Pope Clement VIII (pictured) died today in 1605. His name is linked with the history of coffee, as he allegedly promoted the acceptance of the drink in the West. Until his time, coffee was considered to be a devilish drink, simply because Muslims drank it. Asked to curse coffee, he instead exorcised some beans and then blessed them, after which it was cappuccinos all round.
It is St Cunegund’s Day. She was married to St Henry II, the Holy Roman Emperor, who was pretty much the first man in the job who deserved the title ‘holy’. Legends after her death claimed that when she was accused of scandalous behaviour, she walked unharmed over red-hot ploughshares, which as everyone knows provides 100 per cent proof of innocence. Cunegund died today in 1040.
Today in 1547 the Council of Trent announced the official Roman Catholic doctrine of the sacraments. This whole area of doctrine had been up for grabs 50 years earlier, but in the meantime, the Protestant Reformation had started, and the sacraments were now a very hot issue. The council therefore decided to disagree with Luther and the Reformers on every possible item. It said there are seven sacraments. They are effective because of the priest’s office, irrespective of his virtue or faith, or that of the recipient. And the bread and wine turn wholly into the body and blood of Christ. And if you disagree, you’re cursed. Sorry about that.
Antony Bek, a medieval Bishop of Durham who built castles, fought battles and took the funeral service of Edward I, died today in 1311. Unusually, he was the most senior ecclesiastical leader in Britain at the time because the Pope had appointed him Patriarch of Jerusalem, which is one up from Archbishop of Canterbury.
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