July 13

John III was elected Pope in 561 and led the Church during the Lombard invasions of Italy. He negotiated with Lombard kings to protect Church territories and mediated peace agreements. He undertook restoration of basilicas damaged by war and promoted missionary work in England. Throughout his pontificate, he maintained relations with the Byzantine Empire to secure support for Rome. John III died on 13 July 574 and was succeeded by Pope Benedict I.

Elected in 936, Leo VII worked to strengthen the influence of Cluniac monasticism within Europe. He maintained peaceful relations with the East Frankish kingdom and sought to mediate conflicts among Italian nobles. Leo VII granted privileges to monasteries to encourage spiritual renewal and discipline. Though his brief pontificate saw few major events, his patronage of monasticism had lasting effects on Church reform. He died on 13 July 939 and was remembered as a humble and reform-minded pope.

Consecrated bishop in the mid-10th century, Henry I led the diocese of Augsburg during a period of religious reform. He enforced clerical discipline and promoted the construction and renovation of cathedrals. Henry participated in synods that addressed church governance and relations with secular rulers. He maintained close ties with Emperor Otto II, supporting imperial policies in Bavaria. Henry I died in 982, remembered for strengthening the spiritual and administrative foundations of his diocese.

Rashi, born Shlomo Yitzhaki in 1040, was a preeminent French rabbi and scholar. He authored authoritative commentaries on the Talmud and Tanakh that became foundational texts for Jewish study. Rashi’s clear explanations and introduction of commentary notation greatly influenced subsequent generations of Jewish learning. He established a model of exegesis that highlighted linguistic analysis and contextual interpretation. Rashi passed away in Troyes in 1105, and his works remain central to Jewish education worldwide.

Hubert Walter (1160–1205) served as Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor for King Richard I and King John. As a skilled administrator and legal reformer, he streamlined the royal chancery and introduced innovations in record-keeping. Walter also led diplomatic missions and managed the kingdom’s finances during Richard’s absence on the Third Crusade. He played a key role in church affairs, balancing papal interests with royal authority. Walter died in 1205 and was remembered for his intellect, reforms, and effective governance at the intersection of church and state.

Henry Benedict Stuart was born in 1725 into the exiled House of Stuart and became an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. Known to Jacobites as 'King Henry IX', he was the last Stuart claimant to the English and Scottish thrones. As a cardinal, he held several ecclesiastical offices and was respected within the Vatican hierarchy. Henry devoted much of his life to charitable works and the arts, funding scholarships and church music. Despite his royal lineage, he never mounted a serious attempt to reclaim the throne. He died in 1807, bringing the Stuart male line to an end. His life bridged the worlds of European religion and dynastic politics.