The God particle (aka the Higgs boson) was detected today in 2012 in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, near Geneva, when protons were smashed together at high speed, as simulated in the picture above. The existence of this new form of matter had been predicted by Peter Higgs, a theoretical physicist, 48 years earlier. Higgs was not a fan of naming it the ‘God particle’, and not just because it elbowed his own name out. ‘I am not a believer,’ he said. ‘But even if I were, I would not like it because it encourages people to confuse physics with theology.’
The future Pope John Paul II was nominated Bishop of Ombi, in Communist Poland, today in 1958, while he was on a canoeing holiday. He was the youngest bishop in Poland, and the only one with a kayak.
On this day in 1187, Saladin, the Kurdish Muslim leader, routed the Crusaders in the hills above Tiberias in Galilee, at the Battle of Hattin. He succeeded in cutting the Christians off from the fresh water of the Sea of Galilee, and then set fire to the dry scrub covering the hills. Once Saladin had defeated the Crusaders, his reconquest of Jerusalem was just a matter of time.
At the Council of Constance today in 1415 Pope Gregory XII’s abdication was accepted. This was because the Church had three popes on the go at once, each of them insisting they were the true Pope, and the council was trying to cut down. In the end, all three claimants to the throne of St Peter were de-Poped, and a new Pope took their place – Pope Martin V. It marked the end of the Western Schism, so-called because different parts of the Church were following different Popes.
Today is the feast of St Andrew of Crete, a wonderful preacher and hymn writer who lived in the 7th and 8th centuries. He is most famous in the Eastern Church for his Canons, hugely long musical pieces which are still used in Church services during Lent and on other special days. Some of his shorter hymns have made it across into Western hymn books.
Christian, dost thou see them
On the holy ground,
How the powers of darkness
Rage thy steps around?
Christian, up and smite them,
Counting gain but loss,
In the strength that cometh
By the holy cross.
Andrew of Crete, translated by JM Neale
Today in 1636 Roger Williams founded Providence, Rhode Island, after being expelled from Massachusettes for religious reasons. Rhode Island became a haven for people who wanted to keep well clear of the intolerant New England Puritans, who had come to America to find religious freedom and were damned if they were going to share it with those they disagreed with.
Image: Lucas Taylor/CERN