The Untersberg is a great mountain straddling the Austro-German border opposite Salzburg. It was reputed in local legend to be the seat of the god Wotan and to be haunted. The Knights Templar of the...
In the history of the European Middle Ages, noble families and powerful feudal lords always played a very important role. The wealthier, influential aristocratic families rose to great heights and...
Texas in the USA is distinctive with a unique history. This American state was once part of the Spanish Empire and the San Antonio Missions and Catholic churches were built by Spanish religious...
The bones of a Polish saint that have been lost for centuries have been re-discovered by chance during restoration work in a Christian basilica in Silesia. Conservators were working on the tomb of St...
The history of our world has always been a bloody and difficult affair, full of struggles, wars and conquests. And in the centuries before our own, tribes and chieftains, kingdoms and empires, all...
Walls constructed of human bones and skulls have been discovered beneath a Belgium cathedral. The nine walls composed of bones and shattered human skulls were discovered by archaeologists while...
There are many important architectural and historic sites in the Philippines dating from the four centuries of Spanish occupation . Their influence is to be found in many areas, including the Baroque...
The Order of St. Benedict ( Ordo Sancti Benedicti in Latin, abbreviated as OSB), known also as the Benedictines (sometimes referred to as Black Monks, due to the color of their religious habits), is...
The Baltic nation of Estonia is one of Europe’s least crowded countries and has two UNESCO World Heritage sites, one you may never have heard of. The Struve Geodetic Arc , which Estonia shares with...
All Souls’ Day on November 2 is an important holy day for Roman Catholics and Anglo-Catholics, but do you know why? Just when Halloween has passed and the vampire and ghost costumes get tucked away...
Harry Potter books were removed from a private Catholic school in Nashville in 2019 because they include actual “ curses and spells ”, according to staff at the school. In a report in the US daily,...
Many archaeological sites and ruins from the colonial period are to be found in the former colonies of the Spanish Empire, and the Republic of Uruguay is no exception. Calera de las Huérfanas is one...
Death was always a source of mystery for people around the world. But what happens when we erase that invisible border and make the dead a thing to worship? Never too far from every major turn of...
Notre Dame de Paris (which translates as ‘Our Lady of Paris’) is one of the best-known Gothic cathedrals in the world and among the most famous landmarks in France . The monument caught the attention...
As the flames of every disaster fade, stories emerge about heroes and this is again the case in Paris where a brave French priest not only attended to the wounded after the Notre-Dame cathedral fire...
St Brigid is one of the patron saints of Ireland. But the virgin nun has roots that go back to the days when the land’s pagan deities received prayers instead. It seems the Celtic goddess Brigid...
William Johnston / The Conversation For Christians, the death and resurrection of Jesus is a pivotal event commemorated each year during a season of preparation called Lent and a season of...
The reign of Heraclius, the Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641, reads like a series of disasters that continued to be visited on his heirs. In between the disasters he had some successes, but he and...
The Shrove Tuesday Riots (known also as the Bawdy House Riots of 1668, or the Messenger Riots) were a series of brutal riots that took place in London in 1668. During the 17 th century, it was...
The Council of Nicaea (also known as the First Council of Nicaea) was the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church. This council, which was convened in 325 AD, was assembled by the Roman...
Under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, which began in 1558, Catholics were persecuted by law and priests were imprisoned, tortured, and frequently executed. As a result of this oppression,...
It is reported in several news outlets that another test has been conducted on the controversial Shroud of Turn which indicates that it is most likely a forgery. This shroud is believed by many to be...
Steeped in mythology and immersed in over two millennia of history, the Rock of Cashel is one of Ireland’s most important archaeological sites. Prior to the arrival of the Normans, the Rock of Cashel...
The recent dispute over whether Pope Francis denied the existence of hell in an interview attracted wide attention . This isn’t surprising, since the belief in an afterlife, where the virtuous are...
