DAILY CATHOLIC    FRI-SAT-SUN     December 17-19, 1999     vol. 10, no. 240

MILLENNIUM MILESTONES & MEMORIES: TIME CAPSULES

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Historical Events in Church Annals for December 17:

  • 283 A.D.
  • Election of Pope Saint Caius, 28th successor of Peter. This Dalmatian-born Pope's uncle was the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Despite this he would still die a martyr on April 22, 296. His thirteen year pontificate would be significant for him decreeing that no one should be ordained bishop until he had passed through the orders of tonsure, porter, lector, exorcist, acolyte, subdeacon, deacon and priesthood.

  • 693 A.D.
  • Death of Saint Begga who married Ansegilius,the son of Saint Arnulf. By the couple they had a son named Pepin who would be the founder of the Carolingian dynasty of rulers of France. She died in the church and convetn she had built at Andenne on the Meuse River.

  • 779 A.D.
  • Death of Saint Sturmi, monastery founder and religious who is known as the "Apostle of the Saxons." He was the first abbot appointed by Saint Boniface at Fulda. He became the first German to be a Benedictine priest and was befriended by Charlemagne the Great. He was canonized in 1139 by Pope Innocent II.

  • 1187 A.D.
  • Death of Pope Gregory VIII, 173rd successor of Peter, at the age of 77. Born in Benevento, Italy around 1110, he was elected on October 25th and his papacy lasted less than two months. He was highly thought of by German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and would without doubt have succeeded in solving the grave disagreements between the Church and the Empire had his pontificate been longer. He assisted in every way the Christians in the Holy Land.

  • 1213 A.D.
  • Death of Saint John de Matha, French hermit and founder of the Trinitarians, the Order of athe Most Holy Trinity which received papal approval in 1197 from Pope Innocent III. The Order was established to ransom Christian prisoners and hostages of the Saracens which John did, dispatching many of his missionaries to North Africa and throughout France, England, Spain and Italy.

  • 1526 A.D.
  • Pope Clemens VII publishes his decree Cum ad zero which officially announces the formation of the Roman Inquisition in an attempt to stop the rebellion and heresies by those breaking away from the Church in droves in what would be called the Protestant Reformation.

  • 1538 A.D.
  • Pope Paul III formally excommunicates King Henry VIII of England. Once hailed as "Defender of the Faith" he is now handed the bell, book and candle and he doesn't handle it well as the selfish, egotistical king seeks to usurp all Catholic property in England and make all clerics subject to him rather than the Pope.


Historical Events in Church Annals for December 18:

  • 1352 A.D.
  • French-born Cardinal Etienne Aubert becomes Pope Innocent IV, 199th successor of Peter and 5th in the Avignon line of Popes in exile in southern France. He would order the Spanish Cardinal Albornoz to restore order in the Papal States. A great lover of the arts and culture, he would build a surround wall around the papal palace to defend Avignon.

  • 1947 A.D.
  • Pope Pius XII publishes his 14th encyclical Optissima Pax, which prescribes public prayers for social and world peace.


Historical Events in Church Annals for December 19:

  • 401 A.D.
  • Death of Pope Saint Anastasius I, 39th successor of Peter. Elected on November 27, 399, his two year pontificate was marked by resolving the schism between Rome and the Church of Antioch. He strenuously fought the followers of immoral practices, maintaining that the Divinity was also hidden in material things. He also decreed that priests should remain standing during the Gospel.

  • 1372 A.D.
  • Death of Pope Blessed Urban V, 200th successor of Peter. This French-born pontif was elected on November 6, 1362. The sixth in the line of Avignon Popes in exile, he actually returned the papacy back to Rome but after three years of tumults and disorder, had no choice but to return the Holy See to Avignon. He added the third crown to the tiarra which signified imperial power. The other two crowns represent royal power and spiritual power.


December 17-19, 1999 FRI-SAT-SUN       volume 10, no. 240
TIME CAPSULES
DAILY CATHOLIC

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