Today in 1587, Mary Queen of Scots (pictured above at her trial) was executed for her part in the Babbington plot to kill Queen Elizabeth I and restore Catholicism to England. She was 44 years old.
This is St Jacqueline’s Day, a friend of Francis of Assisi. Francis gave her a lamb that piously woke her for her devotions if she was late up in the morning. Er, Jackie? Get an alarm clock?!
Today in 356, a contingent of 5,000 soldiers came to arrest St Athanasius at his church in Alexandria, but he and his congregation miraculously managed to slip away unseen. Athanasius then had to write an account of his flight to defend himself from accusations of shirking martyrdom. Awkward.
Image: British Library under CC0 1.0