February 21
1076: Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV sends a mocking letter to Pope Gregory VII who is officiating a council, provoking the bishops to demand vengeance but the Pope pacifies the situation.
1173: Canonization Thomas Becket (1118-70), former Archbishop of Canterbury, England, who had been martyred on orders of King Henry II ,a former friend until Becket was elevated to Archbishop in 1162. There was a hectic argument between them over the division of power between the King and the Church and Becket had to excommunicate some of Henry’s friends.
1431: Beginning of the interrogation of Joan of Arc, who was later condemned as a heretic and burned at the stake.
1595: Martyrdom of Robert Southwell, a Jesuit, who had lived secretly in London, rendering priestly services for several years during the reign of Elizabeth I, and had to undergo severe torture after his capture.
1795: Freedom of worship was established in France under the constitution that came out as a result of the French Revolution of 1789.
1869: Conversion of Queen Ranavalona II of Madagascar and her court to Christianity.
1945: Death of Eric Liddell, a Scottish Olympic champion runner, who later became a missionary to China and was captured by the Japanese during World War II.
1954: Bonaventure Dlamini of the Franciscan Familiars of St. Joseph is appointed as the first black Catholic bishop of South Africa.
2009: Vatican announces the canonization of Father Damien, widely acclaimed for his work with lepers on Hawaii.
Edited by:Â T. Chempilayil MCBS
Courtesy: www.studylight.org