Tea at Trianon: 'Pétros Ení'

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

'Pétros Ení'

From Vatican News:

The film Pétros ení: Alla scoperta delle origini (Pétros ení: Discovering the Origins) premiered this morning, 16 October, at the Rome Film Festival, where the audience gave a warm round of applause to Pope Leo XIV, who is currently receiving treatment at Rome's Gemelli Hospital.

The spontaneous and heartfelt tribute came as Dr. Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, expressed his hope that the Pope’s recovery “continues to progress well” following surgery.

Produced by AF Films in collaboration with Vatican Media and the Fabric of St Peter, to mark the 400th anniversary of the consecration of St Peter's Basilica on 18 November 1626, the documentary is directed by Paula Ortiz, written by Andrea Tornielli, narrated by American actor Chris Pratt and features an appearance by Pope Leo. (Read more.)