Some places: Commemoration of St. Albert the Great, Bishop, Confessor and Doctor
Month in honor of the Poor Souls in Purgatory.
Saint Albert the Great was born in AD 1206 at Lauingen an der Donau, Swabia (part of modern Germany). He was the son of a military nobleman and joined the Order of Friars Preacher (Dominicans). After being ordained a Priest, he taught theology at Cologne, Germany, and Paris, France. Among his pupils was the famous Saint Thomas Aquinas. An influential teacher, preacher, and administrator, he became Bishop of Regensburg, Germany. Into the world of learning, he introduced Greek and Arabic science and philosophy to Mediaeval Europe. In addition, he was noted for his wide interest in what became known later as the natural sciences - botany, biology, etc, and was called a man of encyclopedic knowledge. He even wrote and illustrated guides to his observations, and was considered on a par with the philosopher Aristotle as an authority on these matters. Saint Albert died on 15 November, AD 1280, at Cologne, Prussia (part of modern Germany) of natural causes. He was beatified in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV., and canonized in 1931 by Pope Pius XI., who also named him a Doctor of the Church.