March 8, 1948 – McCollum v. Board of Education

Hugo Black, a former US Senator from Alabama, was appointed to the US Supreme Court by Franklin Roosevelt and handed down the decision of the Supreme Court on March 8, 1948 saying it was illegal to teach religious education in public schools. Known as the McCollum v. Board of Education decision, the Court said it was a violation of the …

March 7, 1274 – Thomas Aquinas

One of the great giants of church theology and political theology was Thomas Aquinas who died on March 7, 1274. His book Summa Theologia is a masterpiece of understanding many theological ideas in one spot and has had a tremendous impact on Western thinkers. He has a Catholic college named in his honor located in California which you can see …

March 6, 1858 – Missionary Society of St. Paul

Father Issac Hecker had a vision that a very Protestant United States could be converted to Catholicism with a concerted evangelical effort. He gathered with three other Catholic converts and they formed the Missionary Society of St. Paul known as the Paulists when they first met on March 6, 1858 and kicked in efforts a few months later.

March 5, 1797 – Henry Nott

Protestant missionaries began a concerted effort to spread Christianity to the far east and the London Missionary Society played a major role. Henry Nott was one of those missionaries and he landed with a large party in Tahiti on March 5, 1797. Almost everyone else would desert but Nott stayed and that’s why you get to be on a stamp.

March 4, 1849 – President Zachary Taylor

Until the 20th amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1933, the inauguration of the President of the United States was March 4th and not January 20th as it is today. When Zachary Taylor became president on March 4, 1849, inauguration day fell on a Sunday and Taylor refused to be sworn in on the Lord’s day. The tradition stuck …

March 3, 1033 – Queen Cunegunda

Queen Cunegunda was married to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and when Henry died, instead of fighting for power to rule the empire, she went into a convent and lived a peaceful servant’s life until her death on March 3, 1033. She and Henry commissioned the building of the cathedral at Bamberg, Germany where they are buried.

March 2, 1898 – Australian Preamble

The Preamble to the Australian Constitution starts: Whereas the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania, humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God, have agreed to unite in one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and under the Constitution hereby established. A devout Roman Catholic member …

March 1, 1546 – George Wishart

Keeping in Scotland from Saturday’s post, this picture is of the Martyr’s Memorial in the shadows of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club – Ground Zero for golfers – in St. Andrews, Scotland. One of the martyrs memorialized is George Wishart who was burned at the stake March 1, 1546. His crime was challenging the Roman Catholic Church on its …

February 29, 1692 – Salem witch trials

When Reverend Samuel Parris accused his Native American female servant, named Tituba, along with another woman named Sarah Good of witchcraft in their town of Salem, Massachusetts a firestorm followed. Thus, the Salem Witch Trials began on February 29, 1692 and before other pastors would calm everyone’s fears 19 “witches” had been hanged and over 150 put in jail. In …

February 28, 1638 – Scottish National Covenant

The Scottish National Covenant was born from the idea that Christ was the head of the church and not the king (or queen). On February 28, 1638 many nobles joined clergymen in making this Covenant only to find themselves martyred for signing. It was signed at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh.