A century ago, on January 22, 1922, the Pope of Peace died at the age of 67: Benedict XV, whose original name was Giacomo Della Chiesa. Born in Genoa, northwestern Italy, to a noble family on November 21, 1854, at …
Category: Culture
Vatican II Iconoclasm: Destroying What Our Fathers Built
The bishops who came home from Vatican II (or the “liturgist” wolves they failed to stop) initiated acts of violent destruction and iconoclasm in the name of the Council. The zeal for change disparaged the Church’s heritage and liturgical tradition …
Forgotten Customs of Epiphanytide
O God, of Whose mercies there is no number, and of Whose goodness the treasure is infinite: we render thanks to Thy most gracious Majesty for the gifts Thou hast bestowed upon us, always beseeching Thy clemency; that as Thou …
Kepler and the Music of God in the Cosmos
450 years ago, on December 27, 1571, a mathematician and astronomer, who sought the music of God in the skies, was born in Weil der Stadt, near Stuttgart in Germany: Johannes Kepler. At the age of 19 he enrolled in …
Forgotten Customs of Christmas Time
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad before the face of the Lord: because He cometh (Psalm 95:13,11 Taken from the Offertory Verse of the First Mass of Christmas) At the first stroke of midnight on December …
Camille Saint-Saëns and Pius X
A century ago, on December 16, 1921, a multifaceted musician, the undisputed protagonist of the second Romanticism in France, and a virtuoso pianist, organist and skilled improviser, prolific composer and eloquent music critic, died in Algiers (Algeria): Camille Saint-Saëns. He …
The Tough Pope and His Great Works
Five centuries ago, on December 13, 1521, in Le Grotte, now Grottammare, a charming town on the Adriatic coast in the Marche region, was born the tough pope: Sixtus V, whose original name was Felice Peretti. The great Roman dialect …
What’s Happening with the Notre Dame restoration? An Advent 2021 Update
Writing about the construction of Notre Dame de Paris, two very different experts said: When it was decided to rebuild a cathedral, the bishop, the canons, rich townsfolk, and neighbouring landowners made the first offerings. The king was next approached, …
Santa Claus: Evil Elf or Holy Trad?
Once again the Christmas war is getting ready to break out. By that I do not mean the perennial struggle over Holiday versus Christmas which annually afflicts the entire body politic (at least in the United States), but a conflict …
The Musician Pope Who Excommunicated Luther
Five hundred years ago, on the night of December 1, 1521, a few days before his forty-sixth birthday, a great pope of the so-called Renaissance died: Leo X, whose original name was Giovanni de’ Medici. The second son of Lorenzo …