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Assisi, a beautiful town in the Italian province of Umbria, was the birth-place in the twelfth century of two of that country’s greatest saints, Francis and Clare. Francis first, and then Clare, discovered the liberating effect of release from the burden of wealth. For them simplicity, a godly poverty, was the way to blessing. Their...

Laurence was a deacon of the Church in Rome who was martyred in 258.  His story is found in the very ancient Depositio Martyrum, which tells us that he was closely associated with Pope Sixtus II, who was martyred just a few days before him during the persecution of the Emperor Valerian.   We also know...

   Church of England helps protect young people from modern slavery Drivers urged to join effort to stop modern slavery in hand car washes 
  C of E launches worship and prayer materials to commemorate First World War Universal Credit not working, says Churches New heritage website to help end the misery of leaking church roofs Synod vote to...

The terrorist organisation al-Qaeda was founded by Osama bin Laden 30 years ago, on 11th August 1988, though there is still dispute about the precise nature and purpose – and indeed spelling – of it. Translatable into English as “The Base”, al-Qaeda was formed initially to fight the influx of the Soviet Union into Afghanistan, but...

In the year 1212 Clare, the 18-year-old daughter of a local Count, heard a young preacher called Francis. A few years earlier he had caused a sensation in the centre of the town where they both lived, Assisi in Italy, by stripping himself of his wealthy clothes and declaring that from now on he would...

Many historians of the First World War consider that two battles in the summer of 1918 were the final turning points in the eventual outcome of the war and of the settlement which followed it. The second Battle of Marne was in July, and the even more significant Battle of Amiens was in August, exactly...

Clare (1194 – 1253) was the famous virgin foundress of the Minoresses or Poor Clares.  Born at Assisi of the Offreduccio family, Clare grew up to hear the teaching of St Francis of Assisi, and at 18 she renounced all her possessions and joined him at the Portiuncula, where she became a nun.  Soon Francis...

‘How did we do?’ (on a scale of one to ten, where ‘ten’ is excellent and ‘one’ is poor?’) ‘Would you recommend us to your friends?’ You can hardly buy anything now, or make use of a service, without an email popping up asking such questions. Some go further into detail about delivery, courtesy or...

Some people’s lives seem to epitomise the suffering of millions, but also to shine with a Christian response to it.  One such person was Maximilian Kolbe, 1894 – 1941, a Franciscan priest of Poland, and publisher extraordinary. Maximilian was born at Zdunska Wola, near Lodz, where his parents, devout Christians, worked in a cottage weaving...

New resources to be released in September will help schools raise awareness of modern slavery and help protect their students from becoming victims. The resources are a result of a collaboration between The Clewer Initiative, a project helping the Church of England to respond to modern slavery, and Just Enough UK, an educational charity teaching...

Have you done something bad which haunts you?  Does the memory of it still follow you through each day – and keep you awake at night?   If so, then Laurence Loricatus (c. 1190 – 1243) is the saint for you.  He was born at Facciolo (Apulia) and as a youth he killed a man. After...

Drivers are being encouraged to join an unprecedented national information-gathering campaign launched by the Church of England and the Catholic Church in England and Wales which is aimed at eradicating modern slavery in hand car washes. Anti-slavery campaigners and other key agencies, including the police and councils, are backing the Safe Car Wash App, launched by The Clewer Initiative, the Church of England’s campaign against modern slavery,...