On October 11, 1962, the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) opened, marking the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years. This historic event was initiated by Pope John XXIII, who sought to bring the Church into greater engagement with the…
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Pope Honorius I, who served as the Bishop of Rome from 625 to 638, remains a figure of significant controversy in the history of the Catholic Church due to his posthumous excommunication by the Sixth Ecumenical Council. This unusual and dramatic event, which took…
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On June 12, 1429, Joan of Arc achieved her first offensive military victory, winning a battle near the small town of Jargeau on the southern bank of the Loire River in central France. By the end of 1428, writes historians, “the English and their…
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The Diet of Worms, convened in 1521, stands as a pivotal moment in the history of the Reformation and European religious politics. This imperial council, held in the German city of Worms, was summoned by Emperor Charles V to address the burgeoning theological controversy stirred by Martin Luther. Luther, a German…
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On May 23, 1430, amid the brutal and grinding wars that had ravaged France for nearly a century, the woman who had once turned the tide of battle at Orléans found herself surrounded, outnumbered, and—most damning of all—abandoned. Joan of Arc, the teenage peasant-turned-warrior…
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Sir Thomas More’s resignation as Lord Chancellor on May 16, 1532, did not provoke a riot in the streets or a dramatic rupture in the Tudor court—but it marked, with grave finality, the moment when one of England’s most brilliant minds stepped away from…
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On April 18, 1506, under the direction of Pope Julius II, the cornerstone of what would become one of the most iconic churches in Christendom—St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City—was laid. The event marked not only the beginning of a monumental architectural project but…
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On December 22, 401 AD, Pope Innocent I ascended to the papal throne, becoming one of the most influential leaders of early Christianity. What makes his papacy especially remarkable is that he is the only pope in history confirmed to have directly succeeded his…
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On November 1, 1512, All Saints Day, one of the most iconic pieces of Christian artwork was opened, and like it does today, it took people’s breath away. The History Channel writes, “Michelangelo Buonarroti, the greatest of the Italian Renaissance artists, was born in…
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A turning point in Western history happened on the evening of October 27, 322 in the sleeping quarters of a tired Roman Emperor. As his army prepared for the Battle of Milvian Bridge, Constantine the Great had a vision that led him to fight…
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