The steeple of Old St Paul’s, the medieval cathedral of London (above), caught fire today in 1561. The spire, one of the tallest in the world, had towered over the City of London for almost 350 years, but a lightning strike set it ablaze. The heat was so intense that the cathedral bells melted, and molten lead from the spire roof cascaded into the nave. The structure was never rebuilt, and 100 years later, in 1666, the rest of the cathedral followed, incinerated in the Fire of London.
William Juxon, the 17th century Archbishop of Canterbury, died today in 1663. King Charles I chose him to be with him on the scaffold and give him the last rites before he was beheaded, and Charles II made him the Archbishop who crowned him king. Juxon helped restore London’s St Paul’s Cathedral, which had been badly treated by parliamentary troops during the Civil War, but his efforts were in vain as the cathedral went up in smoke three years after he died.
It is the feast of St Petroc, one of the best known 6th century saints, who has churches named after him in Devon, Cornwall, Brittany, Wales and Ireland. It is said that when he came home to Cornwall from a pilgrimage to Rome, it was lashing with rain, but Petroc foolishly said that the weather would cheer up the next morning. Predictably, the deluge continued for several days, and Petroc was so ashamed, he did penance by going on another pilgrimage. The patron saint of useless weather forecasters.
St Francis Caracciolo, accidental father superior, died today in 1608. He had only been a priest for a year when a letter was delivered to his house in Naples by accident, intended for someone else with the surname Caracciolo. It invited him to help set up a new religious order, the Adorno Fathers. Rather than pop the letter back in the envelope and make sure it was delivered to the right person, Francis took it as a sign that God wanted him to get the job. He ended up being general of the order and is now the patron saint of Italian cooks.
Image: Wikimedia