The Pearl of Great Price

Today we look at how Christians celebrate Easter all over the world and how it survived in Communist Russia

We look at Good Friday and the historical evidence surrounding the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, including the Turin Shroud and the St Helens discovery of the True Cross

Saint Isidore wrote the 20 volume Etymologies, an encyclopedia that saved much knowledge from the ancient world. The Western Roman empire had collapsed and barbarian tribes had taken over much of Europe. Pope John Paul II declared Isidore patron saint of the internet for this achievement 

Today we look at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and how a group of Palestinian militants sought sanctuary there .  We look at the history of this pilgrimage spot and how it shared by three monasteries. Also look at the role of the Franciscans in the Holy Land as custodians of the Holy Sites. 

We look at how Abraham Lincoln saved the constitution and kept the country together - but wasn't able to change the constitution to acknowledge the deity

The ground breaking film Ben Hur was based on the novel that was voted the most influential Christian Book of the 19th Century.  It tells the fictional story of a Jewish prisoner, who encounters Christ  and eventually is freed from slavery by winning a chariot race

Thomas Beckets murder in Canterbury Cathedral made him one of the most popular saints of the medieval period and Canterbury became a pilgrimage destination for many from around Europe

John Wycliffe was a reforming priest from the 14th Century.  However he grew more critical and distant from the Pope and Church and inspired a group called the Lollards.  Sometimes he is called the evening star of scholasticism and the morning star of the Reformation

The building that has become iconic in Istanbul, today was consecrated as a church 'The Holy Wisdom',  Under the Ottomans it became a mosque, Attaturk turned into a museum and Erdogan has turned it back into a mosque

The first nurses on a US Navy hospital ship where 3 sisters from the Order of the Holy Cross - this is their story during the US Civil war

The Philocalus Calendar is the first time we have Christmas Day recorded as an annual feast 

Francis of Assisi is credited of inventing the Live Crib at  his hermitage at Greccio in Italy, this is the story of it 

Antonio Bosio was a remarkable man who discovered many of the catacombs in Rome.  He often  risked his life exploring them, risking getting lost for ever

Today we look at the papacy of Saint Innocent  I who according to St Jerome was the son of the previous pope, which was not a cause for scandal 

Dorothy Sayers wrote a cycle of radio plays about the life of Jesus Christ that has been repeated and reproduced on multiple occasions

The Buddleia or butterfly bush has become prolific, whilst many countries consider it an invasive species.  It was named by Carl Linneaus after a mild mannered Anglican cleric - Adam Buddle

Westminster Abbey has become one of the most iconic and important churches in England, the site of many coronations, weddings and burials of Kings and Queens.  Recently the site of the Unknown Warrior - the only grave that you can't walk over

The Swiss theologian Hans Kung was very influential as the youngest 'periti' or expert  of Vatican 2. As he his theology became more liberal he was banned from teaching by the Vatican 

Today we look at the life of Sister Mary Keller - the first person to be awarded a PHD in computer science in America alongside Irving Tang. Her legacy includes being part of the group that delivered the pioneering computer language of BASIC

Today we remember the death of Elizabeth Ten Boom in a concentration camp. Just before she died she told her sister Corrie "There is no pit so deep that He [God] is not deeper still." 

One of the most creative minds of recent times was the mathematical physicist Freeman Dyson, who was given the nickname the cosmic genius.   He called himself a non-denominational Christian and had strong views on faith and science

St John of the Cross is now famous for his Dark Night.  He believed that God was nothing and everything, this is the story of the Carmelite reformer and how he suffered

Saint Lucy was one of the most popular saints in the early church and devotion to her still lasts in many parts of the world 

Today was the day when an image was left miraculously on the Tilma of Juan Diego during Our Lady's second apparition to him on the hill of Guadalupe. We look at the image and the recent tests done on it 

Charles H Townes won the Nobel Prize and the Templeton Prize combining his scientific genius with a deep faith.  He believed science and religion were converging, and he invented the laser and discovered the black hole at the centre of our Galaxy 

We look at a revival in the Protestant Church in Northern Ireland in 1859 which has made Northern Ireland a lot more socially conservative than the rest of Britain 

The appearance of a women to an Aztec Convert on a hilltop outside of Mexico City has had a huge impact on  Mexico as a country. Today we look at the story and the miraculous image which is still venerated widely 

Today we remember the death of Carl Watzinger - the German archaeologist who made historic discoveries in the important biblical sites of Jericho and Capernaum

The final document promulgated at Vatican 2 - Gaudium et Spes was the Church's document about engaging with the world - with the joys and hopes of humanity .  

One of the great wonders of the Natural World - the Niagra falls between Canada and US was first sketched today by a Franciscan explorer

Described as one of the most expansive audio experiences in the classical world - Berlioz's Requiem was commissioned in memory of French Soldiers who died in Algeria

Today we remember how a fire melted metal onto a large piece of linen that was reputed to be the burial cloth of Christ.  When an Italian photographer processed the first negative image of the cloth it wowed the world

Dr Christian Barnaard performed the first heart transplant - we look at his missionary parents and his visit to Pope Paul VI

St Pauls was one of the worlds first Anglican Cathedrals and one the most iconic. This is the story of how and when it was designed by Sir Christopher Wren 

Today we remember how the hermit Charles de Foucault was assisinated by Tuareg bandits. His life and commitment has inspired many movements 

The Episcopal Cathedral in New York is nicknamed St John the Unfinished.   Its size and construction has created an acoustic which has lead to some remarkable concerts including Duke Ellington's Sacred Concertos which he called 'Jazz Liturgies'  

When Francis became the first pope to address a joint meeting of Congress, Dorothy Day was one of four Americans mentioned by the Pope in his speech . He said of Day: "Her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed, were inspired by the Gospel, her faith, and the example of the saints."

Tomas Halik - A priest from the Czech Republic was ordained clandestinely under communism.  Now he has been given many awards including an honorary doctorate from Oxford for his many writings. 

Milan's Cathedral - the biggest in Italy   is made up of pink-hued white marble. Canals were dug leading to the construction site, to bring the stone there, It has the most statues and spires in the world and houses the shrine of Charles Borromeo and a nail from the cross of Christ 

This is the story of an assassination attempt on Pope Paul VI at Manila airport.  The 'Pilgrim Pope' who was the first to travel on an aeroplane and visit the Holy Land

The incredible story of John Kitto - who although he became deaf after an accident as a teenager, he became an avid traveller and observer of Eastern Culture. He used what he had experienced and observed to created very popular Biblical Encyclopaedias 

Pope Pius IX had to flee from Rome to escape Garibaldi and the Nationalists. He returned to become a prisoner of the Vatican and called Vatican I - the council that controversially defined infallibility

One of the greatest composers of sacred music in English was Thomas Tallis.  His greatest work composed when he was  seventy years old is the 40 voice 'Spem in Alium'. A tapestry of voices about putting hope in God 

The Templars are one of the most controversial orders in the history of the Church. Set up in poverty to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land their power and fortunes rose and fell with the success of the Crusades 

Lumen Gentium was one of the most important documents of Vatican 2.  The Churches understanding of itself... the first time ever written, dealing with such themes as the universal call to holiness and salvation outside the church

Terese of Liseux is one of the most popular saints in the church - even though she died relatively unknown at 24.  Her 'Little Way' to Holiness was made famous through her autobiography  The Story of a Soul. Her modesty and 'littleness' belies a spiritual powerhouse,  at 14 she defied protocol and held onto the Pope's legs at an audience. We also look at the curious story of her relationship with Pope Francis and the gifts she sends him. 

Alberto Methol Ferrer is one of the most influential thinkers you have never heard of.  He was a great friend of the current pope, and used to cross the Rio Grande from Uruguay to see him regularly in Buenos Aires. His thoughts on theology, renewal and atheism are looked at in todays podcast 

St Peters Basilica is world famous and today it was consecrated in 1626

Two remarkable stones tell us a lot of the beginning of Denmark as a nation state, brought together by Harald Bluetooth - the first Christian King.  He united the feuding tribes which is why Bluetooth technology was named after him, uniting digital devices. 

The Bishop of Lincoln, a French aristocrat called Hugh was much loved for standing up to corrupt kings, and for his holiness. He was declared a saint twenty years after his death 

One of the most consequential documents of Vatican 2 is also one of the shortest - Dei Verbum which deals with Divine Revelation