Thursday, March 26, 2026

It is the 26th of March 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

Here in Orange County, we have a city called “Westminster”- founded by Presbyterians in the 19th century after the confession of faith penned in the 1600s in Westminster, London. We have WestMINSTER and York MINSTER, and over on the continent, we have the Ulm Münster, the Basel Münster, and of course, the jewel of them all, just plain “Münster” in Germany, named after the Munster, minster or… monastery. These are specific monastery towns known for their large monasteries and the schools often associated with them.

 

Münster, Germany, was founded by the missionary Ludger, a crucial figure in the lead-up to the all-important Carolingian Renaissance and the development of the church and church schools as we know them today.

 

Let’s break that down- “Carolingian Renaissance” can sound intimidating- 
Carol comes from Charles, and while there are too many church-y Charles’ you can remember the original Charles in Charge- Charlemagne. Yes- the Emperor who, to some extent, converted the Western European pagans, helped develop the modern Western church and university system.

 

The “Father of Europe” and his role in the church can be questioned- the Almanac is opposed to forced baptisms and conversions. But luckily, the story rests on the back of the church workers, missionaries, and teachers that would quickly fill the void- it may not have been an idyllic “Christendom,” but it was more Christian than before.

 

And here we find Ludger, born in Frisia (near modern Utrecht) around 744 to Christian parents, and was in the circle of the famous missionary Willibrord, who had long fought with the delightfully named King Radbod of the Frisians. A famous story has Roadbed and Willibrord clash over their mysterious holy island of Fositeland. Willibrord would baptize some in the holy springs and feed converts with sacred cows but was ultimately driven off the island and out of Frisia.

 

Ludger would meet the famous missionary Boniface and study under Alcuin at York. Alcuin is the name in Medieval education in England, and Ludger brings the tradition to the European Continent when he is ordained at Cologne in 777. He spent his early years as a missionary amongst the Frisians, where Willibrord once travelled, until the “revolt of Widukind” expelled Ludger and other missionaries. He would spend time in Rome and at the Benedictine Monastery at Monte Cassino before being sent back to Northern Europe when Charlemagne’s forces subdued the old pagans.

 

But it wasn’t with the sword that Ludger would conquer. Taking up the example of Willibrord and Boniface, he went about preaching at pagan shrines and founding monastic communities as he saw them in Italy. Thus, Ludger was uniting in himself both the English educational system and the Benedictine monastic system. His tireless preaching, certainly in the wake of Charlemagne’s victories, saw the advancement of Christianity- especially on Fositeland, which today is known by the slightly less mysterious Helgoland- or Holy Land in the North Sea.

 

He would be made the bishop of Mimigardeford, but as he would build his monastery here, it would be called “Münster” in Germany. From this monastery town in Westphalia, he would continue to serve as a missionary and was called the “Apostle to the Saxons”. It was on Sunday in 809 that he presided over his regularly announced services and, in the hagiographic style we’re used to- tells his followers he will die that night, and it was- on this, the 26th of March in 809 that Ludger- of Münster and Apostle of the Saxons- the man with the Gospel instead of Constantine’s sword- died. Born around 744, Ludger was in his 60s.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Psalm 31:9-16:

⁹ O Lord, upon me mercy have,

for trouble is on me:

Mine eye, my belly, and my soul,

with grief consumed be.

¹⁰ Because my life with grief is spent,

my years with sighs and groans:

My strength doth fail; and for my sin

consumed are my bones.

¹¹ I was a scorn to all my foes,

and to my friends a fear;

And specially reproached of those

that were my neighbors near:

When they me saw they from me fled.

¹² Ev’n so I am forgot,

As men are out of mind when dead:

I’m like a broken pot.

¹³ For slanders I of many heard;

fear compassed me, while they

Against me did consult, and plot

to take my life away.

¹⁴ But as for me, O Lord, my trust

upon thee I did lay;

And I to thee, Thou art my God,

did confidently say.

¹⁵ My times are wholly in thine hand:

do thou deliver me

From their hands that mine enemies

and persecutors be.

¹⁶ Thy countenance to shine do thou

upon thy servant make:

Unto me give salvation,

for thy great mercies’ sake.

 

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 26th of March 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a new boy in the neighborhood, lives downstairs, and it’s understood- he’s there just to make the audio sound good- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who watched SO MUCH Charles in Charge… Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.