06 July 2026
Senior Cardinal Admits Most of the SSPX Arguments About Vatican 2 Are True
Cardinal Kurt Koch admits that Vatican 2 changed Church teachings and tries to explain away why they needed to be changed. Plus: are you ready for St Maria Goretti to be redefined?
Eleanor Janega Goes Inside the Lavish and Dangerous Sport Culture of the Medieval Nobility
From Chronicle – Medieval History Documentaries
Eleanor ventures into the Royal Armouries tiltyard, where seasoned jouster Andy Deane, and his opponent Andrew Balmforth, face off in an adrenaline fuelled jousting tournament - and you're invited!
We discover the harsh realities of this sport that's synonymous with the Middle Ages, and learn about its close ties to the art of combat and warfare. Our knights run a gauntlet of tests demonstrating the skill and precision needed to smash lances, spear boars and possibly secure a lucrative deal for your kingdom.
And it wasn't just the knights that got in on the action, Eleanor joins the Crossbow Guild and explores how it was not only practical, but would have given people from the humbler classes a chance to tour the country, show off their skills and earn some extra coin along the way.
Then, it's the thrill of the chase that gets Eleanor's heart fluttering, as Falconry Expert Emma Rapheal introduces us to this time honoured tradition and discusses how hunting parties weren't just for putting food on the table; but a popular sport that both a lady and a knight could enjoy.
Lastly, we find the royal court is not too far from the tennis court, when Eleanor takes on Hampton Court Palace's on-site professional, Nick Wood, at Real Tennis and finds out how to handcraft a Tudor-style ball. It turns out that tennis is actually an example of an unruly street game that was adopted and adored by medieval royals and nobility.
Traditional Catholic Morning Prayers in English | July
The CIA Had a Classified File on Fatima – Here’s What Was Inside
From Totus Catholica
The miracle of the sun at Fatima was a public sign tied to Mary’s call for repentance, penance, and prayer. The message did not add new doctrine; it reinforced what the Church already teaches about conversion, hell, the rosary, and reparation.
Fatima also fits a long biblical pattern: God uses visible signs to confirm prophetic messages, from Joshua’s day to the New Covenant. The Church investigated the events, the local bishop judged them worthy of belief, and the result still points to Jesus Christ and the urgency of returning to him.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 The CIA File and the Fatima Debate
2:23 Joshua and the Biblical Pattern of Signs
3:42 Revelation 12 and the Woman Clothed with the Sun
4:06 CCC 67: Private Revelation and the Faith
4:31 The Church’s Investigation of Fatima
5:30 The Russian Prophecies and the CIA
6:05 Why Fatima Calls for the Rosary and Penance
7:17 Protestant Objections
8:08 The Catholic and Jewish View of Miracles
9:12 Fatima’s Final Warning
🌍 Website: https://totuscatholica.org/
📿 Rosary Guide: https://totuscatholica.org/rosary
✉️ Contact: https://totuscatholica.org/contact
🔍 Examination of Conscience: https://catholicexaminationofconscien...
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Prayer to St Maria Goretti for the Healing of Those Who’ve Suffered Sexual Abuse
Today is the Feast of St Maria Goretti, Martyr of Purity. who died resisting rape when she was only 11 years old.
From Aleteia
By Philip Kosloski
Let us pray for the healing of those who have been deeply wounded and for the conversion of all those involved.Dear God, we ask you to help all those who suffer from abuse. Help them find healing and peace in their lives. May Maria Goretti, who was strengthened by Your Grace, join with us in prayer for the healing of all victims of abuse, particularly those abused as children or young adults.
Grant us your Love that we might reach out to them in Your Name with hope in times of trial. As Maria prayed for her attacker, grant us the grace to pray for the true conversion of all involved with the abuse: that they might seek Your Mercy through prayer and penance.
Loving God, pour into our hearts and lives your healing Spirit, that the sacredness of every human person might be respected and protected as the precious image of God. Help us to live in the peace which Maria Goretti had found in Christ and in the love of his mother Mary.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
SSPX: Both Sides of the Controversy | Fr Gerald Murray, JCD & Fr Jonathan Loop, FSSPX
From The Conor Gallagher Show
This special four-hour episode confronts one of the most consequential questions facing the Catholic Church today: is the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) on the right side of history? The SSPX’s Fr. Jonathan Loop argues that a continuing crisis in the Church has created a state of necessity that can justify extraordinary measures to preserve Catholic tradition and the priesthood. Fr. Gerald Murray does not think those extraordinary measures are justified and that the SSPX’s misapplication of canon law undermines the Church's divinely established authority.
BIOGRAPHIES
Fr. Jonathan Loop is a priest of the Society of Saint Pius X, a convert to the Catholic Faith, and a respected educator, speaker, and apologist known for his clear defense of Catholic tradition. Ordained in 2011, he has devoted his priesthood to forming young Catholics, preaching the Faith, and addressing the challenges facing the Church today.
Fr. Gerald E. Murray is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, canon lawyer, author, and widely respected commentator on Catholic doctrine, canon law, and ecclesiastical affairs. Ordained to the priesthood in 1984, he has devoted decades of priestly ministry to the defense and explanation of the Church’s perennial teaching and is one of the most recognizable voices in contemporary Catholic discourse.
🔗 LINKS TO RELEVANT DOCUMENTS:
Graphic Comparing Dignitatis Humanae to Earlier Encyclicals: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GO27...
SSPX Article Announcing the Episcopal Ordinations: https://fsspx.news/en/news/general-ho...
Pope St. Paul VI’s comments on Vatican II: https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-v...
EDITING NOTE: To be as fair and impartial as possible, we have included all responses in full. For purposes of greater clarity, some moments have been rearranged.
WHO Director Tedros Attacks Bishop Schneider for ‘Demonizing’ Muslim Migrants: ‘Fear Is Not Faith’
His Lordship isn't "demonising" anyone, but this leftist idiot chooses to ignore the fact that Europe IS being invaded and its Christian heritage IS being destroyed.
From LifeSiteNews
From LifeSiteNews
By Antonino Cambria
‘A faith confident in its own truth does not tremble before the stranger at the door; it opens it,’ leftist Tedros Ghebreyesus said in a scathing response to Bishop Athanasius Schneider.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the leftist director-general of the globalist World Health Organization (WHO), sharply criticized a 2025 clip of Bishop Athanasius Schneider in which the prelate called out the “invasion” of Islamic migrants into Europe as destroying its Christian heritage.
In a July 1 X post responding to the resurfaced 2025 clip of Bishop Schneider, Tedros, a highly controversial, pro-abortion figure, defended Muslim migrants as “families fleeing war, hunger, and despair,” and cited Our Lord’s words about welcoming the stranger. In his 2025 remarks, while noting the mass influx of Muslim migrants into Europe, the bishop stressed that many of these people are not refugees and that the “mass Islamization” of Europe is part of a plot by the “powerful,” which appears to be a reference to organizations like the WHO, to destroy Christianity in Europe.
“I read these words with a heavy heart. When we call human beings ‘invaders,’ we strip them of their faces, their names, their stories, and history teaches us where that road leads,” Tedros wrote. “The people arriving on Europe’s shores are not an army. They are families fleeing war, hunger, and despair. Among them are Christians and Muslims alike, mothers carrying children, young people who buried their dreams to survive.”
“To reduce them to a plot against a continent is to deny both the evidence and their humanity. Europe’s Christian heritage is not defended by fear. It is defended by living it,” he added. “‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’ is not a political slogan; it is the Gospel itself. A faith confident in its own truth does not tremble before the stranger at the door; it opens it.”
Tedros continued, “there is a difference between managing migration and demonising migrants. The first is policy; the second is a wound to our shared humanity. I will keep saying it: compassion is not weakness, and fear is not faith.”
While Catholic social teaching affirms that immigrants should be treated with dignity and respect, it also notes that a country has a right to secure its borders. In the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB’s) “Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration and the Movement of Peoples,” the conference outlines that countries are under no obligation to accept all who wish to enter.
Bishop Schneider’s remarks echoed this teaching and emphasized the need to secure its borders against the forced “Islamization” orchestrated by global powers to erase Europe’s Christian heritage.
“There are no refugees—no—this is an invasion of the maximum Islamization of Europe, that has already had 50–60 years in Europe, but now it is being done en masse,” the bishop said. “It is really evident, and therefore this is our global political agenda: to destroy Europe culturally and religiously—to destroy Christianity in Europe with the help of the maximum Islamic population.”
Notably, Bishop Schneider did not refer to each Islamic immigrant as an “invader” as Tedros suggested, and the prelate even appeared to suggest that these migrants are only “pawns” in a scheme by powerful globalists who are attempting to destroy Europe’s Christian identity.
Several other Catholic clerics have echoed Bishop Schneider’s comments about immigration. In 2017, Cardinal Robert Sarah, in remarks at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Poland, called out the “outside forces” who try to impose themselves on Poland and other European nations without assimilating.
“In what manner is it possible to remove the rights of the nation to distinguish between a political or religious refugee, who must flee from his homeland, and the economic migrant, who wants to change his address without adapting himself, identifying with, and accepting the culture of the country in which he will live?” Cardinal Sarah asked.
The Guinean cardinal also underscored the importance of rebuilding nations that have suffered from war and other injustices without uprooting the people of other countries and called out those who “exploit the word of God” to justify the promotion of multiculturalism.
“I say again that we must work together to rebuild the nations that have fallen victim to war, corruption, and injustice, but this does not mean encouraging the uprooting of peoples and the destruction of nations,” he said. “Some people exploit the Word of God to justify the promotion of multiculturalism and gladly take advantage of the excuse of hospitality to justify the admission of immigrants.”
The Octave Day of the Holy Apostles Peter & Paul
From Dom Prosper Guéranger's Liturgical Year:
Firmly resting upon Peter, the Church turns to him whom the Spouse has given to be her Head, and testifies to him no less veneration and love, than obedience and fidelity; such is the craving of her gratitude. Moreover she is fully aware of what is thus expressed by St. Peter Damian (or as others say by a disciple of St. Bernard), “none may pretend to intimacy with our Lord, unless he be intimate with Peter.” (Pet. Dam. vel Nicol. Claravall. Sermo de S Petro Ap.) How admirable is this unity in God’s advance towards his creature! but, at the same time, how absolute is the law of the creature’s progress to the Life Divine. God is not found, save in Jesus; nor Jesus, save in the Church; nor the Church, save in Peter. If you had known Me, said Christ, you would, without doubt, have known my Father also; (John 14:7) but the Jews sought God, outside of Jesus, and their efforts were vain. Since then, others have come, wanting to find Jesus, while setting aside his Church; but that which God has joined, what man shall put asunder? (Matthew 14:6. Ephesians 5:32)
So, these men, running after a Christ, a phantom of their own conceptions, have found neither Jesus Christ nor his Church. In fine, others are sons of the Church, yet they persuade themselves that in those pastures where, by right, the soul may feed upon God, they have none to seek, save the divine Shepherd, who dwells in heaven. By the very fact of his having committed to another, the care of feeding both lambs and sheep, Jesus seems to have had quite a different view; for these words imply, not only some, either mere beginners and the imperfect, or the strong and saints, but all, little and great, whom the heavenly Shepherd confided to Simon-Barjona, to be, by him, fed, directed, advanced, and guarded.
O thou soul that hungerest after God, go to Peter; think not, otherwise, to appease thy cravings. Formed in the school of the holy Liturgy, thou hast surely no part with such as neglect the Humanity, as they say (speaking of Mary’s Divine Son), in order to come all the more assuredly to the word; but in like manner take care, thou also, not to turn God’s Vicar into an obstacle in thy path. Jesus longs for the blissful meeting, even as thou dost; be certain, therefore, that what he places between thee and himself, on the way, is no obstacle, but a help. Just as in the adorable Eucharist, the sacred species are but to point out to thee where he is whom, of thyself, thou couldst never find here below; so too the mystery of Peter has no other end but this, to show thee with absolute certainty He Who resides for thee in the Divine Sacrament, in his proper substance, resides also for thee, in his authority and infallible guidance. These two mysteries complete one another; they walk hand in hand and will both cease at the same moment, —at the moment when our eyes may gaze at last directly upon Jesus; but, from now till then, the Church sees herein not so much an intermediary or a veil, as the most precious Sign of the invisible Spouse. Therefore, wonder not, if the homage she pays to Peter seems to rival that which she bestows on the Sacred Host; in her multiplied genuflections which she makes before both, she is indeed adoring; adoring not that man, it is true, whom we see seated on the apostolic throne, nor yet the mere species perceived by our senses on the altar; but, adoring, in both instances, the same Jesus, who is silent in the Eucharistic Sacrament, and who speaks and commands in his Vicar.
Further still, she knows that Peter alone can give her the Sacred Host. Baptism which makes us to be sons of God, and all the sacraments which multiply the divine energies within us, are a treasure which he alone has license to dispose of legitimately, either by himself or by others. It is his word, throughout the world, that, in every grade of authorized teaching, gives birth within souls to faith, the beginning of salvation, and develops it from these humble commencements right up to the luminous summits of sanctity. And because, on the mountain heights, the life of the Evangelical counsels of the chosen garden reserved to himself by the Spouse, Peter must needs likewise claim as his own, the guidance and protection, in a more special manner, of religious communities, for he is wishful to be always able himself to offer directly to Jesus, the fairest flowers of that holiness of which his exalted ministry is the very principle and support. Thus sanctified, to Peter again, does the Church address herself, when she would learn in what way to approach her Spouse, in her worship; she says to him, as heretofore, the disciples said to Our Lord: Teach us to pray, (Luke 11:1) and Peter, animated with what he knows so well of the gorgeous pomp of worship in the heavenly country, regulates for us here below the sacred ceremonial, and dictates to the Bride herself the theme of her songs. Lastly, who but Peter can add to her holiness, those other marks of unity, catholicity, and apostolicity, which are, in face of the whole world, her irrefragable right and title to the throne and to the love of the Son of God.
If we are truly sons of the Church, if in very deed it is from the heart of our Mother, that we draw our sentiments, let us well understand what should be our gratitude, respectful love, tender confidence, and utter devotedness of our whole being, towards him from whom, by the sweet Will of God, come all these good things. Peter, in his own person and in that of his successors, especially in him who in these our own days bears the weight of the whole world and our burdens also, ought to be the constant object of our filial reverence and homage. His glories, his sufferings, his thoughts should become ours. Forget not that He of whom the Roman Pontiff is visible Representative, has willed that every one of his members should have their invisible share in the government of his Church; the responsibility of each one in a point of such major importance, is clearly indicated in the great duty of prayer, which in God’s sight is of more value than action, and which is rendered by love, stronger than hell. (Song of Solomon 8:6) Then, there is that other strict duty of alms-deeds, whereby we are obliged to come to the relief of the indigent, even of our humblest brother: if so, can we deem ourselves free with regard to the Bishop and Father of our souls, when unjust spoliation makes him know, in the necessities of his immense administration, cramping want and difficulty? Happy they who to the tribute of gold, may be allowed to add that of blood! but all are not granted such an honor!
On this, the last day of the Octave consecrated to the triumph of these two Princes of the Apostles, let us, once again, salute the city which was witness of their final combat. She is guardian of their tombs and continues to be the See of Peter’s successors; by this double title, she is the vestibule of heaven, the capital of the spiritual empire. The very thought of the august trophies that adorn both banks of her noble river, and of all those other glorious memories that linger around her, made the heart of St. John Chrysostom exult with enthusiasm, beneath his eastern sky. We give his words as addressed to the people, in one of his Homilies: “In very deed, the heavens illumined by the fiery rays of the meridian sun, have naught comparable to Rome’s resplendent rays shed over the whole earth by these two luminaries of hers. Thence will Paul arise, thence Peter likewise. Reflect, yea tremble, at the thought of what a spectacle Rome is to witness, when Peter and Paul rising up from their graves, shall be borne aloft to meet the Lord. How brilliant in her roseate hue is Rome before the eyes of Christ! What garlands encircle this city! With what golden chains is she girded! What fountains are hers! Oh! this city of stupendous fame! I admire her, not because of the gold wherewith she abounds, nor because of her proud porticoes, but because she holds within her these two Pillars of the Church.” (Homil. xxxii in Ep. ad Rom.) Then the illustrious orator goes on to remark how he burnt with longing desire to visit these sacred tombs, the treasure of the world, the secure rampart of the queen-city.
In these our own days, the bishops of God’s Church are bound by law to come at fixed intervals, from their various dioceses, throughout the world, to visit the basilicas raised over the precious remains of Peter and Paul; like this latter, (Galatians 1:18) they too must needs come and see Peter, still living in the Pontiff, his successor in the primacy. Although simple Christians are not subject to the same obligation to which bishops are bound by oath, yet ought every true Catholic frequently to visit in thought, at least, these blessed hills, whence flow the streams of salvation that divide and carry their waters over the whole world. One of the most consoling symptoms, at the present sad time, is the visible stir which is evidently taking hold of the masses, and urging them to the Eternal City. A movement, which must be encouraged as much as possible, because it is a return to the wisest traditions of our forefathers; and in these days the facility for such a pilgrimage, once in a lifetime, is so great, that few or none would thereby undergo any serious inconvenience, as regards either their family or social position.
But if some there be who really cannot apply to themselves in this literal sense these words of the Psalm: “I have rejoiced at the things that have been said to me, we shall go into the House of the Lord;” let them, at least, make these sentiments of true spiritual patriotism their own, and more so than did the Jews of yore: “May there be abundance for them that love thee, O true Jerusalem! Let peace be in thy strength and abundance in thy towers. For the sake of my brethren who are in thee, this is my prayer: yea this is my prayer, because thou art the house of the Lord our God.” (Psalms 121)
To pay honor to the churches of the Eternal City, where are preserved the chief memorials of the Holy Apostles, Benedict XIV fixed (Bull Admiabilis Sapientiæ Dei sublimitas, April I, 1743) that on each of the days within the Octave, a pontifical mass, should be sung in one of these churches successively, the cantors and other ministers of the papal chapel attending. The festival of the 29th of June is reserved to the sovereign pontiff himself, who celebrates in the Vatican Basilica, at the very tomb of the Prince of the Apostles; but the following day, the Bishops Assistants at the pontifical Throne, are convoked in the Basilica on the Ostian Way, built not far from the site of his martyrdom, and enclosing both the body of the Doctor of the Gentiles and his chains. The Apostolic Protonotaries are assembled on the first of July, in the Church of St. Pudentiana, formerly the house of the Senator Pudens, where, as we are informed by Benedict XIV, “Peter preached the divine word and celebrated the sacred Mysteries; thus, in a way, laying the first foundations of the Roman Church, the Mother and Mistress of all other Churches.” On the second of July the Major Domo or Master of the Sacred Palace, and the Auditors of the Rota pay homage, in like manner, at Sancta Maria in Via Lata, to the memory of the two-years’ sojourn of the Apostle of the Gentiles in this place. On the fifth day, July the third, the Pontifical Mass is celebrated at Saint Peter’s ad vincula, the Clerks of the Camera assisting; on the sixth day, at the Mamertine Prison, in the presence of the Referendarii of the Segnatura; on the seventh, before the Abbreviators of the greater Parcus, at St. Peter’s in Montorio, said, by tradition, to be the very spot of the Apostle’s martyrdom. Lastly, on July the sixth, the Sacred College of Cardinals terminates the Octave with a grand solemnity at Saint John Lateran, where are exposed to public veneration, the Head of Saint Peter and that of Saint Paul, in rich reliquaries.
Let us enter into the thought which inspired the great Pontiff Benedict XIV, in his distribution of the days within the Octave of the holy Apostles, and so let us pray with him, for the City and the world, by taking from the Sacramentary of his immortal predecessor, Saint Leo I, the following two Formulæ.
Truly it is right and just to give thanks to Thee, Who foreseeing what great difficulties our City would have to labor under, didst place therein the leading members of Apostolic strength. Yet, happy thou, O Rome, if thou do but know these thy Leaders, if thou do but study how worthily to celebrate such Rulers! No foe shall attack thee, no armies shall henceforth terrify thee, if so thou walk truly and faithfully in obedience to their teaching, in the profession of sincere Christianity; for it is indeed sufficiently manifest unto thee what great gifts they may confer on the well-deserving, since they give protection even unto sinners.
O God, who hast laid the foundations of thy Church in the holy Mountains; grant that she may be undermined by no attacks of error, nor shaken by any perturbation of the world; but let her be ever firm in Apostolical institution and secure in the same intervention. Through our Lord.
The following Prose, by Adam of Saint Victor, will serve as an appropriate termination to the collection of liturgical pieces which have assisted our devotion during this Octave, in seizing the spirit of holy Church. We have chosen it in preference to that other, by the same illustrious author, commencing with the words Gaude, Roma, caput mundi, inasmuch as this latter is exclusively dedicated to the life and miracles of Saint Peter.
Let Rome glory in Peter, let Rome venerate Paul with equal reverence: or rather, let the whole Church be made glad, and be occupied with songs of joy.
Lo! here, her foundations, her founders, her buttresses, her bases, her architraves; yea, here, her costly hangings and canopies, her hyacinth-dyed skins (as of the temple), her cups, her pomegranates, her lilies.
These are refulgent clouds watering the earth of our hearts, now with dew, now with rain. These are the heralds of the New Law, and leaders of the new flock, unto Christ’s Fold.
Companions in labor, they tread the threshing-floor: in hopes of the Penny, they till the vineyard.
By their winnowing is the chaff separated, and the barns are filled with new harvestings.
They are called Mountains: they are the first to be illumined by the rays of the True Sun, Wondrous is their power; they are entitled Firmaments, or Heavens.
They command sickness to flee away, they over-rule the laws of death; demons they put to flight. To the guilty they give pardon, to the sorrowful consolation.
Praise is common to both of them; yet a peculiar dignity is proper unto each: Peter holds the first rank in the Primacy, Paul is famous for his teachings throughout the whole Church.
Primacy is given but to one, so that thus the unity of Catholic Faith is proclaimed: one rind contains many grains, and all, in their multiplicity, have the same virtue under one single rind.
Unto Rome come the messengers of salvation, where they know there is much of vice and naught of remedy. The faithful physicians attack vice, yet the delirious sick reject the medicine of life, the insane refuse doctrine.
Christ’s Name being preached, Simon Magus and Nero are troubled at this word, nor will they yield to the Apostles. Sickness gives way, death obeys, Magus is dashed to pieces, Rome believes, and the world returns to life, rejecting her idols.
Wicked Nero trembles with rage; aggravated at the Magician’s death, whose downfall is as annoying to him as his deception had been pleasing. But the chosen warriors can never be turned from the faith; bold they stand erect for the combat, nor dread the sword.
Peter heir of the True Light, endures the penalty of the inverted cross; and Paul, the stroke of the sword: Though diverse the suffering, yet the rewards are alike.
O ye Fathers of surpassing worth, ye are reigning now with the Supreme King! may the efficacious sentence of your immense power loosen the chains of our guilt. Amen.
St Maria Goretti: There is a Hell
A sermon for today. Please remember to say 3 Hail Marys for the Priest.
St Palladius, Apostles of the Scots
From Fr Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints:
From St. Prosper and other historians, quoted by Usher, Antiq. Brit. Eccles. c. 16, p. 416, 424: Keith. Cat Episc. Scot p. 233; and the Bollandists 6 Jul. t. 2, Jul. p. 286.
ABOUT THE YEAR 450
THE name of Palladius shows this saint to have been a Roman, and most authors agree that he was deacon of the church of Rome. At least St. Prosper in his chronicle informs us, that when Agricola, a noted Pelagian, had corrupted the churches of Britain with the insinuation of that pestilential heresy, pope Celestine, at the instance of Palladius the deacon, in 429, sent thither St. Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, in quality of his legate, who, having ejected the heretics, brought back the Britons to the Catholic faith. The concern of Palladius for these islands stopped not here; for it seems not to be doubted, but it was the same person of whom St. Prosper again speaks, when he afterwards says, that in 431 pope Celestine sent Palladius, the first bishop, to the Scots then believing in Christ. From the lives of SS. Albeus, Declan, Ibar. and Kiaran Saigir, Usher shows1 that these four saints preached separately in different parts of Ireland, which was their native country before the mission of St. Patrick. St. Ibar had been converted to the faith in Britain; the other three had been instructed at Rome, and were directed thence back into their own country, and according to the histories of their lives, were all honored with the episcopal character. St. Kiaran Saigir (who is commemorated on the 5th of March) preceded St. Patrick in preaching the gospel to the Ossorians, and was seventy-five years of age on St. Patrick’s arrival in Ireland. Hence it is easy to understand what is said of St. Palladius, that he was sent bishop to the Scots believing in Christ: though the number of Christians among them must have been then very small. St. Prosper, in his book against the Author of the conferences,2 having commended pope Celestine for his care in delivering Britain from the Pelagian heresy, adds, that “he also ordained a bishop for the Scots, and thus, whilst he endeavored to preserve the Roman island Catholic, he likewise made a barbarous island Christian.” Usher observes that this can be understood only of Ireland; for though part of North-Britain was never subject to the Romans, and the greatest part of it was then inhabited by the Picts, yet it never could be called a distinct island. It is also clear from Tertullian, Eusebius, St. Chrysostom, and others, that the light of the gospel had penetrated among the Picts beyond the Roman territories in Britain, near the times of the apostles. These people, therefore, who had lately begun to receive some tincture of the faith when our saint undertook his mission, were doubtless the Scots who were settled in Ireland.
The Irish writers of the lives of St. Patrick say, that Palladius had preached in Ireland a little before St. Patrick, but that he was soon banished by the king of Leinster, and returned to North Britain, where they tell us he had first opened his mission. It seems not to be doubted but he was sent to the whole nation of the Scots, several colonies of whom had passed from Ireland into North Britain, and possessed themselves of part of the country, since called Scotland.* After St. Palladius had left Ireland, he arrived among the Scots in North Britain, according to St. Prosper, in the consulate of Bassus and Antiochus, in the year of Christ 431.3 He preached there with great zeal, and formed a considerable church. The Scottish historians tell us, that the faith was planted in North Britain about the year 200, in the time of king Donald, when Victor was pope of Rome. But they all acknowledge that Palladius was the first bishop in that country, and style him their first apostle.† The saint died at Fordun, the capital town of the little county of Mernis, fifteen miles from Aberdeen to the south, about the year 450. His relics were preserved with religious respect in the monastery of Fordun, as Hector Boetius4 and Camden testify. In the year 1409, William Scenes, archbishop of St. Andrew’s and primate of Scotland, enclosed them in a new shrine enriched with gold and precious stones. His festival is marked on the 6th of July in the Breviary of Aberdeen and the Scottish Calendars; but in some of the English on the 15th of December. Scottish writers, and calendars of the middle ages, mention St. Servanus and St. Ternan as disciples of St. Palladius, and by him made bishops, the former of Orkney, the latter of the Picts. But from Usher’s chronology it appears that they both lived later.
It is easy to conceive how painful and laborious the mission of this saint must have been; but where there is ardent love, labor seems a pleasure, and either is not felt or is a delight. It is a mark of sloth and impatience for a man to count his labors, or so much as to think of pains or sufferings in so glorious an undertaking. St. Palladius surmounted every obstacle which a fierce nation had opposed to the establishment of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Ought not our hearts to be impressed with the most lively sentiments of love and gratitude to our merciful God, for having raised up such great and zealous men, by whose ministry the light of true faith has been conveyed to us.
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