August 31
651 Demise of St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, an Irish monk and missionary who converted the Anglo-Saxons Northumbria, England to Christianity. He founded the Cathedral known as the Lindisfarne Priory and became its first bishop.
1240 Passing away of St. Raymond Nonnatus, who had tried to evangelize Muslims . He even went to Algeria to liberate the captives and gave himself as ransom, where he took up the mission to convert the Muslims to Christianity. On his return to Barcelona, he was made a cardinal.
1528 Repose of Matthias Grünewald [Mathis Gohardt], a German Renaissance painter, renowned for his religious artworks, which were probably influenced by the writings of Luther.
1555 Robert Samuels, a priest, is martyred under Queen Mary for visiting his wife from whom he had been forced to separate.
1688 Repose of John Bunyan, an English Puritan clergyman and writer, who was imprisoned several times between 1660 and 1672 for preaching without license in accordance with the Conventicle Act. His literary masterpieces Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666) and Pilgrim’s Progress (1678) were written from the prison.
1735 Ordination of John Sergeant to be a missionary to the American Indians.
1861 Birth of Jesse Brown Pounds, an American hymn-writer, who published nine books, 50 cantatas and over 400 religious song texts during her lifetime. Her most popular hymns are: “Anywhere With Jesus,” “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth” and “The Way of the Cross Leads Home.”
1870 Birth of Maria Montessori, the famous Italian educator, who developed a theory of teaching, which emphasized a reinforcement of creativity and a freedom of movement for the child, known as the “Montessori Method” in education.
1991 Repose of Mary Kamanga, the first Swazi teacher employed at the Nazarene Teachers’ Training College in Swaziland. She was a devoted worker for Christ, who inspired hundreds of others with her zeal.
Edited by: T. Chempilayil MCBSC
Courtesy: www.studylight.org