Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Saturday 14 January 2017

Saint Hilary Of Poitiers (300 A.D.-368 A.D.). "Hammer Of The Arians" (Latin: Malleus Arianorum) And "Athanasius Of The West". Bishop, Confessor, And Doctor Of The Church. Feast Day 14 January.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.




English: Stained-Glass Window in The Choir of the Church of Saint Hilary of Boussais,
Deux-Sèvres, France. It shows the entrance of Saint Hilary into Poitiers.
Français: Vitraux du chœur de l'église Saint-Hilaire de Boussais,
Deux-Sèvres, France. Représentation
de l'entrée de saint Hilaire à Poitiers.
Photo: 23 June 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Père Igor.
(Wikimedia Commons)





English: The Nave of the Church of Saint Hilary-the-Great, Poitiers, France.
Français: Nef de l'église Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand à Poitiers.
Photo: 12 June 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: GO69.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Hilary (Hilarius) of Poitiers (circa 300 A.D. – circa 368 A.D.) was Bishop of Poitiers and is a Doctor of The Church. He was sometimes referred to as "The Hammer of the Arians" (Latin: Malleus Arianorum) and "The Athanasius of The West." His name, Hilary, comes from the Latin word for "happy" or "cheerful". His Feast Day is 14 January.

Hilary was born at Poitiers, either at the end of the 3rd-Century A.D., or the beginning of the 4th-Century A.D. His parents were pagans of distinction. He received a good education, including what had even then become somewhat rare in The West, some knowledge of Greek. He studied, later on, The Old and New Testament writings, with the result that he abandoned his Neo-Platonism for Christianity, and, with his wife and his daughter (Traditionally named Saint Abra), was Baptised and received into The Church.

The Christians of Poitiers so respected Hilary that, about 350 A.D. or 353 A.D., they unanimously elected him their Bishop. At that time, Arianism threatened to overrun The Western Church; Hilary undertook to repel the disruption. One of his first steps was to secure the Excommunication, by those of the Gallican hierarchy who still remained Orthodox Christians, of Saturninus, the Arian Bishop of Arles, and of Ursacius and Valens, two of his prominent supporters.



English: The Ordination of Saint Hilary of Poitiers.
From a 14th-Century Manuscript.
Français: Ordination de saint Hilaire.
Date: 14th century; Vie de saintes.
Author: Richard de Montbaston et collaborateurs.
(Wikimedia Commons)


About the same time, Hilary wrote to Emperor Constantius II a remonstrance against the persecutions by which the Arians had sought to crush their opponents (Ad Constantium Augustum liber primus, of which the most probable date is 355 A.D.). His efforts did not succeed at first, for at The Synod of Biterrae (Béziers), summoned by The Emperor in 356 A.D., with the professed purpose of settling the long-standing dispute, an Imperial "Rescript" banished the new Bishop, along with Rhodanus of Toulouse, to Phrygia.

Hilary spent nearly four years in exile, although the reasons for this banishment remain obscure. The traditional explanation is that Hilary was exiled for refusing to subscribe to the condemnation of Athanasius and The Nicene Creed. More recently, several scholars have suggested that political opposition to Constantius and support of the usurper, Silvanus, may have led to Hilary's downfall.

While in Phrygia, however, he continued to govern his Diocese, as well as writing two of the most important of his contributions to Dogmatic and Polemical Theology: the De synodis, or, De fide Orientalium, an epistle addressed in 358 A.D., to the Semi-Arian Bishops in Gaul, Germany and Britain, expounding the true views (sometimes veiled in ambiguous words) of the Eastern Bishops on the Nicene controversy; and the De trinitate libri XII, composed in 359 A.D. and 360 A.D., the first successful expression in Latin of that Council's theological subtleties originally elaborated in Greek. Although some members of Hilary's own party thought the first contribution had shown too great a forbearance towards the Arians, Hilary replied to their criticisms in the Apologetica ad reprehensores libri de synodis responsa.




English: Illumination, showing Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, from
The Passionary of 
Weissenau (Weißenauer Passionale); Fondation Bodmer,

Coligny, Switzerland; 
Cod. Bodmer 127, fol. 144r.
Deutsch: Initial I und Miniatur des hl. Hilarius, ein totes Kind zum Leben erweckend; aus dem Weißenauer Passionale; Fondation Bodmer, Coligny, Switzerland; Cod. Bodmer 127, fol. 144r.
Date: Between 1170 and 1200.
Author: either an unknown master or „Frater Rufillus“.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Hilary also attended several Synods during his time in exile, including The Council at Seleucia
(359 A.D.), which saw the triumph of the "Homoion Party" and the forbidding of all discussion of The Divine Substance. In 360 A.D., Hilary tried unsuccessfully to secure a personal audience with Constantius, as well as to address The Council which met at Constantinople in 360 A.D.

When this Council ratified the decisions of Ariminum and Seleucia, Hilary responded with the bitter In Constantium, which attacked Emperor Constantius as "Anti-Christ" and "Persecutor of Orthodox Christians". Hilary's urgent and repeated requests for public debates with his opponents, especially with Ursacius and Valens, proved at last so inconvenient that he was sent back to his Diocese, which he appears to have reached about 361 A.D., within a very short time of the accession of Emperor Julian.

On returning to his Diocese in 361 A.D., Hilary spent most of the first two or three years trying to persuade the local Clergy that the "Homoion" confession was merely a cover for traditional Arian sub-ordinationism. Thus, a number of Synods in Gaul condemned The Creed promulgated at The Council of Ariminium (359 A.D.).

In about 360 A.D., or 361 A.D., with Hilary's encouragement, Martin, the future Bishop of Tours, founded a Monastery, at Ligugé in Hilary's Diocese.



English: The Saint Maixent School, Abbey Saint Maixent. Department of Deux-Sèvres, France. Stained-Glass Windows in The Choir, showing Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers.
Français: Vitrail consacré à cinq saints évêques liés à l' abbatiale, et un roi: St Saturnin
premier saint patron, St Quabit (?), St Hilaire, St Léger qui fut abbé de Saint-Maixent,
St Maxence alias St Maixent nom monastique d'Adjutor fondateur du monastère,
St Agapit fondateur de la première communauté et Saint Louis protecteur de l' abbaye.
Source: Own work.
Author: Dvillafruela.
(Wikimedia Commons)

In 364 A.D., Hilary extended his efforts once more beyond Gaul. He impeached Auxentius, Bishop of Milan, a man high in The Imperial Favour, as heterodox. Emperor Valentinian I accordingly summoned Hilary to Milan to there maintain his charges. However, the supposed Heretic gave satisfactory answers to all the questions proposed. Hilary denounced Auxentius as a hypocrite, as he himself was ignominiously expelled from Milan. Upon returning home, Hilary, in 365 A.D., published the Contra Arianos vel Auxentium Mediolanensem liber, describing his unsuccessful efforts against Auxentius. He also (but perhaps at a somewhat earlier date) published the Contra Constantium Augustum liber, accusing the lately-deceased Emperor as having been The Anti-Christ, a rebel against God, "a tyrant whose sole object had been to make a gift to the devil of that world for which Christ had suffered." According to Jerome, Saint Hilary died in Poitiers circa 368 A.D.

Recent research has distinguished between Hilary's thoughts before his period of exile in Phrygia under Constantius and the quality of his later major Works. While Hilary closely followed the two great Alexandrians, Origen and Athanasius, in exegesis and Christology, respectively, his Work shows many traces of vigorous independent thought.

Among Hilary's earliest Writings, completed some time before his exile in 356 A.D., is his Commentarius in Evangelium Matthaei, an allegorical exegesis of The First Gospel. This is the first Latin Commentary on Matthew to have survived in its entirety. Hilary's "Commentary" was strongly influenced by Tertullian and Cyprian, and made use of several Classical writers, including Cicero, Quintilian, Pliny and the Roman historians.



The Church of the former Abbey of Saint-Maixent ,
in the Commune 
It contains Stained-Glass Windows showing 
Saint Hilary of Poitiers (see, above).
Photo: 31 January 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: MOSSOT.
(Wikimedia Commons)




The Nave of the Abbey of Saint-Maixent, France,
which contains Stained-Glass Windows
showing Saint Hilary of Poitiers (see, above).
Photo: 31 January 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: MOSSOT.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Hilary's expositions of The Psalms, Tractatus super Psalmos, largely follow Origen, and were composed some time after Hilary returned from exile in 360 A.D. Since Jerome found the work incomplete, no-one knows whether Hilary originally commented on the whole Psalter. Now extant are the "Commentaries" on Psalms 1, 2, 9, 13, 14, 51-69, 91, and 118-150.

The third surviving exegetical writing by Hilary is the Tractatus mysteriorum, preserved in a single Manuscript, first published in 1887.

Because Augustine cites part of the "Commentary on Romans" as, "by Sanctus Hilarius", it has been ascribed by various critics at different times to almost every known Hilary.

Hilary's major theological work was the twelve books, now known as De Trinitate. This was composed largely during his exile, though perhaps not completed until his return to Gaul in 360 A.D.



English: Illustration from the Nuremberg Chronicle,
showing Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers.
Deutsch: Illustration aus der Schedel'schen Weltchronik, Blatt 131 recto.
Date: 1493.
Source: Scan from original book.
Author: Michel Wolgemut, Wilhelm Pleydenwurff (Text: Hartmann Schedel).
(Wikimedia Commons)

Another important work is De synodis, written early in 359 A.D., in preparation for The Councils of Ariminium and Seleucia.

Various writings comprise Hilary's 'Historical' Works. These include the Liber II ad Constantium imperatorem, the Liber in Constantium inperatorem, Contra Arianos vel Auxentium Mediolanensem liber, and the various documents relating to the Arian controversy in Fragmenta historica.
Some consider Hilary as the first Latin Christian Hymn-Writer, because Jerome said Hilary produced a "Liber Hymnorum". Three Hymns are attributed to him, though none are indisputable.

Hilary is the pre-eminent Latin writer of the 4th-Century A.D., (before Ambrose). Augustine of Hippo called him "the illustrious Doctor of the Churches", and his Works continued to be highly-influential in later Centuries. Venantius Fortunatus wrote a Vita of Hilary, by 550 A.D., but few now consider it reliable. More trustworthy are the notices in Saint Jerome (De vir. illus. 100), Sulpicius Severus (Chron. ii. 39-45) and in Hilary's own Writings. Blessed Pope Pius IX formally recognised him as Universae Ecclesiae Doctor in 1851.



English: Pussemange (Belgium). Church of Saint Hilary (1872-1874).
Français: Pussemange (Belgique), l’église Saint-Hilaire (1872-1874).
Deutsch: Pussemange (Belgien), die Sint-Hilarius kirche (1872-1874).
Walon: Pûsmadje (Bèljike), l’églîje Sint-Ilaîre (1872-1874).
Photo: 14 July 2007.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)

For English educational and legal institutions, Saint Hilary's Festival lies at the start of The Hilary Term, which begins in January. The name Hilary Term is given in Oxford University to The Term, beginning on 7 January, that includes his Feast. Some consider Saint Hilary of Poitiers as The Patron Saint of Lawyers. From his Writing, Saint Hilary's symbol came to be three books and a quill pen.

Sulpicius Severus' Vita Sancti Martini led to a cult of Saint Hilary, as well as of Saint Martin of Tours, which spread early to Western Britain. The villages of Saint Hilary, in Cornwall, England, and Glamorgan, Wales, and that of Llanilar, in Ceredigion, Wales, bear his name.



English: Interior of Sant'Ilario di Poitiers, France.
Italiano: L'autore io, chiesa di s.ilario, bedero valcuvia, libero uso.
Date: 12 January 2010 (original upload date).
Source: Transferred from it.wikipedia; transferred to Commons
Author: Original uploader was Davide9191 at it.wikipedia.
Permission: Released into the public domain (by the author).
(Wikimedia Commons)




English: The 15th-Century and 16th-Century
Parish Church of Saint Hilary,
Clohars-Fouesnant, Brittany, France.
Français: Clohars-Fouesnant : l'église
paroissiale Saint-Hilaire (XVe et XVIe siècles).
Photo: 9 August 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Moreau.henri.
(Wikimedia Commons)

In France, most Dedications to Saint Hilary are West (and North) of The Massif Central, and the cult in this region eventually extended to Canada.

In North-West Italy, the Church of Sant’Ilario, at Casale Monferrato, was dedicated to Saint Hilary, as early as 380 A.D.



The Church of Saint Hilary-the-Great,
Poitiers, France.
This File: 12 April 2008.
User: MainMa.
(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Saint Hilary.
Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor.
Feast Day 14 January.

Double.

White Vestments.


After having persecuted The Church during the first Centuries, the Christian, but at the same time Heretical, Emperors continued their attacks by supporting Arianism, which denied The Divinity of Christ.

In The Season after Epiphany, when Jesus affirms His Divinity by His teaching and Miracles, the first Saint, whom The Church presents to us, is one of the most intrepid defenders of this fundamental Dogma of Christianity.

Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, France, in 352 A.D., (Communion) endowed with great natural and supernatural talent, for "The Lord has filled him with The Spirit of Wisdom and Intelligence" (Introit), fought with his pen and his eloquence against those "who closed their ears to Truth and opened them to fables" (Epistle).



English: Shrine, containing the Relics of Saint Hilary,
in the Crypt of the Church of 
Saint Hilary-the-Great,
Poitiers, France.
Deutsch: Saint-Hilaire-de-Poitiers, Reliqienschrein in der Krypta
Photo: August 2008.
Source: Own work.
Transferred from de.wikipedia to Commons by
Author: KBWEi at de.wikipedia.
(Wikimedia Commons)

This "Salt of the Earth", this Light of God's House, would not suffer, under the false excuse of favouring peace and unity, The Salt of True Doctrine to be corrupted or The Light of Truth to be hidden under a bushel.

"Having thus taught the practice of The Commandments, even to the last tittle, he is great in The Kingdom of Heaven" (Gospel), and The Church, which is the Earthly portion of this Kingdom, has, by the voice of Blessed Pope Pius IX, awarded him the Title of Doctor (Collect). He died in 368 A.D.

Let us have recourse to the intercession of Saint Hilary, in order always to be the intrepid defenders of The Divinity of Christ.

Mass: In Médio.
Commemoration: Saint Felix (Priest and Martyr), same day.

Time After Epiphany. From 14 January To Septuagesima Sunday.


Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.


Places mentioned in The Liturgy of this Season,
where Our Lord gave proofs of His Divinity,
with The Apostles, who gave testimony of this Divinity, 
and whose Feasts occur in  the same Season.
Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY
Artist: Rene de Cramer.
"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".
Used with Permission.



LITURGICAL NOTE.

The Time After Epiphany begins on the day following The Octave Day of The Feast (14 January), and lasts, so far as The Temporal Cycle is concerned, until Septuagesima, and, in The Sanctoral Cycle, until The Purification (2 February).

While Christmas and The Epiphany, always falling on 25 December and 6 January, respectively, make The Christmas Cycle to a large extent fixed in character, The Easter Cycle, since it is essentially dependent on The Paschal Moon, is of necessity moveable.

Further, when Easter, which can fall between 22 March and 25 April, occurs early, The Ninth Sunday preceding it, i.e., Septuagesima, encroaches on The Time After Epiphany, which, normally including five Sundays, is in this way sometimes reduced to one or two Sundays.


Green, the emblem of hope, is the colour for The Time After Epiphany, as also for The Time After Pentecost. It is, in fact, the ruling colour in Nature. Saint Paul says that he that plougheth should plough in hope of gathering the fruits of his labour, and in the same way in this Time After Epiphany, the field of The Church, sown with The Doctrine and The Mighty Works of Our Lord, abounds with fresh shoots giving promise of a rich harvest.

An echo of Christmastide, this Season has, for it characteristic note, a Holy Joy; that of having, in The Person of Christ, a God, "mighty in work and word". For us, also, there is the joy of sharing in His Kingdom on Earth, while confidently hoping that, at His Return, He will give us a place for all Eternity in His Kingdom in Heaven.

Friday 13 January 2017

No Words Necessary (Other Than Johnny Cash And "Folsom Prison Blues").



Steam Trains Silhouette.
Illustration: PINTEREST


"Folsom Prison Blues".
Sung by: Johnny Cash.
Available on YouTube at

"Folsom Prison Blues"

I hear the train a comin',
It's rolling round the bend,
And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when,
I'm stuck in Folsom prison, and time keeps draggin' on,
But that train keeps a rollin' on, down to San Antone.

When I was just a baby, my mama told me. Son,
Always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns.
But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die,
When I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry.

I bet there's rich folks eating, in a fancy dining car,
They're probably drinkin' coffee, and smoking big cigars.
Well I know I had it coming, I know I can't be free,
But those people keep a movin',
And that's what tortures me . . .

Well if they freed me from this prison,
If that railroad train was mine,
I bet I'd move it on a little farther down the line,
Far from Folsom prison, that's where I want to stay,
And I'd let that lonesome whistle, blow my blues away . . .

Lyrics from AZ LYRICS

Octave Day Of The Epiphany. 13 January.


Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

Octave Day Of The Epiphany.
13 January.

Greater-Double.

Privileged Octave Day.

White Vestments.


Artist: Rene de Cramer.
"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".
Used with Permission.

Of the old Divine Office, which Celebrated on this day The Baptism of Jesus and the glorious manifestation that The Heavenly Father gave of His Divinity, we have only preserved the Collects and the Gospel. The rest is taken from The Mass of Epiphany, so that we continue to keep in touch with The Infant of Bethlehem.

The whole World was awaiting The Messiah, and now that "The Sovereign Lord has come, Who holds in His hand The Kingdom, and Power, and Dominion" over all hearts (Introit), it is time that John appeared, "that man sent from God" (Last Gospel), "that Jesus may be made manifest in Israel" (Gospel).

The Holiness of The Forerunner is recognised by all the Jews and Gentiles, who come in crowds (Epistle) to receive his Baptism of Penance. He has all the influence over them necessary for the fulfilment of his mission, which is to present officially The Bridegroom to The Bride, Christ to the Souls of men.

The Gospel tells us that John saw The Holy Ghost come down upon Jesus, and that He gave "testimony that He was The Son of God", Who "appeared on Earth in the substance of our flesh" (Collect).

The waters are from henceforth Sanctified by their contact with The Man-God. It is by Baptism, in fact, that "all Nations shall be made to serve Jesus" (Offertory).

Mass: As on The Feast of The Epiphany.

Thursday 12 January 2017

Saint Bernard Of Corleone (1605-1667). Feast Day, Today, 12 January.


This Article was generated by interest
in a Post by VICTIMAE PASCHALI LAUDES



English: Saint Bernard of Corleone.
Polski: Święty Bernard Corleone.
Date: Unknown.
This File: 20 October 2008.
User: Tomasz Wachowski.
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)


"Paradise ! Paradise ! Paradise !

O, Blessed are the Disciplines,

Blissful the Night-Watches !

Blessed the Penances,

the Self-Will sacrificed !

O, the Blessing of Fasting,

and Acts of Obedience !

How great is the
Blessing of Religious Life
well lived ! "

Last words of Saint Bernard of Corleone.




Iona Abbey,
Scotland.
Image: SHUTTERSTOCK

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


Saint Bernard of Corleone, O.F.M. Cap., is a Catholic Saint, who was born in the Town of Corleone, in The Kingdom of Sicily, on 6 February 1605. His name was Filippo Latino, before becoming a Friar. His father was a Shoemaker, and Bernard learned this trade. After the death of his father, he became a Soldier and took up Fencing, becoming skilled in the art.

While in the Army, he displayed a fiery temper and was quick to challenge men to a duel. His only fault, in the words of two witnesses at his Beatification process, was that "he was quick to draw his Sword at the slightest provocation." His life was not noted for its moral content and he had quite a reputation.

Though not particularly Devout, he would defend old people and other helpless and defenseless persons against violence. He frequently made visits to a local Crucifix, and provided that a Lamp be kept burning before it. He was a Devotee of Saint Francis of Assisi.


Illustration: DICCON BEWES

In 1624, when Filippo was nineteen, he became involved in a duel, which cost his opponent his arm. This incident was witnessed by many, and caused an uproar, and Filippo was nicknamed "the Finest Blade in Sicily". To escape from the man's avengers, he sought refuge with The Capuchin Franciscans.

While staying with the Friars, Bernard began to reflect on his past life and to repent of his life of anger and violence. He appealed for admission to The Capuchins as a Lay Brother, and on 13 December 1632, he entered their Novitiate. His Devotion became very severe: Seven times a day he scourged himself, drawing blood; His sleep was limited to three hours a night on a narrow board, with a block of wood under his head; He Fasted for the most part on bread and water. If other food was given to him, he would place the food in his mouth, to whet his appetite, and then take it out, without consuming it.


During his entire Religious Life, he would wear the most-worn Habits available in The Friary and slept in the most uncomfortable Cell in The House. One result of this, was that he suffered from rheumatism for much of his later life. He worked long hours during the day, and had a special concern for the sick, growing into a man known for his gentleness and compassion.

Bernard had a strong Devotion to The Blessed Virgin Mary, and encouraged others in this Devotion. His biographers claim that Mary appeared to him and placed Jesus, as an Infant, in his arms. It is also claimed that She gave him knowledge of the day of his death, four months in advance. He died at Palermo, Sicily, on 12 January 1667, a few weeks short of his Sixty-Second Birthday.

His Funeral Procession was extensive, due to his fame as a Holy Man. Numerous Miracles reportedly occurring at his Grave, and recorded by historians of The Church, promoted the cause of his Beatification by Pope Clement XIII in 1767, and, later, Canonisation by Pope Saint John Paul II in 2001.

The Nineteenth Century.



The 19th-Century.


Our Lady of Sorrows.
Sancta Mater Dolorosa.
English: Seven Swords piercing The Sorrowful Heart of Mary
in the Church of The Holy Cross, Salamanca, Spain.
Español: Iglesia de la Vera Cruz (Salamanca).
Photo: 18 August 2014.
Source: Own work.
Author: Zarateman.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.


In 1817, Pope Pius VII extended, to the whole Church, The Feast of The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady (Feast Day 15 September), which had been observed by The Servites since the 13th-Century.

In 1849, this Pope Instituted The Feast of The Most Precious Blood of Our Lord (Feast Day 1 July) and raised The Feast of The Visitation of Our Blessed Lady (Feast Day 2 July) to that of a Double of The Second-Class, on the occasion of his return to Rome from exile.


Blessed Pope Pius IX, born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti,
who reigned from 16 June 1846 to his death in 1878.
In 1849, this Pope Instituted The Feast of The Most Precious Blood of Our Lord
(Feast Day 1 July) and raised The Feast of The Visitation of Our Blessed Lady (Feast Day 2 July)
to that of a Double of The Second-Class, on the occasion of his return to Rome from exile.
Date: Circa 1878.
Source: Originally from hu.wikipedia
description page is/was here
Author: Unknown (Original uploader was User:Czinitz at hu.wikipedia
(Wikimedia Commons)


The First Vatican Council was presided over by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1870.
Date: 1873.
Source: 1873 book on Blessed Pope Pius IX.
Author: Karl Benzinger.
(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1847, Blessed Pope Pius IX extended to The Universal Church The Feast of The Solemnity of Saint Joseph (Feast Day being The Wednesday after The Second Sunday after Easter), and, in 1870, he declared this Holy Patriarch Protector of The Universal Church.

In 1854, Blessed Pope Pius IX proclaimed The Dogma of The Immaculate Conception of Mary, its Feast Day (8 December) having been already granted to The Whole Church by Pope Clement X in 1708. Pope Leo XIII extended The Vigil of this Feast to The World in 1879.



The 19th-Century.

The Feast of The Sacred Heart (Feast Day being The Friday after The Octave of Corpus Christi), approved by Pope Clement XIII in 1765, was raised in 1889 to the Rank of a Double of The First-Class.

In 1854, Blessed Pope Pius IX Consecrated the Basilica of Saint Paul-without-the-Walls, the former Church having been destroyed by fire in 1823, and fixed The Feast of The Dedication as 18 November.



Photogram of the 1896 film
"Sua Santitá Papa Leone XIII",
the first time a Pope appeared on film.
Date: 1898.
This image is available from The United States Library of Congress's
Prints and Photographs Division under the digital ID cph.3a00543
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1888, Pope Leo XIII, moved by the sad trials which The Church was undergoing, composed a Mass and new Divine Office for The Feast of Our Lady of The Rosary (Feast Day 7 October). He also raised this Feast to the Rank of a Double of The Second-Class.

Similarly, in 1879, Pope Leo XIII raised to the Rank of a Double of The Second-Class The Feast of Saint Joachim, his Patron (Feast Day 16 August), and that of Saint Anne (Feast Day 26 July).



The 19th-Century.


The Saints of this Century are: Saint John Vianney, the Holy Parish Priest (†1859. Feast Day 9 August); Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, a Passionist (†1862. Feast Day 27 February); Saint Theresa of The Infant Jesus, a Carmelite (†1897. Feast Day 3 October); Saint Conrad of Parzham, a Capuchin Lay-Brother (†1894. Feast Day 24 April); Saint Mary-Bernard, of The Sisters of Nevers (Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes, †1879. Feast Day 18 February); Saint Joseph Cottolengo, The Vincent de Paul of Torino (†1842. Feast Day 30 April); Saint John Bosco, Founder of The Salesians (†1888. Feast Day 31 January); Saint Andrew Fournet (†1834. Feast Day 13 May) Founded a Congregation of Daughters of The Cross, and Saint Mary Michael of The Blessed Sacrament (†1865. Feast Day 25 August), another of The Adorers of The Blessed Sacrament.

Gloucester Cathedral. "In The Bleak Midwinter". "The Gloucester Wassail".



The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and The Holy and Indivisible Trinity,
Gloucester, England. Foundation work began on the Church in 1089.
Photo: 2 June 2011.
Source: Own work.
Attribution: Outside of Wikimedia Foundation projects,
attribution is to be made to: 
Saffron Blaze, via http://www.mackenzie.co/
Author: Saffron Blaze.
(Wikimedia Commons)


"In The Bleak Midwinter".
Sung by The Gloucester Cathedral Choir.
Available on YouTube at


The High Altar and Stained-Glass of The Great East Window,
Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucestershire, England.
Photo: 9 July 2014.
Source: Own work.
Attribution: "Photo by DAVID ILIFF.
License: CC-BY-SA 3.0".
Author: Diliff.
(Wikimedia Commons)


"The Gloucester Wassail".
"The Holly and The Ivy".
Regency Christmas.
Made for the HMS Acasta blog. www.hmsacasta.com 
"The Gloucester Wassail" sung by The Waverly Consort.
"The Holly and The Ivy" sung by The Choir of King's College, Cambridge.
Available on YouTube at


The Cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral,
Gloucestershire, England.
Photo: 9 July 2014.
Source: Own work.
Attribution: "Photo by DAVID ILIFF.
License: CC-BY-SA 3.0".
Author: Diliff.
(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

The Cathedral, built as the Abbey Church, consists of a Norman nucleus (Walter de Lacy is buried there), with additions in every Style of Gothic Architecture. It is 420 feet (130 m) long, and 144 feet (44 m) wide, with a fine Central Tower of the 15th-Century rising to a height of 225 ft (69 m) and topped by four delicate Pinnacles, a famous landmark.

The Nave is massive Norman with an Early-English Roof; the Crypt, under The Choir, Aisles and Chapels, is Norman, as is The Chapter House. The Crypt is one of the four Apsidal Cathedral Crypts in England, the others being at Worcester, Winchester, and Canterbury.

The South Porch is in The Perpendicular Style, with a Fan-Vaulted Roof, as also is The North Transept, The South Transept being Transitional Decorated Gothic. The Choir has Perpendicular Tracery over Norman work, with an Apsidal Chapel on each side. The Choir Vaulting is particularly rich.

The Late-Decorated East Window is partly filled with surviving Mediaeval Stained-Glass. Between the Apsidal Chapels is a Cross Lady Chapel, and North of The Nave are The Cloisters, the Carrels or Stalls, for the Monks' study and writing, lying to the South. The Cloisters at Gloucester are the earliest-surviving Fan Vaults, having been designed between 1351 and 1377 by Thomas de Canterbury.

The most notable monument is the Canopied Shrine of King Edward II of England, who was murdered at nearby Berkeley Castle. The building and Sanctuary were enriched by the visits of Pilgrims to this Shrine. In a Side-Chapel, is a monument in coloured bog oak of Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror and a great benefactor of the Abbey, who was interred there. Monuments of Bishop Warburton and Dr Edward Jenner are also worthy of note.

Between 1873 and 1890, and in 1897, the Cathedral was extensively restored by George Gilbert Scott.
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