Nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees in southwestern France is the small town of Lourdes. Its population of 15,000 swells every tourist season to more than 5,000,000. Lourdes has more hotels per square kilometer than any other city in France except Paris. Ever since the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous on Feb. 11, 1858, there have been more than 200 million people who have come to pray at this shrine.
Oxford University Press has a long and distinguished history. From its humble birth in 1480 when it began to publish the Bible, it has grown to be the largest publishing house in the world. Since it publishes educational materials for use in more than 150 countries, its overseers are very much aware of the broad range of religious, social and cultural differences of those whom they service.
In 1993, Oregon’s present governor, John Kitzhaber, then a state senator and a doctor, worked hard to make health care available for the poor through a program that rationed benefits. His efforts, along with those of others, gave birth to the Oregon Health Plan. This was a major step in the reform of our national health care
In 1843, Sir Henry Cole, a civil servant in London, found himself too busy to sit down and write the customary Christmas greetings to his family and friends. So he asked the British painter John Callcott Horsley to design a card with an image and greeting to send instead. That first Christmas card has spawned an industry that produces more than 2 billion Christmas cards each year in America alone.