MILLENNIUM MILESTONES & MEMORIES: TIME CAPSULES

138 A.D.
Death of Saint Oliva, virgin and martyr from Breschia who received her eternal reward of Heaven through martyrdom at the hands of the Roman emperor Hadrian.
254 A.D.
Death of Pope Saint Lucius I, 22nd successor of Peter. Born in Rome, he was elected on June 25, 253. Possessing an aesthetical nature, he forbade men and women not related by blood to live together; he also decreed that clergy could not live with deaconesses even if given lodging for reasons of charity. His pontificate was cut short after less than nine months as Roman Pontiff, by the cruel persecution of the Roman emperor Valerian who ordered the execution of this martyred Pope.
423 A.D.
Death of Saint Eusebius of Cremona. He succeeded Saint Jerome as Abbot of Bethlehem and was quite close to the saintly Doctor of the Church who translated the Bible into the Latin Vulgate.
1179 A.D.
Pope Alexander III convenes the Third Lateran Council, better known as the 11th Ecumenical Council in which papal elections would be regulated to insist on two-thirds majority for confirmation of an election - something still in effect today. The Council Fathers also condemned Albigensianism and Waldensesism. The well-attended and short Council would last only two weeks, being closed on March 19th.

1447 A.D.
Cardinal Tommaso Parentucelli is elected the 208th successor of Peter, taking the name Pope Nicholas V out of respect for the bishop in Bologna who groomed him. Known as the "Renaissance Pope," for more we refer you to Tuesday's installment in The History of the Mass and Holy Mother Church.

203 A.D.
Death of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, virgins and martyrs who were subjected to torture by wild beasts in a Carthage amphitheater but came out of it unscathed. So incensed was the Procurator of the region Hilarion that he ordered them be swiftly killed by the sword.
445 A.D.
Death of Saint Gaudiosus, Bishop of Brescia who died of natural causes on this date.
1274 A.D.
Death of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Dominican Doctor of the Church. His feast used to be celebrated on the day of his death but in the new liturgy that was transfered to January 28th. For more on this great saint, see St. Thomas' feast day.
1530 A.D.
Pope Clement VII denies the request by King Henry VIII for a divorce from Catherine of Aragon to which Henry declares he, not the Pope, is the supreme head of England's church, in effect declaring apostasy and schism that lasts even up to today.
1724 A.D.
Death of Pope Innocent XIII, 244th successor of Peter. This Jesuit was born in Rome and elected the Roman Pontiff on May 18, 1721. During his three year pontificate he reconfirmed the papal bull Unigenitus for those of the French clergy who had not accepted it. He intervened forcibly in the Spanish Church and sent 100,000 crowns to the Knights of Malta in their struggle with the Turks.