22 February 2026
The Life of Her Majesty the Queen Victoria of the UK ~ (1819–1901)
From The Romanian Monarchist
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days—which was longer than those of any of her predecessors—constituted the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. In 1876, the British Parliament voted to grant her the additional title of Empress of India.
Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (the fourth son of King George III), and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After the deaths of her father and grandfather in 1820, she was raised under close supervision by her mother and her comptroller, John Conroy. She inherited the throne aged 18 after her father's three elder brothers died without surviving legitimate issue. Victoria, a constitutional monarch, attempted privately to influence government policy and ministerial appointments; publicly, she became a national icon who was identified with strict standards of personal morality.
Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, earning Victoria the sobriquet "grandmother of Europe". After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, British republicanism temporarily gained strength, but in the latter half of her reign, her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond jubilees were times of public celebration. Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, at the age of 81. The last British monarch of the House of Hanover, she was succeeded by her son Edward VII of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Metaphysics: 5. Substance and Essence
With Ralph McInerny (R+I+P), PhD, late Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Jacques Maritain Centre, & Michael P. Grace Professor of Medieval Studies, Notre Dame.
Georgia Martyrs To Be Beatified on October 31 in USA
We'll soon have five new Beati! Five Franciscans who were martyred in what is now Georgia, for defending the dignity of marriage.
From Aleteia
By Philip Kosloski
Five Franciscan friars were killed for upholding the dignity of marriage in what would later become the United States of America.Originally reported by OSV News, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints’ website lists October 31, 2026, as the day when the "Georgia Martyrs" will be beatified at a ceremony in the United States.
The Diocese of Savannah, Georgia, has yet to announce the exact details of the beatification ceremony.
Pope Francis recognized the martyrdom of these five Franciscan martyrs on January 27, 2025, categorizing their martyrdom as in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith).
Who were the Georgia Martyrs?
The Dicastery of the Causes of Saints' website explains: "The Venerable Servants of God, Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos, Miguel de Añón, Antonio de Badajoz and Francisco de Veráscola, Spaniards of the Order of Friars Minor, in the 16th century agreed to be sent on a mission to North American territories driven by an authentic spirit of love for Christ and service to the Church."
They were sent on a "Mission to the Guales, an Indigenous tribe stationed on the coast of today's territory of the American state of Georgia."
Initially, they were well received and were able to preach the Gospel to the Indigenous people.
However, everything changed when the sacrament of marriage was introduced.
It was customary for the missionaries to only administer the sacrament of baptism to those who would commit to a monogamous marriage, taking only one wife.
Generally this was accepted until a young man, who was to be chief, desired a second wife, as the Vatican website explains:
[T]he young Juanillo, nephew of the village chief and destined to succeed him, although baptized, was determined to take another wife. Pedro called him back, reminding him of his commitment to baptism, but he became aggressive and lashed out at him killing him with an ax stroke in September 1597.
Shortly thereafter, the remaining Franciscan missionaries were killed because of their desire to uphold the dignity of marriage.
The beatification will occur during the special Jubilee Year that Pope Leo XIV has promulgated, which celebrates the 800th anniversary of St. Francis' death.
Pictured: The Five Georgia Martyrs, by Daniel Mitsui
Traditional Catholic Morning Prayers in English | February
Traditional Catholic morning prayers -- an excellent way to start your day off strong! The month of February is devoted to the Holy Family -- Jesus, Mary, and St. Joseph. It is my hope that these prayers increase your devotion to Our Lord and His Holy Family. Begin each day with morning prayer! This video is a compilation of many traditional morning prayers Catholics say, and should not be considered a replacement for those who have an obligation to pray the Divine Office morning prayers.
This 4,000-Year-Old Priest Predicted Protestant Communion... And Obliterated It.
From Totus Catholica
What if the blueprint for true Christian worship was revealed 4,000 years before the Reformation—in the mysterious figure of Melchizedek? In this revelatory video, we unpack how a single verse in Genesis 14 sets the stage for the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist, priesthood, and sacrificial worship—and why most Protestant communion practices unknowingly break this ancient, divinely ordained pattern.
📌 Discover why Jesus is called a priest “forever in the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4), not Aaron—and what that means for how we approach the Lord’s Supper today.
✨ What You’ll Learn in This Video:
📖 The biblical significance of Melchizedek’s offering of bread and wine—not animals, not symbols
🌟 How Jesus fulfils this priesthood at the Last Supper with the words, “This is my body”—not “this represents”
👑 Why the Mass is not a “resacrifice” but the eternal offering made present on earth
🙏 The critical link between valid priesthood, real sacrifice, and heavenly worship
⏳ Chapters:
0:00 - The Hidden Problem with Protestant Communion
1:29 - Introducing Melchizedek: Priest of God Most High
2:45 - Genesis 14:18: Bread, Wine, and Eternal Priesthood
3:34 - Psalm 110:4: God’s Oath About a Priest Forever
3:48 - Hebrews 7:3, 17: Jesus as the True Melchizedekian Priest
4:45 - The Last Supper: Institution of the Eucharistic Sacrifice (Luke 22:19,20)
5:48 - Catholic Teaching: Real Presence, Not Symbol
6:47 - Addressing Protestant Objections (Hebrews 10:14, “Once for All”)
7:56 - The Early Church Witness: St. Irenaeus & St. Cyprian
8:59 - Final Challenge: What Are We Missing in Worship?
📖 Key Scripture & References:
Genesis 14:18 – “Melchizedek… brought out bread and wine.”
Psalm 110:4 – “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 7:3, 17 – Jesus’ eternal, non-Levitical priesthood
Luke 22;19,20 – “This is my body… This cup is the new covenant in my blood.”
CCC 1367 – The Eucharist is the sacrifice of Christ made present
CCC 1374 – The Eucharist contains “the whole Christ: body, blood, soul, and divinity”
CCC 1548 – The priest acts in persona Christi (in the person of Christ)
🔗 Additional Resources:
📖 Ecclesia de Eucharistia (St. John Paul II) – The Eucharist as the source and summit of Christian life
📖 St. Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 63 – “The priest who acts in the place of Christ offers a true sacrifice.”
📖 St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.17.5 – The Church offers the “new oblation” received from the Apostles.
How does recognising Melchizedek’s priesthood change your understanding of the Mass? Have you ever thought of communion as a sacrificial act—not just a memorial? Share your thoughts below!
St Peter's First "Chair" May Have Been in the Upper Room
Today is the Feast of St Peter's Chair at Antioch, which was suppressed in Bugnini's "no duplication of Feasts" of 1955, but it may not have been the first Papal Throne.
From Aleteia
By Philip Kosloski
The Chair of St. Peter symbolises the teaching authority of the pope, and refers to a tradition of physical chairs that the pope sat on while leading the Church.
One of the more puzzling feasts on the liturgical calendar is the feast of the "Chair of St. Peter."
At face value, it appears that Catholics are worshipping a chair!
Yet, that is not the case at all, as the feast of the Chair of St. Peter is a much more encompassing celebration that honours the spiritual authority given to St. Peter by Jesus Christ.
This authority was initially symbolised by an actual chair (called the cathedra petri in Latin) that St. Peter sat on while reigning as the first pope. Officials in the Roman Empire would sit on chairs when administering judgments or when engaged in official ceremonies. Having arisen within the Roman Empire, this tradition was replicated in the Roman Catholic Church and survives to this day.
St. Peter's first chair
Pope Benedict XVI mentioned in a general audience in 2006 the possibility that St. Peter possessed a chair in the Upper Room:
So what was the "Chair" of St Peter? Chosen by Christ as the "rock" on which to build the Church (cf. Mt 16: 18), he began his ministry in Jerusalem, after the Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost. The Church's first "seat" was the Upper Room, and it is likely that a special place was reserved for Simon Peter in that room where Mary, Mother of Jesus, also prayed with the disciples.
Pope Benedict XVI is specifically referring to the following passage from the Acts of the Apostles:
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away; and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
After leading the nascent Church in Jerusalem, tradition places St. Peter in Antioch, and then in Rome, where he would receive a martyr's death.
Today, the feast of the Chair of St. Peter recalls these "chairs," but more importantly, it is a day to pray for the current successor of St. Peter, the pope, and to rejoice in the authority that has been given to him by Jesus Christ.
Pictured: A 1472 map of Jerusalem notes the place of Pentecost, "Ubi apostoli acceperunt spiritum sanctum" (here the Apostles received the Holy Ghost), at the location of the cenacle (top left), stolen by the Muslims and converted into a mosque in 1524
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