SPECIAL FATIMA WEEKEND ISSUE THUR-FRI-SAT-SUN May 11-14, 2000 volume 11, no. 91	To print out entire text of Today's issue, go to	SECTION ONE SECTION TWO SECTION THREE

Historical Events in Church Annals for May 11:

• 330 A.D.
• On this day the City of Constantinople was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and designated as the capital for the entire Eastern Roman Empire.

• 603 A.D.
• Death of Saint Comgall, an Irish hermit who founded a monastery in Bangor and where he taught Saint Columban. Comgall is said to have governed over eight thousand monks.

• 944 A.D.
• Death of Saint Majolus or Mayeul who became a monk and bishop and was entrusted by Emperor Otto the Great to bring reform to Germany's monasteries.

• 1191 A.D.
• King Richard I of England meets King Guy of Jerusalem on the island of Cyprus.

• 1573 A.D.
• Henry of Anjou is elected the first King of Poland

• 1610 A.D.
• Death of Father Matteo Ricci, Jesuit missionary in China.

Historical Events in Church Annals for May 12:

• 403 A.D.
• Death of Saint Epiphanius of Salamis, bishop and abbot, noted for his spiritual wisdom and understanding of Scripture. He was the authority of his time on the Blessed Virgin Mary and taught the primacy of Peter among the Apostles. He was a staunch defender of the faith against Origenism and encountered many tiffs with fellow prelates over this. He died on his way back to Salamis after defending Saint John Chrysostom in Constantinople.

• 1003 A.D.
• Death of Pope Sylvester II, the 139th successor of Peter who ushered the Church into the second millennium. He tried to repress debauchery and it was this French-born pontiff who introduced the use of Arabic numbers.

• 1191 A.D.
• Richard I - the Coeur de Lion (the Lionhearted), a great defender of the Church in England solidifies his claim by marrying Lady Berengaria of Navarre.

• 1250 A.D.
• Saint Louis IX, King of France arrives at Acre in Ptolemais enroute from Egypt.

• 1349 A.D.
• The Catholic church in Shaftsbury, England elects their fourth new vicar in days after the three previous had all died from the Bubonic Plague - known as the "Black Death."

• 1364 A.D.
• The Jagiellonian University, second oldest in central Europe and where Pope John Paul II would both attend in 1937 and return to teach in 1954, is endowed in Krakow, Poland.

• 1539 A.D.
• The Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto, who had discovered Cuba for Spain and the Church, embarks from that tiny island in search of the seven Cities of Gold he had heard so many legends of. With a band of Franciscans, Dominicans and Carmelites, DeSoto and his men would not reach the so-called seven cities of gold but rather the Mississippi River and the faith would be brought to middle America through his efforts.

• 1588 A.D.
• The Day of the Barricades in Paris, France when the Huguenots would usurp the crown forcing Catholic King Henry III to flee and placing on the throne Henry IV who had been excommunicated by the "iron pope" Pope Sixtus V in 1585. Because of Rome's persistance, the faith in France would be saved and the Hugenots driven from the land.

Historical Events in Church Annals for May 13:

• 1028 A.D.
• Death of Saint Euthymius, son of Saint John the Iberian who were both born in Georgia, Russia. With his father, Euthymius, known as "the enlightener" or "the illuminator," helped his father build monasteries on Mt. Athos for the Iberian monks and succeeded his father as abbot. He died on his way back from Constantinople when he was thrown from his mule along the steep mountain path leading to Athos.

• 1191 A.D.
• Richard the Lionhearted (Coeur de Lion) and his crusaders, aided by King Guy of Jerusalem, attack the infidels on Cyprus.

• 1501 A.D.
• Amerigo Vespucci leaves the harbor of Lisbon on his voyage to the New World. Though Columbus was there a few years before him, America would be named after this Portuguese explorer and navigator.

• 1568 A.D.
• Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots and last Catholic queen in the British Isles is defeated at Langside, solidifying the Church of England throughout Britain.

• 1917 A.D.
• The Mother of God appears to three children in Fatima, Portugal for the first time. It would have a tremendous impact on the faithful throughout the twentieth century, increasing devotion to the Rosary - the vital weapon for fending off the attacks of satan.

• 1981 A.D.
• The 264th successor of Peter Pope John Paul II, in the third year of his pontificate is shot while in his open-aired motor popemobile waving to the crowds. He is rushed to the hospital and many fear the worst, but he is preserved and the bullet taken from his side is also preserved...in the crown of Our Lady's statue in Fatima. During his recovery he asked for only two things. Bishop Paolo Hnilica, S.J. brought him Saint Faustina's Diary "Divine Mercy in My Soul" and material on Fatima.

Historical Events in Church Annals for May 14:

• 637 A.D.
• Death of Saint Carthage, also known as Carthage and Mochuda, this Irish saint actually took his name from Saint Carthage the Elder who ordained him. He became a hermit, and founded a monastery in Offaly with the help of Saint Comgall. He ruled over 800 monks as abbot, but he was driven from the monaster by the local ruler and finished his life as a hermit in a nearby cave.

• 964 A.D.
• Death of Pope John XII. In one of the more embarassing times of the papacy, this pontiff is said to have had a stroke while bedding his mistress, a married woman. A week later he was dead. It was this pope who reconstituted the Holy Roman Empire, crown Otto I of Germany who later would depose John XII.

• 1004 A.D.
• Henry II is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Sylvester II who had ushered in the Second Millennium for the Church as the 139th successor of Peter.

• 1265 A.D.
• Death of Saint Giles of Portugal, who had dabbled in the black arts early in life but was converted and became first a physician and then a Dominican. Because of his past ties to the satanic sciences, he was constantly tormented by the devil until Our Lady appeared to him, setting him at peace. He went on to become prior general of the Dominicans in Portugal and retired to Santarem where he received many prophecies and experienced mystical ecstacies.

• 1494 A.D.
• Christopher Columbus discovers the island of Jamaica on one of his return trips, proclaiming it for Spain and Holy Mother Church.