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vol, 9, no. 80

Historical Events in Church Annals for April 24:

• 709 A.D.
  
• Death of Saint Wilfrid, Bishop from Northumbria, England.

• 858 A.D.
  
• Pope Saint Nicholas I is elected as the 105th successor of Peter. With the Emperor Louis II, he launched an army against the Saracen threat. He is also the Pope who proclaimed August 15th as the permanent date of the Feast of the Assumption.

• 1519 A.D.
  
• Representatives of the Aztec chief Montezuma II attend the first Easter Mass to be held in Central America.

• 1576 A.D.
  
• Birth of Saint Vincent de Paul in Gascony, France to a poor family. He would go on to become a priest and found the Vincentians.

• 1585 A.D.
  
• Pope Sixtus V is elected by the College of Cardinals, becoming the 227th successor of Peter. Sixtus is credited with finishing the dome of St. Peter's Basilica and constructing the obelisk in the center of St. Peter's Square.

Historical Events in Church Annals for April 25:

• 799 A.D.
  
• Pope Saint Leo III is abducted while riding in a procession to Holy Mass and while he was violently attacked by a wild gang of fanatics of one of the Italian families who threatened to gouge out his eyes, he was rescued by more moderate members of the same family and sent to a monastery. He would regain the throne of the Holy See but not on this day.

• 912 A.D.
  
• The City of Venice is founded and the square named after Saint Mark to honor his feast day and the day of the establishment of this great northern Italian city which would become a strong bastion of Catholicism.

• 1142 A.D.
  
• Death of Saint William of Vercelli, hermit and religious founder.

• 1214 A.D.
  
• Birth of Saint Louis IX to King Louis VIII and his holy mother Blanche. Young Louis would become the King of France at the age of 12 and rule for 44 years, going down as one of the greatest monarchs ever. He played a key role in the affairs of Holy Mother Church during the turbulent thirteenth century.

• 1342 A.D.
  
• Death of Pope Benedict XII, the 197th successor of Peter, who reformed the Benedictine, Franciscan and Dominican orders and was third pontiff to reside in France during the Avignon Captivity.

Historical Events in Church Annals for April 26:

• 757 A.D.
  
• Death of Pope Stephen II, the 92nd successor of Peter. His election generated so much enthusiasm from the citizens of Rome that they hoisted him on their shoulders and that gave rise to the sedia gestatoria.

• 1228 A.D.
  
• Birth of Conrad IV to the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Like his father, Conrad was a ward of the Vatican and would go on to become a real thorn in the side of Holy Mother Church as king of Germany. Thanks to Saint Louis IX King of France, Conrad was unable to gain total control.

• 1478 A.D.
  
• A plot to murder one of the most powerful Roman family heads Lorenzo de Medici is foiled but some family members are felled including Guillano de Medici.

• 1564 A.D.
  
• Famous bard William Shakespeare is baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-on-the-Avon.