This Day in Christian History: March 25 March 25, 1634: The Catholic Church Gains a Foothold in America Recreation of The Dove On March 25, 1634, the ships Dove and Ark arrived in Maryland with 128 Catholic Colonists. Up to this point, the New World had been mostly settled by Protestants. The settlers departed from Gravesend with 128 passengers, but they were chased down and brought back by the British Navy. The passengers were forced to take an oath of allegiance to the king. After they'd done so, they were allowed to depart. So they once again set sail in October of 1632. The two ships made a stop on the Isle of Wight to pick up more passengers. They finally arrived at the place now known as St. Mary's on March 25, 1634. The spot was then a Native American Village.

This Day in Christian History: December 26 December 26, 1620: The Mayflower Lands at Plymouth Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor The vessel Mayflower full of ambitious pilgrims looking for religious liberty set sail from Plymouth, England on September 16th, 1620. The 102 passengers spend a miserable 65 days at sea before finally arriving in the New World. As legend has it, they stepped ashore on Plymouth Rock, but their arrival was poorly planned. December in this new world was not ideal for a people with no food stores, no shelters, and no knowledge of the land and climate. The winter of 1620 was very difficult, and by the time spring came, half of them had perished. There is more to this story, of course, but that will be saved for another day.