MEMORIAL WEEKEND ISSUE THUR-FRI-SAT-SUN-MON May 25-29, 2000 volume 11, no. 99

Historical Events in Church Annals for May 25:

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• 709 A.D.
• Death of Saint Aldhelm, Benedictine English monk and Bishop of Sherborne who studied under Saint Adrian and founded numerous monasteries, supplanting the Celtic liturgical customs with the Latin liturgy in compliance with Rome. He wrote numerous Latin poems and is considered the Church's first English scholar, but he is not a Doctor of the Church.

• 735 A.D.
• Death of Saint Bede the Venerable, who also was a Benedictine monk in England and a learned man who specialized in English history and wrote an account of Christianity in Britain from the earliest times up to his time. He was dubbed "the Venerable" because of his wisdom and learning acumen. Unlike Aldhelm, he was named a Doctor of the Church in 1899 by Pope Leo XIII. He is said to be the first to date events using A.D. (anno Domini. For more, see WEEKEND LITURGY

• 1085 A.D.
• Death of Pope Saint Gregory VII, the 157th successor of Peter and a strong pontiff who excommunicated the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and lifted it only after Henry came on bended knee wearing a rough hewn habit of public penance in the bitter cold of northern Italy to seek a pardon. For more, see WEEKEND LITURGY

• 1261 A.D.
• Death of Pope Alexander IV, the 181st successor of Peter and the pope who canonized Saint Clare and confirmed the reality of the stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi. It was something he was eminently qualified for since he had been Cardinal Protector of the Franciscans before his elevation to the papal throne.

• 1521 A.D.
• Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, crowned by Pope Clement VII summoned the princes and bishops of Germany to a conference at Worms in Germany. In it they confronted Martin Luther and accused him of heresy and apostasy and demanded he recant. He refused and the group convened by Charles ordered Luther and his followers condemned and his writings burned and destroyed. This became the Edict of the Diet of Worms.

• 1998 A.D.
• His Holiness Pope John Paul II releases his thirteenth encylical Fides et Ratio - "Faith and Reason" in which he clearly shows how the two complement each other but science cannot exist without a belief in God and compliance with His natural laws.

Historical Events in Church Annals for May 26:

• 1232 A.D.
• Pope Gregory IX, the 178th successor of Peter and the pontiff who canonized Saint Francis, Saint Dominic, and Saint Anthony of Padua, also instituted the Holy Inquisition and on this date he sent the first inquisition team to Aragon in Spain.

• 1478 A.D.
• Birth of Cardinal Giulio de Medici, born in Firenze, the illegitimate son of Guiliano de Medici who was murdered, young Giulio was raised by his uncle Lorenzo the Magnificent and would go on to become Pope Clement VII the 219th successor of Peter.

• 1595 A.D.
• Death of Saint Philip Neri, founder of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity which was composed of laymen to minister to needy pilgrims. He was a great promoter of Forty Hours' Devotion of the Blessed Sacrament, to Which he had a great love and dedication to. He became known as the "Apostle of Rome" for his holy counsel to Popes, Cardinals and clerics as well as numerous political leaders and the common populace. He died in Rome on this date and was canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. For more see WEEKEND LITURGY

• 1645 A.D.
• Death of Saint Mariana de Paredes y Flores, who was born in Quito, Ecuador. She was gifted with prophecy and is purported to have performed miracles. After an earthquake and an epidemic struck the city of Quito, Mariana offered herself in reparation for the people's sins. Soon after God granted her prayers by eliminating the epidemic, she died on this date in Quito where she has been known since as the "Lily of Quito." She was canonized in 1950 by Pope Pius XII.

• 1647 A.D.
• Even though the state of Maryland had tolerated all faiths, the Colony of Massachusetts, heavily populated by Quakers, decided to ban Roman Catholic priests in an effort to dissuade Catholics from settling in and around Boston and other areas of "New England." Those who had been persecuted in England, forgot what freedom meant and began their own persecutions. Catholics in the Boston area suffered greatly but the fruits of their persecution, like the early Christian martyrs, proved fruitful for Boston would become a great hub of Catholicism over the next few centuries.

Historical Events in Church Annals for May 27:

• 1218 A.D.
• The first of the ships bearing crusaders for the ill-fated Fifth Crusade land at the port of Egypt. Though Pope Honorius III and his predecessor Pope Innocent III, who had organized this Crusade, had both hoped and prayed that this crusade would retrieve the Holy Land for Christendom, the slothful and irresponsible actions of Frederick II Hohenstaufen, king of Germany doomed it to defeat when he failed to respond for the call to back up the crusaders as promised. It was just a string of horrific events that would happen between the House of Hohenstaufen and the Holy See.

• 1541 A.D.
• The Countess of Salisbury, the last living member of the Catholic Plantagenet Dynasty that ruled England from 1154 to 1485, is beheaded by order of the rebellious King Henry VIII as persecutions of Catholics intensified throughout England.

Historical Events in Church Annals for May 28:

• 567 A.D.
• Death of Saint Germanus of Paris, Priest and Abbot of St. Symphorian's in France, he was renowned for his great mysticism and prophecy. Named to be Bishop of Paris, his holiness changed the face of the city, even that of the King. He died at the age of 80 after a life of penance and sacrifice.

• 640 A.D.
• Pope Severinus becomes the 71st successor of Peter. Though he would live less than three months, passing away on August 2, 640, he nobly fought the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius on the issue of monoteletic heresy. Heraclius retaliated by sacking the Lateran Palace and the Basilica of St. John Lateran

• 1081 A.D.
• Death of Saint Bernard of Montjoux (or Menthon). He was an Augustinian canon, probably born in Italy, who founded Alpine hospices near the two passes named for him. He is the patron saint of mountaineers.

Historical Events in Church Annals for May 29:

• 757 A.D.
• Pope Saint Paul I is elected as the 93rd successor of Peter. His pontificate was marked by encouraging a deeper union with the Greek Church. He discovered the remains of Saint Petronilla who, according to tradition, was the daughter of Saint Peter.

• 1176 A.D.
• Pope Alexander III, the 170th successor of Peter, supports the Lombard League, which finally defeats Frederick I Barbarossa at Legano, forcing Frederick to negotiate with Alexander, whom Frederick then recognized as Pope.

• 1289 A.D.
• Pope Nicholas IV, the 191st successor of Peter, crowns Charles II of Salerno as king of Naples and Sicily at Rieti, after making Charles first do homage to him as Pope.

• 1521 A.D.
• Pope Leo X, 217th successor of Peter, allies himself with Charles V of Spain, in helping defeat King Francis I of France during the time of the fifth Lateran Council.

• 1607 A.D.
• Death of Saint Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi, born in 1566 as Catherine. She became a Carmelite in the monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence, May 17, 1584 and took the name Mary Magdalen with the motto, "To suffer or die". Her official liturgical feast dayin the Church is celebrated on May 25th.

• 1314 A.D.
• Death of Blessed James Salomonio who sold everything he owned and gave all his money to the poor and entered the Dominican Order with nothing and gained everything!