January 28: Start the Diet of Worms (Assembly) in 1521 to judge Martin Luther. It will last until May 25

                                        The 95 theses of Martin Luther

On January 28, 1521 was launched a meeting of electors of the Holy Roman Empire to cite or notice Martin Luther to recant, at least 41 of the 95 theses he had written and nailed to the Church doors of the Palace of Wittenberg, Germany. That assembly, better known known as the Diet of Worms, having been held in the German city, was presided over by the Emperor Charles V.

                                                         Diet of Worms

Martin Luther was a professor at the University of Wittenberg in Germany. He became famous due to his bold criticism of the Roman Catholic Church, papal authority, and the sacraments. Luther nailed his Ninety-five theses to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral in 1517. The Protestant Reformation begun against the powers of the Pope, the greed within the Church, and the abuse of indulgences to pay for the construction of the Vatican. As a consequence, The Pope excommunicated Luther.

Luther at Diet of Worms

Actually, Luther wanted the Catholic Church to change its attitude, regarding mainly to the sale of indulgences to raise funds to finance the construction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope Leo X issued a papal bull calling for Luther to recant and therefore cited the assembly of the Holy Empire because the reviews of Luther ran through most of Europe causing popular revolts urged on by some of those electors who did not want to continue paying money to the Catholic Church in Rome. Indeed, Frederick III, Elector of Saxony and Meissen Jorge banned the business of indulgences in their territories.

                                Luther at the Diet of Worms

Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, also called Frederick “the Wise” for being a supporter of fine arts and letters, had declined the offer to the throne in favor of Charles I of Spain and V of Austria. However, Frederick was a defender of Luther and even demanded that he be granted a safe conduct to avoid being arrested. Even, it is said that Federico "kidnapped" Luther to hide a possible murder. In his Castillo, Frederick III of Saxony financed Luther to do the translation and the Bible into German.