Historical Events in Church Annals for November 22nd:

• 365 A.D.
• Death of Saint Felix II the antipope who was a good and holy man and history shows he was a staunch supporter of the Nicene Creed and opposed Arianism, even though it was the Arians who put him on the throne. He is the only antipope who was declared a saint in the Roman martyrology.

• 498 A.D.
• Pope Saint Symmachus begins his reign as the 51st successor of Peter. During his sixteen year pontificate he would consolidate Church property refering to it as permanent benefices for the use of the clergy. He also was known for ransoming all the slaves and giving them their freedom. It is Symmachus who is attributed with the first construction of the Vatican Palace.

• 1221 A.D.
• Pope Honorius III crowns Frederick II of Hohenstaufen Holy Roman Emperor. This would come back to haunt not just the Pope but all of Holy Mother Church in the great struggles between the Guelphs who represented the pro-papal party and the Ghibbelines who were pro-imperial and against the Church.

• 1963 A.D.
• Death of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the first Catholic president of the United States. He was shot while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas.

• 1987 A.D.
• Pope John Paul II beatifies 85 martyrs who died for their faith during the persecution of Catholics in the British Isles between 1584 and 1689.

• 1992 A.D.
• Pope John Paul II beatifies Blessed Cristobal Magellanes and his 24 companion Mexican martyrs along with Blessed Maria de Jesus Sacramentado Venegas.

November 22, 2000
volume 11, no. 239
MILLENNIUM MILESTONES

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