It was on a day like this.
On October 28, 1017 was born the future Holy Roman Emperor Henry III in what is now Germany.
October 28 marks the anniversary of the ascension of Angelo Giuseppe, Cardinal Roncalli, Patriarch of Venice, as pope in 1959 following his election. The roly-poly Italian became beloved by Catholics and non-Catholics the world over for his humanity and vision. He would inaugurate the Second Vatican Council but would not live to see its conclusion, nor its much disputed outcome.
The death of Alfred the Great, King of England, happened on this date in 901 AD. An effective warlord in stemming the tide of Danish invasion, he was a pious and just ruler, as well as something of a scholar. He translated Pope St. Gregory the Great's Pastoral Care, Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, St. Augustine's Soliloquies, and the first fifty psalms of the Psalter, as well as excerpts from the Vulgate Book of Exodus. He introduced reforms to law and military organization and strove to assist bishops in mending the Church following Viking raids.
Puritan divine John Eliot preached a sermon for the first time in the native tongue of the local native Americans in Nonantum, Massachusetts on this date in 1646. John Eliot and fellow ministers Thomas Weld and Richard Mather are credited with being the editors of the Bay Psalm Book, which was the first book published in the British North America. Instrumental in the conversion of native American peoples, Eliot translated the Bible into the Natick language and published it in 1663. Eventually, there were 14 settlements of the so-called “Praying Indians”. However, these were destroyed by English wrath during King Philip’s War in 1675. Eliot is also known as the author of The Christian Commonwealth: or, The Civil Policy Of The Rising Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the first book on politics written by an American and also the first book to be banned by an American government when the General Court of Massachusetts banned the book and ordered all copies destroyed. Eliot was forced to issue a public retraction and apology.
Today is the day patriotic Greeks commemorate the rejection of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s ultimatum of October 28, 1940. Since the time of the Allied victory over the Axis in the Second World War this date has been known as “Oxi Day” – the Anniversary of the “No.” Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas received the ultimatum from the heads of the Duce’s ambassador at 4 AM that fateful morning in 1940 when Greece was faced with either accepting the admission of Axis forces to occupy certain unspecified strategic locations in the country or a fight with the assembled forces of Italy and Germany. According to legend, Metaxas’ answer was simply worded as “Οχι” – No. Italian forces then attacked at 5:30 AM by way of Albania, thus marking the beginning of one of the most savage occupations of any country during the war. Brave Greeks crowded in the streets on October 28, 1940 to shout “No” to the Fascist and Nazi invaders despite the certainty of defeat.
On this date is commemorated St. Jude Thaddeus who is mentioned in the list of the Twelve Apostles in Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13. In the Epistle of Jude, the author calls himself the brother of James, another Apostle, while in Matthew 13:55 he is mentioned as one of the brethren of Jesus. According to tradition, he preached in Mesopotamia and was martyred there sometime during the 1st century AD.
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