Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites

Liechtenstein’s hereditary prince vetoes bill to legalize abortion up to 12 weeks

November 9, 2026

Alois Philipp, Prince of Liechtenstein. Photo by Andrew J.Kurbiko.

Liechtenstein’s Hereditary Prince Alois has vetoed legislation that would have decriminalised abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, preserving the Alpine principality’s existing legal protections for unborn children.

The decision, announced on Tuesday 21st October, blocked a reform approved by the country’s parliament in September. The bill had been proposed by the Fristenlösung citizens’ initiative, which gathered almost 5,000 signatures, representing around a quarter of Liechtenstein’s registered voters.

The decision marks the first time the hereditary prince has used his absolute veto to block legislation.

h/t: spuc.org.uk

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Challenging American Myths about Equality: Ending

November 9, 2026

Continued From Part Two

That is because one aspect of our Revolutionary world is that man has become increasingly susceptible to outside influences that carry him this way and that like a cork in the sea. Pope Pius XII spoke of this in his 1946 Allocution to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility. His Holiness stated:

“The numberless, anonymous multitude is easily provoked to disorder; it surrenders blindly, passively, to the torrent that carries it away or to the whims of the currents that divide and divert it. Once it has become the plaything of the passions or interests of its agitators, as of its own illusions, it is no longer able to take root on the rock and stabilize itself to form a true people…”

Ladies and Gentlemen, I do not think I have ever read a more accurate description of the plight of today’s youth and young adults. The Pontiff continued, expressing his desire that the Roman Patriciate and Nobility rise up to lead a people tossed about by the instability of modern life by anchoring them in the perennial values of Christian civilization.

After beseeching the Nobility to become exemplary Catholics, in all their enterprises, but especially by restoring the immaculate image of the true Catholic family, His Holiness stated:

“May you then, beloved Sons and Daughters with your great traditions, with care for your progress and your personal, human, and Christian perfection, with your loving good works, with the charity and simplicity of your relations with all the social classes, may you then strive to help the people reestablish themselves on the foundation stone, to seek the kingdom of God and His justice.”

So, in light of all this, I argue that because the 21st century is so terribly void of leadership and role models, we need elites now more than ever before. The fact of the matter is that every society will have role models that will shape the multitudes. If this function does not fall into the hands of a true elite, it will end up in the hands of false elites who represent the worst of society, not the best. When this happens, the results are disastrous.

When I say false elites, I am talking about those whose status is based solely on material goods and who live merely to accumulate the greatest amount of pleasure and sin that life can afford them. These false elites fill the ranks of Hollywood, the music industry and the business world.

Armand Hammer

Dr. Plinio dubbed these false elites the “toads.” Toads because they are inextricably attached to the material things of this world, like a toad that continually embraces the ground. A common trait of these toads is vulgarity which stands in sharp contrast to the impeccable etiquette of a true elite.

Think here of the extravagant and vulgar fashions worn by celebrities at public functions. I cannot fail to mention here the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards at which Lady Gaga appeared wearing a dress made of raw flank steak. Contrast this with the dress one would expect at a traditional European ball for high society. Imagine the different effects these ways of dressing have on society as a whole.

Unfortunately, these toads have all the prestige and influence their massive fortunes can buy. True elites are the only ones who can challenge this influence effectively, because they are the only ones who have the capacity to rise up before the public. The difference is that their rise is due to their excellent qualities, not their inflated bank accounts.

Any time we can promote these true elites in the public and spread their renown, we are performing a very effective and authentically Counter-Revolutionary apostolate.

However, for this to be effective requires a twofold action. The first action must be done by the elites themselves. This consists in them becoming more elite, so that their excellence will shine even brighter, their superiority will be even more evident and their leadership more auspicious.

George Washington at a ball in a 1889 painting by Jean Leon Germome Ferris.

Pope Pius XII described this excellence and its effects in the 1945 Allocution that we quoted above. The Holy Father said:

“In what, then, should this excellence of life and action consist, and what are its principle characteristics?

“It manifests itself above all in the perfection of your work, whether it be technical, scientific, artistic or anything else. The work of your hands and your spirits must bear that imprint of distinction and perfection that cannot be acquired from one day to the next, but rather reflects a refinement of thought, of feeling, of soul, and of conscience, inherited by your forebears and ceaselessly nurtured by the Christian ideal.”

A bit later, His Holiness continued, saying:

“It is also made manifest in the dignity of one’s entire bearing and conduct—a dignity that is not imperious, however, and that, far from emphasizing distances, only lets them appear when necessary to inspire in others a higher nobility of soul, mind and heart.

“Lastly, it manifests itself above all in the sense of lofty morality, or righteousness, honesty, and probity that must inform every word and every deed.”

So the first part of the equation is that elites should become even more elite and let their excellence shine even brighter. The second part is what those of us who are not elites must do. We must follow the example of the elites. We must develop a reverence and awe for those who are greater than we are.

This will naturally lead us to do everything in our power to suppress the influence of false elites and propagandize the true elites. We need to do whatever we can to make them known and spread their influence.

This is not an easy task, because it can be difficult to find true elites in our world. However, they do exist. It is important to note that in order to have a beneficial influence on society, they do not have to be perfect.

A State Banquet hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

For example, Queen Elizabeth II did all the bad things that we all know she did, however, in many ways, she had a very beneficial effect on her people. For example: on one occasion, she was hosting a dignitary from a less refined nation.

During the meal, one of the courses had to be eaten with one’s hands. Afterwards, to freshen up the guests’ hands, the servants brought around little bowls filled with perfumed water. The idea was that the guest would wash his fingertips in the perfume water and dry them off so he would be ready for the next course.

Not understanding the bowl’s purpose, the foreign dignitary grabbed it and drank all its contents in one gulp. This put Queen Elizabeth in a difficult situation. Were she to wash her hands in the bowl, it would make the dignitary feel foolish.

Without hesitation, Her Highness grabbed her bowl and drank it to the end to give the impression that the dignitary had acted appropriately. This self-sacrificing act was such an example of the very heights of etiquette, charity and good manners that simply hearing about it uplifts the soul.

Prince Luiz de Orleans e Bragança (1938-2022).

In 1997, Prince Bertrand’s brother, Dom Luis exhibited a similar level of refined manners at a TFP conference we had at the time. For the conference, we had brought in the chef that cooks for the French TFP, thinking that his superior French cooking would elevate the food at the event. Things went well enough until he decided to bake a cake.

Due to the language barrier, the French chef baked the cake with salt rather than sugar. No one bothered to taste the cake before it was served out and because Dom Luis was the guest of honor, His Highness was served before anyone else.

Ladies and Gentlemen, when the servers came to collect the dishes after the meal, there was only one plate that had been completely emptied of its salt cake. It was the one belonging to Dom Luis, who had eaten the whole piece without a word of complaint.

Hearing these stories demonstrates a superiority of manners and an excellence of charity that uplifts the soul. These are the types of examples that our vulgar self-serving world desperately needs and it is only the elites that can provide them. That is why we who are not nobles, with the illustrious exclusion of Prince Bertrand, we can do an authentically Counter-Revolutionary apostolate by spreading these stories and doing whatever we can to increase the prestige of the elites among us. We can do nothing more effective to counteract the vulgar and miserabilistic century in which we live.

Fred Chase Koch, 1900-1967, was an American chemical engineer, who founded the oil refinery firm Koch Industries, the second-largest privately-held company in the United States. In 1928, Koch traveled to the Soviet Union to build oil refineries, but he came to despise communism and Joseph Stalin’s regime. Koch self-published a 39-page, anti-communist pamphlet “A Business Man Looks at Communism” relating his experiences in the Soviet Union and warning of the threat of Communist take-over.

With this, we have tackled the last myth we will be challenging in this talk. Hopefully we have shown that now, more than ever before, is THE time for TRUE elites to fulfill their roles in society. We will now briefly summarize what we have seen and then we can move on to the conclusion.

Our talk has consisted in challenging American myths about equality. We began by pointing out the existence of an American Myth which states that America is a thoroughly egalitarian nation and that this egalitarianism is the reason for our successes.

We showed how, beginning in the middle of last century, sociologists began to take a deeper dive into American society and proved that it is not, nor has it ever been, nearly as egalitarian as former scholars would have us believe. One sociologist we quoted went so far as to suggest that “American society is almost as class-based as British society.”

This is not surprising because sociology demonstrates that a truly egalitarian society cannot exist because whenever two or more people get together for any purpose, hierarchies form spontaneously.

The second myth we challenged was that a meritocracy is the only just society, because it only gives benefits and privilege to those who have earned them. We showed how this is false because such a society denies the designs that God has for the family and the virtue of gratitude. God gave parents a burning desire to leave their children in a better condition than the one in which they entered life. To deny parents this ability is a great injustice.

It is also unjust to deny a privileged status to the children of a father who has spent himself and his resources to benefit the common good to the detriment of his personal family. Doing so would violate the virtue of gratitude which, according to St. Thomas of Aquinas, consists in giving to a benefactor even more than one has received from him.

We also saw that a meritocracy would require dictatorial power to enforce and would stifle the development of true elites, the formation of which requires many generations of privilege and excellence.

Last we challenged the myth that elites may have served their purpose for a certain time of history, but they are no longer viable in today’s world.

To refute this, we saw that a primary cause of our corruption is because we lack the leadership that only true, virtuous elites can provide. Thus, now more than ever is the time to support the formation and dissemination of elites throughout society. Our survival depends on it.

Frederick Vanderbilt Field, great-great-grandson of railroad tycoon Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt and an American leftist political activist, who supported many openly Communist organizations.

We saw that our world is filled with vulgar false elites who buy their way into positions of prestige. The only way to effectively counter the terrible influence of these toads, is with true elites who gain prestige because of who they are, rather than what they have.

Last we saw that for this to be truly effective will require a twofold process. First, the elites must become ever more elite. They must shine increasingly brightly through their excellence of their persons and actions.

The second part of the process is that those of us who are not elite, must welcome the beneficial action of the elites, first of all in us through admiration and dedication and then we must become propaganda experts who spread the fame and prestige of the elites as far and as wide as possible.

Before moving on to the conclusion, are there any questions?

To conclude this talk, I would like to finish by inviting you all to challenge American myths about equality in your own lives. We have shown that America is not really an egalitarian country in the strict sense of the word. Nevertheless, as Americans we have been imbued with egalitarian principles from our earliest years.

However, there is a profound contradiction in all this, because deep down Americans instinctively love the aristocracy and nobility. This was well described by James Hodges, writing about the success of the show Downton Abbey.

He wrote: “Americans fell in love with Downton Abbey because it offered them a dream they could not articulate but deeply desired: a world where everyone knew their place, where lords ruled with justice, where servants found dignity in service, and where beauty draped every detail…

“In the end, Downton Abbey was America’s guilty pleasure—not because it betrayed our democratic ideals, but because it revealed what we secretly want: leaders with integrity, roles with dignity, and a society where even the smallest duty has meaning.

“It turns out, we didn’t overthrow the aristocrats in our imaginations. We just imported them, polished the silver, and sat down to dinner with them once a week.”

So, we have this contradiction in our souls. We love hierarchy, while at the same time feel that it is somehow unjust. We must overcome this contradiction. To help in this endeavor I will present three concrete things that we can all do along these lines.

The first, and most important, is to weed out the egalitarian principles in ourselves so that we become truly hierarchical souls. This can be boiled down to the practice of three virtues.

A young boy admiring the knight. From bygoneamericana. Photo taken by Wayne Miller, USA in 1955.

The first is humility. Humility gives us the ability to admire those who are superior to us without envy. To love their superiority because superiority denotes proximity to God, the ultimate Superior. In a word, it fills our lives with reverence and awe when we are exposed to greatness. The second is gratitude. This gives us the desire to pay back those whose sacrifices and assumed responsibilities have created the benefits we enjoy in society. The third is charity, whereby we love our neighbor. This means want each individual to enjoy the rights and privileges that are proper to his place within society.

Click to order your copy today!

The second thing we can do is educate ourselves concerning the Church’s teachings on social inequality. For this, I can offer no better source than the book Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elite by our founder, Dr. Plinio. It is a treasure-trove of rational thought and documentation that presents the mind of the Church about hierarchy in society.

The third thing is to spread these truths as far and as wide as possible. Instill in your children a love of hierarchy. Teach them to admire those things that are superior to them. Find enchanting stories about the nobility and tell them to your children and spread them in your social circles. The web site Nobility.org, updated regularly by Miss Jennifer Segerstrom is full of such stories and facts that will embellish Church doctrine on elites and their roles in society and make it more lively.

Ladies and Gentlemen, if we engage in this form of apostolate, we will stand out, because no one in today’s world talks about these things. However, we will be doing our part to bring back Christian civilization and usher in the Reign of Mary.

Thank you.

A native of Saint Louis, Missouri, Mr. Michael Whitcraft heads up the TFPs Southern California operations. He is a frequent contributor to articles on the TFP website. Based on the prophetic incites of Prof. Plinio, he lectures TFP members, supporters and friends on a wide range of subjects.

Part One

Part Two

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November 9 – Patrick’s psalm-singer

November 9, 2026

St. Benignus

Kilbennan Monastery (also called Kilbenan or Kilbannon), County Galway, Ireland, was founded by St. Benignus. Photo by Andreas F. Borchert.

Date of birth unknown; died 467, son of Sesenen, an Irish chieftain in that part of Ireland which is now County Meath. He was baptized by St. Patrick, and became his favorite disciple and his coadjutor in the See of Armagh (450). His gentle and lovable disposition suggested the name Benen, which has been Latinized as Benignus. He followed his master in all his travels, and assisted him in his missionary labors, giving most valuable assistance in the formation of choral services. From his musical acquirements he was known as “Patrick’s psalm-singer”, and he drew thousands of souls to Christ by his sweet voice. St. Benignus is said not only to have assisted in compiling the great Irish code of Laws, or Senchus Mor, but also to have contributed materials for the “Psalter of Cashel”, and the “Book of Rights”. He was present at the famous synod which passed the canon recognizing “the See Of the Apostle Peter” as the final court of appeal in difficult cases, which canon is to be found in the Book of Armagh. St. Benignus resigned his coadjutorship in 467 and died at the close of the same year. His feast is celebrated on the 9th of November. Most authorities have identified St. Patrick’s psalm-singer with the St. Benignus who founded Kilbannon, near Tuam, but it is certain, from Tirechán’s collections in the Book of Armagh, that St. Benignus of Armagh and St. Benignus of Kilbannon were two distinct persons. The former is described as son of Sesenen of County Meath, whilst the latter was son of Lugni of Connaught, yet both were contemporaries. St. Benignus of Kilbannon had a famous monastery, where St. Jarlath was educated, and he also presided over Drumlease. His sister, Mathona, was Abbess of Tawney, in Tirerrill.

CAPGRAVE, Nova Legenda Angliæ (1516), fol. 36, for the oldest lives of the saint; see also HARDY, Descriptive Catalogue, etc., 1, 89; WARE-HARRIS, Antiquities of Ireland. 1, 34. II 6: O’HANLON, Lives of Irish Saints (9 November), XI; WHITLEY STOKES (ed.), Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, Rolls Series (London, 1887), in index s. v. BENÉN, BENIGNUS; Bibl. Hagiogr. Lat. (1898), 172, 1324; FORBES in Dict. of Christ. Biog., 1, 312. The very ancient Leabhar-na-gceart or Book of Rights, said to have been compiled by BENIGNUS was edited by O’DONOVAN for the Celtic Society (Dublin. 1847). BENIGNUS is also said to have been the original compiler of the Psalter of Cashel (see CASHEL).

W. H. Grattan-Flood (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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Death is preferable to the telling of a lie

November 9, 2026

Jean Mathias Loras who was guillotined at Lyons, November 9, 1793.

The days of revolution and schism were bearing heavily upon France, and the head of the Loras family had occasion to show of what stern stuff he was made. John Mathias Loras, the father of the future bishop [Bishop Loras, first bishop of Dubuque, Iowa], was imprisoned for loyalty to social order and religious unity. In vain his wife, accompanied by her eleven children, holding by the hand the youngest of them, Mathias, knelt before the chief agent of the revolution in Lyons, to implore mercy for the protector of her little ones; she could not stay the hand eager to slay.

Madame Loras, with her 11 children, imploring Couthon to release her husband.

The mockery of a trial was granted to him. As Monsieur Loras was led before the judge, friends advised that, in his replies, he should in some degree explain away his past acts and dissemble the motives which had inspired them. “What,” he quickly answered, “tell a lie to save my life? Never!” Shortly before he was led to the scaffold he was asked, as was the custom, whether he desired any favor that might in the circumstances be granted to him. “Yes,” he said, “I desire to see my pastor, the parish priest of the Church of St. Paul.” The priest was hurriedly called. The intrepid Loras spoke aloud: “Sir, you have given your adhesion to the schism now desolating France. I know, however, that to those in danger of death any priest may give absolution; I wish, therefore, to make my confession to you, but, I pray you, understand that I have no part with you in your schism.”

Bishop Mathias Loras, First Bishop of Dubuque, Iowa, whose family was murdered during the French Revolution. Bishop Loras died on February 19, 1858.

A brother of John Mathias Loras followed him within a few days to the fatal guillotine because he, too, had upheld order and religion. Two sisters of Madame Loras died martyrs, their ” crime” being that they had concealed in their home faithful priests who would not submit to the schism imposed upon the country by the revolutionary government. Our future bishop sprang, indeed, front a race of saints and martyrs.

After the death of Monsieur Loras the family possessions, which had been considerable, were confiscated, and Madame Loras was left without fortune and without helpmate to rear and educate her large family.

Madame Etiennette Michalet Loras

Rev. Louis de Cailly, Memoirs of Bishop Loras, First Bishop of Dubuque, Iowa, and of members of his family from 1792 to 1858 (n.c.: Christian Press Association Publishing Co., 1897), pp. xiv-xvi.

Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 142

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November 9 – He burned the pagan temple while out on bail

November 9, 2026

St. Theodore of Amasea

Surnamed Tyro (Tiro), not because he was a young recruit, but because for a time he belonged to the Cohors Tyronum (Nilles, Kal. man., I, 105), called of Amasea from the place where he suffered martyrdom, and Euchaita from the place, Euchais, to which his body had been carried, and where he was held in such veneration that the city was frequently spoken of as Theodoropolis. His martyrdom seems to have taken place 17 Feb., 306, under the Emperors Galerius Maximian and Maximin, for on this day the Menologies give his feast. The Greeks and Armenians honour him also on the first Saturday of Lent, while the Roman Martyrology records him on 9 Nov. In the twelfth century his body was transferred to Brindisi, and he is there honoured as patron; his head is enshrined at Gaeta. There are churches bearing his name at Constantinople, Jerusalem, Damascus, and other places of the East. An ancient church of Venice, of which he is titular, is said to have been built by Narses. At the foot of the Palatine in Rome is a very old church, circular in shape and dedicated to S. Teodoro, whom the Roman people call S. Toto, which was made a collegiate church by Felix IV. The people showed their confidence in the saint by bringing their sick children to his temple. His martyrdom is represented in the choir of the cathedral of Chartres by thirty-eight glass paintings of the thirteenth century (Migne, “Dict. iconogr.”, 599). He is invoked against storms. Emblems: temple, torch, crocodile, pyre, crown of thorns.

St. Gregory of Nyssa delivered a panegyric on his feast and gave several data concerning his life and martyrdom (P.G., XLVI, 741, and Ruinart, 505). The oldest text of the “Martyrium S. Theodori Tironis” was published by Delehaye in “Les legendes grecques des saints militaires”, p. 227, but it is considered largely interpolated (Anal. Boll., XXX, 323). St. Theodore is said to have been born in the East (Syria or Armenia are mentioned by some writers). He enlisted in the army and was sent with his cohort to winter quarters in Pontus. When the edict against the Christians was issued by the emperors, he was brought before the Court at Amasea and asked to offer sacrifice to the gods. Theodore, however, denied their existence and made a noble profession of his belief in the Divinity of Jesus Christ. The judges, pretending pity for his youth, gave him time for reflection. This he employed in burning the Temple of Cybele. He was again taken prisoner, and after many cruel torments was burned at the stake.

BUTLER, Lives of the Saints; Dict. of Christ. Biog.; STADLER, Heiligenlexikon; ARMELLINI, Le chiese di Roma (Rome, 1887); Allard, Hist. des persecut., V (Paris, 1908), 44; CHEVALIER, Bio-Bibl., II, 4410.

FRANCIS MERSHMAN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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November 10 – Who Was the First Pope to Be Called “Great,” and Why?

November 9, 2026

Pope St. Leo I (the Great)

Place and date of birth unknown; died 10 November, 461. (Reigned 440-61).

Leo’s pontificate, next to that of St. Gregory I, is the most significant and important in Christian antiquity. At a time when the Church was experiencing the greatest obstacles to her progress in consequence of the hastening disintegration of the Western Empire, while the Orient was profoundly agitated over dogmatic controversies, this great pope, with far-seeing sagacity and powerful hand, guided the destiny of the Roman and Universal Church.

Leo was descended of a noble Tuscan family, but born at Rome. His father’s name was Quintianus. Our earliest certain historical information about Leo reveals him a deacon of the Roman Church under Pope Celestine I (422-32). Even during this period he was known outside of Rome, and had some relations with Gaul, since Cassianus in 430 or 431 wrote at Leo’s suggestion his work “De Incarnatione Domini contra Nestorium” (Migne, P.L., L, 9 sqq.), prefacing it with a letter of dedication to Leo.

During the pontificate of Sixtus III (422-40), Leo was sent to Gaul by Emperor Valentinian III to settle a dispute and bring about a reconciliation between Aëtius, the chief military commander of the province, and the chief magistrate, Albinus. This commission is a proof of the great confidence placed in the clever and able deacon by the Imperial Court. Sixtus III died on 19 August, 440, while Leo was in Gaul, and the latter was chosen his successor. Returning to Rome, Leo was consecrated on 29 September of the same year, and governed the Roman Church for the next twenty-one years.

Whilst the Eastern empire was distracted by heretical factions, the Western was harassed by barbarians. Attila the Hun, enriched with the plunder of many nations and cities, marched against Rome. The Huns, a savage nation from that part of Scythia which now lies in Muscovy, had passed the Palus Mæotis, in 276, and made their first inroads upon the coasts of the Caspian Sea, and as far as Mount Taurus in the East. Almost two hundred years after this, Attila, the most powerful and barbarous of all the kings of that nation, in 433, had marched first into the East, then subject to Theodosius the Younger, and having amassed a vast booty in Asia, returned into Pannonia, where he was already master of a large territory.

His next expedition was directed against the western part of the empire. His army marching through Germany, drew along with it additional supplies from all the barbarous nations near which it passed, and amounted at length to the number of five hundred, Jornandes says seven hundred thousand fighting men; all stirred up by no other motive than the hope of great spoils from the plunder of the richest countries of the empire. Entering Gaul, Attila laid in ruins Tongres, Triers, and Metz. Troyes was spared by him, at the entreaty of St. Lupus, and St. Nicasius preserved Rheims. The barbarian had just taken Orleans by storm, when Aëtius, the Roman general, came up with him, expelled him that city, and followed him to the plains of Mauriac or Challons, which, according to Jornandes, were extended in length one hundred miles, and seventy in breadth, and seem to have comprised the whole country, known since the sixth century under the name of Champagne. Here Attila halted, and when Aëtius with the Romans, Visigoths, and Burgundians, came up, these vast fields seemed covered with troops. In a most bloody battle, the Huns were here discomfited. Attila, enraged at this defeat, and having repaired his losses of the former year, entered Italy by Pannonia, in 453, took and burned Aquileia, and filled the whole country with blood and desolation. Some of the inhabitants, who fled from his arms into the little islands in the shallow lakes at the head of the Adriatic Gulf, here laid the foundations of the city of Venice, which we find named by Cassiodorus, fifty years after this event. Attila sacked Milan, razed Pavia, and wherever he passed laid waste whole provinces. The weak Emperor Valentinian III shut himself up in Ravenna, and the Romans, in the utmost terror, expected to see the barbarian speedily before their gates. Such was the state of affairs when Leo went to meet Attila.

November 10 – St. Andrew Avellino

November 9, 2026

Born 1521 at Castronuovo, a small town in Sicily; died 10 November, 1608. His baptismal name was Lancelotto, which out of love for the cross he changed into Andrew when he entered the Order of Theatines. From his early youth he was a great lover of chastity. After receiving his elementary training in the school of Castronuovo, he was sent to Venice to pursue a course in the humanities and in philosophy. Being a handsome youth, his chastity was often exposed to danger from female admirers, and to escape their importunities he took ecclesiastical tonsure. Hereupon he went to Naples to study canon and civil law, obtained the degree of Doctor of Laws and was ordained priest at the age of twenty-six. For some time he held the office of lawyer at the ecclesiastical court of Naples. One day, while pleading the cause of a friend, a lie escaped his lips in the heat of argument. When, soon afterwards, his eyes fell upon the passage in the Bible, “The mouth that belieth killeth the soul” (Wis. i, 11), he felt deep remorse, renounced his profession as ecclesiastical lawyer and for some time devoted himself entirely to holy meditation and other spiritual exercises. The Archbishop of Naples now commissioned him to reform a convent at Naples, which by the laxity of its discipline had become a source of great scandal. By his own example and his untiring zeal he restored the religious discipline of the convent but not without many and great difficulties. Certain wicked men who were accustomed to have clandestine meetings with the nuns became exasperated at the saint’s interference, and one night he was assaulted and severely wounded. He was brought to the monastery of the Theatines to recuperate. Here, however, he resolved to devote himself entirely to God and he entered the Order of Theatines, which had but recently been founded by St. Cajetan. On the vigil of the Assumption he was invested, being then thirty-five years of age. After completing his novitiate, he obtained permission to visit the tombs of the Apostles and the Martyrs at Rome, and, upon his return was made master of novices. After holding this office ten years he was elected superior. His holy zeal for strict religious discipline, and for the purity of the clergy, as well as his deep humility and sincere piety induced the General of his Order to entrust him with the foundation of two new Theatine houses, one at Milan, the other at Piacenza.

Burial of Saint Andrew Avellino

By his efforts many more Theatine houses rose up in various diocese of Italy. As superior of some of these new foundations he was so successful in converting sinners and heretics by his prudence in the direction of souls and by his eloquent preaching, that numerous disciples thronged around him, eager to be under his spiritual guidance. One of the most noteworthy of his disciples was Lorenzo Scupoli, the author of that still popular book “The Spiritual Combat”. St. Charles Borromeo was an intimate friend of Avellino and sought his advice in the most important affairs of the Church. Through indefatigable in preaching, hearing confessions, and visiting the sick, Avellino still had time to write some ascetical works. His letters were published in 1731, at Naples, in two volumes, and his other ascetical works, three years later in five volumes. On 10 November, 1608, when beginning the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, he was stricken with apoplexy, and after devoutly receiving the Holy Viaticum, died the death of a saint at the age of eighty-eight. In 1624, only sixteen years after his death, he was beatified by Urban VIII, and in 1712 was canonized by Clement XI. He is venerated as patron by Naples and Sicily and invoked especially against a sudden death. His earthly remains lie buried in the Church of St. Paul at Naples.

BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, 10 Nov.; BARING-GOULD, Lives of the Saints (London, 1877); SCHMID in Kirchenlex., STADLER, Heiligen-Lexikon (Augsburg, 1858), I, 193.

MICHAEL OTT (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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November 10 – Pope Paul III

November 9, 2026

(ALESSANDRO FARNESE).

Born at Rome or Canino, 29 Feb., 1468; elected, 12 Oct., 1534; died at Rome, 10 Nov., 1549. The Farnese were an ancient Roman family whose possessions clustered about the Lake at Bolsena. Although counted among the Roman aristocrats, they first appear in history associated with Viterbo and Orvieto. Among the witnesses to the Treaty of Venice between Barbarossa and the pope, we find the signature of a Farnese as Rector of Orvieto; a Farnese bishop consecrated the cathedral there. During the interminable feuds which distracted the peninsula, the Farnese were consistently Guelph. The grandfather of the future pontiff was commander-in-chief of the papal troops under Eugenius IV; his oldest son perished in the battle of Fornuovo; the second, Pier Luigi, married Giovannella Gaetani, sister to the Lord of Sermoneta. Among their children were the beautiful Giulia, who married an Orsini, and Alessandro, later Paul III. Alessandro received the best education that his age could offer; first at Rome, where he had Pomponio Leto for a tutor; later at Florence in the palace of Lorenzo the Magnificent, where he formed his friendship with the future Leo X, six years his junior. His contemporaries praise his proficiency in all the learning of the Renaissance, especially in his mastery of classical Latin and Italian. With such advantages of birth and talent, his advancement in the ecclesiastical career was assured and rapid. On 20 Sept., 1493 (Eubel), he was created by Alexander VI cardinal-deacon with the title SS. Cosmas and Damian. He wore the purple for over forty years, passing through the several gradations, until he became Dean of the Sacred College. In accordance with the abuses of his time, he accumulated a number of opulent benefices, and spent his immense revenue with a generosity which won for him the praises of artists and the affection of the Roman populace. His native ability and diplomatic skill, acquired by long experience, made him tower above his colleagues in the Sacred College, even as his Palazzo Farnese excelled in magnificence all the other palaces of Rome. That he continued to grow in favour under pontiffs so different in character as the Borgia, Rovera, and Medici popes is a sufficient proof of his tact.

He had already on two previous occasions, come within measurable distance of the tiara, when the conclave of 1534, almost without the formality of a ballot, proclaimed him successor to Clement VII. It was creditable to his reputation and to the good will of the cardinals, that the factions which divided the Sacred College were concordant in electing him. He was universally recognized as the man of the hour, and the piety and zeal, which had characterized him after he was ordained priest, caused men to overlook the extravagance of his earlier years.

Pope Paul III with his Grandsons Alessandro and Ottavio Farnese

The Roman people rejoiced at the election to the tiara of the first citizen of their city since Martin V. Paul III was crowned 3 Nov., and lost no time in setting about the most needed reforms. No one, who has once studied his portrait by Titian, is likely to forget the wonderful expression of countenance of that worn-out, emaciated form. Those piercing little eyes, and that peculiar attitude of one ready to bound or to shrink, tell the story of a veteran diplomat who was not to be deceived or taken off guard. His extreme caution, and the difficulty of binding him down to a defininte obligation, drew from Pasquino the facetious remark that the third Paul was a “Vas dilationis.” The elevation to the cardinalate of his grandsons, Alessandro Farnese, aged fourteen, and Guido Ascanio Sforza, aged sixteen, displeased the reform party and drew a protest from the emperor, but this was forgiven, when shortly after, he introduced into the Sacred College men of the calibre of Reginald Pole, Contanini, Sadoleto, and Caraffa.

Soon after his elevation, 2 June, 1536, Paul III summoned a general council to meet at Mantua in the following May; but the opposition of the Protestant princes and the refusal of the Duke of Mantua to assume the responsibility of maintaining order frustrated the project. He issued a new bull, convoking a council at Vicenza, 1 May, 1538; the chief obstacle was the renewed enmity of Charles V and Francis I. The aged pontiff induced them to hold a conference with him at Nizza and conclude a ten years’ truce. As a token of good will, a granddaughter of Paul was married to a French prince, and the emperor gave his daughter, Margaret, to Ottavio, the son of Pier Luigi, founder of the Farnese dynasty of Parma.

Many causes contributed to delay the opening of the general council. The extension of power which a re-united Germany would place in the hands of Charles was so intolerable to Francis I, that he, who persecuted heresy in his own realm with such cruelty that the pope appealed to him to mitigate his violence, became the sworn ally of the Smalcaldic League, encouraging them to reject all overtures to reconciliation. Charles himself was in no slight measure to blame, for, notwithstanding his desire for the assembling of a council, he was led into the belief that the religious differences of Germany might be settled by conferences between the two parties. These conferences, like all such attempts to settle differences outside of the normal court of the Church, led to a waste of time, and did far more harm than good. Charles had a false idea of the office of a general council. In his desire to unite all parties, he sought for vague formulæ to which all could subscribe, a relapse into the mistakes of the Byzantine emperors. A council of the Church, on the other hand, must formulate the Faith with such precision that no heretic can subscribe to it. It took some years to convince the emperor and his mediating advisors that Catholicism and Protestantism are as opposite as light and darkness. Meanwhile Paul III set about the reform of the papal court with a vigour which paved the way for the disciplinary canons of Trent. He appointed commissions to report abuses of every kind; he reformed the Apostolic Camera, the tribunal of the Rota, the Penitentiaria, and the Chancery. He enhanced the prestige of the papacy by doing single-handed what his predecessors had reserved to the action of a council. In the constantly recurring quarrels between Francis and Charles, Paul III preserved a strict neutrality, notwithstanding that Charles urged him to support the empire and subject Francis to the censures of the Church. Paul’s attitude as a patriotic Italian would have been sufficient to prevent him from allowing the emperor to be sole arbiter of Italy. It was as much for the purpose of securing the integrity of the papal dominions, as for the exaltation of his family, that Paul extorted from Charles and his reluctant cardinals the erection of Piacenza and Parma into a duchy for his son, Pier Luigi. A feud arose with Gonzaga, the imperial Governor of Milan, which ended later in the assassination of Pier Luigi and the permanent alienation of Piacenza from the Papal States.

Pope Paul III approves the Society of Jesus.

When the Treaty of Crespi (18 Sept., 1544) ended the disastrous wars between Charles and Francis, Paul energetically took up the project of convening a general council. Meanwhile it developed that the emperor had formed a programme of his own, quite at variance in some important points with the pope’s. Since the Protestants repudiated a council presided over by the Roman pontiff, Charles was resolved to reduce the princes to obedience by force of arms. To this Paul did not object, and promised to aid him with three hundred thousand ducats and twenty thousand infantry; but he wisely added the proviso, that Charles should enter into no separate treaties with the heretics and make no agreement prejudicial to the Faith or to the rights of the Holy See. Charles now contended that the council should be prorogued, until victory had decided in favour of the Catholics. Furthermore, foreseeing that the struggle with the preachers of heresy would be more stubborn than the conflict with the princes, he urged the pontiff to avoid making dogmas of faith for the present and confine the labours of the council to the enforcement of discipline. To neither of these proposals could the pope agree. Finally, after endless difficulties (13 Dec., 1545) the Council of Trent held its first session. In seven sessions, the last 3 March, 1547, the Fathers intrepidly faced the most important questions of faith and discipline. Without listening to the threats and expostulations of the imperial party, they formulated for all time the Catholic doctrine on the Scriptures, original sin, justification, and the Sacraments. The work of the council was half ended, when the outbreak of the plague in Trent caused an adjournment to Bologna. Pope Paul was not the instigator of the removal of the council; he simply acquiesced in the decision of the Fathers. Fifteen prelates, devoted to the emperor, refused to leave Trent. Charles demanded the return of the council to German territory, but the deliberations of the council continued in Bologna, until finally, 21 April, the pope, in order to avert a schism, prorogued the council indefinitely. The wisdom of the council’s energetic action, in establishing thus early the fundamental truths of the Catholic creed, became soon evident, when the emperor and his semi-Protestant advisers inflicted upon Germany their Interim religion, which was despised by both parties. Pope Paul, who had given the emperor essential aid in the Smalcaldic war, resented his dabbling in theology, and their estrangement continued until the death of the pontiff.

Paul’s end came rather suddenly. After the assassination of Pier Luigi, he had struggled to retain Piacenza and Parma for the Church and had deprived Ottavio, Pier Luigi’s son and Charles’s son-in-law, of these duchies. Ottavio, relying on the emperor’s benevolence, refused obedience; it broke the old man’s heart, when he learned that his favourite grandson, Cardinal Farnese, was a party to the transaction. He fell into a violent fever and died at the Quirinal, at the age of eighty-two. He lies buried in St. Peter’s in the tomb designed by Michelangelo and erected by Guglielmo della Porta. Not all the popes repose in monuments corresponding to their importance in the history of the Church; but few will be disposed to contest the right of Farnese to rest directly under Peter’s chair. He had his faults; but they injured no one but himself. The fifteen years of his pontificate saw the complete restoration of Catholic faith and piety. He was succeeded by many saintly pontiffs, but not one of them possessed all his commanding virtues. In Rome his name is written all over the city he renovated. The Pauline chapel, Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine, the streets of Rome, which he straightened and broadened, the numerous objects of art associated with the name of Farnese, all speak eloquently of the remarkable personality of the pontiff who turned the tide in favour of religion. If to this we add the favour accorded by Paul to the new religious orders then appearing, the Capuchins, Barnabites, Theatines, Jesuits, Ursulines, and many others, we are forced to confess that his reign was one of the most fruitful in the annals of the Church.

PANVINIUS, Pont. Romanorum vitæ; PALLAVICINI, Concilio di Trento; PASTOR, Gesch. der Päpste, V; EHSES, Concilium Tridentinum, V; VON RANKE, Hist. of the Popes in the XVI-XVIII Centuries: ARTAUD DE MONTOR, Hist. of the Popes (New York, 1867).

JAMES F. LOUGHLIN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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Brotherly Treatment Between Superiors and Subordinates Should Not Eliminate the Variety of Conditions and the Diversity of Social Classes

November 9, 2026

Painting by João Zeferino da Costa

[From Benedict XV’s encyclical Ad beatissimi Apostolorum, of November 11, 1914]:

“Human fraternity, indeed, will not remove the diversities of conditions and therefore of classes. This is not possible, just as it is not possible that in an organic body all the members should have one and the same function and the same dignity.

The Young Schoolmistress by Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin

But it will cause those in the highest places to incline toward the humblest and to treat them not only according to justice, as is necessary, but kindly, with affability and tolerance, and will cause the humblest to regard the highest with sympathy for their prosperity and with confidence in their support, in the same way as in one family the younger brothers rely on the help and defense of the elder ones.”

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American Catholic Quarterly Review, Vol. 39 (October 1914), pp. 673-674 in Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII: A Theme Illuminating American Social History (York, Penn.: The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property, 1993), Documents V, p. 483.

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November 11 – Patron of Veterans and Soldiers

November 9, 2026

St. Martin of Tours

Bishop; born at Sabaria (today Steinamanger in German, or Szombathely in Hungarian), Pannonia (Hungary), about 316; died at Candes, Touraine, most probably in 397.

Museum Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal. Saint Martin on horseback sharing his cloak with a begger. France, Loire Valley, 1531. Limestone.

In his early years, when his father, a military tribune, was transferred to Pavia in Italy, Martin accompanied him thither, and when he reached adolescence was, in accordance with the recruiting laws, enrolled in the Roman army. Touched by grace at an early age, he was from the first attracted towards Christianity, which had been in favor in the military camps since the conversion of Emperor Constantine.

His regiment was soon sent to Amiens in Gaul, and this town became the scene of the celebrated legend of the cloak. At the gates of the city, one very cold day, Martin met a shivering and half-naked beggar. Moved with compassion, he divided his coat into two parts and gave one to the poor man. The part kept by himself became the famous relic preserved in the oratory of the Frankish kings under the name of “St. Martin’s cloak”.

Martin, who was still only a catechumen, soon received baptism, and was a little later finally freed from military service at Worms on the Rhine. As soon as he was free, he hastened to set out to Poitiers to enroll himself among the disciples of St. Hilary, the wise and pious bishop…

Although Equal by Nature, Men Should Not Occupy the Same Position in Social Life

November 9, 2026

From Benedict XV’s encyclical Ad beatissimi Apostolorum, of November 11, 1914:

Face to face with those to whom either fortune or their own activity has brought an abundance of wealth stand the proletaires and the workers, inflamed with hatred and jealousy because, although they share the same nature, they are not in the same condition. Infatuated as they are by the fallacies of agitators, to whose guidance they are ordinarily most docile, who should persuade them that it does not follow because men are equal by nature that all ought to occupy the same grade in society, but that every one holds that position which his qualifications, if circumstances permit, have procured for him?

Chinese poster saying: “Destroy the old world; build a new world.” Classic example of the Red art from the early Cultural Revolution. Worker crushes the Crucifix, Buddha and classical Chinese texts with his hammer; 1966.

Wherefore when the needy struggle against those who are well to do, as if the latter had taken possession of property that belonged to others, they not only offend against justice and charity, but even against reason, because they also, if they desired, could by means of honorable labor succeed in improving their condition. What consequences, not less inconvenient for individuals than for the community, this class hatred begets it is needless to say. (American Catholic Quarterly Review, Vol. 39 (October 1914), pp. 673-674).

Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII: A Theme Illuminating American Social History (York, Penn.: The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property, 1993), Documents V, pp. 482-483.

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Challenging American Myths about Equality: Part Two

November 5, 2026

Continued From Part One

First of all, to enforce such a situation is nearly impossible and would require dictatorial government power. Nevertheless, steps in its direction have been pushed on more than one occasion in America. In fact, bills promoting a 100% estate tax have been brought to the floor of the US House of Representatives for debate on more than one occasion. This would mean that when you die, everything you have goes to the state so that your children cannot benefit from what you have earned in your lifetime.

Sarita Kenedy East, 1889–1961. At the time of her husband and brother’s death, Sarita Kenedy East and her sister-in-law were in charge of 400,000-acre ranch in La Parra, Texas. In 1952 she received the Ecclesia et Pontifice medal and membership in the Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem from Pope Pius XII for her service to the Church. She was also named an honorary member of the Franciscans and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. She bequeathed La Parra ranch headquarters and 10,000 acres of land to the Oblate Fathers and 13,000 acres to the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

Right off the bat, I can think of two problems with this idea. The first is that it is unjust because it contradicts God’s designs for the family. The second is that it prevents the formation of true elites and thus encumbers much of the good that they are able to do for society.

Let’s look more closely at each of these issues. The first is that denying a privileged status to the children of an elite is fundamentally unjust. Why do I say this? At first glance, a meritocracy seems to be the height of justice, since each individual gets the benefits he personally deserves and nothing more.

However, this way of thinking profoundly denies the dynamics of the human family as God instituted it. If we look at nature, we see that most, if not all of the animals, do not constitute families in the way that humans do. For example, after a certain amount of time a mother dog no longer recognizes the scent of her pups. When this happens, she separates from them completely and they become just like any other dog to her.

We can see this same pattern with other animals as well. Once Snow Leopards, also known as ghost cats, reach maturity, they live completely solitary lives for the rest of their days, each one with a territory of at least 40 square miles where no other snow leopard is allowed outside of mating season.

Even those animals that form into packs or herds should be more likened symbolically to living in a society, but not a real family.

However, when God instituted the human family, He did so in such a way, that strong bonds are naturally formed between all its members that will last at least throughout this earthly life and perhaps persist into eternity as well. Unlike dogs, human mothers never stop recognizing their children.

Because of these bonds, one of the primary drives of the human family is to work for the well-being of all its members. I remember Dr. Plinio once said that the human family is the only institution wherein the divine precept of “love thy neighbor” is easy to practice.

Thus, it is not surprising that one of the primary desires of every good father is to leave his children in a better situation than the one in which he entered the world. In light of this, he has a right to dispose of his possessions during his life and after his death to make this desire a reality. To deny a father this right is the height of injustice.

We can see that it is also unjust if society does not favor the children of a father who has sacrificed himself for the common good of society, thus depriving his family of many goods they would have otherwise had. The greater the service the father has rendered and the more he sacrificed for this service, the more acute is the obligation of society towards his children and the greater the injustice if these benefits are withheld.

This obligation comes from the virtue of gratitude, whereby one owes retribution for the favors he has received. In fact, St. Thomas says that to truly practice the virtue of gratitude, one must give back more than he has received. He justifies this in the Summa, saying:

“Gratitude regards the favor received according the intention of the benefactor; who seems be deserving of praise, chiefly for having conferred the favor gratis without being bound to do so. Wherefore the beneficiary is under a moral obligation to bestow something gratis in return. Now he does not seem to bestow something gratis, unless he exceeds the quantity of the favor received: because so long as he repays less or an equivalent, he would seem to do nothing gratis, but only to return what he has received. Therefore gratitude always inclines, as far as possible, to pay back something more.” (Summa part 2 of part 2 question 106)

I know that is a little complicated, but the idea is that since the benefactor gave more than he was obliged to give, in giving back to him, we should follow his example and return to him more than what we are strictly obliged to give him.

The Attentive Nurse by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin.

In justice, this gratitude must extend to the benefactor’s children as well, since they make up part of the indissoluble unit which is the family. Dr. Plinio once likened this to a dedicated nurse who devoted her life to care for a wealthy sick man. That man is obliged to give a proportional recompense to the nurse’s son for the services rendered to him. Since truly great men can be compared to the nurses of society, who maintain and even restore its health and vivacity, society owes a similar debt to his children.

So, we have seen that very strong bonds are formed between the members of a family. These bonds are so strong, they cause family members to identify with one another to an extraordinary degree. This is why they even share a last name. In addition to a name, many goods that the family has are, to a certain degree, shared by all of its members. In other words, there are certain goods of the family to which every member has a collective right.

One such good is the honors that are gained by any member of the family. In some way, these become collective property of the entire family. That is why if one of our father’s had won a Nobel prize, we would have a share in that honor as being the son of a Nobel laureate.

This is pretty obvious. What is especially noteworthy about this, is that this type of honor persists throughout generations. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have the honor of having His Imperial and Royal Highness, Prince Bertrand with us at this conference. The fact that His Highness is a direct descendant of St. Louis IX, together with several other saints and extraordinary men it should be added, is a personal distinction and honor for Prince Bertrand.

Similarly, but to a much lesser degree, if one of us were a descendant of George Washington or General Patton, that would be an honor for us which would be recognized even by the public. Just meeting a descendant of George Washington or General Patton would be something that would at least provide material for conversation.

This fact, that God intended the glory and honor of great men to pass on to their descendants is even biblical. In the book of Ecclesiasticus we read:

“Rich men in virtue, studying beautifulness: living at peace in their houses. All these have gained glory in their generations, and were praised in their days. They that were born of them have left a name behind them, that their praises might be related: … But these were men of mercy, whose godly deeds have not failed:

“Good things continue with their seed, Their posterity are a holy inheritance, and their seed hath stood in the covenants. And their children for their sakes remain forever: their seed and their glory shall not be forsaken.”

In this, we catch a beautiful glimpse at the mysterious bonds of heredity. A purely materialistic man would see in heredity nothing beyond the transmission of genes from one generation to the next. Such a notion is not Catholic because it denies the union of body and soul.

Bertrand of Orleans-Braganza, Prince Imperial of Brazil

While it is true that the qualities of a father do not always pass on to his son, most of the time they do. Just as there are many fools who have been born of wise men, it is undeniable that many social and even spiritual characteristics are transmitted throughout generations. In fact, this is the norm and when this does not happen, it is the exception. The fruit normally doesn’t fall far from the tree.

A Young man from a poor family triumphantly shows his diploma to his patroness.

F. Georg Waldmüller (1861). Belvedere Art Collections, Vienna, Austria.

This was observed by sociologist Paul Mott who wrote: “The most obvious fact about mobility in our society is that the son is very likely to have the same occupational position as his father, or to be one rank above or below him. Movement from one extreme of the occupational status to the other is very unlikely.”

A good example of this is a prominent French family of woodcutters called the Pinons. They were a family that produced the best woodcutters in France for centuries. In fact, they had been in the business of woodcutting for longer than France had been a nation, for when Rome conquered Gaul they had helped clear out the forest for the invasion.

As you can imagine, throughout the centuries, they acquired a lot of fame in the woodcutting industry. In fact, they became known as the best woodcutters in all of France. They became so renown that each year, the King of France would send a special birthday message to the family’s Patriarch.

One year, King Louis XIV decided that it was time to move this family up a notch in the social scale of France, so when he sent his yearly birthday greetings, he offered to grant the patriarch a noble title.

Very beautifully, Maitre Pinon turned him down and sent the king the following message. He said: “Thank you Your Majesty, but I must decline your generous offer, for I would rather be the greatest of the woodcutters in France than the least of her nobles.”

It’s a beautiful story, but for our purposes it proves the value of heredity. This family had consistently produced excellent woodcutters for some 1800 years. Ladies and Gentlemen, that is no coincidence. There was clearly something hereditary in the Pinons that was highly conducive to form excellence in their field.

Was it something genetic? Was it a special act of divine providence? Was it the action of a guardian angel of their family? Was it something in the way they raised their children? Was it in the water they drank? Or was it a combination of all this and more?

I do not really know and I do not know if it is entirely knowable. However, we see this hereditary aspect alive in family lineages all throughout history. General MacArthur was the fifth generation of generals in his family. Similarly, Generals Robert E Lee and George Patton descended from a line of generals.

Prince Bertrand traces His royal lineage to Hugh Capet who was king of the Franks from 987-996. However, even Hugh’s father was a powerful duke who had descended from Charlemagne’s son Pepin. In other words, His Highness’ family has produced excellent leaders for well over a millennium. Once again, this is no coincidence.

In fact, this notion of heredity has led to innumerable dynasties throughout history. Hence, we see families of doctors, families of lawyers, families of soldiers and workmen. When this happens, these families tend to perfect their common profession is a special way.

Pope Pius XII spoke of the reality and importance of heredity in society in His Allocution to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility on January 5, 1941. This is a long quote, so you will have to bear with me a bit, but it is so beautiful that I did not want to cut anything out of it. His Holiness stated:

“The nature of this great and mysterious thing that is heredity – the passing on through a bloodline, perpetuated from generation to generation, of a rich ensemble of material and spiritual assets, the continuity of a single physical and moral type from father to son, the tradition that unites members of one same family across the centuries – the true nature of this heredity can undoubtedly be distorted by materialistic theories. But, one can, and must also, consider this reality enormously important in the fullness of its human and supernatural truth…

“Yet of greater import still is spiritual heredity, which is transmitted not so much through these mysterious bonds of material generation as by the permanent action of that privileged environment that is the family, with the slow and profound formation of souls in the atmosphere of a hearth rich in high intellectual, moral, and especially Christian traditions, with the mutual influence of those dwelling under one same roof, an influence whose beneficial effects endure well beyond the years of childhood and youth, all the way to the end of a long life, in those elect souls who are able to meld within themselves the treasures of a precious heredity with the addition of their own merits and experiences.

“Such is the most prized patrimony of all, which, illuminated by a solid faith and enlivened by a strong and loyal practice of Christian life in all its demands, will raise, refine, and enrich the souls of your children.”

Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, founder of the du Pont business dynasty. The Du Ponts have been one of this country’s richest families since the mid-19th century, when they founded their fortune in the gunpowder business.

This then, is the first reason that meritocracy is erroneous. It is unjust because it denies the evident designs that God, in His Providence, has for the formation of lineages through heredity.

The other problem with meritocracy that we will be discussing is that it prevents the formation of true elites and thus bars the development of their role in society. To understand this, we must spend some time discussing what, exactly, is the role of elites in society.

One of the, or perhaps the greatest role that elites fulfill in society is to acquire and embody the greatest qualities of their people. They do this by developing the Catholic virtues to an eminent degree. Dr. Plinio lists the virtues in which the elites must especially shine. These include: honor, abnegation, courage, magnanimity, respect and honesty.

The elites must embody these virtues to a very high degree and then project them throughout society in their actions and ways of being. Thus, their role is to be a beacon and model of virtue that stands out and provides society with role models to be emulated.

In describing the aristocracy, the American Appendix to the book Nobility affirms that elites synthesize and augment everything good about their communities.

I quote: “In effect, every city or region has what could be called a collective personality or a “common soul” that, in a certain sense, is worth more than the collective sum of its individual personalities. This “common soul” is a synthesis of the perfections towards which its individuals, families, and classes tend. It is the collective product of their march towards perfection.

“The aristocrat best expresses this “common soul.” By elevating himself to a standard above the community, he becomes its embodiment. For this reason, he has the mission of representing its particular spirit. The superior task of the aristocrat is to conserve that spirit, elevate it, and make it progress. Thus his vocation is towards the common good.”

This is why the elite of society give definition to the best of what a people have to offer and, through their example and efforts, raise society to a higher level. They provide all society with an upward thrust. In the speech Dr. Plinio gave for the launching of the Nobility book in the United States, he described this role in the following words:

“To uplift mankind requires painful effort which most of humanity resists. This vast ascension must be accomplished on a national, regional and even family level. Its motivation are those individuals or small groups specially endowed in nature and grace, with such a desire to improve themselves and their surroundings, that they become the driving forces of individual improvement and social progress. In a word, they are the yeast, society the dough.”

Well, the formation of such a group of individuals is no easy task. In fact, it is so difficult that cannot occur in one generation. That sort of excellence is the product of generations of refinement of a family in which each successive generation has the substance to raise the family’s level one degree higher. Only after many generations of this ascensional march can the true elite appear in all his glory.

There is a common saying that you can take the boy out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of the boy. In fact, you can take the country out of the boy, it just takes many lifetimes to do it.

Again, we know this instinctively. Conversion works the same way. Individuals can convert from paganism to Catholicism and become wonderful people who personally can even become saints. However, the formation of a truly Catholic soul takes generations.

St. José de Anchieta preaching in Brazil.

There is a striking example of this in the life of St. Joseph of Anchieta, the great apostle of Brazil. One day, he came across an Indian woman he had converted. She was sitting alone in the city and was very downcast. Desirous to lift her mood, St. Joseph approached her and asked what was wrong. She responded that, while sitting there she became very hungry and was filled with the desire to grab one of the town’s children, cut off his arm and eat it. She now realized how wrong this was and so she was discouraged.

This was a good Catholic woman who was praying and frequenting the sacraments. While there was nothing sinful about her demented desire in itself, we can see that the savage roots of paganism went deep into her soul and these roots were not automatically extricated by the waters of Baptism. Being Catholic, her soul still needed a few centuries of Catholic culture before all the horrors of paganism would be weeded out. That is why it is said that a man’s education begins 500 years before he is born.

This, then, is the last problem with meritocracy that we will discuss. Since a meritocracy demands that everyone begins life with the same status, it makes the formation of true elites impossible, because the formation of a true elite takes generations of excellence and privilege. If one were to remove the privileged status of the children of great men, this slow refinement process would always be limited to a single generation and would never bear the fruits that are possible to it.

The last myth we will discuss is that elites may have had an important role in the past, but their time has come and gone. We live in the 21st Century and the type of society that is led by elites is simply no longer possible.

I would respond that one of the greatest things missing from our society is solid leadership. That is why true elites are timelier than ever. I once read a definition of aristocracy that I think says it all. It said aristocracy is leadership by the best. If there has ever been a time in the history of humanity in which we have needed the best among us to lead, it is now.

To Be Continued….

Part One

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November 5 – Her name means “God is an oath”

November 5, 2026

St. Elizabeth

(God is an oath—Ex., vi, 23)

Visitation of Our Lady and St. Elizabeth by Bl. Fra Angelico

Zachary’s wife and John the Baptist’s mother, was “of the daughters of Aaron” (Luke, i, 5), and, at the same time, Mary’s kinswoman (Luke, i, 36), although what their actual relationship was, is unknown. St. Hippolytus (in Niceph. Call., Hist. Eccles., II, iii) explains that Sobe and Anna their mothers were sisters, and that Sobe had married a “son of Levi”. Whether this indication, probably gathered from some apocryphal writings, and later on adopted by the compilers of the Greek Menologium, is correct, cannot be ascertained. Elizabeth, like Zachary, was “just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame” (Luke, i, 6).

The Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Elizabeth with Our Lord and St. John the Baptist.

She had been deprived, however, of the blessings of motherhood until, at an advanced age, a son was promised her by the Angel Gabriel (Luke, i, 8-20). When, five months later, Elizabeth was visited in her home by the Virgin Mary, not only was her son sanctified in her womb, but she herself was enlightened from on high to salute her cousin as “the mother of my Lord” (Luke, i, 43).

The Visitation; Cuzco, Peru 1700s.

According to some modern critics, we should even attribute to her the canticle “Magnificat”. After the birth and circumcision of John the Baptist, the Gospels do not mention Elizabeth any more. Her feast is celebrated on September 8 by the Greeks, and November 5 in the Latin Church.

CHARLES L. SOUVAY (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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Maria Feodorovna, Tsarina of all the Russias, Patron of the Impoverished Nobility

November 5, 2026

Maria Feodorovna, wife of Paul I, Tsarina of all the Russias

Maria Feodorovna, Tsarina of all the Russias, was born princess of Württemberg on October 25, 1758. She was the second wife of Tsar Paul I, who fought against Napoleon Bonaparte, when the latter began to expand the egalitarian tenets of the French Revolution militarily to the rest of Europe.

Painting by Galaktionov S. F. of the Smolny Institute in 1823.

Among her numerous accomplishments, Tsarina Maria is justly celebrated for building the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens in 1806-08. Impoverished members of the Russian nobility sent their young daughters to this imperial finishing school which prepared them for the arduous life and responsibilities of a noblewoman, be it at court, be it elsewhere.

The last graduates of the Smolny Institute before the Revolution of 1917.

While the normal academic disciplines were not neglected, the Smolny Institute specialized in developing the social graces and cultural talents of the young ladies entrusted to its charge.

Tsarina Maria’s patronage of the Smolny Institute was a most wise and beneficent initiative and it gave rise to similar institutions for young girls of the nobility throughout the Russian Empire, for example, the Institute for Noble Ladies in Kiev, Ukraine.

For over 100 years, the young ladies graduating from the halls of the Smolny Institute contributed in no small measure to the brilliance, influence and glory of the Russian nobility within the Empire and throughout European high society. This noble influence endured until the atheistic and egalitarian Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.

Tsarina Maria died in Pavlosk, Russia, on November 5, 1828.

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November 6 – We know nothing about him, except his miracles

November 5, 2026

St. Leonard of Limousin

Nothing absolutely certain is known of his history, as his earliest “Life”, written in the eleventh century, has no historical value whatever. According to this extraordinary legend, Leonard belonged to a noble Frankish family of the time of King Clovis, and St. Remy of Reims was his godfather. After having secured from the king the release of a great number of prisoners, and refused episcopal honours which Clovis offered him, he entered a monastery at Micy near Orleans. Later he went to Aquitaine and there preached the Gospel. Having obtained, through prayer, a safe delivery for the Queen of the Franks in her confinement, he received as a gift from the king a domain at Noblac, near Limoges, where he founded a monastery. The veneration of this saint is as widely known as his history is obscure and uncertain.

It is true that there is no trace of it before the eleventh century, but from that time it spread everywhere, and little by little churches were dedicated to him, not only in France, but in all Western Europe, especially in England, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, more particularly in Bavaria, and also in Bohemia, Poland, and other countries. Pilgrims, among them kings, princes, and high dignitaries of the Church, flocked to Noblac (now St. Leonard). Numerous miracles are attributed to him, and in one small town alone, Inchenhofen, Bavaria, from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century, there are records of about 4000 favours granted through his intercession. The saint wrought the delivery of captives, women in confinement, those possessed of an evil spirit, people and beasts afflicted with diseases. At the end of the eleventh century his name had already become renowned among the Crusaders captured by the Mussulmans. He is generally represented holding chains in his hands. His feast day is celebrated on 6 November.

PONCELET in Acta SS., November, III, 139-209; see also CHEVALIER, Bio-Bibl., s.v.

A. Poncelet (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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November 7 – Blessed Francis Palau y Quer

November 5, 2026

Born    December 29, 1811, in Aitona, Lleida, Spain
Died    20 March 1872, in Tarragona, Spain
Beatified    April 24, 1988
Feast    November 7

Discalced Carmelite Spanish priest. He founded “The School of the Virtue” — which was a model of catechetical teaching for adult persons—at Barcelona. In 1860-61, he also founded a mixed Congregation of Third Order of Discalced Carmelites, both Brothers and Sisters, in Balearic Islands. He preached popular missions and spread veneration of Our Lady wherever he went. Francisco Palau understood the beauty of the Church. What had been a confusing oscillation from solitude to service and back to solitude again made sense for him when he recognised that the real Church is the congregation of humans in the whole Christ. God and neighbours together, is his Beloved.

Early life

He was born on December 29, 1811 in Aytona, Lerida, Spain. He was 7th of the nine children of Jose Palau and Maria Antonia Quer. He was baptized on the same day according to the family tradition and the custom in the country.

The year he was born was a year of hunger and life became harder because of the French invasion has reached the village of Aytona. They were a humble family who worked in the farm. After a day’s labor, they used to gather together to pray the rosary.

They were actively involved in the parish life. His father and all of his siblings, including himself, were members of the choir and fervent in the reception of the sacraments.

He studied at the town school and through the help of his sister Rosa, he pursued higher education.

At 14, he decided to become a priest. He frequented the seminary classes first, as a day pupil.

At Lerida, he finally entered the diocesan seminary on October 1828. For four years, he was granted a “Porcionista” scholarship which means he was a full scholar with free board and lodging.

In 1832, he formally relinquished his scholarship to enter postulant at the Discalced Carmelites convent of Lérida.

Discalced Carmelite

He entered Barcelona Carmel on October 23, 1832 as a novice. On November 14, 1832, he was given his habit and took the religious name “Fr. Francisco of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph”. Francisco professed solemnly on November 15, 1833—it was a time when religious persecution was beginning in Spain. He was aware of the situation but courageous, and he never retracted his option. He continued his studies of theology in the Convent of San Jose in Barcelona.

On July 25, 1835, convents and monasteries in Barcelona were vandalized and burned. The San Jose Convent was one of those burned down. Looking after others, he helped the ancient friars to get safely out of fire.

Apostle and founder

He continued his life of asceticism in his hometown where he alternated solitude and apostolic activities, living in a cave situated 2 km from the village. He was ordained priest in Barbastro, Spain on April 2, 1836.

His first charge was as an Apostolic Missionary because of his great spirituality and apostolic activity in the dioceses of Cataluna and Aragon.

Since the government looked with suspicion on all the priests and clerics, on July 21, 1840, even if he never mingled really in politics,Fr. Palau was obliged to cross the Pyrenees to live in exile in France for eleven years up to April 1851. There he continued to live his solitary life in the castle of Montdesir, Livron, and then in Cantayrac. During his last years staying there, his form of living, shocking for many people, drew the attention of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. To defend himself, he wrote: La Vida Solitaria (The Solitary Life) and El solitario de Cantayrac (The loner).

He returned to Spain on April 13, 1851. He became the spiritual director of the local seminarians in Barcelona. At the same time he organized the School of Virtue in the Parish Church of San Agustin with its weekly Sunday school for adults, (1851–1854), based on the virtues from the Catecismo de las Virtudes (Catechism of Virtues) and with a programme of 52 propositions on the current ideological movements. The liberals in power protested against the school. As a consequence, it was suppressed and Fr. Palau was confined in Ibiza for six years (1854–1860).

He remained banished for 6 years. He found an islet, a towering rock, El Vedra, near Ibiza and, needing solitude, he used to retire and pray there seeking God’s will. He established a hermitage in Es Cubells where he enthroned the image of Our Lady of the Virtues, establishing the first Marian sanctuary on the island, and promoting devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary among the islanders.

In 1860–1861, he reorganized the hermits of San Honorato de Randa in Mallorca and initiated the foundation of a Carmelite family – the Congregation – Third Order of Discalced Carmelites of the Congregation of Spain.

He started to write Mis Relaciones Con la Iglesia (My Relations With the Church), a sort of autobiographical journal, partly written in the idyllic solitude of El Vedra, transmitting his experience of the Church conceived as God and neighbors.

He was authorized and nominated Founder and Director of the Carmelite Tertiaries of Spain in 1867. In 1868, he initiated in Barcelona the weekly publication of El Ermitano (The Hermit). He assisted the sick and he practiced exorcism. He even created a project for a religious order exclusively in order to exorcise.

The Tomb of Bl. Palau in the chapel of the Carmelite Missionaries of Tarragona.

While fully immersed in his apostolic and foundational work, he was infected as he helped the sick at Calasanz, reaching Tarragona, Spain on March 10, 1872, he died on March 20, 1872 at 60 years of age assisted by the Sisters.

After the Spanish Civil War that ended in 1939, Little Brothers who survived were incorporated into the Teresian Carmel. The sisters are now flourishing in two congregations: Teresian Carmelite Missionaries and Carmelite Missionaries.

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November 7 – Bl. Bernardine of Fossa

November 5, 2026

Bl. Bernardine of Fossa

Of the Order of Friars Minor, historian and ascetical writer, b. at Fossa, in the Diocese of Aquila, Italy, in 1420; d. at Aquila, 27 November, 1503. Blessed Bernardine belonged to the ancient and noble family of the Amici, and sometimes bears the name of Aquilanus on account of his long residence and death in the town of Aquila. He received his early training at Aquila and thence went to Perugia to study canon and civil law. On the 12th of March in the year 1445, he received the Seraphic habit from St. James of the Marches who was then preaching a course of Lenten sermons at Perugia. From the time of his entrance into religion, Bernardine never ceased to advance in religious perfection, and the success which crowned his missionary labours throughout Italy, as well as in Dalmatia and Serigonia, bears witness to the eminent sanctity of his life. Bernardine fulfilled the office of provincial of the province of St. Bernardine and of the province of Dalmatia and Bosnia, and would have been chosen Bishop of Aquila had not his humility forbidden him to accept this dignity. His cult was approved by Leo XII, 26 March, 1828. His feast is kept in the Franciscan Order on the 7th of November. The writings of Blessed Bernardine include several sermons and divers ascetical and historical opuscules; among the latter, the “Chronica Fratrum Minorum Observantiae” deserves special mention. This interesting chronicle was first edited by Leonard Lemmens, O.F.M., from the autograph manuscript, and is prefaced by an interesting life of Blessed Bernardine and a critical estimate of his writings. It may also be mentioned that Bernardine is the author of the first life of his patron, St. Bernardine of Siena.

Leo, Lives of the Saints and Blessed of the three Orders of St. Francis (Taunton, 1887), IV, 42-44; Lemmens, Chronica Fratrum Minorum Observantiae B. Bernardini Aquilani (Rome, 1905); Wadding, Annales Minorum, XII, 277- 480; Hurter, Nomenclator, IV, 968; Hugh a Pescocostanza, Vita del B. Bernardino da Fossa (Naples, 1872).

STEPHEN M. DONOVAN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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November 7 – He Went on Crusade to Atone for His Sins

November 5, 2026

Saint Engelbert of Cologne

Archbishop of that city (1216-1225); born at Berg, about 1185; died near Schwelm, 7 November 1225. His father was Engelbert, Count of Berg, his mother, Margaret, daughter of the Count of Gelderland. He studied at the cathedral school of Cologne and while still a boy was, according to an abuse of that time, made provost of the churches of Saint George and Saint Severin at Cologne, and of Saint Mary’s at Aachen. In 1199 he was elected provost of the cathedral at Cologne.

Seal of Archbishop Engelbert I

He led a worldly life and in the conflict between Archbishops Adolf and Bruno sided with his cousin Adolf, and waged war for him. He was in consequence excommunicated by the pope together with his cousin and deposed in 1206. After his submission he was reinstated in 1208 and, to atone for his sin, joined the crusade against the Albigenses in 1212. On 29 February 1216, the chapter of the cathedral elected him archbishop by a unanimous vote. In appearance he was tall and handsome. He possessed a penetrating mind and keen discernment, was kind and condescending and loved justice and peace, but he was also ambitious and self willed. His archiepiscopal see had passed through severe struggles and suffered heavily, and he worked strenuously to repair the damage and to restore order. He took care of its possessions and revenues and was on that account compelled to resort to arms. He defeated the Duke of Limburg and the Count of Cleves and defended against them also the countship of Berg, which he had inherited in 1218 on the death of his brother. He restrained the impetuous citizens of Cologne, broke the stubbornness of the nobility, and erected strongholds for the defense of his territories. He did not spare even his own relations when guilty. In this way he gained the universal veneration of his people and increased the number of his vassals from year to year. Although in exterior bearing a sovereign rather than a bishop, for which he was blamed by pious persons, he did not disregard his duties to the Church, but strove to uplift the religious life of his people. The mendicant orders which had been founded shortly before his accession, settled in Cologne during his administration, the Franciscans in 1219, the Dominicans in 1221. He was well disposed towards the monasteries and insisted on strict religious observance in them. Ecclesiastical affairs were regulated in provincial synods. Blameless in his own life, he was a friend of the clergy and a helper of the poor.

Equestrian statue of Engelbert I of Cologne at Schloss Burg in Solingen

In the affairs of the empire Engelbert exerted a strong influence. Emperor Frederick II, who had taken up his residence permanently in Sicily, gave Germany to his son, Henry VII, then still a minor, and in 1221 appointed Engelbert guardian of the king and administrator of the empire. When the young king reached the age of twelve he was crowned at Aachen, 8 May 1222, by Engelbert, who loved him as his own son and honored him as his sovereign. He watched over the king’s education and governed the empire in his name, careful above all to secure peace both within and without the realm. At the Diet of Nordhausen (24 September 1223) he made an important treaty with Denmark; in the rupture between England and France he sided with England and broke off relations with France. The poet Walther von der Vogelweide extols him as “Master of sovereigns”, and “True guardian of the king, thy exalted traits do honor to our emperor; chancellor whose like has never been”.

Engelbert’s devotion to duty, and his obedience to the pope and to the emperor were eventually the cause of his ruin. Many of the nobility feared rather than loved him, and he was obliged to surround himself with a body-guard. The greatest danger threatened him from among his relations. His cousin, count Frederick of Isenberg, the secular administrator for the nuns of Essen, had grievously oppressed that abbey. Honorius III and the emperor urged Engelbert to protect the nuns in their rights. Frederick wished to forestall the archbishop, and his wife incited him to murder. Even his two brothers, the Bishops of Münster and Osnabrück, were suspected as privy to the matter. Engelbert was warned, commended himself to the protection of Divine Providence, and amid tears made a confession of his whole life to the Bishop of Minden. On 7 November 1225, as he was journeying from Soest to Schwelm to consecrate a church, he was attacked on a dark evening by Frederick and his associates in a narrow defile, was wounded in the thigh, torn from his horse and killed. His body was covered with forty-seven wounds. It was placed on a dung-cart and brought to Cologne on the fourth day. King Henry wept bitterly over the remains, put the murderer under the ban of the empire, and saw him broken on the wheel a year later at Cologne. He died contrite, having acknowledged and confessed his guilt. His associates also perished miserably within a short time. The crime, moreover, was disastrous for the German Empire, for the young king had now lost his best adviser and soon met a very sad fate, to the misfortune of his house and country.

Reliquary of St. Engelbert

Engelbert, by his martyrdom made amends for his human weaknesses. His body was placed in the old cathedral of Cologne, 24 February 1226, by Cardinal Conrad von Urach. The latter also declared him a martyr; a formal canonization did not take place. In 1618 Archbishop Ferdinand ordered that his feast be celebrated on 7 November and solemnly raised his remains in 1622. In the martyrology Engelbert is commemorated on 7 November, as a martyr. A convent for nuns was erected at the place of his death. By order of Engelbert’s successor, Henry I, Cæsarius of Heisterbach, who possessed good information and a ready pen, wrote in 1226 the life of the saint in two books and added a third about his miracles.

Gabriel Meier (1909 Catholic Encyclopedia)

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November 8 – Charlemagne sent him to his enemies

November 5, 2026

St. Willehad

In this mural painting in the city hall of Bremen, Charlemagne and St. Willehad flank the Cathedral of Bremen as it appeared c1532

Bishop at Bremen, born in Northumberland before 745; died at Blecazze (Blexen) on the Weser, 8 Nov., 789. He was a friend of Alcuin, and probably received his education at York under St. Egbert. After his ordination, with the permission of King Alchred he was sent to Frisia between 765 and 774. He cannot, therefore, have been a disciple of St. Boniface, as Baronius states in the Roman Martyrology, for St. Boniface had left England in 718 and had died in 754 (755). Willehad came to Dockum, where St. Boniface had received the crown of martyrdom, and made many conversions. He crossed the Lauwers, but met with little success at Hugmarke (now Humsterland in the Diocese of Münster). He was obliged to leave and went to Trianthe (Drenthe in the Diocese of Utrecht). At first all seemed favourable, but later he made little progress. In 780 he was sent by Charlemagne to Wigmodia near the North Sea, between the Weser and the Elbe. There God’s blessing accompanied his labours, and he built many churches. The insurrection of the Saxons under Widukind in 782 put an end to his work, many of his companions were killed and his churches destroyed.

Willehad escaped and went to Rome, where he was received by Adrian I. He then retired to the Abbey of Echternach, and applied himself to the task of copying books, among others he transcribed the Epistles of St. Paul. When the insurrection had been suppressed by Charlemagne Willehad returned to Wigmodia and continued his labours. He was consecrated bishop at Worms on 13 July, 787, and fixed his residence at Bremen, where he built a cathedral, dedicated on Sunday 1 Nov., 789, in honour of St. Peter. A few days later, while on a missionary tour, he was attacked with a fever and died. His body, buried at the place of his death, was transferred by his successor St. Willericus to the stone church built by him and placed in a chapel. A feast on 13 July commemorates the date of his consecration. During the Reformation his relics were lost. His feast was neglected and then forgotten; by permission, however, of the Sacred Congregation of Rites it was reintroduced in 1901 in the Dioceses of Munser, Osnabruck, and Paderborn to be observed on a vacant day after 8 November. His life was written by a cleric of Bremen after 838, but perhaps before 860. The account of his miracles was written by St. Ansgar.

BUTLER, Lives of the Saints; Staunton, A Menology of England; HAUCK, Kirchengesch. Deutschl., II (Leipzig, 1904), 350, etc.; WATTENBACH, Deutsch. Geschichtsqu., I (Berlin, 1904), 296.

FRANCIS MERSHMAN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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Commentaries on Charlemagne and St. Willehad of Bremen

November 5, 2026

by Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira

“Saint Willehad, bishop and confessor was the first bishop of Bremen, diocese created by Emperor Charlemagne after his conquests. In the year 788, the 21st of his reign, Charlemagne gave that see a certificate that read: “In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Charles, by the will of Divine Providence, King.

“With the help of the God of hosts we achieved victory in our wars, and from Him alone we received our glory, and it is from Him that we expect happiness and prosperity in this world and an eternal reward in the next.

“Hail to all the faithful of Christ! Hail to all the Saxons saved from their perfidious obstinacy, those who rebelled against our ancestors and who were for a long time rebellious against us and God, until we conquered them not by our strength, but by the strength of the Cross of the Lord.

“From His mercy did we receive the grace of Baptism, which we brought to them, offering them liberty and releasing them from all tributes they owed us. For the love of the One who gave us the victory, we declared them our subjects.

“Since they refused that gift and the yoke of our power, they were defeated by our arms and by the Faith. From now on, they are obliged to pay to Our Lord Jesus Christ and His priests a tithe of all their animals, fruits and crops.”

This text does not lend itself to a comment about St. Willehad because it simply says that he was bishop of Bremen and then mentions Charlemagne’s decree establishing the Bremen diocese in the year 788, so we are obliged to comment about the decree.

It seems a bit extravagant to do a Saint of the Day about a decree. If one reads a decree today one finds nothing to make a ‘Saint of the Day’ with. Take, for example, a decree on traffic regulations, or one – like the one here – creating a new tax. What can that have to do with the spiritual life?

What is interesting for us here is to compare the two decrees so that we can see the complete change of ambience from Christian civilization to the civilization of our days.

Here the emperor specifies the ways in which the tribute must be paid to the Church and makes it obligatory.

In this mural painting in the city hall of Bremen, Charlemagne and St. Willehad flank the Cathedral of Bremen as it appeared c1532

It is interesting to note the close relationships between the civil and ecclesiastical powers at that time, the care the civil power took of the ecclesiastical power, and how the former abundantly provided for the maintenance of the clergy, the worship and the Cathedral of Bremen, first of all for the glory of God and then for the Christianization of those semi-pagan peoples.

Another interesting point is how the emperor describes his own role in enacting the tribute. He shows that the Saxons, a pagan people, were conquered by his arms and he has a right of conquest upon them. He had a legitimate right of conquest because the Saxons were very aggressive and continuously invaded the lands of the Franks, whose king was Charlemagne. They also made provocations, carrying out lootings and crimes in cities along the borders, and seeking to impose their pagan religion on the local people.

So Charlemagne went on a crusade in defense of the Catholic religion, invaded their lands and defeated them. He later went overboard by establishing the principle “believe or die” – those who refused to be baptized, were killed. Naturally, the number of baptisms was huge, and so was that of capital executions. On the occasion, there flowed torrents of baptismal water and blood.

Challenging American Myths about Equality

November 2, 2026

Talk given by Mr. Michael Whitcraft at the 2026 National Conference in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania. Due to the length of this talk, it will be given here in three parts. Imperial and Royal Highness, TFP directors, members, supporters and friends, good afternoon. I must say that I am excited about our talk this afternoon. If […]

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Purgatory in Painting

November 2, 2026

I have read in the Dictionary of Education a very amusing anecdote, which may, nevertheless, be cited of what I have said of All Souls’ Day. Certain canons over 1,000 years ago, having had to repair their Church, added to it a chapel dedicated to the Souls in Purgatory. The Sculptor who was charged with […]

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The Institution Of All Souls’ Day

November 2, 2026

It was St. Odilo of Cluny who first appointed one day every year to be set aside in a special manner for prayer for the faithful departed. It happened that a certain religious belonging to France was returning home from Palestine, where he had gone to visit the places consecrated by the foot steps of […]

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November 2 – His mother celebrated his death as if it were a wedding

November 2, 2026

Blessed John Bodey Martyr, born at Wells, Somerset: 1549; died at Andover, Wilts., 2 November, 1583. He studied at Winchester and New College, Oxford, of which he became a Fellow in 1568. In June, 1576, he was deprived, with seven other Fellows, by the Visitor, Horne, Protestant Bishop of Winchester. Next year he went to […]

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November 3 – Patron of Buckingham

November 2, 2026

St. Rumwold of Buckingham His father was king of Northumberland, his mother a daughter of Penda, king of the Mercians. He was born at Sutthun, and baptized by Widerin, a bishop, the holy priest Eadwold being his godfather. He died very young on the 3rd of November and was buried in Sutthun by Eadwold. The […]

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November 3 – The patron of the hunt

November 2, 2026

St. Hubert Confessor, thirty-first Bishop of Maastricht, first Bishop of Liège, and Apostle of the Ardennes, born about 656; died at Fura (the modern Tervueren), Brabant, 30 May, 727 or 728. He was honored in the Middle Ages as the patron of huntsmen, and the healer of hydrophobia (rabies). He was the eldest son of […]

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November 4 – Her gentleness changed his heart

November 2, 2026

Bl. Frances d’Amboise Duchess of Brittany, afterwards Carmelite nun, born 1427; died at Nantes, 4 Nov., 1485. The daughter of Louis d’Amboise, Viscount de Thouars, she was betrothed when only four years old, to Peter, second son of John V, Duke of Brittany, the marriage being solemnized when she had reached the age of fifteen. […]

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November 4 – Fearless and Faithful, He Reformed the Church

November 2, 2026

St. Charles Borromeo Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal-Priest of the Title of St. Prassede, Papal Secretary of State under Pius IV, and one of the chief factors in the Catholic Counter-Reformation , was born in the Castle of Arona, a town on the southern shore of the Lago Maggiore in northern Italy, 2 October, 1538; died […]

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Two Concepts of Society: A Family of Families or a Concentration Camp

October 29, 2026

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira A young peasant woman of Castile solicitously and tenderly gazes at the son she cradles in her arms. In her one sees a certain rusticity typical of peasants, but it is a rusticity where the coarseness implicit in the term ‘rustic’ is, so to speak, imperceptible. Rather, country life has concentrated […]

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October 29 – King turned monk, his people begged him to lead them in battle against Penda

October 29, 2026

Saint Sigebert King and martyr, date of birth unknown; died about 637, was the stepbrother of Earpwald, king of the East Angles. During the reign of Redwald he lived an exile in Gaul where he received baptism and became an ardent Christian. Earpwald died about 627, and East Anglia seems to have relapsed into anarchy […]

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October 29 – One of the Martyrs of Douai

October 29, 2026

Blessed Edward Waterson Born at London; martyred at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 7 January 1594 (1593 old style). A romantic episode marks this martyr’s early career, for as a young man he travelled to Turkey with some English merchants, and attracted the attention of a wealthy Turk, who offered him his daughter in marriage if he would embrace […]

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October 30 – St. Marcellus the Centurion, Martyr

October 29, 2026

St. Marcellus the Centurion, Martyr The birthday of the emperor Maximian Herculeus was celebrated in the year 298, with extraordinary feasting and solemnity. Pompous sacrifices to the Roman gods made a considerable part of this solemnity. Marcellus, a Christian centurion or captain of the legion of Trajan, then posted in Spain, not to defile himself […]

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October 30 – Patroness of the Teutonic Knights

October 29, 2026

St. Dorothea of Montau, recluse, born at Montau, 6 February, 1347, died at Marienwerder, 25 June, 1394. At the age of seventeen she married the sword-cutler Albrecht of Danzig, a hot-tempered man, whose nature underwent a change through her humility and gentleness. Both made frequent pilgrimages to Cologne, Aachen, and Einsiedeln, and they intended (1390) […]

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October 31 – He forced the devil to build a church

October 29, 2026

St. Wolfgang Bishop of Ratisbon (972-994), born about 934; died at the village of Pupping in upper Austria, 31 October, 994. The name Wolfgang is of early German origin. St. Wolfgang was one of the three brilliant stars of the tenth century, St. Ulrich, St. Conrad, and St. Wolfgang, which illuminated the early medieval period […]

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Luther Thought He Was Divine!

October 29, 2026

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira I do not understand how men of the Church today, including some of the most cultured, learned, and illustrious, mythicize the figure of Luther, the heresiarch, in their zeal to favor an ecumenical rapprochement directly with Protestantism and indirectly with all the religions, schools of philosophy, and so forth. Do […]

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November 1 – Warrior bishop

October 29, 2026

St. Genesius (of Lyons) (Or GENESTUS.) Thirty-seventh Archbishop of Lyons, d. 679. Feast, 1 November. He was a native of France, not of Arabia or Armenia as is sometimes stated and became a religious and abbot (not of Fontenelle, but) attached to the court and camp of Clovis II where he acted as chief almoner […]

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All Saints Day: How many saints were noble?

October 29, 2026

All Saint’s Day: Is Being Noble and Leading a Noble’s Life Incompatible with Sanctity? by Plinio Correa de Oliveira The current misunderstanding of nobility and the analogous traditional elites results largely from the adroit but biased propaganda spread against them by the French Revolution. Such propaganda, continuously disseminated throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by […]

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The Knight Rejoices in the Fight

October 26, 2026

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira You can imagine: in the deserts of the ancient times, the deserts of Arabia, Egypt, etc., before the fall of the Roman Empire of the West, two or three hundred years after Jesus Christ, the anchorites would go to the desert to flee the temptations of Roman and Greek cities, […]

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October 26 – Laid to rest next to St. Peter

October 26, 2026

Pope Saint Evaristus Date of birth unknown; died about 107. In the Liberian Catalogue his name is given as Aristus. In papal catalogues of the second century used by Irenaeus and Hippolytus, he appears as the fourth successor of St. Peter, immediately after St. Clement. The same lists allow him eight years of reign, covering […]

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October 26 – Their black magic could not withstand the sign of the cross

October 26, 2026

Sts. Lucian and Marcian Lucian and Marcian living in the darkness of idolatry applied themselves to the vain study of the black art; but were converted to the faith by finding their charms lose their power upon a Christian virgin, and the evil spirits defeated by the sign of the cross. Their eyes being thus […]

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The Hummingbird

October 26, 2026

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. Catolicismo, No. 707, November 2009(*) ONCE as I was sitting in the small porch of a farmhouse, a hummingbird suddenly stopped in the air and began sucking nectar from the flowers of climbing ivy. He ‘kissed’ each flower in turn. The hummingbird’s flight was similar to an arrow’s trajectory — […]

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October 27 – Apostle of Africa

October 26, 2026

Sts. Edesius and Frumentius Tyrian Greeks of the fourth century, probably brothers, who introduced Christianity into Abyssinia; the latter a saint and first Bishop of Axum, styled the Apostle of Abyssinia, d. about 383. When still mere boys they accompanied their uncle Metropius on a voyage to Abyssinia. When their ship stopped at one of […]

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October 27 – This Christian King Invaded Arabia

October 26, 2026

St. Elesbaan, King of Ethiopia, Confessor The Axumite Ethiopians, whose dominions were extended from the western coast of the Red Sea, very far on the continent, were in the sixth century a powerful and flourishing nation. St. Elesbaan their king, during the reign of Justin the Elder, in all his actions and designs had no […]

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October 28 – Uncommon Valor

October 26, 2026

Col. John W. Ripley: Uncommon Valor By Jeremias Wells An American Knight When a society no longer respects and honors the fighting men willing to shed their blood for its principles, the fault lies not with the fighting men but with society itself. Ingratitude is a subtle vice, but a vice nevertheless. Saint Thomas Aquinas […]

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October 28 – Saint, Soldier, Statesman

October 26, 2026

Saint Alfred the Great In this incomparable prince were united the saint, the soldier, and the statesman in a most eminent degree. Sir Henry Spelman (Conc. Brit.) gives us his character in a rapture. “O, Alfred,” says he, “the wonder and astonishment of all ages! If we reflect on his piety and religion, it would […]

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October 22 – St. Wendelin of Trier

October 22, 2026

St. Wendelin of Trier Born about 554; died probably in 617. His earliest biographies, two in Latin and two in German, did not appear until after 1417. Their narrative is the following: Wendelin was the son of a Scottish king; after a piously spent youth he secretly left his home on a pilgrimage to Rome. […]

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October 23 – The amazing story of San Juan Capistrano and the Siege of Belgrade

October 22, 2026

St. John of Capistrano Born at Capistrano, in the Diocese of Sulmona, Italy, 1385; died 23 October, 1456. His father had come to Naples in the train of Louis of Anjou, hence is supposed to have been of French blood, though some say he was of German origin. His father dying early, John owed his […]

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October 23 – Made eunuch because he was prince

October 22, 2026

St. Ignatius of Constantinople Born about 799; died 23 October, 877; son of Emperor Michael I and Procopia. His name, originally Nicetas, was changed at the age of fourteen to Ignatius. Leo the Armenian having deposed the Emperor Michael (813), made Ignatius a eunuch and incarcerated him in a monastery, that he might not become […]

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October 23 – Gentle Birth, But Not Gentle Death

October 22, 2026

Blessed Thomas Thwing Martyr. Born at Heworth Hall, near York, in 1635; suffered at York, 23 Oct., 1680. His father was George Thwing, Esq., of Kilton Castle and Heworth, nephew of Venerable Edward Thwing; his mother was Anne, sister of the venerable confessor Sir Thomas Gasciogne, of Barnbrow Hall. Educated at Douai, he was sent […]

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October 24 – Confessor to the Queen

October 22, 2026

St. Antonio María Claret y Clará Spanish prelate and missionary, born at Sallent, near Barcelona, 23 Dec., 1807; died at Fontfroide, Narbonne, France, on 24 Oct., 1870. Son of a small woollen manufacturer, he received an elementary education in his native village, and at the age of twelve became a weaver. A little later he […]

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October 25 – The original hood

October 22, 2026

Hugh Capet King of France, founder of the Capetian dynasty, born about the middle of the tenth century; died about 996, probably 24 October. He was the second son of Hugh the Great, Count of Paris, and Hedwig, sister of Otto I, German Emperor, and was about ten years old when he inherited from his […]

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October 25 – Memorial of Forty Martyrs of England and Wales

October 22, 2026

February 27 – Are You Hiding a Priest? May 4 – They believed in the religious exemption, but only at first May 22 – Queen’s Confessor June 19 – Execution of second group of those who believed in the religious exemption, but only at first August 30 – She smuggled a priest out of prison

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October 25 – Crispin and Crispian and the baron of Renty

October 22, 2026

Martyrs of the Early Church who were beheaded during the reign of Diocletian; the date of their execution is given as 25 October, 285 or 286. It is stated that they were brothers, but the fact has not been positively proved. The legend relates that they were Romans of distinguished descent who went as missionaries […]

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October 19 – Founding Fathers

October 19, 2026

St. Isaac Jogues French missionary, born at Orléans, France, 10 January, 1607; martyred at Ossernenon, in the present State of New York, 18 October, 1646. He was the first Catholic priest who ever came to Manhattan Island (New York). He entered the Society of Jesus in 1624 and, after having been professor of literature at […]

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October 19 – This Earl was found guilty of praying, and starved to death in the Tower

October 19, 2026

Saint Philip Howard Martyr, Earl of Arundel; born at Arundel House, London, 28 June 1557, died in the Tower of London, 19 October, 1595. He was the grandson of Henry, Earl of Surrey, the poet, executed by Henry VIII in 1547, and son of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk executed by Elizabeth 1572. Philip II of […]

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October 20 – Emperor Marcian

October 19, 2026

Marcian (Marcianus, Μαρκιᾶνος), Roman Emperor at Constantinople, born in Thrace about 390; died January, 457. He became a soldier; during his early life he was poor, and it is said that he arrived at Constantinople with only two hundred pieces of gold, which he had borrowed. He served in the army under Ardaburius the Alan […]

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The Catholic Knight Who Stopped Slavery in West Africa

October 19, 2026

By Joanna Bogle The Catholic cemetery at Mortlake in South West London has an agreeably rural feel, and is worth a visit: it’s about 20 minutes from Waterloo on the line going down to Richmond, and a short walk from the station. It is chiefly famous for the large stone, tent-shaped tomb of the 19th-century […]

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October 21 – In battle they called him “The Hammer”

October 19, 2026

Charles Martel Born about 688; died at Quierzy on the Oise, 21 October, 741. He was the natural son of Pepin of Herstal and a woman named Alpaïde or Chalpaïde. Pepin, who died in 714, had outlived his two legitimate sons, Drogon and Grimoald, and to Theodoald, a son of the latter and then only […]

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October 21 – Blessed Karl, Emperor of Austria

October 19, 2026

(Also known as Carlo d’Austria, Charles of Austria) Born August 17, 1887, in the Castle of Persenbeug in the region of Lower Austria, his parents were the Archduke Otto and Princess Maria Josephine of Saxony, daughter of the last King of Saxony. Emperor Francis Joseph I was Charles’ Great Uncle. Charles was given an expressly […]

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Colonel José de Escandón is ennobled for establishing settlers in South Texas

October 19, 2026

[D]on José [de Escandón] lost little time in acting but did not sacrifice effectiveness to haste. Working with his lieutenants to conduct a publicity campaign along the frontier, he and his officers had little difficulty recruiting potential settlers….Among those recruited as settlers in the new province were ranchers who already owned large herds of livestock […]

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