Gabriele Paleotti

Gabriele Paleotti (4 October 1522 – 22 July 1597) was an Italian cardinal and Archbishop of Bologna. He was a significant figure in, and source about, the later sessions of the Council of Trent, and much later a candidate for the papacy in 1590, and is now mostly remembered for his "De sacris et profanis imaginibus" (1582), setting out the Counter-Reformation church's views on the proper role and content of art.
Life.
Paleotti was born at Bologna. Having been awarded, in 1546, the title of Doctor of Civil and Canon Law ("utriusque iuris"), he was appointed to teach civil law. In 1549 he became a canon of the cathedral, but he did not become a priest until later. He gave up teaching in 1555, and although he had turned down office as a bishop, he became in 1556 "Auditor" or judge of the Roman Rota, then the supreme Catholic ecclesiastical court, moving to Rome.
Pope Pius IV sent him to the Council of Trent, where he played an important role, as a mediator between reformers and conservatives. His "Diarium", or journal, on the proceedings of the Council, forms one of the most important documents for its history. The complete text is published in the third volume of the "Concilium Tridentinum".
After the Council Paleotti became one of the commission of cardinals and prelates that served as a basis of the Congregation of the Council. On 12 March 1565, he himself was made a cardinal, and on 13 January 1567, was made Bishop of Bologna. In 1582 he became the diocese's first archbishop, when in 1582 that see was made an archdiocese. His early biographers praise his introduction of the Tridentine reforms in his diocese, comparing his activity at Bologna to that of Charles Borromeo at Milan, but Prodi's biography emphasizes his frustrations, struggling with an inadequate staff and indifferent clergy, as well as encountering the difficulties caused by the Papal governors of Bologna, which was part of the Papal States.
In 1589 Paleotti was obliged to take up residence in Rome when he was made Cardinal-Bishop of Albano and in 1590 Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina, both suburbicarian sees near Rome traditionally held by senior cardinals. There also he distinguished himself by his zeal for reform, although it was becoming clear that his moderate stance was not being followed by the Church. His support for the rights of bishops and cardinals against the increasing absolutism of the Popes and Curia brought him into conflict with Pope Sixtus V. At the next conclave, in 1590, which elected Pope Gregory XIV, Paleotti obtained the votes of an important minority. He died in Rome in 1597, a rather disappointed figure in his hopes for the Church and Church art, and is buried in Bologna Cathedral.
Writings on art.
Paleotti was, with Molanus and Cardinal Charles Borromeo, one of the most influential writers to write filling out the brief decree of the Council on religious images with detailed instructions on their iconography. He did not become greatly interested in art until the 1570s, when he began work on his "Discorso intorno alle imagine sacre et profane", consulting scholars and artists such as Prospero Fontana, Domenico Tibaldi and Pirro Ligorio. The "Discorso" was projected as a work in five books, but never completed. Two volumes and tables of contents for the rest were published in Italian in 1582 in what was intended as a provisional text, not properly revised. The work began with a consideration of the functions of religious and secular art, drawing on classical, biblical and patristic writings, and generally awarding a high place to the role of art and the position of the artist, always guided by the church. Book II discussed specific issues of iconography in religious art. Following the council, he proscribed as sin any frivolity, indecorum, and use of traditional depictions without scriptural foundation. Unlike some clerical writers, he covered secular art, demanding Catholic standards of morality and decorum in that too, though he admitted to a correspondent that artists might be under financial pressures to produce "immoral" works. He rejected the excesses of Mannerism and supported naturalistic styles that were historically accurate and easy for the simple viewer to understand, and so represented "silent preaching". The plans for books III-V were to cover respectively secular art, saints and the Trinity in art, and the decoration of buildings, with closing "exhortations to the clergy, patrons and painters".
The early religious paintings of Ludovico Carracci, working in Bologna in these years, perhaps came closest to Paleotti's prescription, but the Baroque was to take Catholic art in other directions. An attempt by one scholar to demonstrate direct influence by Paleotti's work on the movement to naturalism in the style of Annibale Carracci failed to convince most art historians, as there was no actual evidence documenting any connection. The text was never completed, with a Latin edition of essentially the unrevised first two books published in Ingolstadt in 1594. Revisions done in Rome in the 1590s, and fragmentary drafts of the last three books survive. Despite being incomplete the work was widely read in the Catholic world, and the first English translation was published in 2012. In the 1590s, the tone of the disappointed Paleotti's writing changed, becoming harsher, and he proposed an equivalent for imagery of the "Index Librorum Prohibitorum". It was probably who commissioned Zurbarán's 1636-1639 "Saint Lawrence".
A key book on Paleotti was written by Paolo Prodi, titled "Il Cardinale Gabriele Paleotti (1522–1597)", 2 vols. (Rome: Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 1967. David A. Lines also wrote "Gabriele Paleotti and an Unstudied 1583 Dossier on the University of Bologna", in "Bologna—Cultural Crossroads from the Medieval to the Baroque: Recent Anglo-American Scholarship", ed. by Gian Mario Anselmi, Angela De Benedictis and Nicholas Terpstra (Bologna: Bononia University Press, 2012).


Zacchaeus Okoth

Mgr. Zacchaeus Okoth (born 5 July 1942) is a retired Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kisumu in Kenya.
He was ordained a priest on November 13, 1968, and he was appointed Bishop of Kisumu on February 27, 1978, and became Archbishop when Kisumu was elevated to an archdiocese in 1990.


Zvi Hirsh Broide

Zvi Hirsh Broide (), (also spelled Tzvi Hirsch Braude)) was a leading Talmudic scholar who served as Rav of the town of Salant. He was the first rebbi of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter.
Biography.
His brother's name was Nachum Broide. Their father's name was Rabbi Arie Leib Broide, rabbi of Lvov and their mother was Chana, daughter of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Orenstein.
Namesake.
He had a namesake, the son in law of the Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, the Alter of Kelm, who was later the Rosh Yeshiva of the Kelm Yeshiva and the teacher of Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler.


Olumuyiwa Ajayi

Olumuyiwa Ajayi is an Anglican bishop in Nigeria: he is the current Bishop of Pankshin, one of ten dioceses within the Anglican Province of Jos, itself one of 14 provinces within the Church of Nigeria.


Aboutaleb Pishvai

Ayatollah Seyyed Aboutaleb Pishvai (Persian: الله سید ابو طالب پیشوایی; Bandar-e Anzali, c. 1896-21 October 1978) was a prominent Iranian Ayatollah.
Biography.
He first studied for five years in Rasht and Kazemein (Kadhimayn) He continued his study for 14 years at Najaf (Iraq), but returned to Bandar-e Anzali, a harbour town on the Caspian Sea, and became its Imam Jome (religious leader). He would play a key role in the reconstruction of the Friday Mosque there.
In 1961 Ayatollah Khomeini visited a scholar's home in Qom in order to meet Ayatollah Pishvai. His son, Seyyed Mohammad Javad Pishvai, was dressed in clerical garbs by Ayatollah Khomeini.
As his death coincided with the start of the Iranian Revolution and also due to his popularity his funeral drew huge crowds. He was buried in his own mosque.


Angeline of Marsciano

Angelina of Marsciano, T.O.R. (or Angelina of Montegiove; 1357 – 14 July 1435) was an Italian Religious Sister and foundress, and is a "beata" of the Roman Catholic Church. She founded a congregation of Religious Sisters of the Franciscan Third Order Regular, known today as the Franciscan Sisters of Blessed Angelina. She is generally credited with the founding of the Third Order Regular for women, as her religious congregation marked the establishment of the first Franciscan community of women living under the Rule of the Third Order Regular authorized by Pope Nicholas V.
Unlike the Second Order of the Franciscan movement, the Poor Clare nuns, they were not an enclosed religious order, but have been active in serving the poor around them for much of their history. She is commemorated by the Franciscans on June 4; her liturgical feast is July 13.
Biography.
Early life.
In 1357, Angelina was born in her ancestral Castle of Montegiove, some 40 kilometers from Orvieto, in Umbria, then part of the Papal States. She was the daughter of Jacopo Angioballi, the Count of Marsciano, and of Anna, the daughter of the Count of Corbara, which is why sometimes she is also referred to as Angelina of Corbara.
Left orphaned and alone, except for one sister, by the age of six, she was raised by her grandparents. Angelina was married at age 15 to Giovanni da Terni, the Count of Civitella del Tronto, in the Abruzzo region, within the Kingdom of Naples, but he died only two years later, leaving her a childless widow. His death left Angelina in charge of his castle and estate.
It was then that Angelina made the decision to dedicate her life to God (it would appear that she had considered being a nun before she was married). She was clothed as a Franciscan tertiary and, with several companions, began an apostolic mission around the countryside of the kingdom, preaching the values of repentance and virginity, as well as service to those in need.
Angelina's progress was arrested by the disturbance she caused in the communities where she called for young women to adopt religious life. She was doubly charged with sorcery, the imagined origin of her sway over women, and heresy, because of her allegedly Manichean opposition to marriage. Angelina defended herself before Ladislas, the King of Naples, who dismissed the charges, but expelled her and her companions from the kingdom, in order to avoid further complaints.
Angelina then went to Assisi, where she stopped to rest and to pray at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the cradle of the Franciscan Order. There she experienced a vision, wherein God instructed her to found a cloistered monastery under the Rule of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Foligno. The local bishop approved the plans with little hesitation, as they meant an end to her troublesome active ministry.
Foundress.
Angelina settled in Foligno about 1394. She soon joined the Monastery of St. Anna, a small community of women Franciscan tertiaries, which had been founded in 1388 by the Blessed Paoluccio Trinci, (died 1390) a Franciscan friar who had been related to her sister through marriage. Known as the "Monastery of the Countesses"—due to the social standing of most of its members, he had established it out of his vision of having these noble women of the city serve as an evangelizing force in their society. The women lived ascetic lives in the monastery, and, not being nuns, followed a very informal structure, free to come and go as they wished, that they might be able to serve the poor and sick of the region.
Angelina took a leadership role in the small group and began to organize their lives into a more regular form. By 1397 she was considered the leader of the twelve founding members. In 1403 she was able to obtain a papal bull from Pope Boniface IX which formally recognized the status of the house as a monastery. The reputation of the community in Foligno was so successful that quickly communities of Franciscan tertiary women (called "bizocche" locally) throughout the region sought to affiliate with them. Communities under her authority were soon established in Florence, Spoleto, Assisi, and Viterbo, along with eleven others, before Angelina's death in 1435.
The diverse communities were recognized as a congregation by Pope Martin V in 1428. This decree also allowed them to elect a Minister General (a title since reserved for the head of the friars) who would have the right of canonical visitation of the other communities. The congregation held its first general elections in 1430, in which Angela was elected their first Minister General. In this office, she developed the Statutes for the congregation, to be followed by all its houses.
This degree of independence was not welcomed by the Friars Minor, who had been granted complete authority over the tertiaries that same year. The Minister General of the friars, Guglielmo da Casala, demanded that the Third Order Sisters of the congregation be confirmed under obedience to him. Angelina had to submit and, in a public ceremony held in the friars' church in Foligno on 5 November 1430, vowed obedience to the local Minister Provincial.
This act of obedience, however, was repudiated by the chapter of the community at Santa Anna, saying that it was invalid due to having been forced under duress and without their approval. The Holy See confirmed their autonomy the following year. To avoid the potential for future repetition of this conflict, the congregation put themselves under the obedience of their local bishops, with their spiritual direction to come from the friars of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance.
Legacy and veneration.
Angeline died on July 14, 1435
Blessed Angelina was interred in the Church of St. Francis in Foligno upon her death. Her remains were removed to a grander shrine in 1492. Her cultus was approved in 1825.
Due to the requirement of keeping their communities small and simple, Angelina's congregation gained greatest popularity in the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1428, they had been put briefly by Pope Martin V under the jurisdiction of the Friars Minor, with a specific mandate for the education and instruction of young girls. Even so, their work was fairly apostolic until they were required to become an enclosed religious order in 1617, having taken solemn vows with a strict separation from the affairs of the external world, limited to the education of girls within the cloister. With a 1903 lift of papal enclosure, a wider apostolate was again permitted, and the congregation became known as the Franciscan Sisters of Blessed Angelina. As of 1750, they consisted of 11 houses and 80 members.
As of the year A.D. 2000, they have houses in Brazil, Madagascar and Switzerland, as well as in Italy.


Eginhard (bishop)

Eginhard was a bishop of Utrecht around the year 845.
All that is known of Eginhard is an "immunity certificate" given by emperor Lothair I from 21 March 845, in which he is mentioned as bishop of Utrecht


Anton Joseph Binterim

Anton Joseph Binterim (19 September 1779, Düsseldorf – 17 May 1855, Düsseldorf-Bilk) was the parish priest of Bilk from 1805–55 and a prominent leader of Catholics in Prussia. He lobbied against intermarriage between Catholics and Protestants.


Lucy Kalappurakkal

Sister Lucy Kalappura is a nun who previously belonged to the Franciscan Clarist Congregation in Mananthavady, Wayanad.
Activism.
Sister Lucy joined the Franciscan Clarist Congregation at the age of 17, after vowing to become a nun. She was criticized by the church for speaking up against Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who was then accused of multiple counts of sexual assault of another nun at Kuravilangad convent in Kerala's Kottayam district between 2014 and 2016. The bishop was arrested in 2018 on charges of rape. The congregation accused that Sr. Lucy was living a life that is against 'the principles of religious life' and the rules of the congregation. Even though she was denied permission by her superiors, she had acquired a driver's license, bought a car, published a poetry book and received remuneration for the book. She was also accused of arriving at the convent late in the night, participating in a news channel's discussion, letting a female journalist live with her in the convent and appearing in public without wearing the nun's habit. In 2019, she received a third warning letter from the congregation, which would cause her expulsion from the convent, if she did not produce adequate reasoning for her actions.


Apostolic Nunciature to Bulgaria

The Apostolic Nunciature to Bulgaria provides for the representation of the Holy See to the Government of Bulgaria.


Abelino Manuel Apeleo

Abelino Manuel Apeleo is a Chilean Anglican bishop: previously the Auxiliary Bishop of Araucanía, since 2018 he has been Bishop of Temuco in the 40th and newest Province, Chile.


Amram ben Diwan

Amram ben Diwan (Hebrew: : died 1782, Ouazzane, Morocco) was a venerated 18th-century rabbi whose tomb has become the site of an annual pilgrimage.
Born in Jerusalem, he soon moved to Hebron in 1743 and was sent to Morocco in order to collect donations for the Holy land from the Jewish community there. He took residence in Ouazzane, where he taught the Talmud and had many disciples. After 10 years spent in Morocco, Rabbi Amram returned to Hebron and, according to legend, entered the Cave of the Patriarchs disguised as a Muslim because it was forbidden for Jews at the time. Someone recognized him and reported him to the Ottoman Pasha, who ordered his arrest. He was compelled to flee and returned to Morocco, where he was welcomed by the Jewish community of Fes. He is credited with many healing miracles and had at least one son, Rabbi Hayyim ben Diwan. While touring Morocco with his son, he fell ill and died in Ouazzane in 1782.
His burial place in Ouazzane became a pilgrimage site and is regularly visited, particularly by people who invoke him to heal their illness.


Sally Quinn

Sally Sterling Quinn (born July 1, 1941) is an American author and journalist, who writes about religion for a blog at "The Washington Post".
Early life.
Sally Quinn was born in Savannah, Georgia, to Lt. General William Wilson "Buffalo Bill" Quinn (November 1, 1907 – September 11, 2000) and his wife, Sara Bette Williams (January 27, 1918 – September 26, 2004). Both are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Quinn has two siblings—Donna of Oakland, California, and William Jr. of Phoenix, Arizona.
Her father was an infantry officer who also served as an intelligence officer and played a key role in the transition of the United States' intelligence service from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). As a US Army colonel in World War II, he helped coordinate the invasion of southern France in 1944 and captured Hermann Göring. Though he was not present, his regiment liberated Dachau concentration camp; he arrived the next day, when he heard the news. From 1964 to 1966, he commanded the Seventh Army in Germany. Quinn wrote about his career in an autobiography, "Buffalo Bill Remembers".
For many years, the Quinns lived on Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C., where Bette Quinn was known for her cooking and entertaining. Sally Quinn reported in CC Goldwater's HBO film "Mr. Conservative" that Senator Barry Goldwater spent much time with the Quinns, often staying at their home, since his wife decided to remain in Arizona rather than D.C. while Congress was in session.
Quinn attended and graduated from Smith College in 1963.
Career.
Newspaper journalism.
A Savannah, Georgia, native and Smith College graduate, Quinn began at "The Washington Post" with very little experience: reportedly called by Ben Bradlee after a report of her pajama party in celebration of the election to Congress of Barry Goldwater Jr., the job interview included the following exchange.
"Can you show me something you've written?" asked Managing Editor Benjamin Bradlee. "I've never written anything," admitted Quinn. Pause. "Well," said Bradlee, "nobody's perfect." (A profile in "Vanity Fair" attributes the "Nobody's perfect" line to editorial-page editor Philip L. Geyelin.)
However, Quinn soon demonstrated, as a reporter for the paper's style section, a talent for drawing out the subjects of her interviews and profiles. Henry Kissinger said, "["The Post" reporter] Maxine Cheshire makes you want to commit murder. Sally Quinn makes you want to commit suicide." A notable incident of her career was her claim that Zbigniew Brzezinski, then the National Security Advisor, jokingly opened his fly in front of a reporter, a claim "The Post" retracted the following day.
Quinn was critical of President Bill Clinton during the impeachment trial, stating that he had "fouled the nest". Quinn had a long-standing animus for the Clintons, possibly due to a perceived snub by First Lady Hillary Clinton, who declined a party invitation from Quinn. Regarding Whitewater Independent Counsel Ken Starr, she wrote: "Similarly, independent counsel Ken Starr is not seen by many Washington insiders as an out-of-control prudish crusader. Starr is a Washington insider, too. He has lived and worked here for years. He had a reputation as a fair and honest judge. He has many friends in both parties. Their wives are friendly with one another and their children go to the same schools." Harry Jaffe wrote in "Salon" that Quinn's condemnation of Bill Clinton's adultery rang hollow coming from someone who broke up the marriage of her boss Ben Bradlee before going on to marry Bradlee herself.
On February 19, 2010, "The Washington Post" published "Sally Quinn's The Party: No 'dueling' Bradlee weddings, just scheduling mistake", in print and online. The column alluded to Bradlee family dysfunction, and discussed her son's wedding, which she scheduled on the same day as the wedding of her husband's granddaughter. The column was considered inappropriate and reader backlash was immediate, criticizing Quinn for airing family laundry and "Washington Post" editors for printing it. By February 24, the "Post" canceled her column, which had been appearing in the religion section of the print edition. This was Quinn's last column for the printed newspaper.
Quinn continued to write for the Post's Onfaith blog at least through 2015. She remains listed as a contributor.
Television journalism.
In August 1973, Quinn tried her hand at television, joining CBS News reporter Hughes Rudd as co-anchor of the "CBS Morning News". Ninety minutes before her television debut on August 6, 1973, Quinn collapsed while trying to fight the flu.
Quinn's ad libs during the show's first week tended toward the inappropriate—in one episode, following a report on the children of California migrant farm workers, she quipped that child labor "was how I felt when my mother and father made me clean up my room." Quinn left the "CBS Morning News" after the February 1, 1974, telecast. She chronicled her short television career in the bestselling book "We're Going to Make You a Star".
Personal life.
Quinn was the third wife of Ben Bradlee, her former boss at "The Washington Post", until his death in 2014. They married on October 20, 1978. In 1979, Quinn and Bradlee purchased Grey Gardens in East Hampton, New York from Edith Bouvier Beale, known as "Little Edie," for $220,000 () under the terms they were not to tear down the house. Little Edie told them "All it needs is a coat of paint!" The couple then spent several years remodeling the home and fully restored it to its former glory. In February 2017 Quinn put Grey Gardens on the market and sold it for $15.5 million on December 20, 2017.
Quinn and Bradlee had one child, Quinn Bradlee, born in 1982. Their son was born when Quinn was 41 and Bradlee was 61. In 2009, they appeared with Quinn on the Charlie Rose show on PBS and spoke of Quinn being born with velo-cardio-facial syndrome, also known as 22q11.2 deletion and Shprintzen syndrome (named after Dr. Robert Shprintzen who first identified the disorder in 1978 and who also diagnosed Bradlee). Quinn wrote of her son's learning disabilities and attendance at special schools in a 2006 blog article "What My Son Taught Me About God."
In 2017 Quinn published a book entitled "Finding Magic" in which she described herself as a Christian who also believes in the occult and the power of magic. She recalled her growing up in a family of Scottish origin which practiced voodoo. She recalled her mother putting hexes on two people who later died. She further described performing hex magic herself on three people, two of whom died shortly after.
Other.
In addition to her newspaper and television journalism, Quinn served as social secretary for Cherif Guellal.
She had a cameo role in "Born Yesterday", the 1993 remake of the 1950 romantic comedy. Quinn was the subject of six portraits made by American artist Andy Warhol, and was known as a famous hostess in the 1970s and 1980s; most recently commented on in the play "The City of Conversation".


Paul Burrough

John Paul Burrough MBE (5 May 1916 – 27 January 2003) was Bishop of Mashonaland from 1968 to 1981.
Background.
He was born into an ecclesiastical family on 5 May 1916 and educated at St Edward's School, Oxford and St Edmund Hall, Oxford. He was a skilled rower and was in the Oxford crews that beat Cambridge in the Boat Races of 1937 and 1938.When war came he was commissioned into the Royal Signals and later became a Prisoner of War in Malaya. Ordained in 1951, his first post was a curacy in Aldershot. After this he was a Missionary Priest in Korea and then (his final post before elevation to the Episcopate) Anglican Chaplain to Overseas Peoples in Birmingham. A Sub-Prelate of the Order of St John of Jerusalem he died on 27 January 2003 On his return to England, he was Rector of Empingham and an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Peterborough, 1981–1985.


Jamie Owens-Collins

Jamie Owens-Collins (born 1955), born Jamie Sue Owens, is an American Contemporary Christian music composer, singer and songwriter.
She is the child of Jimmy and Carol Owens and was born and raised in Oakland, California, where her parents wrote and staged Christian musicals. As a teenager she performed on several of her parents' albums, which made her a star in the Jesus music movement and led to her releasing her first album, titled "Laughter in Your Soul", in 1973. This album was the best-selling Christian music album in Britain in 1975. A second release, "Growing Pains", followed in 1975, and in 1976 she married Christian music executive Dan Collins, becoming Jamie Owens-Collins. In 1976 she co-wrote a musical, "Firewind", with The Talbot Brothers, and released another album in 1978 titled "Love Eyes" for Light Records, followed by "Straight Ahead" for Sparrow Records in 1980. Owens-Collins and her producer-husband performed with the Maranatha Praise Band from 1989-1995, offering musical backing to evangelists such as Franklin Graham and Greg Laurie. Jamie has written commentary for three Bible translations and in 2017 produced and wrote seven episodes on the life of Jesus for an audio drama series from the television mini-series called The Bible Series developed by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett.


Alfonso Guerra (bishop)

Alfonso Guerra OP (died 18 June 1596) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Michoacán (1592–1596) and Bishop of Paraguay (1579–1592).
Biography.
Alfonso Guerra was born in Valladolid, Spain and ordained a priest in the Order of Preachers.
On 6 February 1579, he was appointed during the papacy of Pope Gregory XIII as Bishop of Paraguay.
On 9 March 1592, he was consecrated bishop by Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo, Archbishop of Lima, with Antonio Avendaño y Paz, Bishop of Concepción; Sebastián Lartaún, Bishop of Cuzco; and Diego de Medellin, Bishop of Santiago de Chile, serving as co-consecrators.
On 9 March 1592, he was appointed during the papacy of Pope Clement VIII as Bishop of Michoacán.
He served as Bishop of Michoacán until his death on 18 June 1596in Valladolid, Spain.


Francinaina Cirer Carbonell

Francinaina Cirer Carbonell (1 June 1781 – 27 February 1855) was a Spanish Roman Catholic professed religious. She was a professed member of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul of Mallorca and later assumed the name of "Francinaina of the Sorrowful Mother of God". She was illiterate but later founded the Community of the Sisters of Charity despite this impediment. She also experienced angelic visions on numerous occasions.
She was beatified on 1 October 1989 and a second miracle required for her sainthood is now under investigation.
Life.
Francinaina Cirer Carbonell was born in Spain on 1 June 1781 as the last of six children to Paulo Cirer and Joan Carbonell. She grew up in a pious household and was solicitous of those who required help. Carbonell did not receive an education and as a result of this was illiterate. In 1788 she received the sacrament of Confirmation and in 1791 received her First Communion. She became a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis in 1798 and in 1813 became a member of the Brotherhood of the SS. Sacrament in her parish.
She soon wanted to enter the convent in Palma and manifested her desire to become a nun to her parents but this was something that her father was opposed to. It was not until his death in 1810 that she was able to embark on the path to religious life. It was also around this time that her mother died in 1807 and five brothers died between 1788 and 1804. Carbonell spent the next three decades in her own home in a routine of charitable acts and penance. She also taught catechism and helped the sick and the poor. Soon others sought her for advice and she was a reconciler of estranged married couples and other relationships. This earned her the moniker of the "Saint of Sansellas".
Soon she felt called to establish a convent of professed religious in her town and thus donated her time to do this with two other women. She ensured the purpose of her order was to continue the work that Carbonell herself did and this involved teaching catechism as well as home visitation for the sick. She took as her religious name "Francinaina of the Sorrowful Mother of God" at her profession on 7 December 1851. She often had visions of angels and once was reported to have levitated from the ground in an ecstatic state. She once had a vision of angels with violins.
Carbonell died in 1855 of a stroke. The number of people who attended her funeral was immense.
Beatification.
The beatification process commenced in Mallorca on 22 December 1903 in a process that concluded on 2 September 1926 and granted her the title Servant of God. This process opened despite the fact that the formal introduction of the cause was not until 4 December 1940 under Pope Pius XII. The final local process took place again in Mallorca from 19 August 1942 until 1944. Both of these processes were granted the formal decree of ratification from the Congregation of Rites in 1951.
On 21 March 1985 she was declared to be Venerable after Pope John Paul II recognized that she had lived a model Christian life of heroic virtue.
The miracle required for beatification was investigated in a local diocesan tribunal. The process was ratified in 1986 and the pope approved it on 28 November 1988. He beatified her on 1 October 1989.
The second miracle that is required for sainthood was also investigated in a local diocesan tribunal and was ratified on 19 June 2006. The Medical Board that advises the Congregation for the Causes of Saints approved the healing as a miracle on 18 June 2009.


Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak

Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak (, ; born 19 August 1955 in Beni-Chokeir, Egypt) is the current Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria.
Life.
Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak was born on 19 August 1955 in Beni-Chokeir, Asyut Governorate. He studied philosophy and theology at St. Leo's Patriarchal Seminary in Maadi (a suburb of Cairo) and was ordained a priest in 1980. For the following two years he served in the Parish of Archangel Michael in Cairo. He was sent to Rome to study at the Pontifical Gregorian University and received his doctorate in dogmatic theology. Between 1990 and 2001 he was the rector of the Patriarchal Seminary in Maadi. For a short period in 2002 he served as the parish priest of the patriarchal Cathedral of Our Lady of Egypt, in Cairo. In October 2002, he was elected Bishop of Minya, a post in which he served until his canonical election as patriarch.
Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak was elected as Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria by the synod of the Coptic Catholic Church on 15 January 2013, in succession of Patriarch Antonios I Naguib who had resigned because of poor health (he had a stroke, suffered partial paralysis and underwent brain surgery). Patriarch Sidrak asked for and received ecclesiastical communion from Pope Benedict XVI three days later, on 18 January 2013.
Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak often works closely with Pope Francis and the Coptic Orthodox Pope, Tawadros II, with the goal and aim of unifying the Coptic Orthodox and Coptic Catholic churches of Egypt.


Apostolic Nunciature to Burundi

The Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi is the principal representative of the Pope to the Government of Burundi.


William Hutchings (priest)

 William Henry Hutchings, D.D. (born Exeter 1835 - died Pickering 1912) was an Anglican priest and author.
Hutchings was educated at Hertford College, Oxford; and ordained in 1859. After a curacy in Bedminster he was Warden at the House of Mercy, Clewer. He then became Rector of Kirby Misperton, Yorkshire, and in 1884 he became Rector of Pickering. He was Archdeacon of Cleveland from 1897 to 1906.
He died on 7 January 1912.


John Hay (Jesuit)

John Hay (1546–1608), Latinized Joannes Haius or Hayus, was a Scottish Jesuit scholar and educator. Born to the Hays of Delgatie, he was a relative of Edmund Hay. In 1576 he took part in a disputation against a Protestant theologian in Strasbourg. For some time he was attached to the Collège de Tournon, engaging in controversy with the Huguenots of La Rochelle, in particular Jean de Serres. He later moved to the Low Countries, where he published Latin translations of works from and about Jesuit missions overseas.


Thethmar

Thethmar, also known as Theodemar, was a Premonstratensian canon and missionary. A contemporary and friend of St. Vicelinus, he worked to convert the Wends, a tribe in modern Germany.


Gerald Douglas

Gerald Wybergh Douglas (17 June 1875 – 20 December 1934) was an Anglican bishop.
Douglas was born into a clerical family. His father was the Reverend W. W. Douglas, a canon of Worcester Cathedral and Rector of Salwarpe, Worcestershire. He was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge. He was ordained as a deacon in 1899 and as a priest in 1900. His first position was as a curate in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. He was Vice-Principal at Ely Theological College from 1900 to 1908. After a further curacy in Lavender Hill he became Rector of Christ Church, St Leonards-on-Sea in 1912. Eight years later he became principal of the Diocesan Theological College in the Diocese of Zanzibar. From 1925 to 1930 he was the Archdeacon of Korogwe, when he became the Bishop of Nyasaland until his death in 1934.


Aloysius Agbo

Aloysius Agbo is an Anglican bishop in Nigeria: he is the current Bishop of Nsukka.
Agbo was born on 15 September 1967 in Akpani, Enugu State. He was educated at Trinity Theological College, Umuahia and the University of Nigeria. He was ordained deacon in 2000, and priest in 2001. He was the Archdeacon of Enugu-Ezike until his election as bishop in 2008. He is also a Justice of the Peace of Enugu State.


Herbert Hall (bishop)

Herbert William Hall (22 December 1889 – 6 December 1955) was Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney in Scotland from 1943 to 1955.
Biography.
The son of Charles Hall and Barbara Black, he was educated at St John's School, New Pitsligo and the University of Aberdeen. He was a teacher at Peterhead Academy from 1904 to 1911 when he entered Edinburgh Theological College. He was ordained in 1913 and began his ecclesiastical career as a curate at St John the Evangelist, Greenock. After this he was Rector at St Mary, Port Glasgow, and then held further incumbencies in Galashiels and Portobello.
He married Helen Maven Aitken in 1919 and had one son and one daughter.


Lazar Horowitz

Lazar Horowitz, or Eleazar HaLevi Ish Horowitz, Eleasar ben David Josua Hoeschel Horowitz, aka El'azar Hurwitz (1803/1804, Floß, Upper Palatinate - June 11, 1868, Vöslau) was an Orthodox Rabbi who led the Orthodox Jewish community of Vienna during the "Vormärz" period.
Born in Bavaria, Horowitz was a student of Moses Sofer of Pressburg before moving to Vienna in 1828 to serve as the community's supervisor of Kosher meat. There, he collaborated with Reform Jewish rabbis of his day, such as Isaak Noah Mannheimer and Adolph Jellinek regarding synagogue protocol in the central synagogues of Vienna. In 1829, he drafted the bylaws of the central Stadttempel. Although he himself was an Orthodox Jew, he continued to pray occasionally in the Reform temple.
Horwitz wrote a book of halakhic responsa called "Yad Eleazar."
His responsum regarding "metzitzah b'peh" was strongly influenced by the Hatam Sofer's rulings, according to Meir Hershkovitz in his 1972 article on Horwitz.
In 1863, Horowitz, along with Isaac Noah Mannheimer, defended Heinrich Graetz, in Viennese court when Graetz was accused of heresy for an article published by Leopold Kompert in a local journal. Graetz had written that the chapters in Isaiah referring to the Messiah were meant to be interpreted non-literally, and that they referred to a national Messiah instead of a personal one. Isaac Hirsch Weiss published a pamphlet entitled "Neẓaḥ Yisrael" in support of the testimony. On the other hand rabbis such Azriel Hildesheimer, criticized Horowitz for defending Graetz. See Heinrich Graetz #The Kompert Affair.


Jacob van Oudshoorn

Jacob van Oudshoorn (died ca. 18 September 1322) was bishop of Utrecht in 1322.
Van Oudshoorn descended from a noble Hollandic house; he was the son of Willem and brother of Dirk van Oudshoorn (1301–1327), lords of Oudshoorn and Aarlanderveen. Van Oudshoorn was deacon in Utrecht before he was elected bishop. He was consecrated by the archbishop of Cologne, Hendrik II van Virnenburg, but pope John XXII only accepted his nomination after the payment of a large amount of money, which ruined his family. Shortly after this he died, according to his own suspicions, from poison. He was called brave, learned and pious.
Literature.
Van der Aa, "Biographisch Woordenboek der Nederlanden" (1852)


Mokhtarnameh

Mokhtarnameh (Persian: مختارنامه) is an Iranian epic/history television series directed by Davood Mirbagheri, based on the life of Al-Mukhtar, a pro-Alid revolutionary based in Kufa, who led a rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate in 685 and ruled over most of Iraq for eighteen months during the Second Fitna. Over 140 actors were cast in it.
Plot summary.
After nine years of farming and away from the battlefield, Mukhtar returns to politics when Hasan ibn Ali is injured in his battle with Muawiyah's forces. Years later, Mukhtar arrives in Kufa to prepare for Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī"s arrival. On Yazid's orders, Ibn Ziyad arrives and unites the people of Kufa against Husayn by using lies. Mukhtar is imprisoned to prevent the riot. He is released after the battle of Karbala on Yazid's orders. Mukhtar vows to avenge Husayn's death. Needing allies, he travels to Mecca and meets Ibn Zubayr. Mukhtar helps Ibn Zubayr's brother, Mus'ab, defeat an Umayyad assault; but no alliance is made. Mukhtar returns to Kufa and unites the people now that Ibn Ziyad has returned to Damascus and Kufa is leaderless. Mukhtar expels Ibn Zubayr's appointed governor and takes control of the city. During the next years he kills almost all of Husayn's murderers, including Ibn Ziyad, Umar and Shimr, while battling both Umayyad caliph and Ibn Zubayr's armies. Eventually he is defeated by Mus'ab's army and retreats to his palace in Kufa. After one year, Mukhtar orders his forces to march and break the siege; but only few follow him outside. Mukhtar is killed and Mus'ab surprisingly orders all of Mukhtar's soldiers who have surrendered to be decapitated.
Production.
The series, which took five years to complete, includes 40 episodes and is produced by Sima Film. The story reviews the events leading to the martyrdom of the Imams and ends with the adolescence of Mukhtar.
The film also deals with sixteen years of Mukhtar’s life and includes the death of Muawiyah, the succession of Yazid, and the events leading to Ashura and whatever related to the uprising of Mukhtar until his and his companions’ martyrdom.
Music.
The soundtrack for "Mokhtarnameh" was made by Amir Tavassoli with a choir. It was sung by Akbar Soltanali and recorded, mixed, and mastered by Ramin Mazaheri in Baran Studio.


Samuel Ezeofor

Samuel Chukwudi Ezeofor (born 8 May 1967) is an Anglican bishop in Nigeria, he is the current Bishop of Aguata, one of nine within the Anglican Province of the Niger, itself one of 14 provinces within the Church of Nigeria. He was Bishop of Ogbaru until 2018.
Ezeofor was born in Onitsha on 8 May 1967. He was educated at Central School Oko, Aguata High School and the University of Nigeria.


Joris Vercammen

Joris August Odilius Ludovicus Vercammen (born 14 October 1952) served as the Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands from 1 July 2000 to 11 January 2020.
Life and career.
Vercammen was born in Lier, Belgium, in 1952. In 1979, he was ordained a priest for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antwerp. In 1988, he left the Roman Catholic Church and joined the Old Catholic Diocese of Utrecht.
Vercammen was serving as director of the Old Catholic seminary when clergy and laity of the archdiocese elected him as the 83rd Archbishop of Utrecht. He was consecrated on 1 July 2000 at St. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht, once the see of Willibrord and his successors, but in the hands of the Dutch Reformed Church since 1580.
In 2006, the ninth Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Porto Alegre made Vercammen a member of its central committee.
On 19 September 2019, Vercammen announced that he would resign as Archbishop of Utrecht effective 11 January 2020.
Vercammen is married and has three children.


Antoni Leszczewicz

Antoni Leszczewicz (1890–1943) was a Polish Marian Father and Roman Catholic priest. He was a missionary in China. He was beatified. He is one of the 108 Martyrs of World War II.


D. E. Bowen

D.E. Bowen (fl. 1840-80), was a Welsh Baptist minister, serving in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. He was also an editor and author. He was born in Glamorganshire, Wales, but moved to the US at a young age. He was well known as the editor of "Y Gwyliedydd", the first periodical published by the Welsh Baptists in the United States in 1843, and "Y Seren Orllewinol", which succeeded it the following year.
He also published 'The Berean; or Miscellaneous Writings of the Reverend D.E. Bowen, Carbondale, Pa. (Carbondale, n.d.); a Lecture on the Life and Genius of the Reverend John Williams, Senior Pastor of the Oliver Street Baptist Church, New York (New York, n.d.)'.


Emil Schorsch

Emil Schorsch (born January 12, 1899 in Hüngheim, Germany; died 1982 in Vineland (New Jersey)) was a German Rabbi.
Life.
Emil was the son of businessman Isaak Schorsch. In 1907 he was placed in an orphanage, and from 1915 to 1920 he trained to be a teacher, with an interruption for war service.
Schorsch began to study philosophy, psychology, and oriental languages in 1922 at the Universities of Breslau and Tübingen. He simultaneously studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau. In 1925, he completed his dissertation "Die Lehrbarkeit der Religion" (The Teachability of Religion).
In 1927 Schorsch was called to Hannover to be the second rabbi in the community, along with Samuel Freund. His tasks included working with Jewish youth, and he helped start Jewish school for secondary school students, the "Lehrhaus".
Emil Schorsch was married to Fanny Rothschild (1901-1983), a daughter of Theodore Rothschild. Their children were Hanna Schorsch and Ismar Schorsch, who became a rabbi and was the president of the Leo Baeck Institute (LBI) New York and Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
During the Kristallnacht in 1938, Emil was arrested and interned at the Buchenwald concentration camp. After his release, he and his family fled first to England, and in 1940 to the USA. He was a rabbi in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, from 1940 to 1964.
External links.
The Leo Baeck Institute, New York, holds two archival collections relating to Emil Schorsch, AR 25446 and AR 25103.


Mikhayl Assaf

Mikhayl Assaf (27 October 1887 in Damascus, Syria – 10 August 1970) was the second archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Petra and Philadelphia in Amman. He was the successor to Archbishop Paul Salman.
Life.
On July 20, 1912, Mikhayl Assaf became an ordained priest. His election as Archbishop of Petra and Philadelphia was on 19 September 1948, and his ordination as eparch was on October 10, 1948. In his twenty years in office, Assaf was a Council Father of the first two sessions of the Second Vatican Council. He consecrated Nicolas Naaman, SMSP, as Archbishop of Bosra and Hauran (Syria). He also assisted as co-consecrator of Gabriel Abdou-Saada to Titular of Caesarea in Palestine of Greek Melkites, Georges Haddad as Archbishop of Tyre (Lebanon), Giacomo Giuseppe Beltritti as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Melkite Church and Neemeh Simann as titular bishop of Termessus. Assaf was succeeded by Saba Youakim when he died in 1970.


D. J. Conway

Deanna "D. J." Conway (May 3, 1939 – February 1, 2019) was a non-fiction author of books in the field of magic, Wicca, Druidism, shamanism, metaphysics and the occult, and the author of three fantasy novels. Born in Hood River, Oregon to a family of Irish, North Germanic, and Native North American descent, she studied the occult and Pagan religion for over thirty years. In 1998 she was voted Best Wiccan and New Age author by Silver Chalice, a Neo-Pagan magazine. She was an ordained minister in two New Age churches and holder of a Doctor of Divinity degree. Several of her stories were published in magazines, such as the science fantasy publication "Encounters", and she was interviewed in magazines and appeared on such television shows as Journey with Brenda Roberts. She also designed Tarot decks, in collaboration with fellow author Sirona Knight and illustrator Lisa Hunt.
Bibliography.
Non-fiction.
Standing on the Edge (true story of NDE with her husband) (2013) ebook or print on demand on Amazon.
Fiction.
The Broken Spell (2013) print on demand or ebook from Amazon.
Tarot Decks.
Mystical Creatures Tarot with Lisa Hunt; U. S. Games.


F. A. Forbes

F. A. Forbes (16 March 1869 – 1936) was the "nom de plume" of Mother Frances Alice Monica Forbes, RSCJ, a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart from Scotland and a religious author.
Biography.
She was born in 1869 as Alice Forbes into a Presbyterian family. Her mother died when she was a child. In 1900 she became a Roman Catholic. Only a few months later, she entered the Society of the Sacred Heart, as a 31-year-old postulant.
She wrote numerous books, including brief biographies of Ignatius Loyola, John Bosco, Teresa of Ávila, Saint Columba, Saint Monica, Saint Athanasius, Catherine of Siena, Saint Benedict, Hugh of Lincoln, Vincent de Paul, and, most famously, Pope Pius X. She died in 1936.


Leofdag of Ribe

Leofdag of Ribe was the first Bishop of Ribe in Denmark, later regarded as a local saint but never canonized. Ribe was established as a diocese for Leofdag in 948 under the supervision of the Archbishop of Hamburg, who was authorized by the Roman Curia to proselytize the Danes.
Biography.
Leofdag was consecrated by Archbishop Adaldag of Hamburg, probably at the Synod of Ingelheim (Germany), which the Jutlandic bishops attended. Leofdag was martyred that same year, when a housecarl skewered him with a spear, as he forded the river at Ribe.
Although never canonized, Leofdag is revered as a local saint and martyr. His remains would eventually end up in Ribe Cathedral. Until the death of his third known successor Vale (1044–59) the bishops of Ribe, Schleswig, and Aarhus wandered about Jutland on missionary tours.


Abraham Pihl

Abraham Pihl (3 October 1756 – 20 May 1821) was a Norwegian clergyman, astronomer, and architect.
Biography.
Abraham Pihl was born in Gausdal, in Oppland county, Norway. He completed priest study at the University of Copenhagen in 1783 where he had also studied mathematics, mechanics and astronomy.
In 1784, Pihl became vicar at Flekkefjord in the county of Vest-Agder. From 1785 he was appointed as Denmark-Norway astronomical observer in Norway. In 1789, he was appointed to serve as priest in the parish of Vang in Hedmark ("Vang kirke, Hamar") where he would serve until his death in 1821. When Vang church burned down in 1804, Pihl designed the new church and oversaw construction work. The church has an octagonal shape and is with 1000 seats the second largest of Norway's octagonal churches. The building later served as a model for octagonal churches the western side of Mjøsa.
Pihl developed a large collection of self-made astronomical instruments, and also made telescopes and sextants for others. He designed Vang church which had burned down and was rebuilt between 1804 and 1810. He started large-scale production of pendulum clocks. The rectory became the largest employer in Vang, with up to 140 persons employed. His interest in practical matters categorized him as a so-called "potato priest" ().
Honors.
He was decorated Knight of the Order of Dannebrog in 1809 for his scientific efforts.
Personal life.
His father Andreas Pihl (1726–1781) was vicar of Gausdal. His grandfather Joachim Pihl (1689–1762) was provost for Gudbrandsdalen. In 1784, he married Anna Cathrine Neumann (1764–1850), daughter of Jacob Neumann, who operated the Hassel Iron Works in Modum. They were the parents of eight children and were the grandparents of engineers Oluf Pihl and Carl Abraham Pihl.


Bertram Lasbrey

Bertram Lasbrey was a long serving Anglican bishop in the 20th century.
He was born in 1881, educated at Bedford School and St Catharine's College, Cambridge and ordained in 1905. He held Curacies at St Andrew, Bishop Auckland and St John, Melcombe Regis. He was then Vicar of St Gabriel, Bishopwearmouth. In 1922 he became Bishop on the Niger, a post he held for 23 years. Returning to England he was an Assistant Bishop of Worcester. He died on 6 April 1976.


Piotr Abramowicz

Piotr Abramowicz (1619–1697) was a Polish Jesuit.


Thomas Fairfax (priest)

Thomas Fairfax was an Anglican Archdeacon in Ireland in the 17th century.
Fairfax was the Rector of Clones. He was Treasurer of Dromore from 1635 to 1638;
and Archdeacon of Clogher from 1638 until his death on 16 March 1641. Fairfax is buried at St. Michan's Church, Dublin.


Giovanni Calabria

Giovanni Calabria (8 October 1873 – 4 December 1954) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who dedicated his life to the plight of the poor and the ill. He established two congregations, the Poor Servants of Divine Providence and the Poor Sisters Servants of Divine Providence. to take better care of poor people in various Italian cities and later abroad while underpinning the need to promote the message of the Gospel to the poor.
Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1988 and then canonized him a decade later in 1999. His liturgical feast is 4 December.
Life.
Giovanni Calabria was born in Verona, Italy on 8 October 1873 as the youngest of seven sons to Luigi Calabria and Angela Foschi. His mother was taught by the Venerable Nicola Mazza.
His education was interrupted due to the death of his father in 1882 and it was around this time that the rector of San Lorenzo Pietro Scapini saw Calabria's potential and became his private tutor in order to prepare him for the examination that would determine if he could commence his studies for the priesthood. The death of his father saw him drop out of school to become an apprentice. He entered but was forced to drop out due to service with the armed forces where he converted fellow soldiers and was known for his faith and show of devotions.
One cold night in November 1897 he returned home from the hospital where he was visiting the ill to find a child on his doorstep who told him that he was fleeing those who would beat him. Calabria took him in and shared his room with him. In 1898 he founded the "Charitable Institution for the assistance to poor sick people" and started homes for abandoned teens. Calabria was ordained as a priest on 11 August 1901 and was then appointed as a confessor and also the curate of Saint Stephen's church. He became the rector of San Benedetto del Monte also in 1907.
On 26 November 1907 he founded the "Poor Servants of Divine Providence" in Case Rotte and it relocated in 1908 to Via San Zeno. It received diocesan approval on 11 February 1932 from the Bishop of Verona Girolamo Cardinale and then the decree of praise on 25 April 1949 before receiving full pontifical approval on 15 December 1956 from Pope Pius XII. Bartolomeo Bacilieri who suggested to him that he look into starting a female branch of the institute.
On 17 April 1910 he established the Poor Sisters Servants of Divine Providence. The first members of that congregation made their vows on 13 December 1911 and appointed Maria Galbraith (1874-1917) as the first superior of the order. It received diocesan approval on 25 March 1952 before receiving papal approval decades later on Christmas in 1981.
He had a great friend and admirer in the Giulio Facibeni and on 8 September 1943 - during World War II - helped hide the Jewish doctor Mafalda Pavia near Verona among his female congregation; the doctor assumed the name of Sister Beatrice and spent eighteen months there while disguised as a sister. He also corresponded in Latin with the noted author C.S. Lewis.
Calabria died on 4 December 1954 and on 3 December offered himself to God to die in the place of the ill Pius XII. The pope rallied and learned of Calabria's death and sent an official telegram of condolence.
Sainthood.
The beatification process commenced in both an informative and apostolic process in order to collect documentation and a range of witness interrogatories. Theologians collected his writings to assess if such writings were in line with the faith and approved them on 1 June 1968. The official start to the cause came on 6 March 1981 and Calabria was titled as a Servant of God. The two processes were later validated on 31 March 1984 in Rome and the Positio was sent a short time after in 1985 to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Theologians approved the Positio on 8 October 1985 and the cardinal and bishop members of the C.C.S. did so as well on 10 December. Pope John Paul II named Calabria as Venerable on 16 January 1986 after confirming that the priest had indeed lived a life of heroic virtue. The miracle needed for him to be beatified was investigated and was validated on 31 March 1984 before receiving the approval of a medical board on 2 July 1986. Theologians approved it on 19 December 1986 while the C.C.S. did so as well on 17 February 1987 before receiving the approval of John Paul II on 16 March 1987 who beatified Calabria on 17 April 1988.
The second miracle that was needed for full sainthood was investigated and validated on 10 February 1995 in Rome and went on to receive the approval of the medical board on 4 July 1996 and then that of the theologians on 10 January 1997. The C.C.S. also approved it on 8 April 1997 while John Paul II issued the final approval needed for it on 7 July 1997 and then canonized Calabria on 18 April 1999.


Paige Lewis

Paige Lewis is a singer-songwriter and copywriter from Katy, Texas whose work has been featured in the soundtrack of the film Matchstick Men. Paige released her first album with Word Records at the age of 16, in addition to two further albums released under her own Greeley Records label. She has also collaborated as a co-writer for other CCM artists including Rachael Lampa.
Life and career.
Debut.
Paige began to learn to play guitar at age 14 using her mother's Ovation and a "How To" book. At age 16 she was signed to Word Records by Brent Bourgeois with whom she released her 2001 self-titled debut album, co-produced by her uncle, producer David Rice.
"The Best Thing".
Paige left Word in 2003 and moved to Los Angeles, California where she worked with producers Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider on the songs "Open Your Eyes" and "Love Is". Rice produced and co-wrote "See You Again" and "The Best Thing", which were used in the 2003 film Matchstick Men. Following her return to Texas and enrolment in Marketing at University of St. Thomas, Paige released these and other songs as her second album "The Best Thing" on her own record label, Greeley Records.
"Upside Down".
During her 2008 summer break, Paige recorded her third album and first entirely acoustic project, "Upside Down", in her apartment kitchen. She is now pursuing employment in copywriting.
Critical reception.
Paige's music has been commended for "thoughtfulness" and "maturity".
Awards.
"I'm All Yours", written by Paige Lewis, Rachael Lampa, Natalie LaRue and Philip LaRue was recognised by the 2003 ASCAP Christian Music Awards as one of the 25 Most Performed Songs of the year.


Miguel de Medina

Miguel de Medina (born at Belalcazar, Spain, 1489; died at Toledo, May, 1578) was a Spanish Franciscan theologian.
Life.
He entered the Franciscan order in the convent of S. Maria de Angelis at Hornachuelos, in the Sierra Morena. After his profession he went to the college of SS. Peter and Paul at Alcalá. He received the doctor's degree from the city of Toledo; and in 1550 he was unanimously elected to the chair of Holy Scripture in the University of Alcalá.
In 1560 Philip II of Spain sent him to the Council of Trent; on his return he became superior of St. John of the Monarchs (San Juan de los Reyes) at Toledo.
In 1553 the "Commentaries" of John Ferus were published in Rome after a strict examination. Dominicus a Soto published at Salamanca a work censuring Ferus's commentaries, selecting sixty-seven passages as deserving censure, and dedicated them to Fernando Valdes, Archbishop of Seville. Medina took up the defence of Ferus, which was published at Alcalá (1567, 1578), and Mainz (1572). This literary controversy—for no doubts were entertained of the orthodoxy of Medina—agitated the Spanish people. A process was instituted against Medina in the tribunal of the Spanish Inquisition at Toledo. He was cast in prison, where for more than five years he was subjected to great suffering and privations. His temporal afflictions and the rigour of his life brought on a severe illness and the inquisitor-general gave orders that Medina was to be conveyed to the Convent of St. John of the Monarchs, where everything possible was to be done to preserve his life. Before the Blessed Sacrament, he made his profession of faith, calling God to witness that he never believed anything or taught anything opposed to the doctrines of the Church "the pillar and the ground of truth". His last words were: "In te Domine speravi non confundar in aeternum"
Soon after his death, the supreme tribunal of the Inquisition issued a decree declaring that the accusations brought against Medina were without foundation.
Works.
His principal works are:


William Weekes (priest)

The Very Rev. William Haye Weekes (born Cambridge, 5 March 1867 – died Kenilworth 2 August 1945) was Dean of Bloemfontein in South Africa from 1922 to 1940.
He was educated at Bristol Grammar School and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge; and ordained in 1891. After a curacy at St Sidwell, Ex3eter he was Chaplain to the Bishop of Bloemfontein. In 1896 he became Rector of Makefing. He was Rector at Beaconsfield from 1901 until 1912; and then of Kroonstad until 1917. He was Archdeacon of Kimberley from 1905 to 1917; and of Bloemfontein (and Vicar of the Cathedral Parish) from 1917 to 1940. He was appointed a Chaplain of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in 1931.


Niels Nielsen Vogt

Niels Nielsen Vogt (10 February 1798 – 6 March 1869) was a Norwegian priest and politician.
He was the son of Niels Nielsen Vogt, Sr. (1755–1809), and a brother of priest and politicians David and Jørgen Herman Vogt. He was an uncle of Volrath Vogt and Nils Vogt.
He was the father of chief physician Peter Herman Vogt and engineer Jens Theodor Paludan Vogt, father-in-law of Johanne Vogt and grandfather of poet Nils Collett Vogt.
He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1839, representing the constituency of Søndre Bergenhus Amt, where he worked as a vicar. He only served one term.


Godfrey Ifeanyichukwu Ekpenisi

Godfrey Ifeanyichukwu Ekpenisi (born 26 January 1969) is an Anglican bishop in Nigeria.
Ekpenisi, a former Archdeacon, is the current Bishop of Ika; he was enthroned on 15 December 2018.
Ekpenisi was born on 26 January 1969 in Agbor, Delta State. He grew up in Asaba, attending St. Patrick's College from 1979 to 1984, followed by St. Thomas Teacher Training College in Ibusa until 1987. He graduated in Mathematics from the University of Benin in 1997 and in Theology from St. Paul's College, Awka in 2001.


Ganga Das

Ganga Das (1823–1913) was a saint of the Udasi sect and known for piety and Hindi poetry. He was born in 1823 to a Jat family of the Munder gotra on the day of "Basant Panchami" at Rasulpur Bahlolpur village, Hapur district.


Milbourn Bloom

Milbourn Bloom (died 1766) was a Welsh Independent minister. He may have been related to the Blooms of Castell Pigyn (Abergwili). The records of the Methodist Association (1743) describe him as a ‘public exhorter’ (i.e. itinerant), with charge of several locations south of the Towy. According to H.J. Hughes, 'Life of Howell Harris' Bloom soon (in September 1743) left the Methodist church, entering Independent ministry (being admitted a member of Pant Teg church, then under Christmas Samuel). After serving for a period as an ordained assistant to Christmas Samuel he is recorded as appointed pastor of Pen-y-Graig (1748 to 1757), and later of Gwernogle, and of Pentre-ty-Gwyn (1757). According to Thomas Morgan he died in 1766.


Robert Elder (minister)

The Very Rev Dr Robert Elder DD (1808–1892) was a 19th-century Scottish minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly to the Free Church 1871/72.
Life.
He was born in Inverary on 28 July 1808, where his father was Comptroller of Customs. The family moved to Campbeltown while he was young and he was educated there.
He studied Divinity at Glasgow University and was ordained by the Church of Scotland at Kilbrandon in 1831. He was translated to Killin in 1834 and in 1838 to St Paul's in Edinburgh.
He left the established church in the Disruption of 1843 and moved to the Free West Church in Rothesay on the isle of Bute in 1847. In 1871 he succeeded the Rev John Wilson as Moderator of the General Assembly, the highest position in the Free Church. He was succeeded in turn in 1872 by Rev Charles John Brown.
He retired to 1 Admiral Terrace in Edinburgh in 1882.
He died in Edinburgh on 30 March 1892. He is buried in the East Preston Street Cemetery.
Family.
In 1838 he married Margaret Robson (1807-1901) from Oban.
They had at least four daughters, two of which married Free Church ministers. His son John Robson Elder, was also a Free Church minister.


Messengers from John the Baptist

The messengers who came from John the Baptist to Jesus are referred to in and in the New Testament.
Their deputation to meet with Jesus is recounted after the Baptism of Jesus, when John is in prison in the fort of Machaerus and hears of the works performed by Jesus. He seeks confirmation as to whether Jesus is the prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament. John sends (two of) his disciples as messengers to ask a question from Jesus: "Are you the one to come after me or shall we wait for another?" Jesus replied back to John through the messengers to take note of all the miraculous works he has done as described in Luke 7:22.
According to the Gospel of Matthew:
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
The "best manuscript authorities" state that John sent word δια των μαθητων αυτου, "dia tōn mathētōn autou", i.e. by means of his disciples, but δύο τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ, "duo tōn mathētōn autou", meaning two of his disciples, appears in the Textus Receptus. Biblical commentator Marvin Vincent argues that "the correct reading is διά".
Following this episode, Jesus begins to speak to the crowds about John the Baptist, according to the reports of and .


Les Walker

Les Walker is a South African Anglican bishop:he was the Bishop of Mpumalanga from 2005 to 2009.


Angelo of Tolentino

Angelo of Tolentino was a 13th-century Franciscan missionary.
Life.
He was jailed for excessive condemnation of luxury and after being released through the intervention of Raymond Godefroy, a new minister general who sympathized with the Spiritualists, he traveled with Angelo da Clareno, Marco da Montelupone, Pietro da Macerata, and Thomas of Tolentino to missionize in Lesser Armenia in 1289.


Chromatius

Saint Chromatius (died 406/407 AD) was a bishop of Aquileia.
He was probably born at Aquileia, and grew up there. His father died when Chromatius was an infant. He was raised by his mother and his large group of older siblings.
Career.
He became a priest of that church and — in about 387 or 388, after the death of Valerianus — bishop of that city. He was one of the most celebrated prelates of his time and was in active correspondence with contemporaries St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, and Tyrannius Rufinus.
As a scholarly theologian, he urged these friends to produce learned works. St. Ambrose was encouraged by him to write exegetical works; St. Jerome dedicated to him translations and commentaries, which he had written at his suggestion (translations of the Books of Paralipomenon, Tobit, the books of Solomon, commentaries on the Prophecy of Habakkuk). In the bitter quarrel between St. Jerome and Rufinus concerning Origenism, Chromatius, while rejecting the false doctrines of Origen of Alexandria, attempted to make peace between the disputants.
He maintained ecclesiastical communion with Rufinus and induced him not to answer the last attack of St. Jerome, but to devote himself to new literary works, especially to the translation of the "Ecclesiastical History" of Eusebius.
Chromatius opposed Arianism with much zeal and rooted it out in his diocese. He gave loyal support to St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, when unjustly oppressed, and wrote in his favour to Honorius, the Western emperor, who sent this letter to his brother, Arcadius. This intercession, however, availed nothing.
Chromatius was also active as an exegete. Until the modern age only seventeen treatises were known to be authored by him on the Gospel according to St. Matthew (iii, 15-17; v-vi, 24), besides a fine homily on the Eight Beatitudes (counted as an eighteenth treatise). In 1969 researcher Henri Lemarié discovered and published thirty-eight sermons.
His feast is celebrated 2 December.


Martin Luther Christian University

Martin Luther Christian University was established in July 2005. The university is named after Martin Luther (1483–1546), the father of reformation. MLCU is the first Christian University in India, that doesn't focus on theological training after more than two centuries of Christian education in the country. In a short span of years, the University has carved a niche for itself in the country for its commitment to providing quality learning and offering a conducive environment for quality academic pursuits. The creation and functioning of the university is in accordance with the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 under Section 2(f).
Sponsors.
Martin Luther Christian University was sponsored by the National Lutheran Health and Medical Board of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of India and the Khasi-Jaintia Presbyterian Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of India.
Accreditation.
Martin Luther Christian University was created by Act No. 11 of 2005 of the Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya. The Government of Meghalaya issued the Gazette Notification on February 22, 2006. The creation of the University is in accordance with the University Grant Commission Act, 1956 under Section 2(f) and the University is empowered to grant degrees under Section 22 of the UGC Act.
The university is accredited by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) and Indian Nursing Council (INC).
Academics/Curriculum.
The University contribute to the sustainable development of the region, participating in vocational education, health care, information and communication networks, agri-sciences, environmental protection, disaster education, peace studies and developmental projects. Spheres of learning range from Allied Health Sciences, Educational Psychology(M.A.) and Clinical Psychology(PGDipClinPsyc - 2 year), Environmental studies, Business/Management, Family Financial Planning (Diploma), Social Work, Music, Culinary Arts, etc.
Experiential learning.
Experiential Learning is one of the core pillars of the curriculum of all the courses in MLCU. An academic degree for MLCU is a 50:50 pragmatic ratio of both theoretical and applicable knowledge. Thus the functional aspects are learned through experiential learning, and the curriculum's are developed from the thought that education is a process taking place in the classroom, and in the community. The experiential learning consists of creating a strong student-industry relationship in forms of fieldwork, internship and externships for the same the University have formed collaborations with relevant NGOs, industries, hospitals and hotels and other organizations. This also includes Field trips for industry induction, they are organized both inside and outside the state, to expose students to challenges and developmental activities going in the country.
Controversy.
Local sponsors Khasi-Jaintia Presbyterian Assembly of Presbyterian Church of India withdrew its sponsorship to the university college in 2014. Martin Luther Christian University has been chargesheeted by CBI for misappropriation of funds sanctioned by North Eastern Council for establishment of North East Careers Institute. However, MLCU keeps its UGC accreditation due to its significance in the sector.


Petrus Matthias Snickers

Petrus Matthias Snickers (11 April 1816 in Rotterdam – 2 April 1895 in Utrecht) was a Dutch clergyman.
Snickers was named Bishop of Haarlem and consecrated on 2 September 1877 at Haarlem Cathedral, by Andreas Ignatius Schaepman, Primate of Netherlands. He was appointed Archbishop of Utrecht in 1883 and lead the Archdiocese until his death in 1895.


Isho

Ishoʿ (īšōʕ), a cognate of the Hebrew term Yeshu, is the Eastern Syriac pronunciation of the Aramaic form of the name of Jesus.
It is still commonly used as a name for Jesus among Saint Thomas Christians and Syrian Christians of India and the Middle East. Persons with this name include:
Names with Ishoʿ as a component include Ishoʿbokht, Ishoʿdad, Ishoʿdnaḥ, Ishoʿsabran and Ishoʿyahb.


Robert Cato


Lewis Atterbury the elder

Lewis Atterbury D.D., the elder (died 1693) was an English clergyman and writer.
Life.
He was the son of Francis Atterbury, rector of Middleton-Malsor, Northamptonshire. He became a student of Christ Church, Oxford in 1647; submitted to the authority of the visitors appointed by the parliament; took the degree of B.A. on 28 February 1649, and was created M.A. on 1 March 1651, by dispensation from Oliver Cromwell, at that time chancellor of the university. In 1654 he was made rector of Great or Broad Risington in Gloucestershire, and in 1657 received the living of Middleton-Keynes, near Newport Pagnell, Bucks.
At the Restoration Atterbury took care to have his titles to these benefices confirmed by taking a presentation under the great seal. On 25 July 1660, he became chaplain to Henry, Duke of Gloucester, who died at the end of the year; and on 1 Dec. 1660 he took the degree of D.D. He seems to have been, in his later years, involved in litigation, which necessitated his frequent attendance in town. On 7 December 1698, as he was returning home after one of his visits to London, he was drowned near Middleton-Keynes, and there buried.
Works.
Atterbury published the following sermons:
Family.
Atterbury married and left two sons: Lewis Atterbury the younger; and Francis Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester.


Yusuf Abramjee

Yusuf Abramjee is a South African journalist and anti-crime activist. He has won numerous awards for his journalism, and activism, and serves as a social cohesion ambassador for the South African government.
Biography.
Early life and education.
Yusuf Abramjee grew up in Lady Selborne, an area west of the Pretoria CBD. Abramjee's father Ebrahim "Boetie" Abramjee later served in the House of Delegates as an MP. Abramjee's family was the last to leave Lady Selborne, in 1984, as a consequence of the Group Areas Act, moving to Laudium, an Indian township in Pretoria.
Abramjee attended Laudium Secondary School, where he edited the school paper, matriculating in 1982, and then studied at the Transvaal College of Education, a teacher's training college Laudium.
Career.
After graduating in 1985, Abramjee taught Afrikaans at Laudium Secondary School, before taking a job with the House of Delegates as a spokesman, and then joining the SABC. He later owned and edited a local newspaper, the "Laudium Sun".
Abramjee freelanced for Radio 702 ahead of South Africa's first non-racial election in 1994. He joined 702 on a permanent basis as a crime reporter in 1995, becoming crime editor in 1996 for Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk, another station owned by Primedia. He won several awards for his reporting, and was eventually promoted to station manager of 702, before becoming Primedia's head of news and talk programming. He was chairman of the National Press Club on a few occasions.
Activism.
Abramjee was a founder of "Crime Line" in South Africa, a crime tip-off line, in collaboration with the government. He was a prominent opponent of South Africa's "Secrecy Bill". He helped found LeadSA, which "aims to celebrate efforts of ordinary South Africans to do good". He was reappointed as a social cohesion ambassador by the Arts and Culture Minister in 2019. He also helped coordinate private relief efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Personal life.
Abramjee is married, with two adult sons, and lives in Erasmia.
Criticism.
Abramjee was accused of self-promotion in 2015 by journalist, and former editor of the Cape Times, Ryland Fisher, who nonetheless described Abramjee as a patriot. Fisher was responding to a controversy involving Abramjee when he penned an open letter to then-president Jacob Zuma, calling for the government to act on the crime problem in South Africa.


Victor Atta-Baffoe

Victor Atta-Baffoe is an Anglican bishop and scholar in Ghana: he is the current Bishop of Cape Coast.


Otto I (bishop of Utrecht)

Otto van Gelre (1194 – 1 September 1215) was bishop of Utrecht from 1212 to 1215.
Otto van Gelre was the son of Otto I, Count of Guelders and Richardis of Bavaria. He was appointed bishop at a young age with the support of Guelders and the Hohenstaufen. He was a loyal supporter of Guelder's interests in the Bishopric of Utrecht. He died at Voorthuizen at Elten, on the way to Rome.


Valentin Masengo Mkinda

Valentin Masengo Mkinda (10 December 1940 – 26 October 2018) was a Catholic bishop in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was ordained in 1969 for the Diocese of Kabinda, and was its Bishop from 1995 to his death in 2018.
Biography.
Masengo Mkinda was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was ordained to the priesthood in 1969. He served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kabinda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from 1996 until his death in 2018.


Hieromonk Roman

Hieromonk Roman (, secular name Alexander Ivanovich Matyushin, ; born November 16, 1954, village Ryabchovsk, Trubchevsky District, Bryansk Oblast) is a Russian poet, singer-songwriter and hieromonk of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Alexander was born into a family of rural teachers. He graduated from the Philology Department at the University of Elista, then worked as a school teacher. In 1983 he was tonsured monk in the Pskov-Caves Monastery. In 1985, he was ordained. He served in the parishes of the Bryansk Oblast and in Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
Alexander began writing poetry in his youth. He published 19 books of poetry. He joined the Writers Union of Russia. Songs with Roman's lyrics are performed by Jeanne Bichevskaya, Oleg Pogudin, Sergei Bezrukov, Elena Vaenga, Maxim Troshin and others. According to Bezrukov, Roman does not recognize copyright and allows free reuse of his work.


Mario de Leon Baltazar

Mario de Leon Baltazar (September 3, 1926 – July 9, 2012) was the Catholic prelate of the Territorial Prelature of Batanes, Philippines.
Ordained to the priesthood in 1953, Baltazar was named prelate of the Territorial Prelature of Batanes in 1966 and resigned in 1995.


Gerardus Gul

Gerardus Gul (27 October 1847 – 9 February 1920) served as the seventeenth Archbishop of Utrecht from 1892 to 1920. He is known for his role in assisting the persons who would later found the Polish National Catholic Church in the United States, as well as for consecrating Arnold Harris Mathew, the founder and first bishop of the Old Catholic Church in Great Britain.
Early ministry.
Before serving as Archbishop of Utrecht, Gul graduated from the Old Catholic seminary at Amersfoort in 1870 and subsequently served as a parish priest at Ss. John & Willibrord in Amsterdam, St. Mary Magdalene in Zaandam, and at St. James in Utrecht. In 1886, he became a pastor in Hilversum.
Archbishop of Utrecht.
Following the death of Johannes Heykamp, Archbishop of Utrecht, on 8 January 1892, Gul was consecrated Archbishop of Utrecht on 11 May 1892 by Bishop Gaspardus Johannes Rinkel of Haarlem, Bishop Cornelius Diependaal of Deventer, and Bishop Joseph Hubert Reinkens of Bonn.
Polish National Catholic Church.
On 21 November 1897, Gul assisted Eduard Herzog of the Swiss Christian Catholic Church and Theodor Weber of the Old Catholic Church of Germany with the consecration of Antonius Stanislas Kozłowski, who was elected by a number of Polish congregations in Chicago that were dissatisfied with the control exercised over their church properties by mostly-Irish Roman Catholic bishops. These churches would later organize into the Polish National Catholic Church.
On 29 September 1907, at Utrecht, Gul consecrated Franciszek Hodur, from Scranton, Pennsylvania, for the Polish National Catholic Church, assisted by Johannes Jacobus van Thiel, Bishop of Haarlem, and Nicholas B. P. Spit, Bishop of Deventer.
On 5 October 1909, Gul consecrated Jan Maria Michał Kowalski the first "Minister Generalis" (Minister General) of the Order of the Mariavites.
Consecration of Arnold Harris Mathew.
In 1908, the Union of Utrecht approved the establishment of a mission in Great Britain, and on 28 April 1908 Gul consecrated Arnold Harris Mathew at St. Gertrude's Cathedral in Utrecht for the purpose of establishing the Old Catholic Church in the United Kingdom.


Apostolic Nunciature to Costa Rica

The Apostolic Nunciature to Costa Rica provides for the representation of the Holy See to the Government of Costa Rica.


George Henderson (bishop)

George Kennedy Buchanan Henderson (5 December 1922 – 26 September 1997) was a Scottish Anglican bishop in the 20th century. He was Bishop of Argyll and The Isles and elected Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Henderson was educated at the University of Edinburgh and ordained in 1945. He began his ordained ministry with a curacy at Christ Church, Glasgow, after which he was the priest in charge of St Bride's Nether Lochaber and then the rector of St Andrew's Fort William. In 1973, he became Dean of the Diocese of Argyll and The Isles and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1974. In 1977 he became Bishop of Argyll and The Isles (diocesan bishop of the same diocese). He was elected Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church in 1990 and retired in 1992.


Jens Christian Folkman Schaanning

Jens Christian Folkman Schaanning (11 January 1804 – 13 September 1886) was a Norwegian politician.
He worked as a vicar ("sogneprest") in Christianssund. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1848, representing the constituency of "Christianssund og Molde" (now Kristiansund in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal. He was later re-elected in 1851 and 1859.


Michael Kpakala Francis

Michael Kpakala Francis (born 12 February 1936 – 19 May 2013) was a Liberian prelate of the Catholic Church who led the Apostolic Vicariate of Monrovia from 1976 to 1981 and then served as the first Archbishop of the newly established Archdiocese of Monrovia from 1981 to 2011.
Biography.
Michael Kpakala Francis was born on 12 February 1936 in Kakata District, Liberia. He was ordained a priest on 4 August 1963.
On 28 October 1976, Pope John Paul II appointed him titular bishop of Ausuccura and Apostolic Vicar of Monrovia. He received his episcopal consecration on 19 December 1976 from his predecessor, Francis Carroll.
On 19 December 1981, Pope John Paul appointed him the first Archbishop of the newly created Archdiocese of Monrovia.
He suffered a stroke in 2004 that left him paralyzed and unable to speak, confined to a wheelchair. Andrew J. Karnley was named apostolic administrator to help manage the affairs of the Archdiocese. Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation on 12 February 2011.
He was the first priest and bishop to institute the Catholic Justice and Peace Council (J.P.C.) in Liberia. This council was organized to defend human rights and civil liberty in the war-ravaged country under then-President Charles Taylor. In 1996, after the famous 6 April fracas in Monrovia, the bishop decided to close all Catholic schools because he felt Catholic institutions (including Radio Veritas) were targeted by fighters loyal to Taylor. The bishop later reconsidered his decision in 1997, after a public outcry.
He died on 19 May 2013.
Francis was a recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in 1999, given each year to an individual whose courageous activism is at the heart of the human rights movement and in the spirit of Robert F. Kennedy's vision and legacy.


Socrates Villegas

Sócrates Buenaventura Villegas O.P (born September 28, 1960) is a bishop of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. He is the current Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan in Pangasinan, and is the former president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, from December 1, 2013 to December 1, 2017, when he finished his second and final term as president of the said conference. He was also the Vice President of the episcopal conference from 2011 to 2013. Prior to his assignment in Lingayen–Dagupan, he served as Bishop of Balanga from July 3, 2004 until November 4, 2009.
Family and education.
The youngest of the three children of Emiliano Villegas and Norma Buenaventura both from Pateros, he was born on September 28, 1960.
He went through basic education at the Pateros Elementary School, Pateros Catholic School and Colegio de San Juan de Letran. He studied for the priesthood at San Carlos Seminary with a degree Master of Arts in Theological Studies.
Priesthood and bishop years.
He was ordained priest on October 5, 1985 and bishop on August 31, 2001 by the late Jaime Cardinal Sin whom he served as private secretary for fifteen years and as Vicar General for 13 years. He then became the first Rector of the EDSA Shrine and Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Manila in concurrent capacity.
Appointed auxiliary bishop of Manila on July 25, 2001, he was ordained to the episcopacy on August 31, 2001 until his transfer to Balanga. He became the Bishop of Balanga from July 3, 2004 until his transfer on November 4, 2009. Due to the sudden death of the San Fernando de La Union Bishop Artemio Rillera, he was also appointed Apostolic Administrator of the said vacant See from November 16, 2011 until October 11, 2012 in a concurrent capacity.
He was the Chairman of the Episcopal Commission for Catechesis and Catholic Education of the CBCP from 2003 until 2012 and formerly a member of the Presidential Committee of the Pontifical Council for the Family. He is currently the Chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission for Seminaries.
He is a member of the Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) and a perpetually professed member in the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Dominic in the Philippines. He is a chaplain of the Order of Malta and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.
He was a synodal father in the Synod of Bishops of 2012 and 2014. He is a member of the Council of the papal foundation Aid to the Church in Need.
As of February 2021, he has ordained 234 deacons and 210 priests since his episcopal ordination. In the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan, he has decreed the creation of twelve new parishes and nine quasi parishes, since his installation as Archbishop on November 4, 2009 by opening the archdiocese to the missionary presence of religious priests.
He opened the first diocesan theology seminary in northern Philippines in 2013 called Mary Help of Christians Theology Seminary which grants civil master’s degrees in theology and pastoral ministry.
Civic involvement.
In the secular field, he was one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM) in the year 2000 and a Catholic Authors Awardee in 1994. The Bataan Peninsula State University conferred upon him a Doctor of Humanities degree honoris causa in recognition of his work for the Province of Bataan. He authored ten books of homilies and spiritual meditations since he was priest of the Archdiocese of Manila until now.
Activity.
He is a member of the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS), the Dominican
Clerical Fraternity of the Philippines (DCFP), the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. He was the CEO of the Tenth World Youth Day held in Manila in 1995 and the Fourth World Meeting of Families in 2002.
In August 2005, Villegas told Filipino Catholics that they "cannot participate in any way or even attend religious or legal ceremonies that celebrate and legitimize homosexual unions".
Philippine politics.
Villegas' views on social and political issues in the Philippines have not been without controversy, mainly regarding high-profile issues such as the Reproductive Health Bill, the re-imposition of death penalty (long-opposed by the Catholic Church), human rights violations, extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration, and the burial of dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani "(Heroes' Cemetery)".
Following the 31st Anniversary of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution on February 25, 2017, Villegas published a 'letter' to his mentor, the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, where he denounced corruption, extrajudicial killings, and the restoration of the Marcos family to political power under the Duterte administration. Villegas lamented that "the dictator ousted by People Power is now buried among heroes. The Lady of one thousand two hundred pairs of shoes is now Representative in Congress." Villegas' remarks were criticized by Duterte's daughter, current Davao City mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who described Villegas as "worse than a hundred President Dutertes".
On July 19, 2019, the PNP–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) filed charges against Villegas and members of the opposition for "sedition, cyber libel, libel, "estafa", harboring a criminal, and obstruction of justice". Members of the opposition, as well as local and international human rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, denounced the charges as a politically motivated move intended to silence criticism of Duterte and his presidency. The charges were eventually dropped because of lack of evidence.
Coat of arms.
The two sides of the coat of arms are divided by a TAU cross in the middle. The sinister side is the personal seal of the archbishop. The dexter side is the seal of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.


Arnold Keyserling

Arnold Alexander Herbert Otto Heinrich Constantin Graf von Keyserling (February 9, 1922 in Hamburg – September 7, 2005 in Matrei, Tyrol), better known as Arnold Keyserling, was a German philosopher and theologian. He was the son of Hermann von Keyserling and great-grandson of Otto von Bismarck.


Janusz Pasierb

Janusz Stanisław Pasierb (7 January 1929 – 15 December 1993), Polish Catholic priest, poet and writer, historian.


Ala ud-Daula Simnani

Ala ud-Daula Simnani (Persian: علاءالدوله سمنانی, full name Shaikh Abu-Al-Makarim Rukn-ud-Din Ala ud-Daula Ahmed Bin Muhammad Bin Ahmed Bayabanki Simnani; 1261-1336) was a Persian Sūfī of the Kubrāwī order, a writer and a teacher of Sufism. He was born in Semnan, Iran. He studied the tradition of Sufism from Abud al- Rahman Asfariyeni. He also wrote many books on Sufism and Islam. Among his students were Ashraf Jahangir Semnani and Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani.
There was disagreement in those days among ulema and Sufis about various cultural issues, most notably the distinction of Persianate "Ajami" Islam that was more widespread than
the more puritanical Arabized forms. Some proponents of Arabized Islam were furious at Sufi elements that blended elements of Hinduism and deviated from the most strict interpretations of Shari'a. Simnani was a central figure in these debates as the intellectual wellspring of Central Asian mysticism, contrasted with the views of Ibn Arabi, who decried the Sufi philosophies.


Diego Francisco Altamirano

Diego Francisco Altamirano was a Jesuit and author, born at Madrid, 26 October 1625; died in Lima, 22 December 1715.
He wrote the "Historia de la provincia Peruana de la Compañía de Jésus", of which only the twelfth book was published, in 1891, by Manuel Vicente Ballivian, with a short biographical notice from the pen of Torres Saldamando. It was followed by another by Altamirano: "Breve noticia de las misiones de los infieles que tiena la Compañía de Jésus en esta provincia del Peru, en las provincias de los Mojos", also with introduction by Saldamando.


Joseph Ponniah

Right Reverend Joseph Ponniah (born 12 October 1952) is a Sri Lanka Tamil priest and the current Roman Catholic Bishop of Batticaloa.
Early life.
Ponniah was born on 12 October 1952 in Thannamunai in eastern Ceylon. He was educated at St. Joseph's Minor Seminary and St. Joseph's College, Trincomalee. He has Bachelor of Philosophy degree from St. Paul Seminary, Thiruchirapally and a Bachelor of Theology from the National Seminary, Poonah. Ponniah also has a Bachelor of Arts degree form the University of Peradeniya, a Licentiate in Biblical Theology degree from the Pontifical Urbaniana University (1993) and a Doctor of Philosophy in Christian civilization from the University of Jaffna.
Career.
Ponniah was ordained as a priest in April 1980. He was parish priest at St. Mary's Co-Cathedral, Batticaloa (1980–82), Vaharai, Veechchu Kalmunai and Ayhiyamalai. He was rector at the Minor Seminar, Batticaloa (1993–96) before teaching Pauline theology as professor of holy scriptures at the National Seminary, Ampitiya (1996-01). He was then parish priest in Thandavanveli (2001–06) and vicar general for the Diocese of Trincomalee-Batticaloa (2006–08). He has also lectured at the Eastern University, Sri Lanka. In February 2008 he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Trincomalee-Batticaloa and was ordained as a bishop in May 2008. He was appointed Bishop of Batticaloa in July 2012.


Domnina of Terni

Saint Domnina is venerated as a martyr by the Catholic Church. According to tradition, she was martyred at Terni (known as "Interamna Nahars" in antiquity) along with ten consecrated virgins in the mid-3rd century, at the same time that Saint Valentine, bishop of Terni was killed.
According to one source, "All the Martyrologies commemorate them, but whether there were not in the same locality two or more Virgin-Martyrs by name Domnina is altogether uncertain." According to Ludovico Jacobilli, Domnina's death should be dated later, to the time of Totila (6th century).


Three Tales (Flaubert)

Three Tales ("Trois Contes") is a work by Gustave Flaubert that was originally published in French in 1877. It consists of the short stories "A Simple Heart", "Saint Julian the Hospitalier," and "Hérodias".
"A Simple Heart".
"A Simple Heart", or "Un cœur simple" in French, is a story about a servant girl named Felicité. After her one and only love Théodore purportedly marries a well-to-do woman to avoid conscription, Felicité quits the farm where she works and heads for Pont-l'Évèque, where she picks up work in a widow's house as a servant. She is very loyal, and easily lends her affections to the two children of her mistress, Mme Aubain. She gives entirely to others; although many take advantage of her, she is unaffected.
She has no husband, no children, and no property, and is reliant on her mistress to keep her; she is uneducated; her death is virtually unnoticed. Despite her life being seemingly pointless, she has within her the power to love, which she does even when she does not receive it in return. She also carries within her a yearning, a majestic quasi-religious sensibility which finds its apotheosis in the deification, as she dies, of her pet parrot who floats above her deathbed masquerading as the Holy Ghost. She lives a simple, unexamined life.
Flaubert's challenge was to create the main protagonist as someone very different from the satirical characters appearing in his previous novels such as Madame Bovary.
"The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitalier".
"The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitalier", in French "La légende de Saint-Julien l'hospitalier", is a story about Julian the Hospitaller. (Note that the story has nothing to do with the Order of Hospitallers, despite the similarity of the names.) He is predicted at birth to do great things. His father is told that he will marry into the family of a great emperor, while his mother is told he will be a saint. They dote on him. After Julian kills a mouse who interrupted his concentration in church, his cruelty towards animals grows and culminates into his massacre of an entire valley of deer. A stag curses him to kill his own parents. He almost brings the curse to fruition twice: he drops a sword while standing on a ladder near his father, and he pins his mother's white shawl against a wall with a javelin because it looked like a bird's wings. He leaves to escape his future (much like Oedipus).
Julian joins a band of vagrants, and they eventually grow into a huge army under his control. He makes a name for himself and marries rich, but never hunts. Finally, his wife convinces him to go hunt and he is haunted by the spirits of all of the animals he has killed. He returns home to surprise his wife and finds a man and a woman in her bed. Unknown to him, his parents had arrived to see him and his wife had given them her bed. He thinks that it is another man sleeping with his wife and murders them. He recognizes his misdeed and leaves once again.
Having given all of his possessions to his wife, Julian begs for food but is shunned for his deeds. He comes across a deserted river crossing and decides to live a life of servitude. One day, there is a great storm and a leper wishes to cross. It is rough but Julian does not give up. Once across, the leper's requests increase. He wishes for food and wine, Julian's bed, and finally the warmth of Julian's body. When Julian gives the man everything without hesitation, the Leper is revealed to be Jesus Christ himself, who takes Julian with him to heaven.
"Hérodias".
"Hérodias" is the retelling of the beheading of John the Baptist. It starts slightly before the arrival of the Syrian governor, Vitellius. Herodias holds a huge birthday celebration for her second husband, Herod Antipas. Unknown to him, she has concocted a plan to behead John. According to Flaubert, this plan entails making her husband fall in love with her daughter, Salomé, leading to him promising her whatever she wants. Salomé, obviously in line with the instructions of her mother, will ask for John's head. Everything goes as planned. John has been repeatedly insulting the royals, so the king does not think long before granting Salomé's wish. The crowd gathered for the party waits anxiously while the executioner, Mannaeus, kills John. The story ends with some of John's disciples awaiting the Messiah.