Friday, April 23
ST. GEORGE (b Roman Palestine 281, d Nicomedia [now part of Turkey] 303), Soldier and Martyr
One of the most popular saints especially in the Orthodox world, he is probably also the best-known of military saints.
His father was a famous Roman commander in Palestine in the time of Emperor Diocletian, and his mother was Judean,
but the family was Christian. George presented himself to the Emperor Diocletian in Nicomedia, then the eastern capital
of the Roman Empire, to be a soldier, and he soon became a member of his Palace Guard. However, the emperor decreed
in 302 that all Christians in the Roman army be arrested and offer sacrifices to the pagan Gods. George refused and
professed his faith before the emperor, who sought to bribe him with money and lands to change his mind. Diocletian
had no choice but to order his execution. He underwent many tortures including being dragged through the streets
before he was beheaded. His body was brought back to Palestine where Christians venerated him as a martyr. His cult
spread throughout the eastern Roman Empire and reached the west in the 5th century. He was canonized by Pope Gelasius I
in 494. The Crusades brought him new fame when the Crusaders rebuilt the fourth century basilica erected in his honor.
Chivalric orders dedicated to him sprung up all over Western Europe. England's Edward II put the Order of the Garter
under St. George's patronage and by the 12th century, England's ships wre flying the Cross of St. George. His name was
an English battlecry during the Hundred Years War. Today he is the patron saint of England, Greece, Portugal, and
Russia among others. Images of St. George are all based on the legend of St. George and the dragon, akin to ancient
fables of a hero slaying a dragon to save a princess from death.
Readings for today's Mass: www.usccb.org/nab/readings/042310.shtml
OR today.
Page 1 features an open letter to Hans Kueng replying to his April 16 letter to the bishops of the world, and the text
of the Pope's address on receiving the credentials of the new ambassador from Macedonia; President Obama's plan
to impose more regulation on Wall Street; a European Commission Report that faults the European Union for not doing
its share in development aid to poorer countries; and Israeli confirmation yet again that it will proceed with
building new houses in east Jerusalem.
THE POPE'S DAY
The Holy Father met today with
- Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education
(Seminaries and Institutes of Study)
- Mons. Claudio Maria Celli, President of the Ponticical Council for Social Communications
- Ms. Maria Voce, President of the Focolari movement
- Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (weekly meeting)
The Vatican announced that the Holy Father has accepted the resignation of Mons. Roger Joseph Vangheluwe
as Bishop of Bruges (Belgium) under Canon 41, Section 2, of the Code of Canon Law. [In a statement from Bruges,
the bishop disclosed he had improper relations with a minor when he was a priest.]
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 23/04/2010 15:20]