Historical Events in Church Annals for December 21st:

• 1117 A.D.
• Birth of Saint Thomas Beckett, Archbishop of Canterbury who took England's King Henry II to task for his immoral lifestyle and opposed bishops who catered to the king's whims. He was harassed by the king and the bishops, even though he had appealed to Rome, but was murdered by the monarch's command in the cathedral by four of the king's knights on December 29, 1170. Three years later Pope Alexander III elevated him to sainthood.

• 1597 A.D.
• Death of Saint Peter Canisius, Dutch Jesuit priest and Doctor of the Church. For more on this saint, see DAILY LITURGY.

December 21, 2000
volume 11, no. 268
MILLENNIUM MILESTONES

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