Edward VI (pictured), the only legitimate son of Henry VIII, was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey today in 1547, at the age of nine. At the service, the Archbishop, Thomas Cranmer, hailed Edward as a ‘second Josiah’ (a reforming king of the Old Testament), and urged him to continue the work of the Protestant Reformation. This he did for the next six years, introducing the first Book of Common Prayer, until he died at the age of 15.
Today is the feast day of St Sebastian, an early Christian martyr who was buried on the Appian Way outside Rome. The legend of St Sebastian says that he was put to death by the Romans by being shot full of arrows, but his wounds were healed by a pious widow.
Pope Pius VI was taken prisoner today in 1798 and carted off to France. He had earlier condemned the French Revolution (which was not really a surprise, since his effigy had been burned in Paris), and after his papal troops had been defeated during Napoleon’s invasion of Italy, he was arrested and taken to Valence, France, where he died a few months later.
Image: Wikimedia