100 Years Young! Sr Teresina’s Holy Milestone
In a powerful testament to a century of unwavering faith and service, Sr Teresina, born in the town of Ballon, marked her 100th birthday surrounded by loved ones at Madonna House in Ferrybank, Waterford. A consecrated religious since 1943, Sr Teresina devoted her life to the mission of the Sacred Heart of Mary, ministering with love and humility across Ireland, England, Scotland, and Brazil. Her journey reflects a lifetime of obedience to God’s call, nurturing souls and spreading Christ’s message in a world increasingly hostile to truth. Now in her well-earned retirement, she remains a radiant witness to the enduring strength of vocation and the quiet heroism of religious life. Her century of service stands as a beacon of light for Catholics in a time of moral confusion and cultural upheaval.
The US Civil War-era submarine Hunley required an eight-man crew—seven to power the propeller with a hand-crank and one to steer. Within months of its launch, the Confederate sub had sunk and been salvaged twice, taking the lives of five crewmen the first time and the entire crew the second. Manned with a new crew, Hunley became the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, yet the achievement was marred when the sub itself sank, killing all aboard yet again. When was it recovered?
As a Swiss explorer traveling in North Africa, Eberhardt often dressed as a man to move more freely through Arab society. Intensely independent, she took the side of Algerians fighting against colonial French rule. She converted to Islam, was initiated into a Sufi brotherhood, and married an Algerian soldier. She wrote about her travels in books and newspapers. She survived a murder attempt—in which her arm was badly injured by a saber—only to die at the age of 27 in what unlikely fashion?
People can and do die of laughter. The 3rd century BCE philosopher Chrysippus, for example, is said to have laughed himself to death while watching the antics of a drunken donkey. In 1410, Martin I of Aragon succumbed to a combination of indigestion and uncontrollable laughter. More recently, a UK man died of heart failure after laughing for 25 minutes at a TV show featuring a Scotsman in a kilt battling a vicious black pudding. What other historical figures have died from laughter?
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