On the Kalendar: Reginald Heber, Bishop

April from Les Petites Heures d'Anne de Bretagne

“April”, kalendar page from Les Petites Heures d’Anne de Bretagne (The Little Hours of Queen Anne of Bretagne), by the Maître des Triomphes de Pétrarque. From Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (France).

Reginald Heber matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he developed a reputation as a poet. Heber’s post-graduation Grand Tour with . . . → Read More: On the Kalendar: Reginald Heber, Bishop

On the Kalendar: Gregory the Illuminator, Bishop, Missionary of Armenia

March from Les Petites Heures d'Anne de Bretagne

“March”, kalendar page from Les Petites Heures d’Anne de Bretagne (The Little Hours of Queen Anne of Bretagne), by the Maître des Triomphes de Pétrarque. From Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (France).

Gregory was born in A.D. 257 to a family of Armenian Parthian nobles. After his father was executed for his . . . → Read More: On the Kalendar: Gregory the Illuminator, Bishop, Missionary of Armenia

On the Kalendar: Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem

March from Les Petites Heures d'Anne de Bretagne

“March”, kalendar page from Les Petites Heures d’Anne de Bretagne (The Little Hours of Queen Anne of Bretagne), by the Maître des Triomphes de Pétrarque. From Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (France).

Little is known about Cyril’s early life. He acceded to the See of Jerusalem around A.D. 350, and about this . . . → Read More: On the Kalendar: Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem

On the Kalendar: Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, Doctor

March from Les Petites Heures d'Anne de Bretagne

“March”, kalendar page from Les Petites Heures d’Anne de Bretagne (The Little Hours of Queen Anne of Bretagne), by the Maître des Triomphes de Pétrarque. From Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (France).

Gregory the Great, the first Pope of that name, is one of the most widely regarded doctors of the church . . . → Read More: On the Kalendar: Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, Doctor

On the Kalendar: Thomas Aquinas, Doctor

March from Les Petites Heures d'Anne de Bretagne

“March”, kalendar page from Les Petites Heures d’Anne de Bretagne (The Little Hours of Queen Anne of Bretagne), by the Maître des Triomphes de Pétrarque. From Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (France).

Thomas Aquinas is one of the greatest philosophers and theologians in the history of the church. He wrote voluminously, and . . . → Read More: On the Kalendar: Thomas Aquinas, Doctor

Felix Dies Bissextum! Happy Leap Day!

Gregory XIII calendar reform

(This post is a repeat from previous Leap Days, for the benefit of those for whom this is new material.)

“What?” you’re thinking to yourself, “Leap Day isn’t until the 29th.”

Not according to the Kalendar, which follows the guidelines set forth by Julius Caesar. The ancient Romans had this odd procedure of numbering days . . . → Read More: Felix Dies Bissextum! Happy Leap Day!

On the Kalendar: Cyril and Methodius, Apostles to the Slavs

February from Les Petites Heures d'Anne de Bretagne

“February”, kalendar page from Les Petites Heures d’Anne de Bretagne (The Little Hours of Queen Anne of Bretagne), by the Maître des Triomphes de Pétrarque. From Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (France).

Perhaps no saints loom so large in the psyche of their adopted home as do Cyril and Methodius. Sure, the . . . → Read More: On the Kalendar: Cyril and Methodius, Apostles to the Slavs

On the Kalendar: Saint Agatha of Sicily, Martyr

January from Les Petites Heures d'Anne de Bretagne

“January”, kalendar page from Les Petites Heures d’Anne de Bretagne (The Little Hours of Queen Anne of Bretagne), by the Maître des Triomphes de Pétrarque. From Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (France).

According to the Golden Legend, Agatha came from a noble family in either Catania or Palermo, and like so many . . . → Read More: On the Kalendar: Saint Agatha of Sicily, Martyr

On the Kalendar: Saint Sebastian

January from Les Petites Heures d'Anne de Bretagne

“January”, kalendar page from Les Petites Heures d’Anne de Bretagne (The Little Hours of Queen Anne of Bretagne), by the Maître des Triomphes de Pétrarque. From Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (France).

Everyone knows about Saint Sebastian, right? The young man who was martyred by being shot full of arrows, right? There . . . → Read More: On the Kalendar: Saint Sebastian

On the Kalendar: Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, Doctor

January from Les Petites Heures d'Anne de Bretagne

“January”, kalendar page from Les Petites Heures d’Anne de Bretagne (The Little Hours of Queen Anne of Bretagne), by the Maître des Triomphes de Pétrarque. From Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (France).

Hilary was born at Poitiers around the turn of the fourth century to a distinguished pagan family. He was highly . . . → Read More: On the Kalendar: Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, Doctor