The Gregorian calendar is now almost universally used. This is the story about how Pope Gregory promulgated it after some revisions were made of the Julian Calendar which slightly overestimated the solar orbit of planet EarthAf Tim Byron

We remember how today the public where given access to this iconic statue of Christ overlooking Rio. With his arms stretched out the statue can be seen anywhere in the city of 7 million people by anyone,Af Tim Byron

Today in 1917 reports went around the world of a miracle of the Sun that was witnessed by a crowd of 50.000 in Portugal. The 'miracle' had been predicted by three peasant children from Fatima who had been seeing a 'Lady of the Rosary' who had urged prayer in order to stop the First World WarAf Tim Byron

The discussion between Karl Barth and the Polish Jesuit Erich Przywara about the analogy of being - mortal humanities relationship to God the immortal creator, has been one of the richest between Catholic and Protestant theologians in modern timesAf Tim Byron

The Second ecumenical council of the Vatican was attended by between 2,100 and 2,300 bishops from all over the world, at its different sessions that lasted 4 years. It was the biggest ever council and set the direction of the church in the modern worldAf Tim Byron

15 year old computer geek Carlo Acutis died of Luekemia in 2005 - he was beatified in 2020. Thousands of people visit his shrine in Assisi every day. Could he become the first millenial saint?Af Tim Byron

The man who ushered anatomy into the renaissance age after stagnating with 1300 years of Galen was Fr Gabrielle Fallopio. He gave his name to the Fallopian tube, Fallopian Canal, and Fallopian ligament.Af Tim Byron

Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania during the war, He had converted to Christianity for his first marriage - joining the Orthodox Church. He saved thousands of Jews by issuing them visas and this was only discovered in Japan when many turned up at his funeralAf Tim Byron

Gilles de Rai was one of the earliest serial killers on record, today he was arrested in 1440 after an investigation by the Bishop of NantesAf Tim Byron

Dominic de Guzman founded the Order of Preachers who were hugely responsible with spreading devotion to the Rosary. He has two countries named after him. This is the story of the miraculous painting attributed to himAf Tim Byron

Now the most famous champagne is named in his honour, Pierre Perignon was a Benedictine Monk who perfected the method of making sparkling wineAf Tim Byron

The final novel of Dostoevsky is possibly his most famous - the Brothers Karamazov. Wrought out of terrible grief and struggles with faith after the death of his three year old son Aloysha. One of Russia's greatest novelists has produced on of the greatest novels of all time. Charting the tumultuous transition of Russia from feudalism, the devoutly…

Bishop Richard Challoner has been called the most influential English Catholic of the 18th Century. It was an uneasy time before Catholic Emancipation laws and least safe in London. The Catholic Church was still illegal after Queen Elizabeth's Act of Uniformity and there were sporadic riots against Catholics. Challoners' life is a case study of suc…

Bishop Bartholomew De La Casas chronicled the terrible atrocities that Spanish colonists carried out on the indigenous people of Central and South America. He was appointed protector of the Indians by the Spanish Legal Establishment, His writing and thinking was influenced the School of Salamanca and lead to both international law and the first con…

Carl Gustav Jung was one of the most creative thinkers of the 20th Century. The founder of analytical psychology his fascination with religion was life longAf Tim Byron

Today we remember the life of Michael Novak - influential author of the Spirit of Democratic Capitalism. He tweaked Weber's famous Protestant Work Ethic and claimed that free capitalist economies owed more to a Catholic Work EthicAf Tim Byron

Francis Collins the director of the Human Genome Project is a devout Christian. we explore his life todayAf Tim Byron

Jos - the capital of the Plateau state in Nigeria's Central Belt is also a flashpoint for tension and violence between the Christian South and the Muslim NorthAf Tim Byron

Today we remember how the Vatican placed the Pascals Provincial Letters on the Index. He was a brilliant French polymath, the inventor of the syringe and a promoter of an exaggerated theology called JansenismAf Tim Byron

Archbishop Josef Beran of Prague defied both the Nazis and the Communists. He nearly died of typhus in Dachau concentration camp and after the iron curtain fell was placed under 16 years house arrest by the Communists. He was only allowed to leave the then Czechoslovakia to go to Rome to be made a cardinal - on the condition he didn't return. He di…

Rafailo Momčilović was a celebrated Orthodox painter (writer) of Icons. He was murdered by the fascist Ustase in Croatia whilst they were a Nazi puppet governmentAf Tim Byron

The discovery and publication of the Heliand started to explain a historical mystery. How were the warrior Germanic Cultures subsumed into Christendom? This life of Christ in Old Norse is now an invaluable epic poem in a forgotten languageAf Tim Byron

The translations and summaries of Orthodox wisdom from Fr Seraphim Rose became valued as illegal Samizdat, material banned and shared in a clandestine manner under Communism. We look at the life and conversion of this monk who died at a young age after live a harsh asceticismAf Tim Byron

The Friendship between Jesuit Priest Ed Dowling and the founder of the AA Bill Wilson was deep and rich, We look at how Dowling became his advisor and sponsor and how he integrated the Ignatian Exercises into the 12 step programmeAf Tim Byron

Matthias Grunewald masterpiece was commissioned by the Antonite Monks at Isenheim. His depiction of an excruciating crucifixion is now iconic and was commissioned in the context of a monastery that was treating victims of the plague and skin diseaseAf Tim Byron

When Ben Chambers became the Methodist Minister at St Domingo's chapel he started the 'Band of Hope' putting on activities to distract youngsters from drink. Thus Everton FC was born and then its younger brother - the more successful Liverpool FCAf Tim Byron

Today Michael Faraday induced the first electrical current - this would change civilization. Not formally educated - his enquiring mind was underpinned by his faith - we explore this todayAf Tim Byron

Paul VI opened the Second Conference of Latin American Bishops in Medellin, Colombia. This was influenced by the Brazilian educationalist Paolo Freire and his theory on 'conscientisation'. The conference endorsed the 'preferential option for the poor' and base Christian communities. This was the start of what would become known as Liberation Theolo…

Enrique Shaw was a successful lifelong businessman from Argentina. As he was dying awaiting for a life saving blood transfusion - hundreds of his employees queued outside the hospital to give him their bloodAf Tim Byron

Adrian of Ondrusuv sacrificed his estate to become a monk after meeting a holy hermit. Ivan the Terrible. a tyrant and cruel leader asked him to be the godfather at his daughters baptismAf Tim Byron

Friedrich Nietzsche died today in 1900 - one of the most influential intellectuals of the modern era. His relationship with God is much more complex than the famous statement that 'God is dead' Today we explore it and his lifeAf Tim Byron

Today approximately 2000 puritans resigned their pulpits as deadline came for forced assent to the Book of Common Prayer. We look at the remarkable impact they have had in both Britain and North AmericaAf Tim Byron

The Taize ecumenical monastic community in France was founded by Roger Schultz in the ashes of WW2. It still attracts thousands of young people every year as a community of reconciliation. Brother Roger was stabbed in the neck by a young Romanian woman.Af Tim Byron

De Lubac was one of the most influential theologians of the 20th Century. His experience of WW1 and WW2 was followed by 10 years being banned from teaching by the Vatican. He was appointed cardinal by Pope John Paul 2, the first one to be named without being a bishop in the modern eraAf Tim Byron

In his will dated today - Lord Adam Gifford, a Scottish Judge - bequeathed a large amount of money to annual lectureship in Natural Theology. Held in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews they have been very influentialAf Tim Byron

Bultmann was one of the most influential post-war theologians in the quest for the historical Jesus. His theory of 'demytholigisation' however is now widely discredited ,,,, we explore whyAf Tim Byron

The discovery of a fascinating ancient stone in the Jordan has given us a fascinating peak into the world of the Tribe of Israel during its Exodus from EgyptAf Tim Byron

Warner Brothers most financially successful film the Exorcist was written by a student of Georgetown University, William Peter Blatty. Based on a true story of a Jesuit directed exorcism in St Louis, it provoked a remarkable reaction from audiencesAf Tim Byron

We look at the site of Megiddo, why it was strategically fought over for centuries, and what archaeologists have found there. In Greek it is known as Armageddon.Af Tim Byron

We look at the audacious 'Operation Baptism' which had the blessing of Pope Pius XII. Hundreds of Jews where rescued from Hungary and the Nazis by issuing them with false baptism certificates.Af Tim Byron

Cologne Cathedral is the largest twin spired Church in the world. Germanys most visited landmark it was regarded as a project to symbolize German nationhood. It houses the relics of the three Kings or Magi who visited the infant Christ.Af Tim Byron

Today we remember how the dynamic Franciscan Maximilian Kolbe offered his life for another at Auschwitz. We look at his rich life, his devotion to the ' Immaculada' and his legacyAf Tim Byron

The great Irish Writer James Joyce had a confusing and complicated relationship with the Catholic Church. But his books have had a remarkable influence and followingAf Tim Byron

Today we look at the tradition of Popes handing out Golden Roses that have been blessed on Laudate Sunday. How Paul VI gave one today to the Cathedral of Our Lady of AparecidaAf Tim Byron

Today we look at the life and thought of George Ellis, committed Quaker and Cosmologist. Co-author with Stephen Hawking of the 'Yellow Peril' a standard text book on General Relativity Theory. Also developed the theory of kenotic-ethics which he claims is deeply imbedded in the universeAf Tim Byron

Today we remember the first papal encyclical that allowed for the possibility of Salvation outside of Church. We look at the history of soteriology - the theology of salvationAf Tim Byron

St Herman was a Russian Orthodox monk who had a very effective mission to the Aleut people of Alaska. During a 'Fur Rush' when colonisation and exploration was fuelled by the seal fur trade he defended the rights of the native Aleut peopleAf Tim Byron

Today we look at the profoundly influential Danish philosopher Soren Kierkergaard. The Father of Existentialism he was a profoundly Christian thinker. Surviving his fathers harsh Lutheranism he would write some of the most profound criticisms of Christianity but also at times was quasi-mysticalAf Tim Byron

An important meeting in post-war Germany, the first outdoor mega-mass and a landmark in Ecumenical Relations. The delegates also laid a foundation for a Church of Atonement near the concentration camp of DachauAf Tim Byron

The First Conclave of the Sistine Chapel - how did the Church develop this way of electing a Pope and what happensAf Tim Byron