...as well as being the familiar Latin exhortation to pray, is also the name of the monthly magazine published by Westminster Cathedral. Auntie has a regular article in it, exploring the feast-days as they come up in the calendar, and some associated customs and traditions. The October edition features two recent beatified figures who are linked. One Beatus beatified the other, and both share a name.
Tried guessing?
OK, I'll tell you. Bl. John Paul - whose name, before he became Pope, was Karol - beatified Karl, the last Emperor of Austria-Hungary. Bl. JP's father served in the Austro-Hungarian Army and in due course named his baby son after the Emperor.
Both Blessed Karl and Blessed John Paul have their feast-days in October. And both, interestingly, find themselves in October for unusual reasons: a feast-day has traditionally been the day on which a saint has died, but Bl. Karl has instead been given his wedding-day, and Bl. John Paul the day on which he was elected Pope. Both these new Beati would otherwise have had feast-days that clashed with Lent and Holy Week and Eastertide.
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2 comments:
We have a son named after JP II and hope to name our next one after Blessed Karl. My husband and I both began a devotion to him after reading your book. Needless to say, we were thrilled with the beatifications and plan to celebrate their feast days.
Joanna, I always enjoy your historical and cultural notes! I watch you on EWTN in the U.S. I'm sure you must know by now that Blessed Karl's great-grandson married a lovely Catholic pro-life activist in Washington, D.C. earlier this month.
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