Francis Neale (1756–1837) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. He played a substantial role in the Jesuit order's restoration in the US. Born in Maryland, Neale was educated and ordained a priest at the Colleges of Bruges and Liège. When he returned to the US in 1788, he became the pastor at St. Thomas Manor, where he opposed Bishop John Carroll's founding of Georgetown College. In 1790, Neale oversaw the establishment of Holy Trinity, the first Catholic church in Washington, D.C. He established the Church of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia, and became the president of Georgetown College in 1809. The number of students declined dramatically due to his implementation of strict monastic discipline. Neale joined the Jesuit order when it was restored in 1806. He became the novice master at Georgetown and treasurer of the Jesuits' Maryland mission. He spent his later years as the spiritual director to the nuns at the Georgetown Visitation Monastery. ( Full article...)

Shahid Afridi

• ... that Shahid Afridi (pictured) broke the record for the quickest century in ODI cricket during his first international innings?
• ... that in local Afro-Colombian and Catholic tradition, residents of Guapi sing and dance while sailing the Virgin Mary down their coconut-candlelit river to church every Christmas Eve?
• ... that before being named jach'a mallku cantonal, Samuel Plata worked as an auto mechanic in El Alto?
• ... that a scene in " Axe and Grind", an episode of Better Call Saul, was supposed to be filmed with a crane but was changed because the cameraman declined to execute it?
• ... that despite running against a former general, Danny Setiawan received implicit backing from military officers in his 2003 gubernatorial bid?
• ... that Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed the midnight mass Messe de minuit pour Noël based on the melodies of ten French Christmas carols?
• ... that John J. Ray III, the chairman of Enron during its bankruptcy, said he had never before seen "such a complete failure of corporate controls" upon becoming CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX?
• ... that some residents near Higginson Highway believe that a ghost named "Sheila" is the cause of the highway's fatal accidents?

HTMS Sukhothai

• HTMS Sukhothai (pictured), a corvette of the Royal Thai Navy, capsizes and sinks, leaving 6 crew members dead and 23 others missing.
• In the Fijian general election, FijiFirst wins the most seats, but fails to gain a parliamentary majority.
• In association football, the FIFA World Cup concludes with Argentina defeating France in the final.
• At least 24 people are killed in a landslide near Batang Kali, Malaysia.

December 24

Earthrise as seen by the crew of Apollo 8

• 759 – The Tang-dynasty poet Du Fu departed for Chengdu, where he lived for the next five years and composed poems about life in his thatched cottage.
• 1814 – The United Kingdom and the United States signed a peace treaty in Ghent, present-day Belgium, ending the War of 1812.
• 1846 – The Sultanate of Brunei ceded the island of Labuan to the British Empire.
• 1968 – Piloted by Jim Lovell, Apollo 8 became the first human spaceflight to reach and orbit the Moon ( Earthrise pictured).
• 1973 – The U.S. Congress granted home rule to Washington, D.C., allowing the residents to elect their own mayor and a city council.