Faith Through the Ages - Today in Religious History
Girolamo Savonarola, an Italian Dominican friar, was executed for heresy after being excommunicated by Pope Alexander VI. He was a prominent figure in the Florentine Renaissance who advocated for moral and religious reform.
St. Giles was a 7th-century Athenian-born hermit who lived in southern France. He is the patron saint of beggars, the disabled, and the outcasts of society, and his feast day is celebrated on February 13th.
St. Frances of Rome was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the 15th century and founded the Oblates of Tor de' Specchi, a religious congregation of women. She was canonized by Pope Innocent XI on February 13, 1687.
The Catholic University of America was established in Washington, D.C., on February 13, 1870, by Pope Pius IX. It was the first Catholic university in the United States and has since become a leading institution of higher education.
Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton was an American Catholic convert and the foundress of the Sisters of Charity, the first congregation of religious women established in the United States. She was beatified by Pope Pius XII on February 13, 1946.