Amoris Laetitia is going to be discussed by the bishops with the aim of full implementation across the Church, with Leo describing Francis' heretical document as core to the Church's teaching.
02 September 2026
Leo Calls Upon Bishops To Make Francis' Heretical Decree Permanent
There is no longer any doubt that he's Francis 2.0!
Did Medieval Peasants Really Live That Badly?
From Modern History TV
We walk through a full day in the life of an ordinary English peasant during the Middle Ages. Based entirely on real historical records, not fantasy tropes and a bit of speculation. From sunrise in the fields to meals, family life, work, and rest, discover how tough, busy, and surprisingly organised their days really were. You'll learn: What time peasants woke up (and why it wasn’t always dawn), What they actually ate (hint: not just bread and gruel). The jobs men, women, and children did.
Whether you're into medieval history, building immersive fantasy worlds, or just curious about how different life used to be, this video offers a grounded, eye-opening look at the real medieval experience.
No AI, AI free, human made, no gen AI.
Everything in this video is filmed, tested, and experienced in real conditions. No AI-generated content.
Did Medieval Peasants Really Live That Badly? What was it really like to be a MEDIEVAL PEASANT?
Traditional Catholic Morning Prayers in English | September
Traditional Catholic morning prayers to help start your day in a holy way! The month of September is dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. I hope these prayers increase your devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary this month, to share in her sorrows and to and draw you closer to her Divine Son, Jesus Christ. Begin each day with morning prayer! This video is a compilation of many traditional evening prayers Catholics say, and should not be considered a replacement for those who have an obligation to pray the Divine Office evening prayers.
The Papacy Is Biblical! (Yes – The Pope Is in the Bible!)
From Catholic Truth
The Papacy is Biblical! In this video, we offer clear evidence for the Papacy being Biblical, more than a shallow surface reading of the Bible. Suan Sonna helps us understand how the papacy is biblical.
How Hungary Was Founded by a “Holy Family”
Today is the Feast of St Stephen the First Crowned, as he is known in Hungary. His wife is Bld Gisele of Bavaria, and his son is St Emeric of Hungary.
From Aleteia
By Philip Kosloski
The Kingdom of Hungary began with St. Stephen, whose wife is beatified and son is canonized.
In the year 1000 (or early 1001), St. Stephen was crowned the first King of Hungary. This began a long line of rulers, ending with Bl. Karl of Austria, the last King of Hungary, in 1918.
Not only was St. Stephen known for his personal holiness, but so were his wife, Bl. Gisela, and son, St. Emeric.
Pope John Paul II commented on this saintly foundation in a message to the Hungarian people in 2000.
This history begins with a holy king, rather, with a "holy family": Stephen, with his wife, Bl. Gisela, and their son, St. Emeric, are the first saintly Hungarian family. This seed would sprout and bring forth a host of noble figures who would distinguish Pannonia Sacra: one need only think of St. Ladislaus, St. Elizabeth and St. Margaret!
Bl. Gisela was beatified in 1975. She was known for her efforts to spread the Christian faith throughout their kingdom, and after her husband's death she spent the rest of her life in a Benedictine convent.
St. Emeric died young, at the age of 24, but followed his father's example and strove for holiness in his life. After his death, many miracles were attributed to his intercession.
Continuing his reflection of the Hungarian nation, Pope John Paul II noted how St. Stephen's actions laid a firm foundation in the Christian faith that endured for many centuries.
At the dawn of the millennium, the figure of King St. Stephen stands out. He founded the State on the firm rock of Christian values, and for this reason wanted to receive the royal crown from the hands of my Predecessor, Pope Sylvester II. Thus the Hungarian nation was founded in deep unity with the Chair of Peter and bound by close ties to other European countries, which shared the same Christian culture. This culture was the vital sap flowing through the fibres of the developing plant, which assured its growth and vigor, and prepared the extraordinary flourishing that was to come.
As Pope John Paul II mentioned above, many other saints would sprout from this foundation and reinforces the truth that a single family united to God can have a lasting impact on the world.
Dom Prosper Guéranger's Prayer to St Stephen for Hungary
Apostle and king, protect thy people, assist the Church, succor us all. At the close of that tenth century, when anarchy had penetrated even into the sanctuary, hope sprang up once more on the day whereon the Holy Spirit, the Creator and Renovator, chose thy race, in all its native vigor, to renew the youth of the world. Satan, who thought that the Papacy was humiliated once for all, trembled with rage when he saw new laborers coming to Peter, as to the only foundation on which it is possible to build. The proudest family that had ever caused the empire of Romulus to shake, asked of Rome the right to be counted among the nations of the West. How true it is that the gates of hell shall never prevail against the rock, against the Church founded thereon, against the holy city prepared on the top of mountains to draw all nations to itself. In vain had the storm stirred up the very mire of the torrents of the abyss: it was the hour when God lifted up his hand, as the prophet says, towards the far-off lands, and kings came, bringing to the ever-holy Bride those unknown sons whom they themselves had educated for her. (Isaiah 49:12-23)
No, the Lord confoundeth not them that wait for him. And therefore, we will hope, even against hope, in the future of the noble nation established by thee upon the apostolic strength. A people justly proud of so many irreproachable heroes could not allow itself to be long led astray by a false liberty kept up by Jewish gold and extolled by all the enemies of the country’s traditions. Martin watches together with thee over the land of his birth; and the sovereign of Hungary, the august Queen of heaven, will not suffer her loyal subject to the listen to the proposals of the infernal spirit.
When Tradition Inspires Fiction
Fr
From Crisis
By Fr
The Traditional Latin Mass is considered by many as the synthesis and pinnacle of civilization, having inspired artists of all kinds over the centuries. Its current revival is expected to benefit the wider culture again—starting with fiction writing, as illustrated by three recent novels. That novelists from different continents should feel inspired to describe the same phenomenon, albeit from various angles, confirms the vitality and relevance of their shared topic of interest. Three lady novelists—one from Spain, one from America, and one from England—have published novels about the trend identified as the Traditional (Latin Mass) revival. Surprisingly, none of their three novels overtly deals with the traditional liturgy, theology, or philosophy. Such omissions may be a blessing in disguise, allowing their plots to unfold with more literary genuineness than if using fiction as a thin veil for doctrinal affirmations.
Perhaps more convincingly, therefore, the three stories entail, but don’t insist upon, traditional Latin church communities. What takes place in the sanctuary, the reasons for the traditional Latin worship, the crises in Church and society caused by the eclipse of liturgical reverence and doctrinal clarity, all such considerations are woven into the narratives as material taken for granted rather than domineering the plot. Let us take a look at each novel.
A Spanish journalist with a law degree, Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera published her breakthrough novel The Awakening of Miss Prim in 2013 (Booket Editions). The heroine is Prudencia Prim, an academic young woman applying for a position as a librarian in a family home set in an idyllic French village. Through her interactions with the children of the house and their father and grandmother, as well as with the villagers, Miss Prim journeys from her rather secularist and feminist assumptions to a surprising admission of the value and truth offered through principles and behaviors which she used to decry as oppressive or delusory.
Her perception changes slowly, without fanfare, nor with a sense of defeat. Rather, she comes to admit that religious faith, if its object is true, offers a decisive criterion for selecting a spouse, as well as the surest basis for neighbourly life in a rural community and also, ultimately, for one’s spiritual awakening. The tone is light and even humorous—but not at the expense of the heroine, a likeable figure victim of her secular upbringing. The novel gently suggests, rather than hammers, the solution or remedy. Without disclosing too much, we can say that Prudencia’s conversation with a traditional Benedictine monk, short as it is, acts as a catalyst that will confirm the intuitions nurtured in her soul through the friendship of the entire village community. Translated into various languages, The Awakening of Miss Prim has met with unexpected success.
Elizabeth Altham is a retired teacher in America. Her novel Death Comes to Wyandotte (published in 2025 by Os Justi Press) depicts the transition, within a crumbling American Midwest parish, toward a thriving Traditional Latin Mass community. A significant feature is the absence of complacency evinced by the Traditional group. Indeed, the change is initiated by the diocesan bishop himself in response to a request for the Traditional Latin Mass by a local association of lay people.
However, the prelate does not grant their wish out of the goodness of this heart. With rather unfatherly irony, he allocates to them the most modern church building he can think of, literally a spaceship made of concrete, devoid of any orientation or sacred features. Thankfully, he also appoints Fathers Hopkins and Houghton, two likeable priests from among his own diocesan clergy (even though his motive is only to rid himself of conservative clerics). Their fraternal life and cheerful efforts to revive Catholic life against gloom and doom provide the main thread in the narrative. They receive grassroots support, suggesting that interest—and, later, love—for the traditional ways are shared by the population far beyond the initial committee that petitioned the bishop.
Such is perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the story, since it gently debunks the myth that Traditional Latin Mass-goers are a different species from mainstream Catholics. The “flying saucer” shape of the church allocated by the bishop subliminally betrays his assumption that “trads” come from elsewhere than “Planet Church” and with questionable motivations—that is, as invaders, not as brethren. Far from such antagonism, Altham’s novel can be seen as a blueprint for the revival of dying church communities, benefitting locals and inspiring many more across that diocese and further afield.
Bernice Zieba lives with her husband and children within a Traditional Latin Mass community in England. She published, in 2026, The Spire (Jan Webmedia). Its main protagonist is Alice, a young Englishwoman living in 2075 in Preston, Lancashire. Zieba’s depiction of our country in half a century, when digital technology is ubiquitously applied by the woke State to control every move and thought of the population, is painfully credible. Scheduled for demolition, a church with a very tall spire becomes the gate through which Alice travels back to the 19th century and then as far back as penal times under Protestant persecution.
Along her rabbit hole, modern Alice falls into no wonderland, but she discovers periods in history when faith, and Catholicism in particular, were worth standing up for and even dying for. In The Spire, the heroine embodies modern young generations in our secular Western world. They are unchurched, lack basic knowledge of history, and, consequently, assume that religion and family are long shaken-off shackles from a bygone era. But human nature in them cannot be eradicated as long as they breathe, nor the craving for God and His created reflections as truth, beauty, and bounty.
Thus, Alice warms to a fellow time traveller, Fr. O’Brien, first encountered as the zealous pastor of the 19th-century parish church and then as a heroic recusant priest under Tudor persecution. Mrs. Zieba’s attention to detail shows in her carefully researched depictions of the slums and cotton mills in Preston during the Industrial Revolution, with moving Dickensian hues. Why may mature readers, not only teenagers, enjoy reading The Spire? Because its juxtaposing of three epochs feels neither artificial nor childish but aims at showing that our era, the 2020s, is blessed with small, budding Traditional Latin Mass communities which we should support and make widely known, thus helping curb secular oppression and investing in the lasting reconversion of England.
Readers may have come across more novels depicting the Traditional Latin Mass revival. These three are not presented here on the basis of their literary merit, even though their plots are well constructed, their style flows unobtrusively, and their characters are consistent. Indeed, professional literary critics may wish for more depth and complexity to these narratives. Enjoyable as they are, they may not pass the test of time as works of art—since very, very few novels do so in any generation. They matter still as a sample manifesting the impact of the traditional Latin revival upon the imagination of the wider population.
For decades we have heard a growing number of people dare call the crisis by its name. Admittedly, fiction has been used already to depict the liturgical and doctrinal crisis affecting the Church, such as in Fr. Bryan Houghton’s Mitre and Crook (1979), and in Stephen Oliver’s Smoke in the Sanctuary (2004, Epsilon Books). But those books focused on the struggle of bishops and priests trying to salvage the treasures of tradition as from within the clerical scope. Useful as such books are, and very much retaining their relevance to our day, they did not give pride of place to the ordeal of the foot soldiers, the people still in the pews or already lapsed.
The Awakening of Miss Prim, Death Comes to Wyandotte, and The Spire focus on the perception of the Church crisis by the laity as an existential want. The voice of the flock speaks higher here—at times confused, desperate, then resolute and grateful. The malaise felt by communities deprived of the traditional founts of liturgical and doctrinal sustenance and their attempts to seek, retrieve, and secure pearls of great price is worth depicting. The fact that three novelists—all of them laywomen, from various parts of the world—have been inspired to do so confirms the growing engagement of our generation in restoring the Roman traditions of the Church as a living treasure feeding the imagination of all so as to enlighten minds and warm up hearts with divine charity.
St Stephen King of Hungary
From Dom Prosper Guéranger's Liturgical Year:
“Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. (Judges 14:14) The people with teeth of steel grinding the nations gives itself up as food to him, to whom was said: Kill and eat; (Acts 10:13) the mouth of the Huns, formerly vomiting foam and rage, now distills the honey of charity. Such, O Christ, are thy miracles; such are thy works, O our God!” (Baron, Annals. eccles. Silvestri II) Thus does Baronius, on reaching in his history the year of Christ 1000, hail the arrival of the Hungarian deputies, who came to offer to the Roman Church the suzerainty of their land, and beseech the Vicar of Christ to confer the title of king upon their Duke Stephen.
We are carried back in thought a century earlier, when, led by Arpadus, the son of Almutz, under the banner of the hawk, the Magyars came down from the mountains of Transylvania into the plains watered by the Theiss and the Danube. Attila seemed to live again in these sons of his race, who poured like a torrent over Germany, Gaul and Italy. But the empire of the Huns over reconquered Pannonia was only to be lasting on condition of its ceasing to be the scourge of God, and becoming the rampart of his Church. In this world, while it is not yet time for eternal justice, the instruments of God’s anger are soon broken, unless they are amenable to love. Five centuries earlier, Attila in person was rushing like an overflowing river upon the capital of the world, when he was met by the Sovereign Pontiff. The Hungarian chronicles record the following message as having been then received from heaven by the universal devastator: “Hearken to the command of the Lord God, Jesus Christ. Thy pride shall not be suffered to enter into the holy city where lie the bodies of my Apostles. Return. Later on a descendent of thine will come to Rome with humility; and I will cause him there to receive a crown that shall last forever.” (Chartuicius, Chronica Hungarorum , De Victoria Aquile regis) Attila thereupon recrossed the Alps, and had only just time to reach the Danube before he died. In the days of St. Stephen the heavenly promise was fulfilled. Let the reader not be astonished that we do not discuss its authenticity. Legendary or not, as to the forms with which national traditions have clothed it, there is nothing in this divine engagement that the historian need reject: it is in accordance with the rules of God’s Providence, which governs history. God never forgets a service; nor does apostolic gratefulness wear out with years: the debt of gratitude which Leo the Great contracted, Sylvester II paid at the appointed time. From that tomb respected by the plunderer, a virtue came forth, changing the avenger into an apostle. The crown, placed on the brow of Attila’s successor by Peter’s successor, was destined to be his as long as he should be preceded by the Cross, that other mark of honor conferred upon him. Like the Holy Empire, to which Hungary was to be later on united without however being absorbed by it, the Hungarian monarchy was founded upon Peter; for his sake it subsisted, and he alone, under God, was the safeguard of its future.
Let not the sad forebodings of the present hour make us forget the marvelous power shown on this feast by the Lamb the Ruler of the earth. (Isaiah 16:1) Scarcely had the blood shed by the sons of Arpadus disappeared from the streets of the cities; scarcely had the smoke of burning ruins and the dust of crumbling walls been scattered; when their fierce energy, tempered like a choice blade in the waters of the sacred font, became the defense of Christianity in the East. A new sort of invasion began; the holiness sprung from Stephen put forth numerous branches, which, shedding their beautiful blossoms over the whole earth, filled all lands with perfumes for the Spouse.
Let us read the history of the apostolic king, as given in the Book of Holy Church.
Stephen introduced into Hungary both the faith of Christ and the regal dignity. He obtained his royal crown from the Roman Pontiff; and having been, by his command, anointed king, offered his kingdom to the Apostolic See. He built several houses of charity at Rome, Jerusalem, and Constantinople: and with a wonderfully munificent spirit of religion, he founded the archiepiscopal See of Gran and ten other bishoprics. His love for the poor was equaled only by his generosity towards them; for, seeing in them Christ himself, he never sent anyone away sad or empty-handed. So great indeed was his charity that, to relieve their necessities, after expending large sums of money, he often bestowed upon them his household goods. It was his custom to wash the feet of the poor with his own hands, and to visit the hospitals at night, alone and unknown, serving the sick and showing them every charity. As a reward for these good deeds his right hand remained incorrupt after death, when the rest of his body had returned to dust.
He was much given to prayer; and would spend almost entire nights without sleep, rapt in heavenly contemplation; at times he was seen ravished out of his senses and raised in the air. By the help of prayer, he more than once escaped in a wonderful manner from treasonable conspiracies and from the attacks of powerful enemies. Having married Ghisella of Bavaria, sister of the emperor St. Henry, he had by her a son Emeric, whom he brought up in such regularity and piety as to form him into a saint. He summoned wise and holy men from all parts to aid him in the government of his kingdom and undertook nothing without their advice. In sackcloth and ashes, he besought God with most humble prayer, that he might not depart this life without seeing the whole kingdom of Hungary Catholic. So great indeed was his zeal for the propagation of the Faith, that he was called the Apostle of his nation, and he received from the Roman Pontiff, both for himself and for his successors, the privilege of having the Cross borne before them.
He had the most ardent devotion towards the Mother of God, in whose honor he built a magnificent church, solemnly declaring her patroness of Hungary. In return the Blessed Virgin received him into heaven on the very day of her Assumption, which the Hungarians, by the appointment of their holy king, call “the day of the Great Lady.” His sacred body, exhaling a most fragrant odor and distilling a heavenly liquor, was, by order of the Roman Pontiff, translated, amidst many and divers miracles, to a more worthy resting place, and buried with great honor. Pope Innocent IX commanded his feast to be celebrated on the fourth of the Nones of September; on which day, Leopold I emperor elect of the Romans and king of Hungary, had, by the divine assistance, gained a remarkable victory over the Turks at the siege of Buda.
Apostle and king, protect thy people, assist the Church, succor us all. At the close of that tenth century, when anarchy had penetrated even into the sanctuary, hope sprang up once more on the day whereon the Holy Spirit, the Creator and Renovator, chose thy race, in all its native vigor, to renew the youth of the world. Satan, who thought that the Papacy was humiliated once for all, trembled with rage when he saw new laborers coming to Peter, as to the only foundation on which it is possible to build. The proudest family that had ever caused the empire of Romulus to shake, asked of Rome the right to be counted among the nations of the West. How true it is that the gates of hell shall never prevail against the rock, against the Church founded thereon, against the holy city prepared on the top of mountains to draw all nations to itself. In vain had the storm stirred up the very mire of the torrents of the abyss: it was the hour when God lifted up his hand, as the prophet says, towards the far-off lands, and kings came, bringing to the ever-holy Bride those unknown sons whom they themselves had educated for her. (Isaiah 49:12-23)
No, the Lord confoundeth not them that wait for him. And therefore, we will hope, even against hope, in the future of the noble nation established by thee upon the apostolic strength. A people justly proud of so many irreproachable heroes could not allow itself to be long led astray by a false liberty kept up by Jewish gold and extolled by all the enemies of the country’s traditions. Martin watches together with thee over the land of his birth; and the sovereign of Hungary, the august Queen of heaven, will not suffer her loyal subject to the listen to the proposals of the infernal spirit.
St Brocard: Miracles, Crusades & the Hidden Carmelite Legacy
A sermon for today. Please remember to say 3 Hail Marys for the Priest.
St Brocard, Confessor
From the Carmelite Institute of North America
How does one write a biography of someone whose known data consists of no more than his initial? The "Brother B" to whom the Carmelite Rule is directed remains shrouded in the mystery of the ages, even though some fanciful stories developed about him, especially during the 14th century. Even his name Brocard depends on a tradition which cannot be entirely supported. Other legends describe him as being a native of Jerusalem, who performed miraculous healings, and dealt with important Muslim leaders. He is also said to have been buried on Carmel, which seems more likely than the other details. Within Carmelite circles, his feast was added to the liturgical calendar in 1564, but then suppressed in 1584 as the reforms of Trent took hold. So what can we know about Brocard?
Fortunately, we do know quite a lot about the hermits and eremitical life during the medieval period, and that may help to flesh out the details of the actual historical figure. Today when we speak of someone as being a "hermit," we often mean an individual who cannot or will not adapt to social norms or the accepted society. He or she may have severe emotional or mental problems which impede normal dealings with other people. It is important to not confuse this image with the hermits of the 12th or 13th centuries.
The men and women of that era had much in common with the first wave of holy hermits from the 4th century onward, who reacted to the growing corruption and secularization within the Constantinian church. The eremitical rebirth of the Middle Ages grew out of a growing sense of anger at the wealth and luxury of the hierarchy and the overly rigid, legalistic life of many of the most important monasteries. The hermits of the Holy Land (who were the ancestors of the original Carmelite of the Wadi ‘Ain es-Siah) had many counterparts in all parts of Europe. They were primarily lay preachers, who distanced themselves from what they considered sources of decay in the Church, but not at all from the people of God. A typical hermit would find a quiet place, often physically beautiful and inspiring, where study of Scripture and silent prayer were possible. Their food, clothing, and possessions were of the poorest type, in testimony to the simplicity of Jesus and his disciples. Hermits would often engage in a simple and informal ministry of some sort, since charity was seen as the finest of the virtues. Indeed they were quiet people, but often very vigorous and well respected.
In the Holy Land, the mild climate allowed an easy life in the most basic shelters. Caves were ideal wherever they could be found. Elsewhere, a tent or simple lean-to shelter of branches or leaves could supply enough shade from the sun for most of the year. Rain was seasonal and predictable, cold weather was rare, except for chilly nights. The hermits wore clothing similar to the local people, woolen robes and cloaks with hoods. Simple stripes were the only concession to variety in dress. Food was easy to find or grow wherever there was a water source. The warm sun and gentle change of seasons allowed a variety of nutritious crops. Grain for simple bread was usually barley or wheat. Grapes, olives, citrus fruit, and figs were easy to find growing wild, or to plant and tend wherever they were wanted. Meat was not usually desired by ascetics, but the local people could provide lamb or chicken whenever sick or infirm people needed extra protein.
The hermits who followed the Crusaders to Palestine had the added characteristic of a unique hardiness. They survived the perils of travel and privation to live in a land where their local support was less certain. They tended to gravitate to holy sites associated with Biblical events."Walking in the footsteps of Jesus" was a primary goal in the individual's spiritual journey, especially in such places as Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth. Other favorite spots for hermits would be the Jordan valley, the Judean desert, Mount Tabor, the Sea of Galilee, or the slopes of Carmel. Such holy sites were well populated by men and women of prayer and reflection as long as the western armies help the door open for them.
But after the disastrous battle of Hattin (1187), the integrity of the Christian Kingdom collapsed like a punctured balloon, and many of those solitaries found themselves vulnerable to bands of violent enemies. Nearly all of them had to run for their lives toward the few remaining enclaves along the sea coast. Many of them did not make it. We have reason to believe that there was a centuries-long tradition of hermits living on or near the Carmel valleys, but the military disaster probably meant that many more came there. Their numbers were swelled with refugees from elsewhere, thanks largely to the protection of the seaward side of the mountain barrier. It seems very likely that the need for a written formula of life may have been seen as a way to organize this overcrowded population, and settle disputes over details of their spiritual practice.
Brocard may very well have been the peacemaker who rose to this challenge by seeking out a significant prelate to settle the questions of ascetical discipline. The simple fact that he is the one whom Albert of Jerusalem addresses indicates that he could speak for the others, probably because of a consensus on his leadership. He may also have had to contend with ethnic differences among hermits from many different places. Despite the contention that Brocard came from Jerusalem, it is much more likely that his roots were French or Italian. The Crusaders came from a broad spectrum of European states, but the military leadership was generally in the hands of the Normans. There were Norman nobles from France, England, and Sicily, all acknowledged to be the best fighters. The lion’s share of the crusading knights came from parts of France, with healthy contingents of Italians, Germans, English and Belgians. There were relatively few Spanish or Portuguese knights, principally because they had their own crusade at home, as they fought to expel the Moors from Iberia. More than likely, the first community in the Wadi reflected this ethnic mix. Most other religious communities began with members from one specific location. Brocard’s position as leader may have reflected his skill at mediating the small disputes which arise among strong minded people.
Archaeologists working in the 20th century have discovered two graves in front of the door of the old chapel. One of them was a primary burial of a man, laid to rest with great respect. Is it Brocard? There is no way to confirm or deny the theory. But knowing what we do about the hermits of his day, we can assume that someone of extraordinary leadership was honored with this symbolic act. Someone who helped pave the way for everything that followed.
St Stephen, King of Hungary, Confessor
From his life written by Chartuiz and from the historians Bonfinius, in Hist. Hungar.1. 1. Hermanus Contractus, &c. See also Czuittinger, Specimen Hungariæ Litteratæ, p. 1, t. 1. The Elzivirian edit. of Resp. et Status Hungariæ, p. 117, 154. Antonius Pagi in Baron. and Gabriel de juxta Hornad, L. de Initiis Religionis Christianæ Inter Hungaros. Francofur. 1740.
A. D. 1038.
GEYSA, the fourth duke of the Hungarians,* by conversing with certain Christian captives, and afterward certain holy missionaries, as Piligrinus, bishop of Passaw, St. Wolfgand, bishop of Ratisbon, &c., or their disciples, became infinitely delighted with the sanctity of the maxims of our holy faith, and was convinced of its divine truth and original by the motives and arguments which are, as it were, the stamp which God has put upon his revelation in order to confirm it to us. And though he had reason to fear great disturbances from the ferocity of his people upon a change of religion, he despised such dangers, and was baptized together with his wife Sarloth, and several of his officers and courtiers. Sarloth was so penetrated with the wonderful mysteries of religion, and so strongly affected with the great ideas of eternity, that she walked in the paths of heroic perfection with a fervor not inferior to that of the saints. Being some time after with child, she was assured by St. Stephen, the protomartyr, in a dream, that she bore in her womb a son who should complete the work she and her husband had begun, and abolish idolatry in that nation. The child was born in 977 at Gran, the ancient Strigonium, at that time the metropolis of the country, and on account of the abovementioned vision was christened Stephen. St. Adalbert, bishop of Prague, who for some time preached the gospel to the Hungarians, and, according to the German historians, baptized St. Stephen, had certainly no small share in the honor of his education, and Theodatus, an Italian count of singular piety, was his tutor; these two holy persons by their example and instructions were, under God, the great instruments of his future sanctity. Geysa died in 997, and Stephen, who had been chosen waywode, that is, leader of the army or duke, some time before, then took the reins of the government into his hands.
His first care was to settle a firm peace with all the neighboring nations. This being done, he turned his thoughts wholly to root out idolatry, and as much as in him lay to make Christ reign in the hearts of all his subjects. Performing himself the part of a missionary, he often accompanied the preachers, and pathetically exhorted his people to open their eyes to the divine truth. Many, however, were so obstinately attached to the superstitions of their ancestors as to take up arms in defence of idolatry: and having at their head a count of great interest and valor named Zegzard, with a numerous army, they laid siege to Vesprin. St. Stephen placed his confidence in the Lord of Hosts, and prepared himself for the engagement by fasting, alms-deeds, and prayer, invoking particularly the intercession of St. Martin and St. George. Though inferior to the rebels in the number of his forces, by the divine assistance, he gave them a total overthrow, and slew their leader. To give to God the entire glory of this victory, he built near the place where the battle was fought, a great monastery in honor of St. Martin called the holy hill; and besides estates in land he bestowed on it one-third part of the spoils. It is immediately subject to the holy see, and is called in Hungary the Archabbacy. St. Stephen having quelled the rebels found himself at liberty to prosecute his design; which he did by inviting into his dominions many holy priests and religious men, who, by their exemplary lives and zealous preaching, sowed the seed of faith, civilized that savage nation by the precepts of the gospel, built churches and monasteries, and some of them obtained the crown of martyrdom.
The zealous prince founded the archbishopric of Gran or Strigonium, and ten bishoprics, and sent Astricus or Anastasius, the new elected bishop of Coloctz, to Rome, to obtain of Pope Sylvester II. the confirmation of these foundations and of many other things which he had done for the honor of God and the exaltation of his holy Church, and, at the same time, to beseech his holiness to confer upon him the title of king, which his subjects had long pressed him to assume, and which he now only asked to satisfy their desires, and that he might with more majesty and authority accomplish his great designs for promoting the glory of God, and the good of his people. Miceslas, duke of Poland, upon marrying a Christian princess, the daughter of Boleslas duke of Bohemia, had embraced the faith in 965. About thirty-four years after this, he sent an embassy to Rome to obtain the title of king confirmed to him by the authority of the apostolic see. Sylvester II. who was then pope, was disposed to grant his request, and prepared a rich crown to send him with his blessing.* But the extraordinary zeal piety, and wisdom of St. Stephen deserving the preference, his holiness delivered this crown for him to his ambassador Astric, together with the present of a cross, granting, by a special privilege, that it should be carried before him in his armies. At the same time he, by a bull, confirmed all the religious foundations which our holy prince had made, and the elections of the bishops. St. Stephen went to meet his ambassador upon his return, listened standing, with great respect, to the pope’s bulls whilst they were read, and fell on his knees as often as the name of his holiness was repeated. To express his profound sense of religion, and to inspire all his subjects with a holy awe for whatever belonged to the divine worship, he treated the pastors of the Church with honor and respect. The same prelate who had brought the crown from Rome, anointed and crowned him king with great solemnity and pomp in the year 1000.†
The good prince, by a public act, and with extraordinary devotion, declared that he put all his dominions under the special patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and never ceased most earnestly offering his daily prayers to implore her powerful intercession for obtaining the divine blessing upon all his subjects. Whence, in many medals and coins of this kingdom, she is styled patroness of Hungary. It is incredible with what ardor the king exhorted his people, especially his domestics, to the practice of all virtues. With a view to propagate on earth the divine honor and praise beyond his own life, and to the end of time, he filled Hungary with pious foundations. At Alba he built a stately church in honor of the Mother of God, in which the kings of Hungary were afterward both crowned and buried. This city St. Stephen made his usual residence, whence it is called Royal Alba, to distinguish it from Alba Julia or Weissemberg in Transylvania. He founded, in old Buda, the monastery of SS. Peter and Paul and in Rome on mount Cœlio the church of St. Stephen, with a college of twelve priests; also an inn and hospital on the Vatican-hill for the entertainment of Hungarian pilgrims; and he built a church at Jerusalem; not to mention the magnificent monastery of St. Bennet, and many other churches in Hungary. Throughout all his dominions he commanded tithes to be paid to the churches, though these are redeemed to this day in many places by the noblemen for a certain sum of money.
St. Stephen, who would seek no alliance but by which piety might be strengthened in his realm and family, took to wife Gisela, sister to St. Henry, king of Germany, who was shortly after crowned emperor; and that holy prince admirably seconded and assisted our saint in all his pious designs. St. Stephen abolished many barbarous and superstitious customs derived from the ancient Scythians, and by severe punishments repressed blasphemy, murder, theft, adultery, and other public crimes. To put a stop to incontinence and idolatry he commanded all persons to marry except religious and churchmen, and forbade all marriages of Christians with idolaters. He was of most easy access to people of all ranks, and listened to every one’s complaints without distinction or preference, except that he appeared most willing to hear the poor, knowing them to be more easily oppressed, and considering that in them we honor Christ, who being no longer among men on earth in his mortal state to receive from us any corporal services, has substituted and recommended to us the poor in his place and right. The good king provided for their subsistence throughout his whole kingdom, and took them, especially the helpless orphans and widows, under his special protection declaring himself their patron and father. Not content with his genera charities and care for all the indigent, he frequently went privately about to discover more freely the necessities of any that might be overlooked by his officers. One day it happened, that, whilst he was dealing about his plentiful alms in disguise, a troop of beggars set upon him, threw him down, beat him, plucked him by the beard and hair, and took away his purse, seizing for themselves what he intended for the relief of many others. The king esteemed himself happy to suffer in the service of his Redeemer, and addressed himself in these words to the Blessed Virgin; “See, O queen of heaven, in what manner I am requited by those that belong to your Son, my Divine Saviour. As they are his friends, I receive with joy this treatment from their hands.” He learned, however, from this accident no more to expose his person, but he renewed his resolution never to refuse an alms to any poor person that asked him. His nobles rallied him on this occasion; but he rejoiced in all humiliations, and God was pleased to testify how agreeable his sincere and heroic piety was, by conferring on him many extraordinary graces; with the gifts of prophecy and many miraculous cures.
How difficult soever it may seem to practise extraordinary severities and humiliations in the midst of a court, and surrounded by the most flattering objects of softness and pride, where such gospel maxims are seldom heard, yet the extraordinary fervor of our saint found means for the exercise of both. He desired to serve and wash the feet of poor men in public; but the fear of giving offence to his subjects, whose minds were not yet framed to imbibe such ideas of a prince’s humility, made him only do it privately. He lost no part of his time in vain amusements or idle company; but divided himself between the duties of religion, and those of his station. To the former, he regularly allotted many hours every day; and the latter, he sanctified by religious motives, and by the constant recollection of his soul. Thus, if he was not able always to praise God with his tongue, he did it without intermission by his life, all his actions being directed to the same point of God’s holy will and greatest glory. His charitable and zealous application to all external duties of life, and to the government of his kingdom; his alms-deeds, mildness, temperance, patience, and other virtues, succeeding one another in their victories and repeated heroic acts, sanctified his whole life, and made it, as it were, one uninterrupted sacrifice to God. The least faults of frailty and inadvertence by which its perfection might be impaired, he labored to expiate by daily penance and tears. The shining example of his virtue was a continual most powerful sermon to those who conversed with him. His happy influence over his children was most sensible in the virtuous courses they pursued. St. Emeric, his eldest son, walked in his steps with so much fervor as to be in his youth the admiration of Christendom. Rising always at midnight he recited matins privately on his knees, pausing a little in devout meditation at the close of every psalm. Many wonderful things are related of his virtues and miracles; to comprise his character in one word, nothing could be more amiable, more pious, or more accomplished, than this young prince. His father trained him up not only in the perfect practice of the most heroic piety, but also formed him in the art of government.
St. Stephen’s excellent code of laws, to this day the basis of the laws of Hungary, are inscribed to his son duke Emeric. In fifty-five chapters the pious legislator has comprised the wisest and most holy regulations of the state. He pathetically exhorts his son to sincere humility (which he calls the sole exaltation of a king), to patience, meekness, assiduous and devout prayer, charity, compassion for the poor, the protection of all that are in distress, &c. He forbids, on pain of severe punishments, all grievous public crimes, especially of impiety and irreligion, as a violation of the Sunday or a fast-day, talking in the church, a culpable neglect to call in the priests to assist dying persons, &c. He commands the most religious respect to be paid to all holy things, and to the clergy.1 These wholesome laws he caused to be promulgated throughout his dominions, and had them always most strictly observed; as on the exact execution of the laws the tranquillity of the state depends.
The protection of his people engaged him sometimes in war, wherein he was always victorious. The prince of Transylvania, his cousin, invader his dominions; St. Stephen defeated him in battle, and made him prisoner; yet gave him his liberty, and restored him his dominions, requiring of him this only condition, that the gospel should be allowed to be freely preacher in them. The saint was never the aggressor in any war; that with the Bulgarians was obstinate; but they were at length overcome, and obliged to receive the laws which he prescribed them. There is no saint whose virtue is not exercised by tribulation. Sickness deprived St. Stephen of all his children. St. Emeric the eldest was carried off the last. He had then begun to sustain a great part of the burden of the state, and to be both a comfort and assistance to his father. The interest of the state, and that of the infant Church of his kingdom, conspired with nature to make this stroke more severe; but the good king bore the loss with entire resignation, adoring in it the holy will of God. St. Emeric was canonized by Benedict IX. and is honored among the saints on the 4th of November. This affliction weaned the king’s heart more and more from the world, and he desired, if it had been possible, to reserve to the care of his own soul the remaining part of his life, that being freed from all worldly concerns, he might be preparing for his last passage. But, as the affairs of both the Church and State did not allow this, he continued to endure the toil of business, knowing that he was accountable to God for the least neglect or omission in the particular duties of his station towards his Creator, his subjects, or himself. He endeavored, however, to redouble his fervor in all his religious exercises, and applied himself particularly to those which are more immediately preparatory for a happy death, to which he principally directed his devotions and charities.
Though brave and expert in war, he had always been a lover of peace; but, from this time, he took a resolution to spill no blood in war, in which he earnestly begged the interposition of Divine Providence, which did not fail him. For to hostilities he, after this, opposed no other arms than fasting, prayers, and tears, and by them alone was ever victorious. The Bessi, a fierce nation of Bulgarians, the most implacable enemies of the Hungarians, made a furious irruption into his territories; but, moved with veneration for the sanctity of the holy king, they on a sudden repented of their enterprise, begged, and easily obtained, his friendship, and returned peaceably home. St. Stephen, by an act of justice, caused some of his own subjects to be hanged on his frontiers, for having plundered them in their retreat. After the death of our saint’s good friend St. Henry, the emperor, his successor Conrad II. invaded Hungary with a powerful army in 1030, and advanced so far, that St. Stephen was compelled to lead out his army against him, though still trusting in God that the effusion of blood would be prevented. All things seemed to be disposed for a decisive battle, when St. Stephen again recommended himself and his earnest desire of peace to the Blessed Virgin; and to the surprise of all men, the emperor on a sudden turned his back with his army, and without having executed anything, marched home into Germany with as great precipitation as if he had been defeated.
St. Stephen labored three years under a complication of painful distempers. During this time four palatins, exasperated at the strict execution of justice which he caused to be observed, entered into a conspiracy to take away his life. One of them got into the king’s chamber in the night with a dagger under his cloak; but let it fall in a fright upon hearing the king ask, who was there. Seeing himself discovered, he threw himself at the feet of his sovereign, and obtained his pardon; but his accomplices were executed. The saint perceiving that his last hour drew near, assembled his nobles, and recommended to them the choice of a successor, obedience to the holy see, and the practice of Christian piety. He then again commended his kingdom to the patronage of the Blessed Virgin, and after having received the sacraments of penance, the viaticum, and extreme-unction, happily expired on the feast of the Assumption of our Lady, the 15th of August, in 1038, being threescore years old, of which he had reigned forty-one from the death of his father, and thirty-eight from the time he had been crowned king. His sacred remains were honored with miracles, and forty-five years after his death, by an order of the pope at the request of the holy king St. Ladislas, were enshrined and placed in a rich chapel which bears his name within the great church of our Lady at Buda. He was canonized by Benedict IX. in the manner described by Benedict XIV.2 Innocent XI. appointed his festival on the 2d of September, in 1686, with an office for the whole Church, the emperor Leopold having on that day recovered Buda out of the hands of the Turks, after many signal victories over those infidels. In Hungary, his chief festival is kept on the 20th of August, the day of the translation of his relics.
Virtue is the most excellent dignity, and the only good of rational beings, as St. Austin observes.3 Genius, learning, power, riches, and whatever else a man enjoys, are only good when made subservient to virtue. Hence the ancient Stoics called such external goods conveniences, not good things, because, said they, virtue alone deserves the name of good.4 This is our glory, our riches, and our happiness in time and eternity. To acquire and continually improve in ourselves this inestimable treasure is the great business of our lives. Yet how careless are the generality of mankind in this particular! Many spare no pains to cultivate their minds with science, or to excel in accomplishments of the body, and in every qualification for the world, yet neglect to reform and regulate their heart. Half that attention which they give to their body or studies, would make them perfect in virtue. An hour, or half an hour a day, employed in holy meditation, pious reading, and self-examination, would be of infinite service in this most important and noble study. This would teach us the divine maxims of virtue, inspire us with its sublime sentiments, and instruct us in its exercises; and a constant attention and watchfulness in all our actions would inure us to the practice, and ground us in perfect habits of it. Were we but thus to learn well one virtue every year, we should soon be perfect saints. Holy kings upon the throne never suffered any avocations or business to be an impediment to this earnest application to the science of a Christian. Virtue no sooner gains the empire in the hearts of men but it rules and sanctifies the whole circle of their actions, makes all the employments of their state an uninterrupted exercise of its various acts, and advances daily in fervor and perfection.