Above: French street sign in Maisons-Alfort. One hundred and fifty years ago today, on January 7, 1873, “a unique man of letters, and unclassifiable writer” was born in Orléans, north-central France: Charles Péguy. This is how Bernard Guyon († 1975) defines him at the conclusion of a careful study of the French poet; and he…
Four hundred years ago tomorrow, on December 28, 1622 a great teacher of the spirituality, and the patron Saint of journalists and of the Catholic press, died in Lyon, east-central France: St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. He was born 55 years earlier in Thorens, southeastern France, on August 21, 1567,…
Tomorrow marks one hundred and fifty years since the birth, which took place in Tortona, a town in northwestern Italy, on December 21, 1872, “of the great, unforgettable Monsignor Lorenzo Perosi, who was music director of Our Sistine Chapel. […]”, in the words of Pope Paul VI († 1978), pronounced 50 years ago. “Maestro Perosi,”…
Above: the tomb of César Franck in Paris. Today is the bicentenary of the birth, which took place in Liège, in eastern Belgium, on December 10, 1822, of a composer and organist who, having lived almost always in Paris, was one of the most significant personalities of the French nineteenth century: César Franck. We remember…
One hundred years ago, on November 22, 1922, the new Pope Pius XI († 1939) issued the motu proprio Ad musicæ sacræ restitutionem, with which he set up what is now the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome. Although monumental, this was not the first papal action in this regard. “The liturgical-musical ‘conservatory’ of…
“How freely did I weep in thy hymns and canticles; how deeply was I moved by the voices of thy sweetly sounding Church! The voices streamed into my ears; and the truth was poured forth clearly into my heart, where the tide of my devotion overflowed, and my tears ran down, and I was happy…
350 years ago, on November 6, 1672, the most important German composer (before Johann Sebastian Bach) died in Dresden, eastern Germany: Heinrich Schütz. Through the example of his compositions and through his teaching he played a major part in establishing the traditions of high craftsmanship and intellectual depth that marked the best of his nation’s musical…
350 years ago, on October 20, 1672, the solemn feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with the approval of many Bishops in France, was observed for the first time.[1] The liturgical worship began with the priest born in Normandy, St. John Eudes (†1680), who was responsible for the first liturgical office celebrated in honor…
Above: St. Francis bids farewell to his children to enter the Society of Jesus. Four hundred and fifty years ago, on September 30, 1572, a “prince among the saints, because he was a saint among the princes” died in Rome: Saint Francis Borgia.[1] Life The fourth duke of Gandía was born in this city in…
Above: recent Latin Mass in Steubenville. Photo by Allison Girone. In 1972, the U.S Supreme Court officially declared the death penalty “unconstitutional,” even though our constitution explicitly says that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”[1] What did they think it means to deprive citizens of…
Readers surely know this adage: “The truth is stranger than fiction.” Mussolini began his career as an elementary school teacher; can you imagine sending your kindergartner to spend each day with Mussolini? Santa Anna—the enemy of the Republic of Texas at the Battle of the Alamo—later in life spent his time trying to sell rubber…
