Today...

...is the feast of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the "Lily of the Mohawks" (1656-80), who was converted by the Jesuit missionaries in her native Quebec. Her faith caused her to be abandoned by her family, and she relocated to a settlement of converted Native Americans. It is said that, upon her death, her skin turned as white as snow, a tribute to her purity of virtue. She was beatified by John Paul II in 1980.

...is also Bastille Day, or the national day of independence, for the French Republic. In the wake of this revolution, there was established a godless republic that executed not only members of the nobility, but many devout Catholic clergy, religious, and laity -- a period known as the "Reign of Terror."