August 26
1498: Italian artist Michelangelo is commissioned by Pope Alexander VI to carve the “Pieta” as he was just 23. He completed the work in 1501.
1549: Repose of Adrian, the Abbot of Ondrusov, at the hands of some robbers. He was a notable monk, who even impressed Ivan IV (“the Terrible”), who endowed his monastery and took him as the godfather of his daughter Anna.
1732: Demise of William Morgan, one of the earliest Methodists at Oxford University, who pioneered the Methodist prison ministry.
1792: National Assembly of France issues a decree against priests, forcing forty thousand of them to flee the country.
1832: Passing away of Adam Clarke, an English Methodist clergyman, who produced the 8-volume commentary on the Bible between 1810-26, and is still in circulation!
1901: Publication of The New Testament of the ASV (American Standard Version) Bible.
1948: Demise of Maud Ballington Booth, who broke away from the methods of the Salvation Army along with her husband formed the Volunteers of America, a rival movement. She was also active in the Volunteer Prison League and was a founder of the Parent-Teacher Association.
1978: Italian Cardinal Albino Luciani is elected Pope and takes the name John Paul I. His papacy lasted only 34 days as he passed away unexpectedly, leaving the whole world in tears, because of his warm personality.
2006: Repose of Friday Chinyere Usuwa, one of the founders of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria, in his hometown of Usaka-Eleogu, Abia State, after a week-long funeral.
Edited by: T. Chempilayil MCBS
Courtesy: www.studylight.org