On 4 June 1989, the Polish trade union Solidarity was victorious in the first relatively free elections in Poland since the Second World War. Despite pre-election polls which predicted a victory for the Communist Party, Solidarity was successful in virtually every seat which it had contested.
Solidarity is deeply rooted in Catholic teaching and history. Pope John Paul II put forward the concept of solidarity with the poor as an essential element of the Christian life in his Solicitudo Rei Socialis. One of the founders of Solidarity, Lech Wałęsa, confirmed the influence of Pope John Paul II saying, “The Holy Father, through his meetings, demonstrated how numerous we were. He told us not to be afraid”. One of the priests which was actively involved in Solidarity was Father Jerzy Popiełuszko who was killed by the Communist leadership in Poland because of his ministry to workers and will be beatified by the Catholic Church on 6 June 2010.
The success of Solidarity in Poland will inspire similar movements elsewhere and contribute to the eventual collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.
The home page of Solidarity
On 3 June 1162, Thomas Becket became the Archbishop of Canterbury. The English king Henry II had pressured him to become the Archbishop believing that Becket who had previously shown great support for the powers of the king would continue to do so as archbishop. Becket did not want to become archbishop because he feared it would cause grave difficulties between him and the king. He wrote, “our friendship will turn to hate.”
Indeed, once he became archbishop Becket instead became a strong defender of the independence of the Catholic Church from secular control in the many conflicts between Thomas Becket and Henry over the attempts to place clergy under the jurisdiction of secular rather than religious courts. Eventually, Henry’s frustration over Becket’s opposition would lead him to reportedly utter the infamous phrase, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” Which will be understood as a command by Henry’s men to arrest Becket and when Becket refused to accompany Henry’s soldiers – they would murder him in the Cathedral of Canterbury.
Thomas Becket
On 2 June 455, the Vandals led by their king Genseric began their sack of the city of Rome. Genseric had made a peace treaty with the previous emperor of the Western Roman Empire Valentinian III. However, when Valentinian was killed and replaced by Petronius Maximus, Genseric declared the peace treaty had been broken.
According to Prosper of Aquitaine, Pope Leo I managed to persuade the Vandals to only plunder the city of Rome and not burn any buildings or murder its inhabitants. Though writers in the 17th century who idealized Rome would blame the Vandals for its destruction. For example, the poet John Dryden wrote, “Till Goths, and Vandals, a rude Northern race, Did all the matchless Monuments deface.” In 1794, bishop Henri Grégoire would use the term vandalism to describe the destruction of art during the French Revolution based upon the presumed devastation which took place during the 455 sack of Rome.
The Vandals would plunder the city for fourteen days, whereas the previous Visigothic sack of 410 was only three days. Much gold and silver would be taken as well as several boats full of captives including the Eudoxia, the wife of Petronius Maximus who had been killed by a Roman mob as he tried to flee the attack of the Vandals. Among the treasures taken by the Vandals was the wealth of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem which had been captured by Emperor Titus in 70 AD.
On 1 June 1494, Monk John Cor of Lindores Abbey recorded the first known reference to Scotch Whisky – “To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, eight bolls of malt wherewith to make aqua vitae .” “Aqua Vitae” or “Water of Life” was the name given to the local spirit. In Gaelic “aqua vitae” was “usquebaugh” which later became “uksy” and then “whisky”. Historians believe that “aqua vitae” was a term used by Saint Patrick both to refer to baptism as well as alcoholic spirits.
A boll was an old Scottish measurement about six bushels or 56 pounds. The amount of malt mentioned would be enough to make 1,500 bottles of whisky.
It was common for Benedictine monasteries to distill spirits which were seen as beneficial for health. For example, Benedictines in France were producing such spirits as Chartreuse. It was believed that whisky was an effective treatment for colic, palsy and small pox.
The Lindores Abbey was destroyed by the supporters of John Knox in 1559. But today special bottles of Scotch Whisky are being sold to raise funds to preserve the remains of the site.
Benedictine Abbey of Lindores
The History of Whisky
On 31 May 1821, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was consecrated in Baltimore, Maryland. The Basilica was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States.
The Basilica was built under the impetus of Bishop John Carroll and the architectural design of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. The building was intended to model the architectural style of the US capital and be seen as something “American”.
The seven pontifical councils and three plenary councils of the United States Catholic Church would take place at the Basilica, including those which established the Catholic University of America and commissioned the Baltimore Catechism.
As author George Weigel has said, “No other Catholic edifice in America can claim to have seen so much history made inside its walls.”
The Baltimore Basilica
On 29 May 1982, Pope John Paul II became the first pontiff to visit the Canterbury Cathedral.
The pope described the visit as one “which centuries and generations have awaited”.
While there was some controversy because of the decision for the Pope to enter the Cathedral from a back door, because of “security and tiredness”, rather than the more ceremonial entrance – the Great West door – at the front of the cathedral; Peter Jennings described the visit to the Cathedral as “a hugely important step because here was the successor of St Peter coming to Britain really bridging a gap since the 400 years or more of the Reformation.”
While at Canterbury, the Holy Father and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, renewed their baptismal vows together, lit candles for Christian martyrs and knelt in prayer before the spot where St Thomas-à-Becket was murdered in 1170. They also issued a common declaration thanking God for progress in the work of reconciliation between the Anglican and Catholic communities.
Homily of Pope John Paul II at the Canterbury Cathedral
On 28 May 1941, Maximillian Kolbe arrived at the Auschwitz concentration camp as prisoner #16670.
In July of 1941, in response to the disappearance of a prisoner from Kolbe’s barracks, the camp officials sentenced ten men to death by starvation in order to prevent further escape attempts – though the man who had disappeared was later found drowned in the latrine. One of the ten men selected, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out ‘My wife! My children!’ upon his selection and Kolbe volunteered to take his place.
Kolbe spent his time in his cell as he endured starvation in songs and prayer. After three weeks without water and food, Kolbe was the last of the ten men still alive. He was executed by an injection of carbolic acid on 14 August 1941.
An audio account of Kolbe’s death in Auschwitz by a fellow prisoner courtesy of The SaintCast
On 27 May 1084, after an appeal from Pope Gregory VII, Norman duke Robert Guiscard entered Rome to defend Gregory from the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and his anti-pope Clement III.
The roots of the conflict between Gregory and Henry lay in what was known as the Investiture Controversy, whether the secular ruler or the pope possessed the authority to appoint bishops within particular dioceses. Henry wished to appoint bishops within his empire and so placed a “pope” supportive to this view – Clement – in power at Saint Peter’s in Rome. Yet, as the conflict between Henry and Gregory grew, the issue of contention became more and more one concerned with the power of the papacy versus the power of the king.
At the time anti-pope Clement III was installed by Henry at Saint Peter’s, Gregory continued to resist Henry just a short distance away at Castel San Angelo. He asked for help from Robert Guiscard who responded by sending and army of 36,000 soldiers to enter Rome and rescue the pope. However, Guiscard’s armies also pillaged Rome for three days and partially burned the city – leading to the destruction many ancient buildings including the original basilica of San Clemente and the church of Santa Maria in Cosmodin.
Gregory died a year later in exile but his views on the secular primacy of the pope would be taken up by his successors while the support of Henry IV would decline.
Pope Gregory VII
On 26 May 451, the armies of the Sassanid Empire defeated the forces of Saint Vartan Mamigonian and the Armenians at the Battle of Avarayr. This day is considered one of the most important dates for the Armenian people.
On the fields of Avarayr, 66,000 Armenians faced off against 220,000 Sassanids. The Armenians were led by Saint Vartan, who died in the battle. Although the Armenians were defeated, the Sassanids experienced such heavy losses in the battle that continuing Armenian resistance would eventually lead to the granting of religious freedom in 484.
Moreover, since the Armenians were occupied with their struggles against the Sassanids, they were unable to send delegates to the Council of Chalcedon which would define the dyophysite [or dual] nature of Christ as true God and true Man. The Armenians would reject this council and its status as ecumenical and instead proclaim a miaphysitism which defined Christ has having only one nature in which the divinity and humanity of Christ are joined without confusion or alteration.
Today, the Armenian Orthodox Church remains separate both from the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Though there is an Armenian Catholic Church in communion with the Holy See.
Battle of Avarayr
On 25 May 1230, Brother Elias and some citizens of Assisi secretly moved the body of Saint Francis, which had been placed in the Basilica of Saint George in Assisi after the death of the saint, into the tomb which had been prepared for it in the recently completed Basilica of Saint Francis.
Elias feared that citizens from nearby Perugia might seek to steal the body and bury it in their own city. It was believed that the city and peoples of a city would gain blessings if the relics of a saint were buried there. Other examples of this belief in history can be seen in the presence of the relics of Saint Mark in Venice and Saint Nicholas in Bari.
The body of Francis was buried in a tomb deep underground, the tomb was covered with stone and over the stone was placed the high altar in order to prevent theft of his relics. Francis’ tomb was inaccessible until 1818 when, after a fifty two day search, the body of the saint was rediscovered.
The transfer of the body of Francis caused a controversy with Pope Gregory IX as there was to be a public transfer of the relics a few days later. The pope excommunicated the citizens of Assisi for moving the relics without episcopal authority and placed an interdict on the Basilica of Saint Francis – though these punishments were later rescinded.
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