Non-millennials may recall that the Columbus holiday used to be always celebrated on October 12th, the day Columbus landed on San Salvador. They may not realize that genuine, long-standing and well-researched historical accounts show that Columbus was a deeply religious man, and part of his motivation for crossing the ocean was to bring the Gospel to the new world. He was very conscious that his first name meant ‘Christ-bearer’ and he was inspired by the Isaiah text, ‘I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’
On October 12th, 1492, Columbus was the first of his company to set foot on the island he was to name ‘San Salvador.’ (Holy Savior). He carried a huge white banner with a green cross and the initials of Ferdinand and Isabella on either side of it. Planting the flag, he prayed:
“Lord Almighty, by Thy holy Word Thou hast created the heaven and the earth and the sea; blessed and glorified be Thy Name, and praised be Thy Majesty, which hath deigned to use us, Thy humble servants, that Thy Holy Name may be proclaimed in this second part of the earth.”
Note: Catholic Business Journal is very pleased to have finally found online a wonderful, succinct historically accurate and fair account of Christopher Columbus, thanks to The Mariners’ Museum —his life, his mission, his explorations, his shortcomings, his devotion, and his death. It is well worth reading on this day — A SHOUT OUT OF THANKS TO THE MARINERS’ MUSEUM! Find this simple, true history of Christopher Columbus here: https://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/christopher-columbus/
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originally posted Oct 12, 2018.
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