1096: The armies of the First Crusade set out from Europe to deliver
Jerusalem from the occupying forces of Islamic Turks. Championed by Peter the Hermit in
1093, Pope Urban II had sanctioned the crusade at the Council of Clermont in 1095.
1534:
The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) was founded by Ignatius of Loyola, 43. Created to foster
reform within Catholicism, and to undertake education and missionary work, this colorful
religious order was formally approved by Pope Paul III in 1540.
1549:
The first Christian missionaries to reach Japan landed at Kagoshima (on the coast of
Kyushu, southernmost of the four main islands of Japan). They were a band of Spanish
Jesuits, led by pioneer Catholic missionary Francis Xavier, 43.
1613:
Birth of Jeremy Taylor, Anglican clergyman and devotional writer. Two of his works became
classic expressions of Anglican spirituality: "The Rule and Exercise of Holy
Living" (1650) and "The Rule and Exercise of Holy Dying" (1651).
1790:
Father John Carroll, 55, was consecrated by Pius VI as the first Roman Catholic bishop
(later, in 1811, the first archbishop) of the United States.
Source: William D. Blake. Almanac
of the Christian Church, Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987. Additional
information supplied by the author. Contact via E-mail: William D. Blake. (pilgrimwb@aol.com)
