Cambridge, Mass. The first
American honored with a bust in Poet's Corner, Westminster
Abbey.
1918. Canadian women receive the right to vote.
1965. In Selma, the Civil Rights March ends.
JESUIT
1522. Ignatius begins his vigil at Montserrat.
1578. At Lisbon, Rodolf Acquaviva and 13 companions embarked for India.
Among the companions was Matthew Ricci and Michael Ruggieri.
1582. Pope Gregory XIII signed the papal bull for the reform of the calendar.
Fr. Christopher Clavius, the Jesuit astronomer and mathematician,
contributed greatly to the fashioning of the new Gregorian calendar.
1603. At Richmond, in Surrey, died Queen Elizabeth, after a long reign of 45
years, during which many Jesuits and others suffered martyrdom for
their faith.
1657. The last of the Provincial Letters of Paschal is published.
89
March 25
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
ANNUCIATION
Solemnity.
Day in honor of the Unborn.
At Jerusalem, the commemoration of the good thief who confessed
Christ on the cross, and who deserved to hear from Him these words:
"This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise."
1347. Catherine of Siena B.
1409. First Council of Pisa assembles to depose two rival Popes. It elects
antipope Alexander V.
1586. St. Margaret Clitheroe dies on this day,a pressed to death. New RM
1643. The Eudists founded, the Congregation of Jesus and Mary.
1822. Albrecht Ritschl B. influential 19th century Protestant theologian.
1890. Billy Sunday gives up his baseball career (left fielder for the Chicago
White Sox) following his conversion to Christ. He becomes a popular
evangelist.
1911. The launching of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America
(Maryknoll). It is approved by bishops on April 27th.
1925. Flannery O'Connor B Savannah, GA. Catholic writer
1987. Encyclical Letter of John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater.
Mother of the Redeemer.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1867. Arturo Toscanini B.
1881. B. Bartok B.
1918. Claude Achille Debussy +, composer.
1920. Howard Cosell B. Sports broadcaster.
1922. Stephen Toulmin B. Philosopher of Science.
JESUIT
1522. At Montserrat, St. Ignatius hung up his sword near Our Lady's altar,
and after a night vigil swore to serve only Christ and His Mother.
1563. The First Sodality of Our Lady of Fatima Prima Primaria was started
at the Roman College by a young Belgian Jesuit, Jean Leunis.
1634. Andrew White, S.J. arrives in Maryland. Mass said on St. Clement
Isle, River Potomac, not far from St. Inigo's. This is the beginning of
Catholicism in English speaking America).
1847. Virgil Barber, S.J. +. A convert to Catholicism, his wife and five
children become religious, one of them a Jesuit.
1920. Instruction/Letter of Father General Ledochowski on the use of the
telephone. No general permission is given to scholastics to use the
phone, and no phones in private rooms.
1962. Fr. Felice Cappello +, known as "the Confessor of Rome", for hearing
confessions at St. Ignatius Church.
1968. Paul VI approve new statutes for Sodalities, now CLC.
1980. Paul Dent, one of the first Missouri Province Jesuits who went to
India in the 1920's, dies.
90
March 26
CHRISTIANITY RELIGION
1886. John Baillie B. Scottish theologian, God Was in Christ.
1967. Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI Populorum Progressio, on the
Development of Peoples.
1970. Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship promulgates the New
Edition of the Roman Missal, with its General Instruction on the
Roman Missal.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1827.
1859.
1874.
1892.
1911.
1953.
1979.
Beethoven B.
A. E. Housman B .
Robert Frost B in San Francisco.
Walt Whitman + age 72, in Camden, N.J.
Tennessee Williams is born in Mississippi.
Dr. Jonas Salk announces the development of polio vaccine.
Carter, Sadat, and Begin sign a peace treaty in Washington, DC,
the Camp David Accord.
1980. Roland Barthes + critic.
2003. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, age 76, Senator from NY, most intelligent
of all senators, also served as representative at the UN.
JESUIT
1553. St. Ignatius' golden letter on Obedience is sent to the Fathers and
Brothers of Portugal.
1693. An instruction of Msgr. Charles Maigrot is negative on inculturation
in China and reverses the earlier decision which allowed
participation in Chinese funeral rites.
1900. At Rome the death of Cardinal Camillus Mazzella, Bishop of the
suburban see of Palestrina. His last words to Father General were:
"Laetor quod in Societate morior." He was the first Dean of
Woodstock College, 1869-75. He opposed the liberal elements in
the American and European churches.
1988. Paul Kennedy, S.J. + Tertian Instructor at St. Beino, 1958-74. A
man of remarkable spiritual insight. He once said “We are all fakes.”
1995. Michael Lavelle, S.J. dies. An economist, he had been President of
John Carroll University and Provincial of Detroit.
91
March 27
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1329. Promulgation of the condemnation of 28 propositions of Meister
Eckhart (he had died a few years earlier).
1923. Shusako Endo B. Japanese, Roman Catholic novelist.
1968. Paul Hallinan + 1st Archbishop of Atlanta, Churchman and Civil
rights proponent.
1983. Patrick Scanlan + Managing Director of the Brooklyn Tablet from
1917 to 1968.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
African Liberation Day.
1845. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen B. X Rays.
1915. Typhoid Mary (Mallon) a cook in N.Y., is confined to a hospital for the
second time. She lives until 1938.
1977. PanAm and KLM jumbo jets collide on runway in Tenerife,
Canary Islands, and 574 die.
1980. Mount St. Helena erupts.
JESUIT
1546. The death of Dona Eleonora, the Duchess of Gandia, and wife of St.
Francis Borgia. The saint entered the Society soon after her death.
1587. At Messina died Fr. Thomas Evans, an Englishman, age 29. He had
suffered imprisonment for his defense of the Catholic faith in
England.
1708. By a decree of Pope Clement XI the convent of Port Royal, a nest of
Jansenism, was suppressed.
1840. Among the North American Indians, Father Peter de Smet was
welcomed with great joy, being the first "Blackrobe" seen
among them since the Suppression.
92
March 28
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1285. Pope Martin IV dies suddenly, reputedly after eating too
many eels from Lake Bolsena.
l5l5. Theresa of Avila B.
1948. Odo Casel, Liturgical scholar, reformer of the liturgy
dies during the newly restored Easter Vigil ceremony.
1960. Cardinal Rugambwa appointed Cardinal. First African Cardinal
1963. John XXIII establishes a commission to revise the canon law.
1976. John Cogley + journalist. He converted from RC to Anglicanism,
in particular because of Humanae Vitae.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1909. Nelson Algren B. Michigan, novelist on Chicago.
1939. The spanish Civil War ends with Franco's capture of Madrid.
1941. Virginia Woolf +, age 59, suicide, by walking into the water, the river
Ouse.
1958. W.C. Hardy +. "Father of the Blues". St. Louis Blues composer.
1969. Dwight D. Eisenhower +.
1979. Three Mile Island nuclear plant emits radioactivity.
1965. Marc Chagall + Russian born French painter.
1987. Maria von Trapp + The Sound of Music.
2004. The death of Peter Ustinov, age 74. Actor, writer, producer, humorist.
JESUIT
1528. Claude Jay, S.J., one of 10 companions is ordained priest in Geneva.
1568. Eight Jesuits reach the port of Callao, Peru, sent by Francis Borgia.
1606. At the Guildhall, London, the trial of Fr. Henry Garnet, falsely accused
of complicity in the Gunpowder Plot.
1913. The Imperial Ministry of Education in Japan gives permission to open
Sophia University.
93
March 29
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1772. Emmanuel Swedenborg + London, age 84.
1788. Charles Wesley + He composed over 7200 hymns.
1882. The Knights of Columbus are founded and chartered by the
General Assembly of Connecticut.
1866. Death of John Keble, Anglican priest, theologian, poet, the originator
of the Oxford Movement to renew Anglicanism.
1892. Cardinal Josef Mindszenty B Hungary. Imprisoned by Communists,
he is freed in 1956, and then lives 15 years at the American
Embassy, in asylum, in Hungary.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1815. Napoleon bans the slave trade.
1886. Coca Cola first goes on sale. As a "Brian Tonic" it claims to relieve
exhaustion.
1945. Walt Frazier B basketball star.
1974. Duke Ellington, Jazz, dies.
1979. Camp David peace accord reached.
1988. Ted Klusziewski + age 63, baseball star.
JESUIT
1523. Ignatius arrives in Rome for the first time, on Palm Sunday. Four
months later he leaves for Jerusalem.
1549. First 6 Jesuits arrive in the Americas at Salvador (Bahia), Brazil, led
by Manuel de Nobrega.
1848. Fr. General Roothaan flees from Rome in disguise, with a false
passport. He will spend two years away from Rome.
1880. Decree in France orders the dissolution and dispersal of Jesuits within
three months.
1932. First talkie movie shown at Woodstock College, "Song of My Heart",
with John McCormack.
1988. P. Jean de Boisseson, S.J. is killed in Madagascar.
94
March 30
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. John Climacus, feast The Ladder to Paradise.
1990. Sr. Thea Bowman,Black American Franciscan sister and leader dies
of cancer, age 53.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1853. Vincent Van Gogh B.
Seward's Folly. Alaska is purchased for $7.2 million.
1870. The 15th Amendment, the right to vote, is ratified.
2004. Alistair (Alfred) Cooke dies, age 95; reporter, journalist, TV presenter,
he read on BBC 2869 Letters from America.
JESUIT
1545. At Meliapore, Francis Xavier came on pilgrimage to the tomb of St.
Thomas the Apostle.
1823. The Holy See empowers Georgetown University to confer
ecclesiastical degrees in philosophy and theology.
1848. At Rome the fathers and scholastics of the Roman College, the Gesu,
S. Andrea, and S. Eusebio, were dispersed by the Revolution.
1934. The Pontifical College, Pio-Brazil, is founded in Rome and
entrusted to the Society.
1984. Karl Rahner, S.J. + theologian, age 80.
95
March 31
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
At Tekoa in Palestine, the holy prophet Amos, whom the priest Amasias
frequently had scourged. Ozias, that priest's son, pierced his head
at the temples with an iron spike. Being carried half dead to his own
country, he died there and was buried with his family. RM
1492. Royal Edict of Ferdinard II, that Jews in spain must be baptized or go
into exile.
1631. John Donne, + London. Poet and Anglican priest.
1997. J.N.D. Kelly + 87. He was an Anglican theologian, author of Early
Christian Creeds, Early Christian Doctrines, and Dictionary of
Popes.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1596. Rene Descartes B., in Touraine and died in Feb. 1 1650, in Stockholm.
He was a philosopher and mathematician. He is known as the
Father of modern philosophy. He received Jesuit education for 10
years at the Royal College at La Fleche. One of his nephews, Philip
Descartes, was a Jesuit.
1732. Haydn B.
1835. John LaFarge B. Artist, writer, father of Jesuit John LaFarge.
1854. Admiral Perry in Japan signs a treaty that opens up Japan to the west.
1889. The Eiffel Tower is completed.
1913. J.P. Morgan +
1914. Octavio Paz B. Mexico City. Poet and critic.
1928. Gordie Howe B. Ice Hockey All Star
1980. Jesse Owens +. Black athlete, track and field,
Olympic Champion.
1985. Richard Mckeon + Philosopher, University of Chicago.
JESUIT
1548. Fr. Anthony Corduba, rector of the College of Salamanca, begged
Ignatius to admit him into the Society so as to escape the
cardinalate which Charles V intended to procure for him.
1606. Frances Martinez, S.J. dies in prison in China. He was the first
Chinese admitted to the Society by Ricci, eight years after Ricci's
arrival.
1767. The Society is suppressed in Spain by the Bourbons.
1922. WWL, Louisiana radio station opens, at Loyola University
1934. Jesuit Cardinal Francis Ehrle + Theologian, historian; he
reorganized the Vatican Library.
1986. Society of Jesus is officially allowed to return into Haiti. Jesuits had
been expelled on February 12, 1964.
96
April 1
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Feast of St. Hugh, Bishop of Grenoble. Rodriguez relates that Surius relates
that "he was so extremely cautious in this matter of looking at
women, that, though he was bishop more than 50 years... yet he
never knew any woman by sight, since he had never looked them in
the face so as to know them, except one ugly old crone that was a
servant in his house."
1835. Matthias Sheeben B. The Mysteries of Christianity.
1858. Blessed Dom Columba Marmion, B.
1872. F. D. Maurice. + theologian, Christian socialist, in London.
1932. Gerhard Kittel publishes the first fascicle of his Theologisches
Worterbuch zum Neuen Testament. It was completed in the late
1960's. He died in 1948.
1966. Karl Adam, theologian +.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Fool's Day.
1917. Scott Joplin +. composer of ragtime.
1924. Hitler, imprisoned, begins to write Mein Kampf.
1925. Eugene V. Debs +
JESUIT
1767. All the Society's Colleges and houses in Spain were occupied by
troops, and the Jesuits dragged to Cartagena to be shipped as exiles
to the Papal States.
1863. Governor John A. Andrews approves the charter for
Boston College.
1941. Hippolyte Delehaye, S.J. +. Brussels: hagiographer, President of the
Bollandists from 1912 to 1941.
1963. Gerald Ellard, S.J. + Liturgist, and one of the founders of the National
Liturgical Conference.
1984. Georgetown University wins the NCAA Basketball Championship,
John Thompson is the coach.
97
April 2
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Francis of Paola, hermit, Optional Memorial. He died on this day in 1507.
St. Mary of Egypt, who lived for 47 years in the desert.
1842. St. Dominic Savio B. Italy. He would die young at the age of 15, and
is one of the patrons of altar servers.
1896. Charter of the first Catholic women's college in the USA, College of
Notre Dame, Baltimore.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1805. Hans Christian Andersen B. Denmark.
1902. The first movie theater opens in Los Angeles.
1914. Alec Guinness B. Actor, convert to Catholicism.
1917. Jeanette Rankin becomes the first USA woman in Congress.
1917. President Wilson asks Congress to declare war on Germany.
JESUIT
1541. A First edition of the Constitutions approved, and signed by the six
companions present in Rome: Ignatius, Lainez, Salmeron, Codure,
Broet, and Jay.
1568. At Rome, the entrance of Blessed Rodolf Acquaviva, aged 17, into the
noviceship of San Andrea, where St. Stanislaus was then a novice.
1640. The death of Matthew Casimir Sarbiewski, S.J. called the “Polish
Horace” because of his poetry.
1767. In Spain, Charles III ordered the arrest of all the Jesuit Fathers and
the sequestration of all their houses and goods, being enraged
against the Society by a forged letter of the General (the work of De
Choiseul), which spoke of him as illegitimate.
1802. Joseph Schneller dies in Vienna, a famous Jesuit preacher.
1872. Samuel Morse +. He invented the telegraph, and also wrote antiCatholic and anti-Jesuit literature.
1994. Anthony Lawn, S.J. +. Basically a prison chaplain, in 1985 he was
invited to work for and be an actor in the film, The Mission.
98
April 3
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
At Tyre, the martyr St. Vulpian, who was seen up in a sack with a serpent
and a dog and drowned in the sea, during the persecution of
Maximian Galerius. RM
1593. George Herbert B. Clergyman and poet.
1920. F. Scott Fitzegerald is married in St. Patrick's Cathedral New York
City.
1969. Pope Paul VI approves the new Roman Missal, by his Apostolic
Constitution, Missale Romanum.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
743. Charlemagne B.
1783. Washington Irving B.
1860. Pony Express begins operation, from St. Joseph, Missouri to
Sacramento, California. After 18 months, it yields to the
telegraph.
1897. Johannes Brahms +. Composer, German Requiem. etc.
1948. H.S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan of $5 billion aid to European
countries.
1991. Graham Greene +. British Catholic novelist.
JESUIT
1583. Jerome Nadal, S.J. + who had been a student at Paris with Ignatius
and Xavier. He died on Easter Sunday, aged 73 in the novitiate of
San Andrea, Rome. He promulgated the Constitutions throughout
Europe.
1622. Solemn profession of Peter Claver, in Cartagena, age 42. Petrus
Claver, ethiopum semper servus.
1767. Fr. Joseph Pignatelli was expelled from Spain along with all other
Jesuits there and at age 30 began his career of holding together a
suppressed Society. At age 57, he once again saw the Society
permitted to accept novices but he did not live to see its Restoration
in 1814.
1876. Johann Cardinal Franzelin, S.J. created a cardinal on this day. He was
a theologian of Vatican I, linguist, professor of Scripture and dogma.
1960. The death of Fr. Edward P. Dowling, friend of Bill Wilson,
the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.
99
April 4
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Isidore, bishop and doctor. He died on this day in 636. Optional Memorial.
Some propose him as the patron saint of the Internet.
397. At Milan. the death of St. Ambrose. RM.
896. Pope Formosus dies. Nine months after his death, his body is exhumed
and a mock trial held. He is found guilty of perjury and other crimes.
1139. 500 bishops and 500 abbots meet at the Second Lateran Council.
Legislate against a married clergy.
1589. St. Benedict the Black +. Patron of black persons of North America.
Franciscan lay brother and Superior.
1884. James Alberione is born in Italy. He is the founder of the
Fathers and Daughters of St. Paul.
1937. The Medical Missionaries of Mary are founded, as Mary Martin
pronounces vows.
1968. Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, supporting the
sanitation workers on strike.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1802. Dorothea Dix, B. a nurse and crusader for the mentally ill.
1841. William H. Harrison dies one month after his inauguration. He is the
first President to die in office.
1949. The North Atlantic Treaty signed - NATO is created.
JESUIT
1534. Pierre Favre is ordained a deacon in Paris.
1541. In Rome the first Fathers made a triduum of prayer before electing the
first General. On April 7th the sealed votes were opened, and all had
chosen Ignatius for superior. St. Francis Xavier's vote was dated
March 15, 1540.
1871. There is plundering of the Jesuit house at rue de Sevres in Paris by
the Communards.
1873. In Mexico a law to expel the Society was proposed in Parliament.
100
April 5
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Vincent Ferrer, priest. Optional Memorial. He died on this day in
1419.
In Africa, the holy martyrs who were murdered in the church on Easter day.
The lector, while singing "Alleluia" at the stand, was pierced through
the throat by an arrow. RM
1969. Paul VI abolishes the use of the red hat and red shoes and buckles by
Roman Catholic Cardinals.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1856. Booker T. Washington is born a slave in Virginia.
1887. Anne Sullivan teaches Helen Keller, conveys the meaning of the word
water to her through the manual alphabet. The Miracle Worker.
1964. General Douglas MacArthur + 84 years old. "I shall return."
1976. Howard Hughes + recluse, multi-millionaire.
1984. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks Wilt Chamberlain’s all time basketball
scoring record of 31,419 points.
JESUIT
1635. Louis Lallemant, S.J. + influential writer and spiritual teacher.
1737. Pope Clement XII adds Regis to the list of saints.
1904. George Pettit, S.J. is appointed novice director of the New YorkMaryland Province, and serves until 1917.
1945. Augustin Merk, S.J. + New Testament editor. N.T. Graece et Latine.
He was also confessor to Pius XII.
1990. Virgil Blum, S.J. + age 77. Strong advocate of government aid to
education.
101
April 6
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1415. Haec Sancta adopted by the Council of Constance. A revolutionary
document that stresses conciliar rather than papal power.
1830. James Healy B. First USA black bishop.
1830. Mormon Church founded by Joseph Smith at Fayette, New York.
1851. Anglican Churchman Henry Manning converts to Roman
Catholicism. Later he was Archbishop of Westminster (1865) and
Cardinal (1875).
1966. Emil Brunner + Swiss theologian.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1483. Raphael was born on this date, He died on this same day in 1520.
1528. Albrecht Durer, + Painter.
1714. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates, and goes to exile in Elba.
1896. The first modern Olympic Games open in Athens.
1909. Admiral Robert E. Perry and Matthew Henson are the first to reach
the North Pole.
1971. Igor Stravinsky dies in New York City.
1992. Isaac Asimov + author, scientist.
1994. Beginning of the Rwanda genocide
JESUIT
Feast of Blessed Juliana of Cornillon. She was placed in the Jesuit
martyrology at the request of Fr. General Ledochowski. She lived
1193-1258 and helped spread devotion to Corpus Christi.
1570. Jesuits became the confessors in St. Peter’s Basilica in the transfer to
the Society of the “College of Penitentiaries.”
1581. St. Edmund Campion published his Decem Rationes.
1672. In the Marianne Isle, the Ven. Fr. Diego de San Vitores suffered
martyrdom after converting 30,000 persons to the faith. When only
13 years old he heard our Lady tell him three distinct times to enter
the Society.
1669. At Paris, Fr. Claude la Colombiere was ordained a priest.
1850. First edition of La Civilta Cattolica appears. The first journal of the
restored Society.
1987. Brother Vincent Canas Costa (age 48). After 11 years on the mission in
Brazil, he is killed by a blunt wound in the stomach.
102
April 7
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
John Baptiste de la Salle, priest. Memorial. He died on this day, Good
Friday, in 1719.
St. Benedict the Black, 1526-89. An Ethiopian born of slave parents,
becomes a monk in Sicily. In new RM
1884. C.H. Dodd B. in North Wales. New Testament scholar: realized
eschatology.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
World Health Day for UN members.
1199. The death of King Richard the Lionhearted.
1524. Verrazano Day. On this day he discovered New York harbor.
1614. El Greco +.
1770. William Wordsworth B.
1891. Phineas T. Barnum + showman. “A sucker is born every
minute.”
1947. Henry Ford +.
JESUIT
1506. St. Francis Xavier is born at the family castle in Navarre. Six days
later Peter Faber is born.
1541. St. Francis Xavier, on this day, his 35th birthday, embarks from Lisbon
for India, for a 13 month journey to Goa.
1541. St. Ignatius is unanimously elected General. But he refuses.
1595. St. Henry Walpole, S.J. is martyred at York.
1994. Three Jesuit priests killed, with 14 others at Centre Christus in
Rwanda: Chrysologus Mahame (the first Rwandan Jesuit), Patrick
Gahizi, and Innocent Rutagambwa. Beginnings of genocide in
Rwanda, one half million killed in the next seven months.
103
April 8
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
563 BC. Buddha B "Kambutsue" Siddhartha Gautama.
St. Agabus, Prophet in the Acts of the Apostles, new RM
Saints Herodian, Asyncritus, and Phlegon (Cf.Paul to the Romans) RM
1378. Election of the last Pope elected from outside the College of Cardinals,
Urban VI, who was archbishop of Bari.
1546. Trent adopts Jerome's Latin Vulgate as the official biblical text.
1808. John Carroll is appointed archbishop, the first in the USA.
1816. Blessed Julie Billeart + Foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters
of Notre Dame of Namur.
1926. Jurgen Moltmann, theologian B.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1341. Petrarch is crowned Poet Laureate of Rome.
1940. John "Hondo" Havlicek B. Basketball star.
1973. Pablo Picasso +.
1974. Hank Aaron sets the new Home Run record of 715 HRs.
1992. Punch magazine closes after 151 years.
1993. Marian Anderson + age 91, singer.
JESUIT
1548. Peter Canisius was sent to Messina to teach rhetoric at the newly
opened first college of the Society explicitly for lay students.
1762. In France, the expulsion of the Fathers from all their colleges and
houses by decree of parliament.
1979. Karl Rahner, S.J. receives honorary degree at Weston School of
Theology, Cambridge, and delivers a classic lecture on the three
eras or epochs of church.
104
April 9
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St.Procurus, one of the first seven Deacons. RM
1945. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is hanged at Flossenburg prison, 39
years old.
1984. Archbishop Francis Arinze from Nigeria is appointed ProPresident of the Secretariat for non-Christians.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1821. Charles Baudelaire B. Paris. A poet, he translated Poe, and made him
better known in the France than in the USA.
1865. Lee surrenders at Appomatox. Civil War ends.
1879. W.C. Fields B.
1898. Paul Robeson B.
1959. Frank Lloyd Wright, +, architect
2003. Statue of Saddam Hussein is toppled in Baghdad as the city is taken.
JESUIT
1553. Ignatius sends Jerome Nadal as Commissary into Spain to publish the
Constitutions.
1615. William Weston, S.J. dies at Valladolid.
1879. Angelo M. Paresci, S.J. dies at Woodstock. He was the founder and
first Rector of Woodstock College.
1905. The amputation of the right arm of Fr. General Luis Martin.
1913. Pope St. Pius X spoke his praises of the Apostleship of Prayer. It
counted 25 million members. The periodical The Messenger of the
Sacred Heart appears in 42 editions in more than 20 languages.
1934. Aloysius Pieris, S.J. born. Sri Lanka theologian.
105
April 10
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
At Babylon, Ezechiel the prophet. RM
1829. William Booth B. He is the founder and first General of the Salvation
Army.
1994. Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops (African Synod)
opens in Rome.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1583. Hugo Grotius B. lawyer, statesman, theologian.
1633. Bananas, never seen, go on sale for the first time in England.
1963. Thresher submarine disaster off of New England, 129 die.
1966. Evelyn Waugh, novelist, dies at Somerset, age 62.
JESUIT
1585. At Rome, the death of Pope Gregory XIII, founder of the Gregorian
University and the German College, whose memory will ever be
cherished as that of one of the Society's greatest benefactors.
1607. Brother Benito de Goes, S.J. +. He was a great explorer of Central
Asia.
1836. Anthony Kohlmann, S.J. dies in Rome. Kohlmann Hall, NY Provincial
House, was named after him. He won a landmark "seal of
confession" legal case in 1813. He was novice Master, Mission
Superior, and Rector of Georgetown. He taught Dogmatic theology in
Rome for five years, and built St. Patrick's church in New York City.
1955. Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. dies in New York City, on Easter Sunday.
He was a paleontologist, anthropologist and visonary theologian and
spiritual writer.
1979. Joseph M.F. Marique, S.J. + classical scholar, Holy Cross College.
106
April 11
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Stanislaus, bishop and martyr. Memorial.
1842. Bishop John England ides in Charleston, S. Carolina. He was one of
the forces behind the Councils of Baltimore.
1903. St. Gemma Galgani + 25 years old, mystic, stigmatist.
1963. Pacem in Terris. An, encyclical letter of Pope John XXIII is issued on
this day which was Holy Thursday.
1969. Pope Paul VI institutes a theological commission to advise
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
2002 Francis X. Murphy, Redemptorist priest, peritus, writes letters from
Vatican City for the New Yorker, also known as Xavier Rynne.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1945. Liberation of Buchenwald.
1947. Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier and plays in the major
leagues, for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He plays in an exhibition game
between the Dodgers and Yankees.
1951. President Truman relieves Gen. MacArthur of his Far East Command.
JESUIT
1573. At the Third General Congregation, Pope Gregory XIII suggests that
we elect a non-Spanish to be General. Eventually the Belgian
Mercurian will be elected.
1607. In China died Brother Benito Goes.
1632. At Lima, Peru, Fr. Ruiz de Montoya died. A Portuguese, he was called
the Apostle of Paraguay, for he converted thousands.
1673. At Lima died Ven. Father Francis de Castillo, a Portuguese, justly
regarded as the Apostle of Peru.
1985. Translation of the body of Fr. Felice Capello, “the confessor of Rome”
to the Church of St. Ignatius near the confessional he occupied
almost daily for thirty years. He died in 1962.
107
April 12
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Joseph Moscati, lay person, doctor, in Naples. Feast, in the New RM.
1204. The fourth Crusade captures Constantinople and ravages it for three
days.
1850. Pope Pius IX returns to Rome, with hostility toward
liberalism still strong
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1878. Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall fame dies in jail.
1912. Clara Barton + She founded the American Red Cross.
1945. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies.
1950. Chuck Cooper signs with the Boston Celtics, the first black to play in
the National Basketball Association.
1955. Dr. Jonas Salk announces the discovery of the Polio vaccine.
1961. Yuri Gagarin is the first person in space, in the first manned orbital
flight.
1981 Joe Louis, "The Brown Bomber", heavyweight boxer, dies.
1988. Alan Paton + South Africa novelist. Cry, the Beloved Country.
1989. Sugar Ray Robinson dies, called the greatest boxer, pound for pound.
1992. Isaac Asimov + age 72. Scientist, writer, science fiction. He wrote
500 books, averaging 10 per year.
JESUIT
1573. At Rome, the opening of the Third General Congregation during which
Everard Mercurian was elected General.
1599. Fr. Luis de Molina’s book De Scientia Media, received the approval of
the Spanish Inquisition, but further inflamed theological
controversies.
1671. Francis Borgia, the 3rd General, is canonized by Pope Clement X.
1726. In Cairo, Claudio Sicard dies, a missionary and explorer of the Nile.
1977. Bishop Vincent Kennally, S.J. + Missionary to the Pacific Islands.
108
April 13
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Martin I, Pope and martyr. Optional memorial.
1598. Edict of Nantes, giving religious liberty for the Huguenots, is granted
by Henry IV.
1904. Yves Congar, O.P. B. Theologian, ecumenist.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1387. Twenty-nine pilgrims gather, and start the Canterbury Tales, on
pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas a Becket.
1742. Handel's Messiah premiers in Dublin. He composed it in less than four
weeks.
1743. Thomas Jefferson B.
1852. F.W. Woolworth B. Five and dimer.
1906. Samuel Beckett B. A novelist and playwright, he won the
Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.
1909. Eudora Welty B. Mississippi, writer.
1986. Jack Nicklaus wins his 6th Master's Golf Tournament with a strong
finish on the back nine at August National. He is then both the
oldest and the youngest ever to win the Master's.
1997. Tiger Woods age 21 wins Master by the largest margin ever, of 12
strokes, with the lowest score, 270, and is now the youngest ever.
JESUIT
1506. Peter Faber is born in Savoy, the first companion of Ignatius. He was
born six days after Xavier was born.
1541. Ignatius is elected General again, after refusing or declining the first
election results.
1561. Pius IV, by a special Brief, allowed the Society to erect houses within a
distance of l40 yards (cannae) from the houses of other Religious
Orders.
1853. Loyola College, Baltimore, is chartered.
1979. James W. Naughton, S.J. + Secretary of the Society, 1950-67.
1981. Fr. Godofredo Alingal, S.J. is shot and killed in his rectory in Kibawe,
Philippines. He defended the rights of poor farmers. Age 59.
2004. Bishop Martin Neylon, S.J. dies in New York. He had been director
of Novices and then bishop in the Caroline-Marshall Islands.
109
April 14
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
73 A.D. According to Josephus, 967 Jewish zealots commit mass suicide
at Masada.
1521. Magellan lands at Cebu, Philippines. Mass is celebrated there for the
first time.
1936. Bishop James Anthony Walsh dies. He is the founder and first superior
of Maryknoll.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1759. Handel +.
1828. The first edition is published of Webster's American Dictionary of the
English Language. It was 22 years in preparation.
1865. President Abraham Lincoln is shot.
1889. Arnold Toynbee, B historian.
1912. The Titanic, struck by an iceberg, will sink in the early morning hours
of April 15th. About 1500 die.
1917. Lazarus Zamenhof + Polish linguist, he devised Esperanto.
1942. Pete Rose B baseball star.
1964. Rachel Carson dies shortly after publication of her book Silent Spring,
with its alert on the environment and opposition to DDT.
1986. Simone de Beauvoir, + writer.
JESUIT
1618. St. John Berchman's father is ordained a priest; John himself was still
a Novice.
1792. The death of Maximillan Hell at Vienna. He was an stronomer who
directed the royal observatory in Vienna for 36 years.
1931. Professed House in Madrid is set on fire, including the relics of St.
Francis Borgia. Persecution against the Society.
1984. Joseph E. O'Neill, S.J. +. For 20 years, he edited Thought magazine.
1989. Dominic Pandolfo, S.J. + Brother, doorkeeper at St. Andrew-onHudson novitiate for many years.
1992. The death of Marshall Moran, S.J., aged 85. He was the first Catholic
priest allowed into Nepal in modern times. He founded St. Xavier
School for Boys.
110
April 15
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1729. J.S. Bach conducted the first and only performance of his Passion
according to St. Matthew during his lifetime, at Leipzig.
1889. The death of Blessed Damien de Veuster of Molokai, priest and leper.
Yam Hashoah. Holocaust Day.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Income Tax Day.
1452. Leonardo da Vinci B.
1598. Edict of Nantes gives the Huguenots equal political
rights with Catholics, but not entire freedom.
1755. Samuel Johnson publishes his dictionary of the English
language. It took eight years to complete.
1843. Henry James B in New York.
1865. Abraham Lincoln dies.
1888. Matthew Arnold dies in Liverpool, age 65. Poet and critic.
1947. Jackie Robinson debuts at Ebbets Field, first black in the modern
major leagues.
1955. The first McDonald’s opens, thanks to Ray Kroc.
1960. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee formed, (SNCC)
1980. Jean Paul Sartre + philosopher, writer.
1998. Pol Pot dies. He was an infamous dictator , guerilla leader of the
Khmer Rouge, noted for the Killing Fields of Cambodia.
JESUIT
1549. Xavier embarks at Malacca for Japan.
1610. Robert Parsons, S.J. + "The most active and indefatigable of all the
leaders of the English Catholics in the reign of Elizabeth."
1778. Empress Catherine the Great requested the Holy See that the Jesuits
in White Russia (the only ones in the world, all others having been
suppressed) might have a novitiate. She received the answer that the
local bishop should do as he thought best.
1884. Fr. Peter Beckx, aged 88, resigned governance of the Society to Fr.
Anton Anderledy.
111
April 16
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1783. St. Benedict Joseph Labre, panhandler, beggar saint. He died in
Rome on this day.
1879. St. Bernadette Soubirous + Lourdes. 35 years old. Officially St.
Mary Bernarda.
1968. Black Catholic Clergy Caucus is founded.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1859. Alexis de Tocqueville + Author of Democracy in America.
1889. Charlie Chaplin B.
1940. Bob Feller pitches a no-hitter on Opening Day.
1947. Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) B.
JESUIT
1548. At Naples died William Elphinston, a scholastic novice and scion of
the royal house of Scotland, his mother being a Stuart.
1617. Juan Ferro dies. He was an Italian missionary and professor of
Rhetoric in Mexico for 30 years and preached in six indigenous
languages.
1673. Pope Clement X forbids the publication of the Jesuit Relations. The
missions should not publish these without the written consent of the
office of Propaganda.
1767. Pope Clement XIII wrote to Charles III of Spain imploring him to
cancel the decree of expulsion of the Society from Spain, issued on
April 2nd. The Pope's letter nobly defends the innocence of the
Society.
112
April 17
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1695. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz dies. She was a Mexican sister, writer, poet
intellectual, feminist. Persecuted for being a woman, she gave up
writing and chose silence.
1876. Orestes Brownson +.
1936. Sun Myung Moon receives a revelation and mission about the
Unification Church on this day.
1990. Ralph Abernathy dies, leader of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1790. Benjamin Franklin + scientist, stateman.
1837. J.P. Morgan, B financier.
1897. Thornton Wilder B. In Wisconsin.
1961. Bay of Pigs, the unsuccessful USA invasion of Cuba.
1980. Southern Rhodesia becomes Zimbabwe.
JESUIT
1680. Kateri Tekakwitha dies. After receiving the Eucharist and the
Anointing of the Sick (Extreme Unction) she dies saying, "Jesus, I
love you."
1761. The French Parliament being appealed to in the Lavalette affair,
demand a copy of the Institute. King Louis XV proposes that the
Jesuits modify their Rule. Clement XIII writes to the king,
expressing his alarm at the attacks on the Jesuits. On hearing of
proposed modifications, he uttered the famous exclamation. "Sint ut
sunt aut non sint."
1909. America magazine begins publication. First issue on this day.
113
April 18
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1506. Foundation stone of St. Peter's Basilica laid in Rome by Pope Julius II.
1521. Luther declares at the Diet of Worms: "Hier stehe ich, ich kann nicht
anders. Gott mir helfen, Amen."
1587. John Foxe + English Protestant historian and martyrologist; Foxe's
Book of Martyrs.
1879. Cornelia Connelly dies. She was the Foundress of the Society of the
Holy Child Sisters.
1949. St. Benedict Center, Cambridge, MA, under Fr. Leonard Feeney, is
placed under interdict.
1961. St. Philomena is removed from the calendar of saints by the
Congregation of Rites.
1980. Zimbabwe Independence Day – from the UK.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1775. The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. Two lanterns appear in the Old
North Church. He rides from Charleston to Lexington. “Listen my
children and you shall hear...”
1906. In San Francisco, the beginning of a three day earthquake and fire in
which 500 are killed.
1923. Yankee Stadium opens.
1955. Albert Einstein dies eight days after Teilhard de Chardin.
1980. Rhodesia becomes the independent nation of Zimbabwe.
JESUIT
1527. St. Ignatius is put into prison for the first time, in Alcala, Spain. He
had been conversing with people on spiritual topics.
1836. The death of Anton Kohlmann, S.J. He had been Mission Superior, and
started the building at St. Patrick's Cathedral, and won a famous
seal of confession case in New York.
1906. Fr. General Luis Martin +.
1959. Francis P. Donnelly, S.J. + New York Province. Teacher, writer,
author of many textbooks on English.
114
April 19
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Timon, one of the first seven deacons... RM.
1054. Pope Leo IX + . The first pope in medieval times to seek an end to the
marriage of priests. His actions also led to the split between East
and West.
1560. Philip Melanchthon + Fellow worker of Luther, and the formulating
genius of the Reformation.
1908. Ne Temere goes into effect, clarifying the RCC laws on marriage.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1775. Patriot's Day, the Battle of Concord and Lexington. "...the shot heard
round the world."
1824. Lord Byron dies of malaria, age 36.
1882. Charles Darwin +.
1951. General Douglas MacArthur defends his conduct in Korea, with his
farewell speech: "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
1956. Grace Kelly is wed to Prince Rainier in Monaco.
1967. Konrad Adenauer + West German Chancellor.
1995. Timothy McVeigh is sentenced to death for Oklahoma bombing which
killed 168.
JESUIT
1541. St. Ignatius is elected general, after declining the first election. He
accepts the second election of April 13th, after praying over the
decision and with the advice of his Franciscan confessor
1602. At Tyburn, Ven. James Ducket, a layman, suffered death for
publishing a work written by Robert Southwell.
1964. Joseph Glose dies. A Jesuit Educator, at the center of the Jesuit
Education Association for 21 years.
1993. Joseph Sellinger dies. He had been President of Loyola College,
Baltimore, for many years.
115
April 20
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1842. Cardinal John Farley is born in Ireland. He was the fourth Archbishop
of New York, famed as an educator.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
ASTRONOMY DAY
1889. Adolf Hitler is born.
1910. Halley’s comet comes closest to earth. Mark Twain dies the following
day.
1912 Fenway Park, Boston, opens.
1916. Wrigley Field, Chicago, opens
JESUIT
1527. At Alcala St. Ignatius was imprisoned for forty-two days.
1586. The first and trial edition of the Ratio Studiorum was issued under Fr.
General Claudio Acquaviva.
1842. Jesuits return to Canada. Superior Peter Chazelle is
appointed.
1864. Father Peter de Smet left St. Louis to evangelize
the Sioux Indians.
1893. Robert I. Gannon, S.J. B. Staten Island. He was President of Fordham
University, and a famous after dinner speaker.
1955. Pedro Leturia, S.J. + Rome, historian. He was the founding director of
the Archivum Historicum Societatis, Jesu.
1996. Francis McCool, S.J. dies. He had been a professor of Scripture at the
Biblicum in Rome.
116
April 21
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1109. St. Anselm +. Bishop and Doctor. optional memorial.
1079. Peter Abelard B.
1649. The Toleration Act is passed by the Maryland Assembly, with the
support of Lord Baltimore, a Catholic.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
753. BC. Traditional Birthday of Rome. Romulus and Remus are saved by a
she wolf from the Tiber. Eventually Romulus kills Remus and the
city is named after him.
1816. Charlotte Bronte B.
1864. Max Weber B.
1910. Mark Twain +. Connecticut. Halley's comet is in the sky at his death
as well as at his birth, 79 years earlier.
1918. Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, crashes and is killed, but
was not shot down.
1960. Brasilia is declared the capital of Brazil.
JESUIT
1586. A draft of the lst Ratio Studiorum is sent by Claudio Acquaviva to
all Provinces.
1618. Pedro Paez, S.J. discovers the source of the Blue Nile.
1665. At Bordeaux the death of Fr. John Surin, who entered the Society at
the age of 15. He was a man of great sanctity and venerated after
death as a saint. For 20 years he was cruelly tormented by evil
spirits, after exorcizing certain Religious in a convent at Loudon.
1926. Letter of Fr. General Ledochowski De Usu Machinae Photographicae.
Cameras should belong to the house, not the individual. They are not
to be for recreation or time spent on trifles rather than for the
greater glory of God.
117
April 22
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1073. Gregory VII, Hildebrand, is elected Pope. The king comes
to Canossa four years later.
1418. The Council of Constance closes four years after opening. It is the high
water mark of the Conciliar era. It ended the Great Schism, but also
condemned and led to execution of John Hus.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Arbor Day. The first Earth Day celebrated beginning in 1970.
1519. Herman Cortez lands in Mexico with 600 soldiers on
Good Friday, and takes over.
1724. Kant B.
1838. The first Steamship, Sirius, of Britain, crosses the Atlantic and arrives
in New York in 18 days.
1870. Lenin B. Russia.
JESUIT
Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Society of Jesus. Feast.
154l. In St. Paul's Basilica, Rome, the solemn Profession of St. Ignatius and
his first companions: Ignatius, Lainez, Salmeron, Codure, Broet,
Jay.
1581. At the close of the Fourth General Congregation, Pope Gregory XIII
received the new General, Father Claude Acquaviva, and promised to
provide a foundation fund for the Roman College.
1585 (Day uncertain.) Discontent of certain Spanish Fathers at Father
Claude Acquaviva's election: they wanted a Spanish general. Such a
state of things requiring great firmness, Father General Acquaviva
expelled a number of Professed Fathers.
1952. A Letter of Fr. General Janssens "On Continual Mortification."
1972. Rene Arnou, S.J. dies. He was a professor at the Gregorian, a scholar
on spirituality and philosophy.
1995. Engelbert Mveng, S.J. is killed in his bed in the Cameroons. He was a
theologian, artist, and scholar and writer on the history and culture
of West Africa. He also founded the community of the Beatitudes.
118
April 23
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. George, martyr.
Optional Memorial.
St. Adelbert, bishop and martyr. Optional Memorial.
1813. Blessed Frederic Ozanan is born in Milan. He organized the
St. Vincent de Paul Societies.
1864. "In God We Trust" is adopted as the US Motto.
1960. A Convention ends in Minneapolis, with three major Lutheran
denominations merged to form the American Lutheran Church.
1988. Lord Michael Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, ecumenist dies.
1993. Cesar Chavez dies at the age of 66. He was a farm worker, and labor
organizer, and worked for social justice for minorities.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1564. William Shakespeare is born on this day in 1564 and dies on this day
in 16l6.
1616. Cervantes dies on the same day and year as Shakespeare.
1850. William Wordsworth + age 80.
1858. Max Planck B.
1921. Warren Spahn. B Pitcher.
1954. Hank Aaron hits his first major league home run. 714 will
follow.
1962. The new, New York Mets win their first game ever
after nine straight losses.
1995. Howard Cosell + age 77. TV sports caster.
JESUIT
1565. In Peru Fr. Gaspar de Azevedos died while serving the poor.
Reputedly he spent six hours every day in prayer, kneeling without
support.
1579. At Rome, the appointment of Fr. Alphonsus Agazzari, the first Jesuit
rector of the English College which had been founded by Pope
Gregory XIII.
1637. Henry Morse pronounces his final vows in prison. Later he is freed,
but then re-arrested, and martyred.
1878. The first phone line in the Philippines is established between the
Ateneo and the Normal School in Manila.
1888. Daniel Lord, S.J. B.
1956. Miguel Selga dies in Manila. He was a famed scientist and the first
director of the Manila Observatory.
1982. Michael Walsh, S.J. + New England Province, educator. He had
been President of Boston College and of Fordham.
2001. The death of Paul Beauchamp, French biblical, Old Testament
scholar.
119
April 24
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr. Optional Memorial.
Mary of Cleopas and Salome, in the new RM
387. The conversion and baptism of St. Augustine by St. Ambrose, at the
Easter Vigil.
1575. Jacob Boehme B. Lutheran pietist and mystic.
1576. Vincent de Paul B.
1868. St. Euphrasea Pelletier dies in France. She founded the Good
Shepherd Sisters.
1870. Vatican I passes the dogmatic constitution Dei Filius, concerning faith
and reason.
1886. Rev. Augustus Tolton, the first black American Catholic priest, is
ordained in Rome.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1800. United States Library of Congress is founded.
1916. Easter Rising, in Dublin.
1942. Barbara Streisand B.
1947. Willa Cather + age 73, in New York City. She wrote My Anthonia,
and Death Comes for the Archbishop.
1990. The Hubble Space Telescope is sent into orbit from the shuttle
Discovery. Remarkable photos, data – even before it is improved
and corrected.
JESUIT
1774. Christopher de Beaumont, Archbishop of Paris, wrote to Clement XIV,
regretting the Brief of Suppression. In 1775 the French Cardinals
declined to receive the Brief because it threatened disaster to the
Church.
1928. The Jesuit Church of the Blessed Sacrament, in Hollywood, CA, while
yet unfinished, holds an opening service. Cecil B. deMille attends and
Jackie Coogan does a reading.
1934. Leo O'Donovan, S.J. B. Theologian, President of Georgetown
University.
120
April 25
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Mark, Evangelist, Feast. Formerly this was the time for the Rogation
Days, asking God’s blessings upon crops, plants, and animals.
1792. John Keble, B. credited with founding the Oxford Movement.
1892. Sister Mary Martin is born in Ireland. She is the founder of the
Medical Missionaries of Mary.
1982. John Cardinal Cody + Archbishop of Chicago.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1599. Oliver Cromwell B. English Lord Protector,and an advocate of
tolerance.
1873. Walter de la Mare is born in Kent. A mystic, poet, and novelist.
1918. Ella Fitzgerald B.
1945. The United Nations is formed.
Anzac Day. Australia, New Zealand Army Corps Day.
JESUIT
1603. Fr. Gregory de Valentia, a Spanish Jesuit died at Naples. A renowned
theologian, Pope Clement VIII honored him with the title "Doctor of
Doctors."
1688. Louis XIV, wanting a special Jesuit vicar-general for the French
Jesuits, forbade all correspondence with the General and ordered all
French Jesuits in Rome to return to France.
1762. Fr. John de la Marche, sent by Fr.General, informed Fr. de Lavalette
of the suspension incurred by him, and the summons to Rome to hear
his sentence. Fr. de Lavalette signed his acceptance of the decree
with deepest sorrow.
1915. Pierre Rousselot, S.J. Professor at the Institut Catholique in Paris, is
wounded and taken prisoner in WW I.
121
April 26
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Cletus, pope who governed the Church the second after the apostle St.
Peter. RM He was the third pope, died in the year 88. Yet Rome
said that his pontificate might be switched with Clement.
St. Paschasius Radbertus. He wrote a treatise on the Eucharist.
757. The death of Pope Stephen II, who was succeeded by his brother, Pope
Paul I, one month later. Stephen II had succeeded Stephen I.
Stephen I was an old priest who died after being pope for four days,
and was never officially consecrated.
1969. Black Manifesto for the churches - New York City.
1986. Mircea Eliade, historian or religions, dies in Chicago.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
121. AD. Marcus Aurelius B.
1711. David Hume B. Edinburgh; philosopher, historian.
1785. James John Audobon B. Artist, naturalist, Bird Day.
1822. Frederick Law Olmstead B. An ecologist and landscape architect, he
designed public parks in New York, Chicago, Boston, and Montreal.
1889. Ludwig Wittgenstein B. Austrian philosopher.
1937. Guernica, a Basque town is bombed and destroyed during Spanish
Civil War. Picasso made a famous painting of this.
1964. Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania. Union Day.
1984. Count Basie + Jazz musician, bandleader.
1986. Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Russia. 31 die.
1989. Lucille Ball + comedienne. age 77.
JESUIT
1648. At Madrid, the death of Fr. John de Ripalda, an eminent theologian
who held the chair of theology as Salamanca.
1849. In Rome, revolutionaries searched for hidden Jesuits at Villa Macao,
the country house near Porta Pia, where long before St. Aloysius and
St. John Berchmans had come with the other Jesuit scholastics for
weekly recreation.
1911. Manresa Retreat House property bought, Staten Island. Fox Hill villa.
A retreat house exclusively for laymen. Under Fr. Shealy, the first
retreat was given on September 8th.
1921. Saint Louis University’s radio station, WEW (We Enlighten the World)
went on the air. It was only the second ratio station in the US.
1935. Lumen Vitae, a center for catechetics and religious formation is
founded in Brussels.
1941. Joseph Stadelman, S.J. dies, founder of Xavier Society for the Blind.
1995. Louis Schillebeckyx, S.J. dies, a missionary in India, and the brother of
Dominican theologian, Edward. He was age 87 and had been
Provincial.
122
April 27
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1667. John Milton sells the copywright for Paradise Lost for about $30.
1950. The modern state of Israel is recognized by the British government.
1998. Bishop Gerardi, auxiliary bishop of Guatemala City is murdered. He
had spoken out for justice.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1521. Magellan dies, before completing his journey around the globe. He was
killed in the Philippines.
1791. Samuel Morse B. Charlestown, MA. Invented the telegraph, and also
wrote anti-Catholic and anti-Jesuit papers.
1882. Ralph Waldo Emerson +. Concord, age 69.
1896. Rogers Hornsby B. Lifetime batting average of .358.
1916. Enos, "Country" Slaughter B. Baseball slugger.
1932. Hart Crane dies, suicide, age 34, jumping off a ship.
1972. Kwame Nkrumah, Liberator of Ghana, dies in Romania of cancer.
1994. Nelson Mandela is elected President of South Africa. Independence
Day.
JESUIT
Peter Canisius, traditional feast RM Priest and Doctor. Memorial. He
founded 18 colleges, authored 37 books.
In Catalonia, the feast of Our Lady of Montserrat, the little dark one, La
Morenita.
1593. Jerome Lalemant B. The successor to Jean de Brebeuf, he wrote much
in the Jesuit Relations.
1859. At Florence, acting under pressure from the Freemasons, the Society of
Jesus is banished.
1880. At Amiens, on occasion of the visit of Jules Ferry, shouts were raised
under the Jesuit College windows: "Les Jesuites a la guillotine."
1990. Vincent McCorry dies. He gave retreats and for many years wrote the
Word column for America magazine.
123
April 28
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Peter Chanel, priest and martyr. Optional Memorial.
He died on this day in 1841.
St. Louis Mary Grignon de Montfort. Optional Memorial. He was a
mariologist who wrote The True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin
Mary. He died on this day in 1716.
1969. Paul VI announces the establishment of a Theological Commission,
adjunct to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
1973. Jacques Maritain +.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1789. Mutiny on the Bounty. Fletcher Christian mutinies against Captain
Bligh. Fletcher sets sail for Pitcairn Island.
1919. The League of Nations is formed.
1945. Benito Mussolini is captured and executed by Italian partisans, antiFascist forces.
1967. Friedrich Heiler dies. He was an historian of religion, Catholic, and
ecumenically minded.
1975. The last USA civilian leaves South Vietnam as Saigon is surrounded.
1992. The death of Olivier Messaien, French Catholic composer.
JESUIT
1542. St. Ignatius sent Pedro Ribadenaira, aged fifteen, from Rome to Paris
for his studies. Pedro had been admitted into the Society in l540.
1575. At Rome died Father James Ceruto, who is said to have renewed his
religious vows a thousand times a day.
1581. Alexander Briant was arrested in London.
124
April 29
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1380. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor, Memorial. She died on this day,
age 33.
St. Tychicus, disciple of Paul, "most dear brother," RM
Bishop St. Severus, who, among other prodigies, raised for a short time a
dead man from the grave in order to convict of falsehood the lying
creditor of a widow and her children. RM
1894. The Sodality of St. Peter Claver for African Missions is approved and
blessed by Leo XIII. It was founded by Maria Teresa Ledochowska.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1881. A Woman is admitted to exams at Oxford University for the first time.
1889. Duke Ellington B.
1901. Emperor Hirohito is born.
1945. US troops liberate 32,000 from Dachau.
1951 Ludwig Wittgenstein +.
1980. Alfred Hitchcock dies. He attended Stonyhurst, a Jesuit school, and
was the master of suspense as a film director.
1986. Roger Clemens, Red Sox, strikes out 20 batters for new record.
JESUIT
1568. St. Pius V, by his Brief "Innumerable fructus," confirms the
Consitutions of Paul II and Julius III regarding the government of
colleges, the appointment of rectors by the General, etc.
1578. Disturbances at Utrecht caused by Lutherans: the Fathers were driven
from their College.
1599. At Nankin, Father Matthew Ricci secured a fixed abode, purchasing a
house reported to be haunted.
1672. At Rome the solemn canonization of St. Francis Borgia by Clement X.
1903. President Theodore Roosevelt visits St. Louis University.
1933. Thomas Ewing Sherman, S.J. dies in New Orleans. He was the
son of General Sherman, an orator on the mission band. He
suffered a breakdown, and wanted to leave the Society, but
was refused because of his ill health. Before his death he
renewed his vows in the Society.
1998. The Bishop of Monze, Paul Lungu, S.J., 51, died in a road accident. For
his funeral, all ten Zambian Bishops and the Nuncio were present at
the ceremony which lasted for four hours and which was attended
by an estimated gathering of 10,000 people. The ritual dances and
mournful singing performed during the Mass are the traditional
honors given to a chief among the Tonga people.
125
April 30
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1572. St. Pius V, Pope, Optional Memorial. He died on this day and he gave
us the Roman Missal.
Blessed Marie Guyart of the Incarnation. Optional memorial.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Walpurgisnacht (St. Walburga) in Germany and Scandinavia.
1789. George Washington is inaugurated as first President.
1803. The Louisiana Purchase. $15 million, doubles the US
land size.
1844. While fishing, Henry David Thoreau accidentally sets a fire that
burns 300 acres.
1877. Alice B. Toklas is born in San Francisco.
1900. Casey Jones + train engineer.
1936. A. E. Housman, poet, dies, 77 years old.
1975. South Vietnam surrenders to North Vietnam. Saigon becomes Ho Chi
Mihn City.
1992. Burning and riots in Los Angeles, California after police are judged
not guilty of beating a black motorist, Rodney King. Many die.
JESUIT
1555. The death of Pope Marcellus II, greatly admired by St. Ignatius.
Whenever he wished to turn a conversation to some other subject, he
would say, “Let us talk about good Pope Marcellus.”
1595. Abraham George, S.J. dies, the first of eight Jesuit martyrs in
Ethiopia.
l632. At Ingolstadt, John, Count de Tilly, the great Catholic hero, assisted by
his Jesuit confessor, breathed his last. He had received his education
from the Society.
1984. Aime Duval, S.J. dies. Singer and recovering alcoholic.
1985. Philip J. Donnelly, S.J. + He taught at Weston from l939 to 1979,
except for two years away as professor of Dogmatic Theology.
126
May 1
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Joseph the Worker, optional memorial. This feast was established by
Pius XII in 1955.
In Egypt, Jeremiah the Prophet, stoned to death. New RM
1045. Pope Benedicto IX resigns, when given a certain sum of money. Elected
pope when about 20 years old, and was the only pope to serve three
separate spells. Once called "most deserving of assassination."
1873. David Livingstone dies, a Scottish missionary and explorer. His body
was returned to England but his heart buried in Africa.
1873. In Rome, the Italian Parliament passed its irreligious law declaring
religious orders non-existent in Italy. All property thus constituted
bona nullius lapsing to the state.
1933. Catholic Worker founded. The first issue of The Catholic Worker.
1987. Edith Stein and Rupert Mayer, S.J. are beatified by John Paul II.
1991. Encyclical of John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, for the anniversary of
Rerum Novarum.
1993. Amos Wilder + 97. Literary study of Scripture.
2002 Monsignor George Higgins dies, age. 86. Foremost priest on labor,
social issues, dies on Labor Day.
2002 Ade Bethune + age 88. Artist for the Catholic Worker from 1938.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
International Law Day. May Day. Worker Day established by
the International Socialist Congress, 1889.
1700. John Dryden + age 68.
1886. Haymarket Square, Boston. Workers riot for an 8 hour day.
1931. New York: Empire State Building dedicated. It will be world's tallest
building for 40 years. Cost $41 million. Constructed in record time.
1939. Judy Collins B. Folksinger.
1998. Eldridge Cleaver dies. He wrote Soul on Ice, and led the
Black Panthers.
JESUIT
1539. The death of Empress Isabel, which leads to the conversion of St.
Francis Borgia.
1570. Six Jesuits, later twenty, become the official penitentieri in St. Peter's
Basilica.
1572. At Rome, Pope St. Pius V breathed his last. His decree imposing Choir
on the Society was canceled by his successor, Gregory XIII.
1592. Adam Schall, S.J. B. Cologne.
1881. Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. B.
1965. Pope Paul VI entrusts the task of combating atheism to the Society of
Jesus.
1987. Raymond Schoder, S.J. dies in Chicago. He was a classical scholar and
noted photographer.
127
May 2
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
373. St. Athanasius +. bishop and doctor, Memorial.
1611. The King James Version of the Bible is first published.
1810. Pope Leo XIII B.
1997. Paulo Freire dies. From Brazil, he was an educator,with
a liberating pedagogy
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1497. John Cabot begins his first voyage to Newfoundland and possibly to
Maine, and arrives back in England on August 1.
1519. Leonardo da Vinci dies, a genius. Mona Lisa, Last Supper.
1729. Catherine the Great, B. Empress for 34 years, she saved the Society of
Jesus.
1863. Confederate General Stonewall Jackson is accidentally shot by his
own men. He dies 8 days later.
1904. Bing Crosby B.
1957. Senator Joseph McCarthy +. He was strongly anti-communist.
1960. The U 2 - USA spy plane is shot down over Russia, with pilot Gary
Powers.
1968. Poor People’s March to Washington begins.
1972. J. Edgar Hoover dies. He was head of the FBI for ages.
JESUIT
1564. Pope Pius the V yielded to Fr. General Lainez' request and approved
that the Society should have no Cardinal Protector, but be under the
Pope's immediate protection.
1602. The birth of Athanasius Kircher, S.J., scientist and polymath.
1602. Cardinal Bellarmine's first entrance into Capua. He entered on foot,
reciting prayers, and carrying the arm of St. Stephen, Protomartyr.
1706. G. J. Kamel, S.J. Jesuit brother +. The camellia flower is named after
him.
128
May 3
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Sts. Philip and James, apostles. Feast.
1515. Encyclical Inter Sollicitudines of Leo X, says all writings were to be
examined by the Church prior to their printing.
1822. The official foundation of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith
under Pauline-Marie Jaricot.
1900. Johannes Quasten born in Germany. He was a church historian and
patrologist.
1983. US Bishops issue their Pastoral Letter on Peace.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1469. Machiavelli B. Florence. Statesman, political philosopher, he wrote
The Prince.
1919. Pete Seeger B. folksinger.
1920. Sugar Ray Robinson B. He is called the best fighter ever, pound for
pound.
JESUIT
1560. The first band of Jesuit missionaries head to Angola.
1606. The martyrdom of Henry Garnet, SJ, who was falsely charged with
complicity in the Gunpowder Plot. At St. Paul's Churchyard, London.
1611. At Nanking, the opening of the first church, a Jesuit one, in that city.
1764. The last of the French Canadian Jesuit martyrs, Fr. Simon Gounon,
drowns taking communion to the sick.
1900. Hugo Rahner, S.J. B.
1945. Innsbruck is taken over by the American troops. Theology at the
Canisianum resumes a few months later.
1978. The death of Leo C. Brown, labor arbitrator who from 1942 to his death
served as mediator for hundreds of worker-management disputes.
1987. Ruper Mayer, S.J. is beatified in Munich. Apostle of Munich.
1994. Vincent Potter +. Philosopher, professor at Fordham, expert on C.S.
Peirce.
129
May 4
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
387. St. Monica dies on this day. RM.
Margaret Clitheroe, Thomas More, John Fisher, RM
1241. Pisan fleet defeats the Genoa fleet and takes 100 bishops on way to
Rome for Council hostage. Frederick II, emperor of Germany and
King of Sicily had been excommunicated so did not take it lightly.
1493. Inter caetera of Alexander VI gives the Indies to Spanish patronage.
1889. Francis Cardinal Spellman B.
1969. James Foreman issues his "Black Manifesto," in Riverside Church,
NYC. Black power movement makes demands of white churches.
1982. John Considine, M.M. dies. He wrote missionary books, and was the
founder of the Fides news service.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1924. The First Helicopter flight (1KM) by Etienne Oehmichen.
1936. Joe DiMaggio makes his major league baseball debut.
1970. At Kent State University, four students are killed at a Vietnam War
protest.
1973. Sears Tower in Chicago is completed; it is the world's tallest building
until 1996.
1980. President Tito of Yugoslavia dies, age 87.
JESUIT
St. Joseph Mary Rubio, S.J. Parish priest in Madrid. Optional Memorial. He
died on May 2, 1929.
1650. The archbishop of Sens in France, a friend of the Jansenists, ordered
prayers in his diocese for the conversion of the Jesuits.
1881. The Society was expelled from the Republic of Nicaragua.
1902. Carlos Sommervogel, S.J. + Historian of the Society of Jesus,
bibliographer.
1938. Franco invites the Jesuits to return to Spain. They had been banned in
1932.
1971. The announcement of the opening of the Center of Concern in
Washington, DC.
130
May 5
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1888. The laying of the cornerstone of the Catholic University
of America.
1980. Declaration on Euthanasia is issued by the Sacred
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
1985. Philip Scharper dies. Outstanding Catholic layman, an author,
editor, at Sheed and Ward, and at Orbis Books.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Cinco de Mayo. Mexican American Holiday.
1813. Kierkegaard, B.
1818. Karl Marx B. Trier.
1821. Napoleon Bonaparte dies in exile on St. Helens.
1864, General Sherman begins his march to the sea from Chattanooga.
1910. Mary Lou Williams, jazz pianist, composer, B. She was a convert to
Catholicism.
1961. Alan Shepard becomes the first USA in space
JESUIT
1555. In Portugal, Fr. John Nunez Baretto was consecrated Patriarch of
Ethiopia. Fr. Andrew Oviedo was consecrated Bishop of Jerusalem.
This was in preparation for their mission to Ethiopia.
1585. In Japan the Emperor gave full leave to Fr. Gaspar Coelho, viceprovincial, to preach the Gospel.
1782. At Coimbra, Sebastian Carvahlo, Marquis de Pombal, a cruel
persecutor of the Society in Portugal, died in disgrace and exile. His
body remained unburied fifty years, till Father Philip Delvaux
performed the last rites in 1832.
1804. The Fathers in Maryland desired to be aggregated to the Society in
Russia.
131
May 6
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Lucius Cyranaeus, prophet and teacher in the Acts of the Apostles, found
in the new RM
Blessed Frances de Montmorency - Laval.
1527. 40,000 soldiers hired by Cardinal Colonna sack the city of Rome, and
force Pope Clement VII to flee to Orvieto disguised as a gardener.
1857. St. Dominic Savio dies age 15, a student of St. John Bosco.
1962. St. Martin de Porres is canonized by Pope John XXIII. Patron of social
justice.
1975. Cardinal Mindzenty dies, 83 years old.
1986. Donald Pelotte, age 41, is ordained bishop. He is the first native
American Roman Catholic bishop.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1626. Manhattan Island is purchased for $24, by Peter Minuit.
1856. Sigmund Freud B in Freiberg, Moravia.
1859. The discovery of gold in Colorado.
1861. Rabindranath Tagore B. Calcutta, author, poet.
1862. Henry David Thoreau + age 44, Concord, Mass. His last words were
"Moose, Indian."
1915. Orson Welles B.
1931. Willie Mays B.
1937. The dirigible Hindenburg burns and 36 die at Lakehurst, N.J.
1952. Maria Montessori + educator
1954. Roger Bannister is the first to break the four minute mile barrier.
1992. Marlene Dietrich + age 90. Singer, actress, Die Blaue Engel, Lola.
JESUIT
1542. Xavier reaches Goa, after more than one year's journey. FB
1638. At Ypres, in Belgium, the death of Cornelius Jansenius, the founder of
Jansenism, and author of the 'Augustinus', at which he worked for 20
years. Speaking of the Jesuits he said: "Perfecto odio oderam illos". (I
detest them with a total hatred)
1816. Letter of John Adams to Thomas Jefferson mentioning the Jesuits. "If
any congregation of men could merit eternal perdition on earth and
in hell, it is the company of Loyola."
1927. At St. Andrew on Hudson, a Junior runs to the Fathers and
says that two KKK are burning down Della Strada chapel.
The fathers investigate and discover two pious women with
white handkerchiefs on their heads visiting the chapel and
lighting candles.
1963. Vincent A. McCormick, S.J. +. He had been the American Assistant.
1989. The death of Daniel Pasupasu. He had twice been provincial of
Central Africa.
1998. Philip Caraman, S.J. +. He was an author on Jesuit Saints/History.
132
May 7
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
1274. Second General Council of Lyons opens, trying to end the
East-West schism.
1851. Adolf von Harnack B. German Lutheran church historian.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1711. David Hume B.
1833. Johannes Brahms B.
1840. Tchaikovsky B.
1909. Edward Land B. Inventor of the Polaroid Land Camera.
1915. Lusitania is sunk by a U-Boot off of Ireland, 1200 die.
1933. Johnny Unitas B. Quarterback.
1945. Germany surrenders.
Israel Independence Day. Yom Ha Atzmauth.
JESUIT
1537. Francis Borgia converted from the vanities of the world by the sight of
Empress Isabella’s corpse.
1547. Letter of St. Ignatius to the scholastics at Coimbra on Religious
Perfection.
1626. At Nagasaki, Ven. Father John Baptist de Baeza died. In the space of
three years he is said to have baptized 75,000 adults at Goa, Macao,
Mozambique, and in Japan.
1909. Apostolic Letter of Pius X, "Vinea Electa" erects the Pontifical Biblical
Institute, to combat "false, erroneous and heretical views, especially
those recently current."
1938. Proclamation of the decree by Franco that restores the Society in
Spain.
1945. Fr. Ferdinand Bonsrel, S.J. + missionary in Sri Lanka from l901-45.
Educator, scientist, honored by a stamp.
1965. General Congregation 31 opens, its first session. It will elect Fr. Pedro
Arrupe as Superior General.
133
May 8
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
St. Victor, martyr of Morocco, soldier, in the fourth century (RM)
1373. The great revelations or "Showings", revelations of Divine Love are
given to Julian of Norwich.
1518. Pope Leo X appoints Henry, son of Alphonsus of Kongo, as the first
black African, sub-Saharan bishop.
1816. The American Bible Society is organized in NYC.
1824. Beethoven's Missa Solemnis is first performed in Vienna.
1895. Fulton J. Sheen B. Illinois.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1541. Hernando de Soto discovers the Mississippi River.
1936. Oswald Spengler +. He is the author of The Decline of the West.
1945. VE Day - Victory in Europe is proclaimed by Truman.
JESUIT
1521. Peter Canisius is born in Nijmegen. This is sixteen days before St.
Ignatius is wounded.
1543. Peter Canisius is accepted as a novice by Peter Faber. Canisius is
ordained three years later.
1586. Fathers Henry Garnet and Robert Southwell left Rome for the
English mission.
1853. Jan Roothaan dies. He was the 2lst General of the Society and
General for 24 years. His furtherance of the Spiritual Exercises, the
foreign missions, and education, gretly influenced the spirit and
works of the Society.
1861. President Abraham Lincoln visits Georgetown University
to review the 69th New York Regiment which was based there.
1900. Sod is turned, the beginning of building of the novitiate of St. Andrew
on Hudson, Poughkeepsie, NY.
134
May 9
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
The prophet Isaiah, in the new RM
In Egypt, the abbot St. Pachomius. RM He is the founder of Cenobite
Christian monasticism.
1852. The First Plenary Council of Baltimore is held at the Cathedral.
1985. The Vatican announces a period of silence for liberation
theologian Fr. Leonardo Boff, OFM.
1988. Matthew Fox, O.P. has a one year period of silence
imposed on him, which he will start on December l5th.
1996. Leon Jozef Cardinal Suenens dies in Brussels, age 91. He was an
outstanding, strong leader at Vatican II and after Vatican II.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1657. Dietrich Buxtehude +. Danish organist, composer.
1883. Ortega y Gasset B. Madrid. Philosopher.
1961. FCC chair Newton Minow calls television programming "a vast
wasteland."
1978. The body of Aldo Moro, leader of the Christian Democrats of Italy is
found. He was a close friend of Pope Paul VI.
1992. Marlene Dietrich + age 90. Die Blaue Engel, Lola.
JESUIT
1621. St. John Berchman's was standing on the steps of the Gesu with the
other Fathers and Brothers when the newly elected Pope Gregory XV
passed with great pomp on his way to the Lateran for his
coronation. The Saint mortified his eyes and saw nothing of the
Papal procession.
1758. 19th General Congregation opens, the last of the Old
Society. It will elect Ricci.
1820. The Jesuits exiled from Polotsk, Russia, enter Austria.
1921. Dan Berrigan, S.J. B. poet, peacemaker, pacifist.
1978. The death of Fr. Antonio Messineo, after 47 years on the staff of La
Civilta Cattolica. He was widely consulted on social rights.
1991. The Holy House where St. Ignatius was born and lived and
converted is formally handed over to the Society of Jesus.
135
May 10
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Blessed Damien Joseph de Veuster of Molokai. In new RM
In the land of Hus, the holy prophet Job, a man of wonderful patience. RM
1886. Karl Barth B.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1869. The Transcontinental Railroad is completed, at Promontory Point,
Utah. The Union Pacific and Central Pacific meet at the golden
spike.
1941. Rudolf Hess, Nazi leader, flees to England.
1990. Walker Percy, age 74, dies. He was a novelist and convert to
Catholicism.
JESUIT
1569. St. John of Avila +. Spiritual Director: "The Master". A special friend
of the Society of Jesus and of
St. Ignatius - an "honorary Jesuit."
1616. In Poland, a disgruntled ex-Jesuit, Jerome Zahorowski, published a
notorious attack on the Society of Jesus called the "Monita Secreta
Societatis Jesu." The document supposedly revealed the secret
instructions directing the machinations of Jesuits. It was for a long
time one of the most influential anti-Jesuit tracts ever published.
1657. In China died Fr. Stephen LeFevre, called “a second Xavier.”
1773. Empress Maria Teresa of Austria changed her friendship for the
Society into hatred, because she had been led to believe that a
written confession of hers (found and printed by Protestants) had
been divulged by the Jesuits.
136
May 11
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1682. The General Court of Massachusetts repeals the law of May 1680 that
forbad the celebration of Christmas and called for capital
punishment for Quakers who returned after being banished.
1825. The American Tract Society is organized in New York City.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1888. Irving Berlin, composer. B. He was 100 years old in l988.
1904. Salvator Dali, surrealist. B.
1986. Bob Marley +
Reggae musician from Jamaica.
1996. Nnamdi Azikiwe + 92. Politician, he was the 1st President
of Nigeria.
JESUIT
1610. M. Ricci + Beijing. A mathematician and missionary, he was
the most eminent missionary to China.
1647. By decrees 24 and 27 of the Seventh General Congregation, the
wearing of the biretta was forbidden to lay-Brothers.
1716. At Naples, the death of St. Francesco de Jeronimo (St. Francis
Jerome), the apostle of that city and kingdom.
1824. St. Regis Seminary is opened in Florissant, Mo. by Fr. Van
Quickenborne. It is the first RC school in USA for the higher
education of Indians.
1982. Horace McKenna, SJ + . Maryland. Friend of the poor. He explained
and lived that the two symbols of the priest are the towel
(footwashing)and the stole. He also said that the main job of the
Superior is to “spray praise” around the community.
137
May 12
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Nereus, Achilleus, Pancreas, optional memorial.
1552. The University of Lima, Peru, created by royal decree opens
under the Dominicans, preceding Harvard.
1944. Edel Quinn, Irish laywoman dies. She brought the Legion of Mary to
Africa, to Kenya in particular.
1952. Gregory Dix + Anglican scholar, liturgist. The Shape of the Liturgy.
1962. Thomas Merton is silenced by the Cistercian Master General.
1967. Fr. Francis Connell, C.SS.R. dies. A moral theologian, and first
President of the Catholic Theological Society of America.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
American Indian Day.
1789. William Wilberforce gives speech in House of Commons against
slavery.
1820. F. Nightingale B - Hospital Day/ Nurses Day.
1925. Yogi Berra B. Baseball catcher and manager.
1937. George VI is crowned King of England after his brother
Edward abdicates.
1949. The Berlin land blockade by the Soviets is lifted.
1967. The death of John Masefield, poet.
JESUIT
1774. Fr. Antonio Coltraro was imprisoned in Castel Sant’ Angelo for almost
two years because he was a friend of the confessor of a woman who
foretold the death of Pope Clement XIV.
1981. A letter of this date, from Secretary of State, Cardinal Casaroli, speaks
positively of Teilhard de Chardin in celebration of the centenary of
his birth (May l,1881).
1987. Harold Small, S.J. dies. From 1960 to 75 he was the American
Assistant to Father General.
138
May 13
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima – optional memorial.
1917. Three children near Fatima report Mary appeared to them. The first
appearance to Lucia 9, Jacinta 8, Francesco 6.
1373. Blessed Julian of Norwich, mystic. Revelations of Divine Love.
Blessed is a title of affection, with no known public cultus,
according to Butler, Lives of the Saints. "All shall be well, all manner
of thing shall be well." Visions from God on this day.
1792. The birth of Pius IX. He is the longest reigning pope, beginning his
reign in 1846, he will define the Immaculate Conception.
1981. An assassination attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's
Square by Mehmet Ali Agca, from Turkey.
1993. Dom Bede Griffiths, OSB dies in India, in his Ashram.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1607. Jamestown is settled by Captain John Smith, the first permanent
settlement.
1846. United States declares war on Mexico.
1914. Joe Louis B.
1940. Churchhill presents his program. "I have nothing to offer but blood,
toil, tears, and sweat."
1978. Anton Pegis dies in Canada, a noted Catholic Philosopher.
JESUIT
1572. The election of Gregory XIII to succeed St. Pius V. To him the Society
owes the foundation of the Roman and German Colleges.
The Traditional feast of St. Robert Bellarmine. RM
1704. Louis Bourdaloue, S.J. dies, age 72 in Paris. He is the most famous of
all Jesuit preachers. It was said that places were reserved 48 hours
before he spoke.
139
May 14
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Matthias, Apostle,
Feast.
964. Pope John XII dies. He was made pope when under 20 years of age.
"Almost the worst of the popes" says St. Robert Bellarmine.
According to the report of an enemy, he was deposed, jailed, and
almost certainly suffocated by a pillow when caught in the act of
adultery.
1859. The arrival of the first six S.M.A. missionaries including founder,
Bishop de Bresselac, in Sierra Leone. All six will die within two
months.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1686. Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit is born. He used mercury in a thermometer.
1804. Lewis and Clark set out from St. Louis to the Pacific Northwest.
1998. Frank Sinatra dies, “Old Blue Eyes,” he went from Hoboken to
Hollywood. Singer of the Century according to BBC.
JESUIT
1610. Henry IV of France was assassinated and a storm of obloquy broke
over the Society in France.
1648. Pope Innocent X by a special Brief reproved Bishop Palafox of
Angelopolis, Mexico, for suspending the Jesuits. Palafox had at one
time professed greater attachment to the Society, but after the
Jesuits refused to pay certain contributions or tithes which they
deemed unjust, he became a bitter enemy.
1905. Jean Danielou, S.J. B. A Cardinal in his last years.
1978. Letter of Pedro Arrupe to the whole Society on Inculturation.
1987. Joseph Lynch, S.J. + Seismologist, Fordham University.
140
May 15
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Isidore,
optional memorial. It is a feast day in the USA as he is patron
of National Rural Life Conference. His wife is also a saint.
St. Pachomius. He emphasized the community life of monks.
1252. Ad exstirpanda, a letter of Innocent IV. Rectors of cities are required
to use torture to force heretics to confess.
1773. Alban Butler +. Hagiographer, 4 vol. Life of Saints.
1881. Encyclical Letter of Leo XIII. Rerum Novarum. The Condition of
Labor.
1879. Gustaf Aulen B. Swedish theologian, Christus Victor.
1931. Encyclical Letter of Pius XI, Quadragesimo Anno, on Reconstructing
the Social Order.
1948. The death of Fr. Flanagan of Boys Town. "No such thing as a bad boy."
1949. Peter Maurin, + . Catholic Worker. Philosopher.
1956. Encyclical Letter of Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas, on the Sacred Heart.
1961. Encyclical Letter of John XXIII. Mater et Magistra. Christianity and
Social Progress.
1971. Apostolic Letter of Paul VI to his Eminence Cardinal Roy, Octagesima
Adveniens, The Coming Eightieth.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1265. Dante Alighieri is born in Florence.
1829. Florence Nightingale B. English nurse, the "lady with the lamp."
1886. Emily Dickinson dies, age 55 in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was a
reclusive American poet, who never left her home for 21 years.
1902. Richard J. Daley B. de Mayor - of Chicago.
1972. George Wallace, Presidential candidate, is shot and
crippled in
Laurel, Maryland.
JESUIT
1544. In a letter to St. Ignatius, the Carthusians speak highly in praise of
the Society and make it a perpetual sharer in all their prayers and
good works.
1561. Gonzalo da Silveira, dies a martyr in Africa.
1605. The election of Pope Paul V who put an end to the prolonged
controversies De Auxiliis and would allow no censure to be attached
to Father Molina's book.
1613. Fr. Jacques Quentin and Br. Gilbert du Thet arrive to settle on Mt.
Desert Island, Maine. It is short lived as the English capture and
take over the place.
1815. The readmission of the Society into Spain. But the fathers were again
exiled on July 31, 1820.
141
May 16
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Saints Alypius and Possidius, associates of St. Augustine.
RM
Feast of St. Brendan, Navigator. More story than reality, he visited Iceland.
1164. Heloise dies, a French nun, friend of Abelard.
1265. St. Simon Stock, + Carmelite, scapular is named after him. RM
1840. First issue of The Tablet. London, Catholic weekly.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1836.
1875.
1886.
1912.
1928.
1955.
1977.
Edgar Allen Poe marries his l3 year old cousin who has TB.
First Kentucky Derby.
Emily Dickinson +. Never left her home since 1865.
Studs Terkel B. N.Y.C. Radio intereviewer, author of Working, etc.
Billy Martin B. Baseball manager and ex-manager.
Olga Korbut B. Olympic gymnast.
Robert Maynard Hutchins +. Great Books program and University of
Chicago youthful President.
1979. A. Philip Randolph + Civil rights activist and labor leader.
1990. Jim Henson + created the Muppets TV show.
1990. Sammy Davis Jr. +.
JESUIT
St. Andrew Bobola, Memorial. He was martyred at Janow, Poland on
this day in 1657.
Traditional feast of St. John Nepomucene. Patron and Protector of the
Society of Jesus. (1340-93, Patron of the Seal of Confession). He
was declared Protector, Protector of our Reputation, in 1887.
1578. Fr. Antonio Possevino received the abjuration of heresy and
conversion to Catholicism of King John III of Sweden. The king
later reverted to Protestantism.
1650. At Rome, in a General Chapter of the Discalced Carmelites, the
Society was spoken of with great affection. A certain Carmelite was
severely reprimanded and his life of St. Teresa condemned because
he omitted from her writings all passages where she speaks in praise
of the Society.
1988. In Paraguay, Pope John Paul II canonizes Roque Gonzalez,
Alfonso Rodriguez and Juan del Castillo.
142
May 17
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Restituta... who was put in a boat filled with pitch and oakum, to be
burned to death on the sea. But the flame turned on those who
kindled it, and the saint yielded her soul to God in prayer. RM
953. Blessed Ratho of Andechs. Andechs is a pilgrimage monastery in
Southern Germany, famed for its beer, Andechs.
1881 Carl McIntyre B. A militant American evangelist and
political commentator.
1964. Vatican II creates the Secretariat for non-Christian
Religions.
1992. Jose Maria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei, is beatified inrecord time.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Norwegian Constitution Day.
1501. Sandro Botticello + artist.
1915. Lusitania is sunk.
1954. Segregation is outlawed by U.S. Supreme Court in the Brown
decision.
JESUIT
1547. Letter of St. Ignatius on zeal and religious perfection.
1572. Pope Gregory XIII exempted the Society from Choir, approved the
simple vows after two years' noviceship, and allowed Ours to be
ordained before Profession: in all these matters reversing a decree of
St. Pius V.
1824. Brief of Leo XIII returns the Roman College to the Society of Jesus,
Cum multa in Urbe.
1915. Fr. General Ledochowski leaves Rome, goes to Switzerland to better
govern and communicate with the Society in WW I.
1966. Gaston Salet, S.J. + teacher, preacher.
1968. Catonsville Nine: an anti-Vietnam protest, with Jesuits involved.
143
May 18
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. John I, pope and martyr. Optional memorial.
1692. Joseph Butler B. English bishop and scholar. Analogy of Religion.
1920. Pope John Paul II B.
1898. A Photo of the Shroud of Turin showed it as an exact negative and
hence the mystery of how it came to be.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1525. Pieter Brueghel B.
1872. Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician born in Wales.
1883. Walter Gropius is born. He is the founder of the Bauhaus School of
Architecture.
1946. Reggie Jackson baseball star B.
1955. Mary McLeod Bethune dies. Black educator and college President.
1980. Mt. St. Helens erupts.
JESUIT
1546. Fathers Laynez and Salmeron were sent by Pope Paul III as his
theologians to the Council of Trent.
1675. Pere Jacques Marquette dies, age 37, at Ludington, Michigan.
Explorer of the Mississippi.
1711. Ruggero Giuiseppi Boscovich, S.J. B. Astronomer and
Mathematician.
1975. Mass for the closing of Woodstock College, New York City.
1985. Thomas Moore, S.J. dies. He was Editor of the Sacred Heart
Messenger and director of the Apostleship of Prayer.
144
May 19
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
804. Alcuin + medieval Christian scholar.
St. Peter Celesine. The birthday of St. Peter of Moroni, who, while leading
the life of an ancoret, was created Sovereign Pontiff and called
Celestine V. He later abdicated the pontificate and led a religious life
in solitude. RM He was pope for five months. He died on this day in
1296. He had resigned the papacy one and one half years earlier.
He knew little Latin and no canon law, under his leadership the
Curia fell into hopeless confusion.
1662. Act of Uniformity rejects Presbyterianism.
1994. Jacques Ellul dies, age 82. A French Protestant theologian and lawyer,
a hopeful pessimist on culture, and on technology, a social critic.
2001 Msgr. Jack Egan dies. Active priest, organizer for justice, from
Chicago.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1536 Ann Boleyn, the second of Henry VIII's six wives is beheaded.
She is the Mother of Elizabeth I.
1890. Ho Chi Minh B. Vietnamese leader.
1925. Malcolm X B.
1928. Max Scheler +.
1935. T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia)dies after a motorcycle accident
in England, age 46.
1971. Ogden Nash +.
1984. John Betjeman + poet.
JESUIT
1596. At Perigueux the death of Father Francis de Bordes. Threatened with
dismissal in his noviceship because of delicate health, he cast himself
before the Rector and said he would remain kneeling at the door-step
till he was taken back again.
1651. The martyrdom at Tyburn of Blessed Peter Wright, a former soldier
who returned to his homeland as Jesuit and was hanged.
1652. The birth of Paul Hoste, S.J. a mathematician and expert on the
construction of ships and history of naval warfare.
1769. At Rome the election of Pope Clement XIV, Cardinal Lorenzo
Ganganelli, who is said to have owed to the Jesuits his elevation to
the Cardinalate. He would later suppress the Society of Jesus.
1988. Seavey Joyce, S.J. + one-time president of Boston College.
1991. Zoltan Alseghy, S.J. + Moral theologian of the Alseghy-Flick team.
145
May 20
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Bernardine of Siena, priest. Optional memorial. He died on this day in 1444.
Lydia, seller of purple, in the Acts. New RM.
325. Traditional Day for the opening of the lst Council of Nicaea. 314
bishops present. The Pope is absent because of illness and old age.
1277. Pope John XXI dies on this day. The roof of his study in the papal
library collapsed on him six days earlier.
1789. Blessed Marcellin Champagnat, B. Founder of the Marist Brothers.
1825. Antoinette Brown Blackwell is born. The first female minister in the
USA.
1907. Franz Jaegerstaetter B. Austrian conscientious objector during WW
II.
1982. Pope John Paul establishes the Pontifical Council for Culture.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Cuban Independence Day.
1444. Sandro Botticelli B.
1754. Columbia University is chartered as King's College under the
Episcopal Church.
1768. Dolly Madison B. She was the wife of 4th American President
1799. Honore Balzac is born in Tours, France, a genius of the novel.
1806. John Stuart Mill B. With a high IQ, he learned Greek at the age of
three, Latin and Arithmetic at 8, and Logic at 12.
1862. Homestead Act.
1882. Sigrid Undset B. Norwegian novelist, born in Denmark.
1908. Jimmy Stewart B.
1956. The first Hydrogen Bomb is detonated.
JESUIT
1521. St. Ignatius was seriously wounded while defending the Castle of
Pamplona against the French.
1547. Pope Paul IV accedes to the request that the Society of Jesus no
longer subjects women to its obedience. “Fiat ut petitur.”
1622. The death of Pedro Paez, S.J., a Spanish missionary to Ethiopia, the
second apostle of Ethiopia. He reached Ethiopia in 1603 after 15
years of journey because en route he was enslaved by Turkish pirates
for 7 years. He was the first European to see the source of the blue
Nile, he wrote a history of Ethiopia and learned several languages.
1823. Saint Louis University (St. Louis College) is founded.
1961. In a letter dated 20 May, Fr. Swain, Vicar-General formally approved
the Institute of Jesuit Sources. The plan was launched unofficially
the previous year when Fr. Janssens gave Fr. Ganss permission to
start work on an English version of the Constitutions.
1968. J. Franklin (Buck) Ewing, S.J. + anthropologist, missiologist.
1973. The Society of Jesus allowed in Switzerland after a Referendum.
1974. Jean Cardinal Danielou, SJ, dies in Paris, engaged in ministry.
146
May 21
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
St. Christopher of Magallanis, Mexican Martyr. Optional Memorial.
St. Rita of Cascia, Optional Memorial.
1471. Albrecht Durer is born. He often sided with Lutheranism, but never
renounced his Catholic faith.
1972. Deranged attacker Laszlo Toth damages the Pieta in the Vatican, with
a hammer, breaks off the left arm, shatters the hand and chips the
nose and left eye of the Madonna.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1506. Christopher Columbus dies in relative obscurity. He still thought he
had discovered parts of Asia.
1688. Alexander Pope is born in London. He became a hunchback at age 12.
1881. Clara Barton founds the American Red Cross.
1919. Women's Suffrage Amendment, the Susan B. Anthony Amendment.
1927. Lindberg lands in Paris.
1935. Jane Addams dies in Chicago, founder of Hull House, pacifist, and
Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1931.
1921. Andrei Sakharov, B.
1991. Rajiv Gandhi assassinated. 46 years old. He was the Prime Minister of
India.
JESUIT
1568. Pope St. Pius V wrote a letter to the Archbishop of Cologne asking him
to befriend the Society of Jesus and its college in that city.
1758. Laurence Ricci is elected General. He was chosen to guide the Society
through a sea of storms. He will die in 1775 after imprisonment in
Castel S. Angelo.
1925. Pius XI canonizes Peter Canisius, with Teresa of the Child Jesus and
Mary Madeleine Postal, Madeleine Sophie Barat, John Vianney, and
John Eudes. Canisius is declared a Doctor of the Church.
2003. The death of Victor Mertens, S.J. age 90. He had been Vice-Provincial
and Provincial of Central Africa, Counselor to Fr. General and
Assistant for Africa from 1971-80.
147
May 22
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Rita of Cascia, Optional Memorial.
337. Constantine dies on this day at Nicomedia.
In Pontus...the holy martyr Basiliscus who was forced to wear iron shoes
pierced with heated nails, and who endured many other trials. RM
1498. Savanarola is given the death sentence. He had sought the
deposition of Pope Alexander VI.
1925. Matt Talbot, pioneer, dies in Dublin.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1813. R. Wagner, B.
1844. Mary Cassatt B. Impressionist painter.
1859. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is born in Edinburgh.
1885. Victor Hugo dies in Paris, age 83, a National Hero.
1972. Ceylon is declared a republic and called Sri Lanka.
JESUIT
1611. Pierre Biard and Ennemond Masse are the first Jesuits to set foot in
New France, Arcadia.
1965. Pedro Arrupe is elected 28th General of the Society of Jesus.
148
May 23
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1430. Joan of Arc is captured at Reims.
1498. Savanarola + Italian reformer, hanged, then burned at the stake
in Florence. He was a Dominican Priest.
1862. Hermann Gunkel is born. He was a pioneer in form critical studies of
the Scriptures.
1996. Seven Trappist monks are martyred in Algeria by Islamic
fundamentalist rebels.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1810. Margaret Fuller B. Critic and social reformer.
1868. Kit Carson dies in Colorado. He was a Scout, trapper, and Civil War
general, and a convert to Catholicism.
1914. Barbara Ward Jackson, B. Economist.
1937. John D. Rockefeller +.
2002. Sam Snead dies, age 89. Slammin Sammy, smoothed swing golfer.
JESUIT
1555. At Rome the election Cadrdinal Gian Paolo Caraffa as Pope Paul IV.
Overall he was favorable, but he would impose choir. Ignatian
remarked to his friends that "every bone in my body was shaking."
1717. The Christian Religion was proscribed throughout China soon after the
condemnation of the Chinese Rites by Clement XI.
1874. At St. Louis died Father Peter de Smet,S.J., a famous missionary
among the American Indians. He was trusted by them, and a
mediator, negotiator of several treaties. He was one of the founders
of the Missouri Province.
1876. Fr. De Buck, S.J. dies. He was important in the revival of the
Bollandists.
1940. Emile Mersch. S.J. is killed by bomb as he was bringing relief to
wounded volunteers, on the feast of Corpus Christi. He left an
unfinished manuscript on the Theology of the Mystical Body.
1976. Br. Nicholas de Glos, S.J. diocesan inspector of schools, is stabbed to
death in Chad, age 65.
1992. Pierre LeRoy, S.J. dies. He was a close friend, correspondent, and
defender of Teilhard de Chardin.
1993 The blessing of the new pipe organ, made in England, at St. Ignatius
Loyola Church, New York.
149
May 24
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, RM
1738. John Wesley is converted, reading Luther and the Scripture. His heart
is strangely warmed and he receives the great assurance.
1878. Harry Emerson Fosdick B Baptist minister, liberal theologian.
1891. William Foxwell Albright B Archeologist.
1931. Deus Scientiarum Dominus. Apostolic Constitution of Pius XI on
seminaries.
1952. Fulton Oursler + Author and editor.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1543. Nicholaus Copernicus + Prussia. Genius. De Revolutionibus
Orbium Coelestrium. He received the first copy of this on his
deathbed.
1626. The Dutch West Indies Trading Company purchases Manhattan
Island for $24. Peter Minuit.
1819. Queen Victoria B.
1844. A Telegraph line between Washington and Baltimore becomes
operative as Samuel F.B. Morse exclaims, "What hath God wrought."
1883. The Brooklyn Bridge opens.
1933. The first night baseball game is played at Crosley Field, Cincinnati.
1974. Duke Ellington dies, famed jazz musician and composer.
The First public railroad in the USA begins on this day, a horse drawn
Baltimore and Ohio Company on a line from Baltimore to Ellicott
Mills (City).
JESUIT
Madonna della Strada. Feast of Our Lady of the Way.
1551. St. Francis Borgia is ordained a priest. He said his first Mass on
August lst.
1716. The beatification of John Francis Regis by Pope Clement XI.
1814. Pope Pius VII returns to Rome from exile. He declared his intention to
restore the Society on the coming feast of St. Ignatius.
1834. Expulsion of the Society from Brazil by Don Pedro IV.
2002. Gerard Gilleman, S.J. dies. Missionary to India, he wrote The Primacy
of Charity in Moral Theology, a breakthrough volume.
150
May 25
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Bede the Venerable, priest and doctor, + at Jarrow monastery.
optional memorial
Gregory VII, optional memorial. Pope of the Gregorian reform. He met
Henry IV at Canossa. He died on this day in 1085.
Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, virgin, optional memorial
1793. Fr. Stephen Theodore Badin is ordained in Baltimore, the first RC
priest ordained in the USA, ordained by Bishop John Carroll.
1865 St. Madeleine Sophie Barat dies. She is the Founder of the Madames of
the Sacred Heart (RSCJ) and their superior for 63 years.
1879. St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC is consecrated. The property had been
purchased by Anton Kohlmann, S.J.
1970. Christopher Dawson, historian. + Professor at Harvard 1958-62. He
was the first Stillman Professor.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Lady Godiva Day.
African Freedom Day.
1803. Ralph Waldo Emerson is born in Boston.
1935. Babe Ruth hits his final home run, 714, for the Boston Browns against
Pittsburgh.
1989. The first competitive elections in the Soviet Union since the 1917
Revolution. Gorbachev is elected President.
JESUIT
1590. In Japan died Father Gaspar Coelho, a renowed missioner, who with
only one companion, converted 35,000 persons and sixty Bonzes to
the Church.
1621. St. John Berchmans offered to God l00 acts of self-humiliation in
honor of St. Aloysius.
1773. The Scholastics at Bologna, pressed by Cardinal Malvezzi to take off
their Religious habit and accept dispensation from their vows,
refused to listen to him.
1802. The death of John Carroll, member of the Society before the
Suppression, founder of Georgetown University and as first bishop of
Baltimore, the founder of the U.S. hierarchy.
151
May 26
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1595. St. Philip Neri, priest. Memorial. Most devoted to the Society of
Jesus, he had asked to be admitted to the Society, but St. Ignatius
saw that it was not his vocation.
1645. St. Mariana Parades of Quito dies. She lived a solitary, with extreme
penances. She spent each Friday night in a coffin and had three
hours of sleep each night and died at age of 26.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1805. Napoleon is crowned King of Italy in the Cathedral in Milan.
1859. A.E. Housman, B poet.
1938. The House Un-American Activities Committee is formed.
1972. Salt I agreement is signed in Moscow.
1976. Martin Heidegger, + philosopher. He had been a Jesuit novice.
JESUIT
1647. The state of Massachusetts passed a law banning Jesuits. First time
offenders are banished. Second time offenders will be executed.
1673. Ching Wei-San (Emmanuel de Sigueira) dies, the first Chinese Jesuit
priest.
1803. Archbishop Carroll and Bishop Neale of Maryland write to Fr. General
Gruber that thirteen ex-Jesuits beg to be admitted to the Society,
together with a few other priests.
1839. St. Francis Jerome is canonized by Pope Gregory XVI.
1871. At Paris the Communards executed five French Jesuits: Frs Olivaint,
Canbert and deBengy today, and Ducoudray and LeClerc two days
earlier.
152
May 27
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
605. St. Augustine of Canterbury, bishop. Optional memorial. He died on
this day in 605.
735. The death of Venerable Bede, English monk, scholar, and historian.
1525. The death of Thomas Munzer. He was a militant German reformer
who led the attack against monasteries, and helped inspire the
Peasants War during which he was captured and beheaded.
1564. Jean Calvin +.
1917. The updated Code of Canon Law is promulgated.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1819. Julia Ward Howe B. Writer and social reformer. Wrote "Battle
Hymn of the Republic."
1871. George Rouault, artist. B.
1907. Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, B. Pennyslvania.
1912. Sam Snead, golfer B.
1912. John Cheever, writer B.
1933. The Inaugural lecture by Heidegger as Rector of Freiburg University,
seems to support Hitler.
1964. The death of Jawaharlal Nehru, Premier of India.
JESUIT
1702. Fr. Dominique Bouhours, literary critic and author of lives of St.
Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier, died at Paris. The poet John Dryden
translated the latter into English after his conversion.
1847. Virgil Barber, S.J. dies at Georgetown.
1954. Francis LeBuffe, S.J. +. Author, Spiritual writer, lawyer, Sodalist,
philosopher, anthropologist. From the New York Province, he died on
Ascension Thursday.
1971. Bernard Leeming, S.J. +. Theologian and ecumenist, he attended
Xavier High School in New York.
1974. Herbert Musurillo, S.J. + Classicist, patristic scholar.
1989. Philip Carey, S.J. + Labor priest, mediator, of the Labor
Relations Institute at Xavier Parish in New York City.
153
May 28
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Bernard of Mentone. On Mount Jou of the Alps in Switzerland he found
the famous monastery and hospice. Pope Pius XI appointed him the
heavenly patron not only of those who live in or travel across the
Alps, but of all mountain climbers. He lived in the llth century, and
is now also patron of skiers.
1498. Fra Girolamo Savonarola hanged in the Piazza of Florence and his
body is burned.
1981. Cardinal Wysinski +.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1888. Jim Thorpe B
All-American Olympic champion.
1908. Ian Fleming is born in London. He wrote about James Bond.
1916. Walker Percy
B. The Moviegoer.
1934. Dionne quintuplets are born in Canada.
1981. The death of Mary Lou Williams, jazz pianist. Convert to
Catholicism, she wrote jazz Masses.
JESUIT
1600. Father Matthew Ricci, undismayed by the failure of his first visit to
Peking, set out again from Nanking with many rich presents for the
Emperor, of which he was robbed on the way.
1634. Ven. Father Thomas Holland, martyr, took the vows of a Spiritual
Coadjutor. He is said to have heroically swallowed a spider that fell
into the chalice during Mass. He is now a saint.
1648. At Murcia in Spain died Fr. Andre Salvatierra, famous mission in
California. On several occasions he won a hearing for the Gospel by
first playing on the lute for the native peoples.
1881. Cardinal Bea, B.
1962. The death of Bernard Hubbard, S.J., in Santa Clara, California. He is
the author of the book Mush, You Malemutes! and articles in the
Saturday Evening Post on the Alaska mission.
1987. Hugh Costigan, S.J. +. Missionary to Micronesia.
154
May 29
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
The martyrdom of the Saints Conon and his son, a child twelve years of age,
who were laid on a grate over burning coals sprinkled with oil,
placed on the rack, and exposed to the fire. Finally their hands were
crushed with a mallet, and they breathed their last. RM
Blessed Ursula Ledochowska, Foundress of missionary sisters, sister of
Jesuit General.
1431. Joan of Arc is condemned as a heretic. The judge gives the verdict and
she is burnt the next day.
1842. The Little Sisters of the Poor are founded by Bl. Jeanne Dugan. They
take a fourth vow of hospitality.
1874. G.K. Chesterton B. Apologist, writer, Fr. Brown detective stories, etc.
1908. Constitution of Pius X, Sapienti Consilio, officially Declares the USA
no longer has missionary status.
1954. Pius X is canonized.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1453. The Fall of Constantinople as it is captured by Turks. It was under
siege since April 6th. Saracens ride horses into Hagia Sophia.
1880. Oswald Spengler B. Germany. Decline of the West.
1903. Bob Hope B.
1917. John F. Kennedy B.
1953. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay are the first to climb
Mount Everest.
JESUIT
1566. Father Pedro Martinez and two companions set sail for Florida, a
region occupied at the time by barbarous tribes. (FB)
1760. The bankrupt creditors of Fr. Antoine Lavalette, superior of the
Martinique mission, press the Society to repay his unauthorized
trading debts, an occasion helping to lead to the banning of the
Society in France.
1815. The restoration of the Society in Spain is proclaimed by royal decree.
1991. John Paul II announces that Paulo Dezza, S.J. is to become a Cardinal,
as well as Jan Korec, in Slovakia. There are now seven Jesuit
Cardinals, the largest number ever.
155
May 30
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Hubert, patron of hunters, in new RM
The Death of St. Matthias Mulumba in Kampala, one of the Uganda
Martyrs.
339. The death of Eusebius, the Father of early Church History.
1431. Joan of Arc dies at the stake in Rouen.
1934. Two day Barmen Synod ends, with Barmen Declaration opposing
Hitler.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Traditional Memorial Day in USA.
1640. Peter Paul Rubens + Flemish painter.
1788. Voltaire + Paris, age 82. Born on Nov. 21, 1694 in Paris. He is one of
the greatest 18th century authors remembered as a crusader against
tyranny, bigotry and cruelty, noted for his characteristic wit, satire
and critical capacity. He was educated by the Jesuits at the college of
Louis-le-Grand in Paris.
1909. Benny Goodman B.
JESUIT
1534. Peter Faber is ordained a priest, the first of the companions to become
a priest. He says his first Mass on July 22.
1582. At Tyburn, the martyrdom of Thomas Cottam with three other priests.
On the way they recited the Te Deum. His dying words were: "O
Domine, tu plura pro me passus es, plura, plura, plura."
1646. Isaac Jogues discovers Lake George. Originally it is named the Lake of
the Blessed Sacrament.
1849. Vincent Gioberti's book Il Gesuita Moderno is put on the Index.
Gioberti had applied to be admitted into the Society, and on being
refused became its bitter enemy and calumniator. "I hate the Jesuits
as Hannibal hated the Romans."
1983. Paul Mailleux, S.J. dies. He was Father General's Delegate
for Jesuits of the Eastern Rites and ran the John XXIII Center, in
New York City.
156
May 31
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Visitation, Feast.
St. Petronilla, Virgin and Martyr of the 3rd century. Earlier versions of
the RM call her the daughter or disciple of St. Peter the Apostle.
1701. Alexander Cruden B. editor of Biblical Concordance.
1821. The Cathedral of the Assumption in Baltimore is dedicated by John
Carroll. It is the first RC Cathedral in USA.
1857. Achille Ratti B Pius XI.
1898. Norman Vincent Peale B. The Power of Positive Thinking.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1640. Peter Paul Rubens dies on this day in Antwerp. A friend of
Jesuits, artist.
1809. Joseph Haydn + Austrian composer
1819. Walt Whitman is born in West Hills, Long Island, NY.
1899. Johnston, PA flood, 2200 die.
1906. South Africa Union Day, Jan Smuts.
1950. Joe Namath B. NY Jet Quarterback.
1955. US Supreme Court orders school integration "with all deliberate
speed."
1962. Adolf Eichmann is executed by hanging. The banality of evil, at Ramle
Prison, Israel.
1981. Barbara Ward Jackson +
JESUIT
1653. Publication of the bull of Pope Innocent X declaring that Five
Heretical Propositions were really contained in Jansenius'
Augustinus. The Jansenists retaliated by violent calumnies against
the Society.
1823. Twelve Belgian Jesuits, including Fr. Van Quickenborne, superior,
Peter De Smet, and Peter Verhaegen arrive in the St. Louis area by
flatboat down the Ohio River and then a 120 mile walk across
Illinois. They celebrate the feast of Corpus Christ the next day at the
Cathedral. The mission begins.
1900. The new novitiate of the Buffalo Mission, St. Stanislaus in South
Brooklyn, Ohio, near Cleveland, is blessed.
1992. The canonization of St. Claude LaColumbiere in Rome.
157
June 1
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Justin, martyr, memorial.
536. On the 1st or the 8th of June, St. Silverius is elected Pope. His feast day
is 20 June. He would be deposed in less than two years. He is the son
of Pope St. Hormisdas.
1801. Brigham Young, B in Vermont.
1846. Death of Pope Gregory XVI. An austere monk, he had banned railways
in his domain: "chemins d'enfer."
1867. The Comboni Missionaries are founded by Bishop Comboni; the Verona
Fathers.
1940. A. Loisy + Modernist theologian.
1971. Reinhold Niebuhr + 78 years old.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1878. John Masefield B. At the age of 13 he runs away, to the sea. He was
named Poet Laureate in 1930.
1910. Comiskey Park opens, Chicago.
1926. Marilyn Monroe B.
1952. John Dewey + an educator, philosopher, age 92.
1958. Charles De Gaulle becomes Premier of France.
1980. CNN begins 24 hour television news coverage.
JESUIT
1527. At Alcala, St. Ignatius accused of having advised two noblewomen
to undertake a pilgrimage on foot to Compostella, was cast into
prison.
1546. At Rome the papal postmaster, enraged by the admission of his
mistress into the Casa Santa Maria, a refuge founded by St.
Ignatius, raised a great storm against the Society.
1566. At Murcia, the death of Fr. James Suarez, over whose room a bright
light was seen shining in the night. He was occasionally found raised
from the ground during prayer.
1637. Jacques Marquette, S.J. B.
1948. Peter Lutz, S.J. +. Novice Director, New York.
1989. P. Sergio Restrepo, S.J. + is killed in Columbia, age 50. He was a
parish priest, a martyr for faith and justice.
158
June 2
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs,
optional memorial.
St. Erasmus or Elmo, Patron of Sailors. St. Elmo's Fire.
1537. Bill of Pope Paul III. Sublime Deus, affirms the freedom and
humanity of Indians; opposes slavery in the Americas.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1740. Marquis de Sade B. Paris. He was imprisoned in 1763, but in 1790
temporarily freed by the French Revolution.
1882. Giuseppe Garibaldi + Guerilla general for Italian unification and
independence.
1887. Johnny Weissmuller B. Swimming star, and Tarzan movie star.
1924. United States Indians are granted citizenship.
1941. Lou Gehrig, baseball great, dies.
JESUIT
St. Mary Anne de Parades (1618-45) the lily of Quito, Ecuador. Her feast
is in the Jesuit martyrology. She was directed by Jesuits.
1527. At Alcala, a nobleman having uttered an imprecation against St.
Ignatius, perished miserably in an explosion of gunpowder.
1810. At Rome, Fr. Joseph Pignatelli, fearing the suppression of his
community at S. Pantaleo, bade them no longer address each other
as Father, Brother, or use the words provincial, Rector, and told the
brothers to wear secular dress.
1930. 45 novices move from St. Andrew on Hudson, NY to Wernersville.
1987. Anthony De Mello, S.J. dies in New York City. He was a spiritual
writer and noted lecturer, on prayer, with insights from the
spirituality of the East. In 1998, the Vatican issued a warning about
some of his writings. He founded the Sadhana Institute in India.
159
June 3
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Charles Lwanga and companions, martyrs, memorial. They died on or
around this day in l886. Twenty two, including Matthias Mulumba
(a chief) Joseph Mukasa (the first to die) and Kizito, a lad of thirteen.
St. Kevin, Irish Monk. In new RM
1963. Blessed Pope John XXIII dies, on Pentecost Monday. This is his feast
Day.
1992. Fr. Patrick Peyton, CSC + age 83. He founded the Family Rosary
Crusade. "The family that prays together, stays together."
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1808. Jefferson Davis Day B.
1875. George Bizet +. French composer.
1888. The epic poem "Casey at the Bat" is first published in the
San Francisco Examiner.
1900. ILGWU formed.
1924. Franz Kafka dies in Austria, age 40.
1989. On the night of the 3rd, Beijing, Tiananmen Square, troops enter the
square and beginnings of Chinese democracy are smashed.
1989. Ayatollah Khomeini dies in Iran.
JESUIT
1545. The first Brief of Paul III "Cum Inter Cunctas" gives the Society
generous faculties to administer the sacraments of penance and
Eucharist, and to preach the Word.
1558. Entrance into the Society of Francisco de Toledo - the first of the
Society to be raised to the Cardinalate.
1559. At Tusculum, i.e. Frascati, a villa was purchased for the Fathers and
Brothers of the Roman College. Aloysius Gonzaga and John
Berchmans would go there for summer vacations.
160
June 4
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1491. Baptism of Alphonso Mwembe Nzinga, King of the Kongo. The
first Christian king in Africa.
1878. Frank Buchman B. He is the founder of Moral Re-Armament
Movement.
1900. Nelson Glueck B Jewish archeologist. He directed the American
School of Oriental Research for many years.
1949. Maurice Blondel +.
1965. Sigmund Mowinckel + Biblical scholar.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1826. Carl Maria von Weber +.
1944. The American 5th Army enters Rome.
1987. Andres Segovia +.
1996. Kudirat Abiola, age 44 is assassinated in Lagos, Nigeria. She was the
wife of imprisoned elected leader Abiola, and an advocate of
democratic rule.
JESUIT
1585. Disturbances arose against the Society at Riga in Latvia. Cardinal
Radzivil undertook its defense. This cardinal is buried in the Gesu at
the foot of St. Francis Xavier's altar.
1848. At Karthoum, the death of Maximilian Ryllo, a missionary of
Central Africa.
1920. Fr. General Ledochowski invites Jesuits of New York/Maryland to the
Philippine mission.
1991. John Thomas, S.J. + sociologist of the family.
161
June 5
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Boniface, bishop and martyr, memorial. He died on this day in the year 754.
1940. Alfred Loisy + French RC modernist. He died unreconciled.
1960. The Vatican Secretariat for Christian Unity is established.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1752. Benjamin Franklin flies his kite.
1882. Igor Stravinsky is born this day, on St. Igor's Day according
to the Russian Calendar (June 17th on other calendar).
1900. Stephen Crane + Red Badge of Courage.
1910. O. Henry + New York (William Sydney Porter) age 47, short
story writer.
1912. U.S. Marines land in Cuba.
1967. The beginning of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War.
JESUIT
1546. Paul III by his Brief, Exponi nobis, empowers the Society to admit
Coadjutors, both spiritual and temporal, thus admit brothers.
1564. At Lima died Francis Lopez, who had resigned the high office of Visitor
General of the Kingdom of Peru to become a lay Brother in the
Society.
1564. Pius IV, hearing that his nephew St. Charles Borromeo felt
drawn to the Society, forbad Lainez and Ribadenairs to enter the
Apostolic Palace.
1986. John Mahoney is named professor of moral theology in King’s College,
the University of London, the first Catholic priest to hold that chair.
162
June 6
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Norbert, bishop optional memorial.
Philip, one of the first deacons, and his four daughters, RM.
1840. Bl. Marcellin Champagnat dies,age 51. He is the founder of the Marist
Brothers. His Feast Day in the new RM
1844. YMCA founded in London by George Williams.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1832. Jeremy Bentham +, age 44. His skeleton is preserved, sitting in a
chair at University College, which he founded.
1875. Thomas Mann, B. Novelist, Luebeck.
1944. D Day, The Invasion of France.
1961. Carl Gustav Jung +. Swiss psychiatrist.
1968. Robert Kennedy is assassinated in California by Sirhan Sirhan.
1976. J. Paul Getty dies at the age of 83. He had 2-4 billion $$, and five
divorces.
JESUIT
1610. In Paris at the funeral of Henry IV two priests denounce the Jesuits as
accomplices in his death because of Fr. Mariana's book De Rege.
1760. Two Portuguese ships arrive in South America to arrest and expel the
Jesuits. 86 Jesuits were put on board.
1907. The New Orleans province was established.
163
June 7
431.
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
The Council of Ephesus is scheduled to open, but is delayed until 23 rd
June due to delays in traveling.
1863. Franz Gruber dies. He was the composer of the music for Stille Nacht.
1866. Seattle, chief of the Duwamish Confederacy dies. He was a peace
loving convert to Roman Catholicism.
1889. Birthday of Frank Duff, principle founder of the Legion of Mary.
1889. He was a Jesuit Alumnus.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1494. The treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal
divides up the New World between them.
1843. Johann Christian Friedrich Holderlin, poet, dies. He had lived in the
same room in Tubingen for 36 years, suffering from schizophrenia.
JESUIT
1556. Peter Canisius is appointed Provincial of Upper Germany, as the
Province is constituted. A few days earlier, the province of Lower
Germany was erected.
1569. Three ships, with 60 Jesuits aboard, leave Portugal for Brazil. But not
one Jesuit will reach Brazil.
1661. The 11th General Congregation elects Oliva as perpetual Vicar
General with right of succession and "sole right" of General, due to
the state of health of Fr. General Nickel, aged 80 years.
1758. The Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, who loved the Society, was forced by
Pombal to suspend all the Jesuits in his patriarchate. He died of
grief within a month.
1886. Father Camillus Mazzella was promoted to the Cardinalate by Leo
XIII. He had been the first Dean of Woodstock College. He was
Professor of theology and would chair the commission that declared
Anglican orders invalid, a report accepted by Leo XIII.
1952. The formal dedication of Gonzaga Retreat House for youth in Monroe,
NY. It had been started sometime earlier.
1962. Karl Rahner is silenced in a manner, by Father General:
preliminary censorship. This would last for about one year.
164
June 8
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Mohammed is born on this day in 570 and dies on this day in 632. He
ascended to heaven from the Dome of the Rock, in Jerusalem.
Blessed Maria Droste zu Vishering, with special devotion to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus, in RM for this day.
1809. The cornerstone of old St. Patrick Church in New York City is laid by
Anton Kohlmann, S.J.
1928. Gustavo Gutierrez B. Peruvian priest, liberation theologian.
1978. Mormons allow blacks to be ordained - and one is ordained two days
later
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1809. Tom Paine dies in obscurity in New York, age 72.
1810. Robert Schumann B. German composer.
1867. Frank Lloyd Wright, B.
1982. Leroy "Satchel" Paige + Pitcher.
1991. Claudio Arrau + 88 years old, Chilean pianist.
1998. The Head of State of Nigeria, Military General Sani Abacha dies
suddenly. Nigerian Catholics had been saying daily for several
years, a prayer for Nigeria in distress.
JESUIT
Blessed James Berthieu, S.J. of Madagascar is listed in the RM. His Jesuit
feast is February 4.
1649. The death of Vincent Caraffa, Seventh General of the Society. At a
season of great scarcity Father Caraffa daily for two months fed
l,000 poor persons at the door of the Professed House, the Gesu.
1773. At Bologna the Jesuit Scholastics were kept prisoners at the seminary
villa, for refusing to lay aside the habit of the Society.
1862. Japanese martyrs, Paul Miki, John de Goto, James Kisai, are
canonized.
1889. Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. dies, age 45, in Dublin. His final words
were “I am so happy, so happy.” He had written earlier: “I would
wish that my pieces could at some time become known but in some
spontaneous way... and without my forcing.”
1972. Laurence Gillick, blind, enters the Jesuits as a brother candidate. He
is later ordained a priest, and is a tertian instructor.
1979. Joseph F. Wulftange, S.J. + Teacher -Lonergan/Rahner expert.
165
June 9
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Ephrem, deacon and doctor, optional memorial
597. St. Columba dies. He was a pioneer missionary to Scotland from
Ireland.
1834. William Carey +. English Baptist Missionary, the "Father of
modern missions.”
1998. Cardinal Agostino Caseroli dies at the age of 83. He had been
a diplomat and Vatican Secretary of State from 1979-90.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
68. Emperor Nero dies by suicide. He fiddled while Rome burnt.
1870. Charles Dickens + age 58. He is buried in Poet's Corner,
Westminster Abbey.
1893. Cole Porter B.
1911. Carry Nation dies. She was a temperance leader and saloon wrecker in
Kansas.
1934. Donald Duck B.
JESUIT
Blessed Joseph Ancieta, S.J. optional memorial. "Apostle of Brazil. Birds
and beasts paid him reverence: he seemed in innocence to resemble
Adam before the fall. When in captivity he composed a hymn of
4,000 Latin verses in Our Lady's honor." Brazil's most famous
missionary, and the founder of the cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de
Janeiro. He died on this day in 1597.
1553. Manuel de Nobrega named Provincial of the Jesuits in Brazil. Earlier,
at the age of 31 he had been appointed director of the Jesuits in
Latin America. He was involved in the foundations of the cities of
Salvador, Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro.
166
June 10
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1809. Napoleon orders the Papal states occupied. Pope Pius VII replies by
excommunicating him that same day, and also all who assisted in the
invasion.
1930. Adolf von Harnack + Heidelberg. Historian of dogma.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1692. The first witch is hanged during 20 month Salem Witch Trials
(20 killed).
1829. Oxford wins the first Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race.
1836. Ampere, Andre-Marie dies in Marseille. He was a Jesuit Alumnus in
the time of the suppression. He was born Jan. 20, 1775 in Lyon. A
physicist, he founded and named the science of electrodynamics as
Electromagnetism.
1935. Alcoholic Anonymous - AA - begins in Akron, Ohio. The first meeting of
Bill Watson and Dr. Bob Smith is held. “You can’t do it alone.”
1949. Sigrid Undset +. She won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928.
Kristin Lavransdatter.
1963. Medgar Evers, black civil rights campaigner, is killed in Mississippi.
JESUIT
1537. At Venice, St. Ignatius and his companions were given minor orders.
1587. King Henry III of France, yielding to the request of Father General
Acquaviva, allowed Father Edmund Auger to withdraw from the
court. The King demanded, however, that only Frenchmen should be
appointed superiors over French houses.
1769. Clement XIV, the newly-elected Pope began to show coldness
towards the Society.
1933. Charles Simons, of the California Province, is the first
Jesuit ordained in China.
167
June 11
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Barnabas, apostle. Memorial.
1899. Pope Leo XIII consecrates the world to the Sacred Heart.
1978. Joseph Freeman is the first black ordained to priesthood of the
Mormon Church.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1294. Roger Bacon + Philosopher, Doctor Mirabilis.
1864. Richard Strauss B.
1913. Vince Lombardi B. Fordham Block of granite, and Green Bay
Packer coach.
1917. Lena Horne is born, singer.
2003. David Brinkley, journalist, NBC newscaster, dies, age 82.
JESUIT
1612. At Quito died Mark Antonio, an Italian lay-brother known as "the
Saint." To the age of 80, he macerated his body with fasts,
disciplines, hair shirts. Once during Mass he was seen raised in the
air, his face shining with light.
1742. The Chinese and Malabar Rites were forbidden by Benedict XIV.
Persecution at once broke out in China.
1844. Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J., B.
168
June 12
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1458. The College of St. Mary Magdelene is founded at Oxford.
1952. Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber + Munich. In 1917, he became
Bishop of Munich. He was a strong opponent of National Socialism.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1898. Philippine Independence Day.
1929. Anne Frank is born in Frankfurt am Main. In 1942, she began
writing her diary.
1963. Medgar Evers is killed by a sniper in Mississippi. He was a Civil
Rights leader and field secretary of the NAACP.
1964. Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life imprisonment in a trial in
Pretoria.
1972. Saul Alinsky dies. An advocate of rights, and a community organizer.
1993. National Elections in Nigeria, considered basically free and fair, are
annulled by President Babangida.
2003. Gregory Peck, actor, dies. To Kill a Mockingbird, etc.
JESUIT
1546. Peter Canisius is ordained, age 25. He has been a Jesuit for three
years.
1575. Death of Father Castaneda, "who though Rector for many years, was
told by the Provincial, Father Bustamante, to go and work in the
kitchen. He cheerfully obeyed, and helped the cook for many
months."
1611. Jesuit Fathers Biard and Masse land at Annapolis in Nova Scotia.
They are the first French Jesuits in North America.
1845. Pope Gregory XVI refuses the demand of the French government
that the French Jesuits should be secularized and their houses
closed.
1868. Fr. Clement Boulanger +. He was superior of the French Jesuits in
Canada. He re-established the mission there. He was an official
visitor to the U.S.A. and one of the founders of Fordham University.
1926. Pope Pius XI confirms that St. Aloysius Gonzaga is the patron of
youth.
1928. A negative response of Father General Ledochowski on intercollegiate
sports at Jesuit colleges. Non placet. He fears loss of study time, and
too much travel involved.
1954. Joseph Pignatelli is canonized.
169
June 13
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor, memorial. He died on this day in 1231
age 36.
449. Tome of Leo the Great to Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople. This
letter will greatly influence the Council of Chalcedon.
1525. Luther (42)marries Katherine von Bora (26) and they have 6 children.
1965. Martin Buber dies.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
323. BC. Alexander the Great dies of fever in Babylon, age 33.
1865. William Butler Yeats B.
1900. The Boxer Rebellion begins in China in opposition to the Europeans.
1967. Thurgood Marshall is named to the Supreme Court.
1986. Benny Goodman + Jazz.
JESUIT
1557. The death of King John III of Portugal, at whose request Xavier and
others were sent to India.
1821. In France, Fr. Charles Plowden, one of the most distinguished
members of the English Province, died suddenly on his return from
the General Congregation. By mistake he was buried with military
honours as General.
1861. The first Messenger of the Sacred Heart appears, edited by Henry
Ramiere. Eventually there were 73 editions in 44 languages.
1909. William Pardow, S.J. +. Provincial (l893-7), pastor, preacher, tertian
instructor.
1926. Letter of Pius XI to the Society on the anniversary celebration of
Aloysius Gonzaga.
1988. Fr. Bernard Basset, S.J. dies at Oxford. He was an author, writer on
history and spirituality; retreat master.
1990. William Van Etten Casey dies. He was a writer from the
New England Province.
170
June 14
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
The holy prophet Eliseus, whose grave, says St. Jerome, makes the
demons tremble. RM
1936. G.K. Chesterton + .
1966. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says that the Index of
forbidden books and the penalty of excommunication no longer has
the force of law.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Flag Day (origin 1777).
1811. Harriet Beecher Stowe B. Author, Uncle Tom's Cabin. in
Connecticut.
1920. Max Weber + .
1926. Don Newcombe B. Dodger pitcher.
1951. Univac I. The first commercial computer is unveiled.
1986. Jorge Luis Borges, poet, writer, dies in Argentina.
1999. J.F. Powers dies, novelist, Catholic. Morte d’Urban.
JESUIT
1554. The construction of the Jesuit Church, Gesu, is entrusted to
Michelangelo.
1670. At Paris died Father Francis Annat, confessor to Louis XIV for
sixteen years. He introduced into France quinine or "Jesuit's bark,"
and was instrumental in saving Louis XIV's life.
1767. The arrival at Civita Vecchia of the first Spanish ship with the
exiled members of the Castile province. They were not
allowed to land, and the ship had to sail away to Corsica.
1813. Mayor de Witt Clinton delivers a court decision in New York which
acquits Anton Kohlmann in the trial concerning the seal of
confession.
1906. President Teddy Roosevelt at the Georgetown University
commencement concludes like an athlete: “Don’t flinch, don’t foul,
and hit the line hard.”
171
June 15
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Commemoration of the Prophet Amos, in the New RM
1520. Leo X issues the encyclical Exsurge Domine which condemns
Luther on 41 counts.
1941. Evelyn Underhill +. She was a poet and writer on mysticism.
1980. Cardinal Pignedoli +. He was President of the Secretariat for nonChristians, was "papabilis" and had been apostolic delegate to
Nigeria.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1215. The Magna Carta is gained from King John at Runnymede.
1752. Ben Franklin flies his kite: invents the lightning rod. Exact date
unknown.
1904. The steamboat General Slocum catches fire in East River, New York
City, and l012 die.
1938. Johnny Vander Meer pitches his second no hitter in a row.
1996. Ella Fitzgerald dies age 79, singer. "God gave me a voice, something
with which to make other people happy."
JESUIT
1537. St. Ignatius and Companions are ordained sub-deacons in Venice.
1542. Peter Faber begins writing his Memoriale.
1564. Francis Suarez entered the Novitiate, after experiencing many
difficulties, having been twice rejected by the examiner on the score
of feeble health and apparently insufficient talent.
1572. The Mexican Province is established.
1871. A female law student, P.W. Couzins, graduates from St. Louis
University Law School, the first law school in the country to admit
women.
1876. Cardinal Franzelin was raised to the purple.
1888. Martin Darcy, S.J. is born.
1927. Leonce de Grandmaison,S.J. + Apologist, defender against
Modernism. Editor of Etudes, 1908-27. He wrote a well-known life
of Christ.
1956. The first television presentation of the Sacred Heart program
appears on KTVI in St. Louis.
1994. James Dempske dies. President of Canisius College, he had
been novice director and played the trumpet.
172
June 16
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
325. The Council of Nicaea opens and meets until August 25th, opposing
Arius. The first Great Church Council.
622. Muhammed's flight from Mecca to Medina. Hegira.
1675. The Great Revelation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was made to St.
Margaret Mary.
1752. Joseph Butler + Anglican clergyman and theologian, The Analogy of
Religion.
1833. Newman on a ship from Italy to France, pens the words of the hymn
"Lead Kindly Light."
1846. Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti is elected Pope Pius IX, the longest
reigning pope, for 31 years.
1948. Rufus Jones + American Quaker theologian. He helped found the
American Friends Service Committee, chaired it for over 20 years.
1950. Definitive approval of Opus Dei by the Holy See.
1955. Pope Pius XII excommunicates President Peron of Argentina.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1829. Geronimo B.
1904. Bloomsday in Dublin. One day in the life of... in Ulysses, by James
Joyce.
1963. The first woman sails into space, Valentina Tereshova.
1972. Watergate burglars are caught as they break into the Democratic
Party Headquarters in Washington.
1976. Soweto Day in South Africa - 1000 killed.
JESUIT
Traditional feast of St. John Francis Regis. "a wonderful apostle, whom no
violence of cold, no snows, no torrents, no difficulties could stop
when souls were to be saved."
1573. The close of the Third General Congregation, with some disturbance.
Pope Gregory XIII had expressed a wish that the General should not
be a Spaniard. Fr. Everard Mercurian, a Belgian, was elected.
1737. John Francis Regis is canonized.
1879. The end of the New York-Canada Mission. Links with France are cut.
Canada is linked to England. 225 from New York are united with
300 from Maryland for a total of 525 in the new Province. For one
year, it is called the NY Province.
1927. Letter of Fr. General Ledochowski to Ours on swimming, warning of
the dangers. Ours are not to swim at health resorts and other like
places, and obviously not with women. This letter follows a letter of
July 1926 from the Sacred Congregation of Religious on swimming.
1929. Claude de la Colombiere is beatified.
1939. A further letter of Fr. General Ledochowski on swimming.
1994. Edward (Doc) Kilmartin S.J. dies. Theologian, expert on the
Eucharist, from the New England Province.
1999. Jules Toner, S.J. dies, expert on discernment, Ignatian spirituality
173
June 17
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
St. Herve. He was a blind monk, not a priest, and a minstrel. He is a patron
saint of Brittany, France. In the new RM
St. Botolph, Feast. 7th century abbot. Botolph stone or Botolph town
becomes BOSTON. Not listed in the new RM
1703. John Wesley B founder of Methodism.
1943. Vincent McNabb, O.P. + Author, preacher.
1999. Cardinal Basil Hume, OSB, of Westminster, dies.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1775. The Battle of Bunker Hill.
1917. Gwendolyn Brooks B. She is the first black to win a Pulitzer prize.
1992. Boipatong, South Africa. 47 are killed in a township massacre.
vs. black with accusations of police complicity.
Black
JESUIT
1537. At Venice, St. Ignatius and his Companions were ordained deacons.
1558. The First General Congregation is convened.
1581. Church of St. Mary's, Oxford, Commencement Day. The pamphlet of
Edmund Campion, Ten Reasons appears and it is his call to debate.
But he will be martyred in less than one year.
1673. Marquette and Joliet are the first Europeans to see the upper
Mississippi River. Marquette writes: "We entered the Mississippi
with a joy I am unable to express." He names it the River of the
Immaculate Conception. He saw it at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
1700. A new, stricter law against the Jesuits is passed in Massachusetts.
174
June 18
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1464. Pope Pius II starts a crusade against the Turks, the last Crusade. But
he dies before it actually began.
1967. Paul VI authorizes the restoration of the permanent diaconate Sacrum
Diaconatus Ordinum.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1815. The Duke of Wellington defeats Napoleon near Waterloo.
1924. George Mikan B basketball star.
1928. Amelia Earhart flies the Atlantic solo, one year after
Lindbergh.
1953. Egypt is proclaimed a republic.
1979. The Salt II accords are signed in Vienna.
1989. I.F. Stone dies. I.F. Stone's Weekly. Investigative reporter.
JESUIT
1581. Gregory XIII visits the Gregorian, as its benefactor, to oversee the
construction.
1817. Archbishop Leonard Neale dies. He was a Jesuit until the Suppression
and a President of Georgetown. He succeeded Archbishop John
Carroll in Baltimore.
1860. Five Jesuits are killed in Syria by Druses.
1972. Edward "Doc" Bunn, S.J. +
Georgetown President.
1978. Gaston Fessard, S.J. + Philosopher, author, expert on the
Spiritual Exercises.
175
June 19
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Romuald, abbot optional memorial.
1623. Paschal B. Mathematician, scientist, religious thinker, Pensees.
1883. Heinrich Joseph Dominicus Denziger + theologian
Enchiridion Symbolorum et Definitionum.
1977. Paul VI canonizes John Neumann, the fourth Bishop of
Philadelphia, and first American born male to be canonized.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1846. The first official baseball game at the Elysian Fields, Hoboken, New
Jersey, involving the New York Nine.
1903. Lou Gehrig B. The Iron Horse. .340 lifetime batting average.
1936. Max Schmeling defeats Joe Louis to become heavyweight champ.
1953. The Rosenbergs, Julian and Ethel, are executed for treason, for spying
and handing over A-bomb secrets.
1968. Poor Peoples’ March in Washington.
1986. All American basketball star, Len Bias, just drafted by the Celtics, is
dead of cocaine.
JESUIT
1558. The opening of the First General Congregation nearly two years after
St. Ignatius'death. 19 are in attendance including five of the ten
companions, Bobadilla, Broet, Lainez, Rodriguez, and Sameron.
1596. At Malacca Father John de Caunas, a model religious departed this
life. After his death his Particular Examen books were found
carefully noted during thirty years.
1625. The first five Jesuits arrive in Quebec, including Jean de Brebeuf.
1778. Decree of the Emperor allows the Bollandists to continue their work in
spite of the suppression. But 10 years later they are stopped.
1873. In Rome, Victor Emmanuel and his Parliament purposely exclude the
General of the Society of Jesus from any pension, such as was
allowed to previous generals.
1900. St. Modesto Andlauer, S.J. is martyred in China.
1951. 16 German scholastics are killed as their truck is hit by a train near
Pullach, West Germany.
1958. Paul de Jaegher + Spiritual writer and missionary to India.
176
June 20
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Feast of St. Silverius, Pope, who was the son of Pope St. Hormisdas.
Silverius was arrested, exiled, forced out of the papacy and died a
few months later in 537.
1336. An encyclical of Pope Benedict XII reconstitutes the Benedictines to
correct some abuses.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1837. Queen Victoria begins her reign.
1893. Lizzie Borden is acquitted in New Bedford, Massachusetts, after axing
her mother and step father.
1923. Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary leader, is assassinated.
1948. The Soviet Blockade of West Berlin begins.
JESUIT
1591. In the Roman College, St. Aloysius' holy death occurs at ll:l5 PM, a
martyr of charity of the distemper caught in attending the sick.
1608. Cardinal Bellarmine preaches on the heroic life and virtue (especially
humility) of St. Aloysius Gonzaga. He had been the spiritual
director of Aloysius.
1626. At Nagasaki, the martyrdom of Francis Pacheco, John Baptist Zola,
etc.
1679. Six Jesuits are martyred on this day in London, including Philip
Evans.
1983. John Paul II beatifies Mother Ursula Ledochowski, the sister of
Vlodimir, foundress of the Ursulines of the Sacred Heart. Another
sister was already beatified by Paul VI, the foundress of the
Claverian Sisters, and "Mother of the Black Poor."
177
June 21
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Aloysius Gonzaga, religious, memorial.
St. Eusebius, bishop... an Arian woman threw a tile down upon him, which
fractured his skull and made him a martyr.
1639. Increase Mather B. Minister, President of Harvard and writer, he
helped end the executions for witchcraft
1892. Reinhold Niebuhr B.
1963. Giovanni Montini is elected Pope Paul VI.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
SUMMER SOLSTICE. This day or nearby.
1905. Jean Paul Sartre B.
1964. Three civil rights workers, two white, one black, are slain in
Philadelphia, Mississippi. This leads to “Mississippi Burning.”
JESUIT
1565. The opening of the Second General Congregation in which Borgia was
elected General.
1629. Jesuits correct Chinese astronomers on the time and length of an
eclipse and win fame and favor. The Chinese were off by one hour.
1805. John Carroll appoints Robert Molynaux Superior of the Jesuits in the
USA. (This is also found listed under June 27.)
1843. Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mass, is founded by Bishop Fenwick,
the first Roman Catholic college in New England. In a short time,
the Jesuits assume responsibility for it.
1923. The body of St. Robert Bellarmine is solemnity transferred to St.
Ignatius Church.
1925. Pius XI beatifies the North American Martyrs.
1931. The 72 door Coliseum, Church, Shrine, is dedicated at
Auriesville, New York. Its diameter is 257 feet.
1960. The Buffalo Province is created. James J. Shanahan is named
Provincial. (Vita brevis)
1992. Fr. General erects the Independent Region of Russia.
178
June 22
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Paulinus of Nola, bishop, optional memorial.
John Fisher, bishop and martyr and Thomas More, martyr. optional
memorial. John Fisher died on this date in 1535, while Thomas
More died on July 5, 1535.
431. Council of Ephesus, the 3rd great Council, opens, and opposes
Nestorius. It meets until July 17.
1633. Galileo recants in the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Yet he is
still condemned.
1750. Jonathan Edwards is dismissed from his pulpit in Northhampton, MA
after serving there 23 years. He is dismissed for his conservative
views on church membership.
1918. Archbishop John Keane dies in Dubuque. He was the co-founder
and first Rector of the Catholic University of America.
1980. Kateri Tekakwitha is beatified.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1527. Niccolo Machiavelli +. Politician and Diplomat.
1812. Napoleon announces the start of his fateful Russian
campaign.
1906. Anne Morrow Lindbergh B. New Jersey, Gift from the Sea.
1941. Hitler announces the start of his fateful Russian campaign.
1938. Joe Louis defeats Max Schmeling in the first round in New York City,
avenging his defeat by Max two years earlier.
1969. Judy Garland dies. "Somewhere, over the Rainbow".
JESUIT
1611. First arrival of the Jesuit Fathers in Canada.
Openings of the l2,l3,l7,and 22 General Congregations in 1682,1687,1751
and 1853 respectively.
1980. Pope John Paul II beatifies Jose de Anchieto in Brazil.
1985. James Doyle, S.J. + Chicago, Professor of Theology.
179
June 23
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1683. Quaker William Penn signs treaty with Indians. Voltaire
says it was the only treaty never sworn to and never broken.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
79
Emperor Vespasian dies.
1611. Henry Hudson, navigator, and eight others are cast adrift by
mutineers and never seen again.
JESUIT
1623. In Paraguay died Father John Vasee, a Fleming. Being a
skilled violinist, and having taught the Indian children
to sing, he drew crowds of savages to him by the double
charm of his music and virtues.
1704. Decree dated this day, of Tournon, the Papal Legate,
opposes the Chinese Rites, and sets back inculturation.
The Jesuits were informed of it on July 8th and were
dismayed.
1773. At Bologna Cardinal Malvezzi, anticipating the Suppression, tried to
force the scholastics to take off the religious habit.
1932. The Society of Jesus is banished and property seized in Spain.
1967. Saint Louis University’s Board of Trustees gather for the first meeting
of the expanded Board. SLU was the first Catholic University to
establish a Board of Trustees with a majority of lay members.
180
June 24
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST, Solemnity.
1519. Lucretia Borgia dies. She was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and
the sister of Cesare Borgia.
1546. St. John of the Cross B. Spain.
1893. Encyclical of Leo XIII, Ad Extremas, encourages seminaries
and indigenous vocations, especially in India.
1981. The first apparition at Medjugorje to Ivanka and Mirjana.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1497. The mainland of America is discovered as John Cabot lands and
plants the cross.
1895. Jack Dempsey B.
1947. A pilot near Mt. Rainier sees nine flying objects, and calls them
“saucers” for the first time.
1987. Jackie Gleason dies.
MIDSUMMER EVE according to Shakespeare.
JESUIT
1521. Ignatius close to death, receives the last sacraments after the injury at
Pamplona.
1537. In Venice, St. Ignatius and his companions, Francis Xavier,
Rodriguez, Bobadilla and Codure were ordained priests. Faber had
already been ordained, and Salmeron was too young and had to wait
a few months. All but St. Ignatius celebrated their first Masses on
September 11th.
1539. Completion of the Deliberation of the First Fathers of the Society.
1921. New England is separated from the Maryland-New York
Province, to become a Vice-Province.
181
June 25
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1115. St. Bernard founded the fourth house of the Cistercians in Clairvaux
and was made first abbot.
1530. Presentation of the Augsburg Confession.
1560. Philipp Melanchton, renewer of the Church dies.
1859. Bishop Melchior Bresillac, pioneer founder of the SMA Fathers, the
Missionaries of Africa, dies at age 45 in Sierre Leone.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1876. Battle of Little Big Horn, Custer's Last Stand.
1950. North Korea invades South Korea.
1984. Michel Foucault, philosopher, dies.
1962. The US Supreme Court says reciting a 22 word prayer in NY
State public schools violates the First Amendment.
1975. Mozambique Independence Day – from Portugal.
1997. Jacques Cousteau, explorer and oceanographer, age 87 dies.
He was the author of “The Silent World.”
JESUIT
1580. Edmund Campion, disguised as a jeweler, arrives in Dover,
England.
1782. The Jesuits in White Russia are permitted by Empress
Catherine to elect a General. Fr. Czerniewicz is elected,
took the title of Vicar-General, with the powers of General.
1872. Imperial law permits the expulsion of Jesuits from the
German Empire.
182
June 26
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1975. St. Josemaria Escriva de Belaguer dies. The Founder and President of
Opus Dei. Feast Day. He was canonized in 2002.
1938. Virgil Michel dies, age 48. A Benedictine, he was a leader of the
Liturgical Movement, and an advocate of social justice and the
involvement of the laity.
1988. Hans Urs Von Balthasar dies. A theologian, one-time a Jesuit. He had
been named a Cardinal, but died before being installed. He was also
in the process of being readmitted to the Society of Jesus.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1541. Francisco Pizarro, Spanish explorer and conqueror of Peru, is
assassinated.
1914. Babe Didrikson Zaharias B. Perhaps the greatest athlete of
all time.
1945. The United Nations charter is signed.
1960. Madagascar Independence Day – from France.
2003. Senator Strom Thurmond dies, age 100. He had been a senator for
48 years and at one time supported segregation.
JESUIT
1580. Peter Claver is born in Verdu, Spain.
1881. The banishment of 83 members of the Society of Jesus from the
Republic of Nicaragua.
1923. Shadowbrook, New England Province house of formation, is
established.
183
June 27
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Cyril of Alexandria, bishop and doctor, optional memorial.
He died on this day in 444. The only African to preside over a
General Council of the Universal Church, namely the Council of
Ephesus in 431 which called Mary theotokos.
1844. Joseph Smith (Mormon founder) and his brother Hyrum are killed by
armed mob in Carthage, Illinois - because of polygamy.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1880. Helen Keller is born. After 19 months, because of scarlet fever, she is
deaf, mute, blind.
1905. IWW, International Workers of the World, holds its founding
convention.
1913. Willie Mosconi, pool player B.
1989. A.J. Ayer + age 78 Logical positivist.
JESUIT
1537. At Venice, Ignatius and his companions received testimonial letters of
their ordination, stating that they had been ordained ad titulum
scientiae et voluntariae paupertatis.
1581. 400 copies of Campion's Decem Rationes appear on the benches of
Oxford University Church. He presents reasons why he challenges
Anglicans to a discussion of religion.
1978. Brother Bernard Lisson, S.J. mechanic, age 69, is shot to death and
Fr. Gregor Richert, S.J., parish priest, age 48, is shot to death in
Zimbabwe at St. Rupert's Mission, Sinoia.
184
June 28
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Iranaeus, bishop and martyr, memorial. “Gloria Dei, vivens homo…”
1814. Frederick Faber B. Hymnist, convert to RCC.
1917. The revised code of canon law is published by Benedict XV. It goes into
effect in 1918.
1974. Declaration De Abortu Procurato is issued by the Sacred
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
1986. Marjorie Tuite, O.P.dies, strongly committed to the poor and to social
justice.
2001. Herbert McCabe, O.P. dies. Thomistic scholar at Blackfriars, Oxford.
2001. Mortimer Adler dies. Age 98. A convert to Catholicism one year
earlier. Designed the Great Books Program, University of Chicago,
and a scholar of St. Thomas Aquinas.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
Paul Bunyan Day.
1577. Peter Paul Rubens B. An artist, friend of the Jesuits, he painted St.
Ignatius.
1914. Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated, in Sarajevo, with his wife. This
leads to the start of WW I.
1919. The Treaty of Versailles signed, providing for the League of Nations.
JESUIT
1521. At Loyola, St. Ignatius miraculously begins to recover, cured by St.
Peter of the leg wound, received at Pamplona.
1553. Ignatius writes to Xavier, but Xavier had died the previous
December. In fact, the death of Xavier, in December 1552 only
becomes known in Rome in 1555.
1771. Anton Kohlmann B. Kayserberg, Germany. He was the future superior
in New York, and builder of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
1991. Two Jesuits (Paulo Dezza and Jan Korec) are among 22
cardinals created, making a total of seven Jesuit cardinals, the
largest ever.
185
June 29
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES
Solemnity.
1864. Samuel Ajayi Crowther is consecrated the first black African Anglican
bishop in Westminister Abbey. He is a former Nigerian slave.
1898. Missionaries are given faculties to celebrate Mass on ships.
1908. An Apostolic Constitution of Pius X makes the USA no longer
have mission status.
1911. Pius X approves the proposal of the US bishops to organize a national
foreign mission effort. Maryknoll is born.
1918. Founding of the St. Columban Foreign Missionary Society.
1943. Encyclical Letter of Pius XII, Mystici Corporis, on the Mystical Body of
Christ.
1968. Paul VI issues Creed of the People of God.
1976. Archbishop Lefebvre ordains 13 priests, and thus is suspended a
divinis, which he defies.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1613. The Globe Theater in London is destroyed by fire.
1900. Antoine de Saint-Exupery B.
1940. Paul Klee + Swiss Painter.
2003 Katherine Hepburn, actress, dies, age 96.
JESUIT
1553. At Louvain, certain parish priests urged the faithful not to confess to
Jesuits. This was condemned by the theological faculty.
1881. F.X. Weninger, S.J. + at Cincinnati. Missionary, preacher.
1909. Fr. General Wernz calls on the whole Society to assist the mission to
Japan.
1930. The North America Martyrs, and Robert Bellarmine, are canonized by
Pius XI.
186
June 30
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
First Martyrs of the Church of Rome, optional memorial.
1316. Blessed Raymond Lull is martyred. He was a layman, and
missionary, and an expert on mission theory and Islamic studies.
1853. Pierre Toussaint dies, a saintly black layman.
1963. Pope Paul VI is installed as Pope.
1988. Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre ordains four bishops at
Econe, Switzerland, and is excommunicated. Schism.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, CULTURE, SPORT
1908. A huge fireball, an asteroid or nucleus of a comet, explodes in midair,
over Siberia, incinerates trees and kills 1500 reindeer.
1936. Federal Law is passed for the 40 hour work week.
1936. Gone with the Wind is published by Margaret Mitchell.
1960. Belgian Congo gains independence. Independence Day.
1997. At midnight, July lst, Hong Kong becomes part of China.
The 99 year British lease runs out.
JESUIT
1540. The arrival of Xavier at Lisbon on his way to India. Though he passed
near his father's castle at Xavier, he would not call on his relatives.
1571. Francis Borgia sets out for Spain, Portugal and France, and will die
shortly after his return to Rome from this long journey.
1916. Long letter of Fr. General Ledochowski to the United States
Provinces on helping external missions. It is written from his
generalate in Switzerland.
1962. Monitum from the Holy Office, Rome, on the writings of
Teilhard de Chardin.
1998. George Dunne, S.J. dies. A writer, critic, prophet on justice, of the
California Province. He wrote A Generation of Giants.
187
July 1
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Blessed Junipero Serro, priest. Optional memorial in USA
On Mt. Hor, the death of St. Aaron, the first priest of the Levitical order.
New RM
St. Shenute - Egypt. Founder of Monastic life.
St. Simeon. He had feigned to be an idiot for the sake of
Christ, but God manifested his high wisdom by great
miracles. RM
1654. Jacob Barsimon arrives in the USA, the first Jew to settle in America.
1681. St. Oliver Plunkett, bishop of Armagh, is executed, a martyr at
Tyburn, the last Catholic to die at Tyburn.
1855. The death of Antonio Rosmini, prophetic priest, reformer, critic whose
books were put on the Index. More recently, he is praised.
1899. Gideons International is established - Bible distributors.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
Dominion Day, Canada.
1646. Gottfried Leibnitz, is born.
1804. George Sands, is born. Novelist.
1863. Battle of Gettysburg begins, July 1 - 3rd.
1896. Harriet Beecher Stowe + at Hartford, Connecticut.
1910. Comiskey Park opens in Chicago.
1962. Rwanda Independence Day – from Belgium/UN Trusteeship.
1971. The 26th Amendment is ratified, those 18 years old can vote.
1980. C.P. Snow +. The Two Cultures.
1997. Robert Mitchum +, age 79, actor.
JESUIT
1798. In July, day uncertain, the colossal silver statue of St. Ignatius, in the
Gesu, Rome, was carried off by French officials and melted down.
1901. The Law of July 1st forbids Jesuits to live in communities in France.
1934. Michael Jacobs, S.J. +. The first Iroquois priest is ordained.
1981. The Jesuit School of Theology in Chicago suspends its operations.
1984. John M. Corridan, S.J. + the "Waterfront Priest".
1987. Br. Patrick Sheehy (Chicago) becomes the first brother to be President
of a Jesuit High School in the USA.
1993. Thomas Burke, S.J. +. Counselor, retreat master, and founder of the
Program to Promote the Spiritual Exercises.
188
July 2
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
311. St. Melchiades, an African begins two and one half years of
papal reign. He would be martyred on December 10, 314.
1489. Thomas Cramner is born. English Protestant Reformer.
1865. William Booth founds the Salvation Army in London.
Dona Beatrice (Kimpa Vita) a popular prophetess in the Congo is
condemned to be burned at age 22. The African Joan of Arc.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1566. Nostradamus +. French physician and astrologer.
1778. Jean-Jacques Rousseau + age 66.
1877. Heinrich Heine + poet. And Herman Hesse born. Nobel Prize for
Literature, 1946.
1881. President James Garfield is shot by Charles Giteau. He would die on
September 19.
1937. Amelia Earhart and co-pilot reported lost over the Pacific.
1961. Ernest Hemingway +, a suicide by gunshot, in Idaho. He won the
Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
1989. Andrei Gromyko + Soviet career diplomat - survivor.
1997. Jimmy Stewart +. Actor, age 89.
JESUIT
St. Bernadine Realino; St. Francis Regis; St. Francis Jerome;
Bl. Julian Maunoir; Bl. Anthony Baldinucci, priests,mem.
1558. Election of James Laynez as 2nd General in the First General
Congregation. He is elected on the first ballot, with 23 of 31 votes. He
had been vicar-general since the death of Ignatius in 1556.
1565. Election of Francis Borgia, 3rd General, on first ballot.
1616. St. Bernadine Realino +.
1688. The Society of Jesus is given the commission to promote devotion to
the Sacred Heart, in accord with the revelation to St. Margaret Mary
Alacoque.
1741. At Peking died Father d'Entrecolles, who studied the manufacture of
porcelain in China and introduced it into France: he also wrote
observations on the Chinese practice of inoculation as a remedy
against small-pox.
1853. Fr. Peter Beckx becomes General. During his tenure, the Society is
expelled from Spain, Naples, Sicily, the greater part of Central Italy,
Venice, Germany, and Rome.
1928. Missouri is divided into the Missouri and Chicago Prov.
1937. Letter of Fr. General Ledochowski to provincials on vacation of Ours.
Avoid beaches, balneares stationes.
1943. New York and Maryland Provinces are separated.
1951. New York Province purchases Bellarmine College, Plattsburg,
New York; it serves as a philosophate and then novitiate.
189
1951. Teilhard de Chardin appoints Jeanne Mortier as literary executor.
She arranges the publication of his works after his death. Earlier she
mimeoed and distributed his texts.
1959. A decree of Fr. General transfers Puerto Rico to the territory of the
New York Province.
1985. Fr. De la Vega of Spain celebrates his 83rd year as a Jesuit - one of the
longest ever.
1987. Decree of Father General Kolvenbach that officially designates it as
"The Nigerian Ghanaian Mission."
190
July 3
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
THOMAS, APOSTLE, feast.
1315. Blessed Ramon Lull +. He entered into dialogue with Muslims.
1904. Theodor Herzl +, the founder of political Zionism.
1907. Pius X issues Lamentabili Sane, Syllabus Concerning
the Errors of the Modernists.
1998. Bernard Haring +, age 85, Redemptorist moral theology, author of The
Law of Christ and Free and Faithful in Christ. A key moral
theologian of the 20th century.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1608. Samuel de Champlain founds Quebec.
1835. Children strike for 66 hour work week in Paterson,
New Jersey.
1883. Franz Kafka, is born.
1952. U.S. Liner begins maiden transatlantic voyage, and sets speed record.
1962. Jackie Robinson enters the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1976. Bjorn Borg wins the first of five consecutive titles at Wimbledon.
1988. U.S. Vincennes shoots down an Iranian civil airliner and over 290 die.
JESUIT
1580. Queen Elizabeth I issues a statute forbidding to Jesuits all entrance
into England.
1883. Pierre Charles, S.J. is born. Brussels, Missiologist, spiritual
writer: Prayer of All Things, All Times, All Men.
1891. Three Jesuit scholastics are killed as lightning strikes the villa house
at St. Inigo's, Maryland.
191
July 4
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Elizabeth of Portugal, optional memorial + 1336.
1570. Pope St. Pius V establishes the so called Tridentine Mass.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1776. Independence Day. The Declaration of Independence is adopted.
1804. Nathaniel Hawthorne is born at Salem, Mass.
1807. Giuseppe Garibaldi is born. Guerilla general for Italian
unification and independence.
1826. Thomas Jefferson +.
1826. John Adams + on the same day as Jefferson, exactly 50 years after the
Declaration of Independence. He and Jefferson were adversaries
throughout their lives.
1826. Stephen Foster is born. Composer.
1831. James Monroe + .
1845. Thoreau begins his 26 month stay at Walden Pond.
1883. Rube Goldberg is born. Cartoonist on technology.
1918. Birth of the Friedman twins who eventually become Ann Landers and
Dear Abby (Abigail Van Buren).
1934. Marie Curie +. Nobel Prize Winner – won two, in physics and
chemistry.
1997. Charles Kuralt +, CBS reporter, age 62, “On the Road.”
JESUIT
1558. To celebrate the election of Fr. James Lainez as general, a “brilliant
academical exhibition” was given in the Pantheon in Rome by the
scholastics.
1648. Fr. Anthony Daniel is shot with arrows and cast into flames in Canada
by the Iroquois. The Huron village is taken.
1869. The Buffalo Mission (German speaking)is established with 13 fathers
and 8 brothers. They take responsibility for St. Michael and St.
Anne parishes in Buffalo.
1872. Kaiser Wilhelm I signs the so called "Jesuit law." Jesuits are"enemies
of the Reich". 550 are expelled.
1886. F.X. Gautralet, S.J. + . He founded the Apostleship of Prayer in 1844.
2003. The death of Bertrand deMargerie, S.J. French theologian and
spiritual writer.
192
July 5
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Anthony Zaccaria, priest, optional memorial.
St. Philomena, virgin. RM.
St. Cyrilla...she held burning coals with incense on her hand for a long time,
lest by shaking off the coals she should seem o offer incense to the
idols. RM
1294. Celestine V is elected Pope. He will resign five months later and die
two years later, in monastery/exile.
1865. The Salvation Army is founded by William Booth.
1962. H. Richard Niebuhr +. Theologian, Yale Professor
1931-62, author of Christ and Culture and other classics.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1810. Phineas T. Barnum, is born. Showman, promoter.
1811. Venezuelan Independence.
1947. Larry Doby is the first black to play American League
baseball.
1948. The death of George Bernanos, novelist. Diary of a Country Priest.
2002. Ted Williams, dies. Boston Red Sox baseball Hall of Famer. Batted
.400.
JESUIT
1592. The arrest by Topcliffe of Robert Southwell at Uxendam Manor. He
was tortured and then transferred to the Tower, where he remained for two
and a half years, then moved to Newgate.
1956. Jules Lebreton, S.J. + Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ.
Historian, and theologian, founder of Recherches de Science Religieuse.
1972. The death of George Klubertanz, S.J. philosopher.
July 6
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
193
Maria Goretti, virgin and martyr, optional memorial. She died on this
date
in 1902, not quite l2 years old.
In Jerusalem the holy prophet Isaiah. During the reign of
King Manasses he was put to death by being sawn in two. RM
1415. Jan Hus,Reformer, +, by being burned at the stake by secular
authorities. He had been tried and condemned by the Council of
Constance.
1535. St. Thomas More is beheaded.
1806. Pope Pius VII is arrested at 2 AM on orders of Napoleon, and ordered
into exile.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1747. John Paul Jones is born.
1854. The Republican Party is organized to oppose slavery.
1866. The birth of Beatrix Potter, the creator of Peter Rabbit.
1933. The first All Star Baseball game is held at Comiskey Park, Chicago.
1934. Madame Curie dies. She won two Nobel prizes, and was the first
woman to win one.
1962. William Faulkner + age 64, novelist.
1966. Malawi Independence Day – from the UK.
1971. Louis Armstrong, King of Jazz, dies.
1998. The death of Roy Rogers, singing cowboy, who rode Trigger.
JESUIT
1610. A letter of Fr. General says that no Jesuit can maintain that a private
person could kill or attempt to kill princes or kings.
1621. At Barcelona, the death of Fr. Alphonsus Hernandez, a great lover of
holy poverty. He used to call the little ornaments and conveniences to
which some grow so attached, the "idols of half religious souls."
1758. The election to the Papacy of Clement XIII who would defend the
Society against the Jansenists and the Bourbon courts.
1797. Joseph Pignatelli renews his vows as a Jesuit.
1922. Countess Maria Theresa Ledochowski +. A lay woman, and brother of
Vladimir, she is now a Blessed. She founded the Sodality of St. Peter
Claver for African Missions, is called the mother of Africa.
1942. The Gestapo enters Valkenburg and so 140 German and Dutch
Jesuits leave. They declare the college at an end. One month later
the building is destroyed by bombs.
194
July 7
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1456. A Papal commission reopens the case of St. Joan of Arc
and eventually gives her complete rehabilitation, 25
years after her death.
1929. Vatican City State comes into being through the Lateran Treaty, with
Pope as sovereign.
1946. Mother Cabrini is canonized, the first American citizen so honored.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1531. Tilman Riemenschneider + sculptor and wood carver.
1869. Gustav Mahler is born.
1898. Hawaii is annexed.
1906. Leroy Satchel Paige B Pitcher.
1930. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle + Author.
1948. On his 42nd birthday, Leroy Satchel Paige signs with the
Cleveland Indians.
1957. Althea Gibson, American black, wins Wimbledon tennis major
tournament.
1990. The first concert of the ‘Three Tenors’ is held at the Caracella Ruins,
Rome. Pavarotti, Domingo, Carreras.
1998. Moshood Abiola + in detention in Nigeria. He had won an election
later annuled, and he was put in prison for over four years.
JESUIT
1586. Landing in England of Robert Southwell and Henry Garnet.
1830. Letter of Fr. General Roothaan on Love for the Society.
1835. The Society in Spain is again suppressed and all its
property seized.
1867. The beatification of the 205 Japanese Martyrs, thirty-three of them
members of the Society of Jesus.
1896. Peter Claver is declared patron of the missions among black people.
1907. The Buffalo Mission is separated from the German Province.
1936. Arthur Vermeersch, S.J. + theology/spirituality.
1944. All USA citizens including 77 Jesuits are interned at Santo
Tomas, Philippines, for eight months.
1984. Fr. Kolvenbach has a pleasant visit with Pope John Paul II.
He asks the Pope for his blessing on all Jesuits, especially Superiors.
In granting it, the Pope adds “They are the ones who need it most.”
2003. Robert Springer, S.J. dies. Pastoral, moral theologian.
195
July 8
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Commemoration of Aquilla and his wife Priscilla, (or Prisca) in Acts of
Apostles, in new RM.
1115. Peter the Hermit +. He preached the first Crusade.
1741. Jonathan Edwards preaches his famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands
of an Angry God" at Enfield, CT.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1822. Percy Bysshe Shelly, poet, age 29 + of drowning.
1835. The Liberty Bell cracks, while tolling the death of Chief Justice John
Marshall.
1839. John D. Rockefeller, is born.
1908. Nelson Rockefeller is born. He is the grandson of John D., and was
governor and Vice President.
JESUIT
1597. Fr. Louis Froes, a Portuguese, who for 33 years labored in Japan amid
privations, mishaps and trials of every kind, died at Nagasaki.
1833. The Mission of Missouri is established.
1860. Society of Jesus re-enter Scotland. The Church of the Sacred Heart is
opened in Edinburgh.
1936. A letter of Fr. General Ledochowski to the Provincials of the American
Assistancy, on increasing the number of coadjutor brothers.
1991. Ludwig Kaufmann, S.J. +. He was a Swiss journalist, in Zurich, age
72, and editor of Orientierung.
196
July 9
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Augustine Zhao Rong and companions, Chinese martyrs.
381. The First Council of Constantinople closes.
1850. In Iran, a firing squad kills Mirza Ali Muhammad, prophet of the
Bahai faith.
1897. The death of Augustine Tolton, one of the first Afro-American priests.
He was born a slave, experienced racism and isolation in Chicago and
elsewhere, and worked as a pioneer with blacks.
1926. The death of Rose Hawthorne, daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne,
foundress of the servants of relief for cancer, an offshoot of the
Dominicans and a precursor of the hospice movement.
1990. Bishop Salvatore Colombo, of Mogadishu, Somalia is
assassinated on Sunday evening before Mass, outside his
cathedral.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1797. Edmund Burke +, age 68, statesman and philosopher.
1816. Argentine Independence Day.
1932. King Camp Gillette +. He was the inventor of the safety razor.
1942. Anne Frank, age 13, goes into hiding in Amsterdam.
1992. Eric Sevareid + age 79. Radio, CBS TV commentator.
JESUIT
1541. Faber makes his final profession at Ratisbonne, without any
presence of another Jesuit, no other witness. It is nevertheless
considered a solemn profession.
1553. The Province of Brazil is constituted, a total of 30 Jesuits with Manuel
de Nobrega as Provincial.
1763. The Society is expelled from New Orleans and Louisiana at the bidding
of the French government. It is also expelled from Illinois County.
1829. Jan Roothaan is elected General.
1934. The death of Joseph Gianfranceschi, S.J., President of the Pontifical
Academy of Sciences, and Director of the Vatican Radio. He received
Extreme Unction from Pope Pius XI.
1988. James J. O'Connor, S.J. + editor of Canon Law Digest.
197
July 10
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1509. Jean Calvin is born.
1863. Clement C. Moore + theologian, writer, educator and author of "Twas
the night before Christmas..."
1970. Bishop James Walsh, Maryknoll pioneer is freed after 12 years of
prison in China.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1871. Marcel Proust, is born.
1875. Mary McLeod Bethune is born. Black educator and college president.
1915. Saul Bellow is born in Quebec. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature
in 1976.
1925. Scopes "Monkey Trial" begins in Tennessee.
1979. Arthur Fiedler +.He was Maestro for the Boston Pops for 50 years.
1992. William Fagg +. British expert on African/Nigerian art, and a devout
Roman Catholic.
JESUIT
1678. At Vilnius, Fr. Thomas Ujeyski, former bishop of Chijov and senator of
Poland, completed his novitiate and received a special privilege
admitting him to the profession of the four vows.
1767. In Paraguay all the Fathers and Brothers were arrested by order of
Charles III of Spain to be conducted into exile. There were 385
Fathers, 59 Scholastics, 109 Lay Brothers, and 11 novices.
1829. The Restoration of the Society in Portugal.
1981. Four scholastics, traveling from Nicaragua to Mexico are arrested in a
Mexican airport for weapons and underground literature, and are
released two days later.
1994. Andrew Varga, S.J., ethicist, Hungarian Provincial, and General
Assistant from 1965-75.
1998 The death of Luis Alonso Schoekel. Biblical scholar and teacher.
198
July 11
Benedict, abbot,
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
memorial.
1276. Hadrian V is chosen as pope on this day. He serves for five weeks as
cardinal deacon, and dies on August 18th before his ordination and
consecration. He was never ordained a priest.
1533. Pope Clement VII excommunicates Henry VIII for remarriage
after divorce.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1804. Burr vs. Hamilton in duel in Weehawken, New Jersey.
Hamilton dies the next day.
1846. Leon Bloy is born.
1937. George Gerschwin +.
1968. American Indian Movement is founded.
1979. US Skylab returns to earth’s atmosphere and scatters debris over the
Indian Ocean and Australia.
1989. Sir Laurence Olivier + actor.
JESUIT
1742. Benedict XIV's Bull Ex quo singulari was signed condemning the
Chinese Rites... Troubles at once arose in China. It is also found
listed for July 5th. It abolished all concessions made by the Patriarch
Mezzabarba.
1981. John McMahon, S.J. + Provincial, Tertian Instructor of the New York
Province. Official Visitor to Ireland.
199
July 12
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1871. Riot between Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants in NYC leaves 52
dead.
1931. Nathan Soderblom +. Archbishop of Uppsala, worker for ecumenism.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
100. BC. Caesar is born. July 12 or July 13, uncertain.
1536. Desiderius Erasmus + humanist, age 69, in Basel. His last words were
“O Jesus, have mercy.”
1543. Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr, his sixth and final wife.
1817. Henry David Thoreau, is born. Concord, MA.
1895. R. Buckminster Fuller, is born. Scientist, inventor.
1920. President Wilson opens the Panama Canal.
JESUIT
1544. At King John III of Portugal’s request, Peter Faber left Cologne for
Lisbon.
1544. Favre leaves Cologne and writes that he takes with him relics, twelve
heads of the 11,000 martyrs buried in Cologne. He distributed these
as he travels to Portugal.
1936. Arthur Vermeersch, S.J. + Belgium. Author of Miles Christi Jesu, et
al. Canon lawyer, moral theologian. He taught at Louvain and the
Gregorian.
1994. Symposium on the Brothers opens in Loyola, Spain, in preparation for
the 34th General Congregation.
2000. Fr. Remis Kerketta, S.J. age 47, is shot and killed by assassins. He
was a school headmaster, in the state of Bihar, near Ranchi.
200
July 13
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Henry, optional memorial. His wife Cunegunda is also a saint. They took
a vow of perpetual virginity.
Commemoration of Silas, the companion of St. Paul. In the new RM
Esdras, priest and scribe. New RM.
In Africa, Eugene, Bishop of Carthage, and all the clergy of that church, to
the number of about five hundred or more, among whom were many
small children who performed the office of lector. RM.
1886. Father Edward Flanagan is born in Ireland, and eventually becomes
Fr. Flanagan of Boy's Town.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1793. Jean-Paul Marat, revolutionary leader, is stabbed to death in a bath by
Charlotte Corday.
1798. William Wordsworth visits Tintern Abbey and a few miles further
down, writes a poem about it.
1863. 1000 die in riots in New York City in opposition to the Federal
Constitution Act. Riots from 13th to 16th.
1898. Guglielmi Marconi is awarded a patent for the wireless telegraph.
1934. Wole Soyinka, is born. Nigerian writer, Nobel Prize winner.
1977. New York City blackout.
2002. Yousuf Karsh dies, Canadian portrait photographer.
JESUIT
1556.
St. Ignatius resigned the government of the Society into the hands of
Fathers John Polanco and Christopher Madrid.
1572. Arrival in Mexico of the first band of missioners of the Society.
1720. The General Court of Massachusetts issues a proclamation that there
is a 100 pound bounty or reward if one catches a Jesuit and takes
him to Boston for justice.
1941. James Conlon, S.J. +. He founded the Catholic Mission Board.
201
July 14
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Camillus de Lellis, priest, optional memorial.
B1. Kateri Tekakwitha, optional memorial.
Bl. Ghibere Michal. Ethiopian Coptic priest, martyr. His feast in the new
RM
1570. The newly restored Roman Missal is presented by St. Pius V.
1833. A sermon by John Keble on National Apostasy. Newman dates this as
the start of the Oxford Movement.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1789. Bastille Day, Peasants storm the Bastille. The French Revolution is
underway.
1912. Woody Guthrie is born. Folksinger.
1918. Ingmar Bergman is born. Swedish film director.
1941. Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak is broken.
JESUIT
1523. The arrival of St. Ignatius in Jerusalem after a voyage of 98 days.
1564. Letter to the whole Society on the Sodality of Our Lady for our
colleges.
1605. A College is founded in Cartagena, the second in Colombia.
1921. The arrival of 20 Maryland/New York Jesuits in Manila to begin the
mission there.
1925. Violinist Fritz Kreisler visits the Jesuits at Melbourne Australia. He is
a Jesuit alumnus.
1979. Fr. Bernard Darke, S.J. is assassinated in Guyana, age 53. He was a
photographer for the Catholic Standard, the diocesan newspaper,
murdered for taking photos of disturbances.
1985. Meeting of Jesuit Ecumenists at Oxford to discuss report of AnglicanRoman Catholic International Commission.
202
July 15
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Bonaventure, bishop and doctor, memorial +1274
St. Swithin, St. Swithin's Day.
St. Antiochus, a physician, who was beheaded. On seeing milk flow from his
wounds instead of blood, Cyriacus, his executioner, was converted to
Christ and endured martyrdom. RM
St. James, bishop... It was owing to his prayers, and those of the bishop
Alexander, that Arius received at Constantinople the suitable
punishment of his iniquity, his bowels gushing out... Old RM
1415. Jan Hus is burned at the stake as a heretic.
l779. Clement C. Moore is born. theologian, writer, educator, and author of
"Twas the Night before Christmas."
1834. The Spanish Inquisition is suppressed.
1838. The famous "Divinity School Address" is delivered by Ralph Waldo
Emerson at Harvard Divinity School to the Senior class.
1909. The death of George Tyrrell, age 48, modernist theologian. He received
the last rites but was denied a Catholic burial.
1965. Catholic novelist Graham Greene meets Pope Paul VI.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1606. Rembrandt is born.
1795. The Marseillaise is adopted as the French National Anthem.
1883. General Tom Thumb, circus dwarf, +.
1919. Iris Murdoch is born. Novelist, ethician.
JESUIT
1570.Blessed Ignatius Azevedo with 39 companions suffer martyrdom near
Palma, one of the Canary Isles, being run through with pikes and
cast into the sea by Calvinist corsairs: 2 priests,12 scholastics, 10
novices and 16 brothers. St. Teresa of Avila had a vision of them
ascending into heaven.
l579. At Lisbon died Fr. Simao Rodriguez, one of the first ten Fathers of the
Society, destined by St. Ignatius for India with Xavier, but retained
in Portugal by King John Ill.
203
July 16
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, optional memoria1. On this day in 1251
Mary gives a sign of the scapular to St. Simon, in Cambridge, England.
622. Mohammed flees to Medina from Mecca. The beginning of the
Islamic era.
1048. Pope Benedict IX deposed for the second and last time. He was elected
pope when about 20 years old, was the only pope to serve three
separate spells, and was called "most deserving of assassination."
1054. The Roman and Greek churches excommunicate each other. The
Great Schism begins.
1328. Meister Eckhart +.
1821. Mary Baker Eddy, is born. Foundress of Christian Science faith.
1858. Last vision of Mary to St. Bernadette.
1904. Leo Cardinal Suenens is born.
1953. Hilaire Belloc, age 83, + of burns after falling into the fireplace, in
Sussex.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1862, Ida B. Wells born, woman activist in Chicago and Midwest.
1918. Murder of Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra and their children (and
servants and dogs too) in Russia.
1945. First atom bomb test, explosion, in New Mexico.
1985. Heinrich Boell + novelist.
1989. Herbert Von Karajan + Maestro of the Berlin Philharmonic.
JESUIT
1576. Gregory XIII exempted the members of the Society from attendance at
public processions by his Constitution, Quaecumque
sacrarum religionum.
1766. Giuseppe Castiglione, S.J. + age 78. brother, Painter, missionary to
China. Painting of "One Hundred Excellent Horses." The emperor
paid him tribute and his funeral expenses. A Jesuit remarked that
“he with his art promoted the cause of Christianity more than
anyone else had.”
2002. David Toolan, S.J. dies, age 66. Writer, assistant editor at
Commonweal, and America, and author of At Home in the Cosmos,
on science and theology, and ecology.
204
July 17
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Alexius, son of the senator Euphemian. Leaving his spouse before the
night of marriage, he withdrew from his house and after a long
pilgrimage returned to Rome where he was for 17 years harbored in
his father's house as an unknown pauper, thus deluding the world in
this strange way. RM
St. Marcellina. The older sister of St. Ambrose.
431. The Council of Ephesus adjourns. It condemned Nestorianism and
Pelagianism.
1245. Bull of Pope Innocent IV deposes Emperor Frederick II.
1566. The death of Bartolome de las Casas, Dominican bishop, defender of
the Indians, fighter for justice. an opponent of slavery and the
mistreatment of Indians.
1674. Isaac Watts is born. Pioneer in modern English hymnody.
1794. Sixteen condemned Carmelite nuns are executed as ‘enemies of the
people.’ Poulenc puts this to music in ‘Dialogue of the Carmelites.’
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1894. George Lemaitre, is born. A priest, scientist, his theory of the
expanding universe was praised by Einstein.
1936.
1945.
1967
1979.
1985.
The Spanish Civil War begins, as the military uprising begins.
Potsdam Conference opens with Truman, Stalin, Churchill.
John Coltrane + jazz.
President Anastasio Somoza resigns and departs from Nicaragua.
Susanne K. Langer + philosopher.
JESUIT
1581. Edmund Campion is arrested.
1637. At Alcala died Fr. Alphonsus Esquera, who is said to have
enjoyed the visible presence of his Angel Guardian.
1834. Crowds destroy the Jesuit College in Madrid, and kill 15 Jesuits.
1886. Gerard Manley Hopkins decides to become Roman Catholic.
1978. Opening of a special seminar on the Constitutions in Paris, until
August 6th, under Dominique Bertrand.
205
July 18
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1830. Catherine Laboure has her great vision of Mary as the Immaculate
Conception.
1870. Infallibility is proclaimed and defined, at Vatican I,
Aeternus.
Pastor
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
64. AD. Nero fiddles while Rome burns for nine days.
1817. Jane Austen + age 41.
1918. Nelson Mandela is born. He was in a South African prison from June
12, 1964 to 1990.
1969. Mary Jo Kopechne drowns on Chappaquiddick. Ted Kennedy remains
a Senator.
1990. Karl Menninger +, age 96. A psychiatrist, he wrote on prisons and sin.
JESUIT
1613. Brother Gilbert Du Thet, S.J. +. He is the first (non-canonized) Jesuit
martyr of French Canada, killed by English privateers off the
Atlantic Coast.
1650. Cristobal Schemer, S.J. + founder of new solar physics, and a
correspondent with Kepler and Galileo.
1693. At Resel, in Russia died Fr. Adelbert Grabes, a great spiritual director
of youth. He sent 53 to the Cistercians, 30 to the Franciscans, 12 to
the Dominicans, 5 to the Basilians, 28 to the Reformed Carmelites,
12 to the Brigittines, and 117 to the Society, almost all of whom
persevered.
1973. Fr. Eugene Murphy died. Under his direction the Sacred Heart Hour,
which Saint Louis University introduced in 1939 on its radio station
WEW, became a nationwide favorite.
1985. Jose Maria Velaz, S.J. + Venezuela. Founder and promoter of Fe y
Alegria, Integrated Popular Education Movement in 1955. In 1985
there were 435 centers with 270,000 students enrolled.
206
July 19
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Macrina, daughter of Sts. Basil and Emmelia, and the sister of the holy
bishops St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Peter of
Sebaste. RM
Epaphras, companion of St. Paul, in new RM
1825. American Unitarian Association founded.
1848. Assembly at Wesleyan Chapel, Seneca Falls, NY convention to
discuss rights of women - birthplace of women's rights
movement. Elizabeth Cady Stanton gives keynote address.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1374. Petrarch +.
1834. Edgar Degas B, artist.
1896. A.J. Cronin is born.
1979. Nicaragua Independence Day. Victory of the Sandinistas.
JESUIT
1688. Brother Giuseppe Castiglione, S.J. is born. Painter and missionary to
China. "One Hundred Excellent Horses" is his most famous painting.
He had studied under Br. Andrea Pozzo and sailed for China when
27 years old. There he undertook the role of the official painter to
this distant court with the positive conviction that art was above all a
means of carrying out his evangelical mission.
207
July 20
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
On Mount Carmel, the holy prophet Elijah. RM
Joseph, surnamed the Just, who lost to Matthias as the replacement
for Judas the apostle. RM
.
514. Pope St. Hormisdas (feast, August 6th) is elected. He is the Father of
Pope St. Silverius.
1886. Paul Tillich is born.
1892. Joseph Cardinal Ritter is born. Indiana. He strongly opposed
segregation in St. Louis.
1903. Pope Leo XIII + after a 25 year papacy.
1926. Chicago: International Eucharistic Congress is held from the 20th to
the 24th.
2002. Roland Murphy, Carmelite priest, biblical scholar dies, age 85. Coauthor of the Jerome Biblical Commentary.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1304. Petrarch is born.
1969. The Moon Landing by Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong takes one small
step for a man, a giant leap for humankind.
1983. Frank Reynolds + Washington, DC. ABC TV newsman.
JESUIT
1624. At Cracow died John Laskowski, a Polish scholastic, who though not
conscious of any mortal sin in his whole life was nonetheless so
tormented with scruples that his confessor considered him a martyr
of interior suffering.
1872. At Rome, gangs of miscreants paraded the streets crying out: "Death
to the Friars! Death to the Jesuits!."
1944. An abortive plot against Hitler by Claus von Stauffenberg and
assistants. Alfred Delp, S.J. is arrested as a result, and
eventually executed.
1986. The Third World Congress of Jesuit Alumni/ae takes place at
Versailles, preceded by a pilgrimage to Chartres.
208
July 21
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Lawrence of Brindisi, priest and doctor, optional memorial.
1542. Pope Paul Ill, by his encyclical Licet ab Initio, institutes the
Congregation of the Holy Office, or Roman Inquisition.
1888. Matthias Joseph Scheeben +. age 53. Theologian, writer.
The Mysteries of Christianity.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1796. Robert Burns, poet, age 37, + and leaves his wife and five children in
severe straits.
1816. Paul Julius von Reuter is born. founder of news agency.
1831. Belgian Independence Day.
1899. Ernest Hemingway is born in Oak Park, Ill.
1920. Isaac Stern B violinist.
1925. Biology teacher Scopes is convicted of teaching evolution, and is fined
$100.
1953 End of the Korean War.
1967. Albert Luthuli +. South African, winner of Nobel Peace Prize in 1960.
A leader of the ANC, and Zulu chief, he died in a train accident.
1975
Joe Torre of the Mets hits into four consecutive double plays.
1998. The death of Alan Shepard, Jr. the first American in space.
He also played golf on the moon.
JESUIT
1550. Julius Ill, by his Bull, Exposcit debitum, again confirms the Institute.
1773. The Brief for the Suppression of the Society (Dominus ac Redemptor)
was signed by Clement XIV. After signing it, Cardinal Pacca says
the pope threw the pen from him and fell senseless on the marble
pavement. He was heard exclaiming: "Compulsus feci. Questa
soppressione mi dara Ia morte." At that time there were 22,589
Jesuits, 49 Provinces, 669 Colleges and over 3000 missionaries.
1947. The death of John Baptist Reus, S.J., a mystic and visionary of Brazil.
He wrote a long diary, with many drawings of his visions. He
combined he stigmata and theocial apostolate, and thousands make
pilgrimages to his tomb. He is now a Venerable.
1868. Peter Verhaegen, S.J. + President of St. Louis University, educator,
and in charge of the missions.
209
July 22
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Mary Magdalen, memorial.
431.
The Council of Ephesus holds its final, closing session.
1799. Pauline-Marie Jaricot is born. Founder of Society for the
Propagation of the Faith.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1822. Gregor Mendel is born.
1934. John Dillinger is gunned down by the FBI in Chicago. He was
"Public Enemy No 1."
1967. Carl Sandburg +, age 89. North Carolina.
JESUIT
1534. Peter Faber, ordained on May 30th, offers his first Mass on this day.
1567. Claudio Acquaviva enters the Society. He will be General under 8
popes.
1580. The First Communion of St. Aloysius from the hands of
St. Charles Borromeo.
1730. Daniel Carroll, is born. Jesuit educated, Catholic signer of the
Declaration of Independence.
1943. The death of Brother Justine Gillet, founder of the botanical gardens
at Kisantu, Zaire. He helped classify many plants and plant new
crops and types of crops.
1958. Today and two days later, four Jesuits are arrested in East Germany,
and found guilty. They serve an average of three years in prison.
1995. George Soares-Prabhu, S.J. + in India. He was a Biblical scholar and
teacher.
2001 Paul Reinert, S.J. dies, age 90. He was President of St. Louis
University from 1949-74.
210
July 23
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Bridget, religious, optional memorial. She died on this day in
1373.
Commemoration of Ezechiel the prophet, in new RM
St. John Cassian, abbot + (about 433). The patriarch of monachism, and his
examples are used by Rodriguez.
1846. Henry David Thoreau is jailed for refusing to pay the poll tax, and will
write on "Civil Disobedience." He protested slavery and the U.S. I
involvement in the Mexican War.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1919. Pee Wee Reese is born. Dodger captain and shortstop.
1936. Don Drysdale is born. Pitcher.
1952. King Farouk of Egypt is deposed.
1973. Eddie Richenbacher +, famed World War I pilot.
JESUIT
1553. At Palermo the parish priests express to Fr. Paul Achilles, the Rector
of the College, their indignation that more than 400 persons should
have received communion in the Society's church, and not in their
parish churches.
1637. At Rome, the fourth translation of the body of St. Ignatius. It is
moved to a newly designed shrine in the Gesu.
1893. Benito Vines +. He was director of the meteorological observatory in
Havana, Cuba and an expert on hurricanes.
1879. Fathers Depelchin, Law and others arrive in South Africa at Shoshong
and are introduced to King Khama.
1929. The Prefect of Rome seized all copies of Civilta Cattolica of July 20th,
because of articles that were anti-Fascist. The editor was arrested.
2002 Edward (Ted) Yarnold, S.J. dies, Ecumenist, scholar at Oxford, in
the Anglican-Catholic Dialogue.
211
July 24
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Sharbel Makhlut, Lebanese priest, Optional Memorial.
1893. Ammon Hennacy is born, a Social, Catholic Worker, pacifist.
1921. C.I. Scofield + editor of Scofield Reference Bible.
1953. Hilaire Belloc + author, lecturer.
1976. Paul VI suspends "a divinis" Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1783. Simon Bolivar, the Liberator, is born.
1897. Amelia Earhart is born. She disappeared on July 2 nd, 1937.
1534. Jacques Cartier lands at Gaspe, Canada and claims the territory for
France.
1904. The ice cream cone is invented, St. Louis.
1948. Soviet blockade of Berlin begins in full. Airlift is the allied response.
1991. Isaac Bashevis Singer + 87 years old. He won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1978.
JESUIT
1575. In Rome Fr. Robert Parsons enters the Society.
1804. Maryland, Fr. Robert Molyneux is appointed First Superior by Fr.
General Gruber.
1861. The purchase of the Roehampton property by the Society. The owners
thought they were selling it to the Queen as a residence for the
Prince of Wales.
1950. John Birkmeyer, N.S.J. + Novice drowns at St. Andrew on Hudson,
New York in the Hudson River.
1977. George Glanzman, S.J. Scripture scholar +.
212
July 25
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
JAMES, APOSTLE, feast.
St. Valentina, virgin, who was led to an altar to offer sacrifice, but
overturning it with her foot, she was cruelly tortured... and went to
her Spouse. Old RM
Traditional feast of St. Christopher, patron of travelers. RM
1918. Walter Rauschenbusch + in Rochester. Social Gospel.
1967 Joseph Cardinal Cardijn + Young Christian Workers.
1968. Humanae Vitae encyclical on birth control of Pope Paul VI. Major
reactions follow its issuance.
1986. Catholic moral theologian Charles Curran is judged not eligible to
teach Catholic theology.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1834. Samuel Taylor Coleridge +.
1954. Walter Payton is born. Football running back, "sweetness.".
1978. Louise Brown, first test tube baby is born in England, in vitro
fertilization.
1997. Ben Hogan, golfer, + age 84. He was a creative shot maker, and won 4
US Opens, 2 Masters, 2 PGA and 1 British Open.
JESUIT
1531. Birthday of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez. RM
1579. Valignano arrives in Japan as Visitor.
1580. Fr. Balthasar Alvarez +. Spiritual Director of Teresa of Avila, Master
of Novices, and Provincial of three Provinces. St. Teresa learned by
revelation that he was one of the most perfect men then living.
l58l. An interview between Queen Elizabeth and Edmund Campion. He had
addressed her at Oxford 15 years earlier.
1583. The martyrdom near Goa, India, of Blessed Rudolph Aquaviva, Peter
Berno, Francis Aranha, Alphonsus Pacheco and Anthony Francisco.
It is listed as July 15th in the old style calendar. Peter Berno is the
only Swiss Jesuit who has been beatified.
l657. In Poland died Fr. William Rose, a Frenchman, confessor to the Queen
of Poland. His bed was a board, and two books served for pillow.
1922. Pius XI declares St. Ignatius the heavenly patron of Spiritual
Exercises and related works.
213
July 26
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Joachim and Ann, parents of Mary, memorial.
1942. Blessed Titus Brandsma + in Dachau. Carmelite, Professor, antiNazi. In new RM, his feast.
1942. A strong statement by the Dutch bishops denounces Hitler’s
persecution of the Jews. Edith Stein is arrested a few weeks later.
1948. Antonin Gilbert Sertillanges, O.P. + preacher, apologist, philosopher,
The Intellectual Life.
1994. James Luther Adams + age 92. Unitarian, social ethicist, strong on
the "prophethood of all believers."
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1775. Postal Service begins through Ben Franklin.
1847. Liberia becomes a republic. Africa's first black ruled democratic nation.
1856. G.is born. Shaw B Dublin.
1875. Jung is born.
1894. Aldous Huxley is born.
1895. Robert Graves, is born.
1952. Eva Peron (Evita) + in Buenos Aires. Actress wife of Juan Peron.
1953. Castro begins the Cuban Revolution.
JESUIT
1646. At Prague died Fr. Gaspar Tausch, venerated by all who knew him as
a saint. To mortify his sense of taste, he sipped the most nauseous
medicines slowly, drop by drop.
1947. Roberto Bortolotti, S.J. is ordained a priest. He is the first citizen of
the Vatican to be a Jesuit, and the first to be a priest.
1967. John Markoe, S.J. + in Omaha. He was a strong advocate of civil rights
and interracial justice.
1974. The death of Affonso Fleig. His life was dedicated to work with the
poor in the poorest diocese of Northeast Brazil.
214
July 27
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Simeon Stylite. RM
1901. B. F. Westcott dies, expert on the texts of the New Testament.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1905. Leo Durocher is born.
Manager.
1946. Gertrude Stein dies. Her last words to Alice B. Toklas were: “What is
the answer?” Receiving no reply, Stein asks, "In that case, what is
the question?"
1953. Peace Armistice is signed in Korea, Panmunjom.
1980. The Shah of Iran, Mohemmad Reza Pahlavi + in exile, in an Eqyptian
military hospital.
1986. Greg LeMond becomes the first American to win the Tour de
France bicycle race.
2003. Lance Armstrong wins the Tour de France for a record equaling fifth
consecutive year.
JESUIT
1583. Near Goa, the martyrdom of Rudolf Acquaviva and companions.
1609. Ignatius is beatified by Paul V. Peter Ribadeneira, living at Madrid
wept for joy. He had been admitted by St. Ignatius into the Society
in 1540 while still a boy.
1876. At Manresa, West Park, NY the Fathers of the rapidly growing mission
open another novitiate.
1999. Malachi Martin, dies, ex-Jesuit, age 78. Wrote unfair criticisms of
the Society after leaving.
215
July 28
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Victor I. Pope of African origin, from 189-99. He set the date for Easter,
and made Latin the official language of the Church. RM
Feast of Pope St. Innocent I. He was the son of Pope St. Anastasius I,
Innocent succeeded his father. He reigned from 401-417.
1981. Fr. Stanley Rother, missionary from Oklahoma, friend of the poor, is
murdered in Guatemala.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1750. Johann Sebastian Bach +.
1786. The first potato arrives in Britain from Colombia.
1821. Peru Independence.
1868. 14th Amendment is ratified. Citizenship rights not to be abridged.
1914. World War I begins.
1945. B 25 bomber crashes into the Empire State Building. Thirteen are
killed.
1988. Frank Zamboni + Ice resurfacer.
JESUIT
1568. In a letter to Fr. Christopher Rodriguez, St. Teresa speaking of the
Society says: "Homines Societatis Jesus sunt mei patres, quibus post
Deum debet anima mea bonum omne si quid habet." (The men of the
Society of Jesus are my fathers, to whom, after God, my soul owes all
its good, if it has any.)
1844. Gerard Manley Hopkins is born.
1868. Theodor Wulf, S.J. is born. physics, invented electrometers for
classroom use. He was also provincial.
1937. Fr. William Banks Rogers died. During his eight years as president of
Saint Louis University, he arranged for the purchase of a college of
medicine which became the University’s medical school. He is called
the university’s “Second Founder.”
216
July 29
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Commemoration of Lazarus and Mary.
New RM
1833. William Wilberforce + English philanthropist and abolitionist, Social
Reformer, mission supporter, member of Parliament.
1974. Eleven Episcopal women are ordained priests in the Episcopal
church in Philadelphia, in defiance of church regulations.
1981. The death of Bishop James Edward Walsh, age 90, pioneer
Maryknoller, and missionary in China. He was imprisoned from
1958-70.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
St. Olaf Day, Norway.
1805. Alexis de Tocqueville B Paris, Democracy in America.
1856. Robert Schumann + German composer.
1890. Van Gogh +. Troubled in mind, he had put a gun to his chest two days
earlier.
1905. Dag Hammarskjold is born. Markings.
1918. Edwin O'Connor is born. The Last Hurrah.
1981. Prince of Wales, Charles, weds Lady Diana Spencer at
St. Paul's.
JESUIT
1586. At Toledo Fr. John Manuel, Rector of the Professed House was called
to his eternal reward. When there were three loaves in the house he
ordered one to be given to a beggar. Presently a young man,
unknown to the community, brought a plentiful supply of provisions.
1883. Amidst the revolution in Portugal an attack is made on the Jesuit
Fathers.
1945. The consecration of the chapel of La Storta. It was rebuilt by the
Society after being destroyed by bombs on May 18, 1944.
2003. James Gill, S.J. dies. Psychiatrist, Institute for the Study of Human
Sexuality, and founder of Human Development Magazine.
217
July 30
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and doctor, optional memorial.
1956. "In God We Trust" becomes the official motto of the USA through an
act of Congress signed by President Eisenhower.
1976. Rudolf Bultmann + demythologizer NT scholar.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1718. William Penn + Quaker leader.
1771. William Gray + in Cambridge. "Elegy Written in a Country
Churchyard".
1784. Denis Diderot + Jesuit educated encyclopedist, promoter of the
Englightenment.
1857. Thorstein Veblen is born. Wisconsin. Social scientist. The Theory
of the Leisure Class, etc.
1863. Henry Ford is born.
1891. Casey Stengel is born.
1918. Joyce Kilmer, poet; killed in World War I in France, age 31. “Trees.”
1935. The first Penguin paperbacks (10 of them) are launched.
1975. Jimmy Hoffa, union leader, disappears.
JESUIT
1556. Ignatius asked Father Polanco to go and obtain for him the Pope's
blessing and Indulgence. He delayed, and thus never never got it in
time.
1890. Emile Mersch, S.J. B wrote on the Mystical Body of Christ.
1916. A Jersey City munitions explosion at a train depot results in
stained glass broken at St. Peter’s Church and College.
1976. Edward Rooney, S.J. + President of the Jesuit Secondary
Education Association from 1937-66.
218
July 31
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA, PRlEST AND FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY
OF JESUS - SOLEMNITY + 1556. There were 1036 Jesuits, 11
provinces, 92 houses, 33 colleges at his death.
1969. Pope Paul VI begins his first visit in Africa, to Uganda.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1886. Franz Liszt + Hungarian composer and piano virtuoso.
1989. Michael Harrington + Holy Cross Alumnus. Democratic
Socialism, author of The Other America.
1992. Leonard Cheshire + British bomber pilot, witnessed the Atomic
bombing of Nagasaki. He founded 270 Cheshire homes for
handicapped. A Roman Catholic convert, he died age 74.
JESUIT
1548. Approbation and recommendation of the Spiritual Exercises of St.
Ignatius by the brief of Paul III. Pastoralis officii cura. Through the
intercession of Francis Borgia.
1568. The first translation of the body of St. Ignatius. It is moved to the
sacristy area of S. Maria della Strada while the foundation stones of
the Gesu are being laid.
1769. Clement XIV refused to see Fr. General Ricci who came to congratulate
him on his election to the papacy.
1771. Anton Kohlmann is born. Alsace. Professor, Provincial, etc.
1809. Mr. Thomas Weld signed a deed of gift of Stonyhurst and Hodder to
the Society. This occurred on the eve of his death.
1849. In London, the opening of Farm Street Church. The sermon was
preached by Bishop (afterwards Cardinal) Wiseman.
1874. Patrick Healy, S.J. African American, is inaugurated as President of
Georgetown University.
1909. California Province established. Herman Goller Provincial. It arises
from the Mission of California-Rocky Mountains.
1926. New England Province-established as a Province, separated
from Maryland/New York Province.
1927. Pontifical Biblical Institute opens a branch in Jerusalem.
1931. Instruction of Fr. Ledochowski De usu "Radii" in nostris domibus. "All
recreational use is to be absolutely avoided, including classical
concerts."
1941. New Ratio Studiorum promulgated after years of preparation.
219
1943. New York and Maryland Provinces separated.
1950. Henri DeLubac ordered to give up his chair of theology at Fourviere,
Lyon. Humani Generis is published 12 days later.
1976. Eastern Africa Region of the Society is established (Sudan, Ethiopia,
Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya.) Polycarp Toppo is the first Regional
Superior.
1986. The Independent Region of East Africa is raised to the status of a
Province, with Louis Plamondon as Provincial.
1988. The English and French Assistancies are combined to form the
Assistancy of Western Europe. The German Assistancybecomes the
Central European Assistancy. The American Assistancy becomes the
Assistancy of the USA.
220
August 1
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Alphonsus Liguori, bishop and doctor, memorial. + 1787.
The martyrdom of the seven holy brothers, the Machabees, and
their mother. RM
1868. St. Peter Julian Eymard, Founder of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers
died on this day.
1988. John Cardinal Dearden. + Archbishop of Detroit, 1958-80.
1996. Bishop Pierre Claverie of Oran, Algeria, is murdered.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1291. Swiss Independence.
1779. Francis Scott Key B author of Star Spangled Banner, devout
Episcopal layman.
1819. Herman Melville is born.
1918. Joyce Kilmer + in World War I. Poet, convert to Catholicism. Trees.
1960. Benin Republic Independence Day – from France.
1997. Sviatoslav Richter + age 82. Soviet Pianist.
JESUIT
1546. Peter Faber +, age 40.
1551. Plans first discussed to found in Rome the German College.
1551. The first Mass of Francis Borgia is celebrated at Loyola, Spain.
1556. After vespers, the body of St. Ignatius is buried in a side chapel in the
Church of Our Lady of the Way, at the gospel side.
1569. Edmund Campion, convinced of the errors of the new religion,
abandoned the University of Oxford and all his brilliant prospects.
1580. Everard Mercurian, S.J. +, 4th General of the Society. A Belgian, he
was the first non-Spanish General. At his death there were 21
provinces, 144 colleges, 5600 members.
1625. Vision of Ven. Marina de Escobar, who saw St. Ignatius accompanied
by 300 of his children. Our Lord revealed to her that all who had died
in the Society up to that time were saved.
1938. The Jesuits of the Middle United States, by Gilbert Garraghan was
copyrighted, a three volume work covering the years 1820-1930.
1980. Father General Arrupe announces his plans to resign.
1988. John Laboon, S.J. + Naval Submarine chaplain, he was awarded the
Silver Star in World War II.
221
August 2
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop, optional memorial.
St. Peter Julian Eymard, priest. Optional memorial.
On this day one can gain the Portiuncula, special, great indulgence.
1932. Monsignor Ignaz Seipel +. Austria. Politician, chancellor,
mainstay of democracy.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
Lady Godiva Procession, in Coventry, England.
1921. Enrico Caruso +.
1939. Letter of Albert Einstein to President Roosevelt on the Atom bomb.
1990. Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq invades Kuwait.
JESUIT
Blessed Peter Faber, optional memorial.
1644. At Tournai died Father Francis de la Croix, singularly devout to Our
Lady. He used to be heard walking about his room saying to himself:
"I belong to the Society! I belong to the Society!"
1825. Newspaprers report the visit of President John Quincy Adams to
Gonzaga High, a few days earlier, to visit and examine the students
in Latin and Greek.
1927. Oliver Parks, a young man, opens Parks Air College at Lambert Field,
in St. Louis. It became the first federally approved school of
aeronautics, and was given to Saint Louis University in 1946.
1964. Gerald Kelly, S.J. + Moral theologian. Modern Youth and Chastity.
1981. Fr. Carlos Perez Alonso, S.J., chaplain at a military hospital,
disappears in Guatemala. Aged 45.
222
August 3
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Saints Gamaliel and Nicodemus, RM
1905. Cardinal Franz Koenig of Vienna is born.
1979. Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani +, age 88. He was the head of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, l959-68.His motto was
"Semper Idem."
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1492. Columbus sets sail.
1924. Joseph Conrad + age 66.
1929. Thorstein Veblen +
social scientist.
1964. Flannery O'Connor, Catholic novelist, + of lupus,in Milledgeville,
Georgia, 39 years.
JESUIT
1586. At London the arrest of Fr. William Weston and his imprisonment in
the Clink.
1772. In Rome Ours are driven from the Irish College, and falsely accused of
maladministration. An attack is made on the novitiate of S. Andrea
and the German College.
223
August 4
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Saint Ia, Virgin and Martyr. Shortest named saint of all saints in the
Martyrology.
John Vianney, priest, memorial. He died on this day in 1859.
1879. Aeterni Patris, by Leo XIII requiring St. Thomas'philosophy to be
followed.
1922. Rome issues a decree on the positive value of the dialogue Mass.
1992. Cardinal Tomasek + Prague, age 93. He played a role in the
overthrow of the Communist Party leadership.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1792. Percy Bysshe Shelley is born.
1821. First issue of The Saturday Evening Post.
1873. Hans Christian Andersen +, age 68. Copenhagen. Author of 168 fairy
tales.
1892. Andrew and Abby Borden are whacked to death, possibly by
their daughter, Lizzie, in Fall River, Mass. She is acquitted.
1900. Queen Mother of England is born. She lived to be over 100
1921. Maurice "Rocket" Richard, hockey player is born.
1944. Anne Frank is arrested.
1966. John Lennon claims that the Beatles are probably more popular than
Jesus Christ. As a result, their records are banned in several places.
1983. Dave Winfield, Yankee outfielder was charged with cruelty to animals
for killing a seagull during a game in Toronto, by throwing a warm
up ball off the field.
JESUIT
1548. Nadal is called to final profession, but will only make that profession
almost four years later, on 25 March, 1552.
1849. From August 4 to October 11, Fr. General Roothaan, when driven from
Rome, visited our Houses in England, Belgium, and Holland.
1938. Ferdinand Prat, S.J. + Toulouse. Life of Jesus Christ, Theology of St.
Paul.
224
August 5
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
356.
Dream of Pope Liberius. The Blessed Virgin Mary asks him to build a
church – and snow is found there on the next day - St. Mary Major.
Dedication of St. Mary Major, optional memorial. It was dedicated on this
day in 451 AD.
1900. Bishop James Augustine Healy +. He was the son of a black slave and
an Irish immigrant, and beecame the second bishop of Portland, Me.
1909. The death of Blessed Mary McKillop, Mother Mary of the Cross, the
first Australian beatified. Foundress and provider of free education
for the poor.
1928. Johannes Metz is born. Theologian.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1858. Cable spans the Atlantic, by Cyrus Fields. It breaks in a few weeks,
on September l.
1960. Burkina Faso Independence Day – from France.
1962. Nelson Mandela is arrested, will be given a life sentence.
JESUIT
1570. A group of Spanish Jesuits arrive in Chesapeake Bay area,
but are killed six months later.
1574. At Santo Domingo, the shipwreck of seven Spanish Jesuits sailing for
Mexico. They escaped death and eventually reached their
destination.
1643. The death of Rene Goupil, about this time.
1762. The Parliament at Paris condemned the Society's Institute as opposed
to the natural law: laid its hand on all Jesuit property, and forbade
the Jesuit habit and community life.
1915. The Jesuit Curia, and Fr. General Ledochowski arrive in Zizers,
Switzerland, their exile for security reasons during World War I.
225
August 6
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
TRANSFIGURATION, Feast.
At Alcala in Spain, the holy martyrs Justus and Pastor, brothers. While they
were yet schoolboys, they threw aside their books in school, and
spontaneously ran to martyrdom... RM
523. The death of Pope St. Hormisdas. Feastday. He was married before
ordination and is the father of Pope St. Silverius.
1221. St. Dominic + on this day. His feast is August 8th.
1774. Ann Lee and a small group of followers arrive in NYC, eventually
known as the Shakers.
1806. End of the Holy Roman Empire. Austrian emperor Francis II laid down
the imperial crown.
1964. Ecclesiam Suam. The first encyclical letter issued by Pope Paul VI.
The Church in Our Day. Strong on Dialogue.
1978. Pope Paul VI +.
1984. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issues its first letter on
Liberation Theology, "Instruction on Certain Aspects of the Theology
of Liberation."
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1637. Ben Johnson + age 65. "O Rare Ben Johnson,"buried in Westminster.
1809. Alfred Lord Tennyson is born.
1825. Bolivia Independence.
1868. Paul Claudel is born. Poet, dramatist, essayist.
1890. The first execution by the electric chair, in N.Y.
1911. Lucille Ball is born.
1945. Hiroshima - atomic destruction. A pilot, Robert Lewis, later enters the
Jesuits. Fr. Arrupe aids the injured.
1965. President Johnson signs the voting rights bill.
JESUIT
1552. At Vienna, the death of Claude Le Jay. Peter Canisius preached at
his funeral.
1573. Pope Gregory XIII published his Bull Postquam Deo placuit, which
founded the German College.
1651. Francois Fenelon B Jesuit educated theologian/spiritual writer.
1762. A Decree of the French Parliament was published accusing the Society
of every heresy, every crime, every infamy, and confiscating all its
property.
1816. Letter of Thomas Jefferson to John Adams. "I dislike with you the
restoration of the Jesuits, because it makes a retrograde step from
light toward darkness."
1897. Jerome D’Souza is born in India. He was a Rector, diplomat, worked at
the United Nations.
1967. August 6-l9th. Santa Clara Conference of the American Assistancy on
the "Total Formation of the Jesuit Priest."
2000. Jesuit Bishop Michael Kaniecki, of Fairbanks, Alaska, dies of
heart attack.
226
August 7
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Sixtus II, pope and martyr and companions, and Cajetan, priest,
optional memorials. Cajetan is principal founder of the Theatines,
and a reformer. He died in 1547.
1961. Frank Buchmann +. He was the founder of Moral Re-Armament.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1903. Louis S. Leakey is born. Kenya, anthropologist.
1904. Ralph Bunche, is born. Diplomat.
1941. Rabindranath Tagore, + Poet, mystic. He was taught by the Jesuits
for 2 months at St. Xavier College, Calcutta, in 1875.
1960. Cote d’Ivoire Independence Day – from France.
1974. Philippe Petit walks on a high wire between the twin towers of the
World Trade Center, a distance of 130 feet, and a height of over
1000 feet.
JESUIT
1606. Father Francis Suarez' book, De Censuris, with passages
interpolated by some enemy of the Society, was put on the Index.
1635. Friedrich von Spee, S.J. dies, age 44. Being asked why his hair was
all white at 30, he replied that he had attended at the gallows about
100 persons accused of witchcraft, many of them children, and he
knew all to be innocent. He was the first to attack and disturb the
then general belief in witchcraft. Also a famed poet. Author of
Cautio Criminalis.
1814. The Restoration of the Society through the world was proclaimed by
Pius VII in his Bull Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum. Eighty six
aged Fathers of the Old Society were present on the occasion in the
Gesu, where the Bull was read, with acclamations of joy.
Restoration Day. The Inquisition and Index of forbidden books were
also reconstituted.
1879. The New York Mission and the Maryland Province are joined to
constitute the New York Province. On 19 August 1880 it will be renamed the Maryland/New York Province.
1962. A Letter of Fr. Janssens to all major superiors on the Study and Use of
Latin.
1981. Father General Arrupe suffers a stroke upon his return from the
Philippines, at the Rome airport.
227
August 8
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Dominic, priest, memorial. He died on August 6, 1221.
1471. Thomas a Kempis +.
1910. Decree of Pius X, Quam Singularis calls for communion to be given to
children. It lowers the "age of reason" to about seven.
1924. A week long convention opens of 2500 Catholic Sioux Indians of South
Dakota.
1949. Letter of the Holy Office to Cardinal Cushing, on the Leonard
Feeney case - extra ecclesiam nulla salus. The letter has this date on
it, but was only made public later.
1998. Raymond Brown, SS +, age 70. He was a foremost biblical scholar and
churchman. Major commentaries on John’s gospel.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1588. British defeat the Spanish Armada.
1831. First Steam Railroad begins operation.
1880. Emilio Zapata is born.
1974. Nixon announces he will resign on the next day.
1988. Lights are first used at Wrigley Field, Chicago, but the game is rained
out.
JESUIT
1834. At London the Vicar Apostolic wrote to Propaganda that there
were serious difficulties against the Jesuits having a church
in London, which a benefactor offered to build. Gregory XVI
then insisted that the Society was to have a church in the
city.
1989. William Cunningham, S.J. + Chicago, activist lawyer.
228
August 9
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1884. Kenneth Scott Latourette is born. Church historian, he wrote a major
history of the missions.
1942. Saint Edith Stein, Optional Memorial. Sister Teresa Benedicta of the
Cross, is executed at Auschwitz because she was Jewish, and later a
convert to Catholicism. She was beatified in 1987.
1943. Franz Jaegerstaetter +. He was an Austrian conscientious objector
in World War II. He was beheaded as enemy of the state.”
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1593. Izaak Walton, is born. The Compleat Angler.
1631. John Dryden is born. Poet and critic.
1842. Herman Melville escapes from cannibals after one month
captivity in Mardquesas Island.
1928. Bob Cousy B - Holy Cross and the Celtics, basketball star.
1938. Rod Laver is born. tennis great.
1944. Antoine de Saint Exupery is reported missing in plane flight over
France.
1945. Nagasaki is destroyed by the atom bomb.
1967. The Nigerian Federal Government declares full scale war on
Biafra after Biafra invades the Mid-West State.
JESUIT
1556. After the death of Ignatius, Fr. James Lainez is empowered to govern
as vicar-general.
1773. In the Quirinal Palace, in the presence of Clement XIV, five Cardinals
and two Prelates hold their second meeting for the Suppression of the
Society.
229
August 10
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
LAWRENCE, DEACON AND MARTYR, Feast. He died on this day in 258.
1829. William Booth B Salvation Army.
1987. Patrick Cardinal O'Boyle, of Washington, +.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1846. The Smithsonian Institute is established in Washington, DC.
1897. Felix Hoffman, a chemist at Bayer, synthesizes aspirin.
1984. Carl Lewis of the USA wins four Gold Medals at the Los Angeles
Olympics.
JESUIT
1546. Fra Barbaran having declared in a letter that he wished to see all
members of the Society living between Perpignan and Seville burned
alive, St. Ignatius caused the reply to be sent that HIS wish was that
the Friar and all his friends might be inflamed with the fire of the
Holy Spirit.
1560. A letter of Polanco in Lainez's name, to all superiors on our ministries.
It emphasizes the shift and emphasis on education and the colleges,
as the special ministry of the Society.
1567. Stanislaus Kostka leaves Vienna at dawn, to join the Society of Jesus
in Germany and eventually enters in Rome.
1654. Eusebio Francis Kino is born in Italy. He was a missionary to
California.
1868. Expulsion of the Society from Mexico and seizure of its property.
1944. Yves de Montcheuil, S.J. +. A theologian and chaplain, he was
arrested while ministering to men of the resistance, and shot by
Germans at Grenoble shortly before liberation.
1981. Fr. Arrupe names General Assistant Vincent O'Keefe to be temporary
Vicar General to handle the government of the Society.
230
August 11
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Clare, Virgin, optional memorial + 1253.
Traditional feast of St. Philomena. She was demoted in April l961. She is
not found in the new revised Martyrology.
1464. Nicolas Cuso +.
1492. Alexander VI is elected pope. The worst of the Borgias, and a low point
in papal history.
1519. Johann Tetzel + Dominican promoter of indulgences. He was not
admired by Luther.
1834. Ursuline convent is burned in Charlestown, Boston, Mass.
1880. John Henry Cardinal Newman +.
1933. Jerry Falwell, B Baptist preacher, political lobbyist, Moral Majority.
1960. Chad Independence Day – from France.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1937. Edith Wharton + author.
1965. Insurrection starts in the Watts section of Los Angeles, and rages for
six days, 34 are killed.
JESUIT
1558. In the First General Congregation, after a discussion on the simple
vows, decrees that Anothing should be changed.”
1846. Benedict Joseph Fenwick, S.J. +. He was the second bishop of Boston,
was twice President of Georgetown, and founder of Holy Cross.
1904. John Joseph Urraburu, S.J. + at Burgos, Spain, aged
philosopher.
61;
1925. Fr. Slattery pool is completed at Woodstock College.
1970. Dan Berrigan, S.J., pacifist, protester, in hiding is finally captured by
the FBI.
1977. The death of Jerome D'Souza, S.J. age 79. Educator in India and in
Rome. He was the first Assistant for India and East Asia, and served
India at the UN.
231
August 12
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1484. Sixtus IV +. One of the saddest periods of papal history. He was expert
at nepotism and a cultivator of the arts.
1950. Encyclical Letter of Pius XII, Humani Generis, "Concerning Certain
False Opinions."
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
Perseid Meteor Showers on or near this day.
1827. William Blake +, age 70: poet, artist.
1955. Thomas Mann + age 80, in Zurich, novelist.
1992. John Cage + age 79. Avant garde musician, composer.
JESUIT
1629. At Paderborn, John Bitter, a German Scholastic, who used to serve the
poor at the college gate every day, was found dead on his knees. It
was revealed in an apparition that he had been freed from Purgatory
at the second Mass said for his repose.
1871. Expulsion of the Society from Guatemala.
1877. The energetic Swiss Jesuit, Fr. Maurice Gailland died. An expert in
languages, he worked in Kansas and wrote a 450 page Potawatomi
dictionary and grammar.
1989. Francis Sullivan, S.J. + NY Province, Juniorate Professor of Classics.
1993. President Clinton and Pope John Paul II meet at Carroll Hall on the
Regis University campus.
2003. Walter Ong, S.J. dies. Polymath, author on orality, culture. He had
been President of the PMLA: Modern Language Association.
232
August 13
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Pontian, pope and martyr, and Hippolytus, priest and martyr, optional
memorials.
St. Cassian, martyr. As he refused to worship idols, the persecutor called the
boys whom the saint had taught and who hated him, giving them
leave to kill him. The torment suffered by the martyr was the more
grievous, as the hands which inflicted it, by reason of weakness,
rendered death long drawn-out... RM
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1910. Florence Nightingale + health care, nursing.
1912. Ben Hogan is born.
1927. Fidel Castro is born.
1961. The Berlin Wall put up.
JESUIT
1621. John Berchmans +, clasping his Crucifix, Rosary, and Rule book. In his
last hour, he exclaimed, "Cum his libenter moriar."
1773. Pope Clement XIV published the Brief Gravissimis ex causis which
established a special congregation of five cardinals to superintend
the Suppression of the Society, the appropriation of its houses and
goods.
1789. At Cologne died Fr. John Brewer. He had been a missionary in Brazil
for 22 years, and then spent 18 years in a dungeon in Lisbon and
then survived for a few years.
1932. The Ateneo de Manila burns to the ground, complete destruction,
including the museum and library.
233
August 14
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1941. St. Maximilian Kolbe, + a martyr in a Nazi Concentration Camp.
Obligatory Memorial.
1742. The birth of Pius VII. He would restore the Society of Jesus, and at one
point was arrested, taken to France by Napoleon for three years.
1880. Cologne Cathedral is completed. It was started in the 13th century.
1968. Medellin Conference opens, CELAM. Growth of a theology of
liberation.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1811. Paraguayan Independence.
1912. US sends Marines to Nicaragua in default of its loans.
1935. The Social Security Act is passed by Congress.
1945. Japan surrenders VJ Day.
1956. Bertold Brecht +.
2003. large blackout on the East Coast of the USA
JESUIT
1610. Fr. General forbids Jesuits to discuss the book of Father Mariana, S.J.
according to which kings or tyrants might be assassinated.
1618. The father of John Berchmans is ordained a priest. His son John was
still in the novitiate.
234
August 15
ASSUMPTION
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
Solemnity.
St. Tarcisius, acolyte. The pagans accosted him as he was carrying the
Sacrament of Christ's Body, and began to inquire what it was. But
he judged it an unworthy thing to cast pearls before swine. They
therefore beat him with sticks and stones until he expired. RM
At Tagaste, St. Alypius, bishop, disciple of St. Augustine, RM.
1832. Pope Gregory XVI, in his encyclical Mirari Vos condemns freedom of
conscience as a mistake, new, rather madness.
1909. Bl. Isidore Bakanja dies,punished and tortured for being Christian,
in Zaire. RM
1960. Congo (Brazzaville) Independence Day – from France.
1972. Apostolic Letter of Paul VI, Ministeria Quaedam, on the reform of
minor orders and the sub-diaconate.
1985. Bernard Loomer + professor, process theologian, Chicago.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
India Independence Day
1057. MacBeth +.
1771. Sir Walter Scott is born.
1888. T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia) is born.
1914. The Panama Canal officially opens.
1969. The Woodstock Festival opens at Bethel, New York.
JESUIT
1534. Montmartre, Paris, St. Ignatius and his first six companions, Faber,
Xavier, Laynez, Rodriguez, Salmeron, Bobadilla took first simple
vows at Mass celebrated by Faber.
1535, 1536. They renewed their vows on the same feast, in the same church.
FB In 1535 LeJay joined them. In 1536 Codure and Broet joined
them. Ignatius was absent for both of these years, being in Spain
and then in Venice.
1549. First Christian missionaries, led by Xavier, reach Japan.
1568. St. Stanislaus Kostka + . He twice received Holy Communion from
the hands of an Angel, and on one occasion Our Lady placed the Holy
Child Jesus in his arms.
1666. The death of Adam Schall, S.J. missionary in China for 47
years, scientist.
1790. At Lulworth Castle, England, Father John Carroll of Maryland
was consecrated the first Bishop of Baltimore.
235
1821. Fr. Peter DeSmet boards a ship, the Columbia and sails from
Amsterdam to America: the best known missionary of the NW.
1885. Shrine of N.A. Martyrs at Auriesville, NY opens.
1907. Two new provinces were erected,Canada and New Orleans.
1919. Fr. Ledochowski writes a letter on the national clergy in our missions.
He refers to China, but it applies elsewhere too.
1927. The Pontifical Biblical Institute is founded in Rome.
1928. Chicago Province erected as an independent province from the eastern
portion of the Missouri Province.
1929. The Russian College is created in Rome, under the Jesuits.
1937. A letter of Fr. Ledochowski to the Provincials on the conversion of the
Mohammedans.
1955. Detroit and Wisconsin Province is founded from Chicago and Missouri
Provinces respectively.
1986. South Africa is made a Dependent Region of the British Prov.
1992. Lawrence McGinley, +. President of Fordham University.Age 86.
236
August 16
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Stephen of Hungary, optional memorial.
At Rome, St. Serena, who had been the wife of Emperor Diocletian. RM
1815. St. John Bosco B educator, founded the Salesians.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1887. Marcus Garvey is born.
1935. Will Rogers, humorist is killed in a plane crash over Alaska.
1948. Babe Ruth + age 53, of cancer.
1949. Margaret Mitchell (Gone with the Wind) + after being struck by a taxi
in Atlanta.
1977. Elvis Presley + age 42, Memphis.
JESUIT
1541. The death of Jean Codure, S.J. in Rome.
1773. The Suppression of the Society of Jesus by Clement XIV. Publication of
the Brief Dominus ac Redemptor. Father General Ricci is led away p
risoner to the English College. There were 22,589 Jesuits, and 670
colleges.
1802. The death of Pierre Gibault, S.J. He accompanied Clark on his
explorations to the Mississippi.
1962. Joseph Schuh, S.J. arrives in Lagos, Nigeria. The mission of the NY
Province begins there.
1967. John Courtney Murray, S.J. +. Theologian. We Hold These Truths.
237
August 17
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1635. Richard Mather arrives in Boston. He was the founder of three
generations of Puritan preachers, “The Mather Dynasty”.
1933. Henri Bremond + Author, spirituality, ex-Jesuit. Poetry and Prayer.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1807. Robert Fulton's steamboat, the Clermont, leaves New York for Albany,
and arrives three days later.
1896. In the Yukon, at Dawson Creek, George Washington, Carmack
discovers gold.
1969. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe + architect.
JESUIT
1559. The death of Pope Paul IV. He ordained in Father Lainez's time that
the office of General should be triennial and that Choir should be
observed.
1559. The Inquisition publishes a list of forbidden books, including one
falsely attributed to Francis Borgia. He flees to Portugal that same
year.
1763. Ferdinand Farmer, S.J. +.
1773. Frederick II of Prussia and Catherine of Russia forbade the publication
of the Brief of Suppression in their dominions.
1837. At Portage aux Sioux died Father Charles Van Quickenborne, a
Belgian, founder of the present province of Missouri, a great apostle
among the Indians. He was the first superior of the Missouri
Mission.
1917. William Doyle, S.J. + killed in World War I as a chaplain in Belgium.
Servant of God, he said 100,000 aspirations every day.
1925. New Jesuit novitiate opens at Milford, Ohio. On the 20th of the month,
the novices enter.
1954. The place of burial of Jean de Brebeuf is discovered in Canada.
1982. In India, the death of Camille Bulcke, a missionary from Belgium, he
was a master of Hindi, a scholar of the language and literature.
238
August 18
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
St. Jane Frances de Chantal, religious. Memorial in USA
St. Helena, mother of the religious emperor Constantine the Great, who was
the first to set the example to other princes of protecting and
extending the Church. RM
1503. The death of Pope Alexander VI, the lowest of the Borgias. His death is
usually explained as malaria, but there are strong grounds for
believing he was poisoned by poison intended for a cardinal who was
his host.
1967. Regimini Ecclesiae Universae issued by Paul VI, reorganizes the
Curia to internationalize and modernize it.
1991. Bishop Patrick Joseph Kelly + aged 96. He was the first Bishop of the
Midwestern region of Nigeria and a great Irish missionary.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1227. Genghis Khan +.
1850. Balzac +, age 5l in Paris. Genius of the novel.
1934. Roberto Clemente B Hall of Famer.
1951. Eddie Gaedel, a midget, pinch hits and gets a walk in four
pitches for the St. Louis Browns. He would never play again. Bill
Veeck instigated this innovation.
1963. James Meredith graduates from the University of Mississippi.
JESUIT
Blessed Alberto Hurtado, S.J. optional memorial. He died in Chile on this
day in 1952. He founded Mensaje, and was a writer, retreat master,
trade unionist and founded Hogar de Christo for the homeless. He
was beatified in October 1994.
1590. Sixtus V, being determined to suppress the Name of the Society of
Jesus, nine days before his death, sent for Father General Acquaviva
and required him to draw up a petition to the Holy See, asking for
modifications in the Institute, etc. which modifications the Pontiff's
inflexible will intended to impose. This petition, wrung from the
General, was found in Pope Sixtus' desk after his death and canceled
by his successor.
1643. Isaac Jogues, with the help of the Dutch, escapes from the hands of
the Mohawk Indians.
1671. At Genoa, Fr. Julius Spinola went to his reward. When a Novice, he
said to his Novice Master: "If ever I ask to be dismissed, bind me
with ropes and treat me like a madman."
1805. Robert Molynaux, Charles Sewall, and Charles Neale pronounce their
vows as Jesuits at St. Thomas Manor, Md. The only three Jesuits in
the USA, the "new Society" begins again in the USA.
1997. An opera composed by Domenico Zipoli is performed at the Loyola
Sanctuary in Azpeitia, Spain.
239
August 19
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
John Eudes, priest, optional memorial + 1680.
1662. Pascal + age 39, at the Convent of Port Royal.He wrote his Pensees
and Provincial Letters.
1843. C. I. Scofield B Scofield Reference Bible.
1936. Richard McBrien, theologian, is born.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
14. AD. Caesar Augustus +, the first Roman emperor.
1902. Ogden Nash is born.
1977. Groucho Marx + 86 years old.
JESUIT
1743. Charles Plowden is born. After the Restoration of the Society, he was
the Provincial of England, and was the first Rector of Stonyhurst.
1880. The Province of Maryland-New York is first so styled. In 1804 it was a
simple mission. In 1833 the Province of Maryland was erected. In
1879, New York Mission was added and styled New York Province.
In 1880 the name was changed to the present one.
1914. Father General Wernz dies and a few hours later, next day, St. Pius
X dies.
1978. Anthony I Russo-Alesi, S.J. + The Boy Savior Movement.
240
August 20
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Bernard, abbot and doctor, memorial. He died on this day in ll53.
In Judea, the holy prophet Samuel. RM
1384. The death of Geert Groote, who inspired the Devotio Moderna,
and the Brethren of the Common Life. He was criticized for his
efforts at reforming the clergy.
1884. Rudolf Bultmann is born.
1886. Paul Tillich is born.
1912. General William Booth + Founder of the Salvation Army.
1914. St. Pius X dies.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1619. Twenty blacks were brought as slaves to Jamestown.
1924. British sprinter Eric Liddel refuses to run in the Paris Olympics,
because it was Sunday.
1968. Soviet tanks roll into Czechoslovakia.
JESUIT
1639. Fr. Jacob Bidermann +. As a scholastic he wrote Cenodoxus: the Doctor
of Paris. He was called the Shakespeare of the German Baroque
period.
1823. At Rome the death of Pope Pius VII, the restorer of the Society in 1814
and its second Father. His name will remain with us in benediction
for ever.
1972. The death of Pius Buck, a Swiss Jesuit, entomologist and missionary in
Brazil.
241
August 21
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Pius X, pope, memorial (He died on August 20, l914).
1245. Alexander of Hales +
English scholastic theologian.
1567. Frances de Sales B .
1879. An Appearance at Our Lady of Knock, Ireland, to 18 persons of Mary,
Joseph, and John the Baptist. It involves no message, no words, no
ecstasy.
1885. The will of Lord Gifford, dated this day, makes the Gifford Lectures
possible. Given at one of four Scottish Universities,the first was
given in 1888.
1984. The Death of Blessed Victoria Rasoamanarivo, widow, of royal
ancestry. . She took up the work of the Church after the missionary
priests were expelled.
1907. Augustine Planque +. The Pioneer SMA African missionary,
"The Apostle of Africa."
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1931. Nat Turner leads a slave revolt.
1936. Wilt Chamberlain is born.
1959. Hawaii becomes the 50th State.
1965. Daniels and Reeb are killed in Selma, civil rights proponents.
1983. Benigno Aquino is assassinated at the airport in Manila.
JESUIT
1581. A princely reception is given to Fr. Anthony Possevino by the Czar of
Russia.
1660. At Rome died Cardinal John de Lugo, one of the greatest theologians of
the Society. By his own desire he was buried in the Gesu "at the feet
of St. Ignatius," i.e. at the foot of the Saint's altar. St. Alphonus
Ligouri calls him the greatest theologian after St. Thomas. He was
the 4th Jesuit cardinal. He propagated anti-malaria Jesuit's Bark,
and it was sometimes called "Lugo's powder."
1991. Oswald von Nell-Breuning + aged 101. He had a heavy hand in the
writing of Quadragesimo Anno in 1931. Social ethicist, professor.
242
August 22
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Queenship of Mary, memorial.
1968. Paul VI arrives in Colombia, the first Pope to visit Latin America, to
attend the Medellin Conference.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1862. Claude DeBussy is born.
1874. Max Scheler is born.
1920. Ray Bradbury, science fiction writer, is born in Waukegan, Illinois.
1939. Carl Yastrzemski is born. Baseball star.
1978. Jomo Kenyatta +, the founder of modern Kenya.
1978. Ignazio Silone +, novelist, critic, Bread and Wine. “Fortunately, Christ
is greater than the Church.”
JESUIT
1555. Fr. Andrew Gonsalves, Paschal and Alphonsus Lepius, sailing from
Mozambique, were cast on a desert island where they perished of
starvation.
1567. It is supposed that on this day St. Stanislaus left Vienna for Rome,
where he arrived on Oct. 25.
1872. The expulsion of our Fathers from Germany during the
Bismarckian Kulturkampf.
243
August 23
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Rose of Lima, virgin, optional memorial. She died on August 24th, 1617
aged 31.
1723. Increase Mather +. He was a Pastor, President of Harvard, and writer
and the father of Cotton Mather.
1948. World Council of Churches formed in Amsterdam as its Constitution is
ratified.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1833. Britain abolishes slavery in its colonies after the campaign of William
Wilberforce.
1927. Sacco and Vanzetti, Italo-American anarchists, are executed after false
accusations.
1936. Rudolph Valentino +.
1940. Blitz begins with an all night air raid on London.
JESUIT
1558. At the First General Congregation, the question of the General’s term
being triennial was discussed as well as the introduction of choir, as
proposed by Paul IV. It was decreed that the Constitutions ought to
remain unaltered.
1724. Rev. Sebastian Rasle, S.J. +. He was a missionary, linguist for 34 years
with the Abenaki Indians in Maine. He was shot and martyred by
English bigots. "Apostle of the Abenakis".
1837. At Rome, during a severe epidemic of cholera, the Fathers of the
Society waited on the sick and dying with heroic devotedness. Father
General Roothaan offered to keep 30 orphans at the Society's
expense.
244
August 24
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE feast.
410. Visogoth King Alaric sacks Rome. This leads Augustine to write his City
of God.
1759. William Wilberforce B Christian politician, abolitionist.
1905. Hans Urs von Balthasar, is born.
1957. Ronald Knox +. Theologian, translator.
1964. First official RC Mass entirely in English is celebrated in Kiel
Auditorium, St. Louis.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
79. AD. Mount Vesuvius erupts. Herculaneum is completely buried,
and Pompei also, on the 24-25th of August.
1899. Jorge Luis Borges B
Buenos Aires.
1943. Simone Weil +. Philosopher, catechumen of the Catholic
Church.
JESUIT
1572. Bartholomew Day Massacre, in which Hugenots are killed. "Protestant
and infidel historians alike agree that the Society had no part in this
bloody deed..." FB
1734. Brief of Clement XII hinders inculturation efforts in India.
1750. Bonaventure Suarez, S.J. + in Mexico, astronomer, and the first
scientist of the Americas.
1809. Lorenzo Hervas y Panduro, S.J. +. He was a missionary to America, a
philologist, ethnologist, and writer, author of “The Idea of the
Universe.”
1918. Avery Dulles, S.J. B American theologian.
1951. Jan Korec is consecrated clandestine bishop in a locked, dark room in a
Czechoslovakian prison, at age 27.
1977. Opening of the seventh Congress of Jesuit Ecumenists at Frankfurt,
with over 100 Jesuits.
245
August 25
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Louis + on this day in 1270. He died of typhoid in North Africa, on a
crusade. Optional memorial.
Joseph Calasanz, priest
optional memorial.
325. The First Council of Nicaea concludes. It condemns Arianism.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1776. David Hume +
age 65. Scottish philosopher and historian.
1900. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche +.
1984. Truman Capote +.
JESUIT
1651. At Galway died Fr. Christopher Netterville, son of Viscount
Netterville. During the Cromwellian reign of terror he had to conceal
himself for over a year in his father's sepulcre.
1666. At Beijing, the death of Father John Adam Schall. By his profound
knowledge of mathematics and astronomy he attained such fame
that the Emperor entrusted to him the reform of the Chinese
Calendar. Through his means 100,000 persons are said to have been
converted in fourteen years.
1986. Candido Dalmases + in Rome; historian, on Ignatius and Xavier.
246
August 26
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Commemoration of Melchisadek, King of Salem, priest, in the Roman
Martyrology.
1492. Cardinal Borgia becomes the famed Pope Alexander VI. The lowest of
the Borgias.
1498. Michelangelo is commissioned by Alexander VI to carve the Pieta.
1968. Medellin, Columbia; CELAM II opens and meets until September
26th. It sets the ground for a theology of liberation.
1978. John Paul I is elected, Albino Luciani, the 30 Day,
the Smiling Pope.
1984. Lawrence Cardinal Shehan +, age 86. He was Archbishop of
Baltimore l961-74 and a leader in ecumenism and civil rights.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1572. Peter Ramus + logician.
1811. Thomas FitzSimons + Catholic signer of the Declaration of
Independence.
1883. Krakatoa volcano, more than 36,000 are killed.
1910. William James +.
1920. 19th Amendment, Women's Suffrage, goes into effect.
1939. First baseball game ever on television. Red Barber announces it, from
Ebbets Field, Brooklyn.
1958. Ralph Vaughan Williams +.
1968. Chicago riots during the Democratic Convention - August 26-29.
1974. Charles Lindbergh +.
JESUIT
1562. The return of Diego Laynez from France to Trent, the Fathers of the
Council desiring to hear him speak on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
1606. Pope Paul V puts an end to the controversy De Auxiliis which had
lasted ten years. He allows each side to hold its opinion.
1767. The Society is exiled from Chile. Pathetic scenes, courage and
constancy of the Novices. FB
247
August 27
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Monica, memorial.
551. BC. Confucius is born.
1910. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is born. In Albania.
1955. Joachim Wach +. Historian of religion.
1999. Archbishop Helder Camara, of Recife, Brazil dies, age. 90. Friend of
the poor, organizer of the Episcopal Conference of Brazil.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1660. Milton's books are burned in London, because of his attack on King
Charles II.
1664. Surrender of New Amsterdam. The English win over the Dutch, and
thus rename it New York.
1770. Hegel is born.
1859. Oil is struck at Titusville, PA, by Edwin Drake.
1908. L. B. Johnson is born.
1963. William DuBois +. Author.
JESUIT
1590. Pope Sixtus V dies suddenly, shortly after he had desired to change
the name of the Society of Jesus.
1605. Ricci builds a house and establishes a novitiate in Peking.
1679. David Lewis, S.J. + Saint and Martyr, + forgiving his enemies and
persecutors. He was an apostle to the poor in his native Wales for
three decades before he was caught and hanged.
1917. House of formation opens in Yonkers for the New York and
Maryland Provinces.
248
August 28
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Augustine, bishop and doctor, memorial. He + on this day in 430.
Bishop Alexander, through whose efficacious prayers Arius, by the judgment
of God, burst asunder and his bowels were poured out. RM
1774. Elizabeth Ann (Bayley) Seton is born.
1784. Junipero Serra + . Feast day in the Roman Martyrology.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1749. Goethe is born at Frankfurt am Main.
1828. Tolstoi is born.
1903. Frederick Law Olmstead +, landscape architect for NewYork, Boston,
Chicago, Montreal.
1922. The first radio commercial in USA, ten minutes long, on WEAF
radio, on renting apartments in Jackson Heights, Queens.
1963. March on Washington. Martin Luther King gives his famous address,
"I have a Dream," to 200,000 marchers
1968. Czechoslovakia is invaded by Russia and Warsaw Pact Troops to crush
the liberal regime.
1977. Pele plays his last soccer game ever, with the Cosmos.
JESUIT
1628. Edmund Arrowsmith + a martyr in Lancashire, England.
1632 Paul Le Jeune completes the first Jesuit Relations.
1879. The arrival of Fr. Depelchin and Augustine Law in South Africa to
begin the mission there.
1983. Dennis J. McCarthy, S.J. + scripture scholar.
1985. The death of Domenico Mondrone, for 54 years a writer for
Civilta Cattolica. He wrote much on hagiography.
2003. The death Maurice Giuliani, founder of Christus, expert in spirituality
and a Councillor to Fr. Arrupe.
249
August 29
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Beheading of John the Baptist, martyr, memorial. His solemn
commemoration takes place today, when his venerable head was
found for the second time. RM
Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice. Founder of the Congregation of the
Christian Brothers. RM
In Ethiopia, the feast of Bl. Gebremichael, who died on this day in 1855.
1799. The death of Pope Pius VI in France, driven from Rome as a prisoner
by Napoleon. The nadir of the papacy in modern times.
1805. Frederick Denison Maurice, Anglican theologian, author,
Christian socialist, is born.
1877. Brigham Young +. After the death of Smith, he led his followers to
Utah, where he had over 20 wives, 51 children.
1879. The death of Blessed Jeanne Jugan, Foundress of the Little Sisters of
the Poor, originally from Brittany. She was beatified in 1982. There
were 2,400 members at her death.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1632. John Locke is born. English philosopher.
1809. Oliver Wendell Holmes is born. Cambridge, MA.
1825. Oliver Wendell Holmes, on his 16th birthday breezes through his
Harvard finals.
1953. Russia explodes a hydrogen bomb.
JESUIT
1541. Jean Codure, first of the founders to die, + at Rome.This was four
months after his final vows at St. Paul’s. Hewas the first Jesuit to be
sent on mission outside of Italy. In Rome, on this day, Ignatius
sensed this, stopped, and told his companions of the death.
1695. The fifth translation of the body of St. Ignatius in the Church of the
Gesu in Rome. While his final place is being designed and built by
Br. Pozzo, Ignatius is placed under the high altar for a period of four
years.
1876. Juan Perrone +, a theologian important in the definition of the
Immaculate Conception, he taught in Rome.
250
August 30
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1588. St. Margaret Ward +. She was hanged at Tyburn with a priest and
three laymen.
1856. Wilberforce College is founded in Ohio by Methodists. It is the second
institution in the USA for higher learning for blacks.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
30. BC. Cleopatra + of suicide, by snakebite.
1901. Roy Wilkins is born.
1918. Ted Williams is born. He had a lifetime batting average of .344.
JESUIT
1591. Gregory XIV by his Brief, Exponi nobis, canceled Sixtus V's decree
whereby novices could only be admitted at the General or Provincial
Congregation.
1615. At Paris died Etiene Pasquier, jurist, a bitter enemy of the Society.
His Catechisme des Jesuites equals in the coarseness of its invectives
the violent language of Luther.
1978. Handwritten letter of Pope John Paul I to Fr. Arrupe on the
availability of the Society to the service of the Church.
251
August 31
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. RM
1688. John Bunyan + age 60. Author of Pilgrim's Progress.
1883. Raissa Oumanson Maritain is born.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1803. Lewis and Clark begin their expedition to the Pacific (1803-06).
1870. Maria Montessori is born. Famous for her method of education.
1964. Rocky Marciano is killed in a plane crash, on the eve of his 46th
birthday. Heavyweight champion with record of 49-0.
1986. Henry Moore, sculptor +.
JESUIT
1552. Bull of the foundation of the German College, Dum Sollicita, of Pope
Julius III.
1581. In St. John’s Chapel within the Tower of London, a religious discussion
took place between St. Edmund Campion, suffering from recent
torture, and some Protestant ministers.
1709. Brother Andrew Pozzo died. He designed the splendid altar of St.
Ignatius in the Gesu, and covered the vault and the apse of St.
Ignatius Church with wonderful frescoes.
1919. Jean Galot, S.J. B
Theologian, teacher in Rome.
1932. An expedition from Georgetown University goes to Maine by car and
truck to view the total eclipse of the sun. A story and pictures will
appear in November issue of National Geographics.
252
September 1
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
At Jerusalem, blessed Anna, prophetess, whose sanctity is revealed in the
Gospel. RM (Present at the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple)
In Palestine, the Joshua, son of Nun. RM
70 AD. The Destruction of Jerusalem under Titus.
1159. Death of Adrian IV (Nicholas Breakspeare), the only English Pope.
1271. Pope Gregory X is elected after 31 month conclave, the longest ever, in
Viterbo. A diet of bread and water, and removing the roof of the
conclave building by the mayor of Viterbo sped up their deliberations.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1923. Rocky Marciano is born. Heavyweight champion, 49-0.
1923. Earthquake kills 200,000 in Tokyo and Yokohama.
1939. Germany invades Poland and WW II begins.
1970. Francois Mauriac + Novelist, Nobel prize winner. Age 84. His final
words reportedly were “Was it the sausage, doctor?”
1972. Bobby Fischer defeats Boris Spassky in chess at Reykjavik.
JESUIT
1544. St. Ignatius and his companions take possession of the house of S.
Maria della Strada, the first professed house of the Society.
1547. The creation of the Province of Spain, with Araoz as the first
Provincial.
1603. The Edict of Rouen, an edict of reestablishment, allows the Society to
open colleges.
1907. The Buffalo Mission is terminated, dissolved into the New York and
Missouri Provinces, and the California Mission.
1989. The death of Br. Mario Venzo, Italian artist with exhibits in Venice,
Paris, the USA.
253
September 2
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
1792. In a killing frenzy, mobs storm churches in Paris, and in one month
kill 191 priests, “enemies of the Revolution”; Martyrs of Paris.
1969. Episcopal Bishop James Pike + in the Holy Land, in the desert.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
31. BC. The Battle of Actium. Anthony and Cleopatra vs. Octavian.
1666. The Great Fire of London begins. It lasts four days, and destroys fourfifths of the city.
1752. England changes over to the Gregorian calendar, which had been
introduced in 1582 elsewhere. The next day in England becomes
September 14, a loss of 10 days. Some riots in the streets resulted.
1945. V.J. Day, the end of World War II. Formal terms of surrender are
signed on the USS Missouri.
1951. Midget Eddie Gaedel goes to bat for the St. Louis Browns gets a walk,
and a pinch runner, and never plays again - thanks to owner Bill
Veeck.
1972. J.R.R. Tolkien +. The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings.
1997. Viktor Frankl +, age 92. Psychologist, from his experience in prison, he
wrote Man’s Search for Meaning, logotherapy.
JESUIT
1549. Ignatius calls Canisius to Rome from Trent. Eventually he goes back to
the German apostolate since Pope Paul III had requested that
Ignatius designate three theologians to revive the University of
Ingolstadt.
1666. The Great Fire of London broke out, destroying half the city. It was set
down as the work of Papists and Jesuits. Charles II banished all the
Fathers from England.
1792. About 22 Jesuits are killed in a Carmelite monastery in Paris, from 2-4
September, Parisian Martyrs.
1837. Cholera epidemic in Rome, over 5000 die. Jesuits take charge of the
hospitals treating the fever.
1910. Rockhurst College, Kansas, is officially incorporated and chartered to
grant degrees.
1983. General Congregation 33 opens. It will elect Fr. Kolvenbach and
continue until October 25th.
254
September 3
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Gregory the Great, pope and doctor, memorial. This date is the day of his
consecration as pope in 590 AD. He called himself "Servus servorum
Dei."
St. Phoebe, mentioned by Paul in letter to the Romans. RM
592. The death of St. Simon Stylites the Younger. He spent 65 years on a
column and was a preacher.
1894 H. Richard Niebuhr B Christ and Culture.
2000. Pope John Paul II beatifies Abbot Dom Columba Marmion, Pope Pius
IX, and Chaminade.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1609. Hudson discovers the Hudson River, and Manhattan Island.
1658. Oliver Cromwell +. A statesman, he favored toleration.
1783. Treaty of Paris ends the War of Independence and recognizes the
independence of the USA.
1838. Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery.
1958. Sputnik II. The first dog is sent into space.
1962. E.E. Cummings + age 67, New Hampshire.
1969. Ho Chi Minh +.
1970. Vincent Lombardi +. One of the Fordham Seven Blocks of Granite.
Coach of the Green Bay Packers.
JESUIT
1539. Paul III approves the Formula of the Institute verbally at Tivoli, his
summer residence. This is based upon the “five chapters” sent him by
Ignatius.
1759. The expulsion of Jesuits from Portugal. They are deported to the papal
states.
1860. In Maryland the first beginnings of a novitiate for North America. In
l863 the house was closed on account of the war, and later on
reopened at Fordham.
1935. Zachaeus Maher, S.J. is appointed American Assistant and Admonitor
to the General.
1965. Ferdinand C. Wheeler, S.J. +. He was Minister and Rector at
Woodstock College.
1969. Harold Gardiner, S.J. Literary critic, America magazine.
1983. General Congregation 33 accepts the resignation of Pedro Arrupe.
1994. Raymond Walter, S.J., +. Age 79. 1967-72 Treasurer of Society of
Jesus, 1972-80 Assistant to General Treasurer.
255
September 4
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
On Mount Nebo, in the land of Moab, the holy lawgiver and prophet Moses.
New RM
1965. Albert Schweitzer + Musician, theologian, doctor, missionary to
Lamborene,Africa. Reverence for Life.
2001. Robert McAfee Brown dies, age 81. Teacher, activist, ecumenist.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1824. Anton Bruckner is born.
1886. Geronimo surrenders.
1892. Darius Milhaud, is born.
1957. Ford introduces the Edsel.
1972. Mark Spitz wins his seventh gold medal, swimming at the Munich
Olympics.
1977. The death of E.F. Schumacher, economist, prophet, not profit.
Author of Small is Beautiful.
1989. Georges Simenon + writer, creator of Inspector Maigret. He wrote
over 300 novels and novellas.
JESUIT
1523. Ignatius the pilgrim enters the city of Jerusalem after a seven month
journey. He would depart from Jaffa on October 3rd.
1549. Peter Canisius makes his final profession in Rome.
1606. Brief of Pope Paul V confirms our Institute.
1845. Pierre Chazelle +. Pioneer leader and first Superior of the restored
Society in French Canada and the USA.
1973. James Brodrick +, in London, of the Irish Province, historian of the
Society, biographer of Ignatius, Bellarmine, and Canisius.
1991. Henri Cardinal deLubac, S.J. +, age 95. A theologian, once silenced,
then vindicated. Surnaturel. He was created a cardinal in 1983.
256
September 5
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Blessed Ramon Lull, martyr.
1692. Increase Mather receives the first doctoral degree in theology in the
USA, from Harvard.
1985. Kairos document of South African Churches: A Challenge to the
Church.
1997. Mother Teresa of Calcutta dies. Nobel Peace Prize Winner.
Founder of the Missionaries of Charity.
2000. Declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
“Dominus Jesus.” It got mixed reviews, and was criticized by
ecumenists.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1569. Pieter Brueghel the Elder +.
1905. Arthur Koestler B, Budapest.
1972. At the Munich Olympics, 14 are killed by terrorists, including nine
Israelis.
JESUIT
1758. A silly decree was issued by the French Parliament condemning Father
Busembaum's Medulla Theologiae Moralis.
1870. Three Universities are founded: St. John's in NY, Loyola, Chicago, and
Canisius in Buffalo.
1888. Las Vegas College and Sacred Heart College were combined and moved
to Main Hall in Denver. Classes began with 75 students.
1922. Terence J. Shealy, S.J. +. A pioneer in the Retreat movement, and at
the Fordham School of Social Service.
1930. John G. Hagen +, age 83 in Rome. He was Director of the Vatican
Observatory for 24 years, and also worked at the Georgetown
Observatory.
257
September 6
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
In Palestine, the prophet Zaccariah. RM
St. Onesiphorus, disciple of the apostles, of whom Paul speaks in his Letter
to Timothy. RM
1968. CELAM II conference at Medellin ends. Impetus towards a theology of
liberation.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1847. Thoreau leaves Walden Pond and lives with R.W. Emerson.
1860. Jane Addams B Social reformer and pacifist. She was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in l931. Hull House, Chicago.
1901. President McKinley is shot in Buffalo, NY. He + 8 days later.
1909. Admiral Peary claims to have reached the South Pole.
JESUIT
1574. A. Valignano arrives in Goa, as Visitor.
1823. The birth in Indiana of James Chrysostom Bouchard (Watomika) the
first Native American Jesuit. A member of the Delaware tribe, he
was ordained in St. Louis in 1856. He became one of the Province’s
best orators, prompting a book about him called the Eloquent Indian.
1946. The opening of the 29th General Congregation, with 169 electors. On
September 15th, they will elect Fr. Janssens as General.
1985. George MacRae, S.J., Scripture Scholar +. He was also Dean at
Harvard Divinity School.
258
September 7
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1918. The RCC in the USA sends its first missionaries overseas, Maryknoll
Frs. James Walsh, Bernard Mayer, Frances Ford, and Thomas F.
Price.
1921. The Legion of Mary is founded by Frank Duff.
1986. Bishop Desmond Tutu is appointed archbishop of Capetown. The first
black to head a South African Anglican diocese.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1822. Brazil Independence.
1860. Grandma Moses B
artist.
1881. Sidney Lanier + poet.
1892. John Greenleaf Whittier, + Quaker poet and abolitionist.
1977. In South Africa, Steve Biko, struggling for justice, + in prison on this
day or the following.
JESUIT
1573. Death of Princess Juana, Regent of Spain, the emperor Charles V's
daughter. She died with her Jesuit vows. "The only female
Jesuit in the Church's history," writes Hugo Rahner.
1639. At Cassau in Transylvania the martrydom of Stephen Pongracz and
companions. Memorial: Sts. Stephen Pongracz, Melchior Grodziecki,
Jesuit priests, Mark Krizevcanin, canon of Estergom, martyrs.
1966. The Second session of General Congregation 31 opens.
1977. Announcement of the decree of Fr. General uniting the two provinces
of East Germany and Lower Germany into the new Province of North
Germany. It takes effect on 1 January 1978.
259
September 8
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
BIRTH OF MARY, Feast.
1380. Bernadine of Siena, is born.
1565. The Parish of St. Augustine, Florida is founded, the first in the USA.
1713. Bull of Clement XI, Unigenitus, condemns Jansenism.
1784. Mother Ann Lee +, Watervliet, NY, foundress of the Shakers, she
brought them to the USA.
1853. Blessed Frederic Ozanam +. In Marseilles, 39 years old. He is the
founder of the St. Vincent de Paul Societies. He is beatified in 1997.
Feast Day according to RM
1907. Pius X issues encyclical letter Pascendi Dominici Gregis, On the
Doctrines of the Modernists.
1990. Richard J. Neuhaus, Lutheran Pastor/theologian, is received into the
Roman Catholic Church. Avery Dulles is a sponsor.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1636. Harvard College is established, the first higher institution of learning
in the USA.
1841. Anton Dvorak is born.
1920. Transcontinental air mail service is established between New York and
San Francisco.
1974. Ford pardons Nixon.
1980. The death of John Howard Griffin, convert to Catholicism. He wrote
Black Like Me, about his two month experience in New Orleans in
1959.
1998 Mark McGwire hits his 62nd home run,in St.Louis, for St. Louis,
surpassing Roger Maris. He will end the season with 70.
JESUIT
1654. At Carthagena, Colombia, the death of Peter Claver. Age 74, with 38
years as apostle to the slaves.
1753. John Carroll enters the Society of Jesus.
1911. The first retreat is held at Mt. Manresa, Staten Island, at a retreat
house exclusively for laity. Fr. Shealy is the director. The retreat
house, Fox Hall villa, was purchased in April, with 20 acres.
1977. Letter of Fr. General formally convokes the 66 th Congregation of
Procurators to begin on September 27, l978.
260
September 9
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Peter Claver, memorial.
Blessed Maria de la Cabeza, the wife of St. Isidore. In the RM
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
Human Rights Day in Colombia, in honor of Peter Claver.
1828. Tolstoi is born. Novelist, philosopher, religious mystic.
1859. California becomes the 31st state.
1897. Frankie Frisch B the Fordham Flash.
1956. Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on national television, The
Ed Sullivan Show.
1976. Mao + Chairperson.
2003. Edward Teller dies, father of the H-bomb.
JESUIT
1587. Professors at Louvain rashly condemn 31 propositions of the works of
Fr. Lessius as semi-Pelagian.
1929. Blessed Br. Francis Garate, S.J. +. He was porter at Bilbao for forty
years. He was beatified in 1985 and his feast is September 10th.
1955. Bishop Thomas Feeney, S.J. +. He was bishop in the
Caroline-Marshall Islands and earlier was in Jamaica and the
Philippines.
1980. Dan Berrigan and others, Plowshares, start the first nuclear
disarmament at the General Electric Plant in King of Prussia, PA.
They are arrested.
261
September 10
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
1902. Dr. Adrienne von Speyr is born. Switzerland. Doctor, mystic, writer,
stigmatist, author of 60 volumes. She met and was converted by
Hans Urs von Balthasar.
1928. Jean Vanier is born.
L'Arche, communities for the handicapped.
1946. Mother Teresa experiences her second call on a train to Darjeeling, a
call to follow Christ into the slums, to serve Him in the poorest of the
poor.
1965. Father Divine + American black cult leader.
1971. Roland de Vaux, O.P. + Scripture scholar.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1839. Charles Sanders Peirce is born at 3 Phillips Place, Cambridge, MA.
Later this house is the center of Weston Jesuit School of Theology.
1890. Franz Werfel is born.
1924. Ted Kluszewski is born. slugger.
1929. Arnold Palmer is born. Golfer.
1934. Roger Maris is born.
1981. Picasso's Guernica is returned to Spain after 40 years in the USA.
JESUIT
Blessed Br. Francis Garate, S.J., Feast.
1622. At Nagasaki, the martyrdom of Charles Spinola and companions.
1773. Clement XIV’s letter of suppression is published in Vienna.
1919. The Mission of Patna, India is assigned to the Missouri Province.
1931. A devastating hurricane destroys St. John’s College in Belize and takes
the lives of 11 Jesuits. One account said: “The hurricane demolished
everything but hope.” 6 priests, 4 scholastics, 1 brother, as well as
some students at St. John's College.
1957. Pope Pius XII addresses the 30th General Congregation on the use of
tobacco, etc. as superfluities.
2001. The death of Xavier Diaz del Rio, publisher of Ignis magazine and
editor of the Gujarat Press for many years.
262
September 11
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Paphnutius, bishop of Egypt and defender of the faith at the Council of
Nicaea.
1857. Mormon fanatic John Lee retaliates against President Buchanan and
massacres 120 California bound immigrants in Utah.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1862. O. Henry is born in North Carolina. (William Sydney Porter) short
stories.
1885. D.H. Lawrence is born. Novelist, poet, essayist.
1973. Salvador Allende is overthrown in Chile.
1985. Pete Rose gets his 4192nd hit, breaks Ty Cobb's 57 year old
record.
2001. Terrorist attack on World Trade Center, and Pentagon. 2000 killed.
The world will never be the same.
2002. Johnny Unitas dies, age 69. All Star Quarterback of the Baltimore
Colts.
JESUIT
1537. Those ordained with St. Ignatius celebrate their first Masses: Xavier,
Salmeron, Rodriguez, Bobadilla, and Codure. Ignatius waits a
while longer.
1681. Geoffrey Henschen + at Antwerp. He was an assistant to Fr. Bollandus
in the research on the saints.
1860. Jesuits are expelled from Sicily and their property is confiscated.
1995. Henry De Decker, S.J. + in the Cameroons. He was the first Rector of
Hekima College, Nairobi, and was the Secretary of JESAM (Major
Superiors of Africa) for thirteen years.
2003. Ignace de la Potterie, Belgian Jesuit, Johannine scholar, dies.
Professor at the Biblical Institute.
263
September 12
HRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Most Holy Name of Mary. Optional Memorial.
1788. Alexander Campbell is born. He is the co-founder of the Disciples of
Christ, and founded Bethany College.
1988. Hans Frei +. He was a theologian, writing on biblical narrative at
Yale.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1846. Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning are secretly married.
1880. H.L. Mencken is born. Baltimore, editor, author of The American
Language.
1913. Jesse Owens is born.
1974. Hailie Selassie overthrown. He had ruled Ethiopia for 44 years.
1977. Steve Biko + in South Africa in prison, six days after his arrest.
2003. Death of Johnny Cash, age 71. Sang Folsom Prison Blues, A Boy
Named Sue, called the “man in black.”
JESUIT
1557. At Worms, a public discussion opens between Catholics and
heretics, in which Canisius took part.
1665. At Antwerp, the death of John Bollandus, one of the first of the
Bollandists, the great work of the Acta Sanctorum. He was the
successor to Fr. H. Rosweyde who was the founder.
1744. Benedict XIV's second Bull, Omnium sollicitudinum forbidding the
Chinese Rites. Persecution followed in China. This is also listed as
Sept. l3.
264
September 13
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor, memorial. He died on September 14,
407.
1896. Letter of Leo XIII, Apostolicae Curae, declares Anglican orders invalid
and void.
1969. Bishop Bernard Sheil + in Chicago. Apostle of youth, CYO.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1321. Dante Alghieri +, hours after he finished writing his Paradiso.
1592. Michel de Montaigne, +.
1609. Hudson enters the river named after him, and sails up to Albany,
arriving there on September 19th.
1635. Court at Salem banishes Roger Williams.
JESUIT
1571. Martyrdom of Pedro Diaz and eleven missionaries of Brazil, in waters
of the Atlantic, near the Canary Islands.
1773. Frederick II of Prussia informs the Pope that the Jesuits will not be
suppressed in Prussia, and invites Jesuits to come.
1983. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach is elected the 29th Superior General at the
33rd General Congregation, age 55.
1998. Cardinal Alois Grillmeier + age 88. He was a professor at St. Georgen,
Frankfurt, and wrote Christ in Christian Tradition. He was created
a Cardinal on 26 November 1994.
265
September 14
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
TRIUMPH OF THE CROSS, Feast.
407. St. John Chrysostom + on this day.
1523. Pope Adrian VI +. He was the last non-Italian Pope until Pope John
Paul II. Epitaph: "Here lies Adrian VI, who thought nothing in life
more unfortunate than that he became pope."
1883. Martin Dibelius B New Testament scholar.
l964. Vatican II begins its 3rd Session.
1965. Vatican II begins its 4th and final Session.
1975. Mother Seton is canonized, the first US citizen so honored.
1981. Encyclical Letter of John Paul II, Laborem Exercens,
On Human Work.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1321. Dante Alghieri +.
1542. Peter Henlein +. German inventor of the pocket watch, a
clockmaster.
1638. John Harvard + and leaves half his property and all his library (and
his name) to Harvard College.
1814. Star Spangled Banner is written by Francis Scott Key, at Baltimore.
1851. James Fenimore Cooper +, one day before his 62nd birthday.
1901. President McKinley +.
1916. Josiah Royce + philosopher, Cambridge, Mass.
1982. Princess Grace (Kelly) of Monaco +. She was in a motor accident the
previous day.
JESUIT
1566. The first Jesuit enters the continental USA, Pedro Martinez. He is
killed three weeks later, in Florida.
1562. Paschase Broet, S.J. + in Paris, ministering to plague victims. He was
one of the first companions and was the first Provincial of France.
1577. Andrew Oviedo, S.J. +. He is the first Jesuit to be made a bishop, and
patriarch of Ethiopia.
1596. The death of Cardinal Francis Toledo, the first of the Society to be
raised to the purple. He died at age 63, and had been a cardinal for 3
years.
1877. Joseph de Guibert, S.J. is born. Expert on Ignatian spirituality.
1915. The Holy Father congratulates the Messenger of the Sacred Heart on
its 50th anniversary, with its circulation of 315,000.
1962. Michael Gruenthaler +. He was the first American to get a doctorate at
the Pontifical Biblical Institute, was co-founder of the Catholic
Biblical Association, and editor of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly for
10 years.
266
September 15
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Our Lady of Sorrows, memorial.
St. Valerian, martyr, who was suspended on high by the Governor Priscus,
and tortured with iron hooks. Remaining immovable in the
confession of Christ...he was struck with the sword. RM
St. John the Dwarf, 5th century hermit. Under obedience,he planted and
watered a dry stick for three years, and then it bore fruit.
1858. Charles Foucauld is born.
1963. Four black children are killed as a Church is bombed in
Birmingham, AL., a few weeks after King’s “I Have a Dream”
speech.
1965. The Document of Pope Paul VI, Apostolica Sollicitudo charters
the Synod of Bishops.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1891. Agatha Christie is born.
1894. Jean Renoir is born.
1989. Robert Penn Warren + poet, novelist, critic.
JESUIT
1622. At Quito the University of St. Gregory the Great starts in the seminary
college of St. Louis.
1627. The Beatification of the Japanese martyrs, Paul Miki and companions,
by Pope Urban VIII.
1927. 37 Jesuits arrive to begin a Tertianship at Hot Springs, North
Carolina. The property was given to the Jesuits by the widow of the
son of President Andrew Johnson.
1946. John Baptist Janssens is elected 27th Superior General, at age 57.
1983. The first issue of Company magazine appears, to tell the story of
Jesuits and those we minister to and with. Intended for friends,
benefactors, and the general public.
267
September 16
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Cornelius, pope and martyr, and Cyprian, bishop and martyr, memorial.
Cyprian was Bishop of Carthage, Tunisia.
St. Euphemia, virgin and martyr. She was subjected to torture,
imprisonment, blows, the torment of the wheel,... all of which she
survived. Again exposed to the beasts in the amphitheater, one of the
animals inflicted a bite on her holy body although the rest of them
licked her feet, and she yielded her unspotted soul to God. RM
655. Death of Pope St. Martin I. The last pope to be venerat as a martyr.
681. The last session of the Third Council of Constantinople approves a
profession of faith opposing monotheletists.
1224. Francis of Assisi receives the stigmata on Mt. Alverna.
1498. Tomas de Torquemata + in Avila. He was the First Grand Inquisitor, a
Dominican.
1846. Fr. Kim (Andrew) Taegon, Saint, Martyr, he is beheaded on this day,
age 26. He was the first Korean priest.
1945. John Ryan +. American Catholic Social Philosopher.
1983. James “Guadalupe” Carney, a missionary priest from the USA, is
executed in Honduras, thrown out of a helicopter.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1620. The Mayflower sets sail.
1803. Orestes Brownson is born.
1823. Francis Parkman, historian B Boston. He wrote on the California
and Oregon Trails.
1906. Buick and Oldsmobile join together to form General Motors.
1980. Jean Piaget, psychologist, +.
JESUIT
1759. At Lisbon, 133 fathers and brothers of the Society are put on board a
vessel to be conveyed as exiles to Civitavecchia.
1883. At Rome at the Palazzo Borromeo, Via del Seminario 120, the 23rd
General Congregation opens. It will elect Anderledy as vicar with
right of succession.
1941. A dinner at the Waldorf Astoria, New York City, concludes Fordham
University centenary celebration. 18 bishops, Vice-President
Wallace, Governor Lehmann, Mayor LaGuardia are in attendance.
268
September 17
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Robert Bellarmine, bishop and doctor. Memorial. He died on this day in
1621, age 79.
1179. St. Hildegard of Bingen. Mystic. + Sybyl of the Rhine. The process of
canonization was started twice but never completed. But she is
named a saint in the Roman martyrology.
1918. Cardinal John Farley +. He was Archbishop of NY for 16 years.
1967. Adrienne von Speyr +. She was a writer, mystic, doctor, and friend of
Hans Urs von Balthasar.
1983. Cardinal Humberto Medeiros, Archbishop of Boston +.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
Von Steuben Day, B
1730.
1787. U.S. Constitution is adopted.
1862. Union forces hurl back Confederate forces in Antietam. 23,000 killed
wounded or captured. The bloodiest day in US military history.
1883. William Carlos Williams is born in Rutherford, N.J. Poet, physician.
1934. Maureen Connelly, Little Mo is born. Tennis star.
1994. Karl Popper + age 92, philosopher of science.
1996. Spiro T. Agnew +. He was a lawyer, politician, and resigned the VicePresidency under Nixon.
JESUIT
1593. Francis de Toledo, S.J. professor, writer, is the first Jesuit to be
elevated to cardinal by Clement VIII. He later conspired with a
number of rebellious Spanish Jesuits to alienate Pope Clement VIII
from Fr. Aquaviva and the Institute.
1621. Robert Bellarmine +. Cardinal, archbishop, in Rome.
1917. Cardinal Billot, S.J. resigns from college of cardinals.
1917. Letter from the US government exempts religious from the physical
examination for World War I.
1931. St. Robert Bellarmine is declared a Doctor of the Church by Pius XI.
1986. Thurston Davis, S.J. +. He was the 13th editor of America.
1987. Puerto Rico is established as an Independent Region of the Society of
Jesus. At that time it had 29 Jesuits, including 16 Puerto Ricans.
269
September 18
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Joseph of Cupertino, levitator + on this day in 1663. 70 occasions
of his levitations are recorded.
1961. Dag Hammarskjold + in an airplane crash on mission to the Congo.
He wrote Markings and was a man of intense inner Christian faith.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1709. Samuel Johnson is born. Critic, conversationalist, lexicographer.
1851. The New York Times is published for the first time.
1963. The last baseball game at Polo Grounds, New York City.
JESUIT
1540. At Rome, Pedro Ribadeneira, aged fourteen, was admitted
into the Society by St. Ignatius. This was nine days before
official papal confirmation of the Society.
1641. The death of Brother Richard Fulwood, rejoicing that his sufferings
from calculus were so intense. As only his head was free from pain,
he prayed that it too might have its suffering. (Calculus = stones)
1989. James L. Vizzard, S.J. +. He supported the rural life movement, and
the United Farm Workers.
270
September 19
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Januarius, bishop and martyr, optional memorial. Famous for the regular
liquefaction of his blood.
1971. William Foxwell Albright + archeologist, teacher at Johns Hopkins
University.
1978. Etienne Gilson, philosopher, member of the French Academy dies, 94
years old. The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy, etc.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1796. Washington's Farewell Address as President.
1881. President Garfield shot on July 2nd, + on this date.
1893. New Zealand is the first nation to grant women the right to vote.
1911. William Golding is born. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983
for The Lord of the Flies.
1921. Paulo Freire is born, educator, Recife, Brazil.
1926. Duke Snider is born. Dodger Centerfielder.
1928. Debut of Mickey Mouse.
1947. Jackie Robinson is named baseball's rookie of the year.
1968. Chester Carlson +. Inventor of the xerox copy machine.
JESUIT
1715. At Quebec died Fr. Louis Andre, who for 45 years laboured in the
missions of Canada amid incredible hardships, often living on acorns,
a kind of moss, and the rind of fruits.
1819. Jesuit work in Ireland is restored by Fr. Peter Kenny.
1972. The Swiss Parliament repeals the law prohibiting the existence of the
Society in Switzerland.
271
September 20
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Andrew Kim Taegon, priest, St. Paul Chong Hasang and Companions,
Martyrs of Korea. Obligatory memorial.
1870. Pope Pius IX suspends Vatican I as Rome falls to forces of the
United Italy.
1900. Joachim Jeremias B Lutheran N.T. scholar.
1918. The Stigmata appears on Padro Pio. He + 50 years later.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1519. Magellan sets sail around the world. He is killed on April 27, 1521,
but the rest continue the journey.
1878. Upton Sinclair is born. Politician and writer.
1917. Red Auerbach B Celtic coach.
1923. The Times Literary Supplement pans T.S. Eliot's poem
The Wasteland.
1973. Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in a tennis challenge, the battle
of the sexes.
1984. US Embassy in Lebanon is bombed by terrorists, 40 die.
JESUIT
1560. At Rome, the entrance into the Society of Robert Bellarmine,
the nephew of Pope Marcellus II.
1565. S. Andrea in Quirinale, Rome, is opened by St. Francis Borgia as the
first separate novitiate, separate from Colleges and Professed
Houses.
1990. The First Congregation of Provincials meets at Loyola, Spain, 83
provincials, on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the approval
of the Society, and 500th anniversary of the birth of St. Ignatius.
272
September 21
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST, Feast.
In the land of Saar, the holy prophet Jonah. In the new RM
1452. Girolamo Savonarola is born. An Italian reformer, eventually
he is excommunicated and hanged/burned in Florence.
1996. Henri Nouwen +, age 64 in Holland. He was a spiritual writer and
teacher, and at the end he lived and worked with L’Arche
communities.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
Autumnal Equinox on or about this date.
491. BC. Battle of Marathon (possibly 490). Athenians defeat the Persians.
19. BC. Virgil, poet, + at Brundisium.
1558. The death of Charles V, Holy Roman emperor. He had abdicated two
years earlier.
1873. Black Friday - financial crisis.
1981. Sandra Day O'Connor is approved as the first woman to serve on the
US Supreme Court.
JESUIT
1557. Melchior Cano is accused of being a heretic in disguise, and so he
writes to Charles V, whose confessor he was.
1558. St. Francis Borgia preaches the eulogy for the Emperor Charles V at
Valladolid.
1761. At Lisbon, the martyrdom of Fr. Gabriel Malagrida, aged
seventy two. Pombal's inquisitors had found him guilty of
heresy in a life of St. Anne written not by him, but by the exCapuchin, Norbert. He died by strangulation and the flames.
1851. Pius IX beatified Peter Claver.
273
September 22
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
287. St. Maurice and his Theban legion (from Egypt) are slaughtered in
Switzerland for refusal to offer sacrifices to pagan divinities.
1827. The Angel Moroni reveals golden tablets to Joseph Smith,
The Book of Mormon.
1915. Xavier University, New Orleans, the first Catholic university for
blacks, opens.
1973. C.H. Dodd, +. Scripture scholar.
1991. Archbishop John K. Amissah + near Cape Coast, Ghana, in an auto
accident. He was the first indigenous bishop of Ghana, ordained
bishop in 1957.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1776. Nathan Hale is hanged as a spy. "I only regret I have but one life to
lose for my country."
1862. The Emancipation Proclamation is issued. Slaves will be freed from
January 1st, 1863.
1903. Italo Marchiony applies for a patent for the ice cream cone.
1947. Pierre LeCompte du Nuoy + scientist, author of Human
Destiny. He had returned to the Catholic Church.
1949. Russia detonates an atom bomb, enters the atomic age.
1950. Ralphe J. Bunche is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1989. Irving Berlin, composer, + at age 101.
JESUIT
Blessed Jose Aparico Sanz, S.J. and companions, martyrs.
1611. The death of Pedro Ribadeneira, aged 85. He had been admitted by St.
Ignatius at the age of 14. He became an eloquent preacher, a great
missioner, and a gifted writer.
1747. Fr. General Frances Retz visits the novitiate and foretold the
Suppression of the Society. He added that one novice (Fr. Louis
Panizzoni) would witness the Restoration.
1774. At Rome the death of Pope Clement XIV, aged 69, miraculously
assisted by St. Alphonsus Ligouri. He died worn out with suffering
and grief because of the Suppression of the Society. False stories
were circulated that he had been poisoned by the Jesuits. On the
Pope's becoming deranged in mind after the Suppression, see
Ranieri, S.J..
274
September 23
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Pio of Pietrelcina, feast. He was canonized in 2002. He died on this day
in 1968. Padro Pio he was a mystic and a stigmatist for 50 years,
OFM Capuchin. He is beatified in 1999. He is said to have predicted
to future Pope John Paul II that he would be Pope.
Commemoration of Zachary and Elizabeth, parents of John the Baptist, in
the new RM
St. Linus. pope and martyr, who governed the Roman Church next after the
blessed apostle Peter. RM
1888. Gerhard Kittel B 10 volume Theological Dictionary of the NT
1892. Cardinal Lorenz Jaeger is born. ecumenist, strong voice at
Vatican II.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
480. BC. Euripides is born.
63. BC. Caesar Augustus is born.
1846. Galle and D’Arrest, two Berlin astronomers, discover the planet
Neptune as was calculated and predicted.
1926. Gene Tunney defeats Jack Dempsey.
1939. Sigmund Freud +.
JESUIT
1590. Nicolas Bobadilla +. He is the last survivor of Ignatius' first ten
companions. He was the occasion of some trouble in the First General
Congregation, claiming a share in the government, but he afterwards
acknowledged his fault. He was the first Jesuit of the original ten
and the only one of the original ten to be 50 years in the Society.
1773. General Ricci enters Castel Sant Angelo, age 70. He will stay there and
die there on November 24, 1775. He could not write or celebrate
Mass.
1869. Woodstock College of the Sacred Heart opens. 17 priests, 44
scholastics, 16 brothers - the largest Jesuit community in the USA.
"Wisdom hath built for herself a house" according to the sermon by
the Provincial of Maryland, Joseph E. Keller.
1941. The death of Fr. McGarry, S.J. From the New England Province, he
was a spiritual writer, and the first editor of Theological Studies.
1942. Walter Ciszek and Victor Novikov are sentenced to fifteen years
imprisonment for spying. This was later reduced to five years in a
labor camp. Ciszek was freed in 1963.
275
September 24
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
787. The Second Council of Nicaea begins, condemns iconoclasm.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1773. Daniel Boone sets out for the West.
1896. F. Scott Fitzgerald is born in St. Paul, Minn.
1957. The last baseball game at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn. Dodgers won 2-0.
JESUIT
1549. An Instruction of St. Ignatius to the three fathers leaving for
Ingolstadt, on the apostolic role of the University.
1892. At Loyola, the opening of the 24th General Congregation, the only one
held outside of Rome. It was held there because of anti-clericalism in
Rome.
1987. Father Andre Masse is assassinated, dying of bullet wounds in South
Lebanon. Assistant Rector of St. Joseph's University. Aged 47.
1996. William Thompson, S.J. +, age 65. He was a Scripture scholar, teacher
in Chicago.
276
September 25
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
At Emmaus, the birthday of St. Cleophas, disciple of Christ.It is related that
he was killed by the Jews for the confession of the Lord, and
honorably buried in the same house in which he had entertained
Him. RM
1869. Rudolf Otto B
The Idea of the Holy.
1890. Polygamy is officially banned by the Mormon Church.
1918. Archbishop John Ireland, +. St. Paul, Minn. Liberal Churchman, the
Americanist movement.
1988. Junipero Serra OFM and Padre Miguel Pro, S.J., are beatified.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1513. Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean.
1895. L. Pasteur is born.
1897. William Faulkner, B New Albany, Miss.
1905. Red Smith is born. Green Bay, WI. sportwriter, dean of all
sportswriters.
1906. Dmitri Shastakovitch is born.
1918. Phil Rizzuto, the Scooter, is born.
1942. Glenn Gould, pianist, somewhat eccentric, is born.
1960. Emily Post +. Authority on social behavior.
JESUIT
1617. Suarez + Doctor Eximius. He wrote 24 volumes in folio on Philosophy
and Theology. When dying he exclaimed: "I did not know that it was
so sweet to die!" When a novice he was found so dull that he
requested to be a lay-Brother.Father Guttierez bade him ask our
Lady's help, and he became a prodigy of talent.
1618. John Berchmans pronounces his first vows. His father who had been
ordained a priest, died shortly after this, but John was not informed
for a few weeks.
1643. Entrance into the Society of John Casimir Sobieski, son of King
Sigismund of Poland. Three years later he was raised to the
Cardinalate. In 1648 he was elected king of Poland, but abdicated in
1668, dying in 1672.
2001 Timothy Toohig, S.J. dies. Jesuit physicist. Designer and executive
at the National Accelerator Laboratory.
277
September 26
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Cosmas and Damian, martyrs
1863. Frederick Faber +
optional memorial.
convert to RCC hymnwriter.
1885. St. Teresa Couderc + at Fourviere. She is the co-foundress of the
Congregation of Our Lady of the Retreat in the Cenacle.
1897. Giovanni Battista Montini is born, later he is Pope Paul VI.
1904. Joseph Sittler, B Lutheran theologian, preacher, ecumenist.
1964. The Leonine prayers after Mass are dropped.
1980. The Synod on the family opens, and continues until October 25.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1774. Jonathan Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) B environmentalist and
preacher.
1888. T.S. Eliot is born in St. Louis, MO. He is awarded the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1948.
1889. Martin Heidegger is born.
1898. George Gerschwin is born.
1937. Bessie Smith +. Queen of the Blues. Dies after a car accident.
1945. Bela Bartok +.
1998. Cal Ripken, baseball star does not play on this day, thus ending his
streak of 2,632 successive games which started in May 1982. This
streak will probably never be broken.
JESUIT
1926. Jesuit High, New Orleans, opens.
1926. Philip Millan + in the leper colony in Culion, Philippines. He is called
"The Father of the Lepers."
278
September 27
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Vincent de Paul, priest. Memorial. He + on this day in 1660.
1944. Aimee Semple McPherson +. She is the founder of the church of the
Foursquare Gospel and the best known woman evangelist of her day,
a faith healer.
1970. Teresa of Avila is declared a doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI.
She is the first woman so declared.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1826. The first passenger rail opens, in England, traveling at 10 MPH.
1917. Edgar Degas +.
1956. Babe Didrikson Zacharias + of cancer, 43 years old. Perhaps the
greatest athlete of all time. Track, field, basketball, pitcher, golf, etc.
JESUIT
1540. The Bull of Pope Paul III, Regimini militantis Ecclesiae, constituting
the Society a Religious Order, was signed at Palazzo San Marco,
Rome. It limits the number of professed fathers to 60. Approbation
Day. The Birthday of the Society of Jesus.
1604. The College of S. Bartholomew is founded in New Granada, Columbia.
It gave the Church 17 bishops, and 23 martyrs.
1606. At Ingolstadt died Fr. Theodore Canisius, the brother of Peter. For
eight years before his death he lost his memory, remembering only
the holy names of Jesus and Mary.
1948. Apostolic Constitution of Pius XII, Bis Saeculari. the magna carta of
the Sodality movement.
2001 James J. Hennesey, S.J. dies, age 74. Jesuit historian, and expert on
USA Church history.
279
September 28
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Wenceslaus, martyr
optional memorial.
St. Laurence Ruiz and Comp. martyrs, memorial. Nine martyrs were
Japanese, one was a Filipino.
St. Lioba, virgin and abbess. From England, she went on mission to
Germany, working with St. Boniface.
555. BC. Confucius is born.
1978. Pope John Paul I, the Smiling Pope, 33 day Pope, +.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
48. BC. Pompey is killed.
1891. Herman Melville +.
1895. Louis Pasteur +.
1934. Brigitte Bardot is born.
1970. Nasser +, Egypt.
1989. Ferdinand Marcos + in Hawaii in exile, age 72. He had ruled the
Philippines for 20 years.
2003. Althea Gibson dies. Afro-American tennis star. First black to win at
Wimbledon.
JESUIT
1566. On the island of Tatacuran, off the coast of Florida, Father Pedro
Martinez was killed by savages the moment he set foot on land. He
was the first Jesuit in USA, and the first Jesuit martyr in USA.
1572. Fifteen Jesuits arrive in Mexico, including Fr. Sanchez, as Provincial,
to establish the Mexican Province. They soon open a college.
1972. Erich Przywara +. Writer, theologian.
1978. Ben Masse, S.J. + Assistant Editor of America, 1941-71.
280
September 29
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
MICHAEL, GABRIEL, AND RAPHAEL, ARCHANGELS, Feast.
The holy martyrs Dadas, Casdoa his wife, and Gabdelas, his son. After being
deprived of their dignities, they were imprisoned and finally put to
the sword. RM
440. Pope Leo I, Leo the Great, is elected.
1963. Vatican II, opens its second Session.
1967. The first Synod of Bishops opens, and continues until October 29.
1971. Cardinal Mindzenty is freed, and arriving in Rome, meets the Pope.
1996. Shasuko Endo +, age 73, a Japanese Catholic novelist, a convert.
The Silence, and a life of Jesus.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
106. BC. Pompey is born.
1902. Emile Zola + at age 62. He inhaled smoke from a clogged chimney.
1943. Lech Walesa B Polish Solidarity.
1973. W.H. Auden + in Vienna, age 66. Poet.
1907. Gene Autry, the singing cowboy, is born.
JESUIT
1553. Ignatius received the first vows of three Jesuit brothers - the first
Jesuit brothers. One was a cook and one was a deacon.
1558. In the Gesu, Rome, and elsewhere, Ours began to keep Choir, in
obedience to an order from Paul IV.
1642. At Ossernenon, Auriesville,NY, Rene Goupil, Jesuit martyr is killed by
a tomahawk. He was a lay associate, the first of the N.A. martyrs.
1935. Pius XI establishes the Vatican Observatory in its new home at Castel
Gandolfo, and entrusts its management and direction to the Society
of Jesus.
1984. William A. Carroll, S.J. + New England; artist and scholar.
1984. Hekima College, Nairobi, theologate for Africa, opens.
281
September 30
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Jerome, priest and doctor, Memorial. He was buried on this day
in 420 in Bethlehem.
1629. The Congregation of Propaganda Fidei suppresses the Jesuitesses, the
Institute of Mary, founded by Mary Ward. Later, in 1877 it is
approved.
1897. Theresa of the Child Jesus + at Lisieux. aged 24. On this same day in
the same year, the future Pope Paul VI is baptized.
1928. Ludwig Von Pastor + Innsbruck. He wrote the 38 volume
History of the Popes.
1943. Encyclical Letter of Pius XII, Divino Afflante Spiritu, On the
Promotion of Biblical Studies.
1968. Bishop McEntegart of Brooklyn, +.
1970. The complete New American Bible is published, Catholic sponsored, to
replace the Douay version.
1971. The Second General Assembly of Bishops opens, on Priesthood and on
Justice. It will conclude on 6 November.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1924. Truman Capote is born. New Orleans.
1928. Elie Wiesel is born.
1935. Johnny Mathis, singer, is born.
1938. Neville Chamberlain gives his promise of peace after returning from
Munich. “I believe it is peace for our time.”
1939. The first televised broadcast of a football game with NBC. Fordham
vs. Waynesburg State, at Randall’s Island, NYC.
1955. James Dean + in a car crash, age 24. The legend lives.
1990. The last baseball game at Comiskey Park, Chicago South Side, after
80 years of fun.
JESUIT
1572. The death of St. Francis Borgia, the Duke of Gandia and the viceroy of
Catalonia before becoming a Jesuit. He became the third General,
and oversaw the establishment of many schools and the expansion of
missionary work.
1911. President William Howard Taft visits St. Louis University and
declares the football season open, amid alia.
1928. Motu Proprio of Pius XI, Quod Maxime, associates the Biblical and
Oriental Institutes with the Gregorian University.
282
October 1
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, virgin, Memorial.
1968. Romano Guardini, +.
2000. Pope John Paul II canonizes Katherine Drexel, and Josephine
Bakhita, Sudanese born sister.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1908. The first Model T Ford is produced in Detroit.
1920. An Oriental Institute team from the University of Chicago starts to
compile an Assyrian Dictionary. In the year 2000 still in process.
1924. Jimmy Carter is born.
1932. Babe Ruth calls his home run during the World Series game at
Wrigley Field.
1949. The Peoples Republic of China is proclaimed.
1960. Nigerian Independence Day.
1961. Roger Maris hits his 61st home run, surpassing Babe Ruth.
1962. Escorted by federal marshals. James Meredith registers for classes at
the University of Mississippi.
1971. Disney World opens in Florida.
1982. Helmut Kohl succeeds Helmut Schmidt as Federal Chancellor of West
Germany.
JESUIT
1546. Isabel Roser is released from her Jesuit vows by St. Ignatius after
eight months.
1546. An Apostolic Constitution forbids a female branch of
the Society of Jesus.
1572. The death of St. Francis Borgia.
1599. Publication in Rome of the Official Directory for giving the
Spiritual Exercises.
1606. Blessed Julian Maunoir, B .
1879. The College de la Sainte Famille opens in Cairo.
1900. Loyola School, New York City, opens.
1911. Piet Schoonenberg, S.J. is born. Theologian
1938. Francis Cassilly, S.J. +, Chicago. He wrote a high
school catechism widely used.
2000. Pope John Paul II canonizes over 100 martyrs, including four
Jesuits, Leo Mangin, Paul Denn, (martyred in China, 1880),
Modesta Andlauer, Remigius Isore (killed in China 19 June, 2000)
283
October 2
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
Guardian Angels, Memorial.
1226. The death of St. Francis of Assisi.
1892. Ernest Renan + wrote a critical life of Jesus.
1898. Ubi Primum, an Apostolic Constitution of Leo XIII entrusts the
Dominicans with the mission of spreading devotion to the Rosary.
1928. Msgr. Jose Maria Escriva de Balaguer has a vision and founds
Opus Dei.
1939. George Cardinal Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago, +.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1869. Gandhi is born.
1879. Wallace Stevens is born.
1890. Groucho Marx is born.
1904. Graham Greene is born.
1998. Gene Autry + age 91. The Singing Cowboy, “Back in the
Again,” and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”
Saddle
JESUIT
1636. Isaac Jogues first sets foot on the shores of the New World after two
stormy months on the ocean.
1648. In the Church of the Gesu, the Bona Mors Confraternity is founded by
the 7th Fr. General, Vincent Caraffa.
1836. Gregory XVI gives the direction and government of the Pontificial
Urban College of the Propagation of the Faith to the Society of Jesus.
1892. Father Louis Martin is elected General at Loyola, Spain.
1954. The Cornerstone is laid for Loyola Seminary, Shrub Oak, NY.
1960. Edward Garesche, S.J. +. He founded the "Queen's Work" and
Catholic Medical Mission Board, which he directed from
1929 to 1960.
1964. Fr. General Janssens suffers a stroke, and + three days later.
284
October 3
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Francis Borgia, memorial.
St.. Denis Areopagit, in the new RM, first Bishop of Athens . Paul
preached to him on the Areopagus.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1833. The Orient Express train begins operating, from Paris to Istanbul.
1925. Gore Vidal is born.
1951. Bobby Thompson hits the famous home run off Ralph Branca, in the
bottom of the ninth inning in the final game of a three game playoff
series and so the Giants beat the Dodgers 5-4.
1967. Woody Guthrie, + folksinger, "This Land is Your Land."
1987. Joseph Campbell +
mythologist.
1990. East and West Germany are reunited to form one Germany.
JESUIT
1536. Favre, Rodriguez, Salmeron, Bobadilla, Jay, Codure, and Broet are
granted their M.A. degrees. Lainez and Xavier already had theirs.
1588. The death of Pompeio Capuano, an Italian novice of an illustrious
family. When he asked his father's leave to enter the Society, the
latter shut him up in a dark room, treating him like a madman.
1662. At Cracow, Laurence Chodorowicz. a Polish lay-brother, died a martyr
of charity. Once in an excess of fervent desire for suffering he poured
boiling water over his right leg and foot.
1923. The relics of St. Andrew Bobola are recovered from a museum in
Moscow and begin their journey to Rome.
285
October 4
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Francis of Assisi, + 1226 Memorial.
1200. Pope Innocent III crowns Otto IV Emperor of Germany in Rome,
after Otto submits to the Pope.
1535. The first complete English translation of the Bible printed in Zurich.
1582. St. Teresa of Avila +.
1582. The Gregorian reform of the calendar takes place. Ten days are
dropped, so that the next day is October l5th. Clavius' calendar is
accepted, but some riots result, and some Jesuit houses are stoned.
Countries which did not like the Pope liked his calendar even less.
It actually took until the 20th century until all countries adopted it.
1861. Walter Rauschenbusch is born. Rochester, NY. The Social Gospel.
1901. Gregory Dix B Anglican Benedictine liturgical scholar.
1965. Paul VI arrives in NY, the first Pope to visit the Americas as Pope. He
celebrates Mass at Yankee Stadium.
1970. Pope Paul VI names Teresa of Avila and Catherine of Siena as the first
women Doctors of the Church.
1988. The death of Carlo Carretta, Little Brother. He wrote Letters from
the Desert (from Algeria) and then lived in Italy.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1884. Damon Runyon is born.
1887. The first edition of The New York Herald appears Paris/European.
1944. Al Smith + Governor of NY:Democratic Pres.candidate in 1928.
1947. Max Planck +. Scientist famous for his Constant.
1955. The Brooklyn Dodgers finally win the World Series, over the Yankees,
after losses in five previous subway series. The famous catch of
Sandy Amoros occurs in the seventh game, as the Dodgers win 2-0.
1957. Sputnik, Russian space capsule,goes into space.Beginning of space age.
1989 Race Horse, Secretariat, a triple crown winner, but now ill, is
destroyed. He won the 1973 Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths.
JESUIT
1532. Robert Bellarmine is born. in Montepulciano, in Tuscany, Italy.
1549. Jay, Salmeron, and Canisius are the first three Jesuits to receive their
doctorates in theology. This followed an examination on October 2 nd
at Bologna by a board of three Dominicans. The men had been
assigned to Ingolstadt, but needed doctoral degrees for that
assignment.
1597. In London Father John Gerard and Mr. Arden effected their
marvelous escape from the Tower. With the help of John Lilly and
Richard Fulwood, both of whom became Jesuit Brothers, they let
themselves down with a rope slung from the Tower across the moat.
1896. Letter of Father General Martin, “On Some Dangers of our Time.”
1985. William Bangert, S.J. + Jesuit Historian and teacher of Jesuits.
1987. The death of John Swain, S.J., age 79. A Canadian, he was Vicar
General(1961-5)under Janssens),General Assistant and admonitor
to Arrupe (1965-72).
286
October 5
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1703. Jonathan Edwards B . Theologian, preacher.
1965. Pope Paul VI addresses the United Nations in NYC, "No More War,
Never Again."
1969. Harry Emerson Fosdick + Baptist clergyman, writer, preacher.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1713. Denis Diderot is born. Philosopher and encyclopaedist. He attended
the Jesuit school at Langres. His writings cover a wide field of
interests.
1881. P. Picasso is born. Artist
1845. Charles Stilwell is born. The inventor of the brown paper bag,
also called the “self-opening sack” SOS.
1965. Mario Lemieux B hockey superstar.
JESUIT
1629. At Antwerp + Fr. Herbert Rosweyde, S.J. who was in many ways the
founder and the first Bollandist.
1759. At Coimbra an officer named Castro came with the king's message to
the Novitiate. The superior was conducted to prison, where he lay 18
years. Pathetic scenes followed, the Scholastics and novices, 145 in
number, being left without a Superior.
1964. John Baptist Janssens + 27th Superior General of the Society.
1981. In a letter to Father General Arrupe, Pope John Paul II appoints
Paolo Dezza as his personal delegate in the Society of Jesus.
Provincials are notified of this move.
1986. Archbishop John McEleney +. Of the New England Province, he was
bishop in Jamaica.
1986. Pope John Paul II visits the tomb of Claude la Colombiere at Paray-leMonial and exhorts all to devotion to the Sacred Heart.
287
October 6
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Bruno, priest, optional memorial. The Founder of the Carthusians.
1536. William Tyndale + Scholar and translator of the bible. Martyred as a
heretic and schismatic in Belgium.
1979. Pope Paul VI meets Jimmy Carter in Washington at the
White House.
1983. Terence Cardinal Cooke, Archbishop of New York +.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1883. The Orient Express makes its first run, from Paris to Constantinople,
in 78 hours.
1890. Polygamy is outlawed in the USA.
1914. Thor Heyerdahl B Norway. Author of Kon-Tiki.
1981. Anwar Sadat is assassinated, in Cairo, Egypt.
1989. Bette Davis + actress.
JESUIT
Blessed Diego de San Vitores, priest, martyr. Memorial
1552. Matteo Ricci is born.
1566. Pedro Martinez, S.J., the first Jesuit to set foot in the USA is the first
Jesuit to be martyred in the USA, in northern Florida, near what is
now Jacksonville.
1773. In London, Dr. James Talbot, the Apostolic Vicar, promulgated the
Letter of Suppression of the Society, and sent copies to Maryland and
Pennsylvania.
1973. The death of Ignacio Iparraguirre in a fall in Rome. Expert on Ignatius
and Jesuit spirituality.
1977. In France, the death of Rene Charvet, age 94, veteran missionary in
China. The moving homily was delivered by the deceased through a
recording he made a few months before he died.
1981. Pope John Paul II notifies Fr. Arrupe that Fr. Dezza will be the
Pontifical Delegate to govern the Society, with Fr. Pittau as
coadjutor.
1985. Three Jesuits are beatified, Diego de San Vitores, Jose Rubio, and
Francis Garate.
1993. Cardinal Victor Razafimahatratra, S.J. + age 72, Archbishop of
Antananarivo, Madagascar.
288
October 7
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Our Lady of the Rosary, Memorial.
The holy martyr Sergius... had his feet forced into shoes full of sharp-pointed
nails, but remaining unshaken in the faith he was sentenced to be
beheaded. RM
1772. John Woolman + Quaker preacher, fought for Indian and Negro
rights, and is famous for his Journal.
1787. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, +. A Missionary to America, the
Patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America.
1980. Sister Theresa Kane addresses Pope John Paul II in Washington, DC
on the contribution of women religious women, and their desire for
increased opportunities in ministry.
2000. Eileen Egan dies, Friend of Mother Theresa, and Dorothy Day.
Catholic Worker, Peace maker.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1571. The Battle of Lepanto. Cervantes is wounded in it. Four priests and
four brothers of the Society also took part, serving as chaplains to the
sailors.
1849. Edgar Allen Poe + in Baltimore, after four days of drunkenness.
1879. Joe Hill is born.
1916. Georgia Tech defeats Cumberland College in football,
220-0 (30 Touchdowns) gunning for a national championship.
JESUIT
1699. In the Gesu, Rome, the sixth and final translation of St. Ignatius'
remains took place to the splendid altar-shrine designed by Br.
Andrea Pozzo.
1819. Charles Emmanuel IV + He had been King of Sardinia and Piedmont.
He abdicated in 1802 and entered the Jesuits as a brother in 1815.
He is buried in San Andrea Quirinale, in Rome.
1866. Wlodimir Ledochowski is born. 26th General of the Society.
289
October 8
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
451. The 4th Ecumenical Council, namely Chalcedon, opens. It
will condemn Monophysitism and meet until November 1. 550
Bishops and the delegate of Pope Leo.
1989. Penny Lernoux +. Of Cancer. A journalist wrote on the Church in
Latin America and on liberation theology.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1871. The Chicago Fire. The city is destroyed, but it misses the Jesuit parish
as it turns north thanks to the prayers of Fr. Arnold Damen.
1956. Don Larsen pitches the only World Series perfect game, as the Yankees
beat the Dodgers.
1957. Walter O'Malley announces that the Brooklyn Dodgers will
go west, to Los Angeles. Dismay in Brooklyn.
1973. Gabriel Marcel, philosopher +.
1992. Willy Brandt + a former Chancellor of Germany. He won the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1971 for his Ostpolitik.
JESUIT
1955. Solemn dedication and opening of Shrub Oak, New York
Maryland Province philosophate with Cardinal Spellman.
1969. Louis Twomey, S.J. An advocate of interracial justice, and expert in
labor relations.
1983. The death of Jeanne Marie Mortier, secretary and assistant to
Teilhard de Chardin, to whom he entrusted his manuscripts.
290
October 9
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Denis, bishop and martyr, and companions, martyrs, John Leonardi, priest.
optional memorials.
The commemoration of the holy patriarch Abraham, father of all
believers. RM
1253. Robert Grosseteste +.
1635. Roger Williams is banished from Massachusetts, and then founds
Providence.
1845. Newman is converted to Roman Catholicism at Littlemore, near
Oxford. He is received into the Church by Fr. Dominic Barbieri and
makes his confession and receives communion.
1955. The death of Mother Mary Joseph (Mollie Rogers)in New York. One of
the foundresses of Maryknoll. At her death there were 1027 sisters.
1958. The death of Pope Pius XII.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
Leif Ericson Day.
1888. The Washington Monument is opened.
1899. Bruce Catton B Petoskey, Michigan. Civil War historian.
1968. Che Guevara +. Revolutionary.
1987. Clair Boothe Luce +.
JESUIT
1607. Francis de Sales visits the chapel of Blessed Peter Faber
whom he revered as a saint.
1820. The 20th General Congregation opens. The first of the restored
Society. Aloysius Fortis is elected the 20th Superior General.
1962. Uganda Independence Day – from the UK
1972. Jose Maria Posada + Columbia. Social worker and Provincial.
291
October 10
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1863. St. Francis Xavier Church is founded in Baltimore, Md., the first black
Catholic Church in the USA.
1881. Blessed Daniel Comboni + in the African mission in Sudan. He was
the founder of the Verona Fathers (Comboni Fathers, Fathers of the
Sacred Heart).
1909. Mary Gwendoline Caldwell +. She gave $300,000 to found the
Catholic University of America but later renounced her faith.
1953. Letter from the Holy Office to the Dominican General leads
to the sacking of three French Provincials in January, and
to the silencing of Fathers Congar and Chenu.
1982. The canonization of St. Maximilian Kolbe at Auschwitz. The man
whose place he took, and in whose stead he died was present at the
ceremony.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1469. Fra Filippo Lippi, + painter.
1845. The Naval Academy at Annapolis is opened.
1886. The special dinner jacket (tuxedo) is first worn at Tuxedo Park
Country Club, N.Y.
1963. Edith Piaf + the Little Sparrow. Jean Cocteau, filmmaker, dies four
hours later of grief for his friend.
1973. Spiro T. Agnew resigns as Vice-Presient.
1985. Orson Welles +.
JESUIT
1549. The Province of India constituted, with Xavier as its first Provincial.
1806. The first Novitiate of the Maryland Mission is opened, at Georgetown,
in a house facing Holy Trinity Church. Ten Novices enter. The Novice
Director is Fr. Francis Neale, himself a novice who had entered the
Jesuits on that day.
1820. At the 20th GC Father Petrucci, Vicar-General, led astray by the
turbulent Father Rezzi, was deposed. Father Rezzi was expelled from
the Society as a factiosus.
1938. The first golf match is held between the theologians and philosophers
at the new golf course at Woodstock. It ends in a tie, but the
theologians win two days later in a playoff.
1948. The official blessing and dedication of LeMoyne College, Syracuse, NY.
1949. Letter of Fr. General Janssens, "Instruction on the Social Apostolate."
1950. Jan Korec is ordained a priest in prison in Czechoslovakia. One year
later, at the age of 27, he is made a bishop, and a cardinal in 1991.
He is released from prison in 1968.
292
October 11
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Philip the Deacon, who baptized the Ethiopian. RM
1521. Pope Leo X confers the title of Defender of the Faith on King Henry
VIII.
1531. U. Zwingli + Swiss reformer, is killed in the battle of Kappel.
1876. Gertrud von le Fort B Die Letzte am Schafott. Author. She
converted to Roman Catholicism in 1927.
1962. The Second Vatican Council, opens, holding its First Session.
1998. Edith Stein, Jewish convert who died at Auschwitz, is
canonized by Pope John Paul II.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1779. Pulaski Day +.
1885. Francois Mauriac is born.
1887. Willie Hoppe
B billiards.
1896. Anton Bruckner +. Composer
1964. Martin Luther King is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize .
JESUIT
1667. The Feast of St. Ignatius is raised to a “double” and extended to the
universal church.
1688. King Louis XIV forbade all correspondence and interchange
between the French Jesuits and the Spanish General,
Thyrsus Gonzalez. This petty tyranny lasted two years.
1958. Pierre LeJay, S.J. +. He was a French Jesuit, famed geophysicist,
member of the French Academy, and did research on the continental
drift.
1963. Walter Ciszek, S.J. is freed from prison camp in Russia.
He had been in detention since 1938.
293
October 12
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1891. Saint Edith Stein is born.
1889. Dietrich von Hildebrand, Catholic philosopher, is born in Florence,
Italy.
1951. Simon Kimbangu + Congolese founder of the Kimbanguist
Independent Church.
1971. Jesus Christ Superstar debuts on Broadway.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1492. Columbus Day - he lands in the New World.
1859. Henri Bergson is born.
1810. The first Oktoberfest is held, to celebrate the wedding of
Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig.
1865. Roger Brooke Taney +. The first Catholic on Supreme Court and the
fifth Chief Justice (l836-65). He rendered the Dred Scott
Decision.
1872. Ralph Vaughan Williams is born. Composer
1935. Luciano Pavarotti is born. Tenor
1940. Tom Mix + Western film actor.
1954. Carroll Houselander +.
Poet
1960. Khrushchev pounds his shoe at the United Nations.
2003 Willie Shoemaker, jockey, dies. 4’8”, 99 pounds. Winner of eleven
Triple Crown Races.
JESUIT
1600. At Madrid died Father Louis Molina, a great theologian, whose
doctrine on Grace and Free Will was fiercely attacked by Dominicans
and others, and ably defended before Clement VIII by theologians of
the Society.
1935. Work begins on Woodstock College golf course. The reason for this is
given as the Aincrease in medical difficulties” due to the Alack of
provisions for an agreeable form of light exercise.”
1976. Fr. Joao Bosco Burnier, S.J. is shot and killed by soldiers in rural
Brazil for protesting the torture of two Indian women. Aged 59.
294
October 13
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1635. Roger Williams is banned in Boston.
1917. At Fatima, Portugal. The great miracle in the presence of 100,000
persons, and the final appearance of Mary. Rain stops and the sun
whirls in the sky.
1988. The Shroud of Turin is revealed to be medieval through carbon
dating.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
54 Claudius I dies.
1792. The cornerstone of the White House is laid by President
George Washington.
1925. Margaret Thatcher is born. Iron Lady, Prime Minister of
Great Britain.
JESUIT
1534. The election of Pope Paul III (Cardinal Alessandro Farnese) who by his
Bull Regimini militantis, constituted the Society a Religious Order.
1537. At Venice the Papal Nuncio published his written verdict
declaring that Ignatius Loyola was innocent of all charges which had
been leveled against him by his detractors.
1676. The arrival in London of Claude de la Colombiere, to be the
chaplain and confessor of the Duchess of York, the wife of the
future King James II.
1990. The celebration at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome
opens the Ignatian Year.
295
October 14
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Callistus I, pope and martyr, optional memorial.
St. Dominic Loricatus, who wore a mailed shirt, and hence the name. As
Rodriguez relates, if asked the time of day, St.Dominic would say
"about 7 PM", lest he tell a lie.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1066. William the Conqueror defeats King Harold in the Battle of Hastings.
1644. William Penn is born.
1884. Photographic film is patented by George Eastman.
1890. D.D. Eisenhower is born.
1894. E.E. Cummings is born.
1947. The first airplane exceeds the speed of sound in level flight - Bell X-1.
1964. Khrushchev is deposed. Brezhnev and Kosygin replace him.
1964. Martin Luther King is awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
1977. Bing Crosby +, after a round of golf, on the way to the clubhouse.
1990. Leonard Bernstein + composer, conductor.
1999. Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Medicin sans Frontiere.
1999. Julius Nyerere dies, Catholic, socialist President of Tanzania,
Mwalimu, Teacher.
JESUIT
John Ogilvie, S.J. martyr,
feast.
1774. A French Jesuit in China wrote an epitaph to the Jesuit mission in
China after the suppression. It concludes:“Go, traveler, continue on
your way. Felicitate the dead; weep for the living; pray for all.
Wonder, and be silent.”
1854. Fr. John Bapst, S.J. is tarred and feathered by religious bigots, Knownothings, in Ellsworth, Maine. He was also the first Rector of the
Boston College Scholasticate. He was given a gold watch as a result
of the ordeal, and was given special permission by Father General to
wear such a costly watch.
1939. General Franco visits the Jesuit community at the Loyola Sanctuary,
Spain. An Inscription reads: "To our leader Francisco Franco
restorer of the Society of Jesus in Spain, praise and long life - in
remembrance of the visit of our Caudillo to Loyola, October 14, 1939,
Year of Victory."
1982. Daniel O'Connell + Rome, age 86. An expert on double stars, he was
director of the Vatican Observatory from 1952-70.
296
October 15
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Teresa of Avila, virgin and doctor, Memorial.
1930. Marjorie Tuite is born. Dominican sister, fighter for justice.
1976. “Declaration on the Admission of Women to the Ministerial
Priesthood.” It was dated 15 October, but only published on January
27, l977.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
World Poetry Day.
70. BC. Vergil is born.
1582. The Gregorian Calendar is adopted in Italy, Spain, Portugal and
France.
1844. Nietzsche is born.
1905. C.P. Snow is born.
1908. John Kenneth Galbraith is born. Economist, Canada.
1881. P.G. Wodehouse is born.
1964. Cole Porter + songwriter.
1989. Walter Sisulu, ANC leader, is released after 25 years imprisonment in
South Africa.
JESUIT
1582. At Avila the death of St. Teresa, the first day of the new Gregorian
calendar. She always wished to have Jesuit confessors and spoke of
the Fathers as Benedicti homines Societatis Jesu.
1917. Pope Benedict XV founds the Pontifical Oriental Institute
which is later entrusted to the Society of Jesus.
297
October 16
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Longinus, the one who put his spear into the side of Jesus. RM
Hedwig, religious, and Margaret Mary Alacoque, virgin, optional
memorials.
St. Gall, abbot, disciple of blessed Columban. RM Founder of the monastery
at St. Gallen, Switzerland.
1555. Hugh Latimer + and Nicholas Ridley + martyrs. Bishops and social
reformers of the Church of England. They were martyred at the
stake in Oxford by order of Queen Mary Tudor.
1701. Collegiate School is founded in Connecticut by Congregational clergy
who are dissatisfied with growing liberalism at Harvard. Eventually
it becomes Yale University.
1978. John Paul II elected.
1979. Apostolic Exhortation of John Paul II, Catechesis Tradendae, On
Catechesis in Our Time.
1992. Monsignor John Tracy Ellis + age 87. The Dean of USA Catholic
Church historians.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1758. Noah Webster is born. Connecticut, of dictionary fame.
1793. Marie Antoinette is beheaded.
1854. Oscar Wilde B Dublin.
1859. John Brown raids Harper's Ferry. Eventually he is hanged.
1888. Eugene O'Neill, playwright is born.
1927. Guenther Grass is born. Tin Drum, etc. He won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1999.
1964. China sets off its first atom bomb.
1984. Bishop Desmond Tutu, South Africa, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1986. Nigerian writer, Wole Soyinka is awarded the Nobel Prize for
Literature - the 1st African writer to be so honored.
JESUIT
1594. Students of the English College in Rome broke into a sort of rebellion
against the Jesuits in charge. It was incited by Protestants and
lasted five years.
1788. The Bollandists are forced to give up their work, because
of the effects of the Suppression.
1918. The death of James Lonergan, S.J. He had a seventeen year
regency at Spring Hill College.
1927. The opening of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem.
1944. John Svensson + Author of children’s literature. His books
were translated into 30 languages.
1992. The University of San Francisco holds a symposium on the Chinese
Rites controversy.
298
October 17
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr, Memorial.
1480. The Spanish Inquisition is activated.
1690. St. Margaret Mary +.
1912. Pope John Paul I, is born. Albino Luciani. He was pope in 1978 for
33 days.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1849. Chopin +.
1910. Julia Ward Howe, social reformer, abolitionist, +, age 91. She wrote
“The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
1961. Two hundred Algerians in Paris killed, and dumped in the Seine.
1983. Raymond Aron +.
JESUIT
1578. At S. Andrea, Rome, the entrance into the Society of
Robert Southwell, aged sixteen.
1651. Emmanuel Sigueira enters the novitiate of S. Andrea in
Rome. He will be the first Chinese Jesuit priest.
1688. Domenico Zipoli, S.J. is born. An organist at the Gesu in Rome, he was
a missionary and composer in Paraguay and Argentina, in the Jesuit
Reductions. He was not never ordained because of the distance from
an ordaining bishop.
1782. Jesuits in White Russia elect Stanislaus Czerniewicz as Vicar General
of the Society.
1917. Motu Proprio of Benedict XV, Orientis Catholicae, establishes the
Oriental Institute.
1996. Richard Michael Fernando, S.J. + scholastic, age 26,working with
Jesuit Refugee Service, in Cambodia, is killed by a hand grenade
thrown by a disturbed ex-student, as Richard tries to save others
lives.
2002. Richard McSorley, S.J. dies, age 88. Social justice and non-violence.
299
October 18
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
LUKE, EVANGELIST, Feast.
1405. Pope Pius II is born. He wrote a study of geography and ethnography
and a popular love story, and he is the only pope to have written an
autobiography.
1685. The Edict of Nantes is revoked by King Louis XIV. Huguenots flee.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
Alaska Day. It is transferred to the USA from Russia on this day, in 1867.
Jesuits advised Seward to make the purchase.
1859. Henri Bergson is born.
1893. Charles Gounod + French composer.
1931. Thomas Edison +. Inventor.
1955. Ortega y Gasset + philosopher and humanist.
1957. Kazantsakis +. Novelist.
JESUIT
1550. The first Jesuit is appointed to be Rector/President of a University as
Peter Canisius is elected to that office at the University of Ingolstadt
(for a six month term).
1553. A theological course was opened in our college in Lisbon.
400 students were at once enrolled.
1574. The opening of the first Jesuit College in Mexico, SS. Peter and Paul.
1604. Collegio Santa Fe Opens in Bogota, Columbia, the oldest in Columbia
and the third oldest in the Americas, after Lima and Mexico.
1605. In Spain died Father John Rico, a most eloquent preacher. St.
Alphonsus Rodriguez once told him he would suffer in Purgatory for
preaching in the polished Castilian tongue: thenceforth the Father
never used Castilian.
1646. The martrydom of St. Isaac Jogues at Auriesville, NY.
1904. “Saint Louis University Day” at the World’s Fair, the culmination of
the school’s diamond jubilee celebrations.
1932. Weston College is given a charter, Pontifical Status, and thus allowed
to grant ecclesiastical degrees.
1977. Harry Sievers, S.J. + historian of Indiana, and biographer of William
Henry Harrison.
300
October 19
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Isaac Jogues and John de Brebeuf, priests and martyrs, and companions,
martyrs, Memorial.
St. Faustina Kowalska, new RM
The prophet Joel.
New RM.
1720. John Woolman is born. He is a Quaker preacher, defender of Negro
and Indian rights, and famous for his Journal.
1868. The Missionaries of Africa are founded by Cardinal Charles Lavigerie.
A novitiate opens on this day, with three candidates.
1984. Father J. Popieluszko + Poland. He is killed because of his support for
the Solidarity Movement.
1997. Theresa of Lisieux is declared a Doctor of the Church. She is the third
woman of 33 doctors of the Church.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1745. Jonathan Swift + Dublin , age 77, lonely, paralyzed, and declared of
unsound mind.
1781. The British surrender at Yorktown, VA. as Cornwallis
surrenders to George Washington.
1814. The Star Spangled Banner is sung for the first time, at Baltimore.
1949. Mao proclaims the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
1987. The NY Stock Market falls 508 points.
JESUIT
1604. Aloysius Gonzaga is beatified, while his mother was still alive.
1646. Jean de la Lande, S.J. +.Jesuit Brother, donne, companion of
Isaac Joques.
1930. Leopold Fonck, S.J. + Austria. He wrote on Scripture and the life of
Christ, and was the first director of the Biblical Institute in Rome.
1934. Response of Fr. General Ledochowski against the abuse of taking off
the cassock on mountain trips.
1936. Eugenio Pacelli, Secretary of State and future Pope, visits
Wernersville Novitiate with Mrs. Brady.
1952. Joseph Husslein + St. Louis. Sociologist, and expert on the social
encyclicals. He founded the School of Social Service at St. Louis
University and served as its Dean from 1930-37.
1975. Maria Theresa Ledochowska is beatified by Pope Paul VI. She
was the brother of Fr. General Vlodimir, and is called the Mother of
Africa because of her missionary concern.
301
October 20
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Paul of the Cross, Optional Memorial in the USA. Founder of the
Passionist Fathers
Cornelius, the centurion baptized by St. Peter, in new RM
St. Andrew of Crete... After one of his feet had been cut off he rendered up
his soul. RM
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1859. John Dewey is born.
1931. Mickey Mantle is born. Hall of Famer Yankee
1964. Herbert Hoover, ex-President +, NY City.
1968. Jackie Kennedy weds Aristotle Onassis.
JESUIT
1618. John Berchmans, on his way to Rome after first vows, learns that his
father, recently ordained a priest, had died. He wrote to his family
that it “surprised and pained me very much that you did not take
the trouble to inform me of his passing.”
1763. In a pastoral letter read in all his churches, the Archbishop of Paris
expresses his bitter regret at the suppression of the Society in
France. He describes it as a veritable calamity for his country.
1873. At Rome, all the Society's houses were by royal decree appropriated by
the government. Father General, P. Beckx, left the house at an early
hour to be spared the trial of appearing before the Giunta
Liquidatrice (Commission of Suppression).
1934. Alma College, California, is blessed and dedicated.
1945 Jacques Van Ginneken, S.J. + founder of the Grail Movement which
he founded in 1921.
1997. The opening of Alberto Hurtado University in Chile.
302
October 21
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
At Cologne, the birthday of St. Ursula and her companions,who gained the
martyr's crown by being slain by the Huns for the Christian religion
and their constancy in keeping their virginity. Many of their bodies
are buried in Cologne.
1692. William Penn is deposed as governor of Pennsylvania by the throne of
England. He is Charged with being a papist, because he favored
religious freedom for dissenters of the Church of England. He is
restored to the governorship two years later.
1940. From October 21-25 the first Liturgical Week was held in the USA, in
Chicago.
1974. Maurice Lavanoux, +. Architect, Church art, Liturgical Arts
magazine.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1772. Samuel Taylor Coleridge is born.
1805. Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson defeats Spain.
1833. Alfred Nobel is born. Nobel peace prize and other prizes, and famous
as the inventor of dynamite.
1879. Thomas Edison invents a better light bulb.
1912. Sir George Solti is born. Conductor of the Chicago Symphony and
elsewhere.
1969. Jack Kerouac dies of bleeding caused by too much drinking.
JESUIT
1568. Robert Parsons, later a convert, was elected Fellow of Balliol College,
Oxford. He resigned this fellowship in 1574. He accompanied Fr.
Campion to England in 1580 and then in exile labored for the Church
in his native land.
1622. Emmanuel Ortega + in Peru. Missionary in South America
and companion of Jose Ancieta.
1866. Gerard Manley Hopkins is received into the Roman Catholic Church by
Newman.
1948. Novitiate is opened in the Belgian Congo.
303
October 22
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
At Cologne, St. Cordula, who was one of the companions of St. Ursula. Being
terrified by the punishments and slaughter of the others, she hid
herself; but repenting her deed, on the next day she declared herself
to the Huns of her own accord, and thus was the last of them all to
receive the crown of martyrdom. Colorful story in the old RM
451. The Council of Chalcedon promulgates the Christological formula,
"perfect in humanity and in divinity..."
1746. Princeton College is founded by a faction of the Presbyterian
church, a bastion of conservatism.
1876. Karl Adam B The Spirit of Catholicism.
1965. The death of Paul Tillich, theologian of culture.
1994. The death of Rollo May, psychologist, writer.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1811. Franz Liszt is born in Hungary. He composed over 60 religious works.
1906. Paul Cezanne + artist.
1938. Chester Carlson makes the first xerox copy in Astoria, Queens.
1964. The Nobel Prize for literature awarded to Sartre who refuses it.
1973. Pablo Casals + musician.
1975. Arnold Toynbee +. A Study of History.
1992. Red Barber + age 84. Dodger baseball announcer, from the
catbird seat, know as "The Old Red head"
JESUIT
1642. Charles Raymbault + French missionary, the first to die in
Canada. He is buried next to Samuel Champlain.
1870. In France, Garibaldi and his filibusters drove the Jesuits from
the Colleges of Dole and Mont Roland.
1986. Frances Xavier Weiser, S.J. +. Writer, on liturgy and church feasts.
Also wrote a book for youth that sold one million copies, and was
translated into forty languages, The Light on the Mountain.
304
October 23
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
John of Capistrano, priest, optional memorial. Swallows depart from
Capistrano on this day.
Blessed Boethius, martyr, philosopher. His feast is celebrated in some
dioceses as a saint. (not in RM)
1848. Act of Foundation for the first Trappist monastery in the USA, at
Gethsemane, KY.
1941. Shailer Matthews + A Baptist educator, he taught at the University
of Chicago from 1894-1933.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1817. Pierre Larousse is born. French grammarian, encyclopedist, and
lexicographer.
1906. Cezanne + .
1939. Zane Grey + wrote stories of the wild west.
1940. Pele B Premier footballer.
1945. Vidkun Quisling + by firing squad, Oslo. He had been a traitor and
collaborator with the Nazis.
1983. 241 US Marines die in a terrorist attack in Lebanon. This was a
partial reaction to the invasion of Grenada.
JESUIT
1550. Borgia arrives in Rome with retinue of 20-25, from Gandia.
1767. At Santiago, Chile, the members of the Society, kept
prisoners in the College since August 26th, were led forth
to exile. In all 360 Jesuits of the Chile Province were
shipped to Europe as exiles.
1767. In Spain an unusual decree was issued by the royal council forbidding
prophecies about the return of the Society to Spain.
1926. Fr. Felipe Millan, S.J. called the Damien of Cullion leper colony in the
Philippines, died. He had also been a Master of Novices.
1933. Maurice de la Taille, S.J. + in Paris. He taught theology at the
Gregorian and wrote Mysterium Fidei.
1944. A NY Times story reports in a dispatch from Stockholm that all
clergy are to be included in the draft except Jesuits, who are
"declared unfit to bear arms for Germany."
1958. Rauol Plus, S.J. + spiritual writer.
1988. Joseph McBride, S.J. + promoter of canonization of Blessed Kateri
Tekakwitha.
305
October 24
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Anthony Claret, bishop. Optional memorial. The Founder of the Claretians.
He joined the Society of Jesus as a priest, but left the novitiate
four months later for health reasons. He died on this day in 1870 in
political exile in France.
1875. J.P. Migne +. French Catholic publisher, published 221 volumes in his
Patrologia Latina series and 161 in Patrologia Graeca.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1926. Y.A. Tittle is born. NY Giant football quarterback.
1945. UN Day, Anniversary of its founding.
1964. Zambia Independence Day – from the UK.
1972. Jackie Robinson +. First black in major league baseball.
1989. Mary McCarthy + writer, critic, Memories of a Catholic Girlhood.
1989. Jim Bakker, TV evangelist, sentenced to 45 years prison for scam.
2003. Supersonic air travel comes to an end as Concorde lands for the last
time.
JESUIT
Blessed John Beyzm, S.J. missionary from the Ukraine to work with the
lepers in Madagascar. He died on October 2, 1912.
1604. At Coimbra died Father Jerome Carvahlo. He gave six hours daily to
prayer, and made 100 genuflections a day. Our Lady bade him not to
fear Purgatory, as shewas the consoler of the afflicted souls there.
1618. John Berchmans sets out from Flanders to Rome as a scholastic. He
will reach Rome on December 31st.
1759. 133 Jesuits banished from Portugal are put on shore at Civita
Vecchia. They are kindly received by Pope Clement XIII and by
religious communities, especially the Dominicans.
1964. The death of Archbishop Aston Ignatius Chicester, S.J. missionary to
Rhodesia. He died while attending the Second Vatican Council.
1982. Daniel O’Connell + in Rome. He had been Director of the Vatican
Observatory from 1952-70, and President of the Pontifical Academy
of Science.
1997. Thomas Anchanikal (A.T. Thomas) disappears in Hazaribag, India,
age 46. He was a defender of the dalits (lower caste)
306
October 25
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Feast of St. Margaret Clitheroe, martyr, in the British calendar
of feasts, with 40 saints of England and Wales.
1972. Blessed Jeanne Dugan is born. France. She founded the Little Sisters
of the Poor.
1800. J.P. Migne B (see note on his death on previous day).
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1415. Battle of Agincourt. St. Crispin’s Day. Henry the Fifth is victorious
over France. Cf. Shakespeare.
1440. Geoffrey Chaucer + London age 57. He is buried in Westminster
Abbey, the first poet so honored.
1854. Charge of the Light Brigade. 670 British are wiped out by
Russians in the Crimea.
1881. Pablo Picasso B .
1945. Jackie Robinson signed to play major league baseball by Branch
Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1983. Grenada is invaded by 1900 US troops.
JESUIT
1567. The Arrival in Rome of St. Stanislaus Kostka, where he was
admitted into the Society by St. Francis Borgia.
1572. Edmund Daniel is martyred at Cork. He is the first Jesuit martyred in
Europe.
1950. Letter of Fr. General Janssens orders some books removed from
libraries in houses of formation, including works of DeLubac,
Bouillard, Danielou, and deMontcheuil. This is a follow up of
Humani Generis.
1970. Edmund Campion is canonized.
1975. P. Louis Dumas, S.J. is killed in Beirut, Lebanon.
1982. Pope John Paul II visits the Gregorian University and attends a
symposium on Matteo Ricci. He praises him for his vision and his
approach to the people and culture of China.
307
October 26
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1466. On the 26th or 27th of this year or a nearby year, Desiderius Erasmus
was born.
1944. William Temple + Anglican church leader.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
899. King Alfred the Great +.
1825. The Erie Canal opens, links the Niagara and Hudson Rivers.
1902. Elizabeth Cady Stanton + feminist.
1911. Mahalia Jackson is born.
JESUIT
1546. The First Province of the Society is established, the Portuguese
Province, with Simao Rodrigues as Provincial.
1554. Princess Juana, the daughter of Charles V, is admitted to the
Society in an exceptional way and with the obligation of
complete secrecy. She takes vows. She would die as a Jesuit
scholastic with her vows.
1556. In Rome the death of Fr. Andrew Frusius. He translated the
Spiritual Exercises into Latin, and this was the first book
printed by the Society.
1644. In Maryland Father Andrew White was seized by some English
invaders, carried off prisoner to London, imprisoned, then
sentenced to banishment.
1987. Giuseppe Moscati a Neapolitan physician and university professor,
friend of Jesuits, who died in 1917, is canonized by Pope John Paul
II.
308
October 27
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1590. Pope Urban VII + of malaria before his coronation. He is the shortest
reigning pope - 10 days.
1979. Charles Coughlan +. Radio Priest of the 1930s.
1986. Pope John Paul II hosts a large gathering of world religious leaders
who pray for peace in Assisi.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1782. Niccolo Paganini is born.
1858. Teddy Roosevelt is born.
1904. The New York City subway is opened.
1914. Dylan Thomas B
Wales.
1922. Ralph Kiner is born. Baseball Hall of Famer.
JESUIT
1610. The first entrance of the Jesuit Fathers into Canada. This mission was
recommended to the Society by King Henry IV of France.
1705. Tirso Gonzalez + 13th General of the Society. He was a Promoter of
the missions in China, India, Americas, and in Europe too.
1820. Several members of the Society are condemned by the 20th General
Congregation of “plotting against the Institute.”
1873. Departure of Fr. Beckx, General, from the Gesu, a pathetic
scene.
1954. Henri Perrin, an ex-Jesuit worker priest, is killed in an
unexplained motorcycle accident.
1996. Christophe Munzihirwa, S.J. Archbishop of Bukavu, in the
Democratic Republic of Congo is murdered. He had denounced the
political and economic exploitation of Rwandan refugees who sought
refuge in Kivu.
309
October 28
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
SIMON AND JUDE, APOSTLES, Feast.
312. Constantine defeats Maxentius at the Mulvian Bridge, near Rome: "In
hoc signo, vinces."
1585. Cornelius Jansen B Dutch Catholic theologian and reformer.
1936. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences is constituted in its present form
by Pope Pius XI, In Multis Solaciis.
1958. Pope John XXIII elected.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
901. Death of Alfred the Great, king of the Saxons.
1636. The General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony founds Harvard
College.
1466. Erasmus is born.
1704. John Locke + age 72. His last words, to a woman reading the
Psalms, were: "Cease now."
1886. The Statue of Liberty is dedicated.
1903. Evelyn Waugh B Hampstead.
JESUIT
1510. St. Francis Borgia is born.
1550. St. Stanislaus Kostka born on this day and he also received the habit
on this day in Rome in 1567. He would die nine months later.
1552. At Rome, the opening of the German College.
1584. Pope Gregory XIII dedicates the Roman College. He is received by Fr.
General Acquaviva and the professors, including Bellarmine, Suarez,
and Clavius.
1939. President F.D. Roosevelt visits Fordham University.
1940. Joseph J. Williams, S.J. + New England Province, from the Jamaica
mission; author, ethnologist, Hebrewisms of West Africa.
1949. Leonard Feeney is dismissed from the Society of Jesus.
1958. Wilfrid Parsons, S.J. +. Founder of Thought magazine and editor of
America, 1925-36. He was then Professor at Georgetown University
and Catholic University, age 71.
310
October 29
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Michaelmas.
1969. The death of Clarence Jordan, author of Cotton Patch Gospels,
seeing Jesus in our midst.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1618. Sir Walter Raleigh is executed for treason in London.
1929. Stock Market Crash. Black Tuesday. The plunge into the great
depression.
1956. Suez crisis. Israeli forces invade Egypt, and move toward the Suez
canal.
JESUIT
1632. At Alost, in Belgium, the Scholastic, William Assaliers, seeing one of
Ours dying and another about to leave the Society, prayed that he
might sooner die than lose his vocation. He died within a few days.
1906. Jesuit missionaries are granted faculties to celebrate Mass at sea as
long as the time is tranquil.
1931. An Apostolic Letter of Pius XI, Providentissimus Deus proclaims
Robert Bellarmine a Doctor of the Church.
1996. Archbishop Christophe Munzihirwa + killed. Archbishop of Bukavu,
Zaire. He had been Jesuit Provincial, 1980-86. Age 70.
311
October 30
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1883. Bob Jones is born. Fundamentalist evangelist and educator.
1902. Pope Leo XIII establishes the Pontifical Biblical Commission with his
apostolic letter Vigilantiae Studiique.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1821. Fyodor Dostoievsky is born on this day, in the Old Style Calendar.
1885. Ezra Pound B Idaho.
1916. Cumberland College is crushed by Georgia Tech in football, 222-0.
Thirteen TDs came on returns of interceptions, fumbles, punts and
kick offs.
1918. Ted Williams is born.
Baseball Hall of Famer.
1938. H.G. Wells "War of the Worlds" on radio, with Orson Welles causes
panic reactions.
JESUIT
Blessed Dominic Collins, martyr. Optional Memorial
1638. In the English College, Rome, John Milton, the great poet, dined with
the Fathers and students.
1985. Fr. Goncalvez Kamtedza, S.J. pastor, aged 55, and Fr. Silvio Moreira,
S.J. aged 44, parish priest, are killed by unknown assassins in
Mozambique.
312
October 31
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
451. The Council of Chalcedon closes.
1517. Luther posts his theses. Reformation Day.
1541. The Presentation of Michelangelo's Last Judgment.
1967. Letter of Pope Paul VI to Africa, Africa Terrarum.
1992. After 359 years, the Pope officially rehabilitates Galileo who was
condemned by the church for claiming the earth revolved around the
sun. The Pope admits that the Church was wrong.
2000. A letter of Pope John Paul II proclaims St. Thomas More the Patron
Saint of Statesmen and Politicians.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
Halloween.
1795. John Keats is born.
1913. Will and Ariel Durant are married in NYC.
1926. Harry Houdini + escape artist.
1984. Indira Gandhi + Prime Minister of India is assassinated by body
guards.
JESUIT
1602. At Cork, the martyrdom of Blessed Dominic Collins, an Irish laybrother, who was hanged, drawn, and quartered for his adherence to
the faith.
1617. Alphonsus Rodriguez, + memorial. Feast Day for Jesuit Brothers.
1925. Juan Luis Segundo, S.J. is born. Uruguay, theologian.
1956. Edmund Walsh, S.J. + Educator. Founder and first Director of
Georgetown's School of Foreign Service, now named in his honor.
Diplomat, adviser to presidents.
1977. Xavier Society for the Blind, NY, honors Robert I. Gannon for
recording the entire Jerusalem Bible on 48 cassettes.
1981. Paolo Dezza begins his mission as the Pope's personal
delegate in the Society of Jesus.
313
November 1
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
ALL SAINTS, Solemnity.
451. The Council of Chalcedon adjourns.
1215. The Fourth Lateran Council opens. It will use the word
“transubstantiation.” It says that clergy should not take part in
hunting or fowling, or be medical doctors.
1512. Michelangelo unveils the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
1770. Alexander Cruden + compiler of Cruden's Concordance.
1950. Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus defines and
proclaims the Assumption of Mary.
1963. The first US Christmas stamp goes on sale. It is a view of the
Christmas tree in front of the White House.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1755. Lisbon earthquake. 30,000 die and the city is destroyed.
1871. Stephen Crane, B Newark, N.J. poet, novelist.
1952. The first hydrogen bomb is exploded in Pacific.
1959. Jacques Plante, Montreal goalteder, is the first to use a face mask in
ice hockey, in New York, after another injury.
1972. Ezra Pound + age 87, in Italy. Eccentric poet.
JESUIT
1567. Pius V publishes an instruction forbidding bullfighting, supported and
recommended by Francis Borgia. But this ban was lifted by the next
Pope in 1585.
1573. The first college of the Society opens in New Spain (Mexico) Sts. Peter
and Paul.
1700. The civil provincial assembly of New York and Maryland prohibits
Jesuits and other ecclesiastics from exercising religious practices in
their domains.
1893. The Mission of Jamaica is transferred from England to
Maryland/New York. The Mission of British Honduras is
transferred from England to Missouri.
1945. Rupert Mayer, S.J. + (his feast is Nov 3, Blessed). He was in the pulpit
celebrating Mass on the Feast of All Saints inSt. Michael’s
Church Munich, when he collapsed.
1956. The Society of Jesus is allowed legal existence in Norway.
314
November 2
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
ALL SOULS. It was first celebrated on this day in 998 at Cluny. In 1915
Pope Benedict XV allowed all priests to say three Masses on this day,
because of the large casualties in WW I.
1861. Maurice Blondel, is born. Philosopher of Action
1936. Rosemary Ruether B feminist theologian.
1970. Cardinal Cushing +. Boston, Benefactor of Jesuits.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1927. T.S. Eliot becomes a British subject.
1930. Ras Tafari, King of Ethiopia, was crowned Emperor Hailie Selassie.
1950. George Bernard Shaw + (94 years old).
1990. Norman Cousins + age 75. Edited the Saturday Review for
30 years.
1992. Hal Roach + 100 years old. Film producer, Laurel and Hardy.
JESUIT
1578. In the Roman College, Father Francis Suarez began to give lectures in
theology. Pope Gregory XIII came to hear them.
1585. Aloysius Gonzaga renounces his family heritage and inheritance at the
family palace in Mantua at the age of 17 and joins the Society three
weeks later.
1661. The death of Brother Daniel Seghers, S.J. He was a famous Flemish
painter of insects and flowers. He was a pupil of Brueghel and a
friend of Rubens.
1887. John Bapst, S.J. + Missionary, and first President of Boston College
1864-69. He was Superior of the Canada/NY Mission 1869-73. He
had been tarred and feathered in 1854 in Maine.
1928. Francis Finn +. He was a world renowned “juvenile author,” with 27
books, many of them translated into several languages. Some scenes
and characters came from St. Mary’s College, Kansas.
1971. Georg Otto Schurhammer, S.J. + Biographer of Xavier. A missionary in
India, he became ill before ordination, and promised to write a life of
Xavier if he recovered. He did in four large volumes. It was a life long
task.
315
November 3
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Martin de Porres, religious, optional memorial. He died on this day in
1639.
St. Winifred, Welsh, famous for her well near St. Bueno’s.
1534. British Parliament passes the Supremacy Act, making it a Protestant
nation.
1917. The death of Leon Bloy, pilgrim, novelist. “There is only one sorrow,
not to be a saint.”
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1794. William Cullen Bryant is born.
1918. Bob Feller B
Fastball pitcher. Hall of Famer.
1954. H. Matisse +. Artist.
1983. George Halas + "Papa Bear" the owner of the Chicago Bears, and cofounder of the National Football League.
JESUIT
Blessed Rupert Mayer, S.J., optional memorial.
1546. Lucrezia di Brandine and Francesca Cruyllas are released from their
Jesuit vows.
1593. 5th General Congregation opens. This is the first to be summoned
while a General was still alive, summoned at the order of Pope
Clement VIII.
1614. The vessel which was bringing the right arm of Xavier to Rome
miraculously escaped capture by Dutch pirates. The arm had been
severed from the body at Goa by Father Acquaviva's order.
1939. Herbert Thurston, S.J. dies. Writer, author on saints, on possessions,
religious phenomena , spiritualists. Member of the English Province.
316
November 4
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Charles Borromeo, bishop Memorial. He died on this day in 1584 in Milan
in the arms of his Jesuit confessor, Fr. Adorno Benfacta + 1584. He
said his second Mass in the rooms of St. Ignatius. He gave St.
Aloysius his first communion.
St. Emeric + RM. After whom Amerigo Vespucci and thus America were
named. Emeric died in 1031 and was the son of the King of Hungary.
St. Pierius, head of famous catechetical school in Alexandria, North Africa,
4th century.
1646. The Massachusetts Bay Colony passes a law making it a capital
offense to deny that the Bible was the Word of God.
1885. Soren Kierkegaard +.
1960. Raissa Maritain + . The wife of Jacques.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1847. Felix Mendelssohn +.
1879. Will Rogers is born.
1901. Andre Malraux is born.
1916. Walter Cronkite, is born. CBS News, “That’s the way it is.”
1918. Poet Wilfred Owen is killed in WW I, one week before armistice day.
1922. Howard Carter discovers King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
JESUIT
1547. By his bull Copiosus in Misericordia Pope Paul III erects the College
in Gandia as a University. It was founded by Francis Borgia and is
the first College of the Society.
1768. On the feast of St. Charles, patron of Charles III, King of Spain, the
people of Madrid asked for the recall of the Jesuits who had been
banished from Spain 19 months earlier. Irritated by this demand, the
King drove the Archbishop of Toledo and his Vicar General into exile
as instigators of the movement.
1920. Joseph Fitzmyer, S.J. is born. Scripture scholar.
1927. Transfer of the Curia to its new quarters at Borgo Santo Spirito 5.
1985. The death of Morton Hill, S.J. He was the founder of Morality in
Media. President Reagan sends a sympathy note and tribute to him
for his funeral.
1988. In Lithuania, over 300 people welcome Fr. Sigitas Tamkevicius on his
release after five years in prison.
317
November 5
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1414. The Council of Constance opens in Germany, in search for papal unity.
It will close on April 22, 1418, after 45 sessions..
1887. Donald Baillie B Theologian, God Was in Christ.
1943. Vatican City is bombed by a single airplane. Both sides accuse the
other side.
1987. The Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship sends a letter to
bishops on the use of churches for concerts of vocal or
instrumental music.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1912. Roy Rogers is born.
1919. Rudolph Valentino marries Jean Acker. The marriage lasts
less than six hours.
1989. Vladimir Horowitz + pianist.
JESUIT
All Saints and Blesseds of the Society of Jesus.
1605. Guy Fawkes Day. The Gunpowder Plot is revealed to the
Government as a Popish plot, and the Jesuits allegedly involved.
1615. Opening of the Seventh General Congregation. Among the decrees
were the following: that the Society is not bound to contribute to the
support of those dismissed; that the biretta is not to be allowed to lay
brothers.
1643. Isaac Jogues sails from Manhattan for Europe.
1660. In Persia died Father Alexander de Rhodes, the first missionary to
penetrate into the Kingdoms of Tonkin and Siam (Vietnam) in the
year 1627.
1796. In Russia, the death of Empress Catherine the Great, protectress of
the Society. She reigned for 34 years.
1877. Regis University, then known as Las Vegas College, was established in
Las Vegas, New Mexico.
1873. At Rome the furniture of the Gesu Professed House was sold by
auction. The only bidders were Jews from the Ghetto.
318
November 6
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Saint Ignatius Delgado and Companion. Martyrs in Vietnam.
1789. John Carroll is appointed first bishop of Baltimore, 1789, the diocese of
Baltimore is erected by Pius VI. He is consecrated at Lulworth Castle
on August 15, 1790.
1935. Billy Sunday + revivalist. Previously, he was a major league baseball
player.
1946. Sr. Bertha Hummel + age 37. Designs for Hummel Statues.
1989. The death of Sr. Magdaleine of Jesus, foundress of the Little Sisters of
Jesus in 1939. They live among the poor as leaven.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1869. Diamonds are discovered in South Africa.
1893. P.I. Tchaikovsky +.
JESUIT
1857. Birth of Jon Sveinsson Nonni, S.J. Born in Iceland, he lived his
childhood there, and then lived in Denmark, and France. His stories
of childhood in Iceland have been translated into forty languages.
1916. The first lecture at the Fordham School of Sociology and Social Service
is given by Terence Shealy, S.J., in the Woolworth Building.
1922. Hieronymus Noldin, S.J. +, age 85. He wrote a Handbook of Moral
Theology, and Theologia Moralis.
.
1982. Pope John Paul II visits the Santa Casa of Loyola, the first such visit
by a Pope. He also visits Xavier's castle.
1986. Neil Twombly, S.J. +. Advocate of social justice, and editor of The
Blueprint of the South.
319
November 7
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
680. The Third Council of Constantinople opens. It will define that there are
two wills, two actions in Jesus Christ.
1918. Billy Graham B evangelist, is born for the firs time.
1980. Frank Duff + in Ireland. Age 71. He is the principal founder of the
Legion of Mary.
1981. Will Durant, historian +. Aged 91. He was reconciled with the Church
before his death.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1867. Marie Curie is born. Nobel Laureate.
1913. Albert Camus B in Algeria. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1957.
1917. Bolshevik Revolution occurs. They seize power in Russia, The October
Revolution, in St. Petersburg and the Storming of the Winter Palace.
Lenin becomes President.
1922. Al Hirt B
jazz musician.
1940. The Tacoma Narrows suspension bridge collapses in gale. There is
great movie footage of that event.
JESUIT
1657. At Genoa died Father Augustine Centurione, who before entering the
Society had been Doge of the Republic. His father, mother, brothers,
sisters, sons and daughters all became Religious.
1717. Blessed Anthony Baldinucci +. For twenty years he was an itinerant
preacher to the inhabitants of the Italian countryside near Rome,
averaging twenty-two missions a year.
1893. Constantine Lievens, S.J. + at Louvain, Belgium. He is called the
greatest missionary of the Restored Society. He was a missionary to
India in the 1880 after his novitiate, and performed 25,000 baptisms.
He was a defender of the poor.
1921. St. Stanislaus College, a Jesuit novitiate in Macon, Georgia, is
destroyed by fire. The four story building had been built in 1873,
originally as a diocesan seminary.
1983. Michael Montague, S.J. + Chicago. Professor of philosophy and
theology. He was an idea, thing, and people person.
320
November 8
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1047. Benedict IX becomes Pope again for the third time in six months.
1308. The death of Blessed John Duns Scotus, Franciscan philosopher, age
42, named the “Doctor Subtilis.”
1897. Dorothy Day B Brooklyn, NY. The Catholic Worker Movement.
The outstanding Catholic laywoman in American history.
1964. Archbishop Joseph Rummel, of New Orleans +. Strong on social justice
and integration, he excommunicated several who opposed equal
rights for blacks.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1674. John Milton + in London, age 65.
1837. Mount Holyoke Seminary first opens in Massachusetts. It is the first
college in the US specifically for the education of women.
1977. The Tomb of Philip II of Macedonia discovered.
1979. US Embassy in Tehran is seized by Iran militants.
JESUIT
1769. In Spain, Charles III orders all Jesuit goods to be sold and demands
that newly elected Pope Clement XIV suppress the Society.
1974. Karl Rahner, S.J. and Bernard Lonergan, S.J. are the only two to
receive honorary degrees at the University of Chicago at a special
convocation of the University. This is the climax of one month long
medieval celebration of the 700th anniversary of the deaths of
Aquinas and Bonaventure.
321
November 9
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
DEDICATION OF ST. JOHN LATERAN, Feast.
1836. Samuel Hall is born. Founder of Gideons Bible. Distributor of
Bibles.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1916. Miss Jeanette Rankin of Montana is elected a member of the
House of Representatives, nearly four years before most women were
given the right to even vote. She was an ardent suffragist. Elected
again in 1941 she was the only Representative to vote against both
declarations of War, in 1917 and 1941.
1938. Kristallnacht. The Nazi persecution of the Jews begins and 267
synagogues are burned.
1953. Dylan Thomas + poet, age 39, St. Vincent's Hospital, NYC, after a six
day coma after l8 whiskeys in a tavern.
1965. New York City blackout.
1970. Charles de Gaulle +.
1989. The East German government opens its borders to the West.
The Wall comes down the next day.
1991. Yves Montand + aged 70. Actor, film star.
2003. Art Carney, actor, comedian dies, age 85. Played Ed Norton in the
Honeymooners.
JESUIT
1656. At Madrid died Father John de Guadarrama, a man of prayer and
mortification... It is said that during prayer a fragrant odor was often
perceived to exhale from him.
1954. Fr. General Janssens issues revised instruction on norms for buildings
of the Society.
1955. Alfred Barrett + writer, playwright, poet. Oversaw the English
version of the movie on Loyola, “The Soldier Saint.” He taught in the
Communications Department at Fordham University.
322
November 10
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Leo the Great, pope and doctor, + 461 Memorial. He was buried
on this day.
The holy women Tryphenna and Tryphosa, who profited by the preaching of
blessed Paul and the example of Thecla. RM
1483. Martin Luther is born.
1910. The Gideons place their first bible in a motel in IronMountain,
Montana.
1912. Bernard Haring born, eminent Redemptorist moral theologian.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1619. Descartes has a dream/vision/insight into a unitary universal science.
1759. Schiller is born.
1775. The US Marine Corps are founded.
1871. Journalist Henry Stanley finds David Livingston, missionary,
explorer, in Ujiji, Tanzania. "Dr. Livingston, I presume." He
answers, "Yes."
1982. Leonid Brezhnev +.
1989. The demolition of the Berlin Wall begins.
1995. Ken Saro-Wiwa Nigerian civil rights activist, is hanged because of his
leadership for the Ogoni people against environmental pollution and
poverty.
JESUIT
1549. Pope Paul III + To him the Society owes its first constitution as a
religious order, the Formula of the Institute, approved on 27
September, 1540.
1551. Xavier ends his two year mission in Japan.
1569. Fr. Sforza Pallavicini, historian of the Council of Trent, was despite
his attempts to escape the office, made a cardinal by Pope Alexander
VII.
323
November 11
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Martin of Tours, bishop + 397 Memorial. He was buried on this day.
537. Pope St. Silverius, who was the son of Pope St. Hormisdas is deposed
on this day. His resignation was extorted from him and he died one
month later on December 2nd.
1215. The Fourth Lateran Council convenes.
1417. Odo Colonna is elected Pope Martin V, putting an end to the
Great Western Schism.
1855. The death of Soren Kierkegaard, age 42, philosopher, saw the
challenge of Christianity was to become a Christian.
1947. Martin Dibelius +
form criticism, Scripture scholar.
1967. George Hunton + lawyer. He was co-founder with Fr. John LaFarge of
the Catholic Interracial Council of New York.
1992. The Anglican Church’s decision to allow women priests. This causes
difficulties with relations with the Vatican.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1821. Fyodor Dostoevsky is born in Moscow, new style calendar.
1918. World War I, Armistice.
1922. Kurt Vonnegut is born. Indianapolis.
JESUIT
1614. The arm of Xavier brought from Goa to Rome, was received in the
Eternal City with extraordinary solemnity.
1616. At Paris died Fr. John Gontery. He was very dull as a scholastic, but
imploring Our Lady's help he became a powerful defender of the
Church against Calvinists.
1982. Robert Gleason, S.J. + Fordham University, theologian, Grace.
324
November 12
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Josephat, bishop and martyr, Memorial.
1660. John Bunyan is arrested for preaching without a licence. Refusing to
budge, he remains in jail for 12 years.
1914. E. Schillebeeckx is born. Theologian.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1815. Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day, is born. Johnston, New York.
An Advocate of women’s suffrage.
1840. Auguste Rodin is born.
1859. Jules Leotard, the daring young man on the flying trapeze,
debuts in Paris. He gives his name to the “leotard.”
JESUIT
1606. In the tower of London, Nicholas Owen ("Little John,") was tortured to
death on the rack. After death, a hair-shirt was found on his body.
1615. At Rome Father Fabius de Fabii, one of the ancient family of the Fabii,
had a painful death, having been gored by a savage bull on the way
to St. Paul's. He would not seek a miracle from St. Francis Xavier,
whose arm had recently been brought to Rome, but preferred to
resign himself to God's holy will. He had been Master of Novices,
Provincial, and Assistant.
1919. Instruction of Father General Ledochowski on typewriters, Usus
machinae dactylographicae. They would be allowed for offices, not for
persons, and should not be carried from one house to another.
1982. Vincent O’Keefe, General Assistant to Fr. Arrupe, received the Xavier
Award at the 40th annual dinner.
1989. Raymond Adams, S.J. + Anthropologist, superior, teacher. He was
murdered in Cape Coast, Ghana by one he was trying to help.
325
November 13
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Stanislaus Kostka, religious, Memorial.
St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, virgin, + 1917 Memorial.
354. St. Augustine is born.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1850. Robert Louis Stevenson is born. Edinburgh.
1907. Francis Thompson, poet + opium addict. He wrote "The Hound of
Heaven".
1907. First takeoff in a manned helicopter by Paul Corner. It hovered for a
few seconds, but achieved no real flight.
JESUIT
1607. Paul Kostka, brother of St. Stanislaus, + in Poland. He had sought
admission to the Society. Father General Acquaviva had given him
leave to enter, but he died while making his preparations.
1806. The first novitiate in North America is opened. In Maryland Robert
Molyneux, Superior, makes his solemn profession to Bishop John
Carroll who was empowered by Fr. General Gruber to receive the
profession.
1855. Bishop James Oliver Van de Velde, S.J. + Natchez,Miss. A Missiouri
Province Jesuit, he was President of St. Louis University and the
second bishop of Chicago from 1848-53.
1950. Students move into the new site of Boston College High.
1988. Pope John Paul II prays at the tomb of Stanislaus Kostka, saying that
“as a student at the Belgian College, nearly every day I came to pray
to St. Stanislaus...”
326
November 14
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Lawrence O'Toole, Bishop of Dublin (RM)
1966. The National Council of Catholic Bishops is established.
1990. Malcolm Muggeridge + 87 years old. Social critic, journalist, and
convert to Catholicism.
1996. The death of Cardinal Bernardin, Archbishop of Chicago. Church
leader and mediator. He spoke of “a consistent ethic of life” and tried
to find and found “Common Ground.”
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1716. Leibniz +.
1831. Hegel +.
1832. Charles Carroll of Carrolltown +. He was the first to sign the
Declaration of Independence and the last surviving signer.
1840. Claude Monet, is born.
1851. Moby Dick is published.
1861. Frederick Jackson Turner, historian is born. Wisconsin. Famous for
“The Frontier Thesis.”
1889. Nehru is born.
1900. Aaron Copland B
1910. John LaFarge + Artist and writer. He is the Father of Jesuit John
LaFarge.
1915. Booker T. Washington +.
1940. Coventry City bombed. 69,000 buildings are damaged and the
Cathedral is destroyed.
1948. Prince Charles, future King, is born.
JESUIT
Feast of St. Joseph Pignatelli.
1598. At Ferrara died Fr. Benedict Palmio. Great esteemed as a preacher, he
was the first Jesuit to be appointed by the Pope as preacher at the
Vatican.
1907. Pedro Arrupe B
1956. Moorhouse I.X. Millar, S.J. + Educator, writer on Church-State. He
taught Political Philosophy at Fordham University.
1980. The Jesuit Refugee Service is established by Fr. General Pedro Arrupe.
1983. Fr. General decrees that all Independent Vice-Provinces become
Provinces.
327
November 15
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Albert the Great, bishop and doctor, optional memorial. He died on this date
in 1280.
1093. St. Margaret of Scotland + age 47, dedicated to the poor.
1890. Anders Nygren is born. Eros and Agape. Theologian.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1630. Johannes Kepler + An Astronomer, he discovered that each planet
travels around the sun in elliptical orbits. He was a friend of Jesuits.
1864. General Sherman begins his march from Atlanta to the sea.
1884. The Berlin Conference on African affairs opens. Attended by 14
nations, it will rid the slave trade and divide up Africa among these
nations.
JESUIT
1536. The nine first companions leave Paris together to go to Venice to meet
St. Ignatius there. A 50 day journey.
1628. St. Roch Gonzalez, S.J. an American Indian. is martyred, in Uruguay,
with Alphonsus Rodriguez, S.J. He is one of the architects of the
Jesuit Reductions in Uruguay and Paraguay. His feast is November
16th.
1811. In Rome, the death of Joseph Pignatelli, a Spaniard of noble birth, a
golden link between the Old and New Society.
1856. Herbert Thurston is born. Prolific author on saints and spiritualists
and spirituality.
.
1948. Louis Twomey inaugurates Christ’s Blueprint for the South, intended
originally for social consciousness raising among Jesuits.
328
November 16
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Margaret of Scotland + 1093, optional memorial.
Gertrude, virgin, optional memorial.
1863. Antonin Gilbert Sertillanges, O.P. B Apologist, philosopher, wrote
The Intellectual Life.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1849. Dostyevsky is sentenced to death. This was later commuted to four
years in Siberia.
1873. W.C. Handy is born. Alabama. 'Father of the Blues' composer. St.
Louis Blues.
1904. Nnamdi Azikiwe is born. Nigerian leader.
1907. Oklahoma becomes a state.
1930. Chinua Achebe is born. Nigerian novelist. Author of Things Fall
Apart.
1960. Clark Gable +.
JESUIT
St. Roch Gonzalez, John del Castillo and Alphonsus Rodriguez, priests and
martyrs, Memorial.
1857. Jon Svennson, S.J. is born. He wrote children’s stories about Iceland,
and has been translated into forty languages. A native of Iceland, he
wrote in German.
1889. Josef Jungmann, S.J. is born. History of Liturgy.
1968. Cardinal Bea, S.J. + Scripture Scholar, ecumenist. He was Confessor
of Pius XI and Pius XII and created a Cardinal in 1959. He was
appointed to head Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity at the
age of 79.
1989. Six Jesuit priests, and two co-workers martyred by government backed
troops in San Salvador, in an attempt to destroy the University of
Central America. Ignacio Ellacuria and Ignacio Martin-Baro are
among the dead.
329
November 17
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Elizabeth of Hungary, religious, queen. Memorial. She died on this day
in 1231, at the age of 24.
331. Julian the Apostate B Roman Emperor. He was the half brother of
Constantine, but converted to Greek and pagan philosophies.
1200. Hugh of Lincoln +.
1624. Jacob Boehme + German mystic.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1558. In England, the death of Queen Mary Tudor and the accession of
Elizabeth.
1869. Suez Canal is opened.
1917. August Rodin +. Sculptor.
1944. Tom Seaver is born. Baseball Hall of Famer.
1980. Althusser, a French Marxist atheist philosopher strangles his wife and
goes to a psychiatric clinic.
1988. Benazir Bhutto is elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, the first woman
to lead a Muslim state.
JESUIT
1759. The Bishop of Rio de Janeiro accused the Jesuits of concealing relics
and other church treasures belonging to their suppressed churches.
All who had knowledge of the matter and refused to disclose it, were
to be excommunicated.
1913. Marc Barthelemy S.J. +. He was a missionary to South Africa and the
founder of St. George’s College. In his honor was a very well attended
funeral in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
1938. St. Roque Gonzalez and his companions are designated as the patron
saints of the Latin American Assistancy by Fr. General.
1982. William Byron is installed as the 12th President of the Catholic
University of America.
330
November 18
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
The Dedication of the Churches of Peter and Paul, apostles, optional
memorial. St. Peter's Church was dedicated on November 18, 1626;
St. Paul's on December 10, 1854.
Rose Philippine Duchesne, virgin. Memorial in the USA
680. Abbess Hilda +.
1302. Pope Boniface VIII, in his Bull Unam Sanctam, upholds the doctrine
of the two swords, both in the power of the church, as well as extra
ecclesiam, nulla salus.
1874. Delegates meet to form the Woman's Christian Temerance Union.
1882. Jacques Maritain is born. Catholic philosopher.
1893. The Letter of Leo XIII Providentissimus Deus advances Roman
Catholic scripture studies.
1966. The last required meatless Friday for American Roman Catholics.
1978. The mass suicide, of 913 persons, including 200 children at
Jonestown, Guyana due to Jim Jones People's Temple cult.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1787. Sojourner Truth is born. Black evengelist, reformer, advocate of
human rights.
1789. Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre, is born. The inventor of the first
photographic process.
1820. Antarctica is discovered.
1836. W.S. Gilbert, lyricist of Gilbert and Sullivan, is born.
1928. Mickey Mouse debuts in the New York film, Steamboat Willie.
1993. General Sani Abacha of Nigeria dissolves all democratic institutions.
JESUIT
1538. Pope Paul III caused the Governor of Rome to publish the verdict
proclaiming the complete innocence of Ignatius and his companions
of all heresy.
1674. In Paris the death of Fr. Charles Lallemant, the second founder of the
Missions in New France.
1755. The opening of the 18th General Congregation. Centurione is elected.
1960. The first edition of the Jesuit Yearbook appears.
331
November 19
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1544. A Bull of Pope Paul III, convokes a general council for 15 March 1545,
but it is postponed until 13 December. This will eventually be the
Council of Trent.
1862. Billy Sunday is born. Baseball player and then revivalist in Chicago.
1918. Corita Kent is born. IHM Sister, then ex-sister, artist, famed for
posters/graphics.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1863. Gettysburg Address. “Fourscore and seven years ago...”
1899. Alan Tate is born. Kentucky. Poet and critic.
1921. Roy Campanella is born. Dodger catcher and slugger.
1953. Roy Campanella is named Most Valuable Player in the National
League.
1997. The birth of the first surviving septuplets.
JESUIT
1526. At Alcala the examination of St. Ignatius before the Inquisition begins,
concerning the novelty of his mode of life and his teaching.
1587. The second translation of the body of St. Ignatius. It is moved to the
floor of the sanctuary of the Gesu and remains there for 35 years.
1775. At Rome, Fr. Lorenzo Ricci, imprisoned in Castel Sant’Angelo, five
days before his death there read a solemn public protestation of the
Society’s innocence of the crimes imputed to it at the Suppression.
1830. Pierre Cazelles, S.J. is named first superior of the French Jesuit
mission in Canada. He sails from Bordeaux.
1982. Edward J. Dunne, S.J. dies. Writer, Jesuits in China.
1910. The oath against modernism is taken at the Curia.
332
November 20
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1704. Pope Clement XI confirms the decree of the Holy Office against the
Chinese rites.
1867. Cardinal Patrick Hayes is born. He becomes Archbishop of New York
in 1919, and dies in 1938.
1947. The Encyclical Letter of Pius XII, Mediator Dei, on the Sacred Liturgy.
1981. Frank Sheed +. Catholic layman, apologist, publisher.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1786. Carl Maria von Weber is born.
1855. Josiah Royce is born. philosopher.
1908. Alisdair Cooke is born. Journalist, broadcaster. His Letter from
America, on BBC radio, is the longest running program ever.
1910. The death of Leo Tolstoi, aged 82, novelist and moralist. His last words
were “to seek, always to seek.”
1923. Nadine Gordimer, South African novelist, is born.
1989. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is adopted.
1998. The first major section of the ISS (International Space Station)
goes into orbit in a Russian rocket.
JESUIT
1581. The Spanish Jesuit, Diego Borasso +. “The Philosopher.” His class was
attended by 500 scholars. At the command of his superior he went
and caught a sparrow that sat perched on a bench.
1864. In St. Peter’s in Rome, the beatification of Peter Canisius by Pope
Piux X.
1968. 28 Al Hikma University Jesuits are ordered to leave Baghdad in five
days. Nine months later the remaining 33 Jesuits are expelled from
Baghdad College.
1976. Martin D'Arcy, S.J. + 88 years old.
333
November 21
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
The Presentation of Mary, Memorial. Day to honor those in Cloistered
Religious Life.
Rufus, son of Simon Cyrene, chosen by God. New RM
496. St. Gelasius I, Pope. Reigned from 492-96.+ He was from North Africa
and strengthened the doctrine of papal power as the two swords. He
was the first to be called the Vicar of Christ and was called the father
of the poor.
1620. The Mayflower Compact. Freedom of worship.
1768. Friedrich Schleiermacher is born.
1964. Pope Paul VI proclaims Mary to be Mother of the Church.
1970. Apostolic Letter of Paul VI, Ingravescentem aetatem. It decrees that
cardinals who have reached age of 80 can't vote for the pope, and
bishops must offer their resignation at 75.
1974. Dom David Knowles + Historian. Benedictine who lived outside the
monastery.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1694. Voltaire is born. Paris. His family name was Francois Marie Arouet.
He was educated by the Jesuits at the College of Louis-le-Grand,
Paris. He wrote wit and satires, including Candide.
1896. George Washington Gale Ferris +, age 37. He was the engineer who
designed the Ferris Wheel.
1910. Leo Tolstoy + age 82.
1920. Stan Musial B .331 batting average. Hall of Famer.
1964. The Verranzano Narrows Bridge opens in New York City.
1966. The National Organization of Women (NOW) is formed.
JESUIT
1552. At Rome, the arrival of the first students at the German College, one
of the foundations especially dear to St. Ignatius.
1858. The Collegio Pio Latino Americano opens in Rome. It has trained over
23 cardinals and 340 bishops.
1921. Francis Aloysius Barnum + Alaskan missionary. He wrote a
dictionary and grammar. He set up Georgetown University’s
archaeological museum.
334
November 22
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Cecilia, virgin and martyr, Memorial.
Sts. Philemon and Apphia, disciples of St. Paul. RM
545. Pope Vigilius is kidnapped and taken to Sicily and then
Constantinople. He will never see Rome again, as he dies in 555 on
his way back to Rome. Emperor Justinian opposed him.
1935. The death of Eberhard Arnold, enemy of Hitler, and founder
of the Bruderhof.
1943. Pietro Alessandro Yon +. Organist, composer (Jesu Bambino)
served at Xavier parish, NYC, and St. Patrick's and other
churches.
1981. The Apostolic Exhortation of John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, on the
Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1643. Robert de La Salle is born. France. As an explorer, he discovered the
Mississippi River.
1682. Halley sees the comet that will bear his name.
1869. Andre Gide, is born.
1900. Arthur Sullivan + of Gilbert and Sullivan fame.
1916. Jack London, author. Died, a suicide in California, age 40.
1963. John F. Kennedy + Assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
1963. C.S. Lewis +. Author, theologian.
1963. Aldous Huxley +.
1980. Mae West +.
JESUIT
1633. Frs. Andrew White and Altham leave England to found the
mission of Maryland.
1729. Aloysius Gonzaga is declared patron of all students throughout the
Catholic world.
1791. Georgetown Academy opens. Its first student, aged 12, is the first
student taught by Jesuits in the USA.
1922. Fire destroys the Jesuit College of St. Boniface, in Manitoba. Nine
students and one Jesuit brother die.
1987. Roger Filcock and Robert Middleton are among the 85 martyrs
declared blessed by Pope John Paul II. Both were hung, drawn, and
quartered in England in 1601.
1996. Robert Harvanek, S.J. + age 79, ex-Provincial of Chicago,
philosopher.
335
November 23
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Blessed Miguel Augustin Pro, S.J. martyr: optional memorial in the USA.
Assassinated in Mexico on this day 1927 by leaders of the
persecution of the Church in Mexico. "Viva Christo Rey." He was 36
and ordained two years.
Clement I, pope and martyr (the 4th pope; died in 97 AD) and Columban,
abbot, optional memorials.
1906. Wilhelm Wrede +. He was a German Lutheran New Testament
scholar.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1654. Blaise Pascal has an experience that changed his life. A God of
Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, not the God of the philosophers
and scholars... God of Jesus Christ.. Surrender to Jesus Christ.
1859. Billy the Kid is born. He becomes a famous US outlaw.
1889. The first juke box saloon opens, in San Francisco.
1976. Andre Malraux + writer, intellectual.
1992. Roy Acuff + age 89. Country singer, "Wabash Cannonball," etc.
JESUIT
1545. At Rome the entrance into the Society of Father Jerome Nadal, whom
St. Ignatius had known as a student at Paris.
1585. The arrival in Rome of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, with letters from his
father, to Pope Sixtus V and to Fr. General Acquaviva. He entered
the novitiate on November 25.
1979. Edwin Cuffe, S.J. +
NY.
Juniorate Professor at St. Andrew on Hudson,
1983. The national police occupy the Central American University (El
Salvador) and spend 11 hours examining every book in the library.
336
November 24
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Martyr, and his companions, Obligatory
Memorial.
1572. John Knox + Scottish reformer> He had been a Roman Catholic
priest.
1713. Junipero Serra is born.
1848. Pope Pius IX flees Rome in disguise, and heads for Gaeta.
1917. The Military Archdiocese of the USA is created. Bishop Patrick Hayes
of New York is the 1st military bishop.
1924. Sigrid Undset is received into the Catholic Church.
1995. Cardinal Dominic Ekandem + in Ikot Ekpene, Nigeria. He
was the first Nigerian Cardinal.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1632. Baruch (Benedict) Spinoza is born. Amsterdam.
1864. Henri de Toulouse Lautrec is born. Painter.
1868. Scott Joplin is born. Pianist, composer.
1938. Oscar Robertson B Basketball superstar.
1963. Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President Kennedy, in
police custody, is himself killed by Jack Ruby.
2003. Warren Spahn dies, age 82. Baseball pitcher with 363 wins, the most
for a left-handed.
JESUIT
1665. Simon Le Moyne, S.J. + in Canada.
1678. Claude La Colombiere is arrested for treason.
1775. Laurence Ricci + in Castel S. Angelo. He was the 18th and last
General of the Old Society. He was imprisoned for over two years,
and not allowed to write or to celebrate Mass.
1938. Genevieve Brady Macaulay + Philanthropist. She was a major
benefactress to Wernersville and Innisfada.
1963. John LaFarge, S.J. + writer. He was a pioneer advocate of racial
justice in the US.
1985. Opening of the Synod on the Second Vatican Council. 44 Jesuits
participate; 10 members, 7 experts, 13 journalists, and 14
translators.
337
November 25
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St Catherine of Alexandria, 3-4th Century. Traditionally she has been the
patron saint of Jesuit scholastics studying philosophy. Also patroness
of librarians. Optional Memorial.
1535. Foundation Day of the Ursuline Order, under Angela Merici: a novel,
apostolic teaching association of women.
1748. Isaac Watts +
hymnwriter.
1881. Pope John XXIII is born.
1976. Norman Perrin + New Testament scholar. From Britain and then
teaching and writing in the USA.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1846. Carry Nation B She was a temperance leader who wrecked saloons in
Kansas.
1914. Joe DiMaggio is born.
Lifetime batting average of .325.
1952. The Mousetrap, a play by Agatha Christie opens in London and ran
for about 50 years.
JESUIT
1584. At Rome, the solemn consecration of the magnificent Church of the
Gesu, built for the Society by Cardinal Alexander Farnese.
1585. Aloysius Gonzaga enters the novitiate of Sant Andrea, Rome.
1984. Philip Hurley, S.J. + He was a strong advocate of civil rights and
justice for the poor, of the New York Province.
338
November 26
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1842. The University of Notre Dame is founded by Fr. Edward Sorin, CSC.
1883. The death of Sojourner Truth, age 86. She was a Black evangelist,
activist, and reformer for human rights.
1892. Cardinal Lavigierie +. He was the founder and pioneer White Father
missionary to Algeria and East Africa. He was Primate, and the first
Cardinal of Africa. He also founded the White Sisters.
1904. Raissa and Jacques Maritain married.
1938. Virgil Michel, OSB +. He was the founder of the liturgical
movement in the USA.
1971. James Alberione + age 87. He was the founder of the Society of St.
Paul and of the Daughters of St. Paul.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1789. The first celebration of Thanksgiving Day in the US.
1906. President Teddy Roosevelt returns from Central America. He
was the first US President to travel abroad while in office.
1922. Charles Schulz is born. Cartoonist, Peanuts.
1956. Tommy Dorsey +. He was a band leader and trombonist.
JESUIT
St. John Berchmans, religious, Memorial.
1678. In London the arrest and imprisonment of Claude la Colombiere. He
was released after five weeks and banished.
1681. At Rome, the death of Fr. John Paul Oliva, the eleventh general of the
Society. He was a widely admired preacher.
1764. The Jesuits in France were suppressed by the Bourbons.
1921. A Letter of Fr. General Ledochowski is issued on religious modesty
after the example of John Berchmans.
1930. The Rocky Mountain Mission, based in Spokane, is erected.
1984. Bernard Lonergan, S.J. +. Philosopher and Theologian.
339
November 27
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1095. Pope Urban II, preaches, issues a call for the 1st Crusade.
1830. St. Catherine Laboure has a vision of Mary. This is the origin of the
Miraculous Medal. "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who
have recourse to thee."
1970. Manila. An attempt is made on the life of visiting Pope Paul VI at the
airport.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
8. BC. Quintus Horatius Flaccus +.
1701. Anders Celsius, Swedish scientist,is born. He gave his name
to the thermometer.
1951. Korean cease fire agreement. End of the Korean War.
1953. Eugene O'Neill, playwright + Boston, age 55.
JESUIT
1617. The death of Mathias de la Saulx, a Belgian lay brother. Being
tempted to desire the priesthood, he thought of leaving the Society,
but was threatened by St. Ignatius. He died a martyr of charity.
1680. Athanasius Kircher + A universal genius, but especially a leader in
science and archeology. As a scholastic he was dull and sickly, but
being carried to our Lady's altar, he was suddenly cured and
endowed with extraordinary talent. He invented the magic lantern
and developed the mercury thermometer. Cecil B. deMille said that
“the real pioneer of movies is a Jesuit - Kircher - who invented the
magic lantern in the 17th century.”
1911. Louis Billot, S.J. was made a cardinal. He was a theologian, and
professor. He would crown Pius XI with papal tiara. In 1927 he
resigned from the College of Cardinals.
1988. In Madagascar, Fr. Philibert Randriambololona, S.J. is ordained
Coadjutor Bishop. Twice Provincial, he was also Fr. General’s
Assistant for Africa and Madagascar.
340
November 28
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Sosthenes, disciple of Paul, mentioned in his letter to the Corinthians.
RM
1628. John Bunyan is born. Pilgrim’s Progress.
1680. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, sculptor, architect, +. He was a friend and
benefactor of the Society. San Andrea Quirinale was his favorite
creation.
1981. Our Lady appears in Kebeko, Rwanda, to Alphonsine Mumureke, and
then to others.
1982. Opus Dei is made a personal prelature by Rome with 70,000
members.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1757. William Blake is born. London. Poet, mystic, artist.
1859. Washington Irving + age 76, Tarrytown, NY. Last words, "When will
this end?"
1942. Cocoanut Grove Fire. 500 friends and alumni/ae of Holy Cross and
Boston College perish.
1943. Stalin, FDR, and Churchill meet at Tehran.
JESUIT
1629. At Nagasaki, Blessed Leonard Kimura, Japanese lay brother,
died a glorious martyr by fire.
1759. Twenty Fathers and 192 Scholastics set sail from the Tagus for exile.
Two were to die on the voyage to Genoa and Civitavecchia.
1855. John Baptist Hus is appointed superior of the New York Canada
Mission.
1954. Fr. Martin Scott, S.J. + age 89. Writer, apologist, Answer Wisely. He
wrote more than 25 books.
1980. Clement Armitage, S.J. He worked at Jesuit Mission magazine
from 1947-1980.
1984. Fr. Joseph Pittau, General Counselor, received Japan’s highest honor,
the Order of the Rising Sun, for his contribution to education.
341
November 29
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1643. Fr. Claudio Monteverdi + Venice. Composer. He was married,
and later became a priest.
1980. Dorothy Day +. Most important laywoman in USA history. She
died with a clear conscience, according to an editorial in the New
York Times. She began the Catholic Worker, and wrote several
books, including The Long Loneliness.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1832. Louisa May Alcott is born. She was an abolitionist and writer.
1898. C.S. Lewis B
in Belfast.
1929. One month after the Wall Street Crash, the University of Chicago
inaugurates Robert Maynard Hutchins as the youngest president of a
major university.
JESUIT
1572. On the death of St. Pius V, Gregory XIII ascended the Papal throne
and abolished the choir imposed on the Society by his predecessor, as
well as other changes made in the Institute.
1773. The Jesuits of White Russia request the Empress Catherine to allow
the Brief of Suppression to be published. She bids them lay aside
their scruples, promising to obtain the Papal sanction for their
remaining in statu quo.
342
November 30
ANDREW, APOSTLE
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Feast. Patron of Scotland and Russia.
1628. John Bunyan B Pilgrim's Progress.
1977. Donald Thorman +. Writer, editor, National Catholic Reporter. He died
of hepatitis after a journey to the Far East.
1980. Encyclical Letter of John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia, On the Mercy
of God.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1835. Mark Twain B
(With Halley's Comet in the sky) Florida, Mo.
1874. Winston Churchill is born. Among his many awards was the Nobel
Prize for Literature in 1953.
1900. Oscar Wilde,age 46, + in Paris, in a hotel.
1930. Mother Jones, labor organizer and activist, crusader, dies around the
age of l00.
1943. Etty Hillesum died in Auschwitz, age 29. She was a Jewish mystic,
and wrote her journal, entitled An Interrupted Life.
1990. Fritz Eichenberg + He was a Quaker, an artist, and wood engraver for
the Catholic Worker. He engraved, for example, “Christ at the
Breadlines.” He was 89.
1998. The death of Johnny Roventini, bellboy, famous for his “Call for Philip
Morris” cigarette advertisement.
JESUIT
1642. The birth of Br. Andrea Pozzo at Trent, who was called to Rome in
1681 to paint the flat ceiling of the Church of St.Ignatius so that it
would look as though there were a dome above. There had been a
plan for a dome but there was no money to build it. His work is still
on view.
1761. Father General Laurence Ricci ordered the Litany of Loretto to be
added daily to the Litany of the Saints, because of the calamities
threatening the Society.
1928. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J. is born. 28th Superior General.
1948. John J. Wynne, S.J. +. He was the Founder and First Editor of
America magazine, l909-10. Also editor of the Catholic Encyclopedia
and vice postulator for the North American Martyrs.
343
December 1
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Sts. Edmund Campion and Robert Southwell (age 33), priests, and their companions,
martyrs, including Margaret Clitheroe, 10 Jesuit saints and 18 Jesuit blesseds. Memorial.
On this day, at Tyburn, in London, are martyred, Campion, aged 41 and
Alexander Briant, aged 27.
The prophet Nahum. RM.
1964. Blessed Sr. Clementine Annuarite + in Zaire. She was a martyr of
chastity. Her feast in the new RM
St. Eligius who was a bishop in France, in the 7th century. More
recently linked with St. Elsewhere Hospital of TV fame.
1916. Charles de Foucauld, + North Africa. Little Brothers of the
Poor,betrayed and shot by Senoussis among the Tuaregs.
1917. Father Flanagan opens Boys Town.
1958. Fire claims lives of 95 children and 3 nuns at Holy Angels school in
Chicago.
1986. Bruce Vawter +. He was an Old Testament Scripture scholar.
1989. Pope John Paul II meets Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.
Eventually this leads to many changes and reforms.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
World AIDS Day.
1935. Woody Allen is born. Comedian and film director.
1939. Lee Trevino is born. Golf shot and money maker.
1939. Gone With the Wind premiers in New York.
1943. The Teheran conference ends. Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill
pledge to defeat Nazism.
1953. The first edition of Playboy, by Hugh Hefner, appears with
Marilyn Monroe in the center.
1955. Rosa Parks refuses to move to the back of the bus, in
Montgomery, Alabama.
1959. The International Antarctic Treaty is signed. The Antarctic is to be
used for peace only.
JESUIT
155l. Letter of St. Ignatius encourages the inauguration of colleges.
1554. The theological faculty of the University of Paris condemns the Society
of Jesus in a ringing public declaration, calling it “a danger to the
family, a disturber of the peace of the Church, destructive of
monastic life, and destined to cause harm rather than education.”
1764. Louis XV declares that the Society of Jesus ceases to exit in France.
1973. Brother Alfredo Perez Lobato, S.J. aged 36, is machine gunned to
death in Chad.
1974. The 32nd General Congregation opens. It stress a faith that does
justice, and the unity of hearts and minds.
1987. Fr. George Ruggieri, S.J. +. A marine biologist, he served as director of
the NY City Aquarium and Osborne Laboratories from l976 until
his death.
344
December 2
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1381. Blessed John Ruysbroek + Flemish RC mystic, theologian, and writer.
1888. Isaac Hecker + Ecumenist. He was the founder of the Paulist Fathers.
1960. Dr. Geoffrey Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury, visits Pope John
XXIII in Rome, the first meeting of the Archbishop of Canterbury
with the Pope since the Reformation.
1964. Pope Paul VI travels to India for Eucharistic Congress.
1967. Cardinal Spellman +. Archbishop of New York.
1973. The new Ordo Penitentiae is promulgated, offering varying forms for
the administration of the sacrament of penance/reconciliation.
1980. USA missionary women are martyred in El Salvador, Maura Clarke,
Jean Donovan, Ita Ford, and Dorothy Kazel.
1984. Apostolic Exhortation of John Paul II, Reconciliatio et Poenitentia, on
Reconciliation and Penance.
2002. Ivan Illich dies, age 76. Educator.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1814. Marquis de Sade + in a mental asylum near Paris, age 74.
1823. The Monroe Doctrine is promulgated, declaring no more colonization
on the American continents.
1859. Abolitionist John Brown is hanged after his famous raid on the arsenal
at Harper's Ferry.
1927. The Model "A" Ford, costing $385 succeeds the Model T.
1942. The first sustained nuclear reaction takes place at the University of
Chicago, at Stagg Field, engineered by Enrico Fermi. The Atomic
Age begins.
1990. Aaron Copland +. He was the composer of Appalachian Spring and
many other compositions.
JESUIT
1552. Francis Xavier + on the island of Sancian, off the coast of China. He is
said to have converted more than 1,200,000 in India.
1912. Maurice Meschler, S.J. +. He was an ascetical writer as well as
provincial, novice director, tertian instructor, and assistant in Rome.
1983. Piet Fransen, S.J. +. A theologian, he wrote especially on the theology
of grace.
345
December 3
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Francis Xavier, priest Feast The Patron of the Missions.
In Judea, the holy prophet Zephaniah. RM
1586. Pope Sixtus V fixes the number of the college of cardinals at 70,
representing the Old Testament elders.
1740. Benedict XIV issues the first encyclical of modern times, Ubi Primum.
1815. Archbishop John Carroll + in Baltimore. He was the first American
bishop in the USA and the greatest churchman of the American
Catholic Church.
1910. Mary Baker Eddy +. Foundress of the faith known as Christian
Science.
1973. Daniel Day Williams, theologian +.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1833. Oberlin, the first co-education college opens its door.
1857. Joseph Conrad is born. Author.
1894. Robert Louis Stevenson + of apoplexy, age 44, in Samoa.
1967. The first heart transplant is performed by Christiaan Barnaard.
1984. In Bhopal, India, toxic fumes kill over 2000, caused by fumes arising
from the Union Carbide plant.
JESUIT
1563. At the Council of Trent, the Institute of the Society was approved by
the assembled Fathers.
1833. A Letter of Fr. Roothaan on desire for the missions.
1844. Francis X. Gautrelet, S.J. speaks to scholastics at the house of studies
in France and founds the Apostleship of Prayer.
1847. Shouts "Death to the Jesuits" are heard outside St. Ignatius Church,
Rome, at the news of the Protestant electoral victory in Switzerland.
1863. The Missouri Vice-Province is erected into a Province. It had become a
mission in 1831, attached to the Belgian Province in 1836 and
created a vice-province in 1840.
1928. The Mission of Jamaica is assigned to the New England Province.
1931. The Historical Institute of the Society is opened in Rome.
1953. Francis X. Talbot +. He was editor of America magazine from 1936-44.
He launched the Catholic book Club and Thought magazine, and
wrote Saint Among Savages, and Saint Among the Hurons.
1957. The Vice Province of Central Africa is erected.
1978. The five Italian Jesuit provinces are reduced to one, due to declining
numbers.
346
December 4
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
John Damascene, priest and doctor, optional memorial.
1154. Adrian IV is elected pope. He is the only Englishman, originally named
Nicholas Breakspeare, to hold the office.
1563. The Council of Trent closes. It had opened in l545.
1642. The death of Cardinal Richelieu, who was a politician too.
1930. The Vatican approves the rhythm method of birth control.
1963. The Second Vatican Council “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy” is
approved.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1875. Rainer Maria Rilke is born in Prague. Poet.
1976. Benjamin Britten + composer.
1989. To escape US troops, General Manuel Noriega of Panama
takes refuge in the Vatican embassy.
JESUIT
1674. Pere Marquette, S.J. erects a mission on shores of Lake Michigan,
which place later becomes the city of Chicago.
1848. Two Jesuits land in Australia and begin our work there: Fr.
Kranewitter and his companion.
1870. The Roman College, appropriated by the Piedmontese government that
had invaded Rome, was reopened as a state Liceo. The monogram of
the Society over the main entrance was effaced.
1984. Fr. Fernando Cardinal, the Nicaraguan Minister of Education,
receives the document dismissing him from Society of Jesus.
He will re-enter the Society in 1996.
1989. John Magan, S.J. +. He was a founder of the youth or high school
retreat ministry at Gonzaga Retreat House, Monroe, NY. In his later
years he was a missionary in Zimbabwe, and then a counselor for
those addicted to drugs.
347
December 5
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1484. Pope Innocent VIII issues the bull Summis Desiderantes
ordering the Inquisition in Germany
1848. Joseph Mohr +. He wrote the words for Stille Nacht.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1791. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart +. Genius composer.
1931. Vachel Lindsay + of suicide, by drinking lysol, age 52. Poet.
1933. Prohibition ends as the 21st Amendment is ratified.
1945. Lost Squadron. Five planes disappear in the Bermuda
Triangle on a training flight.
JESUIT
1551. The Italian Province is constituted. Paschal Broet is named
Provincial. It is the fourth province of the Society, after Portugal,
Spain, and India.
1584. Gregory XIII issues a bull Omnipotentis Dei establishing the Sodality
of the Roman College as the first sodality in the world (Primaria) and
places all sodalities under Fr. General. The Sodality of the Roman
College had begun in 1564.
1590. Brother Daniel Seghers, S.J. is born. He is a famous Flemish painter
of insects and flowers.
1649. Noel Chabanel, S.J. is martyred at the hands of an Indian renegade.
1906. Novices at Jesuit Novitiate, St. Andrew on Hudson, NY, are granted
permission to receive Communion daily. This was a breakthrough
due to the letters of Pius X.
1967. John Hurley, S.J. +. He had been a missionary, superior, and
imprisoned in the Philippines.
1979. John Paul II visits the Gregorian University and the Biblical
Institute.
348
December 6
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Nicholas, bishop optional memorial.
Blessed Adolph Kolping, from Cologne, priest, concern for social justice.
1273. Thomas Aquinas has a vision and explains: "Reginald, I can do no
more. Such things have been revealed to me that everything I have
written now seems to be straw. I must await the end of my life.” (He
would die in four months, on March 7th).
1875. Evelyn Underhill is born. Writer on mysticism.
1942. The death of Maude Dominica Petre, friend of modernists.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1883. Kahlil Gibran is born. Lebanon. Poet.
1886. Joyce Kilmer, is born. New Jersey.
1949. Blues legend, Huddie ‘Leadbelly’ Ledbetter, dies.
1955. Honus Wagner +. With a .327 lifetime batting average, he is one of the
first five to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1961. Frantz Fanon +, age 36, in Washington, DC. Originally from
Martinique, he was a voice for the liberation of the oppressed.
1990. In Haiti's first democratic election, Fr. Jean Bertrand Aristide is
elected President by a landslide. But a military coup will oust him in
the near future. He returns and then is ousted again.
2002. Phil Berrigan dies, age 79. . Ex-Josephite priest, pacifist, activist,
frequently in prison.
JESUIT
1618. In Naples, the Jesuits were blamed for proposing to the Viceroy that a
solemn feast should be held in honor of the Immaculate Conception,
and a public pledge be taken to defend that doctrine. This was
regarded as a novelty not to be encouraged.
1658. Balthasar Gracian, S.J. +. Author of The Compleat Gentleman, The
Art of Worldly Wisdom. This is a guide to the ethics of worldly life.
He was banished from one of our colleges. He wrote, for example,
that one should so trust friends as if tomorrow they could be fiends,
etc.
1757. In Paris Father Busembaum's Medulla Theologiae Moralis was
publicly burned by order of Parliament, on the ground (false) that it
favored tyrannicide.
1875. Wreck of the Deutschland. Five Franciscan sisters are drowned and it
inspires Hopkins to immortalize them in poetry.
1921. I.A. Cullen, S.J. + He was the founder of the Pioneers, The Total
Abstinence Society of the Sacred Heart.
349
December 7
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Ambrose, bishop and doctor, Memorial. On this day he was ordained
bishop of Milan.
1598. Gian Lorenzo Bernini is born. Sculptor, architect, painter, he designed
the colonnade of St. Peter's, and was a friend and benefactor of the
Society of Jesus.
1965. A Common Declaration of Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I at the
conclusion of the Second Vatican Council withdraws the mutual
excommunication of the churches of Rome and Constantinople.
1965. “The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World" is
promulgated at Vatican II
1965. The Motu Proprio of Paul VI, Integrae Servandae, begins the
reorganization of the Curia, as he sets up the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith.
1990. Redemptoris Missio. An Encyclical of Pope John Paul II On the
Missionary Activity of the Church. It is actually issued in early 1991.
1992. The new Catholic Catechism is issued, the first in almost five
centuries.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1542. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots is born.
1876. Willa Cather is born. Virginia. She wrote My Anthonia, and
Death Comes for the Archbishop.
1941. Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese. More than 2,400 are killed.
“A day that will live in infamy.”
1947. Johnny Bench is born. Baseball superstar.
1956. Larry Bird is born. Basketball superstar and Hall of Famer.
1970. Rube Goldberg +, cartoonist on technology.
1988. An earthquake in Armenia results in more than 25,000 deaths.
JESUIT
1549. At Rome the death of Fr. Peter Codazzo, the first Italian to join the
Society and the man who gave to Ignatius the church and property of
Santa Maria della Strada.
1551. Lainez discourses at the Council of Trent on the Mass as a sacrifice.
1649. Charles Garnier, S.J. + at the hands of the Iroquois.
1688. At Rome died Father Honoratus de Fabri, grand penitentiary, and a
great scientist. He taught the circulation of the blood before
Harvey's book was published.
1985. Gabriel Barakana, in Burundi, is sentenced with some laypersons to
four years in prison for opposition to the government.
1992. Pater Leppich dies. Famed preacher – “Pater Leppich Spricht.”
350
December 8
CHRISTIANITY – RELIGION
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, Solemnity. It was solemnly proclaimed on
this day, by Pius IX, 1854, in Apostolic Constitution, Ineffabilis Deus.
1856. Bishop de Bressilac founds the SMA (Society of African Missions) in
Lyon. He and 5 others die in Africa 3 years later
1869. The First Vatican Council opens, 744 bishops, including 46 from USA.
1930. The first Nigerian to be ordained a priest, Rev. John Anyogu, is
ordained by Bishop Shanahan in Onitsha.
1965. The Second Vatican Council closes.
1975. The Apostolic Exhortation of Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, On the
Evangelization of Peoples.
1981. The Catholic Institute of West Africa officially opens in Port Harcourt,
Nigeria.
1997. Cardinal Rugambwa +. 1st African cardinal in modern age.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
65. BC. Horace is born. Ars Poetica, etc.
1776. Washington crosses the Delaware.
1865. Sibelius is born.
1894. James Thurber is born. Columbus, Ohio.
1932. Hunger March in Washington, DC
1949. Mary Gordon B Novelist.
1978. Golda Meir +. She was the Israeli Prime Minister, l969-74.
1980. John Lennon is shot and killed in New York City.
JESUIT
1649. Noel Chabanel + a martyr. He led a harsh life as a missionary,
persevering despite language/cultural difficulties. He dies at the
hands of a renegade Huron.
1661. At Watten, the death of Father Henry More, a grandson of St. Thomas
More. He had been Provincial.
1751. Jean Pierre Caussade, S.J. +. He is the author of the famous
Abandonment to Divine Providence.
1848. Two Austrian Jesuits arrive in Australia to begin our work there.
1860. The Irish Province was erected by Father Beckx, and the Australian
Mission annexed to it.
1872. The first Mass is celebrated by the Jesuits at St. Joseph’s Church on
Ward Island, New York City.
351
1932. A Letter of Fr. General Ledochowski to the Provincials of Italy on
the Missa Recitata and the liturgical movement.
1937. New Custom Book of the American Assistancy is promulgated.
1980. Lorenzo Uribe + in Columbia. He was a famed botanist.
1984. Walter Ciszek, S.J. +. He is the author of With God in Russia, and
He Leadeth Me. He was in a Russian detention camp from 1939 to
1963, and was officially declared dead in 1947.
1986. Publication of the document, "The Characteristics of Jesuit Education."
1987. John Paul II is the first Pope to visit the Oriental Institute in
Rome. He exhorts the faculty and students to be "strong oarsmen
" in the Bark of Peter.”
352
December 9
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Saint Juan Diego. Optional Memorial in USA. He is the American Indian
who received the vision of Our Lady of Guadalupe, on this day in
1531.
1979. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen +. His TV show, Life is Worth Living was
seen from l951-57. He was also a famous writer and preacher.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1608. Milton B
Cheapside.
1889. Jefferson Davis +.
1934. The Giants faced the Bears in the classic Sneaker football game. The
field was icy so the Giants used sneakers in the second half and won
the game.
1989. Romanian uprising overthrows the communist government.
1990. Lech Walesa is elected President of Poland.
JESUIT
1741. At Paris the death of Father Charles Poree, a famous master of
Rhetoric. Nineteen of his pupils were admitted into the French
Academy, among them being Voltaire, who, in spite of his impiety,
always felt an affectionate regard for his old master.
1808. Robert Molyneux, S.J. +. He was a member of the restored Society in
the USA.
1951. The Russian Center at Fordham University opens.
1998. The death of Yves Raguin. He founded the Taipei Ricci Institute in
1966 and directed it until 1996. Expert on Chinese religion and spirituality.
353
December 10
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
St. Melchiades (Miltiades) of North Africa, Martyr. He served as
Pope from 311-14.
1828. New York State law protects the seal of confession, as a result of the
case and trial involving Fr. Anton Kohlmann, S.J.
1929. Franz Rosenzeig dies. Christian-Jewish relationships.
1941. Thomas Merton enters the Trappists.
1968. Thomas Merton +.
1968. Karl Barth +. One of the greatest theologians of the century.
1976. Paul VI makes permanent the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and the
Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace.
1984. Bishop Desmond Tutu receives Nobel Peace Prize.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
HUMAN RIGHTS DAY.
1787. Gallaudet is born. Teacher who organized first free school for the deaf.
1822. Cesar Franck is born. Belgian composer.
1830. Emily Dickinson B Amherst, MA.
1896. Alfred Nobel +. Gave funds for the Nobel Peace Prize and was the
inventor of dynamite.
1908. Olivier Messiaen is born. composer.
1939. King Edward VIII abdicates to marry Mary Wallace Simpson,
and George VI succeeds.
1948. United Nations Declaration on Human Rights is adopted in Paris.
1981. US trained Salvadoran troops massacre up to 1000 at El Mozote.
1990. Armand Hammer + aged 92. International industrialist, he
was in charge of Occidental Oil.
JESUIT
At Loretto in Piceno, the Translation of the Holy House of Mary the Mother
of God, wherein the Word was made flesh. Pope Benedict XV
declared the same Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Loretto, to
be the chief Patroness before God of all airmen. RM (This is also a
traditional privileged feast of the Society of Jesus because we had
been assigned as penitentiaries to this sanctuary.}
1548. The General of the Dominicans wrote in defense of the Society of Jesus
on seeing it attacked in Spain by the great Dominican theologian,
Melchior Cano, and others.
1882. First publication of the Analecta Bollandiana, critical studies of the
saints.
1984. Fernando Cardenal is expelled from the Society, to continue his work
as Minister of Education in Nicaragua. He will re-enter the Society in
1996.
1984. Bishop Desmond Tutu receives the Nobel Peace Prize.
1999. Marcel Matungulu Otene, S.J. dies, age 53. He was the African
Assistant and had been provincial of PAC.
354
December 11
Damasus I Pope
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
optional memorial
1792. Joseph Mohr is born. He wrote the words to "Silent Night."
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1803. Hector Berlioz is born.
1918. Alexandr Solzhenitsyn is born.
1946. UNICEF is founded.
1965. Edward R. Murrow +, famed US broadcaster and journalist.
JESUIT
1652. In Paris Denis Petau (Petavius) +, one of the most important
theologians in the areas of positive theology, patristics, and the
development of doctrine.
1886. At Rome the death of Cardinal John Bapt. Franzelin a renowned
theologian.
1944. The death of Joseph Marechal, influential philosopher and writer on
psychology.
1988. Donald Campion, S.J. +. sociologist. He was the editor of America
magazine from 1968-75 and later director of the Press Office at the
Curia.
1991. Ernest Burrus, S.J. +. He wrote 50 books on Jesuit History, especially
that of the Southwest USA.
355
December 12
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Memorial (for USA). On this day in 1531 she
appeared to Juan Diego for the second time.
Jane Frances de Chantal, religious optional memorial. (In the USA her
feast is August 18). She died on December 13, 1641.
1779. Madelein Sophie Barat was born. She is the foundress of the Madames
of the Sacred Heart.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
Geminid meteor shower on or around this day.
1889. Robert Browning + poet.
1901. The first morse code is sent by radio wave, from Cornwall, England to
Newfoundland, by Marconi.
1915. Frank Sinatra is born. Crooner, Old Blue Eyes.
1963. Kenya achieves independence from the UK. Independence Day.
1991. President Babangida of Nigeria moves to Abuja from Lagos, and so
that becomes the official new capital.
JESUIT
1558. A letter of Fr. General Lainez to the Society in India on the religious
vocation and perfection.
1661. In the College of Clermont, Paris, Fr. James Caret publicly defended
the doctrine of papal infallibility, causing great excitement among
the Gallicans and Jansenists.
1686. Carlos de Noyelle, the 12th General, +. He fought against the
Jansenists.
1960. John Courtney Murray, S.J., makes the cover of Time magazine, in a
cover story on Church and state issues.
1965. The death of Andre D’Alverny in Lebanon. He was a much loved and
admired expert and teacher of Arabic at his center for Arabic studies.
His coffin was reopened so Scouts could see him and place a scout
scarf about his neck.
356
December 13
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Lucy, virgin and martyr
Memorial. At Syracuse...she was delivered to
profligates,.. but when they attempted to lead her away they were
not able to move her, either with ropes or by means of many yoke of
oxen. Then, having not pitch, resin, and burning oil applied to her
body without being injured, she finally had a sword driven through
her throat and thus completed her martyrdom.
RM
1204. Moses Maimonides + medieval Jewish scholar.
1294. Pope Saint Celestine resigns at Naples after 5 months. He goes to a
monastery, where he was held captive, and where he dies two years
later. A few years after that, in he year 1313. he is canonized. He
was a Benedictine and his reign was disastrous.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
Peak Night for Geminid meteor shower.
1784. Dr. Samuel Johnson + age 75.
1797. Heinrich Heine B Dusseldorf. He was a poet and journalist.
1924. Samuel Gompers + He was the first President of the American
Federation of Labor (AFL).
1961. Grandma Moses + 101 year old artist and painter.
JESUIT
1545. The Council of Trent opens. Five Cardinals and 31 Bishops are
present. Fathers Laynez and Salmeron are present as Papal
theologians and Father Claude Le Jay as theologian of Cardinal Otto
Truchsess. Martin Luther dies two months after the Council opens.
1637. The death of Father William Fleck. On June 2lst, 1632 he was
miraculously cured of calculus by St. Aloysius. (Calculus is Latin for
stones.)
1901. Paolo Dezza, S.J. is born. He attends six General Congregations and
was Vicar General in 1983 and later created a Cardinal.
1922. A response of Fr. Ledochowski expresses caution on the use of motion
pictures in a college. They should be seldom, and should be
previewed, because they might strain and irritate the nerves of
young people.
1942. Fr. General Vladimir Ledochowski + in Rome, aged 76. During his
tenure, the Society grew from 26 to 50 provinces; membership grew
from 16,946 to 26,588, and those on missions from 971 to 3785.
1997. Fr. Thomas Gafney, age 65, is murdered in Nepal on this night. He
was engaged in social ministries, including ministry to those
addicted to drugs. A missionary from Cleveland.
357
December 14
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
John of the Cross, priest and doctor, Memorial. He died on this day in l591.
1503. Nostradamus, French astrologer and prophet, is born.
1985. The death of Catherine de Hueck Doherty, founder of Madonna House,
Poustinia, prayer house.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1546. Tycho Brahe, astronomer is born.
1799. George Washington +.
1900. Max Planck of Berlin reveals his quantum theory.
1911. Ronald Amundsen is the first to reach the South Pole. He is
35 days ahead of Captain Scott.
1972. Dr. "Jack" Schmitt, the twelfth and last man on the moon, departs
from the moon.
1974. Walter Lippman + political commentator.
2003. Saddam Hussein is captured in a hole near his home by US troops.
1990. Friedrich Duerrenmatt + Swiss author.
JESUIT
1615. At Rome died Father Peter Anthony Spinelli, of a ducal family... For
eighteen years he wore an old ragged inner vest.
1959. Pope John XXIII makes Augustine Bea, Scripture scholar, a Cardinal.
1979. Fr. Riccardo Lombardi, S.J. died, age 71. He was the Founder of the
Better World Movement, and a famous preacher, "the microphone of
God."
358
December 15
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1830. The birthday of Lewis Henry Redner, the composer of “O Little Town of
Bethlehem.”
1979. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says that Hans Kueng
"can no longer be considered a Catholic theologian, nor function as
such in a teaching role." The Document was dated December 15, and
released on the 18th.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
39. AD. Nero is born.
1683. Izaak Walton, age 90, + at Winchester. He wrote the Compleat Angler.
1791. Bill of Rights Day. The bill goes into effect on this day.
1832. Alexander Eiffel is born. He is famed for his tower in Paris.
1859. Ludwik Zamenhof, Polish linguist, creator of Esperanto, born on this
day.
1939. Nylon is first produced commercially.
1961. Adolf Eichmann, Nazi, is found guilty and sentenced to death.
1973. The American Psychological Association says that homosexuality is
not a mental illness.
JESUIT
1631. At Naples, during an earthquake and eruption of Vesuvius, the Jesuit
Fathers displayed heroic charity. In gratitude several colleges were
opened.
1904. In Louvain, Fr. Louis de San +. He was a great theologian of the
restored Society.
1979. Pope John Paul II makes a special visit to the Gregorian University.
Two weeks later, the Rector, Fr. Martini is appointed Archbishop of
Milan.
1994. Joseph Donceel + at Fordham University. Belgian born, he was a
disciple of Marechal and wrote on philosophical psychology.
1998. Leo O’Donovan, President of Georgetown U. receives Germany’s
Knight Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit, for fostering
relationships between Germany and the US.
359
December 16
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
The Prophet Aggai. New RM
882. Pope John VIII is the first pope to be assassinated as an old man in
office. He was reputedly poisoned, and then clubbed to death by his
relatives. This is the beginning of a period of decay in the papacy.
955. John XII becomes Pope, at the age of 20. Called a libertine, the Lateran
became a brothel. He was deposed, but returned, and was eventually
killed.
1942. The death of Maude Petre. She is buried next to Fr. Tyrell, the
Catholic modernist. She remained Catholic and edited the works of
Tyrell as his literary executor.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1770. Ludwig von Beethoven is born.
1773. The Boston Tea Party. 50 patriots dump 342 chests of tea into
Boston Harbor.
1775. Jane Austen is born.
1859. Francis Thompson B poet.
1863. George Santayana B Madrid. Philosopher, poet, novelist.
1944. The Battle of the Bulge begins and lasts until December 25th.
1990. Aristide is elected President of Haiti for the first time.
JESUIT
1624. At Rome died Fr. Francis Sacchini, an early historian and secretary of
the Society. He never wasted a moment of time. Pointing to an aged
muleteer he said: "That is my father."
1643. Michael Le Tellier is born. He was a Provincial and a confessor to
Louis XIV, and an enemy of the Jansenists.
1935. Pietro Boetto is made a cardinal. He had been provincial, Procurator
General, and Assistant for Italy.
1965. The death of Felix Restrepo in Bogota, Colombia. A decree of the
President honored him at his death, as a Christian humanist,
scholar, writer on literature, philosophy, history, and linguistics.
360
December 17
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
At Marseilles in France, blessed Lazarus the brother of the Saints Mary
Magdalen and Martha, of whom we read in the Gospel that our Lord
called him His friend and raised him from the dead. RM
1538. Pope Paul III excommunicated King Henry VIII.
1843. Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, is published.
1973. Cardinal Amleto Giovanni Cicognani +. He was Apostolic Delegate to
the USA from 1933-58 and Vatican Secretary of State, 1962-69.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1807. John Greenleaf Whittier B Quaker poet and abolitionist.
1830. Simon Bolivar +.
1903. The Wright Brothers first flight, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina,
consisting of a flight of 12 seconds and 120 feet.
2003. Otto Graham dies. Cleveland Brown Quarterback, 10 consecutive
years played for the National Championship.
JESUIT
1608. At Ingolstadt died Father Paul Hoffaeus. Being very devout to the
souls in Purgatory, he is said to have often had them coming to his
room to ask for prayers. He was one of the most important Jesuits
in the generalate of Father Aquaviva. He also organized and
developed the Society of Jesus in Germany.
1625. At Alcala died Father John Suarez, who at almost every step he took
made an act of the love of God.
1642. St. Francis Geronimo is born. Tireless preacher.
1904. Bernard Lonergan, S.J. is born. Philosopher and theologian.
1917. Henry Wessling is ordained. He became blind after a laboratory
accident at Canisius College, NY, seven years earlier, and was
ordained with a special rescript.
1977. The death of Maurice Burgaud. A missionary to China, after his
expulsion he taught physics and astronomy in Madagascar for 20
years.
1978. Edouard Dhanis +. He was a Professor at the Gregorian for 22 years,
worked for the Holy Office, and was a member of the International
Theological Commission. He had taught at Louvain for 16 years.
1999. Cardinal Paolo Dezza dies, age 98. He attended six General
Congregations, a record, and as the Delegate of the Holy Father led
the Society.
361
December 18
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
The prophet Malachi, in new RM
St. Auxentius, bishop, who, being at first a soldier under Licinius, preferred
to surrender his military insignia rather than offer grapes to
Bacchus... RM
St. Venantius Fortunatus, Poet. Composer of Pange Lingua, and Vexilla
Regis.
1707. Charles Wesley is born. With his brother John, he was the co-founder
of Methodism. He was the 18th child in the family.
1819. Isaac Hecker is born.
1957. Dorothy Sayers +. She was a writer of novels and a Christian
apologist.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1859. Francis Thompson B poet.
1865. Ratification of the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery is completed.
It goes into effect.
1879. Paul Klee is born.
1886. Ty Cobb B lifetime batting average of .367
1983. Victor Turner +. He was an anthropologist, eventually teaching at the
University of Chicago, and a convert to Catholicism.
JESUIT
1594. At Florence, the apparition of St. Ignatius to St. Mary Magdalen de
Pozzi.
1812. The Protestant Bible Society entered Russia with the sanction of the
Government. The Jesuits prepared to meet this new enemy.
1931. Louis Billot, S.J. + theologian. He had been pressed to resign from the
college of cardinals by Pope Pius XI four years earlier, because of his
support of the French ultra-nationalist movement, Action Francaise.
1932. Joseph Rickaby, S.J. +. He was a philosopher and expert on the
Spiritual Exercises, based at St. Beuno’s. At the request of Rome, he
translated Rodriguez, The Practice of Christian Perfection, into
English. He found this task difficult because of the content of the
work.
1936. Peter Lippert, S.J. +. He was a writer on Jesuit spirituality.
1953. The death of August Valensin, philosopher and friend of Teilhard.
362
December 19
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Pope St. Innocent I. He was pope from December 21 401 to March 12, 417.
He was the son of Pope Anastasius I, and succeeded his father in the
papacy. This is his traditional feast. His feast day now is July 28th.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1848. Emily Bronte + age 30.
1915. Edith Piaf is born. Parisian singer, she was known as the Little
Sparrow.
1932. Premier broadcast of the BBC.
1955. Carl Perkins records "Blue Suede Shoes" in Memphis.
1996. Marcello Mastroianni +, age 72. He was an actor and worked with
Federico Fellini.
JESUIT
1593. At Rome Father Robert Bellarmine, the future Cardinal, was
appointed Rector of the Roman College.
1734. In Quebec, died Francis Guesner, called another John Francis Regis.
He did more in 20 months in New France than most could do in 20
years.
1761. More than 100 Jesuits, under pressure from the French crown and
French bishops, signed a declaration that they would teach the four
Gallican Articles, directed against the authority of the Holy See.
1935. Pietro Boetto, an Italian Jesuit, is created a Cardinal by Pope Pius XI.
1942. The execution of Fr. Adam Sztark, Rector and chaplain in Bielorussia.
He risked his life giving refuge to Jewish children and adults. He is
formally recognized as “Righteous among Gentiles,” by Holocaust
martyrs in Jerusalem.
363
December 20
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1488. Thomas Munzer is born. He was a radical German reformer.
1552. Katherine von Bora died. She was the wife of Martin Luther.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1803. U.S. takes title of the Louisiana purchase from Napoleon.
1968. John Steinbeck + in New York City. Age 66.
1976. Mayor Richard J. Daley + in Chicago. The Mayor.
1996. Carl Sagan + age 62. He was an astronomer and author of over 20
books. On TV he spoke of "...billions and billions of stars, galaxies..."
JESUIT
1562. At Goa died Juan Nunez Bareto, a Portuguese Jesuit and the first
Jesuit to be a bishop.
1642. In London Fr. Thomas Holland was condemned to death. On hearing
the sentence he exclaimed, "Deo Gratias," and recited the Te Deum.
1760. 127 Jesuits sail from Goa to Lisbon and are then put into
dungeons by order of Carvalho.
1815. A ukase of Czar Alexander I was published banishing the Society from
St. Petersburg and Moscow, on the pretext that they were troubling
the Russian Church. That same night the Fathers left the capital for
Polotsk.
1918. Joseph Grimmelsman +. He had been President of three Jesuit
colleges, as well as provincial.
1996. Philip Hartnett, S.J. + in Dublin, age 53. He had been Provincial and
Head of the European Conference of Provincials.
364
December 21
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
The prophet Micah, in the new RM
According to the General Calendar of the Church, St. Peter Canisius is
celebrated on this day. In the Society of Jesus however, the
celebration occurs on April 27th. He died on this day, aged 73 in the
year 1589 in the city of Freiburg.
1620. The Pilgrims arrive and land at Plymouth. Forefather's Day. 103
passengers made the 63 day journey.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
Winter Solstice in proximity to this day.
1375. Giovanni Boccaccio is born.
1879. Josef Stalin is born.
1913. The first crossword puzzle appears, in the NY Sunday World
newspaper.
1917. Heinrich Böll B Cologne. He won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1972.
1939. After a 46-0 loss, President Hutchins of the University of Chicago calls
for the end of football.
1940. F. Scott Fitzgerald + age 44, Los Angeles.
1954. Chris Evert is born. Tennis star.
JESUIT
1576. At Cordova the death of Father Francis Gomez, a man of wonderful
innocence and simplicity, on whose head a white dove is said to have
alighted during Mass one Whit Sunday.
1577. In Rome the death of Father Juan de Polanco, secretary to the Society
in its first years, very dear to St. Ignatius. He was most influential in
the drawing up of the Constitutions.
1965. The death of Jean Lafia, age 94, in Belgium. Called a modern St.
Vincent de Paul, he lived and worked with the poor and with youth
for 45 years.
1968. Hugo Rahner, S.J. +. Patristic scholar, and expert in Ignatian
spirituality.
1977. Robert McNally, S.J. + Church Historian.
1993. John P. Leary died, aged 74. He had been President of Gonzaga
University, and he founded “New College” in California and “Old
College” in Nevada.
365
December 22
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1216. Pope Honorius III officially approves the Order of Preachers.
1888. Isaac Hecker + He was the founder of the Paulists.
1899. Dwight Moody + Moody Bible Institute.
1905. Sacra Tridentina Synodus permits daily communion for the
Catholic faithful.
1911. St. Frances Cabrini + in Chicago. She opened over 60 hospitals and
orphanages.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1639. Jean-Baptiste Racine is born.
1849. Dostoevski is led out to execution, and pardoned at the last moment.
1894. Alfred Dreyfus is condemned for treason.
1988. Chico Mendez, a Brazilian worker is killed because of his protests
against the destruction of the Amazon rain forest. He dies a martyr
for ecology.
1989. Samuel Beckett + Irish writer, Waiting for Godot.
JESUIT
1588. In Transylvania the Protestants agitate for the expulsion of the
Society.
1642. At London the martyrdom of Fr. Thomas Holland. After his sentence
he declared himself a priest and a Jesuit and said that he was ready
to lay down his life 100 times and more for the Faith. He gave two
gold crowns to his executioner.
1844. Six Jesuits from Lyon land at Reunion and begin the evangelization of
Madagascar.
1933. Vincent McCormick, S.J. is named Rector Magnificus of the
Gregorian University.
1977. In Rhodesia, the death of Michael Hannan. He published the first
complete dictionary of Shona, and translated the New Testament and
parts of the old into Shona.
366
December 23
John of Kanty, priest
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
optional memorial.
1777. Blessed Marie Margaret d'Youville + Canadian born, she was
Foundress of the Grey Nuns.
1889. Emil Brunner B Swiss neo-orthodox theologian.
1972. Abraham Joshua Heschel + in New York. He was a teacher and a
prophet, an ecumenist and advocate of justice. He wrote of the
Scriptures as God in Search of Man.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1790. Jean Francois Champollion, a French Egyptologist decoded the Rosetta
Stone. He is the founder of modern Egyptology.
1888. Vincent Van Gogh cuts off his ear after a quarrel with his brother
Paul.
1922. The BBC begins daily news broadcasting.
1947. The first transistor is built or created at the Bell Laboratory.
2001. Chief Bola Ige, Attorney General of Nigeria, is assassinated.
JESUIT
1549. Xavier is appointed Provincial of the newly erected Province of India.
1631. At Ghent the parish priests complain to the Bishop because the Jesuits
had told those under their direction that they were not bound sub
gravi to hear the Sunday Mass specifically in their parish church.
1758. Carvalho orders a strict search for arms and ammunitions at the
Jesuit College in Lisbon.
367
December 24
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
THE HOLY ANCESTORS AND FOREFATHERS OF JESUS CHRIST.
In the New Roman Martyrology.
1818. Franz Gruber on his guitar composes the tune for the poem "Stille
Nacht" and it is sung for the first time.
1933. The Codex Sinaiticus (Manuscript of the Bible in Greek) arrives in
London from St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai.
1951. Fr. Rudolf Goethe, who was a married Lutheran pastor is ordained
a priest in Mainz Cathedral. He is the first married priest in the
Western Roman Catholic Church in recent times.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1809. Kit Carson is born.
1822. Matthew Arnold is born. He was a poet and critic.
1865. Confederate veterans group forms the KKK.
1914. John Muir + naturalist.
1968. Apollo VIII circles the moon. Frank Borman reads Scripture,
"In the beginning, God..."
JESUIT
1491. Ignatius Loyola is born.
1567. The first Jesuits arrive in Cartegena, missioned by Francis Borgia.
1587. The death of Claude Matthee, highly esteemed by King Henry III.
He predicted that Fr. Acquaviva would be General and hold that
office for a long time.
1603. The leaders of the Paris Parliament presented to King Henry IV a long
list of accusations against the Jesuits. The King replied by refuting
them and making a strong defense of the Society.
1910. Fr. General Franz Xaver Wernz orders the Woodstock faculty to
be moved to New York, to Fordham.
368
December 25
CHRISTMAS
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Solemnity.
NATIVITAS DOMINI NOSTRI JESU CHRISTI, SECUNDUM CARNEM.
The Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the flesh.
1943. Bishop Joseph Shanahan +. He was a pioneer missionary bishop to
Eastern Nigeria, where he encouraged the building of mission
schools.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
800. Charlemagne is crowned, by Pope Leo III.
1635. The death of Samuel de Champlain, friend of the Hurons and Jesuit
missionaries.
1642. Sir Isaac Newton is born. Astronomer and mathematician.
1776. Washington crosses the Delaware near Trenton.
1821. Clara Barton is born. She is the founder of the American Red Cross.
1977. Charlie Chaplin + in Switzerland.
1989. President Ceausescu of Romania is executed.
JESUIT
1538. St. Ignatius celebrates his first Mass in the basilica of St. Mary Major,
Rome, at the altar of the Holy Crib. He had been ordained more than
a year.
1540. In Rome Peter Ribadeneira, aged fourteen, began his noviceship, after
making the Spiritual Exercises.
1545. Isabel Roser pronounces her vows as a Jesuit, together with Lucrezia
di Brandine and Francisca Cruyllas, in the presence of St. Ignatius
at Santa Maria della Strada.
1902. The Novitiate of St. Andrew on Hudson, Poughkeepsie, New York
opens.
1941. An ordinance on community litanies is promulgated by V. Rev. Fr.
General Ledochowski.
1961. The Vice Province of Central Africa becomes a Province.
369
December 26
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
STEPHEN, FIRST MARTYR,
Feast.
1065. The first building of Westminster Abbey is dedicated.
1968. Kenneth Scott Latourette + He was a church and mission historian
and taught at Yale University.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
Good King Wenceslaus looks out.
1890. Heinrich Schliemann + archaeologist.
1972. Harry S. Truman +. The President from Missouri.
2002. Anne Fremantle dies, age 93. Catholic author.
JESUIT
1569. (Dec. 25 or 26) Thomas Pounde, of Belmont, dancing before Queen
Elizabeth, fell and was jeered at by her Majesty, which led to his
conversion.
1649. At Ratisbon Mark Grandl, a German lay-brother, died immediately
after making a general confession of his whole life. He had made his
own coffin and kept it in his room.
1856. The death in Rome of Gilles Henry, a missionary in the Caucasas and
Greek archipelago.
1978. Fr. Gerhard Pieper, S.J., librarian, aged 38, is shot to death in
Zimbabwe.
1979. John Reed, S.J. +, a member of the NY Province, a canon lawyer and
teacher of canon law.
370
December 27
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
JOHN, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST,
Feast.
1994. Cardinal Pietri Pavan + at age 91. He was a cardinal but not a bishop.
He served as an expert at Vatican II, and was the main writer of the
encyclical of Pope John XXIII, Pacem in Terris.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1571. Kepler, Johannes is born., in Wurttemberg. He was an astronomer
who discovered that the Earth and planets travel about the Sun in
elliptical orbits. He was a friend of the Jesuits
1822. Louis Pasteur is born.
1831. Charles Darwin sets sail in his ship, the Beagle.
1937. Maurice Ravel +.
1978. Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship, as the new
constitution takes effect.
JESUIT
1547. Ignatius admits Cristobal Lainez into the Society. He was problematic,
with Wanderlust, but was ordained. Later he was dismissed by his
brother James Lainez in August 1559.
1551. The Portuguese Provincial, Simao Rodriguez, is removed by St.
Ignatius.
1597. Peter Canisius + in Freiburg, Switzerland.
1656. Andrew White, S.J. +. He is the founder of the Maryland Mission, a
man of great zeal, fervor, and austerity. He is called the "Apostle of
Maryland." He was sent back to England from the colonies in chains
and tried for treason, acquitted, yet banished from England.
1834. A very influential Letter of Fr. Roothaan to the restored Society on the
Spiritual Exercises is issued.
1836. Fr. General approves the sale of slaves owned by the Jesuits, with six
conditions.
1900. The Blessing and laying of the cornerstone of Novitiate of St. Andrew
on Hudson, Poughkeepsie, NY. It was affectionately called, “The
Rock.” It would be ready in September 1902.
1927. The Catholic Medical Mission Board is incorporated in the laws of the
State of New York.
1955. An Instruction of Fr. General Janssens on the use of modern means of
communication.
371
December 28
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
HOLY INNOCENTS, MARTYRS, Feast. Special feast for Jesuit Novices.
1622. Frances de Sales +.
1987. Joseph Sittler +. A noted Lutheran theologian, ecumenist, and
preacher.
1993. The Vatican and Israel forge full diplomatic ties, a move towards
ending distrust and hostility between Christians and Jews.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1869. Chewing gum is patented.
1908. An earthquake kills 75,000 in Messina, Sicily.
1923. Gustave Eiffel, engineer, of Eiffel Tower fame, +.
1937. Maurice Ravel +.
JESUIT
1663. The death of Fr. Francis Maria Grimaldi. He was a noted astronomer
who did research on the refraction of light. Isaac Newton made use of
his work.
1802. Pope Pius VII allows Fr. General Gruber to affiliate the English
Jesuits to the Society of Jesus in Russia.
1832. St. Louis University receives its charter. It is the first Catholic
University west of the Allegheny Mountains. Peter Verhaegen is
appointed as the first President.
1953. The Society recalls its worker priests in France.
1967. Servant of God, Egide Van Broeckhoven, S.J. a priest worker, is killed
in an accident at the factory where he worked.
1983. Fr. Francis Xavier Chu, S.J., + in a work camp in China.
1988. Fr. Peter Davis, S.J. age 43 + of AIDS, in Oregon.
372
December 29
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
Thomas Becket, bishop and martyr. He was murdered at Canterbury
Cathedral, at the altar by four knights in 1170. optional memorial.
At Jerusalem, holy David, king and prophet. New RM
1851. The first YMCA in the USA is organized in Boston.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1890. Wounded Knee Massacre. The last major battle between the Indians
and US troops.
1926. Rainer Maria Rilke, poet, + in Switzerland.
1986. Harold Macmillan +. British Prime Minister.
JESUIT
1594. At Paris the execution of Jean Chatel for the attempted execution of
King Henry IV. Because he had been educated at the Jesuit College
de Clermont, the Society was exiled, its property confiscated, and one
of its members executed.
1651. At Prague died Father Bernard Oppel. When Rector of the College he
gave his own clothes to the poor, and melted down the church plate
to relieve the plague-stricken.
1886. Publication of the decree of beatification of the English martyrs.
1975. In Moravia the death of Frantisek Nemec who had been interned in
Dachau and then lived in Moscow as a scientist who also taught
catechism to children.
1979. A Papal Bull of Pope John Paul II nominates Carlo Martini, S.J. as
Archbishop of Milan.
373
December 30
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
1876. St. Catherine Laboure +. The Miraculous Medal was revealed to her.
1981. Cardinal Franjo Seper +. He was Prefect of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, l968-81.
1987. Encyclical Letter of John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis. It is given
this date, but was issued a few months later.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1865. Rudyard Kipling B in Bombay. He won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1907.
1906. Jose Rizal, nationalist, aged 35, liberator of the Philippines, is
executed in Manila. Two Jesuits are in attendance. This leads to the
end of Spanish colonial rule. He had been trained by Jesuits and
returned to the church before his death.
1916. Rasputin is assassinated by Prince Yusupov and others.
1935. Sandy Koufax B Dodger pitcher.
1947. Alfred North Whitehead + Philosopher.
JESUIT
1582. At Evora in Portugal died Fr. Manoel Alvarez, whose Latin grammar
was used for centuries in school, Jesuit and non-Jesuit alike (for
instance, Eton).
1916. The left leg of Fr. Rupert Mayer is shattered in battle during World
War I. He had already won the Iron Cross.
1927. Col. Charles Lindbergh visits St. John’s College, Belize as part of a
good will tour.
1962. James Conway, S.J. +. He was a Philosophy professor, expert on
Descartes, of the Maryland Province.
1992. Timothy Healy +. He was President of Georgetown University from
1976-89. He was the Director of the NY Public Library until his
death.
1996. David Stanley, S.J. + in Canada. He was a Scripture scholar and also
wrote several books on Scripture and the Spiritual Exercises.
2000 John Hardon, S.J. dies, age 86. Chicago Province, prolific writer.
374
December 31
Sylvester I, pope
CHRISTIANITY - RELIGION
optional memorial.
1384. John Wycliffe + English reformer and theologian, bible translator.
1876. St. Catherine Laboure +.
1900. Stephen Neill is born. He was a British clergyman and scholar,
an ecumenist and missionary.
1930. The Encyclical Letter of Pius XI, Casti Connubii, on Christian
Marriage.
HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART, SPORT
1869. H. Matisse is born.
1891. Ellis Island, immigration depot in New York, opens.
1972. Roberto Clemente + in a plane crash helping Nicaraguan earthquake
victims. He was a major leaguer in many respects.
1980. Marshall McLuhan + "The medium is the message."
JESUIT
The Annual Te Deum at the Gesu, the Mother Church of the Society. A
tradition from the 17th century, with the Pope usually in attendance.
1551. Xavier left Sancian for Malacca and Goa to prepare for his journey to
China.
1618. St. John Berchmans arrives in Rome to begin philosophy and is
received by Fr. General Vitelleschi. A few days later he moves to and
joins the scholastics at the Roman College.
1640. St. John Francis Regis +. He was a missionary to towns and villages in
southern France.
1726. Saints Aloysius Gonzaga and Stanislaus Kostka are canonized
by Benedict XIII.
1868. Leonce de Grandmaison, S.J. is born. He was a writer and apologist,
and served as the editor of Etudes.
1940. Charles Simons of the California Province, a missionary to China, is
shot and killed by the Communists.
1985. In Canada, the death of Louis Laurendeau, for 13 years, until 1983,
the Secretary of the Society.
1990. Anthony Paone, S.J. + New York Province. His book, My Daily Bread
sold over 1.3 million copies.
1996. Bishop Carlos Sevilla who had been an auxiliary Bishop in San
Francisco is appointed Bishop of Yakima, Washington.