In the alternative world of Christian hagiography, the true cross of Jesus was discovered today in about the year 326 by Helena, the saintly mother of the Emperor Constantine. Guided to a mound in Jerusalem which was said to cover the tomb of Christ, Helena had the ground dug up, which revealed not just the long-buried tomb, but also three crosses. But which was the cross of Christ? The only way to find out was to take all three to a sick woman (as painted above by Piero della Francesca). The one which healed her was of course the true cross.
Mother Juana de la Cruz, the Spanish mystic, theologian and preacher, was born near Toledo, today in 1481, and died today 1534. Unusually for her time, she was given official permission to preach, thanks to the protection of the otherwise fearsome Cardinal Ximenes, the Spanish Inquisitor. Even more unusually, Mother Juana preached while she lay in a trance-like ecstasy, and spoke in a deep, male voice – the voice of Jesus – describing the banquets, games and dancing going on in heaven. Her ecstatic sermons were a sensation, with bishops, army heroes and even the Emperor Charles V coming to hear her.
Today in 1939, Pope Pius XII called for an international conference to avert World War II. Sadly, it was unsuccessful.
Niccolò Machiavelli, the Renaissance diplomat and philosopher who gave his name to Machiavellian politics, was born in Florence today in 1469. He called the bluff of Christian rulers by saying that religion was good for keeping social order, but naked ambition and self interest was how rulers actually got things done. His ideas of realpolitik have endured, and a recent writer has noted, ‘Many senior people in the C of E hold their copy of Machiavelli close while leaving their Bible on the bookshelf.’
Raffaele Riario was born today in 1461, in Savona, Italy. A relative of Pope Sixtus IV, he became a cardinal at the age of 16, which makes him the first adolescent cardinal ever.
Image: Richard Mortel