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“Today in the town of David a Savior
has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord.” 
– Luke 2:11 NIV

WE WISH YOU

A MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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Posted Dec. 25, 2007 MINNEAPOLIS 12:15am CT | LONDON 06:15am | SYDNEY 05:15pm

THIS DAY IN HISTORY - December 25, Christmas Day in Western Christianity

What happened on Christmas Day
in Christian history?

Researched and written by Gloriscope staff

2005: Pope Benedict XVI signed his first encyclical, “Deus Caritas est” (”God is Love”) – It was published on January 25, 2006.

1961: The papal bull (charter) “Humanae Salutis” by Pope John XXIII summoned the Second Vatican Council, which was held in 1962-1965.

1931: The world’s first missionary radio station started broadcasting – It was located in Quito, the capital of Ecuador in South America, and its original name was La Voz de Andes (The Voice of the Andes). Its call letters were HCJB, which stands for “Heralding Christ Jesus’ Blessings.” This Protestant missionary radio enterprise, founded in 1931 by Clarence W. Jones, a graduate of the Moody Institute in Chicago, has grown into an international Christian ministry broadcasting in over 100 countries in over 120 languages. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, U.S.A. Its official name is World Radio Missionary Fellowship, but it is widely known under its more popular name HCJB Global.

1916: Death of Albert Chmielowski, a Polish Catholic saint – Also known as Brother Albert (Brat Albert) and Brother of Our God. He was born in 1845 and lost a leg at the age of 17. After he had joined the Jesuits in 1880, he began working to help the poor and homeless in Poland. In 1887, he founded the Catholic order of the Albertines, known also as Gray Brothers, and in 1891 he founded a women’s order, called Gray Sisters. Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla) was a great admirer of St. Albert Chmielowski and when Wojtyla was 29 years old in 1949, he wrote a play about him, released as a film in 1997. St. Albert Chmielowski was canonized as a saint of the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II in 1989.

1599: The city of Natal (in reference to the Nativity of Christ) was founded in northeastern Brazil.

1223: St. Francis of Assisi set up the first Nativity scene to celebrate Christmas – The Nativity was displayed in Greccio, Italy, and it featured living people and animals.

1100: Baldwin of Boulogne became the first person to bear the title “King of Jerusalem.” – He was a Frenchman (Baudouin de Boulogne) and one of the leaders of the First Crusade.. He was crowned on Christmas Day by the Patriarch Dagobert of Pisa, who was the first Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem after the First Crusade had defeated the invading Muslim army in the Battle of Ascalon (1099).

800: Charlemagne was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III in Rome.

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TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!

Published in the U.S.A. Copyright © 4T4C News Corp. 2007. All rights reserved.