Portal:Catholic Church/DYK

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Did you know...

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DYK list

... that Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral (pictured), consecrated in 1936, is the largest Catholic church building in Baguio City?
... that three armies surrounded the papal conclave of September 1503, held during the Italian Wars?
... that Sister Carmela Marie Cristiano was the first Catholic nun to run for political office in New Jersey?

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... that St. Cyril of Jerusalem Church (pictured) was the site of the baptism of Clark Gable's son, the wedding of Annette Funicello, and the funeral of Mercury Seven astronaut "Gordo" Cooper?
... that despite being excommunicated by Pope Eugene IV, Prospero Colonna was the leading candidate to be Eugene's successor as Pope?
... that the Polish Pomeranian anti-Nazi Pomeranian Griffin resistance organization was persecuted by the Soviets due to its strongly Catholic character?

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... that St. Finbar Church (pictured) in Burbank, faced with a dwindling flock and changing demographics, was one of the first U.S. parishes to offer Spanish language Mass?
... that Father Giuseppe Diana was killed by the Camorra for resisting their mafia-like rule?
...that the Wendish Crusade was an 1147 campaign of crusaders against the Wends of what is now northern and eastern Germany that forced tribute from the pagan Slavs?

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... that when St. Andrew's Church (pictured) in Pasadena was built in the 1920s, it was compared to "a jeweled crown on the head of a Byzantine queen"?
... that the papal election, 1292-1294 was the last election of a pope which did not take the form of a conclave?
... that having moved to South Africa to start his missionary work at age 22, Joseph Gérard died at age 83 in Lesotho without ever returning to his home country of France?

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... that St Mark's Church (pictured) in the small village of Vrba was mentioned in a sonnet by the Slovene national poet?
... that Italian Jesuit priest Sabatino de Ursis moved to China in 1607 to assist Matteo Ricci in his astronomical research, and attempted to reform the Chinese calendar?
... that the Militia of the Faith of Jesus Christ was founded to defend the lands of Amaury de Montfort, leader of the Albigensian Crusade?

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... that the pastor of Burbank's St. Bellarmine Church (pictured) was a World War I chaplain who modeled the campus on Monticello and Independence Hall?
... that the chief purpose of the military order the Militia of Jesus Christ was to combat heresy?
... that the 1641 edition Selva morale e spirituale by Claudio Monteverdi is considered his "most significant anthology of liturgical works since the Vespers in 1610"?

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... that Gregory XV (pictured) was acclaimed as the new pope in the papal conclave of 1621 even though Cardinal Robert Bellarmine had received the most votes in the ballot?
... that the Chronicles of Mann claimed William Russell to have been the first Bishop of the Isles consecrated by the pope, even though he was not consecrated by the pope, and even if he had been, he would not have been the first?
... that since the superstructure of Johnstown's Cathedral of St. John Gualbert was laid using nearly 590,000 pounds (270,000 kg) of steel, the roof was able to be completed before the foundation walls?

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... that the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar (pictured) in Spain is reputed to be the first church dedicated to Mary through history?"
... that the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu is considered the holiest Catholic shrine in Sri Lanka?"
... that Anacletus II is regarded as an antipope although he had received the majority of the votes in the Papal election of 1130?

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... that the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health (pictured) is one of the most frequented religious sites in India, drawing nearly 2 million pilgrims annually?
...that Count John A. Creighton was ennobled by Pope Leo XIII in recognition of his contributions to Creighton University, the Catholic community in Omaha, and the city of Omaha in general?
... that English missionary Andrew White, the "Apostle of Maryland," celebrated the first Catholic mass in the original Thirteen Colonies on March 25, 1634 on St. Clement's Island?

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...that the St. Philomena's Church (pictured) in the city of Mysore in India was built in Neo Gothic style drawing inspiration from the Cologne Cathedral in Germany?
...that Elias Zoghby, a Melkite Catholic archbishop, attempted to re-establish communion between the Melkite Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church while maintaining communion with the Roman Catholic Church?
...that antiquarian Antonio Francesco Gori is alleged to have stolen Galileo's finger when the scientist's remains were transferred in 1737 to Santa Croce, Florence?

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...that according to his hagiography, Saint Severus of Naples (pictured) temporarily brought a man back from death in order to testify on the size of his debt and save his widow from slavery?
...that at the Council of Acre in 1148, the decision was made to attack Damascus, leading to the failure of the Second Crusade?
...that the concentration ability of Augustine Fangi reportedly allowed him to undergo an operation without anesthetic and feel nothing?

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...that the Prussian Crusade was a series of 13th-century campaigns of crusaders, primarily led by the Teutonic Knights (coat of arms pictured), to Christianize the pagan Old Prussians?
... that a Muslim fundamentalist beheaded a statue of the Virgin Mary at St. Augustine's's and carted a statue of Father Serra to a nearby mosque in October 2001?
... that Augustinian Canon of the Lateran Giuseppe Ricciotti's book Life of Jesus Christ was edited in 1941 and reedited and reprinted several times?

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...that Peirol (pictured) supported the Third Crusade and encouraged the kings of Europe to make peace and send aid to the King of Jerusalem?
...that Arnau Mir de Tost is sometimes praised as the "El Cid of the Lands of Lleida" for his foundational role in reestablishing Christian rule in the region to the south of Urgell?
...that the Saladin tithe was a tax, or more specifically a tallage, levied in England and to some extent in France in 1188, in response to the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187?

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... that in 1686 Michael Shen Fu-Tsung, (pictured) a Jesuit convert from Nanking, arrived at the court of James II and became the first recorded Chinese person to visit Britain?
... that French Jesuit missionary and mathematician Guy Tachard was involved in embassies to Siam, which came as responses to embassies sent by the Siamese King Narai to France in order to obtain an alliance against the Dutch?
... that the bronze of Mary atop Mary Star of the Sea, known as the "Fishermen's Church," is lit at night so she can be seen from the Port of Los Angeles harbor?

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...that Louise-Magdeleine Horthemels created illustrations of the life of the nuns of the abbey of Port-Royal-des-Champs (pictured), shortly before it was closed on the orders of Pope Clement XI?
... that Cormac mac Cuilennáin, bishop and king of Munster, later considered a saint, was killed in battle in 908 while leading an invasion of Leinster?
... that within the Special Economic Zone SEEPZ, Mumbai lies an abandoned Portuguese church built in 1579?

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... that despite nine hundred Roman Catholic churches being built in England in the fifty years after 1791, St John the Baptist's Church (pictured) in Brighton was only the fourth to be consecrated since the Reformation?
... that in 1847 French Admiral Jean-Baptiste Cécille sent a captain to attack Vietnam to obtain the release of a bishop, not knowing the bishop had already been freed?
... that after Roche MacGeoghegan, Bishop of Kildare, died in 1644, his library was divided between his diocese and the Dominican Order?

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... that Cardinal Mahony petitioned Rome to name Padre Serra Church (pictured) after Junípero Serra despite controversy over his treatment of California Indians?
... that Blessed Veronica of Milan unsuccessfully tried to teach herself to read until an apparition of the Virgin told her that spiritual lessons were more important?
... that the Frauenfriedenskirche in Frankfurt (Germany) is an unusual expressionist church, decorated with monumental mosaics?

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...that American painter George Cooke's Interior of St. Peter's Rome (pictured), measuring 17 by 23.5 feet, was the largest oil painting of its time, and still ranks among the world's largest?
...that because Fr. Joseph Strub believed the Irish were not seen to be as hard-working as Germans, he specifically requested that Fr. William Power not be selected as the first rector of the Pittsburgh Catholic College?
... that early Indian Christians were Nestorians until the arrival of Portuguese in the 16th century introducing Roman Catholicism to the country?

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...that the postage stamps of the Palestinian National Authority have featured many well-known figures, but those with Pope John Paul II (pictured) might be fake illegal stamps?
...that Dutch Catechism, a bestseller with translations sold globally, was issued by bishops of the Netherlands to make the message of Jesus "sound as new as it is"?
...that while Nicholas Fitzherbert was abroad, two priests were arrested in his father's house and hanged drawn and quartered?

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...that Italian painter Perugino had probably finished his altarpiece The Virgin appearing to St. Bernard (pictured) by the time Raphael became his apprentice?
...that a papabile was asked during the papal conclave of 1572 by a representative of King Philip II of Spain to withdraw his candidacy in order to maintain peace in Italy?
...that Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was buried in St. Francis Church in India?

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...that the relatively advanced age and poor health of Pope Paul III (pictured) contributed to his successful election to the papacy in 1534?
...that six-year-old Antonietta Meo could soon become the youngest saint not a martyr canonized by the Roman Catholic Church?
...that Château Pape Clément, first planted in 1300 by the future Pope Clement V, is the oldest wine estate in Bordeaux?

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...that Giovanni Faber (pictured), doctor to the Pope, botanist and art collector, coined the name "microscope"?
...that the Chinese government had no objections when the Eastern Orthodox Church canonized Metrophanes, Chi Sung and other martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion, but did object to canonizations by the Roman Catholic Church?
...that the Blessed Martyrs of Nowogródek were Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth who offered their lives during the Holocaust in exchange for the release of citizens of Nowogródek?

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...that legend at Banagher says its church (pictured) was founded by a saint, led there by a stag acting as a lectern and carrying a book on its antlers?
...that French cardinals in the Papal conclave, 1758 vetoed the candidature of cardinal Cavalchini when he was only one vote short of being elected to the papacy?
...that medieval cycles of the Life of the Virgin could have as many as 53 scenes before reaching the Annunciation of her pregnancy?

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Christ taking leave of his Mother

...that the subject in art of Christ taking leave of his Mother (pictured) has no biblical basis but derives from medieval devotional writing?
...that the Söflingen Abbey in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg is the oldest nunnery of the Order of Poor Ladies in Germany?
...that the Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary in Chełm, Poland, now a Catholic church, was formerly an Orthodox one?

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...that Archbishop John Ireland (pictured) refused to allow the Irish in Saint Paul, Minnesota to have a Saint Patrick's Day parade due to previous celebrations turning into what he called "midnight orgies"?
...that Cassià Maria Just was one of the Catholic Church members in Spain who showed their opposition to Francisco Franco?
...that King Lugaid mac Lóegairi was said by the Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii to have been struck dead by lightning because he mocked Saint Patrick?

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View of the ruined cloisters and South façade of the church with rose window and bell tower.

...that the Gothic Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha (pictured) in Coimbra, Portugal, stayed abandoned under mud and water for over 300 years before it was rescued in an archaeological intervention?
...that, according to the martyrology, the early 4th century Christian martyr Aedesius of Alexandria was tortured and drowned for striking a judge who had been forcing consecrated virgins to work in brothels?
...that St. Patrick's Blue, rather than green, was long the colour most associated with the patron saint of Ireland, and is present on Ireland's Presidential Standard?

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...that the Barasoain Church (pictured), where three major events in Philippine history took place, became known as the Cradle of Democracy in the East?
...that the first act of Paul John Hallinan as Archbishop of Atlanta, an office he assumed in 1962, was to order the desegregation of all Catholic schools and institutions in the Archdiocese of Atlanta?
...that George Crichton's death in 1544 initiated a decade long quarrel over the position of Bishop of Dunkeld until the appointment of his nephew, Robert Crichton?

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...that Alan de St Edmund, while in Rome as chaplain to Cardinal Hugh of Evesham, was made Bishop of Caithness (Coat of arms pictured) after its previous bishop-elect died there while seeking consecration?
...that to save weight while walking 1,000 km along the Camino de Santiago, Canadian fiddler Oliver Schroer packed a sleeping bag and clothes around his violin instead of using a case?
...that, after 34 years as Roman Catholic abbot of Coupar Angus, Donald Campbell converted to Protestantism in 1559, and destroyed the icons and altars of his monastery in Scotland?

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Monastery of Jesus

...that the Monastery of Jesus ( pictured) in Setúbal, Portugal, the first building associated with the Manueline style, was built by Diogo Boitac?
...that Jacob Dacian, a Franciscan missionary to the P'urhépecha Indians of Mexico, spoke 8 different languages and was probably a son of King John I of Denmark?
...that Giovanni Dominici was initially refused admittance to the Dominican Order because of a speech impediment that was later reportedly cured after intercession by Catherine of Siena?

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...that Saint Reineldis (pictured) is commonly depicted in art being dragged by the hair by Huns?
...that the veneration of Saints Felinus and Gratian, which has a weak historical foundation, has been alleged to have been created to further the interests of Perugia?
...that tradition states Severus of Barcelona was given the position of Bishop of Barcelona because a pigeon landed on his head?

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... that the Transfiguration of Jesus, described in the Synoptic Gospels, is believed to have taken place where the Church of the Transfiguration (pictured) now is located?
... that Patriarch of Antioch Gregory II Youssef of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church spoke against the proposed doctrine of papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council?
... that Archbishop of San Francisco Edward Joseph Hanna was the chairman of the U.S. National Longshoremen's Board during the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike?

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... that devotees from many faiths swarmed St. Michael's Church, Mumbai, as news of a reported "bleeding" Jesus picture spread in June 2008?
... that Hiberno-Latin poet Colman nepos Cracavist wrote the first known poem about Saint Brigid?
... that the Romanesque St. Charles Borromeo Church (pictured) in Detroit, Michigan, serves a parish that was established to minister to Belgian immigrants to the city?

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... that, in the lives of saints, the appearance of roses (example pictured) sometimes announces the presence or activity of God?
... that the ancient, but lost, Nendrum Monastery was found in 1844, when a visitor recognized the remains of a round tower?
... that the body of the Venerable Fr. Solanus Casey was exhumed and reinterred at Detroit's St. Bonaventure Monastery where he had comforted and fed the hungry during the Great Depression?

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... that bishop Mauritius Ferber (pictured) of Warmia was treated for illness several times by the physician-astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus?
... that when Robert de Bethune was nominated Bishop of Hereford in 1130, King Henry I of England did so because he felt he needed one "godly bishop" around?
... that Toto's seizure of power in Rome in 767 is one of the first indications that the military aristocracy believed that supreme power in Rome rested with the papal office?

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... that after Pope Alexander III absolved Gilbert Foliot's excommunication, Thomas Becket (pictured) exclaimed that "Satan is unloosed for the destruction of the Church"?
... that Jose C. Abriol was the first person to translate the Catholic Bible into Tagalog?
... that William Vaux, 3rd Baron Vaux was imprisoned and fined £1,000 by Queen Elizabeth for harbouring the Jesuit Edmund Campion?

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... that during the Captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam, 30,000 of the captured 60,000 Christians were forcibly converted to Islam by Tipu Sultan (pictured)?
... that the Madhu church shelling affected the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu, the holiest Roman Catholic shrine in Sri Lanka?
... that Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, the Dominican priest and Bible scholar, is a cousin of Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster?

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... that Áed Ua Crimthainn, abbot of Terryglass, Ireland, was the compiler and principal scribe of the Book of Leinster (pictured), a Middle Irish illuminated manuscript?
... that Noella Marcellino, a Benedictine nun and modern connoisseur of cheese, was named the official cheesemaker of Connecticut's Abbey of Regina Laudis?
... that Papyrus 110, a Greek manuscript copy of the Gospel of Matthew from the New Testament, may have been composed as early as the 3rd century?

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... that Father Jacques-Désiré Laval (pictured), a Spiritan missionary to Mauritius, was the first person beatified by Pope John Paul II?
... that Andrew Ritchie named his Brompton folding bicycle company after the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary?
... that in May 1776, at the age of 16, the future Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon Yohannan Hormizd was consecrated metropolitan bishop with right of succession by his uncle, Patriarch Mar Eliya XII Denkha?

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... that the idea for the Red Scapular of the Passion (pictured), approved by Pope Pius IX, is said to have been given to a French nun by visions of Jesus and Mary in 1846?
... that Father Nicolas Sarrabat, SJ, a French scientist and Jesuit, conducted experiments on the circulation of plants, argued that magnetism was caused by a fire at the Earth's centre, and discovered the largest comet ever recorded?
... that Father Lucien Galtier, the first Catholic priest in Minnesota, was responsible for renaming the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, from its previous name of Pig's Eye?

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... that the Most Rev. S. Arulappa (pictured), Archbishop of Hyderabad, was the youngest priest to be consecrated as a Roman Catholic Archbishop in India?
... that Father Nelson Baker, founder of the Basilica of Our Lady of Victory in Lackawanna, New York, is buried in the basilica's transept in a grotto hewn from Vesuvian black lava?
... that Saint Vigilius of Trent, stoned to death for overturning a statue of Saturn, was the first martyr canonized by a pope?

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... that Father Émile Petitot was the first European to reach the Tuktut Nogait National Park area in northern Canada?
... that as part of the Canterbury-York dispute in medieval England, Gerard, an Archbishop of York, once kicked over chairs and refused to sit until his chair was as high as the Archbishop of Canterbury's?
... that although Robert of Melun (pictured) disagreed with some of Peter Abelard's teachings, he still defended Abelard against heresy charges?

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... that the Early Christian Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus (pictured) (c. 359) shows Pontius Pilate making a gesture to avert the evil eye during his trial of Jesus?
... that Peter of Aigueblanche, a medieval Bishop of Hereford, was once besieged in the city of Hereford?
... that the Roman Curia needed eight years to confirm the election of Peter Jarweh as Patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church because he had received funds from Protestant missionaries to buy a printing press?

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... that the "Rosary and the Scapular are inseparable" (rosary beads and brown scapular pictured) are words attributed to the Virgin Mary during the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917?
... that Polish Jesuit and missionary Jan Mikołaj Smogulecki introduced the knowledge of logarithms to China in the mid-17th century?
... that the Nuestra Señora de Loreto Church in Mexico City may be in danger of collapsing?

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... that Bartolommeo Coriolano's skill at woodcuts (example pictured) earned him a knighthood from Pope Urban VIII?
... that the papal conclave of October 1503 was the shortest papal conclave in history due to the lack of a conclave capitulation?
... that the Mihai Eminescu National College in Satu Mare, Romania, was established in 1634 when the Society of Jesus received approval to open a college in the city?

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... that once a year almost 1,000 mummified bodies are put on public display inside the monastic crypt at the Church of St. Casimir the Prince (pictured) in Kraków?
... that Lorenzo Campeggio, the cardinal protector of England during the English Reformation, determined that Henry VIII's marriage could not be annulled?
... that three conclavists—personal aides to cardinals during a papal conclave—have gone on to be elected Pope?

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... that the election in 1181 of Pope Lucius III (pictured) was the first papal election held in accordance with the decree that the pope is to be elected with a two-thirds majority by the cardinals?
... that Montacute Priory was a dependency of Cluny Abbey from its foundation around 1100 until 1407?
... that San Sebastian Basilica, the only all-steel church in Asia, is threatened by rust caused by the salty sea breeze from nearby Manila Bay?

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... that Academy Award winner Going My Way was filmed at St. Monica Church (interior pictured), and the irascible old Irish priest character was based on its pastor?
... that at least eleven of the twenty electors of the papal conclave of 1362 were from the Limousin province of France?
... that nobody knows what happened to the Diocese of Hexham after Tidfrith, its last bishop, died?

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... that the family of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma (pictured), Polish Righteous among the Nations from Markowa, was summarily executed for rescuing their Jewish countrymen during the Holocaust?
... that the traditional account of the first ballot at the papal conclave of 1513 has been judged extremely improbable by a modern mathematician?
... that some prints of the Mass of Saint Gregory claimed to offer indulgences of up to 45,000 years?

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... that typical subjects for late medieval Andachtsbilder include the Pietà, Pensive Christ, Man of Sorrows, Arma Christi, and the Veil of Veronica (pictured)?
... that gambling on papal elections has been documented since the 16th century, despite being punishable by excommunication?
... that the Cemetery of the Holy Rood has a privately funded area set aside for the burial of abandoned children?

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... that the beard of Greek cardinal Basilios Bessarion (pictured) was partly responsible for the defeat of his candidacy in the papal conclave of 1455?
... that the cardinals were not allowed to serve simultaneously as residential bishops until the pontificate of Alexander III?
... that according to legend, Fabian was selected as pope because a dove landed on him?

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The church of the sanctuary of Chalma with hills in the background in Chalma, Malinalco, Mexico State

... that apart from the Basilica of Guadalupe, the Sanctuary of Chalma (pictured) in Malinalco is the most visited shrine in Mexico?
... that the Chapel of St Non in Pembrokeshire is unusual in that it is aligned north / south rather than the usual east / west?
... that Italian architect Donato Bramante was nicknamed il Ruinate for the destruction of the papal tombs in Old St. Peter's Basilica?

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...that the Crusade of Varna was a string of events in 1443–44 between the Kingdom of Hungary, the Serbian Despotate, and the Ottoman Empire that culminated in a devastating Hungarian loss at the Battle of Varna (pictured) on 10 November 1444?
... that in 1960, Archbishop Gerald Patrick Aloysius O'Hara became the first papal representative to visit the British Houses of Parliament in four centuries?
... that Louis J. Gallagher, SJ, who brought to Rome the relics of Andrew Bobola which were rescued from the Bolsheviks by Edmund A. Walsh, later published books about both men?

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... that St Mary's Cathedral (pictured) in Perth, Western Australia, was completed in 2009, almost 80 years after expansions were halted due to the Great Depression?
... that in his account of the Christian expeditions into China (first published in 1615), Matteo Ricci strongly criticized feng shui practices?
... that missionary Father Aengus Finucane, C.C.Sp. often flew with Mother Teresa while delivering food supplies to Bangladesh?

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... that Eugenio Pacelli's (the future Pope Pius XII) (pictured) 1936 visit to the United States was planned, in part, to investigate and silence Catholic priest and New Deal opponent Father Charles Coughlin?
... that the daughter of King Edward I of England, Sister Mary of Woodstock, OSB, traveled widely as the visitatrix of her abbess despite a papal travel prohibition for nuns?
... that Maria Gulovich, the daughter of a Byzantine Catholic pirest, sheltered Jews, worked for the anti-fascist underground, and was awarded the Bronze Star for saving the lives of OSS agents during World War II?

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... that Charles Langdale (pictured) was one of the first Catholics to serve in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom following the passing of the Catholic Relief Act 1829?
... that Father Tacchi Venturi, SJ, the personal liaison between Mussolini and Popes Pius XI and Pius XII, was the architect of the Lateran Treaty, which created Vatican City and made Catholicism the state religion of Italy?
... that medieval English bishop Alexander of Lincoln was a patron of the chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, who dedicated his Prophecies of Merlin to the bishop?

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... that the French Church of the Sacred Heart (pictured) in Bucharest, Romania, is topped by a Gallic rooster?
... that the married clergy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church became a hereditary caste that dominated western Ukrainian society?
... that the newspaper and radio of Vatican City during World War II ceased reporting the weather at the request of the Italian government?

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... that the Apostolic Prefecture of the United States was formed in 1784 after the end of the American Revolutionary War, with Pope Pius VI approving John Carroll (pictured) as its first Superior of the Missions?
... that the "severe" and "assertive" former St Peter's Church in Shoreham-by-Sea was converted into a nursing home, retaining many of its original features?
... that despite being located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Assumption Preparatory School followed French custom in holding classes on Saturday mornings but not on Thursday or Saturday afternoons?

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... that Father Pino Puglisi was an Italian priest in the deprived Palermo neighborhood of Brancaccio who was killed by the Sicilian Mafia?
... that the name of the Black Abbey (interior pictured) is based on the fact that the Dominicans were often referred to as Black Friars, because of the black cappa or cloak which they wear over their white habits?
... that St. Paul’s Church, Diu is considered to be one of the best examples of baroque architecture in India?

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... that Our Lady and the English Martyrs in Cambridge is one of the largest Catholic churches in United Kingdom?
... that Saint Gonzalo, Bishop of Mondoñedo, defied the authority of the Archbishop of Toledo?
... that Old Catholic Cemetery (section pictured) was created for Roman Catholics after a yellow fever epidemic struck Mobile, Alabama in the 1830s?

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... that Alfred Newman Gilbey arranged that Fisher House, Cambridge would only be demolished, quite literally, over his dead body?
... that Rouffach's Notre-Dame de l'Assomption Church (pictured) was built between the 11th and the 19th century, but is still unfinished?
... that Archbishop of Rouen Walter de Coutances (d. 1207) had to pay the final 10,000 marks of King Richard I of England's ransom, as the archbishop was a hostage until it was paid?

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... that the Westminster Retable (detail pictured), a 13th-century panel painting at Westminster Abbey, is the oldest known altarpiece in England?
...that Dutch Catechism, a bestseller with translations sold globally, was issued by the bishops of the Netherlands to make the message of Jesus "sound as new as it is"?
...that the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu is considered the holiest Catholic shrine in Sri Lanka?

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...that the only elements of the Nativity of Jesus in art (example pictured) to span the whole history of its depiction are the baby, the ox and the ass?
...that English missionary Andrew White, SJ, the "Apostle of Maryland", celebrated the first Catholic Mass in the original Thirteen Colonies on March 25, 1634 on St. Clement's Island?
... that Pope Benedict XIV arranged for Jonathan Sisson's instruments to be installed in the Bologna Academy?

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... that during the Cultural Revolution, after the crosses of St. Michael's Cathedral (pictured) in Qingdao were cut from its steeples by the Red Guard, they were buried by loyal Catholics to protect them?
... that the origins of the baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège, usually dated 1107–1118, have been much disputed by art historians?
... that the medieval chronicler Matthew Paris accused the medieval bishop Hugh of Wells (d. 1235) of being biased against monks, calling him "an untiring persecutor of monks"?

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... that Pope John Paul II placed rosary devotions (example pictured) at the very center of Christian spirituality and called them "among the finest and most praiseworthy traditions of Christian contemplation"?
... that the Codex Carolinus is one of very few Gothic fragments of the New Testament on parchment that has survived to the present day?
... that Father William C. McInnes, SJ, one of the first Jesuits to study business administration, simultaneously served as the president of both Fairfield University and the University of San Francisco for four months?

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... that Franz Anton Knittel deciphered the Gothic text of the palimpsest Codex Carolinus in 1762?
... that the French Gothic Niederhaslach Church (buttresses pictured) in Alsace was plundered in 1525 during the German Peasants' War, burnt in 1633 during the Thirty Years' War, and became a slaughterhouse in 1744?
... that according to some scholars, Christ's agony at Gethsemane was added to the New Testament to counter docetism?

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... that St. Henry's Catholic Church (pictured) in rural St. Henry has been described as the most costly church in northwestern Ohio?
... that St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Padua, Ohio, is distinguished by its pilasters?
... that the revelations of 14th-century Christian mystic Agnes Blannbekin, which included visions of the foreskin of Jesus, were considered too obscene for print until the 20th century?

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... that the crypt of St. Paulinskirche (pictured) in Trier allegedly contains the remains of approximately one dozen of the martyred soldiers of the legendary Theban Legion?
... that in 1128 Geoffrey, Prior of Christ Church, Canterbury, became the first Abbot of Dunfermline?
... that the depictions of fish on the medieval statue of St. Christopher in Norton Priory, Cheshire, England, are so realistic that five different species can be identified?

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... that Stanley Ott, Bishop of Baton Rouge, celebrated the funeral Mass for a convicted murderer and allowed his burial near the graves of bishops?
... that the original Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral building was saved from burning during the American Civil War when the parish priest imitated General Banks's voice and ordered Union troops to spare the church?
... that the interior of St. Sebastian's Catholic Church (pictured) in Sebastian, Ohio is distinguished by its Gothic Revival reredos?

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... that Francois Xavier d'Entrecolles, the French Jesuit Father who revealed to Europe in 1712 the manufacturing secrets of Chinese porcelain (example pictured), has been described as an early "industrial spy"?
... that the Roman marble Sleeping Ariadne of the Vatican Museums was for centuries called Cleopatra because her armband was mistaken for Cleopatra's asp?
... that while Archbishop of Adelaide, Leonard Faulkner refused to eliminate the practice of communal confession, despite pressure from the Vatican?

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... that the church bells of St. Joseph's Catholic Church (pictured) in Wapakoneta, Ohio were moved from a previous church building?
... that Bonaventure Broderick ran a gas station for 40 years until Cardinal Francis Spellman restored him as an Auxiliary Bishop?
... that when Fr. Jeremiah Callahan, C.S.Sp., was appointed president of Duquesne University in 1931, he used the opportunity to tell reporters about his personal critique of Einstein's theory of relativity?

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... that while president of Pittsburgh Catholic College, Father John Tuohill Murphy (pictured) formed a close personal association with the future saint Katharine Drexel?
... that Father John Willms, C.S.Sp., once stood in the way of a locomotive in order to allow his congregation to hear a sermon in silence?
... that Pope Vigilius refused to attend the Second Council of Constantinople even though he had been living in the city for seven years?

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... that during the 2006 student protests in Chile, students threw stones at the residence of Bishop Alejandro Goic Karmelic (pictured), although he had expressed a desire to mediate only hours before?
... that retired Sacramento bishop Alden John Bell was stabbed in his office while preparing for a trip to see Pope John Paul II?
... that Codex Vaticanus 2061, a double palimpsest, contains some parts of the New Testament, homilies of several authors, and Strabon's Geographica?

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... that Gisborough Priory (ruins pictured) was one of the last monastic houses in England to fall victim to the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540?
... that the beating of a child in a Boston public school sparked the Eliot School rebellion and motivated the creation of a nationwide system of parochial schools?
... that after five previous attempts to evangelise the Kavango people in German South-West Africa, Joseph Gotthardt's journeys eventually led to the establishment of a mission station in 1910?

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... that the 19th-century Shrigley Hall in Cheshire, England, originally a country house, was later a Salesian school with a chapel (exterior pictured) added in 1936, and now is a hotel and country club?
... that Duquesne University has named one of its colleges and a street on its campus in honor of Rev. Henry J. McAnulty, C.S.Sp.?
... that the Congregation of the Sons of the Holy Family was founded by the son of a peasant farmer?

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... that the stone pulpit in the Roseau Cathedral (pictured) in Dominica was carved by prisoners who were kept on Devil's Island?
... that the Austrian Church of St. Nikolaus in Lockenhaus includes an organ with 2400 pipes, as well as an unusual black Madonna on the altar of the crypt?
... that John Michael Kudrick, bishop of the Eparchy of Parma, holds master's degrees in mathematics and computer and information science?

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... that one of the oldest churches in Costa Rica, Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Limpia Concepcion (pictured), built in the 1560s in Ujarrás, has been proposed as a World Heritage Site?
... that the pabasa is a chanting marathon practiced during Holy Week in the Philippines?
... that despite the customary practice of Catholic bishops tendering their resignations when they turn 75, Andrew Pataki's retirement was not accepted by Pope Benedict XVI until after he turned 80?

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... that the kremówka cake (pictured) gained international recognition after Pope John Paul II noted he once ate 18 of them as part of a bet?
... that the Concilium Germanicum, a Frankish synod held in 742/3 to reform the Austrasian church, has been described as the acme of Saint Boniface's career?
... that each of the Five Discourses of Matthew has a shorter parallel in the Gospel of Mark or the Gospel of Luke?

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... that the depictions of the Ascension of Jesus in Christian art (example pictured) are often divided into an upper (heavenly) and lower (earthly) part?
... that the 8th-century penitential Excarpsus cummeani extends its scope to define penances for clerics also, possibly influenced by Saint Boniface?
... that the ideal of the Imitation of Christ goes back to the earliest days of Christianity?

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... that Bible translations into Polish (example pictured) date from the 13th century?
... that the skeleton of the last Bosnian king, Stephen Tomašević of Bosnia, currently lies in the Franciscan monastery of Saint Luke, Jajce?
... that the ninth-century Codex Vindobonensis 751 contains a selection of the correspondence of Saint Boniface, as well as a mysterious palindrome and the oldest English poetic proverb?

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... that San Pellegrino in Vaticano (pictured) is one of the oldest churches in Vatican City?
... that Modernisme architect Joan Martorell headed the committee that in 1883 selected Antoni Gaudí to complete the still-unfinished Sagrada Família?
... that, as president of the College of St. Scholastica, Jesuit educator Francis X. Shea started a campus tradition by holding a fish fry at his home during the spring smelt run?

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... that according to Victor Gardthausen, Codex Sinaiticus (sample pictured) is younger than Codex Vaticanus by at least 50 years?
... that the church of Saints Martin and Sebastian of the Swiss is the private chapel of the Pontifical Swiss Guards in Vatican City?
... that the Irish bishop and saint, Dagan, may have attempted to excommunicate the Roman missionaries sent by Pope Gregory the Great to convert the Anglo-Saxons by refusing to eat with them?

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... that at 46.5 metres (153 ft), the longest Foucault pendulum in Poland is suspended inside the Church of Saints Peter and Paul (interior pictured) in the Old Town district of Kraków?
... that when Father Raymond V. Kirk was appointed president of Duquesne University at the age of 38, he was one of the youngest university presidents in the United States?
... that the Guild of St. Bernulphus, a guild trade union of church Gothic Revival architecture, was operated more like a jovial feasting fraternity than a scholarly society?

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... that from 2000–2011 Fr. Daniel Coughlin (pictured) served as Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives, the first Catholic priest to serve in that capacity?
... that Wilhelm Victor Alfred Tepe had a virtual monopoly on the building of new Catholic churches in Utrecht from 1872 until 1882?
... that, despite being a monastery of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Gunda Gunde provided many converts to the Catholic faith for missionary St. Justin de Jacobis, C.M.?

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... that for much of the Middle Ages, church altars were hidden from view at points in services by curtains hung from a ciborium (example pictured)?
... that Jesus at Herod's Court is mentioned in only one canonical gospel, the Gospel of Luke?
... that Lagmann mac Gofraid, a late 11th-century King of Mann and the Isles, has been labelled as the only known Scot who took part in the First Crusade?

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... that depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art (example pictured) date back to early Christianity and can be seen in the Catacombs of Rome?
... that the Codex Sangallensis 1395 is one of the oldest manuscripts of the Vulgate?
... that the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory exhibits neolithic relics from the Beqaa Valley recovered by Jesuits?

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... that the 75-metre (246 ft) tall towers of St. Florian's Cathedral (pictured) in Warsaw's eastern district of Praga highlight its role as a form of protest against the Russian domination of Poland?
... that Mammotrectus super Bibliam, a guide book to understanding the Bible, was popular in the 15th century, but was criticized in the 16th century?
... that the Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda in Querétaro, Mexico, have been classified as "mestizo architecture" because of the mixture of European and indigenous influences?

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... that St. Joseph (pictured) has been in Egypt since 1852?
... that the Franciscan Church in Zamość was among the largest churches in 17th-century Poland?
... that the anonymous Vita sancti Cuthberti, or "Life of Saint Cuthbert", is the earliest piece of English Latin hagiography?

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... that William Randolph Hearst removed 10,000 stones of the Spanish monastery Santa Maria de Ovila (pictured), but never used them in a building?
... that in 1281, the Bishop of Garðar contributed walrus tusks to help fund the Crusades?
... that American naval surgeon Charles Guillou treated Pope Pius IX for seasickness?

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... that the Rose Historic Chapel (pictured) was the first church designed by the Luttrell brothers, who subsequently became the unofficial architects of the Diocese of Christchurch?
... that the borough of Iztapalapa in Mexico City hosts an annual Passion play that attracts 2 million spectators?
... that in 2006 Merrimack College president Richard Santagati received the third highest salary of any president of a private college in the United States?

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... that devotions to the Holy Name of Jesus (example pictured) exist both in Eastern and Western Christianity?
... that the Beeldenstorm was a wave of riotous destruction of church art and property that spread across the Low Countries in August 1566?
... that, according to Bede, Dryhthelm the monk died, was given a tour of hell and heaven, and came back to tell the tale?

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... that the Saint-Usuge Spaniel (pictured) was saved from extinction after World War II thanks to a priest in the Bresse region of France?
... that the first Iannotta San Francesco ultralight aircraft was built in a Capuchin Friary in Naples and named after the Capuchins' patron saint, St Francis of Assisi?
... that Brother Cajetan J. B. Baumann, O.F.M., was the first member of a religious order named to the American Institute of Architects?

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... that when Pope Alexander VI (pictured) issued his bull Dudum siquidem, the mention in it of India caused consternation in Portugal?
... that the parishioners of Highweek petitioned the pope for their own graveyard?
... it is believed that Minuscule 826 is the archetype of the textual family 13?

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... that the first Portuguese-language newspaper in China was published at Macau's St. Dominic's Church (pictured) in 1822?
... that Benedict Nichols, Bishop of Bangor, was with King Henry V when he captured Harfleur?
... that there is no direct discussion in the New Testament of the dual nature of the Person of Christ as being both divine and human?

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... that the 4th-century Brescia Casket (pictured) has been called "among the most formidable and enduring enigmas in the study of early Christian art"?
... that Uncial 0321, thought to be the same as Uncial 067 for 164 years, was recently recognized as being a separate manuscript?
... that the neighborhoods of the city of Cholula, Puebla, in Mexico have a complicated system for sponsoring its many religious festivals?

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Nominations

... that former U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan was a parishioner at St. Raphael's Church in New York City?
... that only four great uncial codices have survived until the present day?
... that St. Brendan's Church has been a location for two apocalypse movies: the Martian attack in 1953's War of the Worlds and the wedding at the end of Armageddon?
... that police patrolled Incarnation Church during the 2000 funeral of a Hispanic youth killed with a tire iron by Armenian Americans after a retaliatory shooting at a donut shop?
... that the Order of the Faith and Peace, founded by the Archbishop of Auch c. 1230 for the defence of the peace in Gascony, was patronised by Gaston VII, Viscount of Béarn?
... that under the presidency of Father Francis P. Smith, C.S.Sp., Duquesne University founded WDUQ, Pittsburgh's first college radio station?
... that the medieval royal administrator Henry de Cornhill was responsible for assembling part of the fleet for King Richard I of England's efforts in the Third Crusade?
... that Romanian writer Father Ion Agârbiceanu was influenced in his work by the four years he spent as a parish priest in the Apuseni Mountains?

... that in the Christian centre of meditation and spirituality in Frankfurt, visitors can walk through a labyrinth of burning tealights (pictured) one Saturday each year?

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