MILLENNIUM MILESTONES & MEMORIES: TIME CAPSULES

Historical Events in Church Annals for October 15:

1389 A.D.


Death of Pope Urbanus VI, 202nd successor of Peter whose pontificate lasted eleven and a half years. He was the first Pope to be elected by a conclave held in the Vatican after the seventy years captivity in Avignon. Yet, he could not avoid the creation of antipopes at Avignon and this brought about the Western Schism which would last forty years. Many believe the weight of this sorrow bore heavily on his death.

1582 A.D.


First day of the new Gregorian Calendar which was introduced in Italy and other Catholic countries. In order to make the transition from the old Julian Calendar to the new one authored by Pope Gregory XIII it was necessary to eliminate ten days. Thus, when people went to sleep on the night of the 4th in 1582, the next day they woke up was October 15th.

1582 A.D.


Death of Saint Teresa of Jesus from Avila, Spain who was so instrumental in reforming the Carmelites and spurring on Saint John of the Cross to do the same for the priests. For more on this first female Doctor of the Church, see THIS WEEKEND'S LITURGY.

1890 A.D.


Pope Leo XIII issues his encyclical Dall' alto Dell' Apostolico seggio intended primarily to the Italian bishops and their flocks on the evils of Freemasonry.

1998 A.D.


Pope John Paul II issues his 13th encyclical Fides et Ratio on the eve of his 20th anniversary in which he deals with "Faith and Reason" covering issues which many call his "last will and testament" on the fundamental questions of human existence.

Historical Events in Church Annals for October 16:

1243 A.D.


Death of Saint Hedwig, wife, mother and religious. For more on this saint see THIS WEEKEND'S LITURGY.

1311 A.D.


Pope Clement V convenes the 15th Ecumenical Council at Vienne.

1333 A.D.


Death of the Italian antipope Nicholas V, who was pardoned by the legitimate Pope John XXII and stepped down on July 25, 1330. He retired to the Franciscan church in Avignon where he is interred today.

1690 A.D.


Death of French mystic Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. For more on this saint, see THIS WEEKEND'S LITURGY.

1755 A.D.


Death of Saint Gerard Majella, religious and mystic who is the patron saint of expectant mothers. He died at the young age of twenty-nine from tuberculosis.

1756 A.D.


Pope Benedict XIV releases his thirteenth and final encyclical Ex omnibus on the Apostolic constitution Unigenitus.

1978 A.D.


Cardinal Karol Josef Wojtyla of Poland is chosen to succeed Pope John Paul I as the 264th successor of Peter becoming the first non-Italian Pope since Dutch-born Pope Hadrian VI in 1523 - 455 years ago. For the chronological story of this great Pope and the twenty-one year highlights of his pontificate, click on TWENTY-FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSARY.

1988 A.D.


Pope John Paul II beatifies Blesseds Bernardo Maria Silvestrelli, Charles Houben and Honoratus Kozminski on the tenth year anniversary of his papacy.

Historical Events in Church Annals for October 17:

Feast of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr

532 A.D.


Death of Pope Saint Boniface II, 55th successor of Peter who was considered a "barbarous foreigner by rival factions who elected the antipope Dioscoros. However after the latter's death, Boniface was free to rule without interference during a papacy that lasted only two years. It was Boniface who had the monastery of Monte Cassino built on the spot where the temple of Apollo once stood.

1404 A.D.


Cardinal Cosimo Gentile de' Migliorati is chosen the 204th successor of Peter. He would be elevated on November 11th as Pope Innocent VII, the third of the Roman popes during the Great Schism between 1378 and 1417. Because of his weak character he was unable to achieve any lasting results in his efforts to solve the schism and the difficult conditions in which the Papal States found themselves. His papacy would last two years, dying on November 6, 1406.

1591 A.D.


Death of Pope Gregory XIV, 229th successor of Peter. His papacy lasted less than a year. He was a man of upright and ascetical nature who was swindled and cheated by his dishonest counselors. He confirmed the right of sanctuary in embassies accredited to the Holy See and is the pontiff who excommunicated King Henry IV of France.

1912 A.D.


Birth of Albino Luciano at Canale d'Agordo near Belluno, Italy. He would go on to become a cardinal and on August 26, 1978 be chosen to succeed Pope Paul VI taking the name Pope John Paul I. Unfortunately his pontificate lasted only 33 days.