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Events Today in Church History

      On this date last year His Holiness John Paul II made a special pilgrimage visit to the Shroud of Turin and encouraged scientists to keep an open mind regarding the carbon dated material that was almost destroyed by fire a few years ago. For other pertinent events throughout the centuries that are memorable in Church history today, click on MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES

Historical Events in Church Annals for May 24:

1218 A.D.


The Fifth Crusade sails from Acre to Egypt.

1337 A.D.


King Philip VI, monarch of France, confiscates the duchy of Gascony from England which prompted the beginning of the One Hundred Years War during the reign of Pope Benedict XII who was, in essence, a prisoner of Philip's in France during the Avignon Exile years.

1997 A.D.


One year after meeting with the leading prelate of the Austrian Catholic Church Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer at the Vatican over accusations he molested a 17-year old boy two decades ago, Pope John Paul II is faced with another scandal, this one the "Sicilian Scandal" for fraud and bribary and defrauding the European Union of over 200 million lire. The Holy Father demands the resignation of Archbishop Salvatore Cassis and names Bishop Pio Vittorio Vigo to succeed him.

1998 A.D.


Last year Pope John Paul II, just before releasing his thirteenth encyclical Fides et Ratio, vists the Shroud of Turin and urges scientists to keep an open mind regarding the Shroud of Turin as he visits the Holy Shroud while it is on display for a few months.

     Today we begin the lengthy liturgical season known as Ordinary Time with the Eighth Monday in Ordinary Time while tomorrow is the Eighth Tuesday as well as the trilogy of feasts honoring Saint Bede, priest, religious and Doctor of the Church, Pope Saint Gregory VII, known as Hildebrand the Holy Monk who developed Gregorian Chant, and Saint Mary Magdalene de'Pazzi, Virgin and Religious. Ordinary Time will take us through the summer and fall right up to Advent Season in late November. For the readings, liturgies, meditations and vignettes on the above saints, click on DAILY LITURGY.

Monday, May 24, 1999

Monday, May 22:
Eighth Monday in Ordinary Time

Green vestments

First Reading: Sirach 17: 24-29
Psalms: Psalm 32: 1-2, 5-7, 11
Gospel Reading: Mark 10: 17-27

Tuesday, May 25:
Eighth Tuesday of Ordinary Time and
Feast of Saint Bede, Doctor of the Church, and
Feast of Pope Saint Gregory VII and
Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene de'Pazzi, virgin and religious

White vestments

First Reading: Sirach 35: 1-12
Psalms: Psalm 50: 5-8, 14-23
Gospel Reading: Mark 10: 28-31

      This English saint -Saint Bede the Venerable - was a Benedictine monk in England and a learned man who specialized in English history and wrote an account of Christianity in Britain from the earliest times up to his time. He was dubbed "the Venerable" because of his wisdom and learning acumen. He was named a Doctor of the Church in 1899 by Pope Leo XIII. He is said to be the first to date events using A.D. (anno Domini.

     Born in Tuscany as Hildebrand, the great Pope Saint Gregory VII was the 157th successor of Peter and a strong pontiff who excommunicated the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and lifted it only after Henry came on bended knee wearing a rough hewn habit of public penance in the bitter cold of northern Italy to seek a pardon at Canossa. Gregory called a Council and issued a Dictatus Papae in which he decreed only the Pope is universal; no one can judge him; he alone can dispense from vows. Gregory was beatified by Pope Gregory XIII in 1584 and canonized in 1606 by Pope Paul V.

      This Firenzen-born saint Saint Mary Magdalen de Pazzi was born into an influential Florentine family who wanted her to marry, but she resisted their urgings and joined a Carmelite Convent in Florence, taking the name of "Mary Magdalen". Though bedridden for most of her life after her profession as a nun, she was gifted with prophecy and the ability to perform miraculous healings. Her private revelations were recorded by fellow sisters and published after her death. She was canonized in 1669 by Pope Clement IX.

Jubilee year 2000 could see two of three Fatima visionaries being beatified

      First Saint Catherine Laboure, then Saint Bernadette, now the latest is that two Fatima visionaries Francesco and Jacinta may be beatified next year during the Jubilee. Because she is still living, the third visionary Lucia would not be included but it is also believed the latter and Pope John Paul II are both favorable to this and the Portuguese hiearchy has made an invitation to the Pope to pronounce the beatification at Fatima. For more, click on Fatima Blesseds.

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Two of the three children to whom the Virgin Mary appeared at Fatima may move closer to beatification when the Congregation for the Causes of Saints meets in June of this year.

      The Congregation is expected to discuss-- and probably to approve-- a recommendation that Francesco and Jacinta Marto be beatified. Their causes would then be in the hands of Pope John Paul II, who could set a date for the beatification. The Portuguese hierarchy has already issued a tentative invitation to the Holy Father to visit Fatima for the beatification ceremonies.

      In Rome, many observers had speculated that the causes of the two Portuguese children would not advance to beatification until after the death of the third child of Fatima, Lucia Dos Sontos, who is now 92 years old. However, inside sources indicate that the Pope himself encouraged a prompt consideration of their causes.

A new romance forming between Romania and Rome as more and more talk of unity with the Eastern Orthodox circulates

      The Holy Father's ground-breaking historic trip to Romania is already paying dividends as more and more Orthodox leaders are speaking out about unity with the western Church. In addition, the Romanian president Emil Constantinescu presented the country's highest award - the "Star of Romania" to the Orthodox Patriarch and the country's 83 year-old Catholic prelate Cardinal Alexandru Todea who was imprisoned by the communists for over four decades. For more, click on The romance between Romania and Rome.

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- A spokesman for the Romanian Orthodox has indicated that the recent trip by Pope John Paul II to his country has opened new avenues toward Church unity.

      Speaking to a Vatican Radio audience on May 20, the Orthodox Metropolitan Seraphim said that the Orthodox and Catholic churches have made substantial progress in eliminating the tensions that have surrounded the Byzantine-rite Romanian Catholic Church. He said that two major theological issues remain to be resolved: the issue of papal primacy and the "filioque" clause.

      Metropolitan Seraphim said that the single regret expressed by the Romanian Orthodox Patriarch Teoctist in the aftermath of the visit was that he had not invited all of the patriarchs of the Orthodox world. If they had been on hand during the Pope's visit, he said, the Orthodox prelates would have "been witness to who the visit has produced." The papal trip was a remarkable exercise in "mutual trust," he said, and the results will inevitably further the cause of unity "not only between hierarchies, but among the People of God as a whole."

      Meanwhile in Bucharest, Romanian President Emil Constantinescu on Friday awarded the country's highest awards to the country's leading Orthodox patriarch and Catholic cardinal.

      The Star of Romania was presented to Patriarch Teoctist and Cardinal Alexandru Todea, who spent 43 years in prison and exile under the former Communist regime. Constantinescu said the award was intended to recognize the advancement of peace between Catholics and the majority Orthodox by the visit of Pope John Paul II two weeks ago. "Patriarch Teoctist is the first head of an Orthodox church who made the gesture of peace, ecumenism, and Christian love to invite the Pontiff to our home," the president said.

      The 84-year-old patriarch replied, "This cross will help Orthodox and Catholics crown the year 2000 with historic reconciliation between our two churches." Cardinal Todea who is 83-years-old, was too ill to attend the award ceremony and will receive the star from the president later in the Transylvania region, where many Catholics live. Cardinal Todea is the only surviving bishop jailed by the Communist after Catholicism was banned in 1948.

Wanted: Volunteers for the Jubilee in Rome. Apply at the Vatican

      If you can speak Italian, want to give something to the Church, and would like to spend at least fifteen days in Rome free, then the Holy See may have just the ticket for you. The Vatican Central Jubilee Committee is looking for at least 100,000 good men and women to serve as volunteers to meet, greet and cater to pilgrims coming to Rome for Jubilee 2000. If you're interested, their e-mail and phone number is in the article inside. For more, click on Volunteers wanted .

      VATICAN CITY, MAY 21 (ZENIT).- According to the Vatican's most recent calculations, approximately 53,000 volunteers are needed for the "Ordinary" Jubilee, and 51,000 for the "Extraordinary" events such as the World Youth Day.

      In order to coordinate the help of this contingent, the Vatican Central Committee for the Great Jubilee has created a Jubilee Welcome Volunteer Center with very specific tasks: to recruit volunteers, train them and coordinate their work with the Holy See, the Italy and private institutions.

      The volunteers must be adults; if they are foreign, they must be able to speak Italian and be available for fifteen days (although not necessarily consecutively) during the year 2000. They will be given housing and food and the possibility of free transportation on the Roman public transit system.

      The volunteers will lead pilgrim groups, receive people at churches, provide information, and safeguard the environment and Rome's artistic treasures.

      According to initial estimates, 75% of the volunteers will be Italian, and 15% will come from nearby European countries (Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Portugal). The distribution of the remaining volunteers are calculated as follows: about 5% from remaining European countries; about 3% from America; and about 2% from Asia and Africa.

      The volunteers will be organized in teams of 19, with an individual in charge. Prior training weekends are planned for those responsible.

      Applications may be sent to the Jubilee Welcome Volunteer Center, Largo S. Lucia Filippini, 20. Roma. Telephone: (06) 678 96 95. The e-mail address is: volontariato@romagiubileo.it ZE99052104

Peoria Prelate prepares parents for role of Pater Noster

      In preparation for Father's Day in a few weeks and tying in with the year dedicated to God the Father, Peoria's Bishop John J. Myers is encouraging fathers everywhere to take their parental role as father's for their families seriously and to emulate the Father of us all by first allowing Him to embrace them and then reaching out to their family and embracing the family in imitating the love of God. For more, click on Fathers

      PEORIA, 22 (NE) Recalling Pope John Paul II' invitation to reflect along this year on God the Father, Bishop John Myers of Peoria urged faithful to also reflect "over the role or parents in our human family."

      Writing in the diocesan weekly paper "The Catholic Post", Bishop Myers reminded that "each father in a marital relationship and in the family is called to imitate the Fatherly qualities of God the Father. Our God is a God Who is rich in mercy, abounding in love, and full of tenderness."

      The Bishop of Peoria invited all fathers and husbands to attend the Annual Men's Conference to be held June 5. The theme of this year's conference is "Our Father's Embrace." Through this theme "the conference will help to examine the parable of the Prodigal Son and relate its rich messages to the challenges facing men in today's world," said the prelate.

      "I pray that as you attempt to imitate the love of God the Father in this year of preparation for the Jubilee, that all of us will experience God the Father's embrace."

For more headlines and articles, we suggest Catholic World News site at the CWN home page and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and ZENIT International News Agency. CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.

CATHOLIC CANVAS: Daily Dose of curious contents of the Church:

Ordinary Time

     This is actually the Season of Pentecost, though in the Novus Ordo it is called "Ordinary Time" though that doesn't mean it's plain or mundane, but rather that the Church keeps count of the weeks which vary between 23 to 28 weeks leading up to the Feast of Christ the King on the final Sunday of the Church's Liturgical Year. The next week Advent kicks off the new Liturgical Church year. Ordinary Time is the longest of the liturgical seasons. The entire year is divided by the Church into periods and seasons, some of rejoicing, some of penance and others of ordinary prayer and work, the latter referring to "Ordinary Time" after Pentecost when we follow through what Christ has said and the strengthening the Spirit has infused in us at Pentecost. By following the cycle of feasts and fasts, and living in the spirit of each time, we sanctify the whole year and help bear fruit pleasing to God. "In observing the seasons, we should look upon these events as actually occurring. The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ; she lives over every year the mysteries of His life. Thus we unite ourselves with Christ." (source: My Catholic Faith, My Mission House).

     Following up on this weekend when we presented two Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate sites, we present another excellent site operated by the OMI's, the official site for one of the largest Marian Shrines in the United States - OUR LADY OF THE SNOWS SHRINE the beautiful, inspiring and picturesque sprawling Shrine in Belleville, Illinois on the outskirts of St. Louis, Missouri.

Click here to return to SECTION ONE or click here to return to the graphics front page of this issue.

May 24, 1999 volume 10, no. 100   DAILY CATHOLIC