Today a relatively  peaceful revolution  took place in Mania removing the autocrat Ferdinand Marcos,  We look at the crucial role church leaders played in this 

Today we remember the life of a Lebanese Saint who attracts thousands of Christians and Muslims to his grave every month. We look at the purported miracles that surround him,

Today we try and get as close as we can to establishing who St Valentine actually was, and how his feast day has developed over time

Today in 1692, thirty members of the MacDonald clan were killed by troops of the Earl of Argyll's Regiment, as an example to the Clan chiefs who were dragging their feet in swearing allegiance to the Protestant William of Orange....  we ex...

Today in 1858 a 14-year old girl, gathering firewood outside a grotto in South West France had the first encounter with a young woman which would transform the town and the area. 

Today Christians remember how St Paul was shipwrecked in Malta, looking at the story and the historical evidence linked to it

Today we remember how a misdirected shell landed in Genoa Cathedral on Feb 9th 1941 and failed to explode.  Called the miracle of St Lawrence.... we look at how people fall back on religious objects and places during times of war and stres...

Today we remember the execution on Feb 6 1927 in Mexico of a priest Fr Matteo Correa Magallenes.  Exploring the Cristero War in Mexico and the involvement of the US.

Today in 1597 we go to Nagasaki where 26 Christians were crucified, part of a long persecution against the Church.  Forced underground, the 'Kakure Kirishitan' the hidden Christians of Japan developed an ingenious way of keeping t...

Today we remember how the Mormons left their Wintering Grounds in 1846 for the last part of their journey to establish the state of Utah. They received directions from an unlikely source....

Today in 1468, Johannes Guttenberg invented a process for mass-producing movable type; mechanising the process, using adjustable moulds and oil-based ink for printing books. This was an epoch changing invention, changing mass communication for ...

Today's celebration of Candlemas is marked in different ways around the world.  We look at the origins in scripture, in pre-Christian Roman practices, and how it is remembered from Mexico to France

Today in 1516 Erasmus dedicated his amendment to St Jerome's New Testament to Pope Leo X.  A great achievement by this 'Prince of Humanists', did it unwittingly trigger the reformation?  We look today at the history of Biblical Transl...

Today in 1867,  the Maronite Nationalist Leader Karam was sent into exile by the French. We look at the long fight for Lebanese independence, and today we look at St Maron, the church in Lebanon and its struggle for recognition, 

Today in  1661, Oliver Cromwell's dead body was exhumed and beheaded in revenge for his execution of King Charles I on Jan 30 in 1649.  We look at how Cromwells puritanism motivated him, his disputed legacy, and Englands brief experim...

Today we look at the life of Katarina Von Bora, who after a daring escape from a convent, married Martin Luther, had 6 children and ran many successful enterprises. We also take a tentative look at her influence on her husband. 

Todays pod looks at the incredible story of the walk to Canossa, where in the dead of winter, Henry IV crossed the Alps by foot in a penitential act. Today Pope Gregory VII lifted his excommunication. 

Today in 1302,  Italy's finest poet and some say the father of the Italian language, Dante Alighieri was exiled from Florence. In exile, he wrote the Divine Comedy, the greatest poem of the middle ages, and an allegory of the Soul's journe...

In 1950 on Jan 26 the Constitution of India came into force, forming a republic.  One of the oldest civilisations in the world, India is officially a secular country nut with a deeply religious population. With 80% of the huge populatio...

A group of Jesuit missionaries built a mission on top of a steep hill on the Piratiningha plains.  As part of the mission they founded the Colégio de São Paulo de Piratininga today on January 25, 1554. Around the mission, grew up the Portu...

Today in 1918 the Gregorian calendar was introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars making its coverage almost universal.  Today's pod looks at the history of it, why it was needed and how it was rolled out.......

Seismic events in Northern Europe today on the 23rd of January and the Union of Utrecht effectively unites the northern provinces of the Netherlands. A radical experiment in Religious Freedom leads to the waning of Spain as an international for...

 On Jan 22 1506 the first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrives at the Vatican. Todays pod looks at the historical context for their arrival, their famous colourful uniforms and how their role is changing all the time. 

On this day in Christian History, we go back to the year 1621 and the Pilgrims from England left their ship the Mayflower and gathered on shore at Plymouth, Massachusetts, for their first religious service.  The story of their grueling jou...

Today in 1918 we remember how the Bolshevik-controlled government in Russia enacted the Decree that proclaimed the separation of church and state .   This effectively meant that all church property in Russia was confiscated and all re...