18 Straight Minutes of Useless Catholic Trivia

Breaking In The Habit・2 minutes read

The Catholic Bible's Daniel Chapter 3 has 100 verses, while the Protestant version only has 30. Popes have had different names and roles throughout history, with unique and intriguing facts surrounding their lives and legacies.

Insights

  • The removal of a canticle in Daniel Chapter 3 resulted in a significant difference in the number of verses between the Catholic and Protestant versions of the Bible, showcasing how variations in translations can impact scripture.
  • The practice of assigning saints as patrons for specific causes, like Saint Fiacre for sexually transmitted infections and Servatius of Tongeren for protection from rats, demonstrates the diverse roles saints play in Catholicism beyond spiritual intercession, reflecting a rich tradition of seeking divine assistance in various aspects of life.

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Recent questions

  • How many popes were named John?

    21

  • What is the significance of the tetragrammaton?

    Divine name representation

  • Why is Daniel Chapter 3 significant?

    Longest Catholic Bible chapter

  • How many saints were named popes?

    48 out of 49

  • What is the purpose of a clerestory in churches?

    Allow light and fresh air

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Summary

00:00

Fascinating Facts About Catholicism and Popes

  • The longest chapter in the Catholic Bible is Daniel Chapter 3, with 100 verses, while the Protestant version has only 30 verses due to the removal of a canticle.
  • 48 out of the first 49 popes were named saints, with Liberius being the only exception, exiled for defending orthodoxy.
  • There have been 21 popes named John, with two of them being referred to as John the 23rd due to historical discrepancies.
  • Saints are assigned as patrons for various causes, such as Saint Fiacre for sexually transmitted infections and Servatius of Tongeren for protection from rats.
  • The four Hebrew letters representing God's divine name are Y, H, W, H, known as the tetragrammaton, with the Latinized pronunciation being Yehovah or Jehovah.
  • The windowed wall above an adjacent roof in large churches is called a clerestory, designed to allow light and fresh air.
  • Vatican City has the highest crime rate among sovereign nations, with around 150% more crimes than citizens due to the influx of tourists.
  • Pope Formosus faced a posthumous trial known as the Cadaver Synod, where he was found guilty of perjury and illegally acceding to the papacy.
  • The Cristo de la Concordia in Bolivia is the largest statue of Jesus in the world, standing at 132 feet tall, surpassing Brazil's Christ the Redeemer.
  • The Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas contains an estimated 1.8 million words, making it about two and a half times longer than the Bible.

12:21

Catholic Church: Saints, Music, and Influence

  • At the end of mass, the celebrant and servers reverence the altar before walking down the aisle while music plays, with no official "recessional" in the Roman Rite, simply a profound bow and withdrawal.
  • Pope John Paul II canonized 482 saints during his papacy, averaging a canonization every 20 days for over 26 years, with Sister Mary Kenneth Keller being the first woman to earn a doctorate in computer science.
  • St. Francis Xavier was the first Christian to reach Japan, aiding in the conversion of over 100,000 individuals, while the southernmost Catholic Church is the Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows in Antarctica.
  • There are more Catholics in Brazil than in Italy, France, and Poland combined, with the smallest Catholic Church claimed to be St. Martin’s in Texas seating only 20 people, contrasting with St. Matthew Catholic Church in Charlotte, NC, the largest parish in the US.
  • The Big Bang theory was proposed by Catholic priest Georges Lemaître, and the Catholic Church influenced modern Western music notation's development for uniformity, with each liturgical season having its own Marian hymn.
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