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Events Today in Church History

     For events throughout the centuries that are memorable in Church history today, click on TIME CAPSULES: ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME

Historical Events in Church Annals for June 2:

177 A.D.


Death of Saint Blandina and the Martyrs of Lyons, France. The Christians there were falsely accused of cannibalism and incest and wrongly forced to confess to their crimes, then torn with iron hooks and scalded with hot irons. Through it all Blandina maintained her faith, exclaiming "I am a Christian, and there is no evil done among us."

303 A.D.


Death of Saint Erasmus, also known as Saint Elmo, the bishop of Campagna, Italy who was martyred under the persecution of Diocletian though it was not easy for the pagan emperor. Elmo was hurled into a fiery pit but emerged unscathed (thus the phrase "St. Elmo's fire") and then imprisoned. An angel freed him and led him to Formiae where he eventually died of his wounds in dignity. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and is patron saint of sailors.

575 A.D.


After a vacancy of almost one year, Pope Benedict I is elected as the 62nd successor of Peter on this date. He would strive to restore order in Italy and in France where the barbaric invasions had thrown those countries into turmoil.

657 A.D.


Death of Pope Saint Eugene I, 75th successor of Peter who decreed the perpetual observance of chastity for all priests.

828 A.D.


Death of Saint Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople and staunch opponent of iconoclasm. Because of fierce opposition from the Armenian Emperor, he was exiled to a monastery where he lived the last fifteen years of his life.

1129 A.D.


Marriage of Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou to Queen Matilda of England, whose son Henry II began the line of the Plantagenet dynasty and solidified Holy Mother Church in England until the Windsor monarchs and the rebellion of Henry VIII.

1537 A.D.


Pope Paul III, 220th successor of Peter and pontiff who gave official approval for the Jesuits and called the the 19th Ecumenical Council, publicly declares that, despite the naive perception by so many Europeans that they were savages, the Native American Indians have souls and are therefore to be accorded the dignity of man and could not be enslaved.

1835 A.D.


Birth of Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto to a village postman and a seamstress in Upper Venetia, Italy. He would go on to become the holy Pope Saint Pius X, 257th successor of Peter and the Pope who made Holy Communion available to all, especially children from seven years of age up.

1875 A.D.


The first African Roman Catholic bishop in America Bishop James Healy is consecrated for the Diocese covering the state of Maine.

Tremendous Traffic Tie-ups around the Vatican give glimpse of what's ahead for Jubilee 2000

     If nearly 250,000 thronging to the Vatican over the weekend for Pentecost and the close of the international Lay Conference created crowd headaches, imagine what will happen when millions descend on the Holy See as expected in the Jubilee year. Vatican crowd experts will have to go back to the drawing board to design traffic flow blueprints that will ease the crush of pilgrims in a year and a half. Meanwhile, the Holy Father invoked the Holy Spirit during a packed weekend in Rome. For more, click on Packed Pentecost

      ROME (CWNews.com) - More than 250,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square on Sunday for a special Pentecost celebration with Pope John Paul II, foreshadowing the effects of increased pilgrimages to the Vatican during the Jubilee Year celebrations in 2000.

      The Pope began the celebration of the feast of Pentecost along with an estimated 200,000 members of Lay Catholic apostolates, who filled St. Peter's Square to overflowing on Saturday evening, the eve of Pentecost.

      The Holy Father, who had issued an invitation to the leaders of lay movements to join him for Pentecost, stressed the importance of these groups in bringing the Gospel message to a secularized society. He preached to a crowd which spilled out onto the streets outside St. Peter's Square, and included the founders of several worldwide movements: Chiara Lubich of Focolare, Kiko Arguello of the Neocatechumenate Way, Don Luigi Giussani of Communion and Liberation, Jean Vanier of L'Arche, and others.

      Chiara Lubich thanked the Pope for his solicitude, and said the growth of lay movements has been "one of the main works of your pontificate." Cardinal Francis Stafford, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity (which had organized the encounter) agreed; "only the Pope could have done this," he said.

      The Pope, in turn, told the members of the lay apostolates that their young movements were now reaching spiritual maturity. "You are the first tangible proof of the outpouring of the Spirit," he said. He added the maturity should entail close alliance and identification with the Church through the hierarchy.

      On Pentecost Sunday itself, the Pope conferred the sacrament of Confirmation on 15 young people-- 5 boys and 10 girls-- during Mass at St. Peter's, with a congregation of some 40,000. In his homily, the Pope recalled the "unforgettable" encounter of the previous evening, and said "the climate of Pentecost" had filled the air of the Vatican on that evening, as the dedicated lay Catholics showed their love of God and their determination to "build a civilization of love."

      The Holy Father also stressed that the work of the Holy Spirit, begun in the apostles on the first Pentecost, continues to this day in the missionary work of the Church. He pointed out that all believers share in the Gospel mandate to spread the good news of Christ, and said the Church is now entering "a springtime sustained by the renewing power of the Holy Spirit."

      Traffic in the Italian capital was caught up in gridlock on Saturday as the pilgrims began to gather. About 2,000 chartered buses and special trains brought the pilgrims through the city to the Vatican. Traffic was barred from neighborhoods near the Vatican, and backups were reported along nearby roads. Cars on the beltway around the capital found the going slow. Some residents found flyers on their doors urging them to stay home.

      About 20 million more pilgrims than usual are expected to travel to Rome in 2000 for the celebrations marking the beginning of the third millennium. "Curfews in entire neighborhoods, buses which immobilized the Tiber-side road, appeals not to go out or to do so without cars are things which speak for themselves," said Giovanni Negri, a member of the group Lay Observer of the Jubilee. He said the group was considering going to court to protect citizens' rights to free movement.

Pope John Paul II implores US Midwest Bishops to uphold the teachings and traditions of the Church in the Catholic School System

     Speaking to a group of United States bishops from the upper midwest during their ad limina visit, the Holy Father implored them to make the Catholic School education curriculum paramount in upholding the truths of Holy Mother Church in a secular society which does not recognize or respect values and authority. He emphasized the need to be obedient to the Magisterium of the Church in all things and to impart this in all students so that they can become shining beacons in a dark world. For more, click on Beacons of the Faith.

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Pope John Paul II said that Catholic schools in the United States must teach the truth in all its integrity, despite a climate in which all moral norms are regarded as private preferences.

      As he received a group of American bishops from the midwest, who were making their ad limina visit to Rome, the Holy Father said that Catholic schools have an obligation to "lead young people to the realization that freedom consists above all in responding to the truth." The greatest challenge for Catholic schools in the United States, he continued, is to be an "authentically Catholic" witness in a secular society. He added that Catholic universities, too, should be unyielding in their devotion to the truth-- a devotion which should imply respect for the teaching magisterium of the Church.

Melbourne Archbishop to Gay Dissidents: Not in our Church you won't!

     Three cheers for Archbishop George Pell, head of the archdiocese of Melbourne, Australia who stood up strongly to Gay dissidents who tried to disrupt the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on Pentecost Sunday. It all came to a head during Holy Communion when Gay sympathizers wearing the rainbow sashes or sporting similar lapel pins were refused the Holy Eucharist. The reason was simple, stated the Archbishop: "The Church's view on sexuality...derives from natural moral law, which we believe is unchanging." For more, click on No to gays.

      MELBOURNE, Australia (CWNews.com) - Archbishop George Pell of Melbourne was confronted by militant homosexuals demanding Communion on Pentecost Sunday who he turned away, and then he told the congregation that practicing homosexuals cannot licitly receive the Eucharist.

      About 70 protesters wearing rainbow-colored sashes or lapel pins, the symbol of the Rainbow Sash Movement which organized the protest, came forward in the Communion line and were offered a blessing in place of the sacrament. "The Church's view on sexuality ... is clear and unequivocal and derives from natural moral law, which we believe is unchanging," said Archbishop Pell. He added that it is not only homosexuals who should not receive Communion, but anyone who has committed mortal sin and has not repented. "It's not a question of refusing homosexuals or someone who is homosexually oriented. The rule is basically the same for everyone," he said.

      The archbishop said the protest during Mass was inappropriate, and everyone wearing a rainbow sash or lapel pin was refused Communion, whether or not they were homosexual. "Archbishop Pell said he couldn't give me Holy Communion until I took the sash off," said Nan McGregor, the mother of a homosexual protester. "I said I was a heterosexual mother, but he said he couldn't until I took the sash off because the sash indicated I rejected the teachings of the Catholic Church."

Law making it mandatory for 24-hour waiting period for abortions went into effect on Pentecost Sunday in Wisconsin

     Despite appeals by Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion factions, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Wisconsin denied their pleas and made it a law effective this past Sunday that all women must wait twenty four hours before having an abortion and must be afforded alternative choices such as adoption and fetal development as well as other programs supplied by the state and which would promote life. The decision was hailed by the state's pro-life groups as a big step in curbing abortion. For more, click on pro-life measures.

      CHICAGO (CWNews.com) - A federal appeals court decided on Friday not to grant a delay for a Wisconsin law requiring a 24-hour waiting period for abortions, allowing the law to take effect on Sunday.

      The 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals denied the motion by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and pro-abortion groups to delay the law, which was passed two years ago, while the groups pursue a legal challenges. The law requires a minimum 24-hour waiting period after a mother speaks with an abortionist, and requires that she receive state-supplied information that describes fetal development and alternatives to abortion.

      Susan Armacost of Wisconsin Right to Life praised the court's decision. "It was for the protection of women so they do not go into a serious, irreversible decision in their life without knowing exactly what they were choosing," she said.

For more headlines and articles, we suggest you go to the Catholic World News site. CWN is not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provides this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.

     Today, besides being the first day of Ordinary Time in the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, is also the Feast of Saint Marcellinus and Peter, Martyrs. For their story and the liturgy, readings and meditations today and for tomorrow's feast of Saint Charles Lwanga and companions, click on LITURGY FOR THE DAY.

Tuesday, June 1:
Ninth Tuesday in Ordinary Time and
Feast of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Martyrs

Green or Red vestments

First Reading: 2 Peter 3: 12-15,17-18
Psalms: Psalm 90: 1-4, 10, 14,16
Gospel Reading: Mark 12: 13-17

      These two saints were martyred for the faith in the early fourth century by beheading. Roman-born Saint Marcellinus died with his Egyptian-born counterpart Saint Peter who were both arrested and executed by the Emperor Maximin in Alexandria, the last to be martyred there by Roman authority. Peter was a learned scholar of the Scriptures and Catechism and fervently fought the Arians and followers of Origen who undermined the authority and teaching of Holy Mother Church. As Bishop of Alexandria Peter protected his flocks against the persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian but was eventually forced into hiding where both he and Marcellinus were captured when Maximin came into power. Peter detailed how lapsed Christians could be received back into the Church and these instructions were adapted by the Eastern Church. Both saints were forced to first dig their own graves in an out-of-the-way place before they were beheaded somewhere between 303 and 311 A.D. There was an unusual account that began in the sixth century when both of their bodies miraculously appeared together with their heads intact. They were buried together in the Catacomb of St. Tiburtius. Their relics were sent to Frankfort, Germany in 827 by Pope Gregory IV as a gift to the Holy Roman Emperor Louis, son of Charlemagne.

Wednesday, June 3:
Feast of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Catechists and Martyrs

Red vestments

First Reading: 2 Timothy 1: 1-3, 6-12
Psalms: Psalm 123: 1-2
Gospel Reading: Mark 12: 18-27

      One of the Church's most recent saints, Saint Charles Lwanga and twelve companions were burned to death after withstanding tremendous torture in Uganda, Africa on June 3, 1886. They are the first group of African blacks ever canonized. This was done less than eighty years after their death during Vatican II by Pope Paul VI with most of the bishops of the world present in 1964. St. Charles is the patron of Catholic Action and has been offered as an ideal role model for all, especially African-American young men. Like the early Christians, the blood of St. Charles and his companions became the seed of Christianity in Africa with conversions more than tripling after their death. These martyrs were the first of over 100 missionaries, priests and ministers, including several bishops, who were to be slain during the bloody reign of the vicious Ugandan King Mwanga who, strangely enough, had invited the White Fathers into the area in 1879. It was through their efforts that much of Uganda was brought to the faith. Because of the priests' popularity and the surge of Christianity in Uganda, Mwanga felt threatened and retaliated with a vengence.

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June 2, 1998 volume 9, no. 106   DAILY CATHOLIC