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The Lives of the Saints

Sabine Baring-Gould

Bought with money

GIVEN BY

THE SOCIETY

FOR PROMOTING

THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION.

Received

J iafit.

Httirarg of tfye Dtbtnttg School.

♦

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THE

Cities of tlje S»atnts

REV. S. BARING-GOULD

SIXTEEN VOLUMES

VOLUME THE SECOND

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THE REPOSE IN EGYPT, WITH DANCING ANGELS. After Luca Cranach.

By the robbery of the nest in the tree, the painter ingeniously points to the Massacre of the Innocents as to
the cause of the Flight into Egypt.

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THE

Htte of tlje g>atnto

BY THE

REV. S. BARING-GOULD, M.A.

New Edition in 16 Volumes

Revised with Introduction and Additional Lives of
English Martyrs, Cornish and Welsh Saints,
and a full Index to the Entire Work

ILLUSTRATED BY OVER 400 ENGRAVINGS

VOLUME THE SECOND

jFebruarp

^LONDON

JOHN C. NIMMO

14 KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND
MDCCCXCVII

i *

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Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co
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CONTENTS

PAGE

Abraham . . .

298

Adalbald . . .

Adelheid . . .

140

Adeloga . . .

^milian ...

212

Agatha ....

136

Aldetrudis . . .

413

Alexander . . .

433

Alnoth ....

448

»»

Amandus . . .

182

SS. Ananias and comp.

412

Andrew Corsini .

105

Angilbert . . .

337

Ansbert . . .

246

»)

Anskar ....

Apollonia . . .

231

Aristion . . .

366

Athracta . . .

236

Augulus . . .

190

Auxentius . . .

VOL. II.

299

S. Auxibius .... 339
„ Aventine of Cha-

teaudun ... 86

„ Aventine of Troyes. 84
„ Avitus 138

S. Baldomer .... 447
„ Baradatus .... 368
„ Barbatus .... 342

„ Belina 344

„ Benedict of Aniane 284

„ Berach 307

„ Berlinda .... 50

„ Bertulf 139

„ Besas 442

„ Blaise 47

„ Boniface, Lausanne 343

„ Bridget 14

„ Bruno 304

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Contents

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PAGE

S. Csesarius . . . .412

„ Castor 289

„ Catharine de Ricci . 295
„ Ceadmon .... 272
„ Celerina .... 46

SS. Celerinus and comp. 46
„ Charalampius and

comp 248

S. Chronion .... 442
„ Chrysolius. . . .189

„ Clara of Rimini . . 256
SS. Claudius and comp. 329
„ Constantia and

comp 330

S. Cornelius of Rome . 314
„ Cornelius the Cent. 38
„ Cuthman .... 220

S. Damian .... 376
„ Darlugdach . . .22
SS. Dionysius andothers 212
S. Dionysius (Augs-
burg) .... 432
„ Dorothy . . . .176
„ Dositheus .... 378

PAGE

SS. Faustinusandjovita 305

S. Finan 325

„ Fintan 324

„ Flavian 331

„ Fortchem .... 321
„ Fortunatus ... 47

„ Fulcran 294

SS. Fusca and Maura . 286

S. Gabinius .... 340
„ Gelasius, Boy . . 83

„ Gelasius, Actor at

Heliopolis . . . 443

„ George of Amastris 363
„ Georgia .... 306
SS. German and Ran-

doald .... 361

S. Gilbert 99

„ Gregory II. (Pope). 293

S. Hadelin .... 49
„ Honestus .... 313
„ Honorina .... 444
„ Hrabanus Maurus . 91

S. Ignatius, Antioch . 1

S. Earcongotha . . . 382
„ Eleutherius . . .350

„ Elfleda 214

SS. Elias and others . 314
S. Ephraem, Syrian . 7

„ Ermenilda. . . . 292
„ Ethelbert .... 406
„ Ethelwold .... 283
„ Eubulus .... 449

» Eucher 355

„ Eulalia 276

„ Euphrosyne . . . 264

,, Eusebius .... 306

„ Ignatius, Africa . . 46

„ Ina 186

„ Indract and comp. . 140

„ Isaias 314

„ Isidore 84

S. Jeremias . . . .314

„ Joan of Valois . . 109
„ John de Britto . .112
„ John of the Grate . 26

„ JohnofMatha . . 226
„ John William . .255

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Coiitents

vii

PAGE

S. Jonas the Gardener 263
„ Joseph of Leonissa. 111

,, Jovita 305

„ Julian of Caesarea . 320
„ Julian in Africa . . 395

„ Julian, Alexandria . 442

„ Juliana 316

„ Juventius . . . .211

S. Laurence, Cant. .

„ Laurence, the Illumi
nator ....

„ Laurentinus . .

„ Lazarus, B. Milan

,, Lazarus, Constanti
nople . . .

„ Leander . . .

„ Licinius . . .

„ Limnaeus . . .

SS. Loman and Fort
chem . . .

S. Lucius ....

SS. Mael and others .178
S. Mansuetus . . .341
„ Margaret of Cortona 371
„ Mariamne. '. . . 318

„ Martha 373

„ Martian .... 289
Martyrs at Alexandria . 449
„ in Arabia . . 367
„ of Japan. . . 141
„ of Ebbecksdorf 45
S. Matthias, Ap. . .393

„ Maura 286

SS. Maurice and comp. 358
S. Maximian .... 369
„ Maximus .... 329
„ Mary, B. V., Purifi-
cation of ... 34

„ Melchu 178

„ Meldan 193

264

386

445

292

367

321

PAGE

S. Meletius ....

278

„ Mengold . . . .

220

„ Milburgh . . . .

382

„ Mildred . . . .

354

,, Modan

„ Modomnoc . . .

291

SS. Montanus and comp.

395

„ Moses and others .

192

S. Moses of Syria . .

376

„ Mun

178

S. Nestor

430

„ Nicephorus . . .

233

„ Nicolas

„ Nithard . . . .

SS. Nymphas and Eu-

bulus . . . .

449

S. Odran

34i

„ Olcan

349

„ Onesimus . . . .

312

„ Oswald, York . .

455

S. Papias

366

„ Parthenius . . .

191

„ Paula

348

„ Paul of Verdun . .

213

„ Pepin

360

„ Peter Cambian . .

„ Peter Damiani . .

387

„ Peter’s Chair at

Antioch ....

365

SS. Phileas and others .

S. Photinus ....

358

SS. Pionius and comp. .

S. Polychronius, B.M.

3i9

„ Polychronius, H. .

37 6

„ Polyeuctus . . .

287

„ Porphyrius . . .

434

„ Praetextatus . . .

402

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Contents

S. Priamianus . . . 376

„ Proterius . . . .451
Purification of B.V.

Mary .... 34

S. Randoald . . . .361

„ Raymond of Fitero 29
„ Rembert .... 98

„ Richard . . . .194

„ Rioch 178

„ Robert of Arbrissel 426
„ Romanus .... 452
,, Romuald . . . .194

S. Sabine 241

„ Satuminus . . . 259

„ Scholastica . . .250

„ Sebastian . . . .212

„ Serenus .... 374

„ Sergius 402

„ Severus(Avranches) 23
„ Severus (Ravenna) . 12

„ Severus (Valeria) . 306
„ Sigebert .... 24
„ Sigfried . . . .310

„ Simeon 328

„ Soteris 248

„ Stephen of Grand-

mont 224

„ Sura 252

„ Susanna .... 246
„ Symphorian . . .451

S. Tanco .
,, Taraghta
„ Tarasius
„ Teilo .

• • 317

. . 236

. . 416

. . 238

SS. Thalassius and Lim-

naeus 367

S. Thalelaeus .... 444
„ Theodora, Empress 275
„ Theodore of Apa-

mea 358

„ Theodore of Hera-

CiCd .

SS. Theodulus

. . .
and

Julian .

. . . 320

S. Theophilus,

Peni-

tent . .

,, Tresan . .

. . .192

SS. Tyrannio and comp. 346

S. Valentine .

. . . 296

„ Vedast . .

. . . 179

„ Verdiana .

. . . 31

„ Veronica .

. . . 73

„ Victor . .

. . . 410

SS. Victor and Susanna 246

„ Victorinus and comp.

in Egypt

. . . 410

S. Vitalina

• • • 359

S. Walburga .

. . . 414

„ Walfrid .

. . . 309

„ Werburga .

. . . 52

„ William of Maleval 253

„ Wulfric . .

• • • 356

S. Zabdas . .

. • • 34i

„ Zacharias (Jeru-
salem) .... 359
SS. Zebinus and others. 376
S. Zeno 249

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

•'The Repose in Egypt, with Dancing

Angels

After Luca Cranach.

Frontispiece

''Martyrdom of S. Ignatius

From the * * Menologium Greecorum. '

to face p. 2

*S. Ephraem

After Cahier.

• „ 8

'S. Bridget

After Cahier.

„ 16

•Tomb of Joshua

jl the Greek Menology.

. onp. 33

'Purification of S. Mary the Virgin

From the Great Vienna Missal.

to face p. 34

'The Flight into Egypt ....
After Fra Angelico.

• >, 36

'S. Blaise

From Cahier.

„ 48

fS. Werburga

• „ 52

From Cahier.

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List of Illustrations

*S. Gilbert, Prior of Sempringham .

Front a Drawing by A. Welby Pugin.

f S. Veronica ( see p. 73) .

'SS. Agnes, Cecilia, and Dorothy .
After Angelica de Fiesole.

to face f. 104

. on p. 135
to face p. 176

rS. Amandus(j^^. 184)

»S. Richard the Saxon and his Sons
From Cahier.

'Family of S. Richard the Saxon .

From a Drawing by A. Welby Pugin.

*A Learned Doctor and Church His-

. onp . 188
to face p. 192

'An Enthusiastic Collector of Saintly
Legends

*S. Euphrosyne, finding herself at
Death’s Door, makes herself known
to her Father

From the ‘ ‘ Menologium Grcecorum " of CAR-
DINAL Albani.

•The Papermaker

•An Early Reliquary

#S. Agatha (seep. 136)

to face p. 272

. on p. 285
to face p. 318
. on p. 338

*The Printer

*S. Margaret Cortona

From Cahier.

to face p. 370

/Google

List of Illustrations

>The Bookbinder on p. 372

*S. Milburgh to face p. 384

After Cahier.

'Beheading of S. Matthias „ 392

From Cahier.

rWlNDOW IN THE CATHEDRAL AT TOURS

(Virgin with Angels) „ 408

♦Enamelled Chest which contained the

Remains of King Ethelbert „ 408

•S. Walburga „ 414

From Cahier.

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Lives of the Saints.

February 1.

SS. CiEciLius, B. of Elvira, and Companions, MM. in Spain , ist cent.

S. Ignatius, B. of Antioch, M. at Rome, a.d. 107.

SS. Pionius and Companions, MM. at Smyrna, a.d. 351.

S. Eubert, B. of Lisle, 4th cent.

S. Ephraem Syrus, D.C. at Edessa , a.d. 378.

SS. Sbverus, B., Vincentia his wife, and Innocentia, V., their daughter,
at Ravenna, end of 4 th cent.

S. Paul, B. of Trois-Chateaux in France, beginning of 5th cent.

S. Peter the Galatian, M. at Antioch in Syria, $th cent.

S. Kin nea, V. in Ireland, sih cent.

S. Bridget, V. Abs. at Kildare, a.d. 535.

S. Darlugdach, V. at Kildare, a.d. 536.

S. Sbverus, B. of Avranches, 6th cent.

S. PrjBCORDIUS, P. at Corbie, 6th cent.

S. Sorus, H. at Perigeux, 6th cent.

SS. Agripanus, B., and Ursicinus, MM., at Le Puy, after a.d. 65a
S. Sigebert III., K.C. at Metz, a.d. 656.

B. Wolfhold, P. at Hohenwast in Bavaria, after a.d. itoo.

S. John of the Grate, B. of S. Malo, a.d. 1163.

S. Raymond, of Fitero, A.C., Founder of the Order of Calatrava, a.d. 1163.
S. Vbrdiana, V.R .at Castel Fiorentino, in Tuscany, a.d. 1343.

S. IGNATIUS, B. M.

(A.D. I07.)

[S. Ignatius is commemorated variously, on June 10th, Oct. 8th, Nov.
24th, Dec. 14th or 19th ; but by the Roman Martyrology his festival is
fixed for Feb. ist. In the Bruges and Treves Martyrologies, his com-
memoration was placed on Jan. 31st, so as not to interfere with that of
S. Bridget on this day. The authorities for his life and passion are his
own genuine Epistles, the Acts of his martyrdom, Eusebius, and S.
Chrysostom’s Homily on S. Ignatius.]

jAINT IGNATIUS was a convert and disciple of
S. John the Evangelist. He was appointed by
S. Peter to succeed Evodius in the see of Antioch,
and he continued in his bishopric full forty years.
He received the name of Theophorus, or one who carries
God with him. In his Acts, Trajan is said to have asked

VOL. II. 1

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2 Lives of the Saints. [February!.

him why he had the surname of God-bearing, and he
answered, because he bore Christ in his heart1

Socrates, in his “ Ecclesiastical History,” says, “We must
make some allusion to the origin of the custom in the
Church of singing hymns antiphonally. Ignatius, third
bishop of Antioch in Syria from the apostle Peter, who
also had conversed familiarly with the apostles themselves,
saw a vision of angels, hymning in alternate chants the Holy
Trinity ; after which he introduced this mode of singing into
the Antiochian Church, whence it was transmitted by tradi-
tion to all the other churches.”2

It seems probable that Evodius vacated the see of An-
tioch about the year 70. There are traditions that represent
Evodius to have been martyred; and Josephus speaks of a
disturbance in Antioch about that period, which was the
cause of many Jews being put to death.* There is a diffi-
culty in supposing S. Peter to have appointed Ignatius
bishop of Antioch, if he did not succeed Evodius till the
year 70. But it is probable, that later writers have con-
founded the appointment of Ignatius to the see of Antioch,
with his consecration to the episcopal office ; and it is highly
probable that he received this from the hands of the Prince
of the Apostles.

The date of the martyrdom of Ignatius can be fixed with
tolerable certainty as occurring in the year 107. The Acts
expressly state that Trajan was then at Antioch, and that
Sura and Senecio were consuls ; two events, which will be
found to meet only in the year 107.

Trajan made his entry into Antioch in January; his first
concern was to examine into the state of religion there, and

1 Vincent of Beauvais, and other late writers, say that the name of God was
found after his death written in gold letters on his heart ; but this is only one
instance of the way in which legends have been coined to explain titles, the
spiritual significance of which was not considered sufficiently wondrous for the
vulgar.

2 Lib. vi. c. 8. 3 De Bel. Jud. vii. 3.

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February *•]

S. Ignatius.

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the Christians were denounced to him as bringers-in of
strange gods. Ignatius was brought before him, and boldly
confessed Christ to be God. “Dost thou mean Him who was
crucified ?” asked the emperor, scornfully. Ignatius answered,
“The very same, Who by His death overcame sin, and
enabled those who bear Him in their hearts to trample under
foot all the power of the devils.”

Then Trajan ordered him to be taken to Rome, and
exposed to wild beasts in the amphitheatre. It was gene-
rally a distinction reserved for Roman citizens, that if they
had committed an offence in the provinces, they were sent
for punishment to the capital. This, however, does not
appear to have been the reason in the case of Ignatius.

The punishment to which he was condemned was generally
reserved for culprits of the lowest condition ; and the Chris-
tians were perhaps viewed in this light by the heathen.
Ecclesiastical history has scarcely preserved a more interest-
ing and affecting narrative, than that of the journey of
Ignatius from Antioch to Rome. In tracing the procession
of the martyr to his final triumph, we forget that we are
reading of a prisoner who was dragged to his death in chains.

He was committed to a guard of ten soldiers, who appear to
have treated him with severity; and, after taking ship at
Seleucia, they landed for a time at Smyrna. He had here
the gratification of meeting with Polycarp, who was bishop
of that see, and who, like himself, had enjoyed a personal
acquaintance with S. John. His arrival also excited a sensa-
tion through the whole of Asia Minor. Onesimus, bishop of
Ephesus ; Polybius, bishop of Tralles ; and Demas, bishop
of Magnesia, came from their respective cities, with a depu-
tation of their clergy, to visit the venerable martyr. Ignatius
took the opportunity of writing from Smyrna to the Churches
over which these bishops presided ; and his epistles to the
Ephesians, Trallians, and Magnesians, are still extant.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February x.

Hearing also of some Ephesians, who were going to Rome,
and who were likely to arrive there more expeditiously than
himself, he addressed a letter to the Church in that city. His
principal object in writing was to prevent any attempt which
the Roman Christians might have made to procure a re-
prieve from the death which was awaiting him. He expresses
himself not only willing, but anxious, to meet the wild beasts
in the amphitheatre ; and there never, perhaps, was a more
perfect pattern of resignation than that which we find in this
letter.

From Smyrna he proceeded to Troas, where he was met
by some of the neighbouring bishops, and the bishop of
Philadelphia became the bearer of a letter which he wrote to
the Christians in that city. He also wrote from the same
place to the Church of Smyrna; and the personal regard
which he had for Polycarp, the bishop of that see, will ex-
plain why he also wrote to him, and made it his dying request
that he would attend to the Church of Antioch. These
seven epistles, which were written by Ignatius from Smyrna
and Troas, are still extant.

It appears that Ignatius had intended to write letters to
some Other Churches, from Troas ; but his guards were im-
patient to proceed, and once more setting sail, they followed
the course which S. Paul had taken upon his first journey
into Greece, and landed at Neapolis. Hurrying through
Macedonia, he embarked once more on the western coast of
Epirus, and crossing the Adriatic, arrived at Rome. There
was now an exhibition of games, which lasted some days ;
and it seems to have been intended that the death of Igna-
tius should form part of the spectacle. The voyage had been
hurrifcd on this account ; and on the last day of the games,
which was the 19th December, the holy martyr was led into
the amphitheatre, and his death seems to have been the work
of a moment. In his letter to the Roman Church, he had

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February i.] SS. Pionius and Companions .

*■

prayed that the wild beasts might despatch him speedily, and
not refuse to touch him, as had sometimes been the case.
His prayer was heard; and the Christians of Rome, who had
thought themselves blessed to have even seen the apostolic
bishop of Antioch among them, had now to pick up a few of
the larger and harder bones, which was all that the wild
beasts had spared. These were carried to Antioch, and it is
evidence of the great reverence at that early age shown to
the relics of the saints, that the same honours were paid to
the sacred relics as had been paid to the holy martyr him-
self, when he touched at the different cities. The friends of
Ignatius speak of his remains as “ an invaluable treasure ;”
and as such they were deposited near one of the gates in the
suburbs of Antioch.

The relics of S. Ignatius were retranslated to Rome, and
are dispersed among several of the churches of the city.
The head, however, is in the possession of the Jesuits of
Prague.

SS. PIONIUS, P. AND COMPANIONS, MM.

(a. d. 251.)

[Roman and many ancient Martyrologies on this day. The Greeks
on March nth; the Martyrology attributed to S. Jerome, on March
1 2th. Authorities : — The genuine Acts of these martyrs, and the brief
account in Eusebius, lib. iv. c. 15.]

In the persecution of Decius, S. Pionius, a priest of
Smyrna, was apprehended; together with Sabina, Macedonia,
Asclepiades, and Linus a priest, whilst they were celebrating
the festival of S. Polycarp, on February 23. Pionius having
fasted on the vigil, was forewarned of his coming passion in
a vision. On the morning, which was the Sabbath, or Satur-
day, they took holy bread (the Eulogies) and water, and

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Lives of the Saints.

[February *.

*■

■*

were then surprised and taken by Polemon, the chief priest
of the idol temple in Smyrna, and his satellites. Polemon in
vain urged them to conform to the imperial edicts, and
sacrifice to the gods ; but they set their faces as flint against
his solicitations, and were led into the forum, where Pionius
took the opportunity of haranguing the crowds who hurried
up to be present at their trial.

The Smyrnian Church was then suffering the shame of
having seen its bishop, Eudaemon, apostatize, and his ex-
ample had been followed by many timorous Christians.

The interrogatory was conducted by Polemon, and is
dryly recorded by the notary who wrote the acts : — The
Idol priest said, “ Pionius ! sacrifice.” But he answered, “I
am a Christian.” “Whom,” said Polemon, “dost thou
worship?” “The Almighty God,” answered Pionius, “who
made heaven and earth, and all things in heaven and earth,
and us men ; who giveth to all men liberally, as they need ;
whom we know through His Word, Christ.” Polemon said,

“ Sacrifice then, only to the Emperor.” Pionius said, “ I
cannot sacrifice to any man. I am a Christian.”

Then — the notary writing all down — Polemon asked,
“What is thy name?” He answered, “ Pionius.” Polemon
said, “ Thou art a Christian ?” He answered, “ Certainly I
am.” “To what Church dost thou belong?” asked Polemon.

“ I belong to the Catholic Church,” answered Pionius.

“ There is none other with Christ.”

Then he went to Sabina, and put to her the same questions,
which she answered almost in the same words. Next he
turned to Asclepiades, and asked, “ What is thy name ? ”

“ Asclepiades.” “Art thou a Christian?” “ I am.” Then
said Polemon, “ Whom dost thou worship ? ” Asclepiades
answered, “I worship Jesus Christ.” “What !” asked Pole-
mon, “Is that another God ?” “ No,” answered Asclepiades,

“ He is the same God of whom the others spake.”

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February i.] SS. Ignatius & Ephraem.

■*

After this the martyrs were taken to prison, followed by a
crowd jeering and insulting them. On the morrow they
were led forth again to trial, a$d the idol priest endeavoured
to force them to enter the temple, and by violence to
compel them to sacrifice. Pionius tore from his head the
sacrificial garlands that the priest had placed upon him.
Polemon, unable to bend the holy martyrs to submission,
delivered them over to Quintilian, the pro-consul, on his
arrival at Smyrna, and he sentenced Pionius to be hung on
a rack, and his body to be torn with hooks of iron, and
afterwards to be nailed to a post, and burnt alive. Metro-
dorus, a Marcionite priest, underwent the same punishment
with him.

S. EPHRAEM THE SYRIAN, D. C.

(A.D. 378.)

[Roman and all Latin Martyrologies, except that of Bede, which gives
July 9th. Commemorated by the Greeks on Jan. 28th. His death took
place in summer or autumn. Authorities : — His own narration to his
monks of his conversion, his confession and testament ; also the oration
upon him by S. Gregory Nyssen ; an account of him in the Life of S.
Basil, attributed to S. Amphilochius, Sozomen, etc.]

SaiiJt Ephraem was the son of poor parents of Nisibis,
who had confessed Christ before the persecutors, under
Diocletian or his successors. In his narrative of his conver-
sion, S. Ephraem laments some of the faults of his youth.
“ When I was a boy,” says he, “ I was rather wild. One day
my parents sent me out of the town, and I found a cow that
was in calf feeding in the road leading to the wood. This
cow belonged to very poor people. I took up stones, and
began pelting the cow, and driving it before me into the
wood, and I drove the beast on till in the evening, it fell down

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Lives of the Saints.

[February x.

dead, and during the night wild beasts ate it. On my way
back I met the poor man who owned it, and he asked me,

‘My son, have you been driving away my cow?’ Then I
not only denied, but heaped abuse and insult upon him.”
Some few days after he was sent out of the town by his
parents again, and he wandered in the wood, idling with some
shepherds, till night fell. Then, as it was too late to return,
he remained the night with the shepherds. That night the
fold was broken into, and some of the sheep were carried
off. Then the shepherds, thinking the boy had been in
league with the robbers, dragged him before the magistrate,
and he was cast into prison, where he found two men in
chains, charged, one with homicide, the other with adultery,
though they protested their innocence. In a dream an angel
appeared to Ephraem, and asked him why he was there.

The boy began at once to declare himself guiltless. " Yes,”
said the angel, “ guiltless thou art of the crime imputed to
you, but hast thou forgotten the poor man's cow? Listen to
the conversation of the men who are with thee, and thou wilt
learn that none suffer without cause.”

In the morning, the two men began to speak, and one
said, “The other day, as I was going over a bridge, I saw
two fellows quarrelling, and one flung the other over into
the water ; and I did not put forth my hand to save him, as
I might have done, and so he was drowned.”

Presently the other man said, “ I am not guilty of this
adultery of which I am charged, but nevertheless I have
done a very wicked thing. Two brothers and a sister were
left an inheritance by their father, and the two young men
wished to deprive their sister of what was her due, and they
bribed me to give false evidence whereby the will was upset,
and the property divided between them, to the exclusion of
the poor girl.”

After an imprisonment of forty days, Ephraem was

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brought before the magistrate along with his fellow prisoners.
He says, that when he saw the two men stripped, and
stretched on the rack, “ An awful terror came over me, and
I trembled, thinking I was sure to be subjected to the
same treatment as they. Therefore I cried, and shivered,
and my heart altogether failed me. Then the people and
the apparitors began to laugh at my tears and fright, and
asked me what I was crying for ? 1 You ought to have con-

sidered this before, boy ! but now tears are of no avail.
You shall soon have a taste of the rack too, never doubt
it.* Then, at these words, my soul melted clean away.”
However, he was spared this time, and the innocence of
his companions having been proved, they were set free.
Ephraem was taken back to prison, where he spent forty
more days ; and whilst he was there, the two men who had
defrauded their sister of her inheritance, and the man who
had flung his adversary into the river, were caught and
chained in the dungeon with him. These men and Ephraem
were brought forth to trial together, and the men were
sentenced, after they had been racked, and had confessed
their crime, to lose their right hands. Ephraem, in another
paroxysm of fear, made a vow that he would become a
monk, if God would spare him the suffering of the rack.
To his extreme terror the magistrate ordered him to be
stripped, and the question to be applied. Then Ephraem
stood naked and trembling beside the rack, when fortu-
nately the servant came up to the magistrate to tell him that
dinner was ready. “ Very well,” said the magistrate, “ then
I will examine this boy another day.” And he ordered him
back to prison. On his next appearance, the magistrate,
thinking Ephraem had been punished enough, dismissed
him, and he ran off instantly to the mountains, to an old
hermit, and asked him to make of him a monk.1

1 As S. Ephraem related the incident several times to his monks, and they wrote

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He was eighteen years old when he was baptized, and
immediately after he had received the Sacrament of Re-
generation, he began to discipline his body and soul with
great severity. He lay on the bare ground, often fasted
whole days, and spent a considerable part of the night in
prayer. He exercised the handicraft of a sail-maker. He
was naturally a very passionate man, but he learned so
completely to subdue his temper, that the opposite virtue of
meekness became conspicuous, so that he received the title
of the “Peaceable man of God.” Sozomen relates that
once, after Ephraem had fasted several days, the brother,
who was bringing him a mess of pottage, let the dish fall
and broke it, and strewed the food upon the floor. The
saint seeing his confusion, said cheerfully, “ Never mind, if
the supper won’t come to me, I will go to the supper.”
Then, sitting down on the ground by the broken dish, he
picked up the pottage as well as he could.

“ He devoted his life to monastic philosophy,” says
Sozomen ; “ and although he had received no education, he
became, contrary to all expectation, so proficient in the
learning and language of the Syrians, that he comprehended
with ease the most abstruse problems of philosophy. His
style of writing was so full of glowing oratory and sublimity
of thought, that he surpassed all the writers of Greece. The
productions of Ephraem were translated into Greek during
his life, and translations are even now being made, and yet
they preserve much of their original force, so that his works
are not less admired in Greek than in Syriac. Basil, who
was subsequently bishop of the metropolis of Cappadocia,
was a great admirer of Ephraem, and was astonished at his
condition. The opinion of Basil, who was the most learned
and eloquent man of his age, is a stronger testimony I

it down from what he had related, there exist several versions of the story slightly
differing from one another.

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think, to the merit of Ephraem, than anything that could be
indicted in his praise.” 1

S. Gregory Nyssen gives the following testimony to the
eloquence of S. Ephraem : “ Who that is proud would not
become the humblest of men, reading his discourse on
Humility ? Who would not be inflamed with a divine fire,
reading his treatise on Charity? Who would not wish to
be chaste in heart and soul, by reading the praises he has
lavished on Virginity ? Who would not be frightened by
hearing his discourse on the Last Judgment, wherein he has
depicted it so vividly, that nothing can be added thereto?
God gave him so profound a wisdom, that, though he had a
wonderful facility of speech, yet he could not find expression
for the multitude of thoughts which poured from his mind.”
At Edessa, S. Ephraem was ordained deacon ; it has been
asserted that he afterwards received the priesthood from the
hands of S. Basil, but this is contradicted by most ancient
writers, who affirm that he died a deacon. He was elected
bishop of one town, but hearing it, he comported himself so
strangely, that the people and clergy, supposing him to have
lost his mind, chose another in his place; and he main-
tained the same appearance of derangement till the other
candidate was consecrated. The city of Edessa having been
severely visited by famine, he quitted the solitary cell in
which he dwelt, and entering the city, rebuked the rich for
permitting the poor to die around them, instead of imparting
to them of their superfluities ; and he represented to them
that the wealth which they were treasuring up so carefully
would turn to their own condemnation, and to the ruin of
their souls, which were of more value than all the wealth of
earth. The rich men replied, “ We are not intent on hoard-
ing our wealth, but we know of no one whom we may trust to

1 Hist. EccL lib. iii. c. x6.

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distribute our goods with equity.” “ Then,” said Ephraem,
“entrust me with that office.”

As soon as he had received their money, he fitted up
three hundred beds in the public galleries, and there tended
those who were suffering from the effects of the famine. On
the cessation of the scarcity, he returned to his cell; and
after the lapse of a few days expired.

S. Ephraem was a valiant champion of the orthodox faith.
Finding that the Syrians were fond of singing the heretical
hymns of Bardasanes, he composed a great number of
orthodox poems which he set to the same tunes, and by
introducing these, gradually displaced those which were ob-
noxious. One instance of his zeal against heresy is curious,
though hardly to be commended. The heretic Apollinarius
had composed two reference books of quotations from
Scripture, and arguments he intended to use in favour of his
doctrines, at a public conference with a Catholic, and these
books he lent to a lady. Ephraem borrowed the books, and
glued the pages together, and then returned them. Apolli-
narius, nothing doubting, took his volumes to the discussion,
but when he tried to use them, found the pages fast, and
retired from the conference in confusion.

S. SEVERUS, B. C., OF RAVENNA
(about a.d. 390.)

[S. Severus, B. M., of Ravenna, is commemorated on Jan. 1 ; S. Seve-
rus, B. C., of Ravenna, on Feb. 1st. Authorities: — Three ancient lives,
with which agree the accounts in the Martyrologies.]

S. Severus was a poor weaver in Ravenna. Upon the
see becoming vacant, the cathedral was filled with electors
to choose a new bishop. Severus said to his wife Vincentia,
“ I will visit the minster and see what is going on.” “ You

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•S'. Severus .

had much better remain at home, and not show yourself in
your working clothes among the nobles and well-dressed
citizens,” said she. “Wife! what harm is there in my
going?” “You have work to do here, for your daughter
and me, instead of gadding about, sight seeing.” And when
Severus persisted in desiring to go, “ Very well,” said Vin-
centia, “ go, and may you come back with a good box on
your ear.” And when she saw that he was bent on going,
she said, mocking, “ Go then, and get elected bishop.”

So he went, and entering the cathedral, stood behind the
doors, as he was ashamed of his common dress covered
with flocks of wool. Then when the Holy Spirit had been
invoked to direct the choice of the people, suddenly there
appeared in the cathedral a beautiful white dove, fluttering
at the ear of the poor spinner. And he beat it off, but the
bird returned, and rested on his head. Then the people
regarded this as a heavenly sign, and he was unanimously
chosen to be their bishop. Now Vincentia was at home,
and one came running, and told her that her husband was
elected bishop of Ravenna. Then she laughed, and would
not believe it, but when the news was repeated, she said,
“This is likely enough, that a man who tosses a shuttle
should make a suitable prelate!” But when she was con-
vinced, by the story being confirmed by other witnesses, her
amazement rendered her speechless.

After his consecration, Severus lived with her as with a
sister, till she died, and was followed shortly after by her
daughter, Innocentia. Then he laid them both in a tomb,
in the church, which had been prepared for himself. And
after many years he knew that he was to die. So he sang
High Mass before all the people, and when the service was
over, he bade all the congregation depart, save only one
server. And when they were gone, he bade the boy close
the doors of the cathedral Then the bishop went, vested

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in his pontifical robes, to the sepulchre of his wife and
daughter, and he and the boy raised the stone, and Severus
stood, and looking towards the bodies of his wife and
daughter, he said, “My dear ones, with whom I lived in
love so long, make room for me, for this is my grave, and
in death we shall not be divided.” Having said this, he
descended into the grave, and laid himself down between
his wife and daughter, and crossed his hands on his breast,
and looked up to heaven and prayed, and then closing his
eyes, gave one sigh, and fell asleep. The relics were trans-
lated to Mayence, in 836, and Oct. 22nd is observed as the
feast of this translation. In art, Severus is represented as a
bishop with a shuttle at his side.

S. BRIDGET, V. ABSS.

(a.d. 525.)

[S. Bridget, or Bride as she is called in England, is the Patroness of
Ireland, and was famous throughout northern Europe. Leslie says,
“ She is held in so great honour by Piets, Britons, Angles, and Irish, that
more churches are dedicated to God in her memory, than to any other
of the saints and Hector Boece says, that she was regarded by Scots,
Piets, and Irish as only second to the B. Virgin Mary. Unfortunately,
little authentic is known of her. The lives extant are for the most part
of late composition, and are collected from oral traditions of various
value. One life is attributed, however, to Bishop Ultan Mac Concubar,
d. circ. 662 ; another, a metrical one, is by the monk Chilian, circ. 740 ;
another by one Cogitosus, is of uncertain date ; another is by Laurence,
prior of Durham, d. 1154; and there is another, considered ancient, by
an anonymous author.]

Ireland was, of old, called the Isle of Saints, because of
the great number of holy ones of both sexes who flourished
there in former ages; or, who, coming thence, propagated
the faith amongst other nations. Of this great number of
saints the three most eminent, and who have therefore been

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•S'. Bridget.

honoured as the special patrons of the island, were S. Pa-
trick their apostle, S. Columba, who converted the Piets, and
S. Bridget, the virgin of Kildare, whose festival is marked in
all the Martyrologies on the 1st day of February.

This holy virgin was bom about the middle of the fifth
century, in the village of Fochard, in the diocese of Armagh.

Her father was a nobleman, called Dubtach, descended from
Eschaid, the brother of King Constantine of the Hundred
Battles, as he is sumamed by the Irish historians. The
legend of her origin is as follows, but it is not to be relied
upon, as it is not given by Ultan, Cogitosus, or Chilian of
Inis-Keltra.1 Dubtach had a young and beautiful slave-
girl, whom he dearly loved, and she became pregnant by
him, whereat his wife, in great jealousy and rage, gave
him no peace till he had sold her to a bard, but Dubtach,
though he sold the slave-girl, stipulated with the purchaser
that the child should not go with the mother, but should be
returned to him when he claimed it.

Now one day, the king and queen visited the bard to ask
an augury as to the child they expected shortly, and to be
advised as to the place where the queen should be confined.
Then the bard said, “ Happy is the child that is bom
neither in the house nor out of the house !” Now it fell
out that Brotseach, the slave-girl, was shortly after returning
to the house with a pitcher of fresh warm milk from the
cow, when she was seized with labour, and sank down on
the threshold, and was delivered neither in the house nor
out of the house, and the pitcher of warm sweet milk,
falling, was poured over the little child.

When Bridget grew up, her father reclaimed her, and
treated her with the same tenderness that he showed to his
legitimate children. She had a most compassionate heart,

1 Moreover it contradicts the positive statements of more reliable authors, that
Bridget was the legitimate daughter of Brotseach, the wife of Dubtach.

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and gave to every beggar what he asked, whether it were
hers or not This rather annoyed her father, who took her
one day with him to the king’s court, and leaving her out-
side, in the chariot, went within to the king, and asked his
majesty to buy his daughter, as she was too expensive for
him to keep, owing to her excessive charity. The king
asked to see the girl, and they went together to the door.

In the meantime, a beggar had approached Bridget, and
unable to resist his importunities, she had given him the
only thing she could find, her father’s sword, which was a
present that had been made him by the king. When Dub-
tach discovered this, he burst forth into angry abuse, and
the king asked, “Why didst thou give away the royal
sword, child ?” “ If beggars assailed me,” answered Bridget
calmly, “and asked for my king and my father, I would
give them both away also.” “ Ah !” said the king, “ I can-
not buy a girl who holds us so cheap.”

Her great beauty caused her to be sought in marriage by
a young noble of the neighbourhood, but as she had already
consecrated herself by vow to Jesus, the Spouse of virgins,
she would not hear of this match. To rid herself of the im-
portunity of her suitor, she prayed to God, that He would
render her so deformed that no one might regard her. Her
prayer was heard, and a distemper fell on one of her eyes,
by which she lost that eye, and became so disagreeable to
the sight, that no one thought of giving her any further
molestation.1 Thus she easily gained her father’s consent
that she should consecrate her virginity to God, and become
a nun. She took with her three other virgins of that country,
and bidding farewell to her friends, went in 469 to the holy
bishop Maccail, then at Usny hill, Westmeath ; who gave
the sacred veil to her and her companions, and received

1 But this legend is given very differently in another Life, and Cogitosus and the
first and fourth Lives do not say anything about it.

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their profession of perpetual virginity. S. Bridget was then
only fourteen years old, as some authors assert The Al-
mighty was pleased on this occasion to declare how accept-
able this sacrifice was, by restoring to Bridget the use of her
eye, and her former beauty, and, what is still more remark-
able, and is particularly celebrated, as well in the Roman,
as in other ancient Martyrologies, was, that when the holy
virgin, bowing her head, kissed the dry wood of the feet of
the altar, it immediately grew green, in token of her purity
and sanctity. The story is told of her, that when she was a
little child, playing at holy things, she got a smooth slab of
stone which she tried to set up as a little altar; then a
beautiful angel joined in her play, and made wooden legs to
the altar, and bored four holes in the stone, into which the
legs might be driven, so as to make it stand.

S. Bridget having consecrated herself to God, built a cell
for her abode, under a goodly oak, thence called KH-dare
or the Cell of the Oak ; and this foundation grew into a
large community, for a great number of virgins resorted to
her, attracted by her sanctity, and put themselves under her
direction. And so great was the reputation of her virtues,
and the place of her abode was so renowned and frequented
on her account, that the many buildings erected in the
neighbourhood during her lifetime formed a large town,
which was soon made the seat of a bishop, and in process
of time, the metropolitan see of the whole province.

What the rule embraced by S. Bridget was, is not known,
but it appears from her history, that the habit which she
received at her profession from S. Maccail was white.
Afterwards, she herself gave a rule to her nuns ; so that
she is justly numbered among the founders of religious
Orders. This rule was followed for a long time by the
greatest part of the monasteries of sacred virgins in Ireland ;
all acknowledging our Saint as their mother and mistress, and

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the monastery of Kildare as the headquarters of their Order.
Moreover, Cogitosus informs us, in his prologue to her life,
that not only did she rule nuns, but also a large community
of men, who lived in a separate monastery. This obliged
the Saint to call to her aid out of his solitude, the holy
bishop S. Conlaeth, to be the director and father to her
monks ; and at the same time to be the bishop of the city.

The church of Kildare, to suit the requirements of the
double monastery and the laity, was divided by partitions
into three parts, Cogitosus says, one for the monks, one for
the nuns, and the third for the lay people.

As S. Bridget was obliged to go long journeys, the bishop
ordained her coachman priest, and the story is told that one
day as she and a favourite nun sat in the chariot, the coach-
man preached to them the Word of God, turning his head
over his shoulder. Then said the abbess, “Turn round,
that we may hear better, and throw down the reins.” So
he cast the reins over the front of the chariot, and addressed
his discourse to them with his back to the horses. Then one
of the horses slipped its neck from the yoke, and ran free ;
and so engrossed were Bridget and her companion in the
sermon of the priestly charioteer, that they did not observe
that the horse was loose, and the carriage running all on
one side. On another occasion she was being driven over
a common near the Liffey, when they came to a long hedge,
for a man had enclosed a portion of the common. Then
the man shouted to them to go round, and Bridget bade
her charioteer so do. But he, thinking that they had a right
of way across the newly made field, drove straight at the
hedge ; then the proprietor of the field ran forward, and the
horses started, and the jolt of the chariot threw S. Bridget
and the coachman out of the vehicle, and severely bruised
them both. Then the abbess, picking herself up said, “ Bet-
ter to have gone round ; short cuts bring broken bones.”

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Once a family came to Kildare, leaving their house and
cattle unguarded, that they might attend a festival in the
church, and receive advice from S. Bridget. Whilst they
were absent, some thieves stole their cows, and drove them
away.

They had to pass the Liffey, which was much swollen,
consequently the thieves stripped, and tied their clothes
to the horns of the cattle, intending to drive the cows into
the river, and swim after them. But the cows ran away,
carrying off with them the clothes of the robbers attached
to their horns, and they did not stop till they reached the
gates of the convent of S. Bridget, the nude thieves racing
after them. The holy abbess restored to them their gar-
ments, and severely reprimanded them for their attempted
robbery.

Other strange miracles are attributed to her, of which it
is impossible to relate a tithe. She is said, after a shower of
rain, to have come hastily into a chamber, and cast her wet
cloak over a sunbeam, mistaking it, in her hurry, for a beam
of wood. And the cloak remained there, and the ray of
sun did not move, till late at night one of her maidens ran
to her, to tell her that the sunbeam waited its release, so
she hasted, and removed her cloak, and the ray retired after
the long departed sun.

Once a rustic, seeing a wolf run about in proximity to
the palace, killed it; not knowing that it was the tame
creature of the king; and he brought the dead beast to
the king, expecting a reward. Then the prince in anger
ordered the man to be cast into prison and executed. Now
when Bridget heard this, her spirit was stirred within her,
and mounting her chariot, she drove to the court, to in-
tercede for the life of the poor countryman. And on the
way, there came a wolf over the bog racing towards her,
and it leaped into the chariot, and allowed her to caress it.

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20 Lives of the Saints . [February-*.

Then, when she reached the palace, she went before the
king, with the wolf at her side, and said, “ Sire ! I have
brought thee a better wolf than that thou hast lost, spare
therefore the life of the poor man who unwittingly slew thy
beast.” Then the king accepted her present with great joy,
and ordered the prisoner to be released.

One evening she sat with sister Dara, a holy nun, who
was blind, as the sun went down ; and they talked of the
love of Jesus Christ, and the joys of Paradise. Now their
hearts were so full, that the night fled away whilst they
spoke together, and neither knew that so many hours had
sped. Then the sun came up from behind Wicklow moun-
tains, and the pure white light made the face of earth bright
and gay. Then Bridget sighed, when she saw how lovely
were earth and sky, and knew that Dara’s eyes were closed
to all this beauty. So she bowed her head and prayed, and
extended her hand and signed the dark orbs of the gentle
sister. Then the darkness passed away from them, and
Dara saw the golden ball in the east, and all the trees and
flowers glittering with dew in the morning light. She
looked a little while, and then, turning to the abbess, said,

“ Close my eyes again, dear mother, for when the world is
so visible to the eyes, God is seen less clearly to the soul”

So Bridget prayed once more, and Dara’s eyes grew dark
again.

A madman, who troubled all the neighbourhood, came
one day across the path of the holy abbess. Bridget ar-
rested him, and said, “ Preach to me the Word of God, and
go thy way.” Then he stood still and said, “ O Bridget,

I obey thee. Love God, and all will love thee. Honour
God, and all will honour thee. Fear God, and all will fear
thee.” Then with a howl he ran away. Was there ever a
better sermon preached in fewer words.

A very remarkable prophesy of the heresies and false

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doctrines of later years must not be omitted. One day
Bridget fell asleep whilst a sermon was being preached by
S. Patrick, and when the sermon was over, she awoke.
Then the preacher asked her, “ O Bridget, why didst thou
sleep, when the Word of Christ was spoken ? ” She fell on
her knees and asked pardon, saying, “ Spare me, spare me,
my father, for I have had a dream.” Then said Patrick,
“Relate thy vision to me.” And Bridget said, “Thy
hand-maiden saw, and behold the land was ploughed far
and wide, and sowers went forth in white raiment, and
sowed good seed. And it sprang up a white and goodly
harvest Then came other ploughers in black, and sowers
in black, and they hacked, and tore up, and destroyed that
beauteous harvest, and strewed tares far and wide. And
after that, I looked, and behold, the island was full of sheep
and swine, and dogs and wolves, striving with one another
and rending one another.” Then said S. Patrick, “Alas,
my daughter! in the latter days will come false teachers
having false doctrine ; who shall lead away many, and the
good harvest which has sprung up from the Gospel seed we
have sown will be trodden under foot ; and there shall be
controversies in the faith between the faithful and the
bringers-in of strange doctrine.”

Now when the time of her departure drew nigh, Bridget
called to her a dear pupil, named Darlugdach and foretold
the day on which she should die. Then Darlugdach wept
bitterly, and besought her mother to suffer her to die with
her. But the blessed Bridget said, “Nay, my daughter,
thou shalt live a whole year after my departure ; and then
shalt thou follow me.” And so it came to pass. Having
received the sacred viaticum from the hands of S. Nennidh,
the bishop, the holy abbess exchanged her mortal life for
a happy immortality, on February ist, 525.1 Her body was

■ As near as can be ascertained; see Lanigan, Eccl. Hist, of Ireland, vol. x, p. 455.

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interred in the church of Kildare ; where her nuns for some
ages, to honour her memory, kept a fire always burning ;
from which that convent was called the House of Fire, till
Henry of London, Archbishop of Dublin, to take away all
occasion of superstition, in 1220, ordered it to be ex-
tinguished.

The body of the Saint was afterwards translated to Down-
Patrick, where it was found in a triple vault, together with
the bodies of S. Patrick and S. Columba, in the year 1185.
These bodies were, with great solemnity, translated the fol-
lowing year by the Pope’s legate, accompanied by fifteen
bishops, in presence of an immense number of the clergy,
nobility, and people, to a more honourable place of the
cathedral of Down ; where they were kept, with due honour,
till the time of Henry VIII., when the monument was
destroyed by Leonard, Lord Grey, Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland. S. Bridget’s head was saved by some of the clergy,
who carried it to Neustadt, in Austria ; and from thence, in
1587, it was taken to the church of the Jesuits at Lisbon,
to whom the Emperor Rudolf II. gave it.

In art, S. Bridget is usually represented with her per-
petual flame as a symbol ; sometimes with a column of fire,
said to have been seen above her head when she took the
veil.

S. DARLUGDACH, V.

(a. d. 526.)

[Authorities The lives of S. Bridget.]

Amongst the nuns of S. Bridget’s monastery of Kildare,
there was one named Darlugdach. When young, she fol-
lowed S. Bridget, and being very dear to her, slept with the
abbess.

Darlugdach, not guarding her eyes with sufficient strict-

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February i.] SS. Darlugdach & Severus. 23

ness, saw, and fell in love with a man, who also became
enamoured of her, and their ardent glances revealed their
mutual passion. A plan was formed that she should elope
with him, on a certain night; and she laid herself in the
bosom of the sleeping abbess with beating heart, troubled
by a conflict between duty and passion. At last she rose,
and in an agony of uncertainty, cast herself on her knees,
and besought God to give her strength to master her love,
and then, in the vehemence of her resolve, she thrust her
naked feet into the red coals that glowed on the hearth,
and held them there till the pain had conquered the passion.
After that, she softly stole into bed again, and crept into
the bosom of her holy mother. When morning broke,
Bridget rose, and looked at the blistered and scorched
soles, and touching them, said gently, “I slept not, dear
child, but was awake, and saw thy struggle, and now, because
thou hast fought valiantly, and hast conquered, the flame of
lust shall no more hurt thee.” And she healed her feet.

Darlugdach, as has been related in the life of S. Bridget,
besought her spiritual mother to let her die with her, but
S. Bridget promised that she should follow on the anniver-
sary of her departure, after the expiration of a year. And so
it was.

S. SEVERUS, B. OF AVRANCHES.

(6th cent.)

[French Martyrologies. Authority : — A life by an anonymous author
of uncertain date, but apparently trustworthy.]

S. Severus was the child of very poor Christian parents,
who hired him to a nobleman named Corbecan, a heathen,
who employed him in tending his herd of mares. The boy
loved to pasture the horses in the neighbourhood of a little

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church dedicated to S. Martin, on the excuse that the her-
bage there was richer than elsewhere, but really out of love
for the House of God. Unable to bear the sight of the
misery of the poor, during a cold winter, the boy gave them
the clothes off his back, and returned one day through the
snow to his master’s castle, stripped of everything save his
breeches. Corbecan, in a rage, drove him out of the house,
and forbade him to shelter in it that night. The lad went
to the horses, and crouched among them, taking warmth
from their breath. His gentleness and piety, in the end,
produced such an impression on Corbecan, that he placed
himself under instruction in the faith, and was baptized, he
and his whole house. Severus afterwards retired into a
solitary place, and lived as an hermit, till a number of disci-
ples gathering round him, he was ordained priest. Against
his will he was dragged from his beloved retreat to be conse-
crated bishop of Avranches. He ruled that see for several
years with great zeal and discretion, till the burden became
intolerable, and he besought the people to elect a successor.
Then he laid down his staff, and retired once more to his
forest cell, where he became the master of the blessed Giles.
The day of his death is uncertain. His body was translated
to the cathedral of Rouen.

In art he is represented with the mares of his master.

S. SIGEBERT, K. C.

(a.d. 656.)

[French Martyrology. Authorities His life by Sigebert of Gemblours,
d. 11 12, and mention by Gregory of Tours, and Flodoard.]

This royal saint was the son of Dagobert I., King of
France. The father for a long time refused to have his son
baptized, but at length by the advice of S. Ouen and

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February x.j

S. Sigebert.

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S. Eligius, then laymen in his court, he recalled S. Amand,
bishop of Maestricht, whom he had banished for reproving
his vices, and bade him baptize his son Sigebert. The young
prince’s education was entrusted to Pepin, mayor of the
palace, who carried his charge into Aquitain, to his estates.
But at the age of three, Sigebert was invested by his father
with the kingdom of Austrasia, or Eastern France, including
Provence, Switzerland, Bavaria, Swabia, Thuringia, Fran-
conia, the Rhenish Palatinate, Alsace, Trfcves, Lorraine,
Champagne, Upper Picardy, and Auvergne.

Dagobert died in 638, and was succeeded by Clovis II.,
in the kingdom of Western France. Pepin of Landen, was
mayor of the palace to Sigebert, and strove to train the young
king in godliness and Christian virtues. By his justice and
temperance, S. Sigebert rendered himself in his youth greatly
beloved and respected by his subjects.

Pepin dying in 640, the king appointed Grimoald, mayor
of the palace, in his father’s room. The Thuringians revolt-
ing, Sigebert reduced them to their duty; and this is the
only war in which he was engaged. His munificence in
founding churches and monasteries, his justice in ruling, and
the private virtues of his spotless life, made him to be re-
garded as a model of a saintly king. After a reign of
eighteen years from the date of his father’s death, he died at
the age of twenty-five, and was buried in the abbey of
S. Martin, near Metz, which he had built. His body was
found incorrupt in 1063, and in 1170 it was enshrined in a
silver case. When Charles V. laid siege to Metz, Francis of
Lorraine, Duke of Guise, demolished all the monasteries
and other buildings in the suburbs which could give harbour
to the enemy, amongst others that of S. Martin. The relics
of the saintly king were then removed to the collegiate church
of Our Lady, at Nancy, where they repose in a magnificent
shrine.

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[February r.

S. JOHN OF THE GRATE, B. C.

(a.d. 1163.)

[His festival is observed as a double by the Church of S. Malo, in
Brittany. His name is inserted in Saussaye’s supplement to the Gallican
Martyrology. Authorities : —The letters of S. Bernard and Nicolas of
Clairvaux.]

The illustrious prelate S. John, commonly called “Of
the Grate,” because of an iron grating which surrounded his
sepulchre, was a Breton, the son of parents in a middle
class of life. He was bom about the year 1098 ; and from
an early age gave indications of piety. In the schools to
which he was sent, in a short time he made rapid progress.
Peter, abbot of Celle, speaking of him, calls him “ the holy
bishop, faithful servant of God, a man of courage, loving
poverty, a brilliant light, dissipating the densest darkness.”

His life, as a bishop, was spent in a series of lawsuits with
the monks of Marmoutiers. His episcopal seat was at Aleth
on the main land, but he desired to transfer it to the island
of Aaron, now called S. Malo, on account of the peril to
which Aleth was exposed through pirates, and the intestine
wars which devastated Brittany. He claimed the island as
belonging to the episcopal property of Aleth, but was opposed
by the monks of Marmoutiers, who claimed the Church of
S. Malo. The case was referred to the Pope, who ordered
a commission of French bishops to try the case, and they
decided against John. He considered that his cause had
been prejudged by them, and visited Rome to carry his appeal
in person to the Pope. But Lucius II. would not listen to
him, and he was condemned to lose his see. He then re-
tired under the protection of S. Bernard, to Clairvaux, till, on
the decease of Lucius II., a monk of Clairvaux was elevated
to the papal throne, under the title of Eugenius III. John

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February i.]

•S'. John of the Grate .

at once appealed again, and was heard ; a fresh commission
was appointed, and he was restored to all his rights, and the
monks of Marmoutiers were obliged to cede the Church of
S. Malo to the bishop. John obtained decisions conform-
able to that of Eugenius III., from his successors, Anasta-
sius IV. and Adrian IV. That the claim of John was
reasonable appears certain. Only three years before he
made it, the inhabitants of Aleth had been obliged to take
refuge in the island of Aaron to escape the ravages of the
Normans, who had already twice pillaged and burnt the city;
and it is certain that several of the predecessors of John of
the Grate had borne the title of bishop of S. Malo, as well as
of Aleth.

During his reign a strange heresy broke out. Eon de
TEtoile, a fanatic, took to himself the title of 4 4 Judge of the
quick and dead,” and armed with a forked stick, shared with
God the empire of the universe. When he turned upwards
the two prongs of his stick, he gave to the Almighty the
government of two-thirds of the world, and when he turned
the prongs downwards, he assumed them as his own. This
poor visionary was followed by a number of peasants who
pillaged churches, and committed all sorts of disorders.
They were condemned, in 1 148, by the Council of Rheims,
and were reduced to submission by the temporal power.
John exerted himself, by persuasion and instruction, to dis~
abuse of their heresy such of the fanatics as over-ran his
diocese, and succeeded in converting many of his wandering
sheep.

He died in the odour of sanctity on Feb. 1st, 1163, and
was buried on the Gospel side of the altar in the Church of
S. Malo. His reputation for virtue was so well established,
that almost immediately he received popular reverence as a
Saint. Numerous miracles augmented the devotion of the
people. In 1517, one of his successors, Denis Brigonnet,

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28 Lives of the Saints . [February!.

ambassador of the king to Rome, obtained from Pope
Leo X. permission for him to be commemorated in a solemn
office, as a confessor bishop. This was the year in which
began the schism of Luther.

On the 15th October, 1784, Mgr. Antoine-Joseph des
Laurents, last bishop of S. Malo but one, examined the
relics of the blessed one. He found the bones of S. John
enveloped in his pontifical vestments, his pastoral staff at
his side, and ring on his finger. During the Revolution the
relics of the Saint were ordered to be cast into the sea, but
the order was countermanded, and the sexton was required
to bury them on the common fosse in the cemetery. The
grave-digger, whose name was Jean Coquelin, being a good
Catholic, disobeyed the order so far as to lay the bones
apart in a portion of the new cemetery as yet occupied by
no other bodies. In November, 1799, he announced the
secret to M. Manet, a priest who had remained through the
Reign of Terror, in S. Malo ; and this venerable ecclesiastic
assisted by another priest and some religious, verified the
relics. A sealed box received the precious deposit, and it
was restored to its ancient shrine on 7th March, 1823.
Unfortunately the loss of a document which supplied one
necessary link in the chain of evidence authenticating the
relics was missing, consequently they could not be exposed
to the veneration of the faithful. By a strange accident this
document was recovered later ; whereupon the bishop wrote
to Rome to state the proofs which were now complete. The
necessary sanction having been received, the sacred relics
were enshrined on the 16th November, 1839, with great cere
mony ; and are now preserved in the Church of S. Malo.

In French, S. John is called S. Jean de la Grille; in Latin,
S. Joannes de Craticula.

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February i.]

B. Raymond.

B. RAYMOND OF FITERO, AB. C.

(a.d. 1163.)

[Cistercian Breviary. Authority : — Radez, Chronic de las ordines y
Cavall. de Santiago, Calatrava, y Alcantara.]

In the year a.d. 714, the Moors, having conquered King
Roderick, took possession of Andalusia, and fortified the
city of Oreto, to which they gave the name of Calatrava ;
of which they remained masters for nearly four hundred
years, till Alfonso the Warlike took possession of it, in the
year 1147, and gave it to the Templars, to guard against
the irruption of the infidels. But they held it for only eight
years. The forces which the Moors assembled to recover
Calatrava so discouraged them, that they gave up the city
into the hands of Don Sancho, who had succeeded to the
kingdom of Castille, on the death of Alfonso, and with-
drew from it This prince announced to his court that if
any nobleman would undertake the defence of the place,
he should have and hold it, in perpetuity, as his own
property. But no one offered; the host of the Moors
which had so alarmed the Templars, caused equal dismay
in the minds of the nobles at court. A monk of the order
of Citeaux alone had courage to undertake the defence of
the town. This was Don Didacus Velasquez, monk of the
abbey of Our Lady of Fitero, in the kingdom of Navarre.
He had borne arms before he assumed the white habit of
Citeaux, and was well known to King Sancho, and this
perhaps was the reason why his abbot, Don Raymond, had
taken him with him on a visit to the king, about some
matter concerning his monastery, at this very time. He
entreated the abbot to allow him to ask permission of
Sancho to undertake the defence of Calatrava. Raymond,
at first, rejected the proposal, but at length, gained by the

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[February i.

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zeal and confidence of Didacus, he boldly asked the city
of the prince. He was regarded as mad, but Sancho was
prevailed upon by the evident assurance of the two monks
to give the town of Calatrava to the Cistercian Order, and
especially to the abbey of Fitero, on condition that the
monks held it against the infidels. This was in 1158.

The abbot Raymond and his companion Velasquez then
proposed to the king to found a military Order of Calatrava,
and after having obtained his consent, they communicated
their design to the bishop of Toledo, who not only approved
it, but gave them a large sum of money for the fortification
of the town, and accorded indulgences to all such as should
take arms in its defence, or contribute arms or money for
the purpose. Several persons joined the two monks, and
in a short while an army was raised, at the head of which
they entered Calatrava, and took possession of it The
walls were repaired and completed with such expedition
and strength, that the Moors abandoned their purpose of
attacking it, and withdrew.

The abbot Raymond, having nothing further to fear from
the infidels, applied himself to organise the new military
Order, which took its name from this town. The general
chapter of Citeaux prescribed the manner of life and habit
of these warrior monks, but historians are not agreed as to
the colour or shape of the original habit.

As the territory of Calatrava was almost devoid of in-
habitants, the abbot Raymond returned to Fitero, where he
left only the aged and infirm monks, bringing all who were
active and young to Calatrava, together with a great number
of cattle, and twenty thousand peasants, that he might
settle them in the newly acquired territory. He governed
the order six years, and died at Cirvelos, in the year 1163.
After his death, the knights of Calatrava, although they
were novices of Citeaux into whose hands he had put arms,

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February i.j £. Raymond & S. Verdiana. 3 1

refused to be governed by an abbot, and to have monks
among them. They elected as their Grand Master one of
their number, Don Garcias; and the monks, who had
chosen their new abbot, Don Rudolf, retired with him to
Cirvelos, where they began an action against the knights, to
eject them, that they might recover possession of Calatrava,
which the king had given to their order, and especially to
their house of Fitero. But a reconciliation was effected,
probably through fear of the Moors, and the knights ceded
to them a house at S. Petro de Gumiel, in the diocese of
Osma, with all its dependencies, and there they built a
monastery, leaving Calatrava in the hands of the knights.

In the year 1540, the knights were allowed to marry, and
took only the vows of poverty, obedience, and conjugal
fidelity; since the year 1652, they have added a fourth ; to
defend and maintain the Immaculate Conception of the
blessed Virgin.

S. VERDIANA, V. R.

(a.d, 1242.)

[Roman and Benedictine Martyrology, those of Menardus, Ferrari us,

&c. Authority: — An old contemporary life, falsely attributed to Atto, B.
of Pistoria.]

Verdiana was the child of poor, though well-born
parents; and her knowledge of the sufferings of the poor
from her own experience in early years made her ever full
of pity for those in need. At twelve years old she was
noted for her beautiful and modest countenance, and
humble deportment. A wealthy relation, a count, took her
into his house, and made her wait upon his wife. Her
strict probity and scrupulous discharge of her duties so
gained the confidence of her master and mistress, that they
entrusted to her the entire management of their house.

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[February x*

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One day that there was a famine raging in the diocese of
Florence, and the poor were in extreme distress, the girl saw
some miserable wretches dying from exhaustion at the door.
Her master had a vessel of beans, and she hastily emptied
the box, and fed the starving wretches with them. This
would have been an act of questionable morality, were it
not for the extremity of the case, when, to save life, an act
is justified which would have been unjust were there no such
an imperious necessity. Her master had, in the meantime,
sold the beans, and he shortly after returned with the
money. He went to the vessel, to send it to the purchaser,
but found it empty. u Then,” says the contemporary writer,

“he began to shout and storm against the servants, and
make such a to-do as to cause great scandal in the house
and among the neighbours. Now when all the house was
turned topsy-turvy about these beans, and was in an
uproar, the lord’s hand-maiden, with great confidence, be-
took herself to prayer, and spent the night in supplication.
And on the morrow, the vessel was found full of beans as
before. Then the master was called, and she bade him
abstain for the future from such violence, for Christ who
had received the beans had returned them.”

By the kindness of the Count, her relative, she was
enabled to make a pilgrimage to S. James, of Compostella,
in company with a pious lady. On -her return, she resolved
to adopt the life of a recluse, and after long preparation, and
a visit to Rome, where she spent three years, she obtained
the desire of her heart, and received the veil from the hands
of a canon of the Church of Castel Fiorentino, her native
place, and bearing the Cross, preceded and followed by all
the clergy and people, she was conducted to her cell, and,
having been admitted into it, the door was walled up. In
this cell she spent many years, conversing with those who
visited her, and receiving her food through a window,

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February x.]

S. Verdiana.

through which, also, the priest communicated her. Two
large snakes crept in at this window, one day, and thence-
forth took up their abode with her. She received these
fellow-comrades with great repugnance, but overcame it,
and fed them from her own store of provisions. They
would glide forth when no one was near, but never failed
to return for the night, and when she took her meals.
On one occasion they were injured by some peasants who
pursued them with sticks and stones. Verdiana healed
them, nevertheless the rustics attacked them again, killed
one, and drove the other away, so that it never returned to
the cell of the recluse.

When the holy woman felt that the hour of her release
approached, she made her last confession and received the
Blessed Sacrament through her window, and then closing
it opened her psalter, and began to recite the penitential
psalms. Next morning the people finding the window
closed, and receiving no answer to their taps, broke into the
cell, and found her dead, kneeling with eyes and hands
upraised to heaven, and the psalter before her open at the
psalm Miserere mihi , “ Have mercy upon me, O God !
after Thy great goodness ; and according to the multitude
of Thy mercies, do away mine offences.”

j VOL. II.

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Lives of the Saints.

Febcuary 2.

February 2.

)t purification of $b. iSarg.

S. Cornelius, the Centurion , B. of Ceesarca, 1st cent.

S. Flosculus, B. of Orleans , circ. A.D. 500.

S. Laurence, Abp. of Canterbury , a.d. 619.

S. Adalbald, C. in Belgium and Aquitaine% a.d. 652.

S. Adeloga, V. Abss. at Kitzingen , 8 th cent.

SS. Martyrs, of Ebbecksdorf a.d. 880.

B. Peter Cambian, O.S.D.t M. in Piedmont , a.d. 1365.

THE PURIFICATION OF S. MARY, OR THE
PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE.

jHE PURIFICATION is a double feast, partly
in memory of the B. Virgin’s purification, this
being the fortieth day after the birth of her Son,
which she observed according to the Law
(Leviticus xii. 4), though there was no need for such a
ceremony, she having contracted no defilement through
her childbearing. Partly also in memory of Our Lord’s
presentation in the temple, which the Gospel for the day
commemorates.

The Old Law commanded, that a woman having con-
ceived by a man, if she brought forth a male child, should
remain forty days retired in her house, as unclean ; at the
end of which she should go to the temple to be purified,
and offer a lamb and a turtle dove ; but, if she were poor,
a pair of turtle doves or pigeons, desiring the priest to
pray to God for her. This law the Blessed Virgin accom-
plished (Luke ii. 12) with the exercise of admirable virtues ;
especially did she exhibit her obedience, although she knew

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February a.] The Purification of S. Mary.

that she was not obliged to keep the law, yet, inasmuch as
her Son had consented to be circumcised, though He needed
it not, so did she stoop to fulfil the law, lest she should
offend others. She also exhibited her humility, in being
willing to be treated as one unclean, and as one that stood
in need of being purified, as if she had not been immaculate.
Among the Greeks, the festival goes by the name of Hypa-
pante, which denotes the meeting of our Lord by Symeon
and Anna, in the temple; in commemoration of which
occurrence it was first made a festival in the Church by
the emperor Justinian I., a.d. 542. The emperor is said to
have instituted it on occasion of an earthquake, which
destroyed half the city of Pompeiopolis, and of other
calamities. It was considered in the Greek Church as one
of the feasts belonging to her Lord (Despotikal Heortal).
The name of the Purification was given to it in the 9th
century by the Roman pontiffs. In the Greek Church the
prelude of this festival, which retains its first name, Hypa
pante, is “My soul doth magnify the Lord, for He hath
regarded the lowliness of his hand-maiden ;” and a festival
of Symeon and Anna is observed on the following day.

In the Western Church it has usually been called “Candle-
mas Day,” from the custom of lighting up churches with
tapers and lamps in remembrance of our Saviour having
been this day declared by Symeon to be “ a light to lighten
the Gentiles.” Processions were used with a similar object,
of which S. Bernard gives the following description : — “ We
go in procession, two by two, carrying candles in our hands,
which are lighted not at a common fire, but a fire first
blessed in the church by a bishop. They that go out first
return last; and in the way we sing, ‘Great is the glory
of the Lord.* We go two by two in commendation of
charity and a social life; for so our Saviour sent out his
disciples. We carry light in our hands : first, to signify

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36 Lives of the Saints. [February 2.

that our light should shine before men; secondly, this we
do on this day, especially, in memory of the Wise Virgins (of
whom this blessed Virgin is the chief) that went to meet
their Lord with their lamps lit and burning. And from this
usage and the many lights set up in the church this day, it
is called Candelaria, or Candlemas. Because our works
should be all done in the holy fire of charity, therefore the
candles are lit with holy fire. They that go out first return
last, to teach humility, ‘ in humility preferring one another.*
Because God loveth a cheerful giver, therefore we sing in
the way. The procession itself is to teach us that we
should not stand idle in the way of life, but proceed from
virtue to virtue, not looking back to that which is behind,
but reaching forward to that which is before.”

The Purification is a common subject of representation
in Christian art, both Eastern and Western. From the
evident unsuitableness of the mystery of the Circumcision
to actual representation, it is not usually depicted in works
of art, and the Presentation in the Temple has been gene-
rally selected, with better taste, for this purpose. The
prophecy of Symeon, “Yea, a sword shall pierce through
Thine own soul also,” made to the blessed Virgin, is the
first of her seven sorrows.

The Christian rite of “ The Churching of Women ” is a
perpetuation of the ancient ceremony required by the Mosaic
Law. How long a particular office has been used in the
Christian Church, for the thanksgiving and benediction of
woman after child-birth, it would be difficult to say ; but it
is probably most ancient, since we find that all the Western
rituals, and those of the patriarchate of Constantinople,
contain such an office. The Greeks appoint three prayers
for the mother on the first day of the child’s birth. On the
eighth day, the nurse brings the child to church, and prayer
is made for him before the entrance to the nave. On the

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February a.] The Purification of S. Mary . 37

fortieth day, the mother and the future sponsor at the child’s
baptism bring the child. After an introductory service of
the usual kind, the mother, holding the child, bows her
head; the priest crosses the child, and touching his head,
says, “ Let us pray unto the Lord ; O Lord God Almighty,
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who didst create by
Thy word all creatures, rational and irrational, who didst
bring into being all things out of nothing ; we beseech and
entreat Thee, purify from all sin and pollution this Thy
handmaid, whom by Thy will, Thou hast preserved and
permitted to enter into Thy holy Church ; that she may be
deemed worthy to partake, without condemnation, of Thy
holy mysteries.” (If the child has not survived, the prayer
ends here ; if it be alive, the priest continues), “ And bless
the child bom of her. Increase, sanctify, direct, teach, guide
him; for Thou hast brought him to the birth and hast
shown him the light of this world; that so he may be
deemed worthy of the mental light at the time that Thou
hast ordained, and be numbered among Thy holy flock :
through Thy only begotten Son, with whom Thou art
blessed, together with Thy all-holy, good, life-giving Spirit,
now, always, and for ever and ever.”

Other prayers referring to the mother of the child follow.
Allusion is made to the presentation of Christ, in the
Temple. The child is taken in the priest’s arms to various
parts of the church as an introduction to the sanctuary. A
boy is taken to the altar ; a girl only to the central door
of the screen. There is a separate form in case of mis-
carriage.

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[February a

S. CORNELIUS THE CENTURION, B.

(1ST CENT.)

[Roman and other Western Martyrologies. Commemorated by the
Greeks on Sept. 13th. Authorities : — The Acts of the Holy Apostles,
c. 10, the notices in the Martyrologies, and allusions in the Epistles of
S. Jerome. The Acts given by Metaphrastes are not deserving of much
attention.]

Cornelius, the centurion, was officer of the Italian band
at Caesarea. He was a devout proselyte, who feared God,
with all his household, and gave much alms to the poor and
prayed often and earnestly to God. He saw in a vision an
angel, who told him that his prayers and alms had come up
for a memorial before God, and that he was now to hear
the words of Salvation, and to be instructed in the fulness
of divine truth. He was to send to Joppa, to the house of
one Simon, a tanner, for S. Peter, the prince of the Apostles,
who would instruct and baptize him.

This he accordingly did, and S. Peter, hastening to
Caesarea, baptized him and all his house. And the Holy
Ghost fell upon them.

Cornelius was afterwards, by S. Peter, ordained bishop of
Caesarea, where he strove mightily to advance the kingdom
of Christ, and witnessed a good confession before the chief
magistrate. He died at a ripe old age, and was buried
secretly in a tomb belonging to a friend, a Christian of
wealth. And, it is said, that a bramble grew over the spot
and laced the entrance over with its thorny arms, so that
none could enter in till S. Silvanus, bishop of Philippo-
polis, in Thrace, in the beginning of the 5th century, hacked
away the bramble, and discovered, and translated the sacred
relics.

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February 2.]

S. Laurence.

•*

& LAURENCE, ABP. OF CANTERBURY.

(a.d. 619.)

[Roman and other Western Martyrologies. Authorities : — Bede, Hist.
Eccl. lib. ii. c. 4, 6, 7. Malmesbury lib. de Gest. Pontif. Angl.]

Laurence was one of the first missionaries to the Saxons,
who came over with S. Augustine ; and he succeeded the
Apostle of England in the see of Canterbury, in 608, in
which he sat eleven years. Bede says, “ Laurence suc-
ceeded Augustine in the bishopric, having been ordained
thereto by the latter, in his lifetime, lest, upon his death,
the state of the Church, as yet unsettled, might begin to
falter, if it were destitute of a pastor, though but for one
hour. Wherein he followed the example of the first pastor
of the Church, Peter, who, having founded the Church of
Christ at Rome, is said to have consecrated Clement his
assistant in preaching the Gospel, and at the same time,
his successor. Laurence, being advanced to the degree of
archbishop, laboured indefatigably, both by frequent exhor-
tations and examples of piety, to raise to perfection the
foundation of the Church, which had been so nobly laid.
In short, he not only took care of the new Church formed
among the English, but endeavoured also to employ his
pastoral solicitude among the ancient inhabitants of Britain,
as also among the Scots, who inhabited the island of Ireland.
For when he understood that the course of life and pro-
fession of the Scots, as well as that of the Britons, was not
truly ecclesiastical, especially that they did not celebrate
Easter at the correct time, he wrote jointly with his fellow-
bishops, an exhortatory epistle, entreating and conjuring
them to observe unity of peace, and conformity with the
Church of Christ spread throughout the world.”

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Lives of the Saints . [February a.

But soon troubles arose which obliged Archbishop
Laurence to withdraw his attention from the British bishops
to the condition of his own Kentish diocese. The pious
King Ethelbert died, and his son Eadbald, instead of follow-
ing his father’s example, opposed Christianity, and caused
great scandal by taking to him his step-mother to wife, his own
mother, the saintly Bertha, having died some years before.
The condition of Christianity became so hopeless in Kent,
that Laurence resolved to desert his see, and he was con-
firmed in his determination by Mellitus, bishop of London,
and Justus, bishop of Rochester, who fled from the violence
of the sons and successors of the Christian Sebert, king of
the East Saxons. Bede says, “ Laurence, being about to
follow Mellitus and Justus, and to quit Britain, ordered his
bed to be laid, the night before, in the church of the blessed
Apostles, Peter and Paul ; wherein, having laid himself to
take some rest, after he had poured out many prayers and
tears to God for the state of the Church, he fell asleep. In
the dead of the night, the blessed prince of the apostles
appeared to him, and scourging him a long time with
apostolic severity, asked of him, ‘Why he would forsake
the flock which he had committed to him? or to what
shepherds he would commit Christ’s sheep that were in the
midst of wolves? Have you,* said he, ‘forgotten my ex-
ample, who, for the sake of those little ones, whom Christ
recommended to me in token of His affection, underwent at
the hands of the infidels and enemies of Christ, bonds,
stripes, imprisonment, afflictions, and lastly, the death of
the cross, that I might be crowned with Him?’ Laurence,
being excited by these words and stripes, the very next
morning repaired to the king, and taking off his garment,
showed the scars of the stripes he had received. The king
astonished, asked, ‘ Who had presumed to give such blows
to so great a man?’ and was much frightened when he

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February a.]

S. Adalbald.

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heard that the bishop had suffered so much at the hands of
the apostle of Christ for his salvation. Then, abjuring the
worship of idols, and renouncing his unlawful marriage,
he embraced the faith of Christ, and being baptized,
promoted the affairs of the Church to the utmost of his
power.”

In the reign of this same king, Archbishop Laurence
died, and was buried in the Church of S. Peter, close
beside his predecessor Augustine, and was succeeded by
Mellitus.

S. ADALBALD, C.

(about a.d. 652.)

[Belgian Martyrologies, and in Saussaye’s supplement to the Gallican
Martyrology. Authorities : — Mention of him in the life of his wife S.
Richtrudis, by Hucbald the monk, A.D. 907; and in the life of his
daughter, S. Eusebia. In some Martyrologies he is styled Martyr, but
generally Duke.]

Duke Adalbald was a grandson of S. Gertrude of
Hamage. His mother’s name was Gerberta. From his
earliest youth he was a model of virtue, even in the court of
the king. He married S. Richtrudis, by whom he had S.
Maurontus, his eldest son, who became afterwards abbot ;
and three virgin saintly daughters, Clotsendis, Eusebia, and
Andalsendis. S. Amandus baptized Clotsendis, and Queen
Nanthild, wife of King Dagobert, was sponsor to Eusebia.
On his way to Gascony for some purpose, he was waylaid
and murdered, by certain persons who were displeased at
his marriage with Richtrudis. It seems probable, therefore,
that the crime was committed on account of some property,
but nothing for certain is known of the motive actuating
the murderers. Relics at S. Amand, in Flanders.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February a.

S. ADELOGA, V. ABSS.

(8th cent.)

[Benedictine Martyrology and those of Menardus, Ferrarius, &c.
Authority : — An ancient, apparently authentic, life by an anonymous
writer, published by Bollandus,]

The blessed Adeloga was a daughter of Charles Martel,
son of Pepin PHeristal, by Kunehilda, whether his wife or
concubine is uncertain. Adeloga was of singular beauty, so
that she was greatly sought in marriage, but she constantly
refused all offers, having given her heart wholly to her
heavenly Spouse. Her father, greatly exasperated against
her, on this account, treated her with studied brutality,
subjecting her to public insult ; and observing that the
bruised spirit of his child sought refuge and comfort in the
advice of her director, his private chaplain, he was filled
with bitterness, and said, “Hearken, my daughter, you
have refused kings, dukes, and peers to anger me, that you
might wanton with a curate.” Then calling to him one of
his knights, who stood by, as he thus insulted his daughter,
he bade him “ Go and tell the chaplain to be off, he and
his woman here, or they shall both be driven forth with con-
tumely, to-morrow morning.”

Hearing this, the priest groaned in spirit, and said, “ O
God of heaven and earth, who searchest the secrets of all
hearts, and every thought of man, Thou knowest my inno-
cence in this matter. But, although my lord has exercised
his anger upon me, I will not desert my lady and mistress,
but for Christ’s sake will wait upon her with all reverence.”
Then Adeloga went forth, and the priest with her, and
they journeyed till they came to a wild and desert place,
and there they built a convent. The name of the place was
Kitzingen.

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February 2.]

S. Adeloga .

To her came many virgins, and the priest gave her the
veil, and made her abbess, enjoining her to adopt the rule
of SS. Benedict and Scholastics He, himself, attended to
the temporal affairs of the convent, till he was summoned
to his rest

The story is told that after his death, a young nun, having
fallen in love with a youth, resolved to fly the convent.
She waited till night, and then, when all were asleep, stole
to the gates, but there she saw the form of the white-haired
chaplain beckoning her back, and with a gentle voice ad-
dressing her, “ Go back, dear virgin ! A heavenly Spouse
calleth thee, and no earthly lover ! Return to him, my child.
I watch without over this sacred house, and the abbess
keeps ward within.” And not many days after, the girl
sickened and died.

There was another nun who was also smitten with passion
for a young noble, and harboured in her mind the thought
of escaping from her monastery, and flying to his arms. But
in the night, as she slept, she saw the holy abbess, Adeloga,
pass before her with a lamp in her hand, who turned and
looked on her and said, “ Lo, Christ cometh, prepare to
meet Him. Awake, the Bridegroom cometh, go forth and
trim thy light.” Then she started from sleep, and was
moved with compunction, and never after yielded to sensual
thoughts.

Now it fell out that in after years Charles Martel was re-
conciled to his daughter, and endowed her monastery with
lands, and visited her. Then, in the night, there stood
before him, in vision, the old chaplain, who said to him,
“ The Eternal King hath sent me unto thee, to declare to
thee my innocence in that thing whereof thou didst once
accuse me. And if thou believest me not now, then will I
cite thee to appear, and hear me plead my cause, before the
just judgment seat of God.” And when Charles awoke, he

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Lives of the Saints.

[February a.

called to him his daughter, and said, “Pray for me, my
dearest child, that the Lord lay not this sin to my charge,
that once in wrath I spoke falsely against thee and my
chaplain, thy director.”

It is related that among the retainers of the abbey was a
noble youth very fond of dogs, and above all, he loved one
hound, which was with him in the field and forest by day,
and slept at the foot of his bed at night. One day that he
was in the wood, a couple of ruffians fell upon him, and
murdered him for the sake of his clothes and purse, and
left the body naked under the trees. For three days the
faithful hound kept guard, and then it sought the abbey,
and whined at the door of the lady Adeloga, and when she
came forth, plucked at her dress, as though to lead her into
the forest. Suspecting something was amiss, she called to
her some servants, and they followed the dog to where his
master lay slain. The abbess was determined to discover
who were the murderers. She therefore summoned before
her all the retainers and serfs on the land, and questioned
them closely, but could obtain no confession. Then she
solemnly warned the culprits to beware how they left the
matter to the judgment of God, and she bade them, for the
last time, confess. When all were silent, the hound of the
murdered man was introduced, and it flew at the throats of
the culprits and tore them so fearfully that one died.

The historian of the life of S. Adeloga, concludes with
the following prayer. “We pray thee, most holy and gentle
mother, that, as thou hast encouraged us in this life with
thy good example and virtuous acts, so mayest thou deign
to assist us with God in life eternal ; that as we rejoice in
thy commemoration on earth, so may we merit to be
strengthened by thy intercession in heaven ; for the sake of
Christ Jesus, our Lord, who of all Saints is the reward, the
glory, joy, and crown, through ages of ages, Amen.”

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February*.] Holy Martyrs of Ebbecksdorf. 45

THE HOLY MARTYRS OF EBBECKSDORF.
(a.d. 880.)

[Authority : — The contemporary Fulda Annals of the Franks. See also the
Legend in Langebek, Script. Rer. Danicarum II., pp. 57-71.]

These martyrs were Duke Bruno of Saxony, Theodoric,
bishop of Minden, Marquard, bishop of Hildesheim, Erlulf
of Fulda, Gosbert, bishop of Osnabriick, and many others ;
massacred by the Northmen.

B. PETER CAMBIAN, O.S.D., M.

(A.D. 1365.)

[Roman Martyrology.]

This Saint was sent by the Sovereign pontiff, into the
vallies inhabited by the Waldensian heretics, as Inquisitor-
general in Piedmont, in 1351, and was murdered by the
heretics in the Franciscan convent of Susa. The person who
did the deed stabbed him in the cloister, on the feast of the
Purification of Our Lady, in 1365. His tomb was opened
in 1854, and the relics were elevated to the altars of several
churches to which they were given. Pius IX. confirmed the
devotion of the Catholics towards this martyr.

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46 Lives of the Saints. Febnuuyj.

February 3.

SS. CSlerinus, D.C., Celerina, Ignatius, and Laurence, MM. in
Africa , 3 rd cent.

S. Fortunatus, M. at Rome .

S. Candidus, M. at Volaterra.

SS. Tigris and Remedius, BB., MM. at Gap, 4th cent.

S. Blaise, B.M., and Companions, at Sebaste, ctrc. a.d. 316.

S. Simplicius, B. of Vienne; beginning of $th cent.

S. Anatolius, B. of Adana , in Cilicia; beginning of 5th cent.

S. Laurence the Illuminator, B. of Spoleto, ctrc. a.d. 576.

S. Philip, B. of Vienne , circ. a.d. 578.

S. Evantius, B. of Vienne, a.d. 586.

S. Hadelin, P. at Celles in Belgium , circ. a.d. 690.

S. Bkrlinda, V. at Meerbeeke in Belgium, circ. A.d. 698.

S. Werbukga, V. Patroness of Chester ; beginning of 8/A cent.

S. Nithard, P.M. in Sweden, circ. a.d. 840.

S. Anskar, B. of Hamburg, Afostle of Sweden and Denmark , A.D. 865.
S. Liafdag, B.M. at Rife in Denmark, circ. a.d. 980.

S. Elinand, Monk of Froidmont, near Beauvais, a.d. 1237.

SS. CELERINUS, D.C., CELERINA, IGNATIUS,
AND LAURENTINUS, MM.

(3RD CENT.)

[Roman and other Latin Martyrologies. Authorities : — The letters ol
S. Cyprian of Carthage, and S. Cornelius of Rome. A letter of S.
Celerinus to the Confessor Lucian is inserted in some editions of the
works of S. Cyprian.]

F CELERINA, Ignatius, and Laurence nothing,
except their names, is known, and even these
would not have come down to us, but for their
being mentioned as glorious martyrs by S.
Cyprian, in a letter to their nephew, S. Celerinus. This
Celerinus was first Reader, and then Deacon, in the Church
of Carthage, and received orders from S. Cyprian. He was
in Rome in the year 250, and confessed Christ there in the
Decian persecution, spending nineteenMays in chains ; but

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February 3.] SS. FortUUdtUS & BldtSe .

to his great sorrow, his sister yielded to her fears, and was
numbered among the lapsed. Afterwards Celerinus was
unfortunately drawn away by Novatian into schism, but
when he perceived that the schismatic sought his own ad-
vancement father than the glory of God, he acknowledged
his error, and returned to the communion of the Catholic
Church.

S. FORTUNATUS, M.

S. Fortunatus is mentioned, together with many other
martyrs, in the Roman and other Martyrologies on Feb. 2nd,
as having suffered at Rome ; but their Acts have not been
preserved. The body of S. Fortunatus was found in 1606,
in the cemetery of S. Callixtus, and was given by Pope
Paul V. to the Rev. Jacobus Tirinus, S.J., for the new and
beautiful Jesuit church he had built in Antwerp, in the year
1622. On account of Feb. 2nd being the Feast of the
Purification, the commemoration of S. Fortunatus has been
postponed in that church till Feb. 3rd.

S. BLAISE, B.M.

(316.)

[Roman and Western Martyrologies. Commemorated by the Greeks
on Feb. nth, in some ancient Martyrologies, on Feb. 15th. The Greek
Acts, of which there are four versions, are modern, and deserve little
regard.]

Blasius, Blase, Blayse, Blays, or Blaise, was bishop of
Sebaste, a city of Cappadocia, in the Lesser Asia. He
spent a great part of his time in retirement on a hill not far
from the city, whither he withdrew, after the duties of his
office were finished, to be alone with God. During the
persecution of the Christians in the reign of Diocletian, he

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[February 3.

lay concealed for some time in this retreat ; but was at last
taken and brought before Agricolaus, the governor of the
province, and confessing himself a Christian, was thrown
into prison. After enduring many tortures, he received the
crown of martyrdom in the beginning of the fourth century.
Some historians refer this event to the year 316, under the
reign of Licinius. Seven holy women and two young
children suffered at the same time. The Acts of his martyr-
dom are so untrustworthy that it is not possible to state any
further particulars which are authentic. The Council of Ox-
ford, a.d. 1222, prohibited servile labour on this day. Its
observance in England was marked by several curious cere-
monies. Among others a taper used to be offered at High
Mass; and it was lately the custom in many parts of
England to light bonfires on the hills on S. Blaise’s night
Some have affirmed that these usages arose from an absurd
pun on the Saint’s name (sc. “ blaze ”) ; but this seems
clearly erroneous, as they are not peculiar to England. In
some parts of Germany, S. Blaise’s Day is called “ Little
Candlemas Day,” because of the bonfires that it was usual
(for an uncertain reason) to kindle on that night. At Brad-
ford, Yorkshire, a festival is holden every five years in
memory of S. Blaise.

In the Greek paintings, S. Blaise is depicted as an old
man with a pointed beard. In Western art he appears
in the vestments of a bishop; his peculiar emblem is an
iron comb, such as is used by wool-combers, which is said
to have been an instrument of his torture. Owing, pro-
bably, to this reason, he has been esteemed the patron of
manufacturers of wool, and that trade in the city of
Norwich still observes his day, or did so until lately.
S. Blaise is also frequently represented as surrounded by
wild beasts, or birds are bringing him food; the text,
Job v. 23, which occasionally accompanies these emblems,

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February 3.] SS. Laurence & Hadelin .

indicates that, in his case as in that of other saints,
by long continuance in a solitary course of life, the deni-
zens of the wood had become accustomed to the Saint’s
presence. Sometimes again, S. Blaise has a swine’s head at
his feet, typical of his victory over the sensual desires of the
flesh. Finally, he occasionally holds in one hand, or has
borne before him by a chorister, a lighted taper, typical of
his being “ a burning and a shining light”

a LAURENCE THE ILLUMINATOR, B.

(ABOUT A.D. 576.)

[The learned Bollandus, S.J., pithily remarks : " Magnas Umbria circa
veterum suorum Sanctorum res gestas ortum aetatem, contraxit umbras, si
non tenebras.” Little is known of this Saint.]

S. Laurence the Illuminator, is said to have come
from Syria with many other illustrious bishops and con-
fessors, to Italy, in the reign of Diocletian. He was elected
by the clergy bishop of Spoleto ; and illumined his diocese
with his teaching and miracles.

S. HADELIN, P. C.

(ABOUT A.D. 690.)

[Martyrologies of Ado, of Wyon, Menardus, those of Lidge, Cologne, &c.
Authorities : — Two ancient lives, one by Notker, B. of Liege (971 — 1007).]

S. Hadelin was one of the disciples of S. Remade, and
when that Saint resigned his bishopric of Tongres, that he
might retire from the world into the peaceful monastery of
Staveloo, lately founded by S. Sigebert, King of Austrasia,
he took with him the pious and humble Hadelin. On their
vol. 11. 4

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50 Lives of the Saints . iFebruary3.

way they rested on a bare plain, under a glaring sun, for
their afternoon repose. S. Remade remained awake, whilst
his companion slept, and saw an angel bending over Ha-
delin, shading him with his wings from the burning heat.
Remade sent Hadelin into the neighbourhood of Dinant,
on the Meuse, in 669, and finding a quiet retreat at Celles,
on the Lesse, he dwelt there in a cave, and built a little
chapel, on the site of which rose in after years a collegiate
church. S. Hadelin is the patron of five churches in the
diocese of Lidge and Namur. His hermitage still exists,
and from his time has never been without a pious successor.
The body of the Saint was buried there, but was translated
to Vise in the diocese of Lidge, in 1338. His translation is
commemorated on October nth.

S. BERLINDA.

(ABOUT A.D. 698.)

[Molanus in his addition to Usuardus,, Wyon, Menardus, and Ferrarius.
Authority : — An ancient life by an annonymous writer, published by Bol-
landus.]

Berlinda was the daughter of a nobleman named Ode-
lard, who resided at Meerbeeke, near Ninove, in Brabant,
in the reign of King Dagobert, and of Nona, his wife, the
sister of S. Amandus. To a rare beauty, Berlinda joined
all the gifts of intellect, but she had the misfortune to incur
the anger of her father. After the death of his wife and
only son, Odelard was attacked by leprosy, and lived a
miserable languishing life, ministered to by his daughter.

One day that he asked her for something to drink, she
filled a bowl with water, and took it to him, and then, being
herself thirsty, she rinsed out the vessel, and filled it again,

The father, highly offended at her doing this, drove off at

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February 3.]

S. Berlinda.

once to Nivelles and offered all his lands to S. Gertrude,
by the symbolic gift of a white glove and a reaping-hook
and a branch of foliage. Before accomplishing his dona-
tion, he supplicated the Saint to accept his offering with her
own hands. Then the reliquary, in which the holy abbess
reposed, opened, and the lifeless hands of S. Gertrude were
extended to receive the glove, the branch, and the sickle.
Then it closed upon them.

Berlinda, being disinherited, retired to the monastery of
Moorsel, near Alost, where she lived in penitence and
prayer. One night she heard a choir of angels singing, as
they sailed across the dark starlit sky, bearing the soul of
her father to Paradise. She at once besought of the
superior permission to return to Meerbeeke for a while.

Her request was complied with, and she flew to her father's
castle. He was dead, so Berlinda buried him in the little
church he had erected there to the honour of S. Peter.

Retained by force in her paternal dwelling by the servants
and tenants, Berlinda remained at Meerbeeke, where she
continued her life of austerities and prayer, and died about
690, on the 3rd of February.

As no stone sarcophagus could be found in which she
might be laid, a large oak was cut down and scooped out to
serve as a coffin, and her body was placed in it Numerous
miracles were wrought at her tomb, so that at the end of
seven years the coffin was opened, and the wood was found
to have become petrified. On this occasion a church was
built in her honour and that of the Blessed Virgin, and
thirty years later, her relics were solemnly enshrined on May
2nd, 728. S. Berlinda has remained in great honour at
Meerbeeke. She is invoked against cattle diseases ; and in
accordance with an ancient custom, pilgrims pray before a
wooden image of the saint represented beside a cow, and
touch the udder of the cow, which has become black

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through the innumerable touchings to which it has become
subjected. According to a popular saying S. Berlinda
protects trees transplanted on her festival.

S. WERBURGA, V. ABSS.

(beginning of 8th century.)

[English Martyrology. Authorities : — Life of Goscelin, the monk
(fl noo), and mention in Bede, John of Brompton, Florence of Worcester,
Hyden, Langheme, Simeon of Durham.]

Werburga, patroness of Chester, was born at Stone, in
Staffordshire, and was the daughter of Wulfhere, King of
Mercia, or the Midland English. From the lips of her
sainted mother, Ermingilde, she received those first lessons
of Christian truth which afterwards produced such beautiful
fruit in her life.

Being one of four children, all trained under the same
godly discipline, she is said to have excelled them all in
virtue and discretion. Her mind was open to receive good
impressions, and she listened with earnest attention to every
word of instruction and advice. Thus, she “ daily grew in
grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ her mind continually expanding under the influence
of holy thoughts and pure desires. At an age when most
persons of her exalted position would have been found
joining in the giddy whirl of pleasure, she found truest joy
in contemplation of heavenly things, and holiest bliss, arising
from a pure conscience chastened by fasting and sanctified
by prayer. She daily assisted her mother in the perform-
ance of the whole Church Offices, and spent much time on
her knees in the exercise of private devotions.

Having early resolved to devote herself to a life of virginal
purity, she sought every opportunity to prepare her mind

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February 3.] S. WerbUTga . 53

for that holy state. But she was not to overcome the world
without a struggle. Temptations began to gather around
her. The beauty of her person attracted a crowd of
admirers, who eagerly sought her hand in marriage.
Foremost among these was a prince of the West Saxons,
who offered her rich gifts and made flattering proposals.
She refused to accept his gifts; and to his proposals
answered that she had resolved to become the bride of
Christ, and wished no earthly spouse.

Another, and more violent temptation soon presented
itself. Werbode, a powerful knight of her father's court,
backed by the influence of her father, entreated Werburga
to become his wife ; but to his entreaties she turned a deaf
ear. Imagining that to this refusal she was influenced by
her two brothers, who were then under the instruction of
S. Chad, and resolving by fair or foul means to compass his
designs, Werbode sought an opportunity to murder the two
brothers, and thus remove them from his path. In the
accomplishment of this diabolical design, he was, to a
certain extent, assisted by the father, whom he had in-
censed against his sons. Werbode soon after died a
miserable death. The king, stung by remorse, saw re-
flected, as in a mirror, all the deeds of his past life, and
remembered how he had promised to extirpate idolatry from
his dominions, but had failed to perform his vow. With
earnestness he began to atone for his faults ; destroyed the
idols, and converted their temples into churches, built the
great abbey of Peterborough, founded the priory of Stone,
and in every way endeavoured to propagate the true faith
among his people.

Seeing this happy change in his disposition, Werburga
revealed to her father the earnest desire of her heart, and
earnestly entreated his permission to consecrate herself
wholly to God. At first he appeared to be very grieved,

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[February 3.

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but yielding at length to her passionate entreaties, Wulfhere,
attended by his whole court, conducted her with great state
to the convent of Ely. Here they were met at the gates by
a long procession of nuns, singing hymns of praise and
thanksgiving to God. Werburga, falling on her knees,
begged of the royal abbess, S. Etheldreda, that she might be
received as a postulant Having obtained her request, the
voice of praise again ascended to heaven, the virgins chant-
ing the Te Deumy as they returned to the convent Now
followed the usual trials ; Werburga was first stripped of her
costly apparel, her rich coronet was exchanged for a poor
veil, purple and silks and gold were replaced by a rough
coarse habit, and she resigned herself into the hands of her
superior, henceforward to live only to Christ

The virgin, with great fervour, now devoted herself to
God. Her affections being weaned from earthly things,
were fixed more firmly upon those things which are above.

By prayer and fasting, by self-sacrifice and mortification, by
obedience and penance, she sought to sanctify her soul and
body, that she might present them, a holy and acceptable
sacrifice, unto God.

After many years she was chosen, at the request of her
uncle King Ethelred, to superintend all the religious houses
for women in his kingdom. When she entered upon this
larger sphere of duty, she laboured with earnest diligence to
make all the houses under her care models of exact mon-
astic discipline. Through the liberality of her uncle, she
was enabled to found new convents at Trentham, in Glou-
cestershire ; Hanbury, in Staffordshire ; and Weedon, in
Northamptonshire. These remained for several centuries
as evidences of her godly zeal. The king also, at her
request, founded the collegiate church of S. John the Baptist,
in the suburbs of West Chester, and gave to S. Egwin the
ground for the great abbey of Evesham. '

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6*. Werburga.

S. Werburga, both by precept and example, sought to
develope the religious life in those committed to her charge,
and many through her influence were won from a life of
dissipation and vice to a life of holiness and love.

God, in answer to continual prayers, had crowned her
with many spiritual and celestial blessings. The old
chroniclers say that she became the most perfect pattern of
meekness, humility, patience, and purity. Her fastings and
mortifications were almost incredible. She never took more
than one meal during the day, and that of the coarsest food :
seeking in this to emulate the lives of those fathers of the
desert who shed such radiance over the Eastern and African
Church. Beside the usual monastic offices, she was in the
habit of reciting, upon her knees, the whole of the Psalter
daily. She often remained in the church all night, bathed
in tears and prqstrate in prayer.

In the exercise of these holy devotions she lived to a
ripe old age. Receiving at last some premonitions of her
approaching departure, she made a farewell visit to all the
houses under her care, and exhorted the inmates to prepare
for the coming of the heavenly Bridegroom. Then retiring
to the convent at Trentham, she quietly waited her de-
parture. The messenger soon came, and found the bride
ready, and so with quiet faith and perfect trust she went
to the home of her Spouse, on the 3rd of February, 699.

Her corpse, in accordance with her own directions, was
conveyed to the monastery at Hanbury. It was interred
with great honour, and there remained until the year 708.
Then it was disinterred in presence of King Ceolred and
many bishops, and transferred to a costly shrine. The old
chroniclers say that it was found incorrupt, and remained so
until a.d. 875, when, for fear of the Danes, who were in-
vading the country, the shrine was carried to Chester. The
body, however, fell to dust soon after its translation. In

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course of time a stately church was erected over the
relics; this became the cathedral, and as such exists to
this day.

During the reign of Henry VIII., the shrine was dese-
crated, and the holy relics of S. Werburga scattered
abroad. What remained of the costly shrine was after-
wards converted into an episcopal throne, and may still be
seen, carved with the curious images of kings of Mercia,
ancestors of S. Werburga, who flourished eleven centuries
ago. To this day it is used as the throne of the bishops
of Chester.

S. NITHARD, P. M.

(a.d. 840.)

[From the Life of S. Anskar, c. 6; Adam of Bremen, Hist. Eccl. lib. i.]

Nithard, nephew of Bishop Gauzbert, accompanied him
in his mission to the Swedes; at first he was heard with
patience, but the wild pagans, enraged at his denunciation
of their worship of Thorr and Odin, burst into the house
where he was, and killed him.

S. ANSKAR, B. ; AP. OF SWEDEN.

(a.d. 865.)

[German, Scandinavian, and Belgian martyrologies. Authorities
His life by his successor, S. Rembert, who was personally acquainted with
hiai, and had shared in his mission. The following outline of the life of
this illustrious saint is from the pen of the Rev. G. F. Maclear, B.D., and
is extracted from his “Apostles of Mediaeval Europe," somewhat curtailed,
and with some modifications.]

Charlemagne was once, we are told,1 at Narbonne,
when, in the midst of the banquet, some swift barks were
seen putting into the harbour. The company started up,

» Pertz, “ Mon. Germ." vol. ii. p. 757.

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S. Anskar.

while some pronounced the crew to be Jewish, others
African, others British traders, the keen eye of the
great emperor discerned that they were bound on no
peaceful errand. “It is not with merchandise,” said he,

“ that yonder barks are laden ; they are manned by most
terrible enemies.” And then he advanced to the window,
and stood there a long while in tears. No one dared to
ask him the cause of his grief, but at length he explained it
himself. “ It is not for myself,” said he, “that I am weep-
ing, or for any harm that yon barks can do to me. But
truly I am pained to think that even while I am yet alive
they have dared to approach this shore ; and still greater is
my grief when I reflect on the evils they will bring on my
successors.”

His words were only too truly fulfilled. The sight of
those piratical banners told its own tale. The fleets he had
built, the strong forts and towns he had erected at the
mouths of the various rivers throughout his empire, were
neglected by his successors, and what he foresaw came to
pass. Year after year, during the ninth century, the chil-
dren of the North burst forth from their pine forests, their
creeks, their fiords, and icebound lakes, and prowled along
the defenceless shores of Germany, France, and England.
They laughed at the fiercest storms, landed on the most
inaccessible coasts, and pushed up the shallowest rivers,
while Charlemagne’s degenerate successors tamely beheld
the fairest towns in their dominions sacked and burnt by
the terrible crews of those terrible barks.

“Take a map,” writes Sir Francis Palgrave, “and colour
with vermilion the provinces, districts, and shores which the
Northmen visited, as the record of each invasion. The
colouring will have to be repeated more than ninety times
successively before you arrive at the conclusion of the
Carlo vingian dynasty. Furthermore, mark by the usual

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[February 3.

symbol of war, two crossed swords, the localities where
battles were fought by or against the pirates ; where they
were defeated or triumphant, or where they pillaged, burned,
destroyed ; and the valleys and banks of the Elbe, Rhine,
and Moselle, Scheldt, Meuse, Somme, and Seine, Loire,
Garonne, and Adour, the inland Allier, and all the coasts
and coastlands between estuary and estuary, and the
countries between the river-streams, will appear bristling as
with chcveux-de-frisc. The strongly-fenced Roman cities,
the venerated abbeys, and their dependent bourgades, often
more flourishing and extensive than the ancient seats of
government, the opulent sea-ports and trading-towns, were
all equally exposed to the Danish attacks, stunned by the
Northmen's approach, subjugated by their fury.”1

But while the mind faintly strives to conceive the misery
and desolation thus inflicted, on well-nigh every town and
village of Germany and France, it finds satisfaction in the
thought that even now missionary zeal did not falter ; that
while every estuary and river darkened under the sails of
the Northmen's barks, there were not lacking those who had
the Christian bravery to penetrate into the dreary regions
whence they issued forth, to seek them out amidst their
pine forests and icebound lakes, and to plant amongst them
the first germs of Christian civilization.

The first mission in Denmark was organized in the year
a.d. 826, when Harold, king of Jutland, his queen, and a
large retinue of Danes, were baptized with great pomp in
the vast Dom of Mayence. On this occasion, Harold
solemnly did homage to Louis the Pious, and agreed
to hold the Danish kingdom as a feudatory of the Carlo-
vingian crown. On this occasion also, Ebbo, the primate
of France, determined to seek out a monk who would be
willing to accompany the newly-baptized king on his return

1 Palgrave’s “ Normandy and England,*’ vol. L p. 419.

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S. Anskar.

■*

to Denmark, and remain at his court as a priest and teacher.

But the well-known ferocity of the Northmen long deterred
any one from offering himself for such a duty. At length
the abbot of Corbey, near Amiens, announced that one of
his monks was not unwilling to undertake the arduous
task.

The intrepid volunteer was Anskar, a native of a village
not far from Corbey. Bom in the year a.d. 8oi, and early
devoted by his parents to the monastic life, he had always
evinced the deepest religious enthusiasm, and his ardent
imagination taught him to believe that he often saw visions
and heard voices from another world. When he was only
five years of age, he lost his mother : and a dream, in which
he saw her surrounded by a majestic choir of virgins, the
fairest of whom bade him, if he would join his mother in
bliss, flee the pomps and vanities of the world, exerted a
profound impression upon him, and induced him to devote
himself more than ever to prayer and meditation.

But when he was thirteen years of age, a.d. 814, an event
occurred which exercised a still deeper influence over his
susceptible mind. News reached the monastery that Char-
lemagne was dead. The greatest of great emperors had
passed away, and now, in the sepulchre which he had made
for himself, “ he was sitting on his cumle chair, clad in his
silken robes, ponderous with broidery, pearls, and orfray,
the imperial diadem on his head, his closed eyelids
covered, his face swathed in the dead-clothes, girt with his
baldric, the ivory horn slung in his scarf, his good sword
‘Joyeuse' by his side, the Gospel-book open on his lap,
musk and amber and sweet spices poured around.”1

Anskar at this time had relaxed somewhat of his usual
austerities, and now the thought that even that mighty
prince, whom he himself had seen in all the plenitude of

1 Palgrave’s ** Normandy and England,” vol. i. p. 158.

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his power could not escape the hand of death, filled him
with awe, and he gave himself up more unreservedly than
ever to the severest discipline. Meanwhile his talents had
brought him into general notice, and when his abbot
founded another monastic outpost in Westphalia, in a
beautiful valley on the west bank of the Weser, and called
it New Corbey, Anskar was removed to the new foundation,
and at the age of twenty-five was elected, with the common
consent of all, to superintend its conventual school, and to
preach to the neighbouring population.

He was on a visit to Old Corbey, when the news arrived
that a monk was much needed to accompany the Danish
Harold to his native land, and that the abbot Wala had
nominated him to the emperor as a fit person to be en-
trusted with the arduous mission. Summoned to the court,
Anskar calmly but resolutely announced his willingness to
go. In dreams and visions, he said, he had heard the voice
of Christ himself bidding him preach the word to the
heathen tribes : and nothing could induce him to shrink
from the plain path of duty. In vain, therefore, on his
return to the monastery, the brethren learning that he was
about to resign all his hopes and prospects to preach
amongst heathens and barbarians, warned, protested, and
even mocked at him for his madness. Immoveable in his
resolution to brave all risks, he began to prepare himself
for his great enterprise by prayer and study of the Scrip-
tures ; and so deep was the impression made by his evident
sincerity and self-devotion, that Autbert, steward of the
monastery, and a man of noble birth, when every one else
hung back, declared that he could not find it in his heart to
desert his friend, and was resolved to become his com-
panion.

A foretaste of the difficulties that awaited them was
experienced at the very outset No one could possibly be

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prevailed on to accompany them as an attendant The
abbot himself shrank from interposing his authority, and
they were fain to set out alone. Before starting, they had
an interview with Louis, and received from him everything
they were likely to need for their undertaking, in the shape
of church vessels, tents, and books. From Harold, how-
ever, they met with but little encouragement, and neither he
nor his nobles cared much for their company.

On their arrival at Cologne, whence they were to sail up
the Rhine to Holland, and so to Denmark, Bishop Hade-
bold bestowed upon them a ship with two cabins. The
better accommodation promised in such a vessel induced
Harold to share it with Anskar ; and the engaging manners
of the missionary gradually won his respect, and inspired
him with an interest in his undertaking,

On landing, Anskar fixed his head-quarters at Schleswig,
and commenced the foundation of a school, purchasing, or
receiving, from Harold, Danish boys, whom he tried to
train, so as to form the nucleus of a native ministry. Two
years thus passed away, and some impression seemed to
have been made upon the people, when Autbert sickened,
and was obliged to return to Corbey, where he died.
Meanwhile the baptism of Harold, and still more his
destruction of the native temples, was bitterly resented by
his subjects. Before long a rebellion broke out, and the
king was obliged to fly for refuge to a spot within the
ancient Frisian territory, while Anskar finding it necessary
to leave Schleswig, was consoled by an unexpected oppor
tunity of commencing a similar work in Sweden.

In the year a.d. 829, ambassadors from Sweden pre-
sented themselves at the court of Louis, and after arranging
the political object of their mission, announced that many
of their countrymen were favourably disposed towards
Christianity. The commerce carried on at this period

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[February 3.

between Sweden and the port of Doerstadt, combined with
the teaching of some Christian captives, whom the Swedes
had carried off in their piratical excursions, had predisposed
not a few towards lending a favourable ear to Christian
teachers. The emperor gladly embraced the opportunity
thus afforded, and summoned Anskar to the palace, who,
after an interview, declared his entire willingness to under-
take the enterprise.

A monk named Gislema was therefore left with Harold,
and Anaskar having found a new companion in Witmar, a
brother monk of Corbey, set out in the year a.d. 831 with
presents from Louis to the King of Sweden.

But the voyage was most disastrous. The missionaries
had not proceeded far when they were attacked by pirates.

A fierce battle ensued, and their crew, though first victorious,
were overpowered in a second engagement, and barely
escaped to land. The pirates plundered them of every-
thing, the presents for the king, their sacred books, and all
their ecclesiastical vestments. In this forlorn and destitute
condition they reached Birka, a haven and village on the
Malar lake, not far from the ancient capital Sigtuna, the
residence of rich merchants, and the centre of the northern
trade. Here they were hospitably welcomed by the king,
Biom “ of the Hill,” and received full permission to preach
and baptize. The nucleus of a church was found already
existing in the persons of many Christian captives, who had
long been deprived of the consolation of Christian ordi-
nances. The wprk, therefore, of the missionaries com-
menced under fair auspices, and before long Herigar, the
king's counsellor, announced himself a convert, and erected
a church on his estate.

A year and a half was thus employed, and then Anskar
returned to the court of Louis with a letter from the King
of Sweden, and an account of all that had befallen him.

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6". Anskar.

Thereupon Louis resolved, without delay, to give effect to
the ecclesiastical plans of his father, and to make Hamburg
an archiepiscopal see, and the centre of operations for the
northern missions. Accordingly, Anskar was elevated to
the archiepiscopal dignity, and was consecrated at Ingle-
heim by Drogo, Archbishop of Mayence, and other prelates.

At the same time, because of the poverty of the diocese,
and the dangers to which the mission would be inevitably
exposed, the monastery of Thourout in Flanders, between
Bruges and Ypres, was assigned to him as a place of refuge,
and a source of revenue. Then he was directed to repair
to Rome, where he received the pall from Gregory IV., and
was regularly authorized to preach the Gospel to the nations
of the North.

These arrangements made, Anskar returned from Rome.
Ebbo, who had been associated with him in the commission
to evangelize the northern tribes, deputed his missionary
duties to his nephew Gauzbert, who was raised to the
episcopal dignity, and entrusted with the special care of the
Swedish mission. Thither, accordingly, Gauzbert set out,
received a hearty welcome from Biom and his people, and
laid the foundation of a church at Sigtuna. Meanwhile
Anskar had proceeded to Hamburg, and, in pursuance of
his former plan, bought or redeemed from slavery a number
of Danish youths, whom he either instructed himself, or
sent for that purpose to the monastery of Thourout

But the times were hardly ripe for successful operations.
Three years had barely elapsed, when an enormous army of
Northmen, led by Eric, king of Jutland, attacked Hamburg,
and before relief could arrive, sacked and burnt it, together
with the church and monastery which Anskar had erected
with great trouble. He himself had barely time to save
the sacred vessels, and, before the sun went down, every
external memorial of his mission was reduced to ashes.

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“ The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed
be the name of the Lord,” was the exclamation of the
archbishop, as he surveyed the scene. Driven from
Hamburg, he now wandered for a long time over his
devastated diocese, followed by a few of his clergy and
scholars, and at length sought refuge at Bremen. But
the envious Bishop Leutbert refusing to receive him, he
was fain to avail himself of the hospitality of a noble lady
in the district of Holstein. And, as if this was not enough,
he now received intelligence that, owing to similar risings of
Northmen, the hopes of the Swedish missions were utterly
crushed.

The pagan party had conspired against Bishop Gauzbert,
expelled him from the country, and murdered his nephew
Nithard. But divine vengeance did not fail to pursue the
conspirators. One of them had carried home some of the
property of the missionaries. Before long he died, together
with his mother and sister, and his father found his own
property wasting from day to day. Alarmed at this sudden
reverse of fortune, he began to consider what God he could
have offended, to bring all these troubles on his house.
Unable to solve the difficulty himself, he had recourse to a
soothsayer. The lots were cast, and it was found that none
of the native deities bore him any ill will. At length the
soothsayer explained the cause. “It is the God of the
Christians,” said he, “ who is the author of thy ruin. There
is something dedicated to Him concealed in thy house, and
therefore all these evils have come upon thee, nor canst
thou hope to prosper till the sacred thing is restored.”

After vainly trying, for some time, to comprehend what
this could mean, he suddenly recollected the day when his
son had brought home one of the sacred books from the
spoil of the missionaries' dwellings. Stricken with alarm,
he immediately called together the inhabitants of the place,

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kS. Anskar.

■*

told them all that had occurred, and prayed their advice in
the emergency. Every one declined to receive the terrible
relic, and at last, fearful of further vengeance if he retained
it any longer in his house, the man covered it carefully, and
then fastened it to a stake on the public road, with a notice
that any one who wished might take it down, and that for
the crime he had unwittingly been guilty of against the
Christians, God he was ready to offer any satisfaction that
might be required. One of the native Christians took it
down, and the man’s terrors were appeased.

Anskar meanwhile was still wandering over his desolated
diocese. Even the monastery of Thourout, which Louis
had bestowed upon him for the very purpose of being a
covert from such storms as these, was closed against him,
having been bestowed upon a layman by Charles the Bald.
Under such accumulated misfortunes most men would have
sunk, but Anskar waited patiently in the hope of some
change, and comforted himself with the words addressed to
him by Archbishop Ebbo before his death : “ Be assured,
my dear brother, that what we have striven to accomplish
for the glory of Christ will yet, by God’s help, bring forth
fruit. For it is my firm and settled belief, nay, I know of a
surety, that though the work we have undertaken among
these nations is for a time subject to obstacles and diffi-
culties on account of our sins, yet it will not be lost or
perish altogether, but will, by God’s grace, thrive and
prosper, until the Name of the Lord is made known to
the uttermost ends of the earth.”

Before long, events occurred which seemed to promise
that the clouds would roll away, and a brighter era be
initiated. Mindful of the converted chief, Anskar sent
to Sigtuna an anchoret named Ardgar, with directions to
see how he fared, and to strengthen him against falling
back into heathenism. Thither Ardgar set out, and was
vol. 11. 5

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rejoiced to find Herigar still remaining faithful to the
faith he had embraced. The recollection of the Divine
vengeance which had attended the previous outbreak,
protected the missionary from injury, and the new king
who had succeeded Biom was persuaded by Herigar to
permit Ardgar to preach the Gospel without fear of moles-
tation.

That chief was no half-hearted believer, and openly
confronted the malice of the pagan party. On one
occasion, as they were boasting of the power of their gods,
and of the many blessings they had received by remaining
faithful to their worship, he bade them put the matter to
an open and decisive proof. “If there be so much
doubt,” said he, “concerning the superior might of our
respective gods, let us see whose power is greatest:
whether that of the many whom ye call gods, or that of
my one omnipotent Lord, Jesus Christ Lo ! the season
of rain is at hand. Do ye call upon the names of your
gods, that the rain may be restrained from falling upon you,
and I will call upon the name of my Lord, Jesus Christ,
that no drop may fall on me ; and the god that answereth
our prayers, let him be God.”

The heathen party agreed, and repairing to a neighbour-
ing field, took their seats in great numbers on one side,
while Herigar, attended only by a little child, sat on the
other. In a few moments the rain descended in torrents,
drenched the heathens to the skin, and swept away their
tents; while on Herigar and the little child no drop fell,
and even the ground around them remained dry. “Ye
see,” he cried, “ which is the true God ; bid me not, then,
desert the faith I have adopted, but rather lay aside your
errors, and come to a knowledge of the truth.”

On another occasion the town of Birka was attacked
by a piratical expedition of Danes and Swedes, under the

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■*

command of a king of Sweden, who had been expelled
from his realm. The place was closely invested, and
there seemed to be no prospect of a successful defence.
In their alarm, the townspeople offered numerous sacrifices
to their gods, and when all other means failed, collected
such treasures as they possessed, together with a hundred
pounds of silver, and succeeded in coming to terms with
the hostile chiefs. But their followers, not satisfied with
the amount, prepared to storm the town. Again the
gods were consulted, the altars raised, the victims offered,
but with results equally unpromising. Herigar now inter-
posed, rebuked the people for their obstinate adherence
to the worship of gods that could not give aid in trouble,
and when they bade him suggest some device, and promised
to follow his council, he urged them to make a solemn
vow of obedience to the Lord of the Christians, assuring them
that, if they turned to Him, He at any rate, would not fail
them in the hour of danger. The people took his advice,
went forth to an open plain, and there solemly vowed to
keep a fast in honour of the God of the Christians, if He
would rescue them from their enemies.

Help came in an unexpected fashion. The Swedish
king, while the army was clamouring for the signal to
attack, suggested that the gods should be consulted by
lot, whether it was their will that Birka should be de-
stroyed. “There are many great and powerful deities
there,” said he ; “ there also formerly a church was built,
and even now the worship of the Great Christ is observed
by many, and He is more powerful than any other god.
We ought, then, to inquire first whether it is the divine
will that we attack the place.” Accordingly the lots were
cast, and it was discovered that the auspices were not
favourable for the assault; and thus Birka was spared.
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was not only welcomed by Herigar, but the Christians were
strengthened in their adherence to the faith by his coming.

Nor was it in Sweden only that the prospects of the
missionaries brightened. In a.d. 847, Leutbert, bishop
of Bremen, died. Anskar's own see of Hamburg was
now reduced, by the desolating inroads of the North-
men, to four baptismal churches. It was therefore proposed
that the see of Bremen should be annexed to the arch-
bishopric of Hamburg, and, after the plan was matured,
Anskar no longer found himself hampered by want of
means from devoting all his energies to the wider planting
of the faith. At the same time he was enabled to appoint
a priest over the church at Sleswik, and from Horik, king
of Jutland, he no longer experienced opposition in preach-
ing the word amongst the people. This encouraged many
who had been baptized at Hamburg and Doerstadt, but
who had subsequently conformed to idolatrous practices, to
publicly profess their adhesion to the Christian faith, and
they rejoiced in the opportunity of joining in Christian
fellowship. The trade also of Doerstadt prospered by the
change; Christian merchants flocked thither in greater
numbers, and with greater confidence, and thus helped
forward the work of Anskar and his colleagues.

At this juncture the hermit Ardgard returned from
Sweden. Anskar, more than ever unwilling that the mission
there should be allowed to drop, tried to prevail on Gauz-
bert to revisit the scene of his former labours. But the
latter, discouraged by his previous failure, declined, and
Anskar finding no one else willing to undertake the work
once more girded up his loins, and encouraged by Horik,
who gave him letters to Olaf king of Sweden, set out for
Birka. The time of his landing was unfortunate. The
heathen party had been roused by the native priests, and
a crusade was proclaimed against the strange doctrines.

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Suborning a man who pretended to have received a
message from the native deities, the priest announced it
to be the will of heaven that, if the people wished for
new gods, they should admit into their company the late
king Eric, and allow divine honours to be paid to him.

This wrought up the feelings of the populace to such a
pitch, that the retinue of the archbishop pronounced it
absolute madness to persevere in his undertaking.

But Anskar was not thus to be thwarted. He invited
Olaf to a feast, set before him the presents sent by the
king of Jutland, and announced the object of his visit
Olaf, on his part, was not indisposed to make the con-
cessions he desired, but as former missionaries had been
expelled from the country, he suggested that it would be
well to submit the affair, once for all, to the solemn decision
of the sacred lots, and consult in an open council the feel-
ings of the people. Anskar agreed, and a day was fixed
for deciding the question.

First, the council of the chiefs was formally asked, and
their opinion requested. They craved the casting of the
sacred lots. The lots were accordingly cast, and the result
was declared to be favourable to the admission of the
archbishop and his retinue. Then the general assembly
of the people of Birka was convened, and at the command
of the king a herald proclaimed aloud the purport of the
archbishop's visit This was the signal for a great tumult,
in the midst of which an aged chief arose, and thus
addressed the assembly :

“ Hear me, O king and people. The God whom we
are invited to worship is not unknown to us, nor the aid
He can render to those that put their trust in Him.
Many of us have already proved this by experience, and
have felt His assistance in many perils, and especially
in the sea. Why, then, reject what we know to be useful

£ t — — — *

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and necessary for us? Not long ago some of us went
to Doerstadt, and believing that this new religion could
profit us much, willingly professed ourselves its disciples.
Now the voyage thither is beset with dangers, and pirates
abound on every shore. Why, then, reject a religion thus
brought to our very doors ? Why not permit the servants
of God, whose protecting aid we have already experienced,
to abide amongst us? Listen to my counsel, then, O
king and people, and reject not what is plainly for our
advantage. We see our own deities failing us, and unable
to aid us in time of danger. Surely it is a good thing
to obtain the favour of a God who always can and will
aid those that call upon Him.”

His words found favour with the people, and it was
unanimously resolved that the archbishop should be per-
mitted to take up his abode in the country, and should
not be hindered in disseminating the Christian faith. This
resolution was announced to Anskar in person by the
king, who further conceded a grant of land for building
a church, and welcomed Erimbert, a colleague of the
archbishop, whom he presented as the new director of the
Swedish mission.

Meanwhile matters had not been so prosperous in
Denmark. Eric “the Red,” though not professedly a
Christian, had, as we have seen, aided the archbishop
materially in the introduction of Christianity. His apostasy
provoked the inveterate hostility of the Northmen, and
the sea-kings determined to avenge the insult offered to
the national gods.

Rallying from all quarters under the banner of Guthrun,
nephew of Eric, they attacked the apostate king near
Flensburg, in Jutland. The battle raged for three days,
and at its close Eric and Guthrun, and a host of kings
and jarls lay dead upon the field ; and so tremendous had

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been the slaughter, that the entire Viking nobility seemed
to have been utterly exterminated.

The new king, Eric II., easily persuaded that the recent
reverses were entirely due to the apostasy of his pre-
decessor, ordered one of Anskar's churches to be closed,
and forbade all further missionary operations. After a
while, however, he was induced to change his policy,
and Anskar, on his return from Sweden, was reinstated
in the royal favour, and received a grant of land for the
erection of a second church at Ripe, in Jutland, over
which he placed Rembert, his favourite disciple, charging
him to win the hearts of his barbarous flock by the sincerity
and devotion of his life.

Anskar now returned to Hamburg, and devoted him-
self to the administration of his diocese. One of the
latest acts of his life was a noble effort to check the in-
famous practice of kidnapping and trading in slaves. A
number of native Christians had been carried off by the
northern pirates, and reduced to slavery. Effecting their
escape, they sought refuge in the territory of Northalbingia.
Instead of sheltering the fugitives, some of the chiefs
retained a portion of them as their own slaves, and sold
others to heathen, and even professedly Christian tribes
around. News of this reached Anskar, and at the risk
of his life he sternly rebuked the chiefs and succeeded
in inducing them to set the captives free, and to ransom
as many as possible from the bondage into which they
had sold them.

This noble act formed an appropriate conclusion to
his life. He was now more than sixty-four years of age,
and during more than half that period had laboured un-
remittingly in the mission field. His friend and biographer
expatiates eloquently on his character, as exhibiting the
perfect model of ascetic perfection. Even when elevated

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[February 3,

to the episcopal dignity, he never exempted himself from
the rigid discipline of the cloister. He wore a haircloth
shirt by night as well as by day. He measured out his
food and drink by an exact rule. He chanted a fixed
number of Psalms, alike when he arose in the morning
and when he retired to rest at night His charity knew
no bounds. Not only did he erect a hospital at Bremen
for the sick and needy, distribute a tenth of his income
among the poor, and divide amongst them any presents
he might receive, but every five years he tithed his in-
come afresh, that he might be quite sure the poor had
their proper share. Whenever he went on a tour of
visitation through his diocese, he would never sit down
to dinner, without first ordering some of the poor to be
brought in, and he himself would sometimes wash their
feet, and distribute amongst them bread and meat.

Such a practical exhibition of Christian love could not
fail to exercise a gradual influence even over the rough
pirates of the North, which was increased by the many
miracles he wrought But he was not one to seek dis-
tinction of this kind. “ One miracle,” he once said to
a friend, “ I would if worthy, ask the Lord to grant me ;
and that is, that by His grace, He would make me a
good man.” 1

He employed his last days in arranging the affairs of
his diocese, and calmly expired on the 3rd of February,
a.d. 865.

Relics. At Corbie is preserved an arm of the Saint

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February 4.]

►S'. Veronica.

February 4.

S. Veronica, Matr. at Rome, ist cent.

S. Phileas, B. of Thmuis , S. Philoromus and Others, MM. at
Alexandria, a.d. 304.

S. Abraham, M.B. of Arbela, in Persia , a.d. 348.

S. Gelasius, C. at Piacenza, beginning of $th cent.

S. Isidore of Pelusium, P. Monk in Egypt , 5 th cent.

S. Avbntine, H. of Troyes, a.d. 538.

S. Avbntine, B. of Chateaudun, 6th cent.

S. Theophilus the Penitent, C. at Adana in Cilicia, circ. a.d. 538.
S. Liephard, B.M. at Honcourt, circ. a.d. 640.

S. Modan, Ab. in Scotland, 7 th cent.

S. Ulgis, Ab. B. at Lobies, Sth cent.

B. Hrabanus Maurus, Abp. of Mainz, a.d. 856.

S. Nicholas of the Studium, Ab. C. at Constantinople , a.d. 868.

S. Probatius, P. at Hogent.

S. Rembert, B. of Hamburg and Bremen, a.d. 888.

S. Gilbert of Sempringham, Ab. in England a.d. 1189.

S. Andrew Corsini, B.C. of Fiesoli, a.d. 1373.

S. Jeanne de Valois, Q. of France, a.d. 1505.

S. Joseph of LeoniSsa, C. in Italy, a.d. 1612.

S. John de Britto, S.J., M. at Madura, a.d. 1693.

S. VERONICA.

(ist cent.)

[Ferrarius in his Catalogue of the Saints. Some give March 25th as the
anniversary of the Crucifixion, and as therefore the most appropriate day
for the commemoration of the act, which has made Veronica famous.
The festival of S. Veronica with special office, found its way into the
Ambrosian Missal printed in 1555 and 1560, but it was expunged by the
judicious S. Charles Borromeo.]

the 8th December, 1854, when the Eternal
City was crowded with bishops, assembled to
promulgate the dogma of the Immaculate Con-
ception, Pius IX., at the expressed and urgent
desire of the prelates, allowed the sacred relics of the
passion of Christ to be exhibited in the chapel of the
Blessed Sacrament at S. Peter's. In the midst, over the

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74 Lives of the Saints . [Fcbruaiy4.

altar, between burning tapers, loomed the veil of S.
Veronica, impressed with the sacred lineaments of the
Saviour. None but bishops were permitted to enter the
chapel, all others looked through a grating, and to them,
from the depth of the chapel, the portrait was wholly
undistinguishable. One inferior ecclesiastic alone, by
especial favour, was suffered to enter, accompanying a
prelate. This was M. Barbier de Montault, canon of the
basilica of Anagni; and he took advantage of the op-
portunity to scrutinize closely the miraculous portrait
He has fortunately communicated to the world the result
of his examination. His words are full of interest : — “ The
Holy Face is enclosed in a frame of silver, partially gilt,
and square, of a severe character and little adorned.
The simplicity of the bordering gives prominence to the
interior of the picture, which is protected by a thin plate
of crystal. Unfortunately, a sheet of metal covers the
field, and only leaves apparent the figure by indicating
its outline. By this outline one is led to conjecture flow-
ing hair reaching to the shoulders, and a short beard,
bifurcated, and small. The other features are so vaguely
indicated, or so completely effaced, that it requires the
liveliest imagination in the world to perceive traces of eyes
or nose. In short, one does not see the material of
the substance, because of the useless intervention of a
metal plate, and the place of the impression exhibits only
a blackish surface, not giving any evidence of human
features.” 1

The legend of the origin of this portrait is as follows :
A holy woman, named Bernice, or, as it has been Latin-
ized, Veronica, lived on the way to Calvary. As Christ
was on the road bearing the cross, He fell near her door,
and she, moved with compassion, went to Him, and

1 * Annales Archcologiquc*,’ Tom. xxiii. p. 23a.

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February 4.3

S. Veronica.

gently wiped the sweat from His face with her veil or
napkin. Then the impression of the sacred countenance
remained on the veil. Marianus Scotus, the historian
(d. 1086), tells the rest of the story thus: “The emperor
Tiberius was afflicted with leprosy. Hearing of the miracles
of Our Lord, he sent to J erusalem for Him. But Christ
was already crucified, and had risen and was ascended
into heaven. The messengers of Tiberius, however,
ascertained that a certain Veronica possessed a portrait
of Christ, impressed by the Saviour Himself on a linen
handkerchief, and preserved by her with reverence. Ver-
onica was persuaded by them to come to Rome, and
the sight of the sacred image restored the emperor to
health. Pilate was then sentenced by him to death, for
having unjustly crucified our Lord.” It is hardly necessary
to say that there is no foundation of truth for this addition
to the original story. How far the first part of the story
is true it is impossible to decide. It is by no means
improbable that a pious woman may have wiped the face
of Christ.

Mabillon, the learned Benedictine, propounded the
theory that each early portrait of Christ was called, in
barbarous jargon, a mixture of Latin and Greek, vera
icon , true image ; and that later, a fable was invented to
account for the introduction of these representations into
Europe, and the name given to the image was transferred
to the person who was supposed to have brought it to
the West. This explanation has been generally adopted.
“ By the name of Veronica,” says Baillet, “ nothing more
was signified than the true image — vera ico?i of the Saviour
painted on a handkerchief or piece of linen called the
Holy Sudarium, because, ordinarily, only the head of the
Saviour from before was represented on it, that is, the
face and hair. Nothing further was meant at Rome,

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[February 4.

where was to be seen, dating from the 12th century, in
the Church of S. Peter, one of these Veronicas, before
which lamps were kept burning day and night” 1

But the legend itself seems to be an importation, not
a fabrication, as Mabillon suggested. For Constantine
Porphyrogeneta (d. 959), in whose reign the sacred Abgarus
portrait of Christ was brought to Constantinople, relates
the following story of that portrait : — “ As Christ was on
His way to Calvary, bearing His cross, the blood and
sweat streaming from His brow obscured His eyes.
Then taking from one of His disciples a piece of linen,
He wiped His face, and left thereon His sacred portrait.
S. Thomas preserved the towel till after the Ascension,
when he gave the miraculous picture to Thaddseus, who
bore it to Edessa. There he lodged with a Jew named
Tobias. He began to work miracles in the name of
Christ Abgarus, king of Edessa, hearing of his works,
sent for him. As Thaddseus entered the chamber of the
sick king, he elevated above his head the sacred picture,
and at the same time, such a blaze of light shot from
his face, that Abgarus could not endure the splendour,
and, forgetful of his sickness, leaped out of bed. Then
he took the linen, covered his head and limbs with it,
and was forthwith made whole.”

How it was that this venerable picture passed into the
hands of the Emperor of Constantinople we learn from
the Arabic historian, El Matzin.2 He says that in the year
331 of Hegira, that is a.d. 953 — which is a mistake for
944 — the Greeks besieged the city of Edessa, then in the
hands of the Saracens, and demanded the surrender of the
holy picture and the accompanying letters of Abgarus
and the Saviour, in exchange for the captives they had

1 “Vie des Saints, Tom. be. p. aa.

* Elmasini * Hist. Sarac.* Lugd. Batar. t6a$, p. a6 7.

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— — K

February 4.] S. VerOfltCa. 77

made. The treasured relics were handed over to the
Christians, and were brought to Byzantium, where they
were placed in a befitting shrine in the church of the
Eternal Wisdom. What became of the picture when
Constantinople fell into the hands of the Mussulmans is
uncertain. The Venetians claimed to have brought it
to Rome, and to have presented it to the Church of
S. Sylvester. The Genoese, on the other hand, lay claim
to the possession of the sacred portrait, and say that it
was brought by Leonard de Montalto, in 1384, to their
city, and by him presented to the Armenian Church of
S. Bartholomew, where it is still preserved and exhibited
once a year.

We shall briefly notice such other portraits of Christ
as claim to be authentic, whether in colour or in writing
Of the former, that said to have been painted by S. Luke
is the most interesting. The Greek monk Michael, in
his life of his master, Theodore of the Studium, relates
that S. Luke painted a beautiful likeness of our Saviour.
This assertion was readily adopted by later writers. Among
others, Simeon Metaphrastes (fl. 936) repeats it, and S.
Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274) refers to the picture as existing
in the Chapel of the Santa Scala, in the Lateran, at Rome.

Another sacred painting of Christ by S. Luke is in
the possession of the Benedictines of Vallombrosa. This
portrait is certainly of very great antiquity, and is in
tempora on a panel of cypress wood. The features are
strongly emphasized, the face long, the eyes large and
bright, with eyelids drooping, and arched brows.

Another sacred picture is that given by S. Peter to
the Senator Pudens, which is exhibited on Easter Day,
in the monastery of S. Praxedes. The story goes that
it was sketched by S. Peter for the daughters of Pudens,
one evening at supper, on the napkin of Praxedes.

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It will be remembered that when Christ was laid in
the tomb, His body was wrapped in fine linen, and a
linen napkin was on his face. These relics are said to
be preserved at Besangon and Turin. The Turin linen
shows the bloodstained outline of the Saviour’s body;
that at Besangon is marked with the ointments. The
features are impressed on the napkin, and are of the
Byzantine type.

A crucifix, by Nicodemus, is exhibited in the cathedral
of Lucca. Another portrait is the Nazarseum, which is
certainly of considerable antiquity, and is probably the
earliest extant copy of the famous Edessa picture. It is
in the Latin convent at Nazareth. This picture is engraved
in Abraham Norow’s travels in Palestine. (S. Petersburg,
1844).

Let us now turn to the literary sketches of the portrait of
our Lord which have descended to us.

S. Jerome, (d. 420), says that in the face and eyes of
Christ there was something heavenly, so that from their
glory and majesty the hidden Godhead flashed forth. S. John
of Damascus, (d. about 760), in his letter to the Emperor
Theophilus, says, “ Christ was tall and stately, had brows
uniting over the nose, beautiful eyes, a large nose, curled
hair, and a black beard. His hair was a gold-brown, like
wheat, resembling that of his mother, and his head was
bowed somewhat forward.”

The next, and more precise account is that of the
apocryphal letter of Lentulus, (who is supposed to have
lived at the time of Christ, and to have been about the
person of Pilate, to the Roman senate,) which is said to
have been extracted from the Roman annals by a certain
Eutropius. This first appears in the writings of S. Anselm,
(d 1107). “ He is a man of tall stature, comely, having a

venerable countenance, which those beholding must love or

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•S'. Veronica .

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fear. His hair is waving and curled, rolling to his shoulders,
having a parting in the middle of the head, after the manner
of the Nazarenes, a brow smooth and serene, a face without
wrinkle or blemish of any kind, rendered beautiful by a
moderate colour. There is no fault to be found with the
nose and mouth ; he has a full and red beard, the colour
of his locks, not long, but forked, and eyes bright and
changeable.” Another version of this letter adds that the
hair was the colour of the hazel-nut, the eyes greyish-blue,
and full of light His hands and arms are beautiful. He
is terrible in reprehension, but mild and full of love in
instruction; cheerful, but with steadfast earnestness. No
one ever saw Him laugh, but often has He been seen
to weep. Precise and modest in his speech, he is in all
perfect, and the fairest of the sons of men.”

But the most precise and complete account is that of
Nicephorus Callistus, (fl. 1330). His description is as
follows : — “ He was beautiful in body, his height seven
complete spans, his hair was yellowish, not bushy, and at
the ends somewhat curled. His eyebrows were black, only
a little arched, and without break ; his eyes were hazel, of
that description called bright-eyed, not dim, in no way mis-
formed, not wandering. His nose was prominent, his beard
reddish, not profuse, but the hair of his head was abun-
dant, for never had razor or hand of man shorn it. His
neck was somewhat bent, so that he did not walk perfectly
upright; the colour of his face was a yellow-brown, like
ripe wheat; his face was not round, nor pointed, but, like
his mother's, a little drooping, and slightly blushing. His
very countenance indicated a man of intelligence, with
manners grave, calm, and removed from anger. In all
things, he was like his most pure mother.”

And this is the account of S. Mary given by Nice-
phorus : — “ Mary was in everything modest and earnest ;

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[February 4.

she spake little, and then only about necessaries ; she was
very courteous, and rendered to all honour and respect
She was of middle stature, though some assert her to have
been somewhat taller. She spake to all with an engaging
frankness, without laughing, without embarrassment, and
especially without rancour. She had a pale tint, light hair,
piercing eyes, with yellowish olive-coloured pupils. Her
brows were arched and black, her nose moderately long, her
lips fresh, and full of amiability when speaking ; her face
not round or pointed, but longish ; hands and fingers fairly
long. Finally, she was without pride, simple, and without
guile ; she had no insipidity about her, but was unassuming.
In her dress she was fond of the natural colour ; in short,
there was in all her ways divine grace. w|

S. PHILEAS, B.M., AND OTHERS.

(304-)

[Roman Martyrology. Authorities Authentic Acts by Gregory, a
contemporary. Mention by S. Jerome in his Treatise on Ecclesiastical
Writers, c. 78 ; Ruffinus Hist. EccL lib. viii. c. 9 ; Eusebius, lib. viii.
' c. 9, 10.]

Phileas was a wealthy nobleman of Thmuis, in Egypt,
who was elected bishop of that city, but in the persecution
of Dioclesian was carried to Alexandria, before the governor
Culcian. In his dungeon he wrote a letter to his flock
to encourage them, narrating the sufferings endured by the
martyrs for the true faith. This letter has been preserved
by Gregory, and in part, by Eusebius. Culcian, who had
been prefect of Thebais, was then governor of all Egypt,
under the tyrant Maximius, but he afterwards lost his head,

1 This article is condensed from an article by the Author in the Quarterly Re-
view for October, 1867, on “ Portraits of Christ.’*

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February 4.] 61. Phileas & Other s . 81

in 313, by order of Iicinius. The Acts of S. Phileas are scru-
pulously particular in detailing every question and answer in
the examination of the saint. They are too long to be given
in their entirety, but extracts from them deserve insertion.

Culcian, the governor said to him. “ Now, then, art thou
sober?” Phileas answered, “ I am always sober.” Culcian
said, “Sacrifice to the gods.” Phileas answered, “I will
not.” “Why not?” enquired Culcian. “ Because it is for-
bidden by Scripture to offer sacrifice, save to one God.”
“ Then offer a sacrifice to Him.” “ God loveth not such
sacrifices as you make,” answered Phileas. “ What sort of
sacrifices then does thy God approve of?” asked the judge.
Phileas replied, “ I offer him a pure heart and clean senses,
and true words.” Culcian said, “ But Paul sacrificed.”
“No, he did not,” answered Phileas. “Well, then Moses
did.” “Yes,” said Phileas, “the command was to the
Jews only to sacrifice to God in Jerusalem; now the Jews
sin in celebrating their solemn rites elsewhere.” “ Enough
of these empty words ; sacrifice,” said the magistrate. “ I
will not do so, and stain my soul.” “Why,” said the
governor, “ Paul denied God.” “ He did not,” answered
Phileas. “Wilt thou swear that he did not?” asked
Culcian. “I will not swear,” answered the bishop, “for
oaths are , forbidden us. It is a matter of conscience.”
Culcian said, “ Is it not a matter of conscience for thee to
take care of thy wife and sons ?” Phileas said, “ Yes, but
I have a higher duty to God.” Culcian exclaimed, “ Hold
thy tongue, and sacrifice.” “ I will not sacrifice,” said the
bishop. Culcian asked, “Is Christ God?” And Phileas
replied, “ He is.” Culcian said, “ How could God be
crucified?” “For our salvation,” answered Phileas; “He
suffered for our sakes.”

The governor said, “ I might have tortured thee in the
city, but I spared thee, wishing to shew thee respect” “ I

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thank thee,” said the bishop, “Go on with thy work.”
“ Dost thou desire to die without cause ?” asked Culcian.
“ Not without cause ; I wish to die for God and the truth.”
The governor said, “If thou hadst been a poor man I
should soon have despatched thee, but seeing thou art rich
enough to feed all the province, I have shewn patience, and
endeavoured to move thee by persuasion.”

Some lawyers standing by said, “ Phileas sacrificed in the
monastery,” for they had heard something of the Eucharistic
mystery, but understood it not Phileas said, “ You are
right, I did sacrifice, but I did not immolate victims.”
Culcian said, “ Thy poor wife is looking at thee.” Phileas
replied, “Jesus Christ calls me to glory, and He can also,
if He pleases, call my wife.”

The lawyers said to the judge, “ Phileas asks delay.”
Culcian said, “ I will grant it willingly, that he may think
over the consequences of his persistency in this course.”
But Phileas cried out, “ I have thought well over this, and
it is my unchangeable resolution to die for Jesus Christ.”
Then the lawyers, the emperor's lieutenant, the other officers
of justice, and his relations fell at his feet, embracing his
knees, and conjuring him to have compassion on his dis-
consolate family, and not to abandon his children in their
tender years. Philoromus, a Christian present, tribune of
the soldiers, moved with indignation, cried out, “Why
strive ye to make this brave man renounce his God, do ye
not see that contemplating the glory of Heaven, he
makes no account of earthly things ?” Then with a shout,
all cried that he must be condemned to die along with
Phileas, and to this Culcian assented.

As they were led to execution, the brother of Phileas,
who was a lawyer, exclaimed, “ Phileas appeals.” Culcian
called Phileas back, and asked if it were so. The bishop
denied that he had so done. Then the procession re-

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sumed its way to the place of execution. And when they
had reached the spot, Phileas extended his arms to the
east, and cried, “ O my best beloved sons, whosoever worship
God, watch over your hearts, for your adversary, the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour. We have not yet suffered, dearest ones, but we are
about to suffer. Now are we becoming disciples of our
Lord Jesus Christ Attend to the precepts of Christ We
invoke the immaculate, incomprehensible One, who sitteth
above the Cherubim, the maker of all things, who is the
beginning and the ending, to whom be glory through ages
of ages. Amen.” And when he had thus spoken, the execu-
tioner struck off his head, and that of his companion,
Philoromus.

S. GELASIUS, BOY, C.

(BEGINNING OF 5TH CENTURY.)

[Commemorated as a semi-double in the Church of Piacenza. Au-
thority : — The Offices of the Breviary of Piacenza for this day.]

S. Gelasius was a little boy, child of pious and wealthy
parents in Placentia, the modem Piacenza, in Northern Italy.

His brother, older than himself, was S. Olympius, who is
commemorated on October 1 2th. The children slept in the
same room. One evening Gelasius heard his brother
praying, and angels singing, “ Suffer little children to come
unto Me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” The
child died early, in the white innocence of his baptismal
robe, and was laid by S. Maurus, bishop of Placentia,
in the Church of S. Savin, outside the walls. It was after-
wards translated to the new Church of S. Savin within the
city, in 1481, by the Bishop Fabricius, together with the
bodies of SS. Peregrine and Victor.

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& ISIDORE OF PELUSIUM, MONK, P.

(ABOUT A.D. 449.)

[Roman Martyrology. Same day in the Greek Church.]

S. Isidore of Pelusium, in Egypt, was a monk from his
youth. Suidas asserts that he was promoted to the dignity
of the priesthood. In the time when the turbulent Theo-
philus was patriarch of Alexandria, Isidore espoused the
cause of S. Chrysostom, praised his writings and doc-
trine, and consequently became an object of hostility to
the proud patriarch. On the death of Theophilus, S. Cyril,
his nephew, succeeded him, and, as has already been related
in the life of that saint, inherited his uncle's prejudices
against the great Chrysostom, and after his death opposed
the insertion of his name in the diptychs, or list of persons
who were commemorated at the Holy Eucharist But by
the influence of S. Isidore, who earnestly strove to bring
councils of peace before Cyril, the patriarch of Alexandria
was induced to withdraw his objections. The letters of
S. Isidore are extant

S. AVENTINE OF TROYES, H.

(about a. d. 538.)

[Roman Martyrology, and that of Usuardus, on Feb. 4th ; but in the diocese
of Troyes, on Feb. 6th, as a semi-double. Authorities A very ancient life,
written in crude style ; mention by S. Gregory of Tours, and in two extant
lives of S. Fidolus.]

S. Aventine was much beloved and respected for his
singular virtues by S. Camelian, Bishop of Troyes, who
made him steward of the possessions of the church. He
afterwards became the abbot of a monastery at Troyes, and
spent all the money he could collect in redeeming captives.

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•S. Aventine.

During the reign of Thierry, son of Clovis, he purchased of
a band of soldiers, who were leading captives past his door,
the boy Fidolus, whom for his gentleness and piety he
learned greatly to love ; and treating him as a son rather
than as a servant, he made of him a monk, and finally,
when he himself was old, and Fidolus had grown to man's
estate, with the consent of the monks, he delivered over
into his hands the government of the monastery, and he
himself retired into a lone hermitage in the forest, and spent
many years in a cave. When he opened his window, and
thrust forth his hand full of crumbs, multitudes of little birds
came fluttering up, and perched on his fingers, and ate the
crumbs. He was ministered to by a monk, who, in bring-
ing water from the river, sometimes caught in the pitcher
very little fish. The gentle Aventine invariably returned
the small fish to the river, for he would not hurt or destroy
any animal, unless it were necessary. One day he trod
on a snake and crushed it, so that it lay numb, and as
though lifeless. Then he bent over it, and cherished it,
till life returned, and it glided away. Once a stag, pursued
by hunters, took refuge in his cave, and he closed the
door on it, and hid it, till the hunters had passed further.
One stormy night, a bear came roaring to the door of
the cell, and strove to beat it in. The hermit, in terror,
sang the song, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,
neither wilt Thou suffer Thy holy one to see corruption 1”
and armed himself with prayer. Now when the sky
grew white with dawn, Aventine opened his cell, and
there lay the bear crouched on the threshold, and it
stretched out its paw to him, and licked his feet Then
the hermit perceived that there was a splinter of wood in
the paw, and he said, “Poor beast, thou wast in pain,
and didst seek relief, and I thought that thou wast raging
for my life.” And he took the paw on his lap, drew

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[February 4.

forth the piece of wood, bathed and bandaged the wound,
gave the bear his blessing, and let it depart.

Relics in the parish churches of Creney and S. Aventin
and in the cathedral at Troyes. In Art he is represented
drawing the splinter from the bear's paw.

S. AVENTINE OF CHATEAUDUN, B. C.

(6th cent.)

[Gallican Martyrologies. Authorities : — Mention in the life of his
brother, S. Solemnis, and an ancient metrical French life.]

In the reign of Clovis there lived a Count John, at
Chateaudun, who was married to Agnes, daughter of the
Count of Blois. By her he had three sons, Solemnis,
Aventine, and John, and a daughter Agnes, who died
young.

Flavius, uncle of Agnes of Blois, was bishop of Chartres,
and called thither Solemnis and Aventine for the purpose
of attending to their education. As both showed signs of
sanctity, he ordained both, whilst young; Solemnis was
raised to the priesthood, and Aventine was appointed arch-
deacon.

On the death of Flavius, the clergy and people, with
the king's consent, proceeded to elect Solemnis to fill
the vacant see; but he, knowing their intention, fled,
and hid himself in a cave outside the city. When he
could not be found, the electors with one consent shouted,
“ Aventine is worthy !” that being the customary formulary
of election. Thereupon, Aventine, much against his will,
was drawn into the cathedral, and ordained priest, and
consecrated bishop. Now Solemnis, from his place of
retreat, heard the shout in the city, and knew that a bishop

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61. Aventine.

8 7

had been chosen. Yet he waited till he saw peasants
returning along the road that ran by his retreat, and he
overheard them speaking of the consecration of his brother
Aventine. So he, deeming all further concealment un-
necessary, came forth, and entered the city. Then, at
once, a crowd surrounded him, and the roar of a thousand
voices proclaimed, “Solemnis is worthy! Solemnis shall
be bishop ! ” And he was drawn to the cathedral, vested
in white, a mitre placed on his head, the pastoral staff
put into his hands, and the bishops of the province there
present, proclaimed him. And when this was done, men
asked, “What shall be done with Aventine?” and he
was sent to be bishop of Chateaudun, his native town.
Then he went his way. And as he drew near to the city,
there met him a leper, who ran towards him, and stopped,
and cried out, “ I am John, thy brother.” He would
have rejoiced to meet his brother, had he not seen that
he was afflicted with leprosy; for which reason John had
retired from the city, and fled from the society of men.
Then the bishop ran to him, and fell on his neck, and
his tears flowed over him, and he kissed him ; and the
flesh of John came again as the flesh of a little child, and
he was made perfectly whole.

Of the works of the holy Aventine in his diocese little
is known, save that he laboured in season and out of
season in the ministry of God, and that he lived in a little
cell outside the city gates, in the face of a rock. After
the death of Solemnis, about 509, Aventine governed the
whole Chartrain Church, and subscribed the council of
Orleans, 511, as bishop of Chartres. Relics translated in
1853 to the parish church ofS. Madeleine in Chateaudun.

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S. THEOPHILUS THE PENITENT.

(about A.D. 528.)

[Commemorated by the Greeks on this day. Not by the Westerns,
though the story is quoted by a great number of Latin writers.
Authority: — The Greek account by Eutychianus, who pretends to have
been a disciple of Theophilus, and declares that he relates what he had
seen with his own eyes, and heard from the mouth of Theophilus himself.
Metaphrastes embodied the narrative of Eutychianus in his great collection
of the Lives of the Saints. For a full account of this strange story, see my
“ Myths of the Middle Ages.”]

The following story must be received with caution.
It has not received the sanction of the Western Church,
and is probably a mere religious romance. It was very
popular in the middle ages, and was frequently represented
in sculpture and stained glass.

A few years before the Persian invasion, in 538, there
lived, in the town of Adana in Cilicia, a priest named
Theophilus, treasurer and archdeacon. He lived in strict
observance of all his religious duties, was famous for
his liberality to the poor, his sympathy with the afflicted,
his eloquence in the pulpit, his private devotion, and severe
asceticism. On the decease of the bishop, by popular
acclamation he was summoned to the episcopal oversight
of the diocese, but his deep humility urged him to refuse
the office, even when it was pressed upon him by the
metropolitan. A stranger was raised to the vacant seat,
and the treasurer resumed the course of life he had per-
sued for so many years with credit to himself and ad-
vantage to the diocese, content in his own mind with
having refused the office, which might have aroused his
pride, and which certainly would have diminished his
opportunities of self-sacrifice. Virtue invariably arouses
the spirit of detraction, and Theophilus, by his refusal of
the bishopric, was thrust into public notice, and attracted

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kS. TheophUus .

public attention. The consequence was, that the evil-
minded originated slanders, which circulated widely, pro-
duced a revulsion of feeling towards Theophilus, and,
what was generally reported, was accepted as substantially
true. These stories reached the ears of the new bishop,
he sent for the archdeacon, and, without properly inves-
tigating the charges, concluded he was guilty, and deprived
him of his offices.

' One would have supposed that the humility which had
required the holy man to refuse a mitre, would have
rendered him callous to the voice of slander, and have
sustained him under deprivation. But the trial was too
great for his virtue. He brooded over the accusations
raised against him, and the wrongs inflicted upon him, till
the whole object of his desire became the clearing of his
character. He sought every available means of unmasking
the calumnies of his malingers, and exposing the falsity of
the charges raised against him. But he found himself
unable to effect his object; one man is powerless against
a multitude, and slander is a hydra which, when maimed
in one head, produces others in the place of that struck
off. ' Baffled, despairing, and without a friend to sustain
his cause, the poor clerk sought redress in a manner
which, a month before, would have filled him with horror.
He visited a necromancer, who led him at midnight to
a place where four cross-roads met, and there conjured
up Satan, who promised to reinstate Theophilus in all
his offices, and, what he valued more, to completely
clear his character. The priest, to obtain these boons,
signed away his soul with a pen dipped in his own blood,
and abjured for ever Jesus Christ and His spotless
Mother.

On the morrow, the bishop, discovering his error, how
we know not, sent for Theophilus, and acknowledged

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[February 4.

publicly that he had been misled by false reports, the
utter valuelessness of which he was ready frankly to *
acknowledge; and he asked pardon of the priest, for !
having unjustly deprived him of his office. The populace
enthusiastically reversed their late opinion of the treasurer,
and greeted him as a Saint and confessor.

For some days all went well, and in the excitement of a
return to his former occupations, the compact he had made
was forgotten. But after a while, as reason and quietness
resumed their sway, the conscience of Theophilus gave him
no rest His face lost its colour, his brow was seamed with
wrinkles, an unutterable horror gleamed out of his deep-
set eyes. Hour by hour he prayed, but found no relief.

At length he resolved on a solemn fast of forty days. This
he accomplished, praying nightly in the Church of the
Blessed Virgin, till the grey of morning stole in at the
little window of the dome, and obscured the lamps. On
the fortieth night, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him,
and rebuked him for his sin. He implored her pardon
and all-prevailing intercession, and this she promised him.

The following night she re-appeared, and assured him that
Christ had forgiven him at her prayer. With a cry of
joy he awoke ; and on his breast lay the deed which
had made over his soul to Satan, obtained from the evil
one by the mercy of the holy Mother of God.

The next day was Sunday. He rose, spent some time
in acts of thanksgiving, and then went to church, where
the divine liturgy was being celebrated. After the reading
of the Gospel, he flung himself at the bishop's feet, and re-
quested permission to make his confession in public. Then
he related the circumstances of his fall, and showed the con-
tract signed with his blood to the assembled multitude.
Having finished his confession, he prostrated himself before
the bishop, and asked for absolution. The deed was

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February 4.] ,5". Modan & B. Rabanus Maurus. 91

tom and burned before the people. He was reconciled,
and received the blessed Sacrament; after which he re-
turned to his house in a fever, and died at the expiration of
three days. The story is probably a mere religious romance.

S. MODAN, AB.

(7TH CENT.)

[Aberdeen Breviary *— from which almost all that is known of his life
is gathered.]

S. Modan was first monk, and then abbot of Mailros, in
Scotland, and preached the faith in Stirling and at Falkirk,
when old he retired among the mountains of Dumbarton,
and there died. His body was kept till the change of
religion, with honour, in the church of Rosneath.

B. HRABANUS MAURUS, B. C.

(a. d. 856.)

[From his life by Rodolph the priest, monk of Fulda, d. 865 ; and various
writers of a later period.]

Rabanus, or Hrabanus Maurus, was one of the
most illustrious writers of the 9th century. He was bom
at Mainz, in the year 788. When very young he was
sent to the monastery of Fulda, where he was brought
up. From thence he was sent to Tours, where he studied
for some time under the famous Alcuin. He returned
afterwards to Germany, into his monastery, where he was
entrusted with the government of the novices, was
afterwards ordained priest in the year 814, and at last
chosen abbot of Fulda, in 822. After he had managed
this charge twenty years, he voluntarily quitted it, to satisfy

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the monks, who complained that his studies so engrossed
his time that the affairs of the monastery were neglected.
He retired to Mount S. Peter, and was shortly after chosen
archbishop of Mainz or Mayence, in the year 847. He
held a council in the same year for the reformation of
discipline ; and died in 856.

As a mystical interpreter to Holy Scripture, his com-
mentaries will ever be read. He was a voluminous writer
on various subjects, sacred and profane, and was certainly
one of the most learned men of his day.

S. NICOLAS OF THE STUDIUM, C.

(868.)

[Greek Menaea for this day. Authorities : — Life by a contemporary
monk in his monastery.]

This glorious confessor was born in Crete, and was
the son of pious parents, who educated him from earliest
infancy in the the fear of God. At the age of ten he was
sent to Constantinople, to see his kinsman Theophanes.
He found him a monk of the order of the Sleepless Ones,1
in the monastery called the Studium. He entered the
same order, and fulfilled his monastic duties with regularity
and devotion. Having set a brilliant example, he was
deemed worthy to be invested with the priesthood. Then
broke out the furious persecution of the Iconoclasts, about
which a few words must be said in this place.8

When God was made Man, He was put at once into
the most intimate relation with men; and just as it is
lawful for any son to have a portrait of his father or mother,

1 For information on this Order, see Jan. 15, S. Alexander.

* See for more information on the Iconoclastic heresy the life of S. Taras i us,
Feb. 25th.

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•S. Nicolas .

so did it become lawful and reasonable that he should
have a picture of that God-Man, who is dearer to him
than father or mother. The picture served as a constant
reminder, an evidence for the Incarnation. It is a sermon
declaring God to be made Man. But the Arians, who denied
the divinity of our Lord, were most hostile to sacred
representations of Christ, and with reason, for these pictures
were a testimony against them. At first the Arian attack
on the foundation doctrine of the Incarnation was open.

But, when the theological statement of that mystery was
made so plain that there was no opposing it by counter
statement, Arianism adopted other tactics, and appeared
as Iconoclasm, or war against sacred pictures. He who
disbelieved, or only coldly acquiesced in the Incarnation
of God, saw that this chief corner-stone of Christianity
could only be uprooted by chilling the ardour of Christian
affection. And no better method of chilling that affection
could be devised, than the obliteration of representations
of Christ, His acts, His passion, and of His mother, and
His Saints; then there was some prospect of religious
acceptance of this dogma sinking into cold intellectual
apprehension, and thence it could be dislodged without
difficulty. After the reconciliation of large congregations
of Gnostics and Arians with the Catholic Church, they
maintained that icy worship which had preceded their
separation, they adored God as a Spirit, but actually,
though they had ceased to do so formally, overlooked
His manhood. These reconciled bodies afforded a fund of
passive prejudice and aversion of small account so long as
Catholic princes were on the throne, but which, in the fortune
of a soldier, might produce serious results to the Church.

Of such adventurers, the most fortunate was the Emperor
Leo III., who, from the mountains of Isauria, ascended to
the throne of the East. He was ignorant of sacred and

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profane letters ; but his education, his reason, perhaps his
intercourse with Jews and Arabs, had inspired the martial
peasant with a hatred of images ; and he held it to be the
duty of a prince to impose on his subjects the dictates of
his own conscience. In the reformation of religion, his first
steps were moderate and cautious ; he assembled a great
council of senators and bishops, and enacted, with their
consent, that all the images should be removed from the
sanctuary and altar to a proper height in the churches, where
they might be visible to the eyes, and inaccessible to the
devotion of the people. But it was impossible on either
side to check the rapid though adverse impulses of vene-
ration and abhorrence : in their lofty position, the sacred
images still edified their votaries, and exasperated their
enemies. He was himself provoked by resistance and
invective ; and his own party accused him of an imperfect
discharge of his duty, and urged for his imitation the
example of the Jewish king, who had broken without
scruple the brazen serpent of the temple. By a second
edict, he proscribed the existence, as well as the use of
sacred pictures ; images of Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and
the Saints, were demolished, or a smooth surface of plaster
was spread over the walls of the edifice. The sect of the
Iconoclasts was supported by the zeal and despotism of six
emperors, and this topic involved the East and West in an
angry conflict of one hundred and twenty years. It was the
design of Leo the Isaurian to pronounce the condemnation
of images as an article of faith, and by the authority of a
General Council ; but the convocation of such an assembly
was reserved for his son Constantine Copronymus. This
council was attended by three hundred and thirty-eight
bishops of Europe and Anatolia, but not by those of the
Western Church, African Church, or that of Palestine. It
was, in fact, an assembly of those prelates who were weak

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S. Nicolas .

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enough to assist, fearing condemnation and exile if they did
not submit, ambitious enough to follow the caprice of the
reigning emperor, in hopes of emolument, and also of those
who heartily concurred with his semi-Arianism. After a
serious deliberation of six months, the prelates subscribed
such a decree as the emperor desired, condemning all visible
symbols of Christ,1 except the Eucharist, as blasphemous
and heretical; and denouncing veneration for images as
the idolatry of Paganism. “ As if,” says a Catholic writer
of the time, “ there were not this great difference between
the Christian image and the heathen idol, that the latter is
the thing worshipped, whereas the former is the represen-
tation of the person adored.”

The first hostilities of Leo had been directed against
a lofty Christ on the vestibule, and above the gate, of the
palace, placed there to exhibit to all men that the emperors
had bowed before the King of kings. A ladder had been
placed for the assault, but it was shaken by a crowd of
women and zealots, and for their opposing the execution of
the mandate, severe and savage reprisals were taken. The
execution of the imperial mandates were resisted by fre-
quent tumults in Constantinople and the provinces, which
were quelled by the military, and much blood flowed.

In the cruel persecution that ensued, the monks, ever the
champions of the Incarnate God, suffered most severely.
Nicolas of the Studium, together with S. Theodore, the
abbot, or archimandite, of the monastery were called to
suffer. Nicolas was scourged with leather thongs on the
back and limbs, and his arms extended, so that they be-
came for a time paralysed. His back, which was lashed
and bleeding, was tenderly bathed with warm water and
healing lotions by S. Theodore, his superior, till it was

1 This very term ** Symbol of Christ,” as applied to the Holy Eucharist, is indi-
cation of heretical views on the Presence.

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healed. Both were driven into exile, and kept for three
years in nakedness, and without sufficient food and drink,
in a wretched prison. They were beaten again at Smyrna,
and further imprisoned for twenty-two months, with their
feet in the stocks. On the death of Leo, the confessors
were released, and visited S. Nicephorus at Chalcedon.

This took place during the absence of Constantine Cop-
ronymus, who had undertaken an expedition against the
Saracens. During this absence, his kinsman, Artavasdus,
assumed the purple, and everywhere the sacred images were
triumphantly restored. Constantine flew for refuge to his
paternal mountains; but he descended at the head of the
bold Isaurians, and his final victory placed the unfortunate
Catholics once more at the mercy of a brutal tyrant. This
monster of crime derived his name Copronymus from having
defiled his baptismal font This incident of his infancy was
accepted as an augury of his maturity, and he did not belie
it His reign was one long butchery of whatever was most
noble, or holy, or innocent, in his empire. In person the
emperor assisted at the execution of his victims, surveyed their
agonies, listened to their groans, and indulged, without
satiating, his appetite for blood : a plate of noses was accepted
as a grateful offering, and his domestics were often scourged or
mutilated by his royal hand. His long reign was distracted
with clamour, sedition, conspiracy, mutual hatred, and
sanguinary revenge. The hatred borne by this ruffian
against monks and images was implacable. Images were
tom down and defaced with wanton malice throughout the
empire by an officer called the Dragon, sent round for that
purpose; all religious communities were dissolved, their
buildings were converted into magazines or barracks ; the
lands, moveables, and cattle, were confiscated, and the
monks were mutilated in eyes and ears and limbs, with
refined cruelty.

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S. Nicolas .

Under this emperor, Theophilus (829), Nicolas and
Theodore again suffered persecution. Theodore, and the
abbot Theophanes, kinsman of Nicolas, were mutilated
by certain verses being cut upon their brows. During
the persecution, S. Nicolas remained concealed; on the
accession of the indifferent emperor, Michael III., (842),
he emerged from his hiding place, and was elected archi-
mandite of the Studium, the abbot Theodore being dead.
After exercising the government for three years, he resigned
it to Sophronius, and retired to Firmopolis, that he might
pass the remainder of his days in peace ; but it was not so
to be ; after four years he was recalled to the abbacy of the
Studium, on the death of Sophronius, and was at once
involved in conflict For the patriarch Ignatius, having
rebuked the Caesar Bardas for incest, and then excommuni-
cated him, the emperor Michael III., his nephew, was
persuaded to exile Ignatius, and to intrude Photius into the
Patriarchal see. The abbot Nicolas refused to communi-
cate with the intruder, and was consequently driven from
his monastery, and a monk, Achillas, was appointed in his
room. Nicolas was pursued from one retreat to another
by the hostility of the intruded patriarch, and after many
wanderings, rested in the Crimea. Upon the death of
Bardas and Michael, Bardas having been murdered by his
nephew Michael, and Michael by his successor, Basil I.,
(867), the patriarch Ignatius was recalled, and the patriarch
persuaded Nicolas to return to his government of the
Studium, where he died the following year.

I VOL. 11.
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S. REMBERT, B. C.

(a-d. 888.)

[Roman Martyrology ; this being the day of his consecration to the Arch-
bishopric of Bremen and Hamburg. But in some German Martyrologies, on
June nth, the day of his death. Authority : — his life written by a coeval
author or authors].

This saint was bom at Thourout, in Flanders, where was
a monastic cell, that had been given by King Louis the Pious
to S. Anskar. As Anskar was at Thourout one day, he
noticed some boys going to church, and amongst them was
one who, by his gravity, pleased him ; and when the boy
entered the church, he crossed himself, and behaved with
so great reverence, that the archbishop went to him, and
asked his name. He told him that he was called Rembert
Then S. Anskar took him and placed him in the little
monastery, and bade that he should be well instructed. In
after years, the apostle of Sweden called Rembert to assist
him in his mission ; and he loved his young friend greatly,
and prayed to God for three days incessantly that He would
grant to Rembert to accomplish the work that he, Anskar,
had begun, and to make them companions together in the
Heavenly Zion. After Anskar died, in 865, S. Rembert
was unanimously chosen Archbishop of Hamburg and
Bremen, and he superintended all the churches of Sweden,
Denmark, and Lower Germany. He also began a mission
to the Wends and Sclavonic race of Mecklenburg and
Brandenburg, which was attended with considerable
success. He sold the sacred ornaments of the Church to
redeem captives from the Northmen. On one occasion he
saw a party of these marauders pass, dragging after them a
poor girl, who raised her shackled hands towards the
bishop, and began to chant one of David's psalms. Then
S. Rembert leaped off his horse, and ran to the chief, and

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S. Gilbert.

offered him the horse if he would release the captive
Christian maiden. And this he did, well pleased to obtain
so valuable a horse. S. Rembert died on June nth, in
the year 888.

S. GILBERT OF SEMPRINGHAM, AB.

(a.d. 1189.)

[Roman, Anglican, Belgian, Benedictine, and Cistercian Martyrologies.
Authority : — his life, by a contemporary, published by Bollandus.]

This S. Gilbert, of whom Henricus Chrysostomus, a
Cistercian chronicler, speaks as “ a disciple of Bernard the
mellifluous, a man of apostolical zeal, of most severe and
rigid life, in purity conspicuous, illustrious for his gift of
prophecy, and the mirific performer of stupendous miracles,”
was born about the year a.d. 1083, near the close of the
reign of William the Conqueror. From an apparently con-
temporary pedigree he seems to have been related on the
mother's side to that monarch, who may have rewarded the
services of his father, “ a bold and skilful warrior,” with the
hand of one of his relations, in addition to the manor of
Sempringham, where Gilbert first saw the light. His mother
is said to have received, shortly before his birth, a miracu-
lous presage of the future greatness of her child, a greatness,
however, of which few external tokens would seem to have
manifested themselves during his childhood ; since one of
his biographers relates that as a child he was so dull and
spiridess as to provoke the contempt and ill-usage of even
the servants of his father's household. Driven by this mal-
treatment from his home and country, or more probably
sent from home by the care of his parents, who discerned in
him a greater aptitude for the cloister than for the camp, he
passed some years in Gaul in the peaceful study of letters

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and philosophy. His childish education completed, he
returned to England, and took up his abode with one of his
fathers dependents. Here he fell in love with the daughter
of his host, and gave the first proof of his vocation to the
counsels of perfection ; for finding his passion increase daily
in strength, and fearing lest he should be overcome by it,
he fortified his soul by prayer and fasting ; and then seek-
ing the company of his beloved, he so wrought upon her by
his exhortations and entreaties, that he prevailed upon her
to join him in a vow of perpetual chastity, and she was one
of the first who afterwards became nuns under his rule.

He now took to keeping a school, and gathered together
a number of children of both sexes, to be instructed in the
rudiments of religion, and especially taught them to live an
orderly and pious life in the world, without as yet leading
them forward to the higher life of the cloister; and these
afterwards became the nucleus (primitise plantae) of his
order.

During this time he seems to have lived in the family of
the then Bishop of Lincoln, and to have been admitted by
him to the minor orders of the ministry ; for the next thing
related of him is that being presented by his father to the
united benefices of Sempringham and Torrington he most
willingly accepted the charge, and devoted the whole
revenue of his livings to charitable purposes. Such was the
fervour of his devotion at this time, that it is related that
having one day invited one of his companions to join him
in his prayers, the youth was so fatigued by the length of
the office, and the punctilious care with which Gilbert
genuflected whenever the holy names of God and of Christ
occurred, that he swore he would never pray with him
again.

After a while he was ordained priest by Alexander, Bishop
of Lincoln, who held him in such high esteem that he made

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February 4.] S. Gilbert . IOl

him his confessor, and would have appointed him Arch-
deacon ; but this Gilbert resolutely declined saying, “ that
he knew not of a shorter road to perdition.”

Persevering in his resolve to give his all to the poor, he
now for the first time formally constituted his religious
order, by assembling a number of poor girls, amongst them
the object of his youthful attachment, whom he made
cloistered nuns at Sempringham, and maintained them at
his own cost He next founded a monastery for male
religious, to whom he entrusted all the more responsible
affairs of the order, providing both nuns and monks with a
habit “ expressive of humility.”

To this time of his life we must probably refer his
miraculous escape from death by fire. The story is that a
great fire having broken out either in his own house, or in
the buildings immediately contiguous, Gilbert remained
sitting abstractedly in his window seat, praying and singing
psalms ; the fire devoured all before it until it reached the
spot in which he sat; there its progress was arrested,
and the flames died away on every side, leaving the saint
and his seat unharmed.

His order continued to expand, many religious flocked
to him, and gifts of manors and farms pouring in from all
quarters, many monasteries arose under his rule.

The charge of his Order now became so onerous that he
is said to have attended the general chapter of the order at
Citeaux, in the year 1140, for the purpose of formally
resigning his authority. To this, however, his brother
abbots refused their consent, and Gilbert returned to his
labours, which he was to relinquish only with his life.

A peculiar interest attaches to this chapter, from the
circumstance related by the same writer,1 who tells us
of Gilbert's presence there, that the Pope Eugenius2 was

1 Gofredus in Vita S. Bernardi. * Eugenius III.

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102 Lives of the Saints . [February *

present and took part in the proceedings, “not, however,
presiding as with apostolical authority, but in brotherly love
taking his seat among the assembled abbots, as one of
themselves.”

Returned to Sempringham, Gilbert resumed his life of
prayer and mortification, observing the fasts of the Church
with such rigidity that from Septuagesima to Easter, and
throughout Advent, he not only abstained from flesh-meat,
but even a morsel of fish never passed his lips. He prac-
tised also great austerity with regard to sleep, hardly allow-
ing himself to lie down for months together.

His unwearied devotion and severe asceticism so for-
warded his growth in grace that his influence over the re-
ligious under his authority became almost unbounded ; with
such prudence and persuasiveness was he endued, that he
allayed without difficulty a serious disturbance which arose
in the order from a spirit of insubordination that had
crept in among the lay brethren. Overcome by his skilful
reasonings and loving exhortations, the greater number
returned to their obedience, “ whereas,” the chronicler adds,

“ those who held out and refused to do so, all perished
miserably.” His holiness and his acceptance with God
were also attested by many miracles and wonders. Being
at one time afflicted with a very severe fever, a friend came
to condole with him ; the saint enquired whether he had
ever experienced the sensations of a fever; finding that
he had not, Gilbert asked him whether he would be willing
to take the fever from which he himself was suffering, if
he might be thereby cured. The friend assented, and
returning home, was the next morning seized with the
fever, whereas the saint arose entirely free from it. Another
time, a man suffering from gout was cured by simply wearing
Gilbert's list slippers; and another man, sick of a fever,
was healed by drinking out of his cup.

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February 4.] .S. Gilbert, IO3

Overcome at length by the infirmities of advancing age, he |
resigned the charge of Sempringham to one of his disciples,
Roger by name; but he seems still to have retained his
i authority, as it is mentioned that some time after this, he
gave shelter to S. Thomas \ Becket in one of his houses when
that prelate, worsted in his contest with Henry II., was
wandering about the kingdom in search of means to escape
to the continent He also supplied the archbishop with
money during his exile, thereby drawing upon himself the
displeasure of Henry, who, however, — such was Gilbert's
popularity in the kingdom, — found it expedient to refrain
from any proceedings against him.

At last, in the year 1189, and the 106th of Gilbert's age,
his death drew near, and the man of God, full of years, and .
not less full of grace, prepared to render up his account
with joy. He announced to his disciples his approaching
departure, and on the evening of Christmas Day he was for-
tified with the last sacraments of the Church. The remain-
ing time which God vouchsafed him on earth he devoted
to the edification of others, and during this time many
prelates, and men of various degrees, resorted to him in
order to be consoled by his blessing, and instructed by his
discourse. The night before the day on which he died
“ an immense globe of fire, and an appearance as of many
candles ” were seen to hover in the air over the church of
Sempringham, in which his tomb was prepared. Three
times the appearance descended from above, rising again
twice towards heaven ; the third time it penetrated the
roof of the church, and descended to the floor. Then the
brethren and the nuns knew that the time was at hand
when their abbot must indeed leave them.

And so, on the next day, the 3rd of February, he departed
this life, amid the sighs and lamentations of all, leaving
behind him of religious men about 700, and of sisters in

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[February 4,

religion 1500; all serving God night and day without
ceasing.

He was interred within the church at Sempringham, his
tomb being placed between the two choirs, the monks on
the one side, and the nuns at the other, so that the religious
might offer their prayers at his sepulchre, and continually
bearing in mind his holy life and happy death, might both
be incited to diligence in prayer and good works, and also
might profit by his intercessions for them.

Not long after his death, a certain canon of that order
saw in a vision a brother not long since deceased, who,
among other things, told him of S. Gilbert : “ he is not
amongst us, a different place possesses him ; for from that
place to which he departed (from the world) he has been
translated to the choir of the virgins.”

The veneration in which he was held may be seen in the
eulogium of William of Newbury : —

“ Nor must we in silence pass over the venerable Gilbert,
a man altogether admirable, and of singular skill in the
guardianship of women ; from whom also the order of
Sempringham took its beginning, and its rapid advance-
ment. He, as it is said, from his very youth, by no means
contented with being in the way of salvation himself, but
kindled with a zeal for gaining souls for Christ, began
eagerly to rival the weaker sex in the imitating of God,
deriving his pious boldness from the consciousness of his
own chastity, and his confidence in heavenly grace.

“ Yet, fearing lest he should fail in his enterprise, he first
sought the advice of the holy Bernard, and being instructed
and encouraged by him, he commenced his work, and pro-
ceeding with great prudence and caution, he was mightily
carried forward, both in the abundant multitude of persons
gathered together for the service of Almighty God, and in
the acquisition of temporal things; ‘seeking first,’ as it

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105

is written, * the Kingdom of God and His righteousness,
all necessary things were added to him.’

“ At last he organized a not ignoble monastery of two
servants and eight handmaids of God, which also he
replenished with numerous societies, and, according to the
wisdom given him, furnished it with regular rules. And
truly the gift of instructing the servants of God, divinely
imparted to him, abounded especially in the care of women ;
indeed, in my judgment, he bears the palm in this respect
amongst all whom we know to have devoted themselves to
the instruction of female religious ; moreover, having some
years before been loaded with spiritual gains, the worn-
out bridesman of the heavenly Bridegroom now departed
to the Lord. Further, the multitude of his sons and
daughters in religion still remains, and his seed is mighty
upon earth, and his generation shall be blessed for ever.”
The Order was peculiarly constituted, the men being
Augustinian Canons, and the women following the rule
of S. Benedict.

S. ANDREW CORSINI, B. C.

(A.D. 1373.)

[S. Andrew died Jan. 6th ; he was formally canonized by Urban VIII.,
in 1629, and his festival was transferred to Feb. 4th. Authorities
Two lives, one by a disciple, the other by Friar Peter Andrew Castagna,
written a hundred years after his death.]

Nicolas, a member of the illustrious Florentine house of
Corsini, lived with his pious wife, Peregrina, for some
time without children, which was to them a great grief, and
they besought God to give them that blessing which He
had hitherto withheld. Their prayer was heard, and on
November 30th, 1302, a son was born to them, who
received at the font the name of Andrew, because he was

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bom on the festival of that apostle. His parents, who
regarded him as the child of prayer, had already, before
his birth, dedicated him to the Lord, and sought, in his
childhood, to inspire him with devotion and morality. But
Andrew was possessed of a vehement, independent spirit,
which brooked no restraint, and he grew up to cause them
bitter sorrow by his disorderly life. Nevertheless father and
mother prayed on, hoping against hope. The wild youth
passed for being one among the most dissolute young men
of the city, and was acknowledged as the worst of a bad set,
utterly godless and abandoned. But his parents prayed
on. The mother cast herself before a figure of the Queen
of Heaven, and, in the bitterness of her anguish of soul,
cried, “ Oh, Mother of my Saviour ! Thou knowest how the
soul of my child, for whom thy Son bled, is sinking to
destruction. Thou knowest, Holy One ! how, in his earliest
youth, I dedicated my child to thee, and trusted him to thy
protection, how I have done all that earthly mother can do
to keep him clean and unspotted from the world ! And
now, pity me, weeping over my guilty son, thou, whose
tears flowed for thy innocent Son ! Thou, who art so mighty,
entreat thy divine Son, that mine may be moved to true and
broken-hearted repentance.”

Thus praying, and with streaming eyes, Andrew lit upon
her one day, as he was going forth to the commission of some
new work of evil. He stood still and looked at her, and a
feeling of compunction stirred his heart Then, turning her
reddened eyes towards him, she said, ‘ ‘ 1 cannot doubt it ;
thou art the wolf whom I saw in a dream.”

“ What mean you, mother ?” asked the young man.

She answered : “ Before thou wast bom, my child, I
dreamt that I brought forth a wolf which rushed into a
church, and was there transformed into a lamb. Thy father
and I, on account of this dream, placed thee under the

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February 4.]

S. Andrew .

107

protection of the Mother of God. My son, thou art not
ours, thou belongest not to the world, but only to the
service of God. Oh, would to heaven, that as the first part
of my dream has been fulfilled, the second part might find
its accomplishment also !”

Andrew covered his face, and fell at his mother’s feet,
and sobbed forth : “ Oh, good, pious mother ! the wo\f shall
indeed become a lamb. Thou didst dedicate me to God,
and to Him will I, also, devote myself. Pray, pray for me,
mother, that I may obtain pardon for all my grievous
offences.”

Next day Andrew sought the Church of the Carmelites,
and kneeling before an image of the Holy Virgin, wept
bitterly over his past life, which now appeared to him in all
its bare deformity. And he felt so powerfully called by the
grace of God, that he resolved at once to take refuge from
his evil companions and associations, in the cloister. He,
therefore, sought the convent door that same hour, and
asked to be admitted as a novice. He was received, and
spent his noviciate in constant battle with his passions, and
in trampling out the memory of the past, by not suffering
his mind for a moment to repose on the thoughts of the evil
he had done, save only for the purpose of stirring up
compunction, and abasing himself in profound humility.
After having been received into the Order, he became a
model of self-restraint and earnestness, so that in the year
1328, at the age of twenty-six, he was ordained priest. He
was shortly after appointed to preach in Florence ; and his
fervour and love for sinners produced very astonishing fruit,
in moving many who had lived in sin to turn in sorrow to
the cross, and renounce their evil ways. Andrew was next
sent to Paris, there to prosecute his studies, and was there
invested with the degree of doctor; and after he had
completed his studies with Cardinal Corsini, his uncle, at

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108

Avignon, he returned to Florence, where he was elected
prior of his cloister. His renown as a preacher of righteous-
ness prevailed again, and his sermons produced such an
effect, that he was regarded as the apostle of the land.

After the death of the bishop of Fiesole, the chapter
elected Andrew Corsini to be his successor. But when
the news of his election reached him, he fled away, and
hid himself in a Carthusian monastery. He was sought
for long in every direction, without result, and the chapter,
despairing of finding him, were proceeding with the election
of another, in his room, when a child cried out “ He who
is to be our bishop is praying in the Carthusian monastery.”
He was there sought, and Andrew recognising in this the
will of God, yielded, and, in 1360, was consecrated bishop
of Fiesole.

As prelate, he maintained the same discipline over
himself, and never abandoned the penance he had imposed
on himself for his youthful sins, of reciting daily the
Seven Penitential Psalms, of sleeping on a faggot of vine
twigs, and of never speaking without necessity. But
however severe he was in his dealing with himself, nothing
could exceed the tenderness and love with which he sought
out and dealt with the greatest sinners in his diocese. And
this love which overflowed from his heart rendered him pecu-
liarly successful in reconciling enemies. Knowing this,
Urban V. sent him to Bologna to appease a disturbance
which had broken out between the nobles and the people,
and he achieved this mission with signal success. In his
71st year, as he was singing midnight mass on Christmas
Eve he felt great exhaustion, which was followed by a fever,
from which he died on Jan. 6th, 1373.

Relics, in the Carmelite Church at Florence.

In Art he appears between a wolf and a lamb.

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S. JOAN OF VALOIS, Q.

(A.D. 1505.)

[French Martyrology. The process of her canonization began under
Clement XII., and was completed by Pius VI. in 1775 ; but she was vene-
rated at Bourges from the time of her death.]

Before Louis the son of Charles VII, ascended the
throne of France, his wife, Charlotte of Savoy, bore him
a daughter, called Anne of France. When he succeeded
his father, with the title of Louis XI., he desired greatly
to become the father of a son, and when his wife became
pregnant in the third year after his coronation, his hopes
were at the highest When, however, she gave birth to
a daughter, his disgust manifested itself in bitter antipathy
towards the child, who was baptized Jeanne, or Joan.
When she was eight days old, she was betrothed, May 19th,
1464, according to the custom of the time, to Louis, son
of the Duke of Orleans and Mary of Cleaves, and sent to the
house of her father and mother-in-law. At the expiration
of four years, she was ordered to appear before her father
at Plessis-le-Tours, where she was received by her mother
with love, but when she was brought before her father,
Louis turned from her with contempt, saying, “ Bah ! I
did not think she was so ugly ; ” and he thrust her away.
She was in fact somewhat deformed, and plain in face.
It will be remembered that Sir Walter Scott has' introduced
her into his novel of Quentin Durward, taking, however,
considerable liberties with her history. To such an extent
did the spite of the king manifest itself, that when he
saw how devout his daughter was, and that in her loneliness,
she found comfort in the House of God, he forbade her
frequenting churches and even the castle chapel.

When Joan was six years old, a son was bom to
Louis XI., and this was to her a day of good fortune,

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for her brother became her friend and protector; and
because she was now once more permitted to frequent the
churches. Louis XI. then visited Paris, to thank God
for the birth of his son. Joan was in the splendid retinue
which on this occasion entered the cathedral church of
Notre Dame. She cast herself before an image of Our
Lady, and taking her gold crown from her head, besought
the holy Virgin to be her protector. Then a voice made
itself heard in her soul, “ My daughter, thou shalt found
an Order in mine honour ! ”

The dislike of Louis XI. for Joan increased every day :
the Countess of Linibres was allowed to treat her with
gross contempt ; and the king, once so far forgot himself
as to rush into her room sword in hand, and threaten
to kill her. The Count of Linifcres threw himself between
the king and his daughter, and saved her life, but could
not prevent her receiving a wound, the scar of which never
disappeared. The king retired in shame, and for a while
gave her greater liberty.

In her twelfth year Joan was married, against her will,
to Duke Louis of Orleans ; however she fulfilled her
duties, as wife, to the best of her ability. But her husband,
who had married her for political reasons, made no scruple
of treating her with coldness and contempt; deserting
her almost entirely, that he might spend his time amidst
the pleasures of the court, scornfully remarking that there
was no risk to his honour in leaving his young bride un-
protected, as her diminutive stature and plain face would
be her defence.

Louis XI. died in August, 1483, and his son succeeded
him, as Charles VIII., under the regency of his eldei
sister Anne, who was married to Peter of Bourbon. The
husband of Joan, thinking that the regency ought to
have been entrusted to him, endeavoured to stir up an

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S. Joan.

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insurrection; but was unsuccessful; and knowing that
his life was threatened, fled to Duke Francis II. of
Brittany, the bitter foe of France, and entered into league
with him against Charles VIII. War broke out, and
Joan stood as an angel of peace and reconciliation between
the contending parties. Twice she obtained pardon for
her captured and imprisoned husband, and as often he
returned to his perfidy, — once against his sovereign, and
once against his wife.

After the death of Charles VIII., on April 7th, 1498, the
Duke of Orleans ascended the throne, as Louis XII.
He at once obtained a divorce from Pope Alexander VI.,
by taking an oath that his marriage with Joan was not com-
plete. Joan offered no opposition, rejoicing to see herself
at liberty; and her husband at once concluded another
marriage with Anne of Brittany, the widow of the young
king. As some recompence to his divorced wife, Louis XII.
gave her the Duchy of Berry, besides Pontoise, and other
townships. She resided at Bourges, where she spent her
time in the exercise of charity, to which she devoted her
large revenues.

In 1500, she founded the order of the Annunciation,
for women. S. Joan took the habit herself in 1504, but
died on the 4th of February, 1505 ; and was buried at
Bourges. Her body was tom from its resting place, in
1562, and burned by the Calvinists.

S. JOSEPH OF LEONISSA, C.

(a.d. 1612.)

[Roman Martyrology Authority The Acts of his Beatification, which
took place in 173 7, and those of his canonization in 1746.]

This Saint was born at Leonissa, in the States of the
Church, in 1556. He entered the Capuchin Order, and

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[February 4.

laboured at the redemption of Christian slaves. He died
of cancer, at the age of fifty-eight As the doctors
desired to perform a painful operation on him, to remove
the cancer, they ordered him to be bound, but he placed
his crucifix before him saying, “this is the firmest of all
bonds; it will hold me immoveable. Cut deep, I shall
not flinch.”

B. JOHN DE BRITTO, M.,S.J.

(A.D. 1693.)

[Roman Martyrology. Beatified on August 21st, 1853. The follow-
ing account is epitomised from his life in “ Pictures of Christian
Heroism. ’*]

John de Britto was born at Lisbon, March ist, 1647 ;
he was the son of Don Salvador de Britto Peregra and
Beatrix his wife, both of whom were of noble birth. His
father dying when he was only four years old, he was
committed by his mother to the care of the Jesuits; and
under them grew up full of the grace of God.

At the age of nine he was sent to court in the capacity of
page to Don Pedro, the youngest son of the king, and
probable heir to the throne of Portugal. During the six
years he spent at court, he persevered in the pious habits he
had formed under his mother's roof, and in the Jesuit school,
frequently retiring for private prayer, and attending mass
daily.

By this exemplary course of life he incurred the hatred of
his fellow pages ; for his rigid rule of life was a check upon
their profligacy. They ridiculed his piety, and heaped upon
him persecution, not only by words, but also by blows.
He bore their ill-treatment with great patience; but it
produced an illness which brought him into hourly danger
of death. At the very moment of his agony his patron,

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B. John de Britto .

S. Francis Xavier, at the earnest prayer of his mother,
restored his health. She had from his birth dedicated her
son to the apostle of India, and she now vowed that if her
child were to recover, he should wear the Jesuit habit for
the whole year in honour of his deliverer. When, therefore,
he appeared at court again after his recovery, it was in a
little black robe, with a chaplet of the Blessed Virgin hang-
ing by his side ; and in this garb he served the Prince, and
attended the Jesuit college of S. Antony of Padua. The
people stopped in the streets to see him pass ; not on
account of the strangeness of such a dress on a child, but to
mark his holy and edifying demeanour. When the term of
his vow had expired, he put off the dress, but with the
intention to assume it one day for ever. Notwithstanding
his infirm health, he had long resolved to leave the world,
and lead an apostolic life as a Jesuit, and at the age of
fifteen he carried this resolution into effect. He applied for
admission into the society to the father-provincial, Michael
Tinsco, by whom he was placed in the novitiate at Lisbon.

The Prince, Don Pedro, opposed his resolution, but the
mother rejoiced that her son should possess a vocation for
the Company of Jesus.

It was on the 17th of December, 1662, that John de
Britto entered the novitiate at Lisbon. A no vena had just
commenced in preparation for Christmas. At its close each
postulant had to present the Infant Jesus with a petition,
according to his wants. De Britto wrote his petition
with the others. It was that he might be sent as a mission-
ary to Japan, there to live and labour, and at length obtain
the crown of martyrdom. After two years he took the
three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, having
passed through the novitiate a very model of holiness.

On leaving the novitiate at Lisbon, he went to Evora for
two years, and thence to Coimbra, to study literature and

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114

philosophy. He then removed to Lisbon to teach gram-
mar; and while thus employed, his thirst to go out as a
missionary received an additional impulse from the visit of
Father Balthazar da Costa, who had just returned from
Madura to find recruits. To him he stated the wish of his
heart, and he promised to plead his cause at Rome ; the
consequence of which was that a few months afterwards
orders were received by the father-provincial to despatch
John de Britto, along with several other young missionaries,
in the first ship which should sail for Madura.

John returned hearty thanks to God for the favour, but
his mother was distracted at the thought of losing her
child. She appealed to the provincial, to her son himself,
to the papal nuncio, and to the king, but without effect ;
and at length, fearing to offend God by persisting in her
opposition, she offered him up as the dearest sacrifice she
could render. His departure was fixed for the 25th of
March, 1674. The night before, he paid a visit to his
mother ; but to save her the pang of parting, he forebore to
tell her that it was the last He carefully avoided any
thing which might interfere with his object; and therefore,
instead of joining the other missionaries, when, with a great
crowd of people, they attended church on the banks of the
Tagus, he embarked secretly, and only appeared when all
danger of being delayed was over. He was ordained priest
just before leaving.

During the voyage he won the favour of the captain, and
took advantage of it to exercise his ministry with the utmost
freedom. He had to preach every Sunday, taught the
catechism to the ignorant and the children on board, and
continually engaged the passengers and sailors in exercises
of devotion.

Scarcely had the father set foot on shore, than he ran to
embrace the brethren of the college. Having then paid

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a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, he prostrated himself at
the tomb of S. Francis Xavier, thus gathering fresh ardour
for his apostolic course. At Goa he commenced the
austere life of the Madura missionaries, — which consists in
neither eating flesh-meat nor fish, in sleeping on the ground,
and walking bare-foot, — that he might be ready for his
apostolate when his summons should arrive. In April, 1074,
orders arrived from the father-provincial that he should set
sail for Malabar, with Father Emmanuel Rodriguez and
some other companions.

The mission of Madura, to which Father de Britto was
called, comprised a tract of country two hundred leagues
long by eighty broad. It presented the most arduous field of
labour for the missionary, on account of its extent, the
denseness of the population, the climate and nature of the
country, and the wild beasts with which it is infested.

The inhabitants generally are very intelligent ; they have
made great progress in many sciences, and their Brahmins
are perfectly able to sustain an argument in defence of their
religion. To holiness, devotion, energy, and courage, the
essential qualities of an apostle, the Indian missionary must
add the advantages of a logical mind and a ready wit.

But perhaps the opposition of the Brahmins is less to be
feared by the missionary than the popular veneration for
caste.

The first missionaries in India, not possessing caste, found
it impossible to obtain a hearing. With all their holiness,
earnestness, and zeal, no one would listen to a pariah. It
was reserved for Father Robert de’ Nobili to surmount, or
at least show how to surmount, this obstacle. He was a
Roman Jesuit, nephew of Cardinal Bellarmine, and grand-
nephew of Pope Marcellus II. After carefully studying
the peculiarities of the Brahmins, their laws, traditions,
customs, and tenets, he saw the rock on which his prede-

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1 1 6 Lives of the Saints . [February*

cessors had split He determined to lay aside whatever
should denote his European extraction, and adopt the dress
and mode of life of some class of the natives possessing
caste. First he appeared as a rajah, then as a secular
Brahmin, with a long flowing robe and a silk shoulder-knot ;
but without success. He then discovered that, over and
above caste, a mortified exterior is required to influence the
Indians. He appeared, therefore, partly in the dress of the
Samasks, or Brahmins of Penance ; and in this he was
completely successful. This class is in the highest repute
among the natives ; they are regarded as the masters of the
law, and their word is final. They are distinguished by
their ascetic life, and their renunciation of the pleasures of
the world. They live on a little boiled rice, which they
receive only once a day, at sunset. In this character Father
de’ Nobili converted a vast number of Brahmins.

Father de Britto approved the principle of his great
predecessor, but somewhat varied his practice. He
adopted the dress of the Pandarists, a sect in very great
estimation on account of their ascetism ; they are not held
in equal honour with the Samasks, but they mix more with
the various sects, and their garb therefore affords greater
opportunities of intercourse with the natives. The reader
then must imagine our blessed martyr for the future not in
his own black habit, but in the long yellow wrapping of the
Pandarist.

The Pandarists wear no other garment than a piece of
yellow cloth enveloping the whole figure. This dress
guards them from the dangerous rays of the tropical sun, to
which they are exposed the whole day. They sometimes
wear a cap, an addition absolutely necessary to the Euro-
pean who would avoid a stroke of the sun ; but they walk
barefoot, except on occasions of ceremony, and in crossing
the burning sands of the country, when they adopt a sandal

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of a peculiar construction. It is not fastened by a strap,
but attached to the foot by means of a wooden peg between
two toes. This clog is of little value for purposes of travel-
ling, as it produces violent swellings of the legs and feet ;
but it is useful in crossing the deserts. The Pandarists
allow the beard to grow, which is a mark of distinction in
India, and carry a staff as a symbol of authority. Their
diet is of the plainest kind, and entirely vegetable ; animal
life being held too sacred among them for the purposes of
food, and therefore of course interdicted to all who would
adopt their mode of life.

This rigorous rule might have discouraged souls less
ardent than John de Britto ; but to him no sacrifice, no
painfulness, seemed too great in his Master's service ; and
he cheerfully entered upon it, in spite of his feeble health
and European constitution for the love he bore to Jesus
Christ, and his yearning for the salvation of the idolators.

Father de Britto set sail from Goa for the coast of
Malabar, and landed at Ignapatam ; then through Tanjore,
where he was detained nearly a year by illness, he, passed
on to Ambalgata In the college at this station Father de
Britto, after a retreat of a month, took his monastic vows,
and received his appointment to the Madura mission.

He set out immediately with one other missionary and a
few neophytes for Colli. They suffered excessive hardships
on the route : they had to climb steep and rugged moun-
tains, to pass through forests dense with briers and brush-
wood, and swarming with reptiles, to cross swollen rivers
and pathless deserts; but at length they reached Colli, on
the festival of S. Ignatius.

There he found the plague raging, and he made it the
means of converting very many to the faith by his intre-
pidity in relieving the sufferers. After the pestilence had
ceased, the conversions increased so rapidly, that it became

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necessary to divide the northern and southern district of
the mission, and the latter was committed to Father de
Britto.

His plan was to send on before him two or more cate-
chists to get the work ready ; so that when he arrived him-
self, he might proceed without loss of time. On arriving, he
assembled the Christians and catechumens, and preached a
sermon ; then he visited the sick and dying, and baptized
the infants of Christian parents ; after which he entered the
the tribunal of penance, in which he sat often for twelve
consecutive hours, for the whole neighbourhood flocked, and
made their confessions to him. He preached on all Sundays
and holidays, catechized the children, and passed from
house to house to warn bad Christians, or to resolve the
doubts of inquiring idolators. In the evenings he assembled
the whole congregation to recite the rosary of the Blessed
Virgin, and in this way he made a vast number of converts ;
and when he had stayed long enough in one place for the
requirements of the people, he passed on to some other
station.

In his dress of a Pandarist, De Britto always obtained a
ready hearing, and hence perhaps the great success of his
preaching. But in all these labours he was obliged, by the
universal prejudice against the pariahs, to direct his en-
deavours mainly towards the conversion of the upper
classes. To his great sorrow, he found that even as a
Pandarist he could not openly make proselytes among that
caste without exposing his religion to universal contempt.

He therefore was compelled to recognise their distinctions
in society for the present, in order to establish Christianity
on the broader basis ultimately. But, notwithstanding, he
took care to advance the cause of the pariahs, or lowest and
most despised caste, by showing to the converts the univer-
sality of the Gospel of Christ; and secretly he effected many

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conversions among the pariahs themselves. But the caste-
prejudices of the natives were so strong, that he found
it impossible to overcome them ; and he did not consider
them incompatible with the most sincere acceptance of
Christianity. As the Apostles had for a time consented to
circumcision, the more effectually to recommend the new
faith, — so the Indian missionaries judged it right to waive
for awhile, in the infant state of Christianity in India,
their objection to the social distinctions between man
and man.

In addition to the natural obstacle from caste, and the
ability of the Brahmins, which the Indian missionary has to
encounter, the saint had to labour at a time when the
whole country was convulsed with civil war. Hordes of
savage Indians from the interior traversed the country ; fire
and the sword destroyed whole villages; and the inhabit-
ants, being unable to take vengeance on the real aggressors,
the tide of popular fury set in against the Christians. Thus
it was that in many cases prosperous missions had to be
given up, and the trembling Christians fled to celebrate the
rites of religion in secret places. Solitary chapels rose up
in the depths of the forest, or by the lone riverside, and
thither the faithful repaired with their beloved pastor. But
here they were exposed to a danger from which they had
been free in the cities. The fury of the inundations
rendered their retreats exceedingly perilous. An instance
of this occurred near the river Corolam, where the
Christians, who had been driven from Ginghi, erected
a chapel. De Britto was praying in the chapel with
sixteen of his flock, when the cry was raised that the
building was surrounded with water. They tried to dam
the water out, but unsuccessfully ; and were compelled to
construct a raft out of the beams of the roof, and upon that
they floated to a wood at a little distance, situated on an

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eminence. There they intended to remain till the flood
subsided; but they had no food; and even their place
of security threatened to fail them, for the waters ran with
terrible rapidity, and almost covered the hill ; so one of
the Christians, at the risk of his life, swam back to the
chapel, and succeeded in obtaining a little rice ; this, along
with some bitter herbs, which they procured with difficulty,
was all their sustenance during the three days they were
encompassed by the floods. But this was not all; they
were attacked by a number of serpents, which, driven out
of their holes by the water, sought the same place of safety.

But throughout his missionary career, the blessed De Britto
enjoyed that power over venomous beasts which our Saviour
promised to His followers, and the band of Christians were
unhurt Power over serpents gives its possessor an un-
bounded influence with the Indians ; and this terrible
situation of the little band of Christians, being perfectly
well understood by the idolaters, procured for De Britto a
wonderful reputation. When the waters subsided, the
Christians returned to their chapel, and found it almost
swept away ; but the foundations remained, and they set to
work with such vigour, that in a short time the walls were
raised again, and the chapel was ready for the Christmas
solemnity. Father de Britto, with streaming eyes, thanked
God for their escape, and besought him to look down with
pity upon the struggling society, and prosper the cause of
Christ in his hands.

In consequence of the wonderful success of De Britto,
his superiors would have made him rector of Ambalucata.
This preferment he evaded ; but he accepted the post of
superior of both districts of the mission. His journeys now
became longer and more arduous. He travelled on foot,
and was detained neither by the heat of the sun nor by the
floods in the rainy seasons. Rocky mountains, sandy

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plains, dense forests, broad and rapid rivers were traversed.
At Madura, as he was preparing 200 catechumens for bap-
tism, a band of armed men rushed upon him and took him
prisoner. They struck him with their fists and with sticks,
and kicked him, and threw him into a dungeon with his
hands tied behind his back. But God suffered them not
to hurt him ; and after trying to terrify him with threats of
death, they at length let him go.

Journeying northward, he made a stay at Marava of
three months, in the year 1686, during which he baptized
more than 2000 idolaters; but not withstanding his suc-
cess he was anxious to get on, in consequence of the
accounts which reached him of the ripeness of the natives
for Christianity still farther north. This anxiety was the
cause of a long and painful imprisonment.

At Mangalam the idolaters laid wait for the missionary,
and seized him as he was entering the gates of the city.
They bound him hand and foot with iron chains, and
conducted him immediately to the presence of General
Conmara, the first minister of state of the King of Marava.
This man had an implacable hatred of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ The father was first accused of being a magician ;
but he meekly answered that he was under no guidance
of the spirit of darkness, but that he preached the law
of the true God, the Maker of heaven and earth. The
judge then addressed the two catechists and other church-
men who were taken with him :

“ And you,” he said, “what do you say?”

“ We say the same,” they replied.

For which answer they were all condemned to be
scourged. And so cruelly were they scourged, that some
of them died from the effects. The tyrant then ordered
the others to be confined in dungeons, and loaded with
irons. Afterwards he tried to shake the constancy of

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122 Lives of the Saints .

De Britto, believing that if he could gain over the leader
the rest would follow. After heaping upon him insults
and reproaches, he desired him to sprinkle his forehead
with ashes consecrated to the idols, as that would have
been tantamount to an acknowledgement of their divinity ;
the saint of course refused, and the judge in a fury exclaimed
that he would have him tom limb from limb.

He was then beaten again, and taken back to his
dungeon, laden with irons, and tied to a pillar.

On the fourth day, the persecutors tried a new kind of
torture, common enough in that country. The sufferer
is taken to the bank of a river, and a cord is fastened to
his feet; his hands are tied behind his back, and he is
then allowed to fall into the water; then an executioner
jumps upon his back, and with his whole weight presses
the poor victim to the bottom, where he is kept till he
is almost dead ; next he is dragged out gasping for
breath, and before he has recovered is cast in again;
and so on, at the pleasure of his executioners, always
being dragged out before life is extinct. It is a torture
enough to overcome the staunchest courage. Up to
this moment all the companions of the blessed father
had remained stedfast ; but now one of them, unhappily,
entreated the executioners to let him loose. The wretched
man saved his life at the expense of his faith.

After enduring farther hardships for some days, the
father and his fellow-sufferers were brought into the judg-
ment-hall, where all sorts of instruments had been laid
out to terrify their minds, — axes, scourges, torches, pincers,
knives, and all the horrible apparatus of tortilre. The
sight of these things, however, inspired them with fresh
courage, and a more vehement desire for martyrdom ;
and as the spectacle had only been produced to impress
their minds, they were led back again, the better rather

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than the worse for what they had seen. But the next
day an order came for the execution ; and they were
taken to Paganari to be tortured and put to death. The
executioners began with Valentine, a catechist ; whom they
led full of wounds and with one of his eyes forced out,
to De Britto, and taunted the father with being the cause
of the poor man’s sufferings.

“He is a happy man,” said Father de Britto; “when
will you do the like for me ?”

Amazed at fortitude such as this, the executioners
perceived that while the father lived they could effect
nothing by tormenting the disciples ; and leaving Valen-
tine alone, they cast themselves upon Father de Britto.
Valentine’s sufferings had been very great but they had
reserved a special torture for the blessed father. Hard
by was a flag of pumice-stone, which the sun had heated
up to blister-heat; after beating the missionary violently,
they stripped off his clothes and laid him down upon
this burning stone ; eight of the executioners then jumped
upon his body, so as to press the sharp and heated points
into his back, already raw with the scourges; and then
they took him by the feet and shoulders, and rubbed
him up and down till his back was entirely excoriated.

In this miserable plight he was left to scorch in the sun ;
but a charitable idolater dragged him into the shade ;
and a storm coming on, his murder was deferred till the
following day, and he was thrown back into his dungeon,
more dead than alive. Valentine’s eye was miraculously
cured by the blessed father.

The most ignominious death which a criminal can die
in that country is by impalement; and the idolaters de-
termined to stamp Christianity in India with infamy by
subjecting its ministers to this punishment. The next
morning Father de Britto and his companions were

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marshalled for the execution ; in front marched a detachment
of armed men ; then followed the man of God in irons,
with his eyes raised to heaven and his face beaming with
joy; last came the executioners and an immense crowd
of people. But Almighty God had yet work for him
to do, and suspended the blow as it was about to fall.
A messenger arrived from court, bearing an order to
General Conmara to come immediately to the capital with
all his forces, as an insurrection had broken out against
the government At this news the crowd dispersed, the
soldiers made ready to march, and the officers of justice
retraced their steps with their prisoner. But they revenged
themselves upon him for their disappointment by ill-
usage of every kind. At last, after three weeks, he was
ordered up to Ramanadabouram, the capital, to see the
prince.

On his arrival, he was to his astonishment received
with favour by Prince Ranganadeven. He made the
missionary sit by his side, and explain the principal
doctrines, and practices of the Christian religion. The
prince having listened, said, “I grant you your liberty,
and your companions may go also: worship your God
and preach His law ; but do not preach it in my country.
It is an excellent law ; but it forbids stealing and polygamy,
so it will not suit my subjects. If you dare to disobey
me, depend upon it I will cut off your head.” Thus De
Britto obtained his liberty; and as he thought it best
to obey the prince's injunctions, he left Marava.

When Father Rodriguez, Provincial of Malabar, heard
of the liberation of De Britto, he summoned him to the
pearl-fishery coast, to regain his strength after their labours.
He obeyed, though he would rather have continued in
the mission while any strength remained to him. But his
journey to the coast had been ordered by God. Father

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Francis Paolo, who was returning to Europe in his
capacity of procurator of Malabar, had been shipwrecked ;
and Father de Britto was sent home in his place. He
left the fishery in 1687 ; and after a voyage of ten
months he reached Lisbon in September, 1688, having
been absent fourteen years and a half.

On the news of his arrival, the whole city rose to greet
him, for the fame of his sanctity and heroism had reached
Portugal long before. The king, whose page he had
been, the infanta Isabella Louisa, the ministers of state
and the grandees, the people and the religious orders,
all showed him a thousand marks of respect and honour.

He maintained in Portugal the same mortified habits
which he had formed in India, wore the same dress,
used the same food, and slept on the bare ground. He
set about the work upon which he had been sent home
with great diligence; and in the college of the Jesuits
which he visited, he awoke an extraordinary enthusiasm
among the young men ; even old priests were seized with
the same fervour. Of the volunteers, Father de Britto
selected six, and to that number he added several who
had been missionaries, but were now occupying chairs
in different universities, and whom he wanted to argue
with the Brahmins.

Having once selected his band, he commenced in-
structing them in the details of their work ; and when all
things were ready, and he had obtained larger funds for
the support of this increase to his mission, from the king,
they set sail for India in 1690; but not without great
opposition ; for the King of Portugal would have retained
him at home, first to superintend the education of his son,
and then to promote him to a bishopric — both of which
persecutions , however, as he called them, he happily sur-
mounted. They started with a favourable wind, and the

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126 Lives of the Saints. [February 4.

voyage was at first prosperous; but presently they were
detained by a calm, when their provisions became tainted,
and a fever broke out. The holy father fell ill, and two
of his missionaries died. De Britto, writing home, gave
a horrible account of that voyage, and the miseries they
endured from the sickness of the crew, the stench of the
vessel, the heat and cold, the contrary winds, the incessant
fatigues which they all had to suffer. In his great humility
he attributed them all to his own sins.

On their arrival at Goa, his return was celebrated by
the whole college of Santa and the Christians there
with rejoicings. After a short stay, he passed on to see
the Provincial at the pearl fishery, with whom he held
a council on the plan of his future campaign. In con-
sequence of the maturity of judgment, which the father
displayed on this occasion, he was nominated Visitor of
the mission, and immediately after Easter he set out for
Madura on his new charge. Then he visited in succession
all the stations, encouraged the missionaries, confirmed the
faithful, and converted a great number of idolaters to the
faith of Christ But his chief longings were in the direction
of Marava, where he hoped to find that palm and crown
of martyrdom which five years before had fallen from his
grasp. Thither accordingly he bent his steps.

The kings of Marava and Madura were still at war;
and all the sufferings which he had formerly experienced
under the same circumstances awaited him now upon his
second arrival. Soldiers were ravaging the country, and
he and his flock were compelled to skulk about in the
woods. It is difficult to realize the sufferings which the
holy father endured for several months with so much joy
and resignation. It was his zeal for the salvation of
sinners, and the numerous conversions with which God
accredited his mission, that supported him under all. We

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should scarcely be able to credit the fact, if it had not
been asserted on oath by one of the catechists in the
process of Beatification ; that, in the short space of ten days
the blessed father administered Baptism with his own hand
to twelve thousand idolaters; and more than once his
right hand fell powerless through fatigue.

He established his head quarters in the principality of
Mouni, on the borders of Marava. In order to obtain
for the Maravians a proper place for celebrating the holy
mysteries, he chose a thick forest not far from Mouni,
and there constructed three chapels, to which catechists
were attached for the instruction of converts in Christian
doctrine ; and at night the holy father came to administer
the Sacraments. In a short time he gained to the faith
a vast number of heathen. And Almighty God deigned
to confirm the faith of these converts by the most extra-
ordinary miracles. By the mere touch of the father, devils
were cast out and the sick cured. The same power was
possessed even by the catechists and neophytes. They
read the Gospel over the sick, and made the sign of the
Cross, and God restored them to health.

The report of these wonderful cures reached the ears
of Prince Teriadeven, the real heir to the throne of Marava,
now in the possession of Prince Ranganadeven the usurper,
a young man who had before shown some signs of favour
towards Christianity. Being taken ill, he sent to the
blessed father to come and heal him. The father did
not go at once himself, but sent one of his catechists, to
instruct the prince in the elements of Christian doctrine,
and exhort him to put his whole trust in Jesus Christ,
as at once the Saviour of soul and body. The catechist
went and read the Gospel to him, made him repeat the
Apostles' Creed, and that instant the sickness left him.

Awed by the sudden miracle of which he had been

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the subject, the prince no longer delayed his resolution,
but expressed his readiness at once to be baptized. He
sent to the father and desired to be made a Christian,
and was the more confirmed in his desire when he had
witnessed on the feast of Epiphany a large assembly of
the faithful, and the holy sacrament of Baptism conferred
upon two hundred catechumens. But the missionary,
who knew him to be possessed of five wives, replied that
he could not conscientiously grant him so great a favour
until he had put away all save one, with the firm resolution
of adhering to her alone for the remainder of his life.

The noble Indian upon the spot sent for his wives, selected
the first of the five, who herself wished to be a Christian,
and informed the others of the resolution he had taken
in consequence of his miraculous cure by the holy mis-
sionary. Stupefied at this announcement, they assailed
the prince, now with tears and caresses, then with threats
and reproaches ; but nothing could change his resolution ;
and they went away transported with fury against Father
de Britto, whom they looked upon as the author of their
calamity.

Teriadeven received baptism solemnly with two hundred
of his court This was in the beginning of 1693. Im-
mediately after the ceremony he returned to Mouni, where
a great multitude awaited baptism. The joy of the
Church was raised to its highest pitch by these glorious
conversions, and by the prospect of greater still, when
suddenly there burst out the most terrible persecution
that had yet fallen upon them. It confounded in its fury
the whole of that infant society, and tore from them their
sole support, the holy father, to whom they owed their birth
unto Jesus Christ, and whose hour of martyrdom had at
length Arrived.

In every one of the four wives put away by Prince

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Teriadeven, Father de Britto had raised up an enemy,
who would be satisfied with no sacrifice- short of his
life. But among them all the youngest, who happened
to be the usurper's niece, was the most furious. In a
transport of rage she ran to her uncle and told him of
the outrage she had suffered from the European. Then
she appealed to the Brahmins, who hated him too bitterly
to remain deaf to her cries. They had long nourished
their thirst for revenge, and now they saw an opportunity
of slaking it A consultation was held as to the best
course to be pursued, and it was decided that they should
go in a body to the king, and make a formal complaint
against Father de Britto. They selected Pomparanam to
be their spokesman, an old man, and very spiteful, who
pronounced a set speech on the occasion.

The king saw perfectly well through the motives of the
Brahmins in thus taking up the woman's cause ; but as the
honour of his own family was concerned in the person of
his niece, he acceded to their request He ordered the
Christians to be fined, and their houses to be burnt. The
father had foreseen the storm that was gathering, and had
warned his flock of the danger, but they all refused to
fly. They determined to stand by their dear master, upon
whom they knew the great fury of the persecution would
fall, and if God required it, die with him. The king
despatched four companies of soldiers to seize the mis-
sionary. Three of them advanced to the chapels which he
had built in the woods, where they arrested the catechists
who were in charge of them. The fourth hastened to Mouni,
and there they found the holy father. It was the morning
of the 8th of January, and he was offering, as was his wont,
the Holy Sacrifice, when God revealed to him what was
coming ; and after Mass he addressed the people, and said
that those who had not courage to give up their lives *

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in testimony to the faith of Jesus Christ, had better de-
part at once and hide themselves. He pronounced these
words in so decided and significant a manner, that they
all perceived he had received some definite intelligence,
and, seized with a sudden panic, they all dispersed except
one Brahmin, a convert, and two children, who preferred
remaining with him. In the evening, warning came of the
approach of a troop of mounted soldiery. He knew their
errand, and raising his eyes towards heaven, he offered up
his life as a sacrifice to God, and went forth to meet them.
They seized him violently, and led him off with his three
companions.

In a neighbouring village, there was being celebrated at
that time a grand festival to one of their gods. Thither on
their arrival they drew the Christian victims, and harnessed
them to the triumphal car of the idol, and exposed them to
the jeers of the multitude. Next day they were taken to
the royal city of Ramanadabouram, and there the saint
was incarcerated in a filthy hovel, and with him the three
catechists who had been arrested in the forest chapels.
The holy father embraced them, and exhorted them to
continue firm to the end. The heroism of the two children
is especially recorded. They animated each other to
suffer for Jesus Christ

The imprisonment lasted for several days. Teriadeven
only heard of their captivity when it was too late to avert
it; but he gave orders that they should be treated with
kindness till the king's wishes should be known. Those
orders, however, were not attended to, and the brutal
jailors amused themselves with the sufferings of the mar-
tyrs, and fed them with food which the soldiers rejected.

At last the prisoners were brought before the chief
minister of state. A small crucifix had been found upon
De Britto, and the judge asked him what that image

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represented. “ Tt is the image of my God,” said the
father, “who being immortal and impassible in his own
nature, was made man, and died upon a cross to rescue
us from the slavery of the devil.” At these words the im-
pious wretch threw it down upon the ground in contempt,
and stamped upon it with his feet. The holy man, although
chained and bound, fell upon his knees, and crawling
with difficulty to the crucifix, pressed it to his breast, and
watered it with tears, in reparation of the insult. There
was a great crowd of spectators present, who regarded this
action as a contempt of court, and loudly demanded
sentence. But the judge, not knowing what to say,
ordered the confessors back to prison, and there they
remained for a month.

Prince Teriadeven boldly pleaded their cause before
the king, in face of the personal danger he incurred by
his advocacy of the Christians. Rangadaneven, in a rage,
ordered him at once to adore the gods. The prince
refused, and said he would rather die than again offer the
worship to idols which was due only to Jesus Christ The
tyrant answered that he would soon show which religion
was the most powerful, and forthwith gave orders to the
magicians to prepare a certain incantation considered in-
fallible in its operation, to cause the death of the mission-
ary. The incantation failed, to the shame of the king,
and the discomfiture of his priests ; and Father de Britto
was sent for, and asked whether the failure of the sorcerers
was owing to the enchanted book, meaning the Breviary,
which he was still allowed to* retain in his possession. The
missionary replied that that book was devoted to the praise
of God, and to nothing so hateful as sorcery. The tyrant
ordered the book to be hung round his neck, and the
executioners to shoot at him in the market-place : “ And
we shall see,” said he “whether your God can deliver you/

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I 132 Lives of the Saints . L February 4.

He was led away, and the soldiers were taking aim, when
Teriadeven broke through their ranks, and ordered them to
desist They obeyed, knowing him to be the true owner
of the crown ; and as he was very popular, the tyrant feared
a revolt if he should persist in the execution. De Britto’s
death was accordingly again deferred; and the tyrant ordered
him to be sent to Oureiadeven, his brother, who lived at
Orejour, a distance of two days’ journey from the court,
with instructions that he should be put to death on his
arrival.

The father rejoiced when he heard whither he was going,
for he knew that it was to die ; but he wept at leaving his
dear companions ; they separated, never more to meet
again in this world. He had to travel barefoot, tightly
bound, and surrounded by guards, who hurried him over
rocks and briers, through sand and brushwood. The blood
gushed from the wounds he had received in prison, and
from his torn and blistered feet; but instead of receiving
pity from these wretches, they heaped abuse upon him.

On his journey, the Christians assembled to see him pass,
and receive his blessing.

He arrived at Orejour on the last day of January, and
was immediately taken before Oureiadeven, the king’s
brother. This prince laboured under an incurable leprosy.
Having heard of the missionary’s gift of miracles, he
doubted not that he would gladly purchase his life by
exerting it for his cure. The father replied, that it apper-
tained to God alone to cure disease ; all that he could do
was to apply the remedies, and entreat Almighty God to
bless them ; and he added, that if the prince desired to be
made whole of his bodily disease, he must first heal the sick-
ness of his soul, by accepting the true faith. When the
prince saw that nothing would move the holy man, he turned
to one of his suite named Margharittei, and bade him cut off

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February 4O Z?. J 0 kit de BnttO. 133

his head upon the spot. Margharittei answered, that he
was a Christian himself, and nothing would induce him to
imbrue his hands in innocent blood. Then the prince’s
own wife rushed in, and threatened her husband with the
judgments of heaven if he dared to execute the sentence of
the king. Moved by these remonstrances, he ordered the
servant of God to be carried back to his dungeon.

As soon as this got abroad, the Brahmins, fearing that
their prey might escape their hands, went to the governor
of the town, who was a bitter enemy of the Christians, and
represented the case to him. Mourougapapoullei, for that
was his name, instantly demanded an audience of the
prince, and in the strongest terms reproached him for
not obeying the commands of the king. The cowardly
prince yielded through fear of the king’s displeasure, and
granted the governor leave to execute the sentence of
death. It was on the morning of the 4th of February,
being Ash-Wednesday, that the servant of God was
apprised of his final sentence. At the joyful news, his
countenance lighted up ; he fell on his knees, and re-
turned thanks to God. Then rising up, he said to the
executioners, “I am ready.” He walked to the place of
execution without restraint, and with his Breviary hanging
from his neck, his eyes fixed on heaven, and his steps
so rapid that his guards were compelled to restrain him.
Along the road a multitude of the faithful were waiting
to see him pass.

The spot which had been selected for the martyrdom
was a little hill by the bank of the river, not far from
the city. On arriving there he was allowed by the guards
to retire for a short time to pray. The executioner who
at that moment came up, seeing the servant of God
absorbed in prayer, was afraid to disturb him. More
than a quarter of an hour had elapsed, when the son of

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 4*

the prince ran up and reprimanded the executioner for
his delay in executing the sentence. Then the holy man
approached the side of the river, and, after embracing
the executioner, knelt down, and holding out his head,
said, “I am ready; do as you are commanded.” The
executioner drew his scymitar, and raising his arm, was
about to give the fatal blow, when he perceived the
martyr's reliquary hanging by a cord from his neck.
Taking it for granted that it was some charm which would
ward off the stroke, he had first to remove it; but he
durst not take it away with his hand, lest he should be
bewitched. He therefore severed the string with the
scymitar, and made a frightful gash on the breast and
shoulder. The holy martyr offered to God the first fruits
of his sacrifice; and then the executioner, no longer
fearing any amulet to turn the edge of his weapon, raised
the scymitar and hewed off his head.

This glorious triumph of the faith of Jesus Christ took
place at Marava, on the 4th of February, 1693.

After Father de Britto's death the executioner drove
a stake into the ground, on which he impaled the body ;
and having cut off the hands and feet, he hung them,
along with the head, from the waist The faithful tried
hard to obtain possession of the relics, but in vain ; they
were too well guarded by the soldiers. His crucifix the
martyr had given to a faithful convert, who transmitted
it to Father Laine, and from his hands it reached his
house of profession in Paris. And all that could be col-
lected of the clothing, writing, objects of devotion, and in-
struments of penance were forwarded to the same father,
by whom they were laid up in the Jesuit Church at
Pondicherry, and thence they found their way to Goa.
But it was some time before any fragments of the body
fell into the hands of the Christians. The soldiers kept

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February 4.] B. J okfl de BnttO . 135

guard over the body while it remained impaled on the stake;
but at last a violent storm came on, and the cord which
supported the head and hands broke; the head rolled
into the river, and was saved; but wild beasts preyed
upon the body. When the soldiers had retired, the
catechists came and gathered up all they could find of
the body. In the river they discovered the head; they
bought the stake, on which his limbs had been impaled,
of the soldiers, and the scymitar of the executioner;
this scymitar Father John de Corte brought with him to
Europe a few years afterwards, and presented it to the
king of Portugal, Pedro II. And these are all the relics
that remain of the blessed Father John de Britto.

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136

Lives of the Saints.

[February $.

February S.

S. Agatha, F.M. at Catania, a.d. 351.

S. Agricolaus, B. of Utrecht , beginning of $th cent .

S. A virus, B, of Fienne , in France , circ. a.d. 524.

S. Genuine, B. of Savio, circ. a.d. 640.

S. Bertulf, Ab. at Ghent ; beginning of 8th cent.

S S. Indract, Dominica and Companions, MM. at Glastonbury,
beginning of 8th cent.

S. Vodal, Mk. at Soissoru, beginning of 8th cent.

SS. Domitian, Duke of Carinthia , and Mart, his wife, beginning
of gth cent.

S. Polyeuctus, Pair, of Constantinople , a.d. 970.

S. Adelheid, F. Abis. at Fillich ; circ. a.d. 1015.

SS. Japanese Martyrs, at Nangasaki , a.d. 1592 — 1642.

S. AGATHA, V.M.

(A.D. 251.)

[Roman Martyrology and all others. Famous also among the Greeks.
There are various editions of the Acts of her Martyrdom in Latin and in
Greek. The latter are not as trustworthy as the former, which are very
ancient, and though apparently tampered with by copyists, are on the
whole to be relied upon. The Latin Acts were written by eye-witnesses, as
appears from a passage in them, *' From this we supposed he was her
angel.” There is an older version of the Greek Acts than that given by
Metaphrastes (fl. 867), and there is a sermon on S. Agatha by S. Methodius,
The name of S. Agatha occurs in the Canon of the Roman Mass ; among
the first five Virgin Saints enumerated in Nobis quoque peccatoribus .]

jHE honour of being the birth-place of S. Agatha
is claimed by Catania and Palermo, in Sicily.
The probabilities in favour of either are nearly
equally divided, though there seems to be a
slight superiority in the claims of Catania. It certainly
was the scene of her martyrdom, which took place during
the persecution of Decius in a.d. 251, as all her acts
testify. If these are not in all particulars to be relied
on, their main facts seem to be pretty well established.

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February j.] S. Agatha. 137

According to these, S. Agatha was the daughter of an
illustrious and wealthy house in Sicily, and was famed
for her beauty and her gentle and amiable manners. But
her love was consecrated to God from her very earliest
youth. Quintianus the Consular of Sicily, as the Governor
was then called, admired her exceedingly, and the holy
virgin retired to Palermo to avoid his importunities. As
often happened in those days of heathen cruelty, his
love was turned into hatred when he discovered that she
was a Christian. She was seized and brought to Catania ;
and all the way thither she could only weep and pray
to the Lord to strengthen her for the conflict which
awaited her. Every means was tried during the space
of a month to prevail on her to forget her vow ; but she
was supported by continual prayer, and at last came off
victorious from this lingering martyrdom. She was
privately examined before Quintianus as to her faith,
and confessed Christ with undaunted firmness, declaring the
service of the Lord Jesus to be the highest nobility and
the truest freedom : she was then sent to prison, to which
she went joyfully, recommending herself to God, and en-
treating His aid. The day after she was tortured on the rack,
and suffered with calmness and constancy. And, when
she was put to the cruel torment of having her breasts
cut off, she mildly reproached the inhuman Quintianus
with the remembrance of his own infancy, and with the
tenderness of his mother. She was then led again to
prison, and all sustenance and medical aid were denied
her. Four days afterwards she was put to still further
tortures, and then, being taken back to prison, sweetly
fell asleep in the Lord, and was buried by the people with
great honour.

Relics in Catania, and some in the Church of S. Mery,
at Paris.

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‘38

Patroness of Catania, La Mirandola, and the Order of
Malta.

In Art S. Agatha is represented as a majestic virgin
wearing a long veil, and over this, in early figures, a crown,
the symbol of her victory over death; she usually holds
a clasped book in her left hand, and a palm branch in
the right ; occasionally the place of this latter emblem
is supplied by a pair of pincers, having a nipple between
the teeth, in allusion to the fearful torture to which she
was subjected. Sometimes she carries both her breasts
cut off in a dish, or a sword is passed through then*.

S. AVITUS, B. OF VIENNE, C.

(about 524.)

[Not to be confounded with S. Avitus, P. of Orleans, commemorated on
June 27th. Roman Martyrology, Usuardus, Gallican, German, and others.
Commemorated at Vienne on August 20th. Authorities : — S. Gregory of
Tours. Hist. lib. i. c. 2 ; and his successor Ennodius.].

S. Avitus was the son of S. Hesychius, archbishop
of Vienne after S. Mammertus, who baptized him. He
succeeded his father in the archiepiscopal throne in 490.
Ennodius, his successor, says that he was a treasure of
learning and piety ; and adds that the Burgundians having
crossed the Alps, and carried off a large number of captives,
this holy prelate spent all his revenue in redeeming as
many as he could. Clovis, king of France, though still
a pagan, and Gundebald, king of Burgundy, though an
Arian, held him in high veneration. The latter, for
fear of offending his subjects, durst not embrace the
Catholic faith, he nevertheless did all in his power to
advance the cause of Catholicism, and in a public con-
ference at Lyons, in his presence, S. Avitus boldly pro-
claimed the divinity of Christ and reduced the Arian

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February 5.]

•S. Bertulf

139

bishops to silence. Gundebald died in 516. His suc-
cessor Sigismond was brought over by S. Avitus to the
true faith. When this king had executed his son Sigeric
on a false charge, brought against him by his stepmother,
S. Avitus wrought by his exhortations so great a change
in the passionate prince, that he retired to Agaunum, now
S. Maurice, in the Valais, where he lived the life of a
recluse in a cell on the face of the precipice above
the monastery he had built at its foot

Most of the works of S. Avitus have been lost, but a
poem by him in praise of virginity, some epistles, and
fragments of homilies remain. It is a blot on the memory
of the saint, that with fulsome flattery he excused the murder
of his brothers by Gundebald. See June 3, p. 26.

S. BERTULF, AB.

(beginning of 8th cent.)

[Additions to U suardus and some editions of the Martyrology of Bede. No
authentic account of S. Bertulf exists. All known of him is from a life written
in 1703, from old materials, but of what authority it is impossible to decide.]

S. Bertulf is said to have been an abbot at Renescure,
where the church is dedicated to him. He is regarded
also as the patron of Harlebeke, near Courtrai. Renescure
is a village on the canal between Aire and S. Omer.
His body was taken to Ghent, where it was enshrined
in an iron coffin, and for many centuries it was believed
that on the approach of danger to the city, the dead
abbot knocked against the side of his iron shrine. His
bones were scattered by the Calvinists in 1578. S.
Bertulf is represented in art in monastic habit distributing
alms, with an eagle over his head with wings expanded,
a legend relating that he was thus protected from rain
in a heavy shower.

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140 Lives of the Saints . [February *

SS. INDRACT AND COMPANIONS, MM.
(beginning of 8th cent.)

• [Ancient English Martyrologies. Authority : — William of Malmesbury,
and Capgrave.]

Of old, on the 5 th of February, were commemorated
in the famous monastery of Glastonbury, S. Indract, S.
Dominica, and nine companions, martyrs. He was of
royal extraction, son of one of the kings of Ireland ; but
quitted all this world could give for the love of God.
He left his country, with his sister Dominica or Drusa,
and seven, or according to another account nine, com-
panions, and settled at Skipwith near Glastonbury, in
Somersetshire, where they lived a retired and eremitical
life. At length, some wicked men, thinking to meet with
great booty, murdered them at night; and to conceal
their villainy, cast the bodies into a deep pit But a
column of light standing over the place warned the
neighbours that some sacred bodies lay there, and the
relics were , removed to Glastonbury, in the reign of king
Ina.

S. ADELHEID, V. ABSS. OF VILLICH.

(ABOUT A.D. 1015.)

[Cologne Kalendar, and additions to Usuardus. Commemorated with
special office at Villich on the Rhine, opposite Bonn. She is variously
called Adelheid, Alkeid, Adelaide, Alheidis, and Aleidis. Her local name
at Villich is S. Alen. Her life was written by a contemporary, one Bertha,
a nun in her convent.]

This holy virgin was the daughter of a Count Megingand
of Gueldres, and became abbess of the convent of Villich,
founded by her father and mother. Her piety, charity,

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February so 7/fo Martyrs of Japan.

141

and gravity are celebrated by Bertha, the nun who wrote
her life. She died in 1015. The church and nunnery
were burnt in the war between Truchsess Gerhard, the
apostate archbishop of Cologne, and the archduke Ernest
of Bavaria, and again by the Swedes in the Thirty years’
war. It is not known what has become of her relics.

THE MARTYRS OF JAPAN.

(a-d. 1597.)

[Roman Martyrology. Pope Urban VIII beatified 26 of these martyrs
in 1627. On June 8, 1862, the twenty-six were canonized as Saints. These
were Peter Baptist, Martin d'Aguera, Francis Blanco, Philip de Las Casas,
Gonzalez Garcia, Francis de S. Miguel, all of the Order of S. Francis ;
Cosmo Tachegia, Michael Cozaki, Paul Ibarki, Leo Carasumo, Louis, a
child, Antony, a child, Thomas Cozaki, also a child ; Matthias, Ventura,
Joachim Saccakibara, Francis Miaco, Thomas Dauki, John Kimoi, Gabriel
Duisco, Paul Suzuki, Francis and Paul Sukegiro, all these Japanese ; also
Paul Miki, John de Gota, and James Quigai, Japanese Jesuits. Authorities :
Numerous contemporary accounts. The following account is epitomised
from the history of the Japanese missions by Miss Cecilia M. Caddell.

In the brief space accorded us it is impossible to give anything like a full
account of this wonderful history. We refer our readers to Miss Caddell's
most interesting account.]

The history of the brief existence of Christianity in
Japan and of the terrible persecution by which it was
utterly extirpated in that island, is at once a melancholy
and a glorious episode in the annals of the Church. In
the Japanese we behold the most highly-gifted of the
Asiatic races of modem times receiving the Gospel with
a joy and a fervour which remind us of primitive ages,
when thousands in one single day would run at the divine
call to fill the apostolic net, and when the multitude oi
the faithful, serving God with one heart and one soul,
resembled rather the chosen few who in later days have
left the crowd to follow the higher path of evangelical

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142 Lives of the Saints. [February s.

perfection, than the mass of ordinary believers. But if
the Japanese excite our admiration in their willing re-
ception of gospel-truth, and their fervour in obeying its
precepts and counsels, no less, or rather still more exalted
are the feelings with which we must regard the spirit in
which they met the fiery trial which came upon them.
Never in the times of the old pagan persecutions was a more
glorious spectacle exhibited of men, women, and children,
rushing to claim the martyr’s palm, and seeking sufferings
and torments as others seek honours and pleasures.

Wonderful are the ways of the Almighty, and inscrutable*
as wonderful ! The conversion of China, for which S.
Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Indies, had long and
ardently sighed, was denied to his prayers; while that
of Japan, of which apparently he had never even dreamed,
was given to him unasked. China was the object of all
his wishes and aspirations, — the promised land of his
spiritual ambition. It was in his dreams by night and
his thoughts by day, — the subject alike of his penance
and of his prayers ; when a young Japanese, tormented by
remorse of conscience for a crime committed years ago,
and forgotten probably by everybody but himself, arrived
at Malacca, where the Saint then was, and throwing
himself at his feet, besought of him that peace and pardon
which his native bonzes had been unable to bestow.

The great heart of Francis exulted at the prospect of
winning another empire to the banner of his Divine
Lord; while his vivid faith saw in the sinner who had
thus sought him from afar a direct ambassador from
Heaven, which had doubtless pursued this youth with
the fear of retribution, not for his sake alone, but also
to effect the conversion of the idolatrous nation repre-
sented in his person. Two years afterwards, on the Feast
of the Assumption (1549), he and his chosen companion,

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February 5.] The Martyrs of Japan .

143

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Father Cosmas de Torres, landed at Kagoxima, the birth-
place of the youth who had come to Francis, and who,
under his new name of Paul, accompanied the fathers as
their guide and interpreter to the nations of Japan.

So the little seed of the Word of God was sown in
Japan, and from the time of this visit, Jesuits freely entered
Japan, and were established by Papal brief as the chief
missionaries for that country. Their eminent success is
said to have been based upon their invariably laying
down a solid educational foundation, and securing the
careful training of the scholars who flocked to them. To
each mission were attached a public school, in which
Christian doctrine, literature, and ecclesiastical and secular
music were taught, and wherever unusual capacity was
evinced, the missionaries gathered those boys together in
their own houses, and there instructed them how to make
mental prayer, to practise virtue, to avoid and overcome
sin, and excite the spirit of penance. Every Friday the
boys went in procession to the churches, singing psalms
and motetts. In this way, the fervour generally induced
by corporal austerities, and the generous, uncalculating
devotedness flowing from the continual thought of Christ's
Passion, sprang up in full vigour from the very beginning
of the missions, and ripened to its legitimate harvest,
while to die for Christ became the habitual aspiration
of the child-neophytes of Japan.

Meanwhile, no foreboding of coming reverses, or dread
of trials which might prove fatal, hindered the generous
missionaries from their work. Like the Apostles and their
early successors, they went about from day to day, literally
fulfilling our Lord's commands to carry neither purse nor
scrip, nor to provide two coats, nor to abide in any one
place, except for the good of the souls around them.
When persecutions sprang up in one town or territory, they

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 5.

took their crucifixes and their breviaries in their hands,
and went on to another, doing whatever good was nearest
at hand, and leaving all the consequences of it to God to
make fruitful or not As in the early ages of the Church,
noble women were continually raised up to do great things
for Christ, and to show forth that perfection of love in
weakness and childlike faith by which good women so
peculiarly glorify God. One of them, Maria Kiogscou,
gained two sons, a daughter, and a daughter-in-law to the
faith, and her house became the centre of good works and
alms-deeds, and a place of meeting for all the upper classes
in Osaka, most of whom either actually declared them-
selves Christians, or shielded and helped those who did.
Another noble lady named Julia, being accustomed to
frequent the houses of the nobility at Meaco, baptized great
numbers of other ladies with her own hands, and in-
structed a crowd of young people in Christian doctrine.

One fact, strikingly like those of the first centuries of the
faith, is told of a Japanese physician, who happening to
read a book lent by one of the missionaries to a friend of
his, became convinced that there was only one true God,
but as the book was not one of doctrine, he learnt no more
than this for four years. Every morning and evening he
knelt and down and prayed to the “ one true God,” and as
soon as he knew what to do, he applied for instruction at
Osaka, and was baptized.

The persecution, sometime brooding, broke out first in
Fingo, and the governor, with assumed gentleness, issued
certain papers for all his subjects to sign. Those who
firmly refused were seized, carried away from their homes,
and banished. They must have taken refuge on some
other governor's territory, or on a wild border-land, for
the band of exiles built themselves miserable straw-wattled
huts, and there lived as they could, without food 01

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February 5.]

The Martyrs of Japan.

necessaries, and deprived of all countenance and sympathy
whatever, as any one speaking to them was threatened with
severe punishment In this condition, their courage and
constancy was unbroken, and as soon as it was possible, a
Japanese Priest, Father Luis, visited them in the disguise of
a peasant, and comforted them very much. The bishop
then sent them books and other things, with beautiful
letters, exhorting them to persevere, looking to the reward
they would surely earn. Some of the letters written in
return are very touching and beautiful, expressing the
strongest desire for martyrdom, and humbly wondering that
any among themselves should be reckoned worthy of so
great a grace as to be “ the first fruits of Japan.”

They were at length allowed to depart to the town of
Nangasaki, where they were received with tenderness by the
bishop and clergy. Scarcely had the exiles reached this
asylum, ere another edict was published in Fingo, command-
ing all the remaining Christians to apostatize. Death was
to be the penalty of a refusal ; and two noblemen, named
John and Simon, were chosen as examples of severity to
the rest Both were friends of the governor to whom
the order had been intrusted, and he did what he could to
save them. “ If they would but feign compliance with the
king's decree,” or “ have the ceremony privately performed
at their own houses,” or “ bribe the bonze to allow it to be
supposed that he had received their recantation,” — each of
these alternatives was as eagerly urged as it was indignantly
rejected.

The execution of John took place in the presence of the
governor; and from the chamber, still reeking with the
blood of one friend, he went to the house of the other on a
similar mission, and with equal reluctance.

Simon was quietly conversing with his mother when the
governor entered ; and the latter could not refrain from

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146 Lives of the Saints . [February 1

beseeching that lady to have pity upon them both, and by
advising compliance with the king's commands, to spare
herself the anguish of losing a son, and himself that oi
imbruing his hands in the blood of a friend. The appeal
was made in vain ; and the governor left the house, in-
dignantly declaring that by her obstinacy she was guilty ol
the death of her son. Another nobleman entered soon
afterwards, charged with the execution of the sentence.
Jotivava was a friend of Simon's, and he proceeded with
what heart he might to his sad and revolting duty. Know-
ing his errand well, Simon received him with an affectionate
smile, and then prostrated himself in prayer before an
image of our Saviour crowned with thorns, while his wife
and mother called for warm water that he might wash, —
a ceremony the Japanese always observe upon joyful
occasions. His wife Agnes, falling upon her knees, be-
sought her husband to cut off her hair, as a sign that she
never would marry again. After a little hesitation, he
complied with this request; prophesying, however, that
she and his mother would soon follow him to heaven;
and then, accompanied by the three Giffiaques, or officers
of the Confraternity of Mercy, whom he had summoned
to be present at the execution, they all entered the hall
where it was intended to take place. Michael, one of the
Giffiaques, carried a crucifix; the other two bore lighted
torches ; and Simon walked between his wife and mother,
while his disconsolate servants brought up the rear.

Simon and his friends recited the litany ; and then,
bowing before a picture of our Saviour, until his forehead
touched the ground, the nobleman, who acted as exe-
cutioner, took off his head at a single blow. Foreseeing
that her own death would speedily follow upon his, Agnes
and her mother continued in prayer, the three Giffiaques
remaining in attendance, in order to be able to assist at

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February 5.] The Martyrs of Japan.

147

their execution; and, in fact, twenty-four hours had not
elapsed before it was told them they were to die on the cross ;
the officer who came to acquaint them with their sentence
bringing with him Magdalen, the wife of John, and Luis,
a little child whom the latter had adopted as his own, both
of whom were condemned to a similar fate.

With eager joy the prisoners embraced each other,
praising, and thanking God, not only that they were to
suffer for Jesus, but also that they were to suffer on a cross
like Jesus; and then, robed in their best attire, they set off
for the place of execution in palanquins which the guards
had provided for the purpose. The Giffiaques walked at
their side. Jane, the mother of Simon, besought the
executioner to bind her limbs as tightly as possible, that
she might thus share the anguish which the nails inflicted
upon those of Jesus ; and she spoke from her cross with so
much force and eloquence, that the presiding officer, fear-
ing the effects of her words upon the people, had hei
stabbed, without waiting for the rest of the victims. Luis
and Magdalen were tied up next. They bound the child
so violently that he could not refrain from shrieking ; but
when they asked him if he was afraid to die, he said he
was not ; and so they took and set him up directly opposite
his mother. For a brief interval the martyr and her adopted
child gazed silently on each other; then, summoning all
her strength, she said, “Son, we are going to heaven:
take courage, and cry, ‘Jesus, Mary!’ with your latest
breath.” And again the child replied, as he had done be-
fore when, on leaving their own home, she had made him a
similar exhortation, “ Mother, you shall be obeyed !” The
executioner struck at him first, but missed his aim ; and
more than ever fearing for his constancy, Magdalen ex-
horted him from her cross, while Michael, standing at its
foot, spoke words of comfort to him. But the child needed

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 5

not their urging ; he did not shriek again, nor did he shrink,
but waited patiently until a second blow had pierced him
through and through ; and the lance, yet reeking with his
blood, was directly afterwards plunged into the heart of his
mother, whose sharpest pang had probably already passed
on the instant when the son of her love expired before her.

And now the fair and youthful Agnes alone remained,
kneeling, as when she first had reached the place of exe-
cution ; for no one yet had the courage to approach her.

Like the headsman of her namesake, the loveliest child of
Christian story, her executioners could only weep that they
were bid to mar the beauty of any thing so fair; their
hands were powerless to do their office; and finding at
last that no one sought to bind her, she went herself and
laid her gently and modestly down upon her cross. There
she lay, waiting for her hour, calm and serene as if pillowed
on an angel's bosom, until at length some of the spectators,
induced partly by a bribe offered by the executioner, but
chiefly by a bigoted hatred of her religion, bound her, and
lifted up her cross, and then struck her blow after blow,
until beneath their rude and unaccustomed hands she
painfully expired. For a year and a day the bodies were
left to hang upon their crosses, as a terror to all others of
the same religion; but Christians were not wanting to
watch the blackening corpses, and, with a love like that of
Rizpah, the mother of the sons of Saul, to drive from thence
the fowls of the air by day, and the beasts of the field by
night; and finally, when the period of prohibition was
expired, reverently to gather the hallowed bones to their
last resting-place in the church of Nangasaki.

The Giffiaques were the next who felt the tyrant's rage.

The governor himself urged on their punishment, for the
loss of his friends had made him furious; and, attributing
• it entirely to the fact of their religion, he resolved to wreak

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his vengeance upon all others who professed it “What
shall I do with these men ?" he cried, in a kind of savage
perplexity, upon being told that the Giffiaques had rather
courted than evaded their imprisonment: “Death they
rejoice in, as in the acquisition of an empire, and they go
to exile as a slave to freedom. The cross is a royal
throne, which they mount with pleasure and occupy with
pride. I will therefore contrive for them a fate which shall
make death, under any form whatever, a boon to be
desired, but not to be attained.” Within the city walls
there was a prison which the king had constructed for the
reception of his debtors. Open on every side, its inmates
were exposed both to the curious gaze of the passing
crowds, and to the suffering of alternate heat and cold, as
summer or winter revolved over their heads. There,
huddled together in this enclosure, the prisoners lay, not
upon mats, nor yet upon the damp cold earth, which in
comparison would have been a mercy, but upon heaps of
horrible filth, the accumulation of many years; for by a
hideous cruelty of invention, the monster would never
permit the cleansing out of these loathsome places,, hoping
by the disgusting condition of their dungeon to extort a
speedier payment from his victims. Into this den of
suffering the governor cast the three Christians whom he
had selected for his prey, never doubting that they would
be soon subdued by the anguish of a life more terrible
than the most lingering and painful death ; and so for years
the Giffiaques lingered on, breathing this infected air —
pillowed, sleeping and waking, on the loathsome dung
which matted all the pavement, feeding upon such dry
crusts and filthy water as their jailors chose to give them ;
until at length one among them died, and then the tyrant,
weary of such willing victims, commanded the other two to
be cut in pieces.

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According to the usual custom of Japan, their children
were condemned to suffer with them ; and however hateful
such a practice must appear to the natural heart of man, yet
was it ever to the martyrs a most welcome boon ; for theirs
was a Christian as well as a parental love, teaching them
to set the spiritual above the temporal welfare of their
children, and therefore rather to rejoice in, than simply
to meet with calm submission, that double condemnation
which, by uniting the fate of their little ones with their own,
snatched them from any future chance of perversion, and
put them at once in possession of their heavenly kingdom.

One of these little victims was sleeping when they came
to fetch him : he was only six years old, and so tiny,
that he had to run as fast as he could in order to keep
up with the soldier who conducted him to execution ;
yet, so far from being frightened at his fate, he even gazed
without dismay on the disfigured corpses of his father,
uncle, and cousin, who had all suffered ere he reached the
spot ; and then, kneeling down and joining his hands
together, looked up smiling in the face of him who was
to lay him at their side. That look disarmed his exe-
cutioner. The man suddenly sheathed his sword, declaring
that he had not the heart to perform his office ; and when
two others sought to do it for him, they also burst into
tears, as that innocent smiling face met their downward
gaze ; nor was the deed accomplished until a common
slave, compelled by force to the odious duty, literally
hacked and hewed the poor infant to pieces.

While these scenes, and scenes like these, were con-
stantly recurring at Fingo, the kingdom of Firando was
likewise giving its quota of martyr-triumphs to the Church ;
Damian, a blind man of Amangucchi, being almost the
first to lay down his life for the faith. From the time when
the Jesuit fathers were forcibly driven out of that city, the

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151

entire management of the infant mission had devolved
upon this poor old man, whose life was henceforth passed
in preaching, catechizing and baptizing, visiting the sick,
and burying the dead, and doing as much of the work
of a zealous missionary as could be accomplished by any
one lacking holy orders. This was sufficient for the tyrant,
and Damian received his choice between Christianity and
death on the one hand, and on the other apostasy and life,
with all that could make life most desirable to the heart of
man.

The brave old Christian was not long in making his
choice ; and he died for a testimony to the faith, as he had
lived for its propagation, his body being cut to pieces, in
order to prevent the other Christians from collecting his
relics for more honourable interment.

His death was the signal for innumerable other massacres
in this and other kingdoms of Japan ; but nowhere was the
heathen enmity more unrelentingly displayed than in the
once flourishing and Christian kingdom of Arima. The
king of that country, Michael, was mean, heartless, and
ambitious, and exerted his authority and power every day
in committing fresh acts of cruelty against the Christians
of Arima. Under the guidance of his chief minister
Safiori, he had already pulled down the churches, over-
thrown the crosses, sent hundreds of the principal Chris-
tians into exile, and banished the Jesuit fathers, to whose
influence he attributed their constancy in the struggle;
and having thus, as he hoped, destroyed every landmark
to which they could confidently look for guidance, he
published an edict commanding them all to embrace
idolatry or die. At the first mutterings of the coming
storm, the Christians, by general consent, had enrolled
themselves in a confraternity, styled especially “of mar-
tyrs,” because, beside the usual practices of prayer, fasting,

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[February 5.

and penance, common to all similar associations, the
members pledged themselves to suffer loss of property,
banishment, or martyrdom itself, faithfully and joyfully, for
the name of Jesus. This confraternity afterwards extended
itself over other parts of Japan ; and it was even adopted
by the little children, who were destined to play nearly
as prominent a part in the coming persecutions as their
parents themselves, and to whom it was therefore given
by the J esuit fathers, with rules and practices adapted to
their tender years. Thus prepared and strengthened for
the struggle, the Christians waited in patient courage its
commencement ; and they had not long to wait

Michael sent first for a nobleman of the name of Thomas,
renowned for his prowess both by sea and by land, and
with every art of persuasion in his power, sought to induce
him to yield obedience to his orders. The blunt soldier
listened impatiently to the miserable sophisms of his
chieftain, and then flatly told him, that as a soldier
would be deserving of death for deserting his colours,
so he should consider himself the most despicable of
human beings, if for fear or favour of earthly monarch
he could desert that King of kings to whom on the day
of his baptism he had sworn allegiance ; ending (so great
was his indignation that he could not contain himself)
with a rough speech, to the effect that he hated traitors
as he hated treason, and would prefer death itself to
the baseness of committing the one, or of being associated
with the other. Such a speech to such a man the Christian
well knew could only be uttered at the hazard of his head ;
no sooner, therefore, had he left the royal presence, than
he sent for one of the Jesuit fathers, then lying hid in
the city, and prepared himself for death. When urged
by his friends, for his own sake, and for the sake of his
family, who would otherwise be involved in his ruin, to

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February so The Marty rs of Japan,

seek safety by flight, he answered with characteristic
spirit, “that so far from fleeing martyrdom, he would
go to the end of the earth to seek it ; and that he loved
his children all too well to think of depriving them of
a blessing which he coveted for himself above the empire
of the world.”

The next day the governor of the city invited him
to dinner (so strangely do they manage these affairs in
Japan); and Thomas, well aware of his approaching fate,
took an affectionate farewell of his wife and children before
accepting the ominous invitation. While he sat at table,
his host presented him with a sword, asking his opinion
as to its capabilities for the decapitation of a human head.
Thomas, looking at it carelessly, pronounced it well
made, and fitted for such a work ; whereupon the governor
receiving it out of his hands, stabbed him dead on the
spot A few hours afterwards his brother, quite as un-
compromising a Christian as himself, suffered a similar
fate; his mother Martha and his two young sons were
also condemned; while his wife and daughter were, by
a caprice of mercy, or perhaps of cruelty, exempted from
the sentence. Very different from the ordinary effects
of such opposite judgments were the feelings elicited by
them on the present occasion : those who were to die
blessed God, in an ecstasy of pious joy, that He had
called them to suffer for the faith ; while she who was to
live — a widow, and now all but childless — gave way to
an agony of grief at the double loss she was destined to
endure. While she wept over her cruel lot, Martha
called her grandchildren, and embracing them tenderly,
told them, that as their father had died for Jesus Christ,
so she and they were now to do the same, and then to
go and live with him in heaven. The children quietly
answered, “that there was nothing which they wished

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 5.

for better;” asking, at the same time, “when it was to
be.” “Just now,” she said; “so go and take leave of
your mother, and prepare yourselves for death.” With
smiling countenances, the children hastened to obey ; and
having distributed their toys among their playfellows,
and made some parting presents to their nurses, they
clothed themselves in the white robes which Martha had
taken care to provide for the occasion, and knelt before
their mother, saying “Adieu, dear mother; we are going
to be martyred.” She was weeping at the instant as if
her very heart would break; but fearing to discourage
her children, or cast the shadow of her own maternal
grief over their coming hour of trial, she embraced them,
saying, “ Go, dear children ; and remembering Him who
died for you, tread courageously in the footsteps of your
father and your uncle. Behold them stretching out their
arms to help you ; behold the saints and angels with
crowns prepared to set upon your heads; behold Jesus
Christ Himself inviting you to His most sweet embraces ;
and when you reach the place of execution, show your-
selves to be indeed His followers by your contempt of
death. Fall on your knees, loosen your collars, join your
hands, bow down your heads, and cry out Jesus! Mary!
with your latest breath. Oh, how wretched am I that
I cannot be with you in that hour ! ” Then, hiding
her face in the arms of her little ones, the poor mother
burst into an uncontrollable fit of weeping, moving the
very soldiers to such compassion, that, fearful of yielding to
their feelings, they tore the children from her embraces,
and almost threw them into the palanquin which was to
convey them and their grandmother to the place of exe-
cution. During the short transit thither, that venerable
Christian took care to occupy the little victims in prayer
and pious ejaculations; nor did she cease her guardian-

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February so The Martyrs of J ap an. 155

care when they reached the fatal spot ; for she stood and
saw them one by one butchered before her eyes, and then,
advancing with a grave and stately pace, she in her turn
submitted to the sword.

After this execution, eight of the principal citizens of
Arima were summoned to the presence of their king,
and there commanded to abjure the faith; while he,
persecuting tyrant as he was, had the face to tell them
that he only required an external submission, since he
too was in heart a Christian like themselves, though
compelled for the present by the emperor's orders to
conceal his faith. Five out of the eight agreed to this
infamous proposal; but four of them afterwards sincerely
repented. The others were not to be cajoled out of their
convictions, and were consequently condemned with their
families to the penalty of fire. As soon as their sen-
tence was made known at Nangasaki, one of the Fathers
came privately to Arima to give spiritual succour to
the captives, and thousands of Christians also flocked
from every part of the country to witness their execu-
tion.

Never before perhaps had the Church presented such
a spectacle to the world ; and possibly never will she
offer such another again. For three whole days that vast
multitude remained camped in the open fields, patiently
waiting for the execution of their brethren ; but their
presence struck terror into the heart of the craven king ;
and dreading lest they should either rescue the prisoners
or seize upon the town, he faltered in his purpose. It
never occurred to him that they of whom he feared
such things would as soon have thought of robbing him
of his material crown as of depriving the martyrs of their
palm; they had, in fact, been careful to come without
even their ordinary weapons of defence, in order to avoid

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156 Lives of the Samts . [February 5.

the possibility of a doubt as to their peaceable intentions ;
and no sooner did they suspect the cause of the delay,
than some of the gravest of their number waited on the
governor to explain that they were merely there to witness
the ceremony, and to promise that there should be neither
tumult nor resistance if they were permitted to remain.
Thus encouraged and reassured, preparations for the
martyrdom went on apace. A wide plain just beneath
the castle of the town was chosen for the purpose; the
prisoners were confessed and communicated by a Jesuit
father ; and on the day appointed they came forth, dressed
in their robes of ceremony, and with their hands tied
behind their backs, accompanied by upwards of 40,000
Christians, bearing lights in their hands and garlands on
their heads, and singing the Litanies of our blessed Lady
as they went along. Among the victims was a boy not
more than eleven years old, and a young girl called
Magdalen, who having already made a vow of virginity,
had always led a life holy and pure as that of the martyr-
virgins of old.

These children, as well as their elder companions, all
affectionately embraced the stakes to which they were
afterwards tied; then Gaspar, the chief of the Confra-
ternity of Martyrs, unrolling a banner upon which was
displayed a figure of the Son of God, bound like them-
selves to a pillar, made them a brief exhortation to per-
severance; and even as he was speaking, fire was set
to the piles of combustible materials, which had been laid
at a considerable distance from the martyrs, for the cruel
purpose of prolonging their tortures. As the first gleam
of this fearful element of death shot upwards to the
skies, the entire multitude fell with one accord upon
their knees; and still, as the fire drew near its victims,
the plain re-echoed with the oft-repeated “Jesus! Mary ! *

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February 50 The Martyrs of Japan.

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— “ Jesus! Mary!” of the spectators, who sadly struck
their breasts in penance for their own sins, and to obtain
the grace of perseverance for their brethren. Nearer and
nearer yet it hurried ; but even above the roar of the
rapidly-approaching flames, and the sighs and lamenta-
tions of those who watched them, the voice of the martyrs
might be heard praising God, and animating each other
to constancy and courage. At length the fiery sea had
reached them, and their cords were burst ; and then every
eye was riveted on the child, to see whether he would
stand of his own free will in that burning scorching furnace.

A moment's pause — he leaves his stake; but it is only
to run through the dense flames, until he has reached
and flung his arms around his mother; while the young
Magdalen avails herself of her freedom to stoop to the
burning embers, and picking up the living coals, set them
as a garland of roses on her head. She died almost in
the very effort; but the mother of the child James, with
a heroism of even perhaps a higher order, found strength
in the midst of her own tortures to speak words of courage
to her little one, until death released them from their
sufferings. The flames had scorched the bodies, but had
not consumed them ; and they were carried off, together
with the blackened and half-burnt stakes, as precious relics,
by the assembled Christians. The bodies were laid to
rest in the church of Nangasaki ; where over their honoured
graves was afterwards erected a monument, telling alike
of their heroic end, and calling upon all who read to
follow in their footsteps.

Enraged at finding himself foiled by the constancy of
the Christians, the emperor resolved to banish them
by hundreds out of Japan; and in this sentence the
Jesuit and Franciscan fathers were formally included.
Fortunately most of the former, in anticipation of some

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such event, had been dispersed throughout the country
in various disguises : but it was impossible for those
living openly in the college to evade it; and a sad day
it was, both for them and for their flock, when they found
themselves forced to depart from a Church, which in
sunshine and in storm they had now governed for up-
wards of fifty years. They had dwelt in peace at Miako,
even when persecution was rife in other kingdoms of the
country; and their college had become the resort alike
of Christians and of heathens.

Such was the respect and reverence in which they
were held, even by their most determined enemies in the
court of Japan, that they were permitted to say a fare-
well Mass publicly in their church, and afterwards to
receive the adieus of their sorrowful flock. Vast multi-
tudes attended on this occasion; and when High Mass
was over, the Jesuits proceeded to the mournful cere-
mony of stripping the altars, the people weeping piteously
all the while, and the fathers nearly as broken-hearted
as themselves. All was at length removed that could
tempt to sacrilege; the sacred vessels and robes of cere-
mony were confided to the care of such of the Christians
as could best be relied on, the church-doors flung open
for all who might choose to enter ; and the next morning
the fathers, under a guard of soldiers, were far on their
way to Nangasaki, whence they were to embark. At
that town they were joined by numbers of prisoners,
both clerical and lay, collected from all parts of the
country, and finally sixty-three Jesuits, with a crowd of
converts of every age, sex, and condition were embarked
for Macao; while twenty-three others, besides a propor-
tionate number of Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augus-
tinians (for each of these orders had now missions in
Japan), were dispatched to the Manillas.

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February jo The Marty rs of Japan. 159

In the same year (1614) in which this wholesale banish-
ment took place, the Christians had to mourn for the

death of Luis Cerquiera, bishop of Japan. He is said

to have literally died of a broken heart for the ruin that
that had fallen on the infant Church committed to his love
and care. It is true, indeed, that from the first he had un-
dertaken the task in times of great difficulty and danger ;
but at the period of his arrival, though there was much
to discourage, there had also been much to strengthen
and to cheer his heart From Nangasaki, where he

had fixed his residence, he had succeeded in making

innumerable journeys to the most distant parts of the
kingdom ; and withersoever he went, thousands had flocked
around him for instruction and confirmation. No king-
dom or city was too distant, no road too untrodden, no
mountains too high or too rugged to be accessible to his
zeal; and when he returned from these weary wander-
ings, he could sit down at Nangasaki, and feel that there
at least Almighty God had the entire homage of all
hearts ; for not only was it wholly inhabited by Christians,
but the five parishes into which it was divided were
governed by native pastors, the truest test of the con-
version of a people, and one which only the Catholic
Church has ever succeeded in presenting to the world
in the history of the propagation of the Christian faith.

Sadly had this fair scene changed within the last few
years, and rapidly had all that was brightest and best
disappeared from the picture. At the moment of the
bishop's death the emperor had fulminated his final edict
against the Christians. Fingo, Amangucchi, and Firando
were already deluged in their blood; Nangasaki was the
head-quarters of Safiori, their implacable foe, and an army
of ten thousand men had been let loose upon Arima,
to exterminate religion by fire and sword. Whenever

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160

any of these troops were sent into a district, a judgment-
seat, surrounded by a palisade, was set up in the most
public place of the city; the best known among the
Christians were then dragged by the hair and cast into
the enclosure, thrown upon the ground, trampled under-
foot, beaten until they were half-dead, and their legs, by
a cruel contrivance, broken between two pieces of wood ;
the most intrepid were then put to death, and their bodies,
after having been cut into pieces, were cast to the birds
of prey. At Cochinotzu sixty Christians were taken, five
by five at a time, with their hands tied behind them,
lifted high up into the air, and then dashed upon the
ground with such violence, that blood gushed from their
ears, eyes, and mouths. Many of them were dread-
fully lacerated, others had all their bones broken; and
as if this were not already sufficient torture, they were
afterwards pricked and pierced all over their bodies
with sharp instruments. The governor all the while was
exhorting them with affected compassion to spare them-
selves further torments by renouncing their religion; but
when he found that they were deaf to his entreaties, he
proceeded to inflict a new punishment, so horrible that it
is difficult to conceive the cruelty of the mind by which it
was invented. The victim was made to lie flat on the
ground, and a stone, which four men could scarcely lift, was
placed on his back; and then, by means of a pulley,
with cords attached to the legs and arms, he was raised
from the earth in such a manner that the body was bent
completely backwards, the limbs cruelly crushed and
broken, and in many instances the eyes forced out of
their sockets; the fingers and toes of the victims were
then cut off, their teeth knocked out, and if the eyesight
yet remained, it was next destroyed. Many were not be-
headed until death had indeed become a mercy; while

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February 5.] The Martyrs of Japan, 161

others, less fortunate, after undergoing a yet further mu-
tilation of their persons, were compelled in the midst ol
their agony to climb up and down a flight of stairs, for
the amusement of their tormentors ; after which they were
consigned to the care of their friends, until one by one,
as the strength of their constitutions more or less pro-
longed the struggle of death, they passed from their
painful martyrdom to the crowns prepared for them in
heaven.

The bloody scenes of Cochinotzu were only a sample
of those which likewise desolated Aria, Obama, Simabara,
Swota, and every other city of note in the kingdom of
Arima; but more especially the capital, where Safiori
presided in person over the cruelties which he had in-
vented for his victims.

To prevent any further addition from without to the
number of the missionaries already in the kingdom, all
the ports of Japan were irrevocably closed against the
vessels of Europe, with the exception indeed of Nangasaki
and Firando, which were always under the rigid surveillance
of the officers of the emperor. It was also made death
to be convicted as a priest, or to be discovered in the
exercise of priestly functions ; death to introduce a priest
into the kingdom, and death to give him shelter; death
not only to the person so exercising hospitality, but like-
wise to his ten next neighbours, with their innocent wives
and children, — a reward being generally offered for the
discovery of those who, in any of these ways, should have
incurred the penalties of the law. From that hour the
life of each individual priest was at the mercy of every
one to whom he had been previously known; while the
lives of those who sheltered him were equally liable to
be forfeited to the curiosity or cupidity of such of their
neighbours as might chance to discover the fact of their

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Lives of the Saints.

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delinquency. To Father John Baptist Machades, a Jesuit,
and Father Peter, a Franciscan, the honour was accorded
of taking the first place on this long list of priestly victims.
The former was going to Omura by Order of his superior,
when he and his catechist were made prisoners at Goto,
and sent by sea to the capital. Contrary winds, however,
detaining them at Canomi, the magistrates of that place
received Father Machades on his landing with every mark
of courtesy and kindness. An unrestricted communication
was permitted with the Christians, who flocked to him
in crowds ; and after the due administration of the Sacra-
ments he made them a most spirit-stirring address, in the
course of which he told them that, at seven years of age
he had been moved by some secret impulse to a strong
desire of preaching the Gospel to the Japanese.

These duties having been fulfilled, the father returned,
of his own accord, to his prison on board the ship.
But so great was the veneration inspired by his virtues,
that the sailors refused to bind him as he wished; and
thus unshackled, and almost unwatched, he remained until
he arrived at the prison of Omura. There he found
a Franciscan father lying under the same sentence of
death as himself. Having confessed and communicated
each other, they set out to the place of execution, — each
carrying his crucifix and exhorting the crowd as they
went along, until the final moment came, when each
affectionately embraced the other, and then in peace and
joyfulness submitted to his sentence.

About the same time six other religious commenced
a still longer captivity in the prisons of Omura. Three
were Dominicans, one a Franciscan, and the two others
Jesuits, Father Charles Spinola, and Ambrose Fernandez,
a Brother of the Society. When first they were taken
prisoners they had been thrown for greater security into

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a sort of subterranean cave where they lay huddled together
and deprived of light.

It was not until the close of the year 1622, that an
order arrived for the removal of these religious and other
Christian prisoners to Nangasaki, and for their subse-
quent execution. They were thirty in number as they
marched out of Omura; and partly by sea and partly
by land, each with a rope round his neck, and an exe-
cutioner at his side, they , went on their way to the old
city of the Christians. It was not considered prudent that
they should enter Nangasaki, so the inhabitants went forth
in multitudes to meet them, and flinging themselves at
their feet, begged with many tears their blessings and
their prayers; and thus escorted, the martyrs stood at
length upon a high hill between the city and the sea.
A moment of suspense followed. Some victim or spectator
was yet wanting to the solemnity; and every eye was
directed towards the town, from whence a troop of persons
might be descried approaching, — men, women, and chil-
dren ; thirty of the former, with, of course a larger pro-
portion of the latter. Every doubt as to the ultimate
destination of this company soon vanished when it was
seen that they were dressed in their robes of ceremony,
and with looks of gladness and of holy joy were ascending
to the calvary of the Christians. One of the new-comers
had been guilty of giving shelter to a missionary; the
others were his ten next neighbours, with their families,
besides the wives and children of some previous mar-
tyrs; and of this almost incredible number of victims,
amounting to upwards of a hundred, some were to be
beheaded, while others were to perish by the slower
martyrdom of fire. A throne had been erected overlook-
ing this scene of slaughter, and when the governor had
taken his seat upon it, those who were to undergo the

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sentence of fire were fastened to their stakes, but loosely,
in order that they might escape if only they chose to
apostatize, and then the executioners prepared to decapitate
the others. Among these last was Isabella, the widow
of the man in whose house Father Spinola had been taken
captive, and her son Ignatius, a child now about four
years old, but at that time a new-born infant, whom he
had baptized on the very evening before his arrest From
the stake to which he was already bound, the father had
been exhorting both natives and Portuguese to perse-
verance, telling them, almost in a spirit of prophecy,
that they need not look for any cessation in the perse-
cution, which would go on increasing in fury from day
to day; when chancing to see Isabella standing in the
crowd, and anxious for the fate of her child, he suddenly
cried out, “Where then is my little Ignatius?” The
mother held him up, exclaiming, “ Here he is, my father,
ready and glad to die for Jesus;” and then addressing
the infant, she bade him ask the blessing of the good
father, who in the waters of baptism had conferred upon
him a spiritual life infinitely more precious than that
which he was now about to forfeit for his God. Instantly
the little creature fell upon his knees, joining his tiny
hands together, as if he would supplicate the blessing of
the father. So touching in its simplicity was this little
scene, that the crowd, already interested by the movement
of the mother, now broke into such open murmurs of com-
passion, that the officers were obliged to proceed at once
with the execution, in order to prevent the possibility of
an attempt at a rescue. Two or three heads had already
fallen close by the child's side, and now his mother's
followed ; yet it was observed that he neither shrank nor
changed colour, but his turn being next, he fell upon his
knees, loosened (for there was no one to do the office

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for him) with his infant but untrembling fingers the
collar that would have impeded the aim of the execu-
tioner, and without a cry or murmur submitted to the
sword.

The remaining victims were speedily despatched; and
their heads having been placed opposite to such of their
companions as were to die at the stakes, fire was set to
the piles of wood by which the latter were surrounded.

With the usual diabolical ingenuity of the Japanese pagans,
the faggots had been placed full five-and-twenty feet from
the stakes; and whenever the fire was seen to gain too
fast upon its victims, water was cast upon it, that inch
by inch they might taste the full agony of the sentence to
which they had been condemned. Many of them died
from the mere effects of the heated atmosphere ; — among
others, Father Rimura, a Japanese priest, after having
lived for full three hours in the midst of the flames ; and
Father Spinola also, whose body was afterwards found
unbumt, and wrapped in his cassock, which was literally
glued to the flesh by the combined action of the heat and
of the water which had been cast upon his person.

Terrible beyond expression as their sufferings must have
been, two only of this heroic company showed the slightest
symptoms of being even conscious of its anguish. Both
were Japanese, and very young ; and both simultaneously,
and as if from an absolute physical inability to endure
such frightful torture any longer, rushed out of the flames,
and threw themselves at the feet of the governor, implor-
ing his mercy. They did not, however, ask for life ; they
asked only for an easier and quicker death. But, poor
as the boon was, it was denied them, save upon the
condition of apostasy, which they would not accept ; and
again they were flung back into the flames.

This martyrdom, which was distinguished among the

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 5.

Japanese as the “ Great Martyrdom,” on account both
of the rank and number of its victims, had been preceded
by another at Miako, which took place under circum-
stances of peculiar barbarity. One of the victims was
in daily expectation of giving birth to a child; neverthe-
less she was included in the sentence which sent her
husband, a nobleman of the highest rank, and their six
young children, with upwards of forty other Christians, to
the stake.

The tragical situation in which she was placed had
however, no terrors for this heroic woman. She employed
her prison-hours in preparing robes for herself and her
children to wear at their execution; and when she was
brought to the destined place, calmly, and without assist-
ance, she stepped from the cart, and throwing a rich
mantle over her shoulders, prepared to suffer with a
modesty and composure that won her the admiration of
all beholders. It was dark night before fire was set to
their several piles ; but as soon as the smoke had cleared
away, the martyrs were seen by the light of the bright
flames amid which they stood, with eyes fixed on heaven
and their forms motionless and erect, as though they had
been figures chiselled out of stone.

In very horror the spectators were silent, and the still-
ness and hush of death was upon the midnight air, when
suddenly from out of that fiery furnace a flood of melody
was poured, — men and women and children singing the
the praises of the living God as sweetly, and with notes
as true as though the red and thirsty flames had been
but the dews of heaven upon their brows. The sighs
and prayers of the assistants, which could no longer be
repressed, the shouts and execrations of the soldiers and
executioners, soon mingled with this death-song ; and these
and the dark night, and the fierce fire that illuminated

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its gloom, now flashing intolerable light upon the victims,
now glancing lividly on the pale faces and shrinking forms
of the densely-packed spectators, altogether formed an
union of sights and sounds that alternately swayed the
feelings to terror and compassion. But the music of that
marvellous choir died gradually away; the sudden fail-
ing of each gladsome voice, the silent sinking of each
upright form, telling that another, and yet another had
yielded to their doom, was marked by the watchers with
redoubled lamentations ; though their tenderest sympathies
were still reserved for the mother dying in the midst of
her little ones.

From the cross to which they had bound her, Thecla
(for such was her name) still kept her eyes fixed upon her
children, animating them by gentle smiles and words of
comfort to suffer well ; while the youngest, an infant only
three years old, she held with superhuman courage in her
arms during the whole of the terrible scene that followed.

Her own anguish had no power to extort a single sigh
from her lips ; but those who watched her wept to see
the useless efforts which she made to diminish the suffer-
ings of her babe. She caressed it, soothed it, hushed its
cries, wiped away its tears, sought with her own hands to
shelter its tender face from the terrible contact of the
fire, and died at last with the little victim so closely folded
to her bosom, that it was afterwards found almost impos-
sible to separate the bodies of the mother and the child.

These martyrdoms are only specimens of those which
during this period continually took place in Japan. Some
Christians were crucified, others burnt, others beheaded;
numbers again branded upon the cheeks and forehead
with the sign of the cross, their fingers and toes cut off,
and their eyes forced out ; and thus maimed and helpless,
they were sent back to their families, who (to their honour

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 5.

be it written) never failed to receive them with all the
more pride and affection, the more deeply and hideously
they had been disfigured for the sake of Jesus.

The great majority of the martyrdoms hitherto recorded
had been accomplished by fire ; but now a different mode
of torture was to be pressed into the service. Water was
called into requisition; and Father James Caravail, with
several lay Christians, was the leader of many heroic con-
fessors who perished from cold. They were left in the
first instance, for three hours in freezing water, during
which time one of them died ; the rest on being carried back
to prison and threatened with the martyrdom of fire in
case of perseverance, cried out with one voice; “Oh,
happy we, to pass through fire and water to the place of
our repose 1 ” Instead of the stake, however, the next
day they were again placed up to their necks in water;
while, the better to attempt them to apostasy, tents, warm
baths, and comfortable clothing, were made ready on the
banks of the pool, and as near as possible to the spot
where their sentence was to be carried into execution.

As the day advanced, the water froze more and more;
and heavy drifts of snow beating continually upon them,
added greatly to their agony. Scarcely able to endure
it any longer, one among them sobbed heavily for breath ;
but Father Paul hearing it, cried out, “Have patience,
son, for yet a little while; and these torments will be
changed into everlasting repose." At the sound of the
father's voice, and his cheering words, the poor victim
regained his courage, and soon afterwards happily expired,
at the very moment when another reduced to a similar
extremity, exclaimed, “ Father, my course is nearly finished."
“Depart then," replied the latter; “depart in peace to
God, and die in his holy grace." Thus one by one they
perished in this icy grave ; and at length the father, who

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through the live-long day had cheered his fellow-martyrs
to the combat, was left to suffer and to die alone. Night
had already closed in heavy and chill around him ; and
with the exception of his guards and some few faithful
Christians, none were there to watch him, for the spectators
had all retired to their comfortable homes, and it was
not until just midnight, that after fifteen hours of stem
endurance, he bowed himself down to the frozen wave,
and placidly expired. This martyrdom took place in the
year 1624, and shortly afterwards four more religious were
burnt at Faco ; in June of the same year the provincial
of the Jesuits, with eight of the Society, perished in a
similar manner ; and in the following month Lewis Xanch.
a Dominican, was put to death at Omura.

We have mentioned these executions of priests without
alluding to the almost weekly massacres which took place
among the lay converts, merely to show the virulence
and success with which the missionaries were now every
where pursued ; and when it is remembered that at the
commencement of the persecution there were, besides the
Jesuits, but a few secular priests and about thirty religious
of other orders, in Japan, and that no reinforcement had
succeeded in reaching them from without, words will not be
needed to point out the deadly nature of the blow which
the Xoguno was at last inflicting on the church. Having
said thus much, however, upon the fate of the religious,
it would be a crying injustice to the rest of the Christians
to pass over their sufferings altogether in silence.

The Xoguno having once explicitly declared himself
opposed to their religion, the inferior monarchs, as a
matter of course, vied with each other in their efforts to
uproot it It was only on an express condition to that effect
that Bugendono, the new governor of Nangasaki, had been
installed in that office; and taunted continually by his

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[February 5.

rivals for courtly favour with his little success, he employed
himself day and night in the invention of more ingenious
barbarities to effect his purpose. The object being rather
to produce apostasy than death, every species of torture
was made as slow as possible in its execution, and was
generally eked out with intervals of rest and refreshment —
a thousand times more dangerous to the perseverance of
the victim than the sharpest continued agony. Some were
placed in deep pits, and there nearly buried alive; while
executioners appointed for the purpose, slowly, and with
blunt weapons, sawed off sometimes the arms and some-
times the head, salt being thrown on the bleeding wound
to sharpen its anguish; physicians were also at hand, whose
business it was to prolong the life of the sufferer for as
many days as possible, by carefully ascertaining the amount
of his physical strength, and administering cordials when
it was beginning to fail. Others were hung with their
head downwards in a pit, where, with the necessary pre-
caution of occasional bleeding, they were made to exist
for a considerable time in all the sufferings of an apoplexy ;
while others again, by means of a funnel forced far down
into their throats, were compelled to swallow enormous
quantities of water, which was afterwards forced out of the
body by violent pressure. Even the Dutch, themselves
more than half the authors of these evils, speak with horror
of the deeds which they witnessed at Firando. The nails
of the victims were violently wrenched off, holes bored into
their legs and arms, great morsels of flesh torn out of their
persons by the insertion of hollow reeds which were turned
round like a screw, burning brimstone and sulphur forced
by long tubes up their noses ; and they were, besides,
frequently compelled to walk about with executioners hold-
ing lighted torches close to their persons. Nor were these
cruelties inflicted singly, or upon solitary and more noted

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delinquents. By tens, by fifties, by hundreds at a time,
they were assembled for their trial; one torture rapidly
succeeding another, and each new one being so cunningly
contrived, that the slightest word of complaint, the most
trivial movement of resistance when pain had become
almost intolerable, was to be considered as a signal of
apostasy, and was greeted by cries of “ He is fallen ! he is
fallen !” — the favourite and most significant words by which
the heathen expressed at once the fact of a Christian's
recantation, and their own opinion of the weakness through
which he had succumbed.

Under circumstances such as these, it is not so wonderful
that many failed, as that hundreds and thousands perse-
vered to the end, winning their crown by a long-suffering
and patience which, even in the primitive Church, were
never surpassed. Men offered themselves willingly to
every torture which Eastern ingenuity could devise, or
reckless disregard of human life put into execution. Women
looked calmly on while their infants perished, and then
followed with gladness and joy in the same path to glory.
At a city near Omura, a brave Christian plunged his
hand into the burning coals, and never withdrew it until
commanded to do so by the tyrant who had taunted and
dared him to the deed; while at Firando fifty young
Christians were made to kneel naked upon living embers,
on the express understanding that the most involuntary
expression of pain should be considered as apostasy ; and
having by their unflinching firmness baffled the closest
scrutiny of those who watched them, were sent back to die,
half roasted as they were, to their several homes. In
one place eighteen infants were put to death in the pre-
sence of their parents; at another, a child only seven
years old, suspected with the rest of his family of the
concealment of a priest, lived for as many days in the

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172

midst of the torture they inflicted on him, without once
flinching or failing in his heroic resolution. To each fresh
invention of their cruelty he only answered, probably to
avoid being betrayed into imprudent disclosures, “Jesus,
Mary! Jesus, Mary! How I long to be in heaven with
my God !” Nor could other words be extorted from his
lips, even when, in their despair of succeeding, they cut
open the little creature's shoulders, and poured boiling lead
into the wound ; and finally, he and his family were burnt
alive, without a single one among them having been in-
duced by weakness to give evidence against the priest.

Opposed to constancy such as this, every ordinary mode
of torture must have seemed only useless and unmeaning ;
but at length another was hit upon, and one so barbarous
in its nature, that no tyrant, however cruel or ferocious,
who had hitherto ruled in Japan, had ever thought of
inflicting it on the most guilty of his subjects.

Between Nangasaki and Sima-bara lies a mountain, bald,
bleak, and treeless, whitening beneath the masses of cinders
with which it is every where covered, and with a thick and
stifling smoke, which can be seen at a distance of several
leagues, for ever rising from its summit. The soil that
covers its steep ascent is every where soft and spongy,
often burning and trembling beneath the footsteps ; while
so strong is the smell of sulphur which it continually ex-
hales, that it is said no bird can live, or will even attempt to
fly within breathing distance of its tainted atmosphere.
Deep and unfathomable pools of boiling water lie hidden
amid the clefts and fissures which split this gloomy moun-
tain into peaks and precipices of various sizes; but one,
deeper and more unfathomable than all the rest, instead
of water, is filled with a mixture of sulphur and other
volcanic matter, which seethe and bubble and boil within
its dark abyss, emitting all the while so horrible a stench

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as to have gained it the title of the “ Mouth of Hell.” One
drop alone of this fearful fluid is sufficient to produce
an ulcer on the human flesh ; and when Bugendono thought
on the terrible nature of the chastisement he could thus
inflict, and upon the fear and superstition with which the
Japanese always regarded the sulphurous waters of Unsen,
and the mysterious cavern in which they were produced, he
felt that he could not have hit upon a more efficient or
infallible means for the intimidation of the Christians, and
the extirpation of their creed. At the very time when he
came to this resolution, there chanced to be dispersed
throughout Arima a band of faithful confessors, upon
whom all his previously-invented tortures had been tried
in vain ; and for this reason the governor considered they
would prove the fittest objects for his new experiment
Paul Uciborg was the chief, both for courage and virtue,
of this troop of victims; and he had already witnessed
the massacre of every member of his family, down even
to the youngest of his children, who, in company with
fifteen other Christians, had been thrown into the sea,
after having first suffered every possible cruelty that could
barbarously be inflicted upon them.

“Which shall I begin with?” asked the executioner,
as he approached the two youngest of Paul's children for
the purpose of chopping off their fingers.

“That is your affair, not mine,” the old Christian
answered bluntly, probably to conceal a softer feeling.
“ Cut off which, and as many, as you please.”

“ And oh !” sighed little Ignatius, as, in the very spirit of
the brave man his father, he watched his brother's fingers
falling joint by joint beneath the knife of the executioner ;
“ how beautiful your hand looks, my brother, thus mutilated
for the sake of Jesus Christ, and how I long for my own
turn to come 1”

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174 Lives of the Saints. [February $.

The child who made this exclamation was but five years
old; yet without shedding a tear, he afterwards endured
a similarly protracted amputation, and then silently and
unresistingly suffered • himself to be cast into the ocean.

The father and about twenty of the remaining Christians,
who were reserved for a different fate, were, after the
massacre of their companions, brought back to shore ;
although so frightfully crippled, from the mutilations they
had already undergone, that one at least of their number
was compelled to be carried to his house in a kind of
coffin on men's shoulders. The governor had hoped
that their ghastly appearance would terrify others from
following their example ; but he soon found that Jesus
was more easily and more eloquently preached by such
wounds and such deeds as theirs, than by any words that
could be uttered ; and in his vexation at the numbers
who flocked to them for edification and encouragement,
he condemned them, as we have seen, to the boiling
sulphurs of Unsen.

As the little company of martyrs approached this terrible
chasm, one among them, at the bidding of the executioner,
and in the spirit of an Apollonia, rushed forward at once,
and flung himself into its depths ; but Paul, with a more
measured courage, commanded the others to restrain their
zeal ; while to the heathens who taunted him with coward-
ice, he contented himself by saying, “that they were
not masters of their own lives, which God having given,

God alone had a right to take away ; and that, in reality,
there was more real courage in calmly waiting the approach
of death, than in rushing into its arms in such a way as
to put an end to all its terrors in a moment.” Silenced
by this answer, so calm and noble in its genuine Christian
courage, the executioners proceeded to their duties ; and
having tied each of the martyrs by ropes, in order to

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prevent their falling entirely into the chasm, they lowered
them one by one into its seething contents. Some were
destroyed at a single plunge ; others, by being quickly
withdrawn, were reserved for the torment of a second
immersion ; but old Paul, who suffered last, and who
had excited the hatred of the heathens by the courage with
which it was believed he had inspired his companions, they
managed, with dexterous cruelty, to let down three several
times into the abyss before life was altogether extinguished ;
and each time as he rose to the surface he was heard
to exclaim : “ Eternal praise be to the ever adorable
Sacrament of the Altar !”

After this first trial of its power, the scalding sulphur-
ous waters of Unsen became a favourite mode of torture for
the Christians Men, women, children, and infants were sent
hither in crowds. Some expired after a single plunge;
others after two or three successive immersions ; others,
again, and the greater number, were with a more elaborate
cruelty sprinkled with the boiling liquor day after day,
often for a period of thirty days together, until their bodies
were one mass, of sores and vermin, and they died from
the effects of this universal ulceration.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 6.

February 6.

S. Bucolus, B. of Smyrna , circ. a. d. ioo.

S. Antholian, M. at Clermont , circ. a.d. 255.

SS. Dorothy, V.M., and Theophilus, M , at Ceesarea , /#» Cappadocia,
circ. A. d. 303.

SS. Sylvan, B.M. , Luke, D.M., and Mucius, Af. a/ Emesa,

A.D. 312.

SS. Mael, Melchu, Mun, and Rioch, Bishops in Ireland \ end of 5/h cent

S. Avkntine, Ab. H. at Troyes , «>r. a.d. 538.

S. Vedast, B. of A rras, circ. a.d. 540.

S. Amandus, B. of Mcustricht , a.d. 684.

S. In a, AT. of the IVest Saxons , about a.d. 728.

S. Guarin, Card. B. of Preneste, A.D. 1159.

S. Aldbrick, Swineherd at Fussenich, a.d. 1200.

S. Brvnjolf, B. ofSkara , in Sweden, A.D. 1317.

S. DOROTHY, V.M.

(ABOUT A.D. 303.)

[This Saint, so famous in Western Martyrologies, is unknown to the
Greeks. Her Acts are not to be relied upon.]

MHIS holy martyr was a native of Caesarea in
m Ca])padocia, and in the persecution of Dioclesian
|5g| ^ she was brought before the governor Sapricius.
|iTiiraj»1 After the usual interogatories she was stretched
on the catasta , an iron bed over a slow fire. Then as laid
thereon, the servant of God exclaimed, “Do thy worst, j
I fear not pain, if only I may see Him, for whose love I am
ready to die.” Sapricius said, “Who is he whom thou
lovest?” Dorothy answered, “Christ, the Son of God.”
Sapricius asked, “And where is this Christ?” Dorothy
replied, “In His omnipotence He is everywhere; in His
humanity he is in Heaven, the Paradise to which He invites
us : where the woods are ever adorned with fruit, and lilies
ever bloom white, and roses ever flower ; where the fields
are green, the mountains wave with fresh grass, and the
springs bubble up eternally.”

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Then said a lawyer present, named Theophilus, “Thou
spouse of Christ, send me from Paradise some of these
apples and roses.” And Dorothy answered him, “ I will.”

Now the governor pronounced sentence against her,
that she should lose her head. And as she knelt, and
the executioner prepared to smite, she asked him to delay
the stroke for a moment Then she prayed, and suddenly
there stood by her a beauteous youth, in dazzling raiment,
who held in his hands three apples, and three red roses,
the like of which earthly garden had never produced. Then
Dorothy said, “I pray thee take these to Theophilus, and
tell him that they are what I promised him. And at that
instant the sword of the executioner fell, and she entered
into the joy of her Lord.

Now Theophilus, the advocate, was at home with his
companions; and to them he told with great laughter
how he had asked the virgin to send him the flowers
and fruit of the Paradise to which she hoped to enter. And,
all at once, as he spake, the angel stood before him, with
grave face, and held out to him the wondrous apples and
roses, and said, “Dorothy sends these to thee, as she
promised.” Then Theophilus believed, and going before
the governor, he confessed Christ, and was sentenced to
death ; and so died, receiving the baptism of blood.

Relics at Arles; where March 28th is observed as the
feast of their translation ; also at Cologne, in the churches
of S. Gereon, S. Severinus, S. Andrew, S. Paul, SS. John
and Cordula, &c. ; the head at Prague.

In Art, S. Dorothea is easily recognized by the sword
she holds, and the apples and roses at her side, or in
her hand.

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[February 6.

SS. MAEL, MELCHU, MUN, AND RIOCH, BISHOPS.
(end of 5TH Century.)

[Inserted in the Sarum Martyrology by Richard Wytford from the Irish
KaTendar, in these words : “In Ireland the feast of S. Mel, S. Melkus,
S. Munys, Bishops, and Riockus, Abbot : these four were brothers,
nephews of S. Patrick, by his sister S. Darerca, all famous for their
singular holiness and great miracles. ’* They are also given by Colgan.
Authorities : — Joselyn’s Life of S. Patrick ; The Life of S. Bridget, &c.]

These four brothers are said to have been the sons of
Darerca, the saintly sister of S. Patrick, and his coadjutors
in his apostolic labours in Ireland.1 S. Mael, or Mel, who
was ordained Bishop of Ardagh, in Longford, lived there in
a poor cell with his mother's aged sister, Lupita. She
watched and prayed till midnight, and then woke her nephew,
who continued the watch and prayer till day broke, and she
retired to bed. S. Mel died about the year 488, and was
buried at Ardagh. S. Melchu was the companion of his
brother Mael, in his missionary labours and preaching,
and lived with him in the monastery founded by Mael at
Ardagh, and was ordained Bishop by his uncle Patrick.
S. Mun, or Munis, after having for a long time accom-
panied S. Patrick, was raised to the episcopate, and founded
the Church of Forgney in Longford, in the year 486. S.
Rioch, after many labours in the Gospel, with the leave of S.
Patrick, retired to the island of Inisbofinde in Lough-ree ;
and thus devoted the remainder of his days to a contemplative
life, in a monastery, which he founded in the island.

1 The story is without any foundation in fact. The brothers were probably no
relations to S. Patrick. According to the fabulous history of the relatives of S.
Patrick, his pretended sister Tigridia had seventeen sons all bishops, priests, or
monks, and five daughters all nuns. Some of Darerca’s sons are attributed to
Tigridia, and some to Liemania. Lupita, another pretended sister is said by some
to have remained a consecrated virgin, by others to have been the mother of
bishops.

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6". Vedast.

179

S. VEDAST, B. OF ARRAS.

(ABOUT A.D. 540.)

[Roman, Gallican, Belgian, and other Martyrologies. Double feast with
octave at Arras. In the Salisbury Martyrology, he is inserted on this day
under the name of S. Zawster. In many Kalendars, SS. Vedast and
Amandus are commemorated together. Authorities A very ancient life,
published from an imperfect copy by Bollandus. Another life revised or
rewritten by Alcuin, (d. 804). Another erroneously attributed to the
Venerable Bede.]

Clovis, King of the Franks, began his reign in 482,
on the decease of his father, Childeric. He extended his
dominions in every quarter by force of arms, and in the
space of thirty years conquered part of Germany, and nearly
the whole of Modem France. In the early part of his career,
the King of the Franks signalized himself by repelling with
success the attacks of Syagius, the Roman general, who
had been ordered to advance and check his progress.

This impediment in the path of victory removed, the five
ensuing years were actively employed by Clovis in the
reduction of Soissons and of Rheims ; in a successful expe-
dition against the Thuringians and other neighbouring
nations, in the course of which he extended his territories
from the Seine to the Loire; and lastly in the conquest
of the Alemanni, at that time the possessors of Switzerland.

The Alemanni attacked the Franks with the fury of men
actuated by despair, and were irrevocably defeated on the
field of Tolbiac.

The great soul of Clovis had long been agitated by
religious doubts — should he cling to the gods of his family,
from whom he claimed to be lineally descended, or should
he submit to the faith of Christ which his gentle wife,
Clothildis, made so attractive to his better nature? His
ancestral gods alarmed him. To their anger he attributed

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180 Lives of the Saints. [February 6.

the death of his first-born ; he hesitated to abandon them
for that “ new, unarmed God,” said he, “ who is not of the
race of Thor and Odin.” He dreaded also his people, of
whose consent he wished to be assured. The peril of the
field of Tolbiac constrained him to decide. When the
scale of success seemed turned against him, he vowed, if
he conquered, to adopt the faith of Christ The victory
remained in his hands, and he hastened to fulfil his vow.

On his return from the subjugation of the Alemanni, he
passed through Toul, and asked for some priest who might
instruct him in the Christian religion. S. Vedast was pre-
sented to him for this purpose. Whilst he accompanied
the king at the passage of the river Aisne, a blind man
begging on the bridge besought the servant of God to
restore to him his sight The saint, divinely inspired,
prayed, and made the sign of the cross on his eyes, and he
immediately recovered it The miracle confirmed the king
in the faith, and moved several of his courtiers to embrace
it

But Clovis was not a man to yield at once. Nicetius of
Trfeves, writing to the grand-daughter of Clovis says, “ You
have learnt from your grandmother of happy memory, Clo-
thildis, how she attracted to the faith her lord and husband,
and how he, who was a most shrewd man, would not yield,
till he had been thoroughly convinced of the truth.” Clovis
was baptized at Rheims, whither in after times the kings
of France went to be crowned. S. Vedast assisted
S. Remigius in converting the Franks, and was conse-
crated by that prelate bishop of Arras, in the year 500.

His diocese, together with that of Cambrai, which was also
entrusted to his care, had once been the seat of a flourish-
ing Christian community, but the ravages of the Vandals
and Alani had eradicated every trace of Christianity, save
that here and there was to be seen a ruined church, over-

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grown with briars, and nettles waving where the altar had
stood. Vedast wept over these sad relics, and made ear-
nest supplication to God to enable him faithfully to accom-
plish his mission, and once more to plant the seed of life
in this devastated field.

His own Cathedral Church of Arras he found had
become the den of a huge bear, which came shambling
towards him, as he knelt weeping over the broken altar
stair. The saint started up and drove the wild beast forth,
and bade it never again enter to pollute by its presence
that holy ground ; a type, surely, of that brutality which
had invaded and desolated the Church of God in that land,
which he had come to exorcise.

He ruled the diocese for forty years, and died on
Feb. 6th, in, or near, the year 540. All Martyrologists are
agreed as to the day of his death, but historians differ as
to the year.

The name of S. Vedast has gone through strange trans-
formation. He is called Vaast, Vaat, Wist, Wit ; and in
French, Gaston; in English, Foster, a corruption marked by
Foster Lane, (properly S. Vedast’s Lane) in the City of
London.

Relics at Arras, of which he is patron, and at S. Waast.
In Art he appears with a child at his feet, or with a wolf,
from whose mouth he saves a goose, a popular tradition
being to the effect that he saved the goose belonging to
some poor people from the wolf that was running away
with it ; or, with a bear.

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[February 6.

182

& AMANDUS, B. OF MAESTRICHT.

(ABOUT A.D. 684.)

[Roman Martyrology, also an ancient addition to the so-called Marty-
rology of S. Jerome, which addition is earlier than 741. Bede (so-called),
Notker, Rabanus, German and Belgian Martyrologies, &c. In the Church of
Maestricht, the 6th Feb. is celebrated as the Feast of S. Amandus and the
other Bishops of Maestricht, with a double. His ordination and transla-
tion are celebrated variously on 26th October, or on 20th, 25th, 27th, and
even on the 19th Sept. Various other days commemorate translations of
his relics. Authorities An ancient anonymous life. Another by Ban-
demand, monk of Elno, about 680 ; another by Milo, monk of Elno, d.
871 ; another by Philip Harveng, d. after 1180; another by Justus, the
Archpriest, about 1128.]

This great apostle of Flanders was a native of Her-
bauges, near Nantes. His father, Serenus and his mother,
Amantia, were of noble family, and were wealthy. But
Amandus, renouncing all these advantages, left his paternal
house, in his youth, and retired into the isle of Oye, near
La Rochelle, where he embraced the religious life in a
monastery which was there. His father, who looked to his
worldly advantage, followed him, and threatened to dis-
inherit him, if he did not quit the habit he had assumed.
He replied, “ My father, I care not for thy property ; all
I ask of thee is to suffer me to follow Jesus Christ, who is
my true heritage.”

This reply did not satisfy his father, and Amandus, to
escape his solicitations, fled the island, and visited the
tomb of S. Martin at Tours. Kneeling by this shrine, with
many tears, he besought God to grant that he might never
more return to his native place. Shortly after he received
the clerical tonsure. He soon distinguished himself among
the clergy of Tours ; but the fame of S. Austragisle drew
him to Bourges, when this holy bishop, together with S.
Sulpicius, then his archdeacon, and afterwards his successor,
received him with great joy. They built him a little cell,

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near the cathedral, in which he lived as a recluse, to die
and be buried to the world. There, lying on ashes, clothed
in sack-cloth, and eating only barley-bread, and drinking
water alone, he spent fifteen years. It was the preparation
for his future apostleship.

At the end of these years, Amandus felt an inspiration
to visit Rome. It was at the tomb of the great Apostles,
that he was to receive his call and mission. One night,
as he prayed with fervour before the door of the basilica of
of S. Peter, because it was locked for the night, the prince
of the apostles appeared to him, and ordered him to return
instantly to Gaul, and to preach the glad tidings of salva-
tion to the heathen there. Amandus obeyed promptly, and
on his return, he preached with such success, that King
Clothaire II. ordered him to be consecrated bishop, that
he might preach with more authority, but without any
particular see, over which he was to exercise juris-
diction.

The new apostle maintained his dignity by his virtues.

He knew how to make the poor love him, and the rich
respect him. He found means of ransoming young slaves,
whom he baptized, instructed in letters, and ordained;
sending them through the country to minister the Word of
God. S. Amandus chose for his mission Belgic Gaul,
especially the territory of Ghent, where idolatry still held
its sway. The people there had rejected former mis-
sionaries; their savage manners, and inflexible obstinacy
seemed insurmountable barriers to the stream of Grace.
Amandus visited S. Acharius, bishop of Noyon and Toumai
in whose diocese Ghent then was; and besought him to
obtained for him letters from King Dagobert, to oblige
his idolatrous subjects to listen to Christian instruction.

The zeal of the prince seconded that of the missionary,
who, in spite of this powerful support, had much to endure ;

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but his patience and sweetness triumphed over every
obstacle, and his virtues were more efficacious in persuading
the people, than all the orders of the king.

Whilst S. Amandus was at Toumai, he learnt that a
Frankish Count, named Dotto, had condemned a robber
to death. He hastened to implore pardon for the unhappy
man, but was unsuccessful, and the robber was executed.

But Amandus ran to the gallows and cut down the man,
and bore the body home, laid it on his bed, and passed
the night in prayer. Next morning, he summoned his
clerks, and bade them bring him water. They supposed
this was for the purpose of washing the corpse, before
burying it; but, what was their surprise on entering the
chamber, to find the man, who had been hung, alive and
conversing with their bishop. He still bore the marks of
the rope, but they disappeared when Amandus had washed
them. Bandemand, who relates this incident, says that he
heard it from the mouth of an eye-witness. The fame of
this miracle spread through the country, and many of the
heathen were so convinced thereby, that they cast away
their idols, and submitted their necks to the yoke of
Christ’s commandments.

After having reaped an abundant harvest in Flanders,
Amandus resolved to preach the faith to the heathen races
in Germany ; and he made a second journey to Rome, to
obtain approval of his design. Accordingly, armed with
the blessing of the successor of S. Peter, he went to the
Sclavonic races, hoping to convert them to the Gospel, or
to receive the palm of martyrdom. But finding that the
people were neither sufficiently docile to receive the Word,
nor ferocious to shed the blood of him who declared it,
he quitted these ungrateful people, and returned to Gaul,
where he found the opportunity of suffering for the truths
he announced, which had been denied him among the

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February 6.] S. AmatlduS. 1 85

barbarians. Dagobert, the king, was guilty of gross licen-
tiousness; he had, at once, three wives, not to mention
Gomatrudis whom he had repudiated at Reuilli, nor Ragn-
trudis, the mother of Sigebert III. ; and beside these wives
he had numerous concubines. S. Amandus boldly rebuked
him for the scandal he caused, and for his audacity in so
doing was ordered into exile. He retired to the territory
of Charibert, who reigned on the further side of the Loire ;
but was soon recalled. A son was bom to Dagobert, in
630, and the king desired to have the child baptized by
some holy bishop, who might draw down on it the bene-
diction of heaven. He remembered the fearless Amandus,
who alone had had the courage to reprimand him for his
iniquities ; showing, thereby, that if princes do not always
love those who tell them disagreeable truths, they can
sometimes respect them. Amandus obeyed, and came to
salute the king at Clichy, near Paris. As soon as Dago-
bert saw him, he cast himself at his feet, to ask him pardon
for what was passed. After which he said : “ The Lord
has given me a son, though I merited it not I pray
thee, baptize him, and regard him as thy spiritual child.”
Amandus, at first, refused the honour, but at the entreaty
of Ouen and Eligius, two pious laymen of his court, he
yielded and baptized the child at Orleans, in the year 630 ;
Charibert, his protector in exile, standing as sponsor at
the font. The child was called Sigebert, and is reckoned
among the Saints.1

In the year 647, Sigebert, who loved him as a father,
and was now king of Austrasia, obliged him to accept the
bishopric of Maestricht, and thenceforth he exchanged his
missionary work over scattered districts for the supervision
of a single diocese. But he soon found that this was not
his vocation, and that it was easier for him to convert the

1 See Feb i.

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heathen than to discipline the clergy. He therefore visited
Rome, after holding his diocese three years, and obtained
the sanction of the Pope to his resignation of it into the
hands of S. Remade, then abbot of Stavelot. Amandus,
relieved of the burden of his diocese, visited Gascony, to
preach to the Basques who were still heathen, but met
with little or no success. He therefore returned to
Flanders, where he supervised the many monasteries he
had founded. The date of his death is very uncertain;
some place it in 66 1, others in 676, and others in 684.

S. INA, K. C.

(ABOUT A.D. 728.)

[Anglican Martyrology of Wyon, Ferrarius, Menardus, &c. Authorities ;
Malmsbury and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.]

Ina, king of Wessex, which consisted of Wiltshire,
Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Dorsetshire, and Oxfordshire,
was the son of Cerdic, and his wife was Ethelburga. He
reigned as much as thirty-eight years; from 688 to 726.
He put together the laws of the West Saxons, so as to
form a code, and this is the oldest code of West Saxon
laws that we have, though there are Kentish laws which
are older still. He also divided the kingdom into two
bishoprics. Hitherto all Wessex had been under the
bishops of Winchester ; but now that the kingdom was so
much larger, Ina founded another bishopric at Sherborne
in Dorsetshire. He also in 704, founded S. Andrew's
Church in Wells, which is now a Cathedral. And at
Glastonbury Ina did great things. He built the monastery
and richly adorned it, he also translated to it the bodies of
SS. Indract and his companions.

Ina fought with the Welsh under their King Gerent, and

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February 6.] »£ IfUl . 1 87

also with the other English kings. He fought against the
men of Kent, and made them pay him much gold for his
kinsman Mul, whom they had slain. He had also wars in
Sussex and East Anglia, and in 714 he fought a great battle
with Ceolred, king of the Mercians, in which neither gained
the victory, at Wanborough in Wiltshire. Towards the end
of his reign, Ina seems to have been troubled by some
rebellions among his own people, and also to have been
less successful than before in his wars with the Welsh. In
726 he gave up his kingdom and went to Rome and died
there. William of Malmesbury relates a curious story about
the occasion of this which is deserving of record.1

Ina once made a feast to his lords and great men
in one of his royal houses; the house was hung with
goodly curtains, and the table was spread with vessels of
gold and silver, and Ina and his lords ate and drank and
were merry. Now on the next day, Ina set forth from that
house to go to another that he had, and Ethelburga, his
queen, went with him. So men took down the curtains
and carried off the goodly vessels and left the house
bare and empty. Moreover, Ethelburga, the queen
spake to the steward who had care of that house,
saying “ When the king is gone, fill the house with rubbish,
and with the dung of cattle, and lay in the bed where the
king slept a sow with her litter of pigs.” So the steward
did as the queen commanded. And when Ina and the
queen had gone forth, about a mile from the house, the
queen said to Ina, “Turn back, my lord, to the house
whence we have come, for it will be greatly for thy good
so to do.” So Ina hearkened to the voice of his wife,
and turned back to the house. There he found all the
curtains and the goodly vessels gone, and the house full

1 It is only found in Malmesbury’s English Chronicle, lib. i., c. a j and is not
found in all copies of Malmesbury.

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1 88 Lives of the Saints . [February &

of rubbish and defiled with the dung of cattle, and a sow
and her pigs lying in the bed where Ina and Ethelburga
his queen had slept So Ethelburga spake to her husband,
saying, “ Seest thou, O king, how the pomp of this world
passeth away? Where are all thy goodly things? How
foul is now the house which but yesterday was thy royal
abode ! Are not all the things of this life as a breath, yea
as smoke, and as a wind that passeth away ?”

Then the old king entered into himself, and he resolved
to lay aside his dignity and rule, and to devote the rest of
his days to the custody of his soul. So he and his wife
went to Rome to pray at the tomb of the Apostles, and
Pope Gregory II. received them gladly; and he died
there.

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■S'. Chrysolius.

189

February 7.

S. Chrysolius, B.M. in Flanders, a.d. 302.

SS. Adauctus and Companions, MM. at Antandris , cz>r. a.d. 303.
S. Augulus, B.M. in London.

SS. One Thousand and Three Martyrs at Nicombdia, circ.
a.d. 302.

S. Maximus, B. o/Nola {see S. Felix, Jan . 15).

S. Theodore, M. at Heraclea, a.d. 319.

S. Parthbnius, B. of Lamps acus, 4th cent.

S. Moses, B. of the Saracens in Arabia, end of 5 th cent.

SS. Moses and Six Monks, MM. in Egypt , $th cent.

S. Juliana, JV. at Bologna , circ. a.d. 435.

S. Tresan, P.C. of Mareuil, 6th cent.

S. Laurence, B. of Manfredonia, circ. a.d. 550.

S. Fidblis, B. of Merida, circ. A.D. 570.

S. Meldan, B. at Peronne, end of 6th cent.

S. Richard, C. at Lucca, a.d. 719.

S. Luke the Younger, C. at Soterio, in Greece, circ. a.d. 946.

S. Romuald, Ab. Founder of the Order of Camaldoli, circ. a.d. 1027.

S. CHRYSOLIUS, B. M.

(a.d. 302.)

[Molanus in his additions to Usuardus. Ferrarius in his General Catalogue
of Saints. Authorities : — The Lections in use in the Church of Comines.]

this day at Comines, in Flanders, is cele-
brated the Feast of S. Chrysolius, the patron of
the church, who is said to have founded the
first sanctuary of the B. Virgin in Flanders.
This saint, a native of Armenia, acccompanied S. Piatus
and S. Quentin in their apostolic mission to France and
Belgium. From Toumai he started on a preaching expe-
dition through Flanders, but the pagans cut off his scalp,
in derision of his tonsure, at Vrelenghem, and he died at
Comines, two leagues distant, on the river Lys. His body
was taken up by S. Eligius, and is, to this day, honoured
in the collegiate church there, originally erected under the
invocation of Our Lady.

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S. AUGULUS, B. M.

[Martyrology of S. Jerome, falsely so-called, and others.]

Little or nothing is known of this Saint, but all Martyr-
ologies place him in Britain, and at Augusta, which is
probably London. It is questionable if he was a martyr.

S. THEODORE OF HERACLEA, M.

(A.D. 3x9.)

[Roman Martyrology on this day. By the modern Greeks on Feb. 8th,
but anciently on the 7th. The Acts purport to be written by one Augarius,
a notary ; he says, " I, the Scribe Augarius, was present, and saw these
cruel punishments, and hearing also the pain of his stifled sighs, casting
aside my parchments, I threw myself weeping at his feet.” He says also
that he wrote this account at the request of the dying martyr. If this be
not a forgery, the original Acts have been sadly tampered with. To the
account of the martyrdom is prefixed — very probably by a later hand — a
story of the fight of S. Theodore with a dragon, which belongs to the
Western version of the story of S. George. These Acts certainly existed in
their present condition in 550, for they were then translated into Latin.]

S. Theodore of Heraclea, who is not to be confounded
with S. Theodore of Amasea, sumamed Tyro, also a
warrior martyr, is numbered among the Great Martyrs
by the Greek Church.

Theodore of Heraclea was a general of the forces of
Licinius, and governor of the country of the Mariandyni,
whose capital was Heraclea of Pontus. Here he was
sentenced to death by order of the emperor. After having
been scourged, and his flesh torn by hooks, and burnt with
fire, he was for a short while attached to a cross, and then
beheaded.

Relics at S. Saviour's, Venice. S. Theodore is regarded
as one of the chief patrons of the Venetian republic. The

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body of this glorious martyr was brought from Constanti-
nople to Venice by Mark Dandolo, in 1260.

In Art, S. Theodore appears as a warrior in armour, very
1 generally trampling on the dragon. He is to be distin-
guished from S. George by being represented on foot,
whereas S. George usually appears mounted.

S. PARTHENIUS, B. OF LAMPSACUS.

(4TH CENT.)

[Greek Anthology and Menaea. Authority : — A life written by one
Christinus, a contemporary, and native of Lampsacus, and probably a
disciple.]

S. Parthenius, a native of Melitopolis, as a boy, occu-
pied his leisure in fishing. He sold the fish he caught, and
gave the proceeds to the poor. He was afterwards ordained
Bishop of Lampsacus, and having obtained from Constan-
tine authority to overthrow the heathen temples and idols,
he destroyed those in his city. The story is told of him
that having ordered an evil spirit to leave a man who
for many years had been possessed, the evil spirit asked
first to be given an habitation. “ I know thee,” cried the
demon, “ thou wilt cast me out, and bid me enter into a
swine.” “ Nay, verily,” answered the saint, “ I will offer
thee a man to dwell in.” Then the devil came out of the
man, and the Bishop said, “ Come now, thou foul spirit,

I am the man. Enter into me if thou canst.” Then the
devil cried out that he could not abide in a tabernacle
kept holy to God, and so fled away.

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SS. MOSES, AB. AND SIX MONKS, MM.

(5TH CENT.)

[Salisbury Martyrology ofWytford, and all other Western Martyrologies^
This S. Moses is not to be confounded with the S. Moses, B. among the
Arabs, nor with S. Moses the Ethiopian. Authorities The Lives of the
Fathers of the Desert and Rufinus.]

This holy abbot ruled a community of monks at Scete,
in Egypt He was once sent for to judge a brother who
had been overtaken in a fault ; but he would not go. Then
he was sent for again, and told that all the brethren awaited
him. So he arose and filed a basket with sand, laid it on
his back, and went to them. Then they asked, “Oh,
Father ! what art thou doing?” He answered, “ My sons,
all my sins are behind my back, following me, and I see
them not ; and shall I judge, this day, the sins of another
man?”

A party of Arabs fell upon him in his cell and killed him,
together with six of his monks.

S. TRESAN, P. C.

(6th Cent.)

[Gallican Martyrology. Authorities : — Mention by Flodoard in his Hist.

Eccl. Remensis, lib. iv. c. 9 ; and a life from the Lections of the Avenay
Breviary ; a life given in Colgan ; all late.]

Tresan, with his six brothers and three sisters, left
Ireland, their native place, and settled at Mareuil on the
river Marne, in France, where Tresan hired himself as
swineherd to a nobleman. He was wont to drive the pigs
to the door of a little church dedicated to St Martin,
and to stand at the door and listen to the recitation of
Matins, and assist at the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. By
this means he became gradually so thoroughly acquainted

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j February 7.] Tresan & Meldan .

with the divine office, that S. Remigius, hearing of him,
and having evidence of his sanctity, ordained him priest
The legend is told of him that one day having celebrated
Mass in this little Church of S. Martin, where he had learnt
the holy offices, he returned to Mareuil, but being weary, he
thrust his staff into the ground, and laid himself down and
slept And when he woke up, behold the staff had taken
root and budded. Then he left it there, and it grew to
become a great tree.

When he was dying, the Holy Eucharist was brought to
him. He rose from his bed, and casting himself down
on the ground, exclaimed, “ Hail, most blessed hope, and
most holy redemption ! Hail, true flesh of Christ, to me
precious above gold and topaz and all most goodly stones !
Hail, most blessed blood of Christ, poured forth to ransom
me, a sinner, and wash away my stains ! Hail, Jesus
Christ, defend me against the ancient enemy, that the
prince of darkness secure me not ! I pray thee, number
me with thine elect” Then he received the holy Viaticum,
and sighed, and his soul had fled.

Relics at Pont-aux-Dames, in Brie. In Art he is repre-
sented with a budding staff.

S. MELDAN, B.

(end of 6th century.)

Of this Irish saint and bishop, who left his native land
and died at Peronne, nothing is known. His acts have
been lost Yet, at one time he must have been famous,
for many churches are dedicated to him. He is sometimes
called Medan. In the revelations of S. Fursey, reference
is made to S. Meldan.

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[February 7.

S. RICHARD, C.

(a.d. 719.)

[Roman Martyrology. German Mart. , and that of Sarum by Wytford.
His life is to be gathered from the Acts of his sons SS. Willibald and
Wunibald ; the life of S. Willibald was written by his cousin, a nun of
Heidenheim.]

This saint was, according to the belief of the people of
Lucca, a prince in Wessex ; but there is not only no evi-
dence that he was of royal rank, but there is strong con-
temporary evidence that he was merely a petty noble.

Taking with him his two sons, Willibald and Wunibald,
he undertook a pilgrimage to Rome; and sailing from
Hamblewich, i.e. Southampton, landed in France. He
made a brief stay at Rouen, and paid his devotions at all
the principal shrines on his way through France. On his
arrival at Lucca, in Italy, he was taken ill and died. He
was buried in the Church of S. Fridian, there, where his
relics are still preserved ; and his festival is kept with singu-
lar devotion. See further the life of S. Willibald (July 7).

S. ROMUALD, AB. C.

(a.d. 1027.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority a life by S. Peter Damian written
fifteen years after his death.]

S. Romuald, who was destined to be the restorer of the
religious life in Italy, came into the world, according to the
most credible account, about the year a.d. 907, at a time
when the universal lawlessness and corruption of life and
manners which had overflowed Europe, had penetrated to
the recesses of the cloister, and had filled the monasteries
of his native land with unworthy monks, who made the
religious profession a mere cloak for vice, or at best as a
pretext for an idle self-indulgent life.

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FAMILY OF S. RICHARD THE SAXON.

S. WALBURGA, Virg. Abbess.

S. WUNIBALD, Abbot. S. WILLIBALD, Bishop.

From a Drawing by A. Wclby Pugin.

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5. Romuald.

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He belonged to the noble family of the Onesti, the Ducal
race of the state of Ravenna; he is said in his youth
to have been much given to sins of the flesh, but neverthe-
less to have been strongly drawn inwardly towards God.

It is said that when in hunting he got separated from his
companions in the woods, he would allow his horse to come
to a standstill, and overcome by the peaceful beauty of
nature, would give way to reflections on the happiness of
those to whom it was given to live retired from the world
far from the clash of arms, the whirl of pleasure, and the
struggles of civil life.

The immediate cause of his forsaking the world was as
follows. His father Sergius Onesti, a man of a proud and
passionate disposition, and wholly given to worldly things,
had a violent quarrel with a relative about the possession
of a certain meadow ; so resolutely determined was he to
press his quarrel to the end, that perceiving Romuald to
be but half-hearted in it, and more fearful of blood-guilti-
ness, than desirous for the victory of his house, he threat-
ened to disinherit him unless he displayed more zeal in
the cause. The relation being equally resolved, the de-
pendents on both sides were armed, and a fight ensued;
at which Romuald, in spite of his scruples, was obliged to
be present. The relation fell by the hand of Sergius him-
self; and Romuald, horror-stricken at the crime, of which
his enforced presence at its perpetration seemed to make
him a partaker, fled to the Monastery of S. Apollinaris in
Classe, intending there to expiate his guilt by a penance of
forty days.

During the performance of this penance he was by some
means attracted to the society of a lay-brother in the
monastery, and in the intervals of his penitential exercises
had many conversations with him. This lay-brother, a truly
spiritual man, perceiving in Romuald signs of a vocation

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to the religious life, strongly urged him to forsake the world
altogether and at once. For this, however, Romuald was not
yet prepared, and, without absolutely rejecting the advice ot
his friend, yet resisted, and put him off from day to day. At
last one day in the course of a talk upon the visions of the
Saints, the lay-brother asked him what he would give for
a sight of the blessed martyr Apollinaris, the patron of the
monastery. Romuald replied that for such a favour he
would consent to forsake the world. That same night
watching in prayer in the monastery church, they beheld a
supernatural brightness issue from the high altar and fill the
whole church. This was the precursor of the appearance
of the blessed martyr, who came forth from the midst of the
high altar habited in priestly vestments, and with a golden
censer in his hand; with this he went round the church
and censed each altar in its turn; and having done this,
retired as he had come, leaving the church once more
in darkness. His friend immediately claimed the fulfilment
of the promise. But even a second vision of the martyr
failed to overcome his reluctance, and he still held off.
But one day praying in the church before this very altar, a
sudden access of the love of God came over his soul. In
a moment all his fears, all his lingering affection for worldly
things vanished ; he hastened to the brethren, and humbly
besought them to receive him as a novice. This, however,
in dread of his father's resentment, they refused to do ;
Romuald, once resolved, would yield to no difficulties, and
betook himself at once to the Archbishop of Ravenna, laid
his case before him, and asked for his help. The Arch-
bishop, moved by the earnestness and fervour of the youth,
took up his cause, and on his assurances of protection
against the violence of Sergius, the brethren consented to
receive him ; and Romuald entered upon the course from
which throughout a long life he was never to swerve, in

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which his ardour was to know no cooling, and which was
to end in peopling many of the solitary places of Italy with
refugees from the wickedness and perils of, perhaps, the
most troublous time which Europe has ever known.

He passed three years in this monastery in the strictest
observance of S. Benedict's rule, in the daily practise of
mortification, and incessant prayer. The greater part of
the monks, however, were of a different mind. They
bitterly resented both Romuald's literal interpretation of the
monastic vow, and the rebukes of their laxity and un-
faithfulness, which he did not hesitate to address to them ;
and at length, in their rage, conspired to murder him,
by throwing him out of the dormitory window, near which
it was his custom to pray in the early morning, while they
were yet in their beds, and the door of the oratory was not
yet open. Romuald, however, aware of their design, prayed
that morning just as usual, and by the mere power of
prayer, without other effort of his own, he escaped the
threatened danger, and saved the brethren from the guilt
which they meditated.

Soon after, hearing by report of one Marinus, who was
leading a hermit life in a desert in the Venetian territory,
he resolved to retire from the fruitless struggle with the
unfaithful monks, and to place himself under his guidance.

He made known his desire to the abbot and the brethren,
and craved permission from them to retire from the commu-
nity, and this was granted with great alacrity. He immedi-
ately made his way to the neighbourhood in which Marinus
dwelt, found him out, and was accepted by him as his
disciple.

Marinus, who was a man of singular simplicity of
character, and most rigid in his asceticism, took in hand the
training of his neophyte in good earnest. His first task was
to teach Romuald to read ; for up to the time of his for-

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I saking the world his literary education had been altogether
neglected. Master and pupil would go forth together to
roam about the wild, and recite the Psalter, sheltering
now under one tree, now under another, and sitting always
face to face at their work. Romuald, wearied by incessant
poring over his book, would sometimes yield to the over-
whelming lassitude which came over him, and seek a
moment’s repose; on which Marinus would strike him
smartly on the left side of his head with a roll which he
held in his right hand. At last, quite unable to bear the
pain, Romuald one day said to him humbly, “ Master,
if you please, strike me next time on the right side of
my head, for I am becoming quite deaf in my left ear,”

“ On which,” says the biographer, “ Marinus, marvelling at
his patience, relaxed the indiscreet severity of his disci- j
pline.”

Before long they were joined in their solitude by Peter,
Duke of Dalmatia, and a comrade of his, who had been
moved to embrace the religious life. Romuald who, in
time, had mastered the difficulties of the Psalter, kept
so far in advance of his companions in devotion, and in the
acquisition of every virtue, that they unanimously deferred
to him in everything, and even Marinus, his whilom master,
now became his scholar, and submitted to his direction
in everything. The whole party maintained themselves by
bodily labour, cultivating a piece of ground, all the time
fasting most rigidly, but, as it would appear, living together
in one common dwelling. However, reading one day in the
Lives of the Fathers, that certain of the brethren in old time
had lived a solitary life, fasting the whole week through, but
on Saturdays and Sundays met together and relaxed the
rigour of their fast, they at once resolved to adopt this way
of life ; viz., to live each in his own hut, apart from the rest,
in silence and mortification, for five days of the week, and

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to allow themselves the solace of community life only on
the Saturday and Sunday; and thus they lived for the
space of fifteen years.

Once, during this time, it is related that Duke Peter came
to Romuald with a piteous complaint that he could not
subsist on the half-cake,1 which formed the daily allowance
of the brethren, and urging that his huge and corpulent frame
really required more sustenance. Whereupon Romuald,
condescending to the weakness of a brother, and willing to
hold out a helping hand to save him from falling, increased
his allowance to three-quarters.

Another occurrence tended greatly to increase the re-
putation of the hermit Saint A peasant farmer in the
neighbourhood, who had often ministered of his subsistence
to Romuald and the brethren, was robbed of his only cow
by the dependents of a certain Count, a proud and arrogant
man. The poor man came to Romuald bewailing his
loss with many lamentations. Romuald at once sent a
messenger to the Count, beseeching him in all humility to
restore his beast to the poor man. The Count turned a deaf
ear to the message, sent back a haughty and insolent
reply, adding moreover that he expected highly to enjoy
the cow's sirloin at dinner that very day. But he had
better have yielded to Romuald; for at dinner-time the
meal was set before him, he inhaled its rich savour with
a greedy joy, and at the first mouthful was choked and
died miserably.

Romuald's sojourn in the Venetian territory was brought
to an end, by the death of several of his companions. On
this he returned to the neighbourhood which he had left
years before, and erected a cell for himself, in the marsh
of Classe, in the place called “ Pons Petri," removing it
subsequently to the locality in which afterwards arose the

1 Paximatium. A cake baked under the ashes on the hearth.

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church of the Blessed Martin “in sylva.” Here he
experienced many and violent temptations of the devil,
who plied him sometimes with terrifying visions, some-
times with distressing doubts about the reality of his
vocation, and his hope of final salvation. But as a good
soldier of Jesus Christ he combated the evil one with the
spiritual weapons of prayer and fasting, and meeting him
boldly at every turn, repelled all his assaults.

After a while, he removed again to another place, where
he built a monastery in honour of Michael the Archangel,
which he peopled with monks, he himself still living solitary
in his cell. While he was living here, a friend one day
sent him a sum of money, about ^21 sterling, intending
it as a relief to his bodily necessities. He immediately
sent off a portion of the money to the brethren of a
monastery which had been just burnt down, to help towards
the rebuilding, and put the remainder away for some similar
purpose. This coming to the ears of the monks at S. Michael's
they were so enraged that they came down to his cell in a
body, gave him a good beating, and drove him from the
neighbourhood with insults and reproaches. Highly de-
lighted with their exploit, they returned to the monastery,
and made preparations to celebrate the occasion by a great
feast But their triumph was short ; for the ringleader in
the attack on Romuald, on his way to obtain some honey
to make mead for the carouse, had to cross a bridge which
, overhung a furious torrent; in the midst of the bridge
something tripped him up, he stumbled, and falling head-
long into the stream, perished by the just judgment of God ;
and that very night the rest of the monks were all but
buried in the ruins of their dwelling, which fell upon them as
they were sleeping heavily after their banquet, and bruises
and broken bones convinced them that they had made a
bad bargain in revolting against Romuald’s severe rule.

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After this, the martyr Apollinaris appeared to Romuald
in a vision, and commanded him to return to Classis, and
assume the government of the monastery there. He at
once removed to the vicinity, probably taking up his
quarters in his old cell. At this same time the brethren
at the monastery being without an abbot were desired
by the Emperor Otho III. to choose one for themselves.
Their choice fell unanimously upon Romuald. The
emperor himself went to announce his election to him,
and to obtain his consent He did not arrive at the cell
until nightfall, and was glad to accept Romuald's invitation
to spend the night there. The next morning the emperor
broached the subject of the Abbacy. Romuald at first
refused to listen to the proposal; but Otho threatening
him with “excommunication and anathema from all the
bishops and archbishops and the whole Synod of Council,"
he at last yielded, at the same time telling the emperor
that the matter was by no means new to him, for that he
had had a divine intimation of it some time before, and
accompanied him to the monastery, where he was duly
installed. Before long however, the brethren took offence
at the severity of his rule, and began to repent of their
choice. Perceiving this, Romuald, as eager to lay down his
office as he had been backward to accept it, hastened to
seek an interview with the emperor ; and in his presence and
that of the Archbishop of Ravenna, broke his rod of office,
and formally dissolved the monastery, probably judging the
traditions of laxity which had grown up in the place too
strong to be disturbed except by the extirpation of the
community.

About this time, hearing of one Venerius, a holy man,
who was leading a solitary life in great austerity, but not
under obedience to anyone, Romuald sought him out
and persuaded him to return to the monastery which he

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I 202 Lives of the Saints. [February y.

had forsaken in consequence of the persecutions of un-
worthy brethren, and seek permission of his abbot to live
apart from the community. “ If thou bearest the Cross of
Christ,” said he, “ it yet remains that thou forsake not the
obedience of Christ” Venerius took Romuald's advice,
obtained leave from his abbot, and returned in great peace
of mind to the beloved solitude. Romuald remained with
him for some time, and gave him much needful instruction
in spiritual things.

It is a good illustration of the reality and thoroughness
of the religious sentiment at that time, that men of the
highest rank were found to submit themselves readily to
the discipline of the Church. It is related that the famous
Crescentius, Senator of Rome, had incurred Otho's dis-
pleasure, and apprehensive of the consequences, had taken
sanctuary. Thammus, one of Otho's courtiers, had induced
Crescentius by an oath of safe conduct to leave the sanctu-
ary, and so to place himself in the emperor's power. The
oath was violated, and Crescentius perished by the hand of
the executioner. Before long the pangs of conscience drove
both the emperor and his satellite to unburden their souls
in confession to Romuald. He ordered Thammus to
embrace the solitary life and

" His every future year,

In ceaseless pain and penance dree

a command which was unhesitatingly obeyed ; while Otho
himself accepted a severe penance for his share in the crime,
which was avenged on him later by his victim's widow.

We now come upon a story which shows how Romuald's
rule succeeded in training such as had the true vocation
to be real heroes of the kingdom of heaven, and how the
supernatural sanctity of his character impressed itself on
his faithful followers.

Boleslas, king of Poland, had besought Otho to send

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him a missionary to convert his subjects, a people then,
as ever, noted for a wild and lawless ferocity. Otho at
once appealed to Romuald, who communicated the
matter to his disciples, explaining to them the perils at-
tending the mission, and saying that he would lay no
command upon any of them, but that if any were willing
to go and meet danger and death for Christ's sake, he
would gladly send him. At once two of his monks, by
name John and Benedict, came forward and offered to
go. Before they had been long in the country, they were
set upon at midnight in their hut, and murdered for the
sake of treasures which they were supposed to possess.

In order to conceal their crime, the murderers set fire
to the hut, hoping to consume the bodies of their victims
with the dwelling. To their horror the flames refused
to approach the bodies of the holy men, and even the
hut, built as it was of light and inflammable materials,
could not be made to bum. Trembling and terror-struck,
they then attempted to fly from the place ; but an invisible
power compelled them to wander round and round the
scene of their crime, and held them enchained to the spot
until daylight The matter came to the ears of the king,
who went with his guards and apprehended them. The
soldiers would have put them to death at once, but the
king prevented them, saying that the criminals should
be reserved for the judgment of the martyrs. With their
hands tied together they were dragged into the hut, and
forced up to the couch on which the bodies yet lay, when
in a moment their bonds fell off ; and the king, saying that
the martyrs had forgiven and acquitted them, ordered them
to be set at liberty.

Meantime Romuald after vainly endeavouring to per-
suade Otho to lay down the sceptre, and retire from the
world, and predicting his approaching death, which accord*

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ingly took place, had betaken himself into Istria, and
built a monastery in the neighbourhood of Parenzo.

Near this he lived, built into a cell, for two years, during
which time he made great advance in piety and in know-
ledge of the Scriptures. At this time he experienced a
great dryness of spirit, which caused him to long and pray
earnestly for the gift of holy contrition. One day while
in this state, singing the Psalter in his cell, the words “ 1
will instruct thee and teach thee in the way wherein thou
shalt go, and I will guide thee with Mine eye,” came
upon him with a strange light and force; his dryness ot
spirit vanished in a moment, he dissolved into tears,
and from that day forward he never again experienced
lack of contrition.

His mission in Istria being accomplished, he prepared
to return into Italy. But the bishop of Parenzo left no
stone unturned to keep him in his diocese ; when persua-
sion and entreaty failed, he resorted to force, and forbade
anyone to let Romuald have a boat in which to make
the voyage across the bay. Romuald, no way discomposed,
sat down on the shore to wait, saying that other boats
from Italy were on their way, and would soon come
purposely to take him off. Before long the vessels made
their appearance, with an invitation to Romuald to return;
and in one of them the journey was safely accomplished.

Immediately on his arrival, he founded a new monastery,
and filled it with monks ; labouring meanwhile with great
zeal and success for the conversion of the people in the
vicinity. One day there, as Romuald and the brethren
were sitting in chapter, the brethren who had been left
in charge ol the door came running in to give the alarm
that a thief was breaking into one of the cells. The
monks ran to the place, and caught the robber in the
very act They brought him to Rcmuald to know what

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was to be done with him. “Well but, brethren,” said
the holy man, looking pleasantly at them, “I really do
not know what can be done with such a rascal. If we
put his eyes out, he won’t be able to see; if we cut off
his hands, he won’t be able to work ; or his feet — there
will be no more walking for him. Bring him in, and give
him something to eat, while we consider what is to be done
with him.” And so says the story, “ having ministered to
his bodily wants, and given him a sweet and gentle reproof,
he dismissed the robber in peace.”

About this time intelligence of the martyrdom of the
blessed martyr Boniface reached Romuald, and inspired
by the desire to win for himself the martyr’s crown, he
at once formed a plan to take a missionary journey into
Hungary. But, before setting out, he proceeded to consoli-
date his order by the foundation of three new monasteries,
one the parent house in the Val di Castro, and two
others. Having appointed an abbot and priors over these
houses, he obtained a commission from the Apostolic See
for the conversion of the Huns, and set forth on his
expedition, accompanied by a party of twenty-four monks ;
and such was the ardour and zeal that burned in the breasts
of all his disciples to encounter death for Christ, that he
had great difficulty to reconcile to their lot those whom he
had decided to leave behind.

Hardly, however, had they entered the confines of
Hungary, when Romuald was seized with a mysterious
malady, which arrested their progress; for as often as he
attempted to renew his journey and push forward to his
destination, his sickness so increased in severity, as to
compel him to desist ; whereas, whenever he only thought
of giving up the enterprise and returning homewards, the
symptoms abated and his strength returned. Judging this
to be a divine warning, he resolved to retrace his steps.

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Two of the brethren returned with him; the remainder
pursued their journey with Romuald's consent, though he
warned them that the crown of martyrdom would be
granted to none of them. Accordingly they met with all
manner of persecution and ill-treatment from the barbarious
Huns, but to none of them was it given to lay down his
life for Christ

On his return, hearing that some one had obtained the
abbacy of the monastery “in Classe,” which would seem
to have been reconstituted, by perjury and simony, he made
all haste hither to rebuke the intruder, and exhort him to
lay down his ill-gotten authority. The bad abbot in a rage
attempted to murder Romuald, who was only saved by
the special interposition of Providence. He returned to the
monastery in the Val di Castro, and occupied his cell in
the neighbourhood. But before long he experienced one
of the many afflictions which befel him in the course of
his life through false brethren ; for the abbot of his own
appointment, an unworthy monk, annoyed at the daily
rebuke of his own laxity, conveyed by Romuald's silent
example ot ascetic holiness, managed to procure his ex
pulsion from the territory. He did not move far, however,
but settled for a time at a place in the Apennines called
Agua Bella, where the disciples gathered round him,
and began to erect huts or cells for the hermit life. One
day in the midst of this work a secular priest who was
helping the brethren in their work was attacked by an
intolerable toothache, and after bearing up against the pain
for some time, was reluctantly obliged to excuse himself
to the brethren, and to desist from his work. Moaning
piteously he was making his way home, when he en-
countered Romuald, who, from age and infirmity, was
unable to take any active part in the manual labour of the
brotherhood, and in answer to an enquiry from him ex-

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plained why he was leaving them. Romuald bade him
open his mouth, and placing his finger on the offending
tooth desired him to apply to it a rough-and-ready remedy
much in vogue among the country folk. The priest pro-
ceeded on his way, but scarce had he traversed a rood of
ground when the pain left him of a sudden, and he felt that
he was cured. Forthwith he returned to his work, loudly
declaring the praises of God, who had sent among them
so bright a light, so eminent a worker of miracles, as
Romuald; and with great difficulty could the disciples
succeed in silencing him; for if such expressions reached
Romuald’s ears, great was his displeasure.

In connection with this story, the biographer mentions an
occurrence which took place at Camaldoli ; his cell there
was overshadowed by a large beech tree, which, for some
reason or other, he desired might be felled. The workmen
began to cut it down, and were in the midst of their work,
when it became evident that the tree must fall right across
the hut and crush both the dwelling and its occupant
They all, with one voice, besought him to come out ; but,
making the sign of the cross towards the tree, he desired
them to proceed; they obeyed, and to the amazement
of all, die tree swerved and fell wide of the cell.

“ They all, therefore, thunderstruck at so great a miracle,
raised their voices to heaven in praise, and gave grateful
thanks to God.”

After setting everything in order in his monasteries in
the Apennines, Romuald revisited Istria, where he is said to
have lived, built up1 in his cell, and in unbroken silence,
for seven years.

“ But though his lips were silent, his life preached,” and
innumerable conversions were the fruit of his sojourning
there. As the infirmities of age began to creep over him.

1 Inciusus.

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he became more and more austere in his acts of self-mortifi-
cation, pressing forward incessantly to new victories over
the flesh, and yielding less and less indulgence to even the
most innocent infirmities of his lower nature. But there
was no sourness in his asceticism; in the midst of his
bitterest mortifications his countenance bore at all times the
impress of an unruffled serenity and cheerfulness of spirit

But the wanderings of Romuald's long life were not yet
at an end. He made a further excursion to the north, and
settled for a while in Styria. And these many wanderings,
says his biographer, arose not from fickleness of spirit, as
if he were unable to rest long in one place, but solely from
the wonderful attraction which his presence exercised where-
ever he went No sooner did he erect his cell anywhere,
than men flocked to him from every quarter to be guided
by his teaching, and to be edified by his life ; so that the
most complete solitudes speedily become populous. And
as soon as he had duly instructed those who came to
him in the discipline of a holy life, he would form them
into a community, appoint one of their number to be prior
over them, and then betake himself to some other solitude,
soon to people that also, and to be driven from it in the
same way.

In Styria it is related that those who gathered around
him, all lived so devoutly, that the rage for mortification
reached even to the herdsmen and shepherds of the
neighbourhood, who vied with the monks and hermits in
all the exercises of the religious life, fasting, keeping silence,
and administering the discipline to each other with great
zeal and earnestness. On which Peter Damian ejaculates,
“ Oh ! holy time of Romuald ! in which, though the tor-
ments of persecution were unknown, yet there was no lack
of spontaneous martyrdom !”

The whole career of Romuald from the time of his

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profession, is one continuous illustration of the two-fold
force of reality in religion — a force of attraction on the one
hand, of repulsion on the other. We see in him one, who in
the depth and fervour of his penitence, stedfastly adhered
through a long life to his first renunciation, not only of the
pomps and vanities of this world, but of the most necessary
and innocent refinements of life, and by the mere force of
reality drew after him crowds of disciples of every class, and
peopled the waste places of his native land with monks
and hermits. We see, on the one hand, those in whom the
grace of a true vocation responded to the example and
teaching of their master, led on by degrees to vie with him
in the fervour of his self-devotion ; and those, on the other
hand, who sought in monasticism only a coward's refuge
from the temptations and trials of secular life, repelled
almost at once by the stem thoroughness of his religion,
and by their own unreality forced into rebellion against
his rule.

At the age of 102 he visited the Apennines, seeking a
new retreat, and one day falling asleep beside a fountain in
a pleasant plain among the mountains, he dreamed that he
saw a ladder set up between heaven and earth, up which his
monks ascended in white habits. On awaking, he resolved
to change the colour of the dress of his monks, and to found
a monastery on the spot It was the property of a gentle-
man named Maldoli, who at once gave it him, and the
monastery was called Campo Maldoli, whence the order
assumed its name of Camaldoli.

Romuald died on June 19th, 1027. He is said to have
attained the age of 120, but this has been disputed with
every show of reason by Bollandus and Baronius. He died
in his monastery of the Val di Castro, in the Marches of
Ancona, and was there buried. The elevation of the relics
took place in 1467, and they were translated to the Church

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of S. Blase, in the town of Fabri, where they remain to this
day. The Roman Breviary celebrates his festival on the
day of the translation, which took place in the year 1481.

In Art he appears with his finger on his lips, and the
ladder, he saw in vision, at his side.

A learned Doctor and Church Historian.

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•S'. Juventius .

21 I

February 8.

S. Juyentioe, B. of Pavia , and cm/.

SS. Dionysius, /Bmilian, and Sebastian, MAf., in Armenia.
SS. Martyrs in Persia, under Cabades , beginning trfbth cent.

S. Honoratus, 5. of Milan, a.d. 570.

S. Nicetius, A. <j/ Besancon, beginning of 7 /A cent.

S. Paul, B. of Verdun , circ. a.d. 649.

S. Elfleda, V. Abss. of Whitby, a.d. 716.

S. Menoold, M. at Huy in Belgium, circ. a.d. 89a.

S. Cuthman, C. at Steyning in Sussex.

B. Peter Aldobrandini, Card. B. of Albano, circ. a.d. 1000.

S. Stephen, Ab. Founder of the Order of Grandmont , a.d. 1134.

S. John or Matha, C. Founder of the Trinitarians , a.d. 1313.

B. Isaiah Boner, C. at Casimir and Cracow, circ. a.d. 1380.

S. Jerome A£milian, Founder of the Order of Somasch , a.d. 1537.

S. JUVENTIUS, B. C.

(2ND CENT.)

[Roman Mart., and that of Usuardus. Juventius is sometimes called
Eventius, but it seems that Eventius, B. of Pavia, was a later prelate, and
ought not to be confounded with Juventius. The Acts are late, written
by Paulus Diaconus, or at all events re-written by him in what was regarded
as a more polished style. These Acts belong to S. Syrus, see December
9th ; but contain much concerning S. Juventius.]

B^JjERMAGORAS, the disciple of S. Peter the
Apostle, and S. Mark the Evangelist, who was
also Bishop of Aquileia, sent Syrus and Juventius
to preach the Gospel in Ticinum, or Pavia.
When it was known that SS. Celsus and Nazarius had shed

their blood for the faith at Milan, and that SS. Gervase
and Protasius were in bonds, Syrus sent Juventius to Milan,
to comfort the church there, and to animate the Confessors.
On his return he was ordained by S. Syrus, who had
received episcopal consecration from S. Hermagoras. He
succeeded Syrus, his master, in the see of Pavia. But few

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traditions of his episcopate have been wafted down to us.
Perhaps the most interesting is this. A collector of taxes
in crossing the river was nearly drowned, and lost the money
for which he was held responsible. In great tribulation,
the man hastened to the bishop, who, commiserating his
trouble, advanced with him to the banks of the Ticino, and
cried, “ I say unto thee, O water, on which Christ the Lord
walked, in His name restore the money for which this man
is distressed !” Immediately the bag of coins was washed
to their feet

Porphyrius, prefect of Rome, having made the circuit
of the country, came to Pavia, holding inquisition upon
the Christians and other reputed disturbers of the Common-
wealth. Juventius was brought before him, and Porphyrius
was so won by his gentleness and innocence that he let him
go, with an admonition to abstain from preaching the
doctrine of Christ to the people ; and the bishop, to
prevent a persecution, abandoned public orations and
discussions, and confined himself to private expositions of
the truth."

SS. DIONYSIUS, ^EMILIAN, AND SEBASTIAN, MM.
(date uncertain.)

[Roman Mart., and those of S. Jerome, Bede, Notker, Ado, Usuardus, &c.]

Of these saints, who suffered in Lesser Armenia, though
noticed in nearly all Martyrologies, nothing whatever is
known ; and Bollandus supplies the place of their lost Acts
with the Acts of certain other saints, — ^Emilian, Hermippus,
and Dionysius, commemorated on Jan. 28th, with the
caustic heading : “ Acta horum sanctorum martyrum, vel
potius quatuor aliorum.”

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S. Paul of Verdun.

213

S. PAUL* R OF VERDUN.

(ABOUT A.D. 649.)

[Roman Martyrology, Usuardus, &c. Authority : — A very ancient
anonymous life, of which Restarius, Canon of S. Vito, who flourished in
887, made use in his “ Hist brevis episcoporum Virdunensium."]

This saint, a native of Autun, and not, as some have
maintained, of Flanders, was of noble birth. He received
an excellent education in his youth, whereby his parents,
unintentionally, prepared him for the service of the church,
their desire being that he should distinguish himself in the
world. But he, despising the pomps and pleasures of a
secular life, retired into the Vosges mountains, and lived as
a hermit on that mountain which has since borne his name,
the Paulsherg, within sight of Trfeves. On one occasion,
having visited the monastery of Tholey, near S. Wendelin,
he was so moved by the piety of the monks, and their
earnest desire to number him amongst them, that he
entered the monastery, where he soon endeared himself
to all the brethren by his gentleness and holy example.
Amongst the pupils at Tholey was Grimo, a kinsman of
king Dagobert, on whose property the monastery was
situated. On the death of Ermenfried, bishop of Verdun,
on the recommendation of Grimo, Paul was nominated
to the vacant see. He found that on account of the dis-
order of the times, his church was in the most profound
debasement. The cathedral was without clergy to cele-
brate mass and recite the psalter, and it was served
occasionally by a priest who visited it at wide intervals,
and was unendowed. The bishop at once sent for his
friend and patron, Grimo, and exposed to him the spiritual
and temporal distress ; and by the intercession of Grimo
with Dagobert, the king, Paul was provided with land, by
means of which he could support a staff of clergy. By his

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diligence and zeal he was enabled, before he died, to
organise the diocese, and to provide for its spiritual super-
vision.

In Art, he is represented, for some unknown reason,
with a taper in his hand, also with an oven, for he is
said to have been baker at Tholey for the community,
and to have, on one occasion, gone into the oven to
place the loaves, when the shovel was lost

& ELFLEDA, V. ABSS. OF WHITBY.

(A.D. 716.)

[Inserted in Anglican Martyrology by J. Wilson, and in the Benedictine by
Hugh Menard ; and Ferrarius in his Gen. Catalogue. Authorities : — Bede
and Malmesbury.]

Throughout his life, Penda, the fierce heathen king
of Mercia, or the midland counties of England, waged war
with the kingdom of Northumbria, which included York-
shire, Durham, and Northumberland. But this blood-
thirsty and stubborn hatred led him to his destruction.
Oswy, son of Ethelfrid, the ravager, and grandson of Ida,
the Man of Fire, was king of Northumbria, which had been
so wasted and exhausted by the former ravages of Penda,
that it could ill withstand another attack. It was only
at the last extremity, that king Oswy resolved to engage in
a final conflict with the terrible enemy who had conquered
and slain his two predecessors, Edwin and the saintly
Oswald. He had married his son and his daughter to
children of Penda ; and he gave him another of his sons as
a hostage. But Penda would not consent to any durable
peace. During the thirteen years that had elapsed since
the overthrow of Oswald, and the accession of Oswy, he
had periodically subjected Northumberland to frightful

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devastations. In vain Oswy, driven to desperation, offered
him all his jewels, ornaments, and treasures, of which he
could dispose, as a ransom for his desolated and hopeless
provinces. The arrogant and fierce octogenarian refused
everything, being resolute, as he said, to exterminate the
whole Northumbrian race, from first to last “ Well, then,”
said Oswy, “since this heathen despises our gifts, let us
offer them to one who will accept them — to the Lord our
God.” He then made a vow to devote to God a daughter
who had just been bom to him, and at the same time to
give twelve estates for the foundation of as many monas-
teries. After this he marched at the head of a small army
against Penda, whose troops were, according to a Northum-
brian tradition, thirty times more numerous, and a battle
was fought near the site of the present town of Leeds,
in which Penda was defeated and slain. Thus perished,
at the age of eighty, after a reign of thirty years, the
conqueror and murderer of five Anglo-Saxon kings, and
the last and indefatigable champion of paganism among
the Anglo-Saxons.

Oswy faithfully kept his word. He set apart twelve
estates to be thenceforward monastic property — six in the
north, and six in the south of his double kingdom. He
then took his daughter Elfleda, who was but yet a year
old, and consecrated her to God by the vow of perpetual
virginity. Her mother, the daughter of Edwin, first Chris-
tian king of Northumbria, had been also dedicated to God
from her birth, but only by baptism, and as a token of the
gratitude of a still pagan father for the protection of the
Christian’s God. The daughter of Oswy was to be the
price of a yet higher gift of heaven — the conclusive victory
of his race, and of the Christian faith in his country ; the
sacrifice reminds us of that of Jepthah’s daughter; but she,
far from desiring to escape her vow, showed herself, during

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a long life, always worthy of her heavenly Bridegroom.
The king took her from the caresses of her mother, to
intrust her to the abbess Hilda of Hartlepool, who nearly
ten years before had been initiated into the monastic life
by S. Aidan.

In 658, when Elfleda was three years old, S. Hilda
founded her monastery of Streaneshalch, now called Whitby,
and moved thither with her little spiritual daughter.

Elfleda was scarcely twenty-five years of age, when S.
Hilda died, and she was called to succeed her as abbess of
Whitby. She is described by Bede as a most pious mis-
tress of spiritual life. But like all the Anglo-Saxon prin-
cesses whom we meet within the cloister at this epoch, she
did not cease to take a passionate interest in the affairs of
her race and her country, and to exercise that extraordinary
and salutary influence which was so willingly yielded by the
Anglo-Saxon kings and people to those princesses of theii
sovereign races who became the brides of Christ.

She maintained that reverent and affectionate relation
with S. Cuthbert which had been maintained by S. Hilda.

Before he became bishop, while he lived on a desert rock
near Lindisfame, she prevailed on him to grant her an
interview in an island on the Northumbrian coast, called
then, as now, Coquet Island. She was anxious and alarmed
for her brother Egfrid, and she desired to consult the holy
Cuthbert on the afiairs of the state and her family. The
hermit and the abbess went each to their meeting by sea ;
and when he had answered all her questions, she threw her-
self at his feet, and entreated him to tell her, by virtue of
those prophetic powers, with which he was known to be
gifted, whether her brother, Egfrid, would have a long life
and reign. “I am surprised,” he answered, “that a woman
well versed, like you, in the Holy Scriptures should speak
to me of length with regard to human life, which lasts no

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Elfieda.

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longer than a spiders web, as the Psalmist has said. How
short then must life be for a man who has but a year to live,
and has death at his door !” At these words, she wept long ;
then, (hying her tears, she continued, with feminine bold-
ness, and inquired who should be the king's successor, since
he had neither sons nor brothers. “Do not say," he
replied, “ that he is without heirs ; he shall have a successor
whom you will love, as you love Egfrid, as a sister." “ Then
tell me, I entreat you, where this successor is." “You see,"
returned Cuthbert, directing the eyes of his companion
towards the archipelago of islets which dots the Northum-
brian coast around Lindisfame, “ how many isles are in the
vast ocean ; it is easy for God to bring from them some one
to reign over the English." Elfieda then perceived that he
spoke of a young man, Aldfrid, supposed to be the son of
her father Oswy, by an Irish mother, and who, since his
infancy, had lived as an exile at Iona, where he gave him-
self up to study.

The troubles concerning S. Wilfrid which had vexed the
Northumbrian Church still prevailed. Wilfrid was still in
banishment for his persistence in introducing the Roman
customs into the Keltic Church of the north of England.
The new king, Aldfrid, had brought with him from Iona
attachment to the ritual of SS. Columba and Aidan.
Elfieda inherited the prejudices of her spiritual mother,
Hilda, against the stem and inflexible innovator ; but there
was on their side a desire for reconcilation with the Church
of the province of Canterbury, which was of Roman foun-
dation, and they hoped that now Wilfrid was an aged man,
some of his harshness might have been softened.1

To the new king, as well as to his sister, the Abbess
Elfieda, Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury wrote, to exhort

1 For an account of the conflict with S. Wilfrid, and the opposition of the
Northumbrian Church and princes to his innovations, see his life, Oct. xs.

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them both to lay aside their enmity against Wilfrid, and to
receive him with unreserved kindness. They yielded, and re-
called Wilfrid, but were mistaken in supposing that age had
altered his determination. He returned in 687 to excite
storms throughout his diocese, and was again exiled, in 691.

Aldfrid died in 705, and the Northumbrian crown
descended to a prince named Eadwulf. Wilfrid had taken
advantage of the death of Aldfrid to return to Ripon, but
was ordered to leave the country in six days. But Eadwulf
was dethroned, and a son of Aldfrid, Osred, aged eight, was
given the realm of Bemicia, the counties of Northumber-
land and Durham. By means of some mysterious influence,
the nature of which is unknown, the aged exile Wilfrid, who
had been expelled from the country for fourteen years, and
was to all appearance forgotten, became, all at once, the
master of the situation, and the arbiter of events. He soon
acquired a more powerful protector than the young
sovereign in the person of Earl Bertfrid, who was considered
the most powerful noble in the kingdom, and who was
at the head of Osred’s party. King Eadwulf marched
against the insurgents, and obliged them to retreat to the
fortress of Bamborough, where the earl, shut up in the
narrow enclosure of this fortified rock, and reduced to the
last extremity, vowed that, if God would deliver him and his
charge, the young prince and his people should bow to the
Roman subjection. An opportune desertion of Eadwulf s
followers gave victory to Bertfrid, and Eadwulf was exiled
after a short reign of two months. As soon as the royal
child was placed on the throne, the Archbishop of Canter-
bury made his appearance, perceiving that the time was
come for reinstating Wilfrid, and settling his affairs in a
general assembly. This was held in the open air on the
banks of the Nid. Wilfrid was present, and met there
Bertfrid and the Abbess Elfleda, who had come over to his

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S. Elfleda.

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side, and to Roman obedience. All the Northumbrians
regarded her as the consoler and best counsellor of the
kingdom. The bishops and abbots present opposed the
claims of Wilfrid, and refused to accept him, though he
came armed with the authority of the Holy See. At this
point, the Abbess Elfleda interposed : in a voice which all
listened to as an utterance from heaven, she described the
last illness and agony of the king her brother, and how he
had vowed to God and S. Peter to accomplish the papal
decrees which he had so vigorously rejected. “ This,” she
said, “ is the last will of Aldfrid the king ; I attest the truth
of it before Christ” Bertfrid afterwards spoke and
announced his vow. Nevertheless the three bishops would
not yield, they retired from the assembly to confer among
themselves, and with Archbishop Britwald, but above all
with the sagacious Elfleda. Thanks to her, all ended in a
general reconciliation.

Shortly before his death, and during his last pastoral
visitation, S. Cuthbert went to see Elfleda in the neigh-
bourhood of the great monastery of Whitby, to conse-
crate a church which she had built there, and to converse
with her for the last time. They dined together, and during
the meal, seeing his knife drop from his trembling hand
in the abstraction of supernatural thoughts, she had a last
opportunity of admiring his prophetic intuition, and his
constant care for the salvation of souls. The fatigue of
the holy bishop, who said laughingly, “ I cannot eat all day
long ; you must give me a little rest ” : The eagerness and
pious curiosity of the young abbess, anxious to know and
do everything, who rushed up breathlessly during the
ceremony of the dedication to ask the bishop a memento
for a monk, whose death she had just heard of, — all these
details, says a modem writer,1 form a picture complete

1 Montalembert, Monks of the Weat, i r. p. 41a.

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in its simplicity, upon which the charmed mind can repose
amid the savage habits and wild vicissitudes of the struggle,
then more violent than ever, between the Northumbrians
and Piets, the Saxons and the Celts.

S. Elfleda died at the age of sixty. No account of her
last illness has been transmitted to us.

S. MENGOLD, M.

(ABOUT A.D. 892.)

S. Mengold, second patron of the town of Huy on the
Meuse, where a church is erected under his invocation, was
count of Huy, and was murdered by some knights of his
court, whose vices he attempted to restrain.

His relics, along with those of several other saints of
Huy, are preserved in the noble church of Our Lady in
that town.

S. CUTHMAN, C.

(date uncertain.)

[In Ancient Anglo-Saxon Kalendar belonging to the Abbey of Fecamp,
and French Martyrology. Authority: — Two lives of uncertain date, by
anonymous writers.]

The blessed Cuthman was by birth a native of Devon
shire or Cornwall, and his youth was spent in pasturing
his fathers sheep on the granite moors. One day, when
dinner time came, he was hungry, and not having a com-
panion to whom he could entrust his flock during his
absence, he drew a circle in the heather and gorse with
his staff, and then planted it in the soil, and said, “In
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I command you sheep not
to transgress the bounds I have drawn, till I return from my

US-

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221

dinner.” And, wonderful to relate, the sheep obeyed his com-
mand. Now there was a grey moor-stone on which he was
wont to sit; and this moorstone has been ever since regarded
with singular veneration, says the ancient writer of his life.

After some years his father died, and the widow was
reduced to great poverty. Cuthman ministered to her
with the tenderest care and filial devotion, and worked
for their joint subsistence. When the poor woman fell
sick, he was unable to leave her, at the same time he was
so destitute that, unless he went forth to work or beg, they
must starve. He, therefore, contrived a wooden truck or
barrow on two wheels, and laid his mother on it, and went
behind, thrusting her on with his hands, and supporting her
by a rope slung round his neck, and begged from door
to door, as her condition incapacitated him from working.
One day, as he was thus thrusting his little cart through
a field where the hay-makers were mowing the grass, the
rope broke, and the holy y<*ith stood a while hesitating
what to do. Then he tore from an elder tree a bough, and
twisted it, and attached it to his mother's cart, and supported
it therewith. But the mowers laughed at him as a fool
for endeavouring to supply the place of a rope with hollow
elder wood. Their mockery was, however, soon arrested
by a pelting rain, which drove them from their work,
and by seeing the bough hold as firmly as a rope.

And when Cuthman saw that God assisted and avenged
him, he vowed to build a church to his holy Name. But
how to do so he knew not So he continued his wander-
ings, ever journeying East way, and thrusting his mother
before him, till he came to Steyning, in Sussex, where
the rope suddenly broke, and his mother was much shaken,
but, mercifully, was not injured. Then he thought that
this was to be the place of his rest, and he said, “ O Lord,
on me has fallen to undertake the work of building Thee

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a house; for to do this thou didst inspire me with the
will. Whither shall I fly from Thy Spirit? This is the
place where I shall finish my wanderings, this shall be
my habitation, in which I shall offer and pay Thee my vows,
day by day. Almighty Father, who hast brought my journey
to an end, bless my work of building to thee a temple.
Thou knowest how poor I am, and a labourer from my
youth, and of myself I can do nothing, unless thou dost
succour me.”

The place was still and solitary, trees surrounded it, and
hard by flowed the tidal river Adur. The land was little
populated ; here and there only a farm, buried in a nook of
the great chalk downs. He chose a spot at the foot of these
downs, and there he built a hut and laid his poor mother
in it, and at once began to measure out the ground for
his proposed church. He found favour with the people
round about, and they contributed to his sustenance and
the support of his mother, as they watched him single-
handed dig the foundations, cut the timber, and rear
the walls of the church he had vowed to God. He
was given two oxen to help him in his work of carrying
stones. Now, one day, these oxen strayed into the field
of a woman who had two grown up sons. The young men
at once seized on the oxen, and took them into their house.
Cuthman went after the oxen, and when he could not find
them, asked the young men for them, but they refused
to surrender them. Then he said angrily, “ I need them
not to do my own work, but to labour for God. See I have
laded my cart with those logs, and must move them to
the house of God. Come then you and draw them.” And
he grasped the youths, and yoked them to the wain, and
made them drag the stones to their destination.

Now as the church approached completion, Cuthman
was grieved one day to find that a wooden pillar he had set

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up, was bent with the weight imposed upon it, and he
feared to remove it, lest he should bring down a part of
the building. Then there came a traveller to the door, of
very grave and beautiful aspect, and asked Cuthman why
he was troubled. And Cuthman pointed to the bent post
Then said the stranger, “ O man of little faith ! to those
who fear God, nothing is impossible. Stretch forth thine
hand and let me help thee, and we will straighten it" And
he did so, and the pillar became upright Then Cuthman
fell at the stranger's feet, and said, “ My lord, tell me thy
name!" And he answered, “I am Jesus, to whom thou
buildest this house and so vanished.

Now Cuthman not only built and laboured for his old
bed-ridden mother, but he also preached to the people,
and stirred up the love of God, and zeal for His command-
ments in their hearts. And as his church approached
completion, he was glad, and he worked without, and then
rested for a while in prayer within. And chipping at
the logs without, he wore thick gloves, and when he went
within he took off his gloves, and hung them on a little
ray of light that pierced through one of the small windows
he had made in the walls. And there, where he worked, he
died, but what was the nature of his illness, and his
disposition at death is not recorded. He was buried at
Steyning, and the Adur, then navigable as far as this place,
long bore the name of S. Cuthman's Port Steyning was
given by Edward the Confessor, and afterwards by the
Conqueror, to the abbey of Fecamp, in Normandy, from
which circumstance Bollandus supposed Steyning was in
Normandy, and many have been misled thereby. The
church of Steyning, dedicated to S. Cuthman, was built
by monks of Fecamp to replace his wooden one.

The Monasticon Anglicanum of Dugdale, (II. p. 992),
Leland, Collect, I. p. 96 ; II. p. 409 ; III. p. 82 ; and

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Camden asserts plainly that S. Cuthman was buried at
Steyning in Sussex. “ Celia de Stening Nigrorum Mona-
chorum in qui sepultus Stus. Cudman “S. Cudmannus
in Stenig prope Brambre flumen.,, “Stus. Caudmannus
in loco qui dicitus ad Staning requiescit prope amnem
Brembre this Brembre is Bramber ; the name is no longer
given to the river, but to the castle hard by, upon it

S. STEPHEN OF GRANDMONT, AB.

(a.d. 1124.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority : a life by Gerald Itherius, prior of
Grandmont.]

S. Stephen was bom in the year 1046, in the castle of
Thiers, in Auvergne, belonging to his father, the Viscount
de Thiers. At an early age of twelve he was taken by his
pious father a pilgrimage into Italy. On their return, the
lad fell ill at Benevento, and the father was obliged to
leave him in the charge of Milo, archbishop of that city, a
native of Auvergne. This prelate took the greatest care of
the young Stephen and reared him in all holy lore ; and as
he grew up intent on serving God in a spiritual and eccle-
siastical state, he ordained him, first sub-deacon, and after-
wards deacon.

After the death of the archbishop, Stephen, being then
twenty-four years old, went to Rome and remained there
four years. There the vocation to the religious life growing
stronger in him, he formed the resolution of imitating certain
monks of Calabria, living in great holiness, of whom he had
heard Milo speak, and whom he had once visited. He
therefore asked permission of Pope Gregory VII. to live
apart in some solitude, following the rule of the Calabrian
hermits. The pope hesitated for some while, thinking him

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February 8.] S. Stephen of Grandmont. 225

too delicate of constitution, but at length yielded to his
pressing solicitations in 1073. Stephen then returned to
France, and resided at Thiers for a short time with his
parents ; and then, departing, established himself at
Aureille or Soviat, a few leagues from Limoges, where he
placed himself under the direction of S. Gaucher, who had
built a monastery of regular Canons, called S. Jean d’
Aureille. But S. Gaucher having erected a nunnery in the
neighbourhood, S. Stephen disliking the proximity to
women, left Aureille, and retired to Muret, in 1076. This is
a mountain near Limoges, where, amongst the rocks and
trees, he built a small cabin, and vowed himself to Jesus
Christ in a very special manner. Having retained a ring,
the only thing belonging to his father and home, that he had
not given away or refused, he placed it on his finger saying,

“ I, Stephen, renounce the devil and all his pomps, and offer
myself to God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the One
true God in Three Persons.” Then having written these
words, he placed them on his head, and added, “ O God
Almighty, who livest eternally, and reignest One in Three
Persons, I promise to serve Thee in this hermitage in
the Catholic faith; in sign whereof I place this writing
on my head, and place this ring on my finger, that at
the hour of my death this promise may serve as my de-
fence against my enemies.” Then addressing himself to
the Holy Virgin he said, “Holy Mary, Mother of God,

I commend my body, soul, and senses to thy Son and
to thee.”

In this wild solitude, amidst rocks and trees, Stephen
passed forty-six years in prayer, and the practice of such
austerities as almost surpassed the strength of a human
body. He lived at first on wild herbs and roots. In
the second summer he was discovered by certain shepherds
who brought him a little coarse bread ; which some country

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people from that time continued to do as long as he lived.
He always wore next his skin a hair-cloth with iron plates
and hoops studded with sharp spikes, over which his
only garment, made of the coarsest stuff, was the same
both in summer and winter. When overcome by sleep, he
took a short rest on rough boards, laid in the form of a
coffin. By degrees, disciples gathered about him, and
placed themselves under his rule. He would not suffer
them to call him abbot or master, but only corrector. To
them he was ever compassionate, urging them not to
discipline their bodies by excessive fasting, but with himself
he was never lenient

Gregory de Papercesis and Pierre de Ldon, two legates of
the Holy Father, having visited him in his retreat, asked
him what he was, a monk, a hermit, or a canon. “I
am a sinner,” was his answer.

Eight days after their departure, he knew that his end
was nigh. He therefore called his disciples about him, and
said to them, “ My sons, I leave you only God, to whom
all things belong, and for whom you have renounced all
things, and your own selves. If you love poverty, and
cleave to God constantly, He will give you all things that
you shall need.” Five days after he was carried into the
chapel, where, having heard Mass, and received extreme
Unction and the Holy Viaticum, he died on Friday,
February 8th, 1124, at the age of nearly eighty.

S. JOHN OF MATHA, AB.

(a.d. 1213.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority the Bull of his Canonization by
Innocent III.]

S. John was born of pious and noble parents, at Faucon,
on the borders of Provence, June 24th, 1169, and was

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S. John of Matha.

227

baptized John, in honour of S. John the Baptist His
mother dedicated him to God by a vow from his infancy.
His father Ephemius sent him to Aix, where he learned
grammar, fencing, riding, and other exercises fit for a young
nobleman. But his chief desire was to advance in
virtue. He gave the poor a considerable part of the money
his parents sent him for his own use ; he visited the
hospital every Friday, assisting the sick poor, dressing and
cleansing their sores, and affording them all the comfort in
his power.

On his return home he begged his father's leave to
continue the pious exercises he had begun, and retired to a
little hermitage not far from Faucon, with a view of living at
a distance from the world, united to God alone. But find-
ing his solitude interrupted by the frequent visits of his
friends, he desired his father's consent to go to Paris to
study divinity, and this he easily obtained. He accom-
plished his studies with extraordinary success, and received
the degree of doctor of divinity with uncommon applause.
He was soon after ordained priest, and said his first mass
in the chapel of the bishop of Paris, at which the bishop
himself, Maurice de Sully, the abbots of S. Victor and
of S. Genevifeve, and the rector of the university, assisted ;
admiring the graces of heaven in him, which appeared in
his extraordinary devotion on this occasion, as well as
at his ordination.

On the day he said his first mass, by a special inspiration
from God, he resolved to devote himself to the ransoming
Christian slaves from captivity. But before he entered
upon so important a work, he thought it needful to spend
some time in retirement, prayer, and mortification. And
having heard of a holy hermit, S. Felix of Valois, living in a
great wood near Grandlieu, in the diocese of Meaux, he
repaired to him, and begged he would admit him into his

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solitude. Felix soon discovered him to be no novice, and
would not treat him as a disciple, but as a companion.

One day, as they were sitting together on the bank of a
spring, John disclosed to Felix the design he had formed on
the day on which he said his first Mass, of succouring the
Christians under Mahomedan slavery, and spoke so movingly
upon the subject, that Felix was convinced the design was
from God, and offered to assist him in carrying it into exe-
cution. They took some time to recommend it to God by I
prayer and fasting, and then set out for Rome in the midst |

of a severe winter, towards the end of the year 1197, to \

obtain the Pope's benediction. They found Innocent III. j
promoted to the chair of St Peter, and he being already in-
formed of their sanctity and charitable design by letters of
recommendation from the Bishop of Paris, received them
as two angels from heaven ; lodged them in his own palace,
and gave them many long private audiences. After which
he assembled the cardinals and some bishops in the palace
of S. John Lateran, and asked their advice. After their
deliberations he ordered a fast and special prayers, to ascer-
tain the will of heaven. At length, being convinced that these
two holy men were led by the Spirit of God, and that great
advantage would accrue to the Church from such an insti-
tute, he consented to their erecting a new religious order,
and declared S. John the first general minister. The Bishop
of Paris, and the abbot of S. Victor, were ordered to draw
up the rules, which the Pope approved by a bull, in 1198.

He ordered the religious to wear a white habit, with a red
and blue cross on the breast, and to take the name of the
Order of the Holy Trinity. He confirmed it some time
after, adding new privileges by a second bull, in 1209.

The two founders having obtained the Pope's blessing
and certain indulgences, returned to France, presented
themselves to the king, Philip Augustus, who authorized the

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229

establishment of their Order in his kingdom, and favoured
it with his liberalities. Gauthier III., lord of Chatillon, gave
them land whereon to build a convent Their number in-
creasing, the same lord, seconded by the king, gave them
Cerfroid, near Grandlieu, the place in which S. John and
S. Felix concerted the first plan of their institute. It is
situated in Brie, on the confines of Valois. This house of
Cerfroid, or De Cervo frigido, was the chief of the order.

The two saints founded many other convents in France,
and sent several of their religious to accompany the counts
of Flanders and Blois, and other lords, to the Crusade.

Pope Innocent III. wrote to recommend these religious
to the Emir of Morocco ; and S. John sent thither two of
his religious in 1201, who, on the first voyage, redeemed
one hundred and eighty-six Christian slaves. The year j

following, S. John went himself to Tunis, where he
purchased the liberty of one hundred and ten more. He
returned into Provence, and there received great charities,
which he carried into Spain, and redeemed many in cap-
tivity under the Moors. On his return he collected large
alms among the Christians towards this charitable under-
taking. His example produced a second order of Mercy,
instituted by S. Peter Nolasco, in 1235.

S. John made a second voyage to Tunis, in 1210, in which
he suffered much from the infidels, enraged at his zeal and
success in exhorting the poor slaves to patience and con-
stancy in their faith. As he was returning with one hundred
and twenty slaves he had ransomed, the barbarians took
away the helm from his vessel, and tore all its sails, that
they might perish in the sea. The saint, full of confidence
in God, begged Him to be their pilot, and hung up his com-
panions’ cloaks for sails, and, with a crucifix in his hands,
kneeling on the deck, singing psalms, after a prosperous
voyage they all landed safe at Ostia, in Italy. Felix, by

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this time, had greatly propagated his order in France, and
obtained for it a convent in Paris, in a place where stood
before a chapel of S. Mathurin, whence these religious in
France were called Mathurins.

S. John lived two years more in Rome, which he em-
ployed in exhorting all to penance with great energy and
fruit He died on the 21st of December, in 1213, aged
sixty-one. He was buried in his church of S. Thomas,
where his monument yet remains, though his body has been
translated into Spain.

An enthusiastic' Collector of Saintly. Legends

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Apollonia.

231

»?*

February 9.

S. Apollonia, V.M. at Alexandria, a.d. 349.

S. Nicbphorus, M. at Antioch in Syria , circ . a.d. 258.

S. Athknodorus, B.M. at Pontus, circ. a.d. 270. (‘ translated in

Modem Roman Martyrology to October iBth.)

SS. Primus and Donatus, DD. MM. at Lemele in Africa, 3rd cent.

S. Romanus thb Wonder-worker, Monk at Antioch in Syria , 3th cent.
S. Athracta, V. in Ireland, 6th cent.

S. Nebridius, B. of Egar a, near Barcelona, 6th cent .

S. Teilo, B. of Uandaffi circ . a.d. 360.

S. Sabine, B. of Canoti ; circ. a.d. 366.

SS. Sabinb and Eunomius, Bishops of Lesina, in Italy.

SS. Victor, M. and Susanna, V. at Mouuon.

S. Ansbert, B. of Rouen, a.d. 69 3.

S. Audobert, B. ofSenlis; circ. a.d, 700.

S. Alto, Ab. in Bavaria ; circ. a.d. 960.

B. Marianus Scotus, Ab. at Rarisbon, a.d. 1088.

S. Raynald, B. of Nocera, in Umbria, a.d. 1225.

S. APOLLONIA, V. M.

(a.d. 249.)

[This saint is named in the Roman and all Western Martyrologies.
There is, however, another Apollonia, martyr under Julian the Apostate,
1 14 years her junior, commemorated in some churches on this day, and
some apocryphal Acts of this latter saint are extant. There is much doubt
whether this Roman Apollonia ever really existed, and whether the Martyr-
ologists have not fallen into an inaccuracy in writing S. Apollonia “ of
Rome,” instead of *' of Alexandria,” because her relics were brought to
Rome. The account of the martyrdom of S. Apollonia of Alexandria is
perfectly authentic, it occurs in a letter from S. Dionysius B. of Alexandria,
during the persecution, to Fabius, B. of Antioch, giving him an account
of the sufferings of his church. This letter is preserved by Eusebius, in his
Ecclesiastical History, lib. vi. c. 41.]

[HE following is the account of the martyrdom of
S. Apollonia, by Dionysius, the bishop of
Alexandria, himself a confessor at the time, in
the persecution. “The persecution with us
did not begin with the imperial edict, but preceded it
a whole year. And a certain prophet and poet excited the

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mass of the heathen against us, stirring them up to their
native superstition. Stimulated by him, and taking full
liberty to exercise any kind of wickedness, they considered
this the only way of showing their piety — to slay us. First,
then, seizing a certain aged man, named Metras, they called
on him to utter impious expressions, and as he did not
obey, they beat his body with clubs, and pricked his face
and eyes ; after which they led him away to the suburbs,
where they stoned him. Next, they led a woman called
Quinta, who was a believer, to the temple of an idol, and
attempted to force her to worship; but when she turned
away in disgust, they tied her by the feet, and dragged her
through the whole city, over the rough stones of the paved
streets, dashing her against the millstones,- and scourging
her at the same time, until they brought her to the same
place, where they stoned her. Then, with one accord, all
rushed upon the houses of the pious, and whomsoever of
their neighbours they knew, they drove thither in all haste,
and despoiled and plundered them, setting apart the more
valuable of the articles for themselves; but the more
common and wooden furniture they threw about and burnt
in the roads, presenting a sight like a city taken by the
enemy. They also seized that admirable virgin Apollonia,
then in advanced age, and beating her jaws, they broke
out all her teeth, and kindling a fire before the city,
threatened to bum her alive, unless she would repeat their
impious expressions. She appeared at first to shrink a
little, but when suffered to go, she suddenly sprang into the
fire, and was consumed.”

Relics in the Church of S. Apollonia, at Rome; her
head in S. Maria Trans tiberina; her arms in S. Laurence,
outside the walls; part of her jaw in S. Basil's; other
relics at Naples, Volaterra, Bonona, at Antwerp in the
Jesuit Church; in S. Augustine's, at Brussels; in the

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S. Nicephorus.

233

Jesuit Church at Mechlin; in S. Cross at Li 6ge; at
Cologne, in the Jesuit Church; and in those of S. Gereon,
S. Maurice, S. Alban, S. Cunibert, and others; and else-
where. These relics consist in some cases of a tooth
only, or a splinter of bone.

S. Apollonia is invoked, and the application of her relics
is sought against toothache, and other pains in the jaw.

In Art, she is always to be recognized by her being
represented holding a tooth, sometimes pincers grasping a
tooth, in her hand.

& NICEPHORUa M.

(ABOUT A.D. 258.)

[The Roman and Greek Churches commemorate this Saint on the same
day. Authorities : — The ancient Acts by an anonymous author, and
another life, by John, B. of Sardis.]

There dwelt in Antioch, a priest called Sapricius, and a
layman, named Nicephorus, who had been linked together
for many years by the strictest friendship. But the enemy
of mankind, sowing between them the seeds of discord,
their friendship was succeeded by the most implacable
hatred, and they no longer accosted each other when they
met in the streets. Thus it continued for a considerable
time. At length, Nicephorus, entering into himself, and
reflecting on the grievousness of the sin of hatred, resolved
on seeking a reconciliation. He accordingly deputed some
friends to go to Sapricius to beg his pardon, promising him
all reasonable satisfaction for the injury done him. But
the priest refused his forgiveness. Nicephorus sent other
friends to him on the same errand, but though they pressed
and entreated him to be reconciled, Sapricius remained
inflexible. Nicephorus sent a third time, but to no pur-
pose ; Sapricius having shut his ears not to men only, but

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[February 9.

to Christ Himself, who commands us to forgive, as we our-
selves hope to be forgiven. Nicephorus, finding him deaf
to the remonstrances of their common friends, went in
person to his house, and casting himself at his feet, owned
his fault, and begged pardon for Christ's sake ; but this also
was in vain.

Persecution suddenly began to rage under Valerian and
GalHenus, about a.d. 258. Sapricius was apprehended and
brought before the governor, who asked him his name.
“ It is Sapricius,” answered he. The governor : “ Of what
profession are you?” Sapricius: “I am a Christian.”
The Governor : “Are you of the clergy?” Sapricius : “ I
have the honour to be a priest We Christians acknow-
ledge one Lord and Master Jesus Christ, who is God ; the
only and true God, who created heaven and earth. As for
the gods of the heathen they are but devils.” The presi-
dent, exasperated at his answers, gave orders for him to be
put into an engine, like a screw press. The excessive pain
of this torture did not shake Sapricius's constancy, and
he said to the judges, “My body is in your power, but
my soul you cannot touch ; only my Saviour Jesus Christ
is master of that.” The governor seeing him so resolute,
pronounced this sentence : “ Sapricius, priest of the Chris-
tians, who is ridiculously persuaded that he shall rise again,
shall be delivered over to the executioner of public justice
to have his head severed from his body, because he has
disregarded the edict of the emperors.”

Sapricius seemed to receive the sentence with great
cheerfulness, and was in haste to arrive at the place of exe-
cution, in hopes of his crown. On his way to martyrdom,
Nicephorus ran out to meet him, and, casting himself at
his feet, said, “Martyr of Jesus Christ, forgive me my
offence.” But Sapricius made him no answer. Nicephorus
waited for him in another street, through which he was to

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February 9.] NicepkoVUS . 235

pass, and, as soon as he saw him coming up, broke through
the crowd, and falling again at his feet, conjured him to
pardon the fault he had committed against him, through
frailty, rather than design. This he begged by the glorious
confession he had made of the divinity of Jesus Christ
Sapricius's heart was more and more hardened, and now he
would not so much as look on him. The soldiers laughed
at Nicephorus, saying, “ A greater fool than thee was never
seen, in being so solicitous for a man's pardon who is upon
the point of execution.” On their arrival at the place of
execution, Nicephorus redoubled his humble entreaties and
supplications, but all in vain ; for Sapricius continued as
obstinate as ever, in refusing to forgive. The executioners
said to Sapricius, “ Kneel down that we may cut off your
head.” And now, for the first time, there was a sign of
wavering in the Confessor. He grew pale and trembled,
and asked, “ Upon what account ?” They answered, “ Be-
cause you will not sacrifice to the gods, or obey the Em-
peror's orders, for the love of that man that is called
Christ” The unfortunate Sapricius cried out, “ Stop, my
friends : do not put me to death : I will do what you desire :

I am ready to sacrifice.” Nicephorus, dismayed at his
apostasy, cried aloud to him, “ Brother, what are you doing ?
renounce not Jesus Christ, our good Master. Forfeit not a
crown you have already gained by tortures and sufferings.”

But the holy Spirit of Fortitude had been withdrawn from
him, who would not show forgiveness to his brother, and he
tremblingly renounced his Lord and Master. Then Nice-
phorus, with tears of bitter anguish for the fall of Sapricius
said to the executioners, “lama Christian, and believe in
Jesus Christ, whom this wretch has renounced ; behold me
here ready to die in his stead.” All present were astonished
at such an unexpected declaration. The officers of justice,
uncertain how to proceed, despatched a messenger to the

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governor for further orders. The governor, on hearing the
account of the confession of Nicephorus, dictated the
following sentence: “If this man persist in refusing to
sacrifice to the immortal gods, let him die by the sword
which was accordingly put in execution. Thus Nicephorus
received the three immortal crowns of faith, humility, and
charity, triumphs of which Sapricius had made himself un-
worthy.

S. ATHRACTA OR TARAGHTA, V.

(6th cent.)

[There is great uncertainty as to the day on which this Irish Saint is
commemorated. Some say Feb. 9th ; some Feb. 3rd ; and others Aug. nth.
She is mentioned in the Tripartite Life of S. Patrick. Her life, which
exists only in a fragmentary condition, given by Colgan from an ancient
imperfect MS., is of no authority.]

The same caution must be renewed, which has been
given so often in writing the lives of the Irish Saints, — not
to trust the records we have, too implicitly. Doubtless, the
main outline of their histories is true, but lively fancies,
through many centuries, have filled those outlines with
wondrous details which it is impossible to accept, and which
have made an almost inextricable confusion in their history.

The virgin Athracta, was of noble race. She dedicated
herself at an early age to God, and built a lodging where
seven roads met, that she might have abundant opportunity
of showing hospitality to wayfarers. She is said in her
legend to have received the veil from the hands of S.
Patrick, when he was founding a church in Druimnea.
Lanigan says that this is a mistake, as S. Athracta did not
live till some time in the sixth century. He adds, “ The
statements relative to her are indeed so contradictory that
the period in which she flourished cannot be precisely ascer-

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February 9-1 S. Athractd OV TarCLghtCl.

tained. According to some accounts she was contem-
porary with S. Patrick. But we find her spoken of as living
in the times of S. Corbmac, brother of S. Erin, and, conse-
quently, in the sixth century. S. Nathy, that is, according
to every appearance, Nathy of Achonry, who lived in the
same century, is also mentioned as a contemporary of hers.
On these grounds it may be fairly concluded that S.
Athracta belonged to the same period. She is said to have
been the daughter of Talan, of a princely family of Dalar-
adia, in Ulster, and sister of S. Coeman, of Aird-ne-Coem-
hain, a consanguinity which it would be difficult to reconcile
with her having been a native of Ulster. Whatever were
her family connexions, S. Athracta presided over a nunnery
called Kill-Athracta (Killaraght), near the lake Techet, now
Lough Cara, in the county of Sligo.”1
The legend of the saint contains the following incidents,
the first of which, as will be seen from what has been said
above, it is impossible to reconcile with history : —

This virgin was of noble race ; she dedicated herself at
an early age to God, and built a lodging where seven roads
met, that she might have abundant opportunity of showing
hospitality to wayfarers. She received the veil from the
hands of S. Patrick, at Dromanna, the modem Kill-Athractha,
Connaught. The story goes that on a visit to the church,
built there by the Holy Apostles, S. Patrick prepared to
celebrate Mass, when it was discovered that his attendants
had forgotten to bring a paten. He was, therefore, about
to lay aside his vestments, when the virgin said, “ Proceed,
father I with God all things are possible.” So he began the
confession. Then, as Athracta knelt bowed forward, she
felt something lightly fall on her shoulder, and she put
up her hand, and lo ! there was a paten resting upon it.
She rose, and, going to the altar, handed it to S. Patrick.

1 Dr. Lanigan’s Eccles. Hist, of Ireland, Dublin, i8af j Vol. iii., p. 39, & i. p. 243.

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On one occasion the King of Connaught desired to build a
strong castle, and for that purpose summoned all his vassals
to contribute their assistance. Athracta in vain pleaded
to be excused ; the King roughly ordered her to take her
part in the erection of his fortress. Then she, and her
servants, and horses, went into the wood to cut timber and
transport it But her maid exclaimed, “ Oh, if the stags
drew our logs of wood, instead of these old broken-down
horses, it would humble the King's pride.” Then Athracta
called the stags to her, and because the ropes or chains for
dragging the timber were broken, she harnessed the stags to
the felled trees by some of her long delicate hairs, and
these proved as strong to draw the timber as the stags
proved docile for the draught
These quaint legends are, it must be repeated, on no
account to be estimated above what they are worth.

S. TEILO, B. OF LLANDAFF.

(ABOUT A.D. 560.)

[Patron of Llandaff. His name occurs in the Salisbury Martyrology of
Wytford, and in the Anglican Mart, of John Wilson, who placed him on
Dec. 26th, and was followed by Ferrarius. The correct day is, however,
certainly Feb. 9th. He is recorded in the Welsh triads as one of the three
canonized Saints of Britain ; the two others are S. David and S. Cadoc.
Authorities : — The Life, by Galfredus, of Llandaff (circ. 1120) ; another
anonymous life in Capgrave ; the Regestum Landavense ; and the Liber
Landavensis.]

S. Teilo or Theliav was descended from a noble
British stock. His father's name was Enlleu, son of
Hydwn Dwn, and the place of his birth was Eccluis Cun-
nian, near Tenby. From his infancy he bent his neck
beneath the gentle yoke of Christ, and, despising worldly
vanities, was given to prayer and alms-deeds. He studied

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first under S. Dubricius, by whose assistance he attained
great proficiency in the knowledge of the Scriptures ; his
next instructor was Paulinus, under whom he pursued the
same study, and in whose school he was the associate of S.
David. Under the patronage of Dubricius he opened a
college, at Llandaff, which was called Bangor Deilo, or the
great choir of Teilo ; and his settlement at that place may
serve to account for his appointment to fill the See of
Llandaff upon the retirement of his patron to the Isle of
Bardsey. The idea that he was made bishop of Llandaff
at the time S. Dubricius was raised to the Archbishopric of
Caerleon, is irreconcilable with chronology. The original
diocese governed by S. Teilo, as ascertained by the absence
of churches founded by S. David, was co-extensive with the
ancient lordships of Glamorgan, containing the present
rural deaneries of Croneath, Llandaff, and Newport. How
long he continued to preside over this limited district is
uncertain; but, in the reign of Maelgwn Cwynedd, the
Yellow Plague desolated the Principality. Upon this occa-
sion S. Teilo, With several others, retired to Cornwall, and
thence into Brittany, where he was honourably received by
S. Samson, Bishop of Dol. After he had remained seven
years and as many months in Brittany, he returned, with
several of his disciples, to his native country, and on his
arrival was elected to the Archbishopric of Menevia, vacant
by the death of Cynog. Like S. David, he, however, re-
tained a predilection for the seat of his original bishopric,
and, appointing Ismael to the situation of Bishop of
Menevia, he removed the archbishopric to Llandaff. In
order to maintain his title to the primacy undisturbed, he
appears to have kept under his immediate government the
whole of the diocese held before by S. David, with the ex-
ception of the part north of the river Tivy, which was
henceforth attached to the diocese of Llanbadam.

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There is a story told of his having made a pilgrimage,
before all this, to the Holy Land, in company with S. David
and S. Padam, and of their having received episcopal con-
secration from the Patriarch of Jerusalem; but it is pro-
bable that this was a story, borrowed by Giraldus from one
of the lost Triads, and was invented to establish the inde-
pendence of the Welsh bishops of the See of Rome.

In the Triads, S. Teilo is called one of the Three Blessed
Visitors to the Isle of Britain, and he is associated with SS.
David and Padam. “ They were so called,” says the Triad,

“ because they went as guests to the houses of the noble,
the plebian, the native, and the stranger, without accepting
either fee or reward, or victuals, or drink ; but what they
did was to teach the faith in Christ to every one without pay-
ment or thanks. Besides which, they gave to the poor and
needy, gifts of their gold and silver, their raiment and pro-
visions.” His companions, or pupils, playing on his name,
compared it to Helios , which, in Greek, means the sun ; be-
cause, by his heavenly doctrine and example, he illumined
the Church in South Wales, and warmed the hearts of the
faithful. Twelve churches in the diocese of S. David’s, and
six in that of LlandafF, claim to have been founded by S.
Teilo.1

A curious, late, and utterly worthless story, save as an
example of the manner in which the popular tongue forges
marvels, is related of his relics. At his death, three priests
of different parishes were present, one from LlandafF, where
he had been bishop; one of Llandeilo Fawr, where he
died; and one of Penaly, near Tenby, where his ancestors
had been buried. Each wished to claim the body for his
church. The contention grew sharp between them, and
was only terminated by the oldest of the three exhorting his
brethren to leave the decision to God. Then they retired

1 Rees : Essay on the Welsh Saints, pp, 245-6.

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61. Sabine.

241

to rest, and, next morning, when they entered the room
where the dead saint lay, lo ! his one body had become
three, perfectly identical in every particular, and each priest
was able to carry off a S. Teilo to his own church. The
origin of this foolish story is self-evident It is an attempt
to account, by a miracle, for the existence, in three places,
of bodies of S. Teilo ; a portion of his relics being pro-
bably preserved in each of these churches, and .the popular
tongue having magnified each portion into an entire body.

S. SABINE, B. OF CANOSI.

(ABOUT A.D 566.)

[There is great uncertainty whether there were one or two bishops of
Canosi of this name, as it is impossible to fit all that is recorded of the
Acts of S. Sabine into the life of one man ; as a S. Sabine of Canosi
was certainly present, in 493, at the dedication of the Church of S.
Michael, on Mount Gargano ; and a S. Sabine of Canosi is mentioned as
meeting Totila, K. of the Goths, in 549, fifty-six years after. That there
were two is, therefore, most probable, the name being that of the great
and wide-spread Sabine family, occurs repeatedly among the bishops and
saints of Italy, and has led to much confusion. It is impossible to dis-
tinguish, from the confused Acts of S. Sabine ot Canosi, which events be-
long to the first, and which to the second, bishop of that name. S.
Sabine is the second patron of Canosi, and also of Bari, after S. Nicolas.

His life was written by an anonymous writer of the eight century.]

This saint belonged to a noble family at Canosi, in the
present arch-diocese of Bari, in Italy. He was elected to
the see of his native city, and distinguished himself by his
zeal in building and adorning churches, as also by his
learning. He was one of the prelates present at the conse-
cration of the Church of S. Michael, on the scene of the
apparition of the archangel, on Monte Gargano, journeying
thither in company with the blessed Roger of Canosi. And
as the sun was hot in the heavens, and they fainted with
the burning of its rays, Sabine raised his eyes to heaven,
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Lives of the Saints.

[February 9.

and prayed that a cool breeze might spring up and fan their
fevered brows. But his prayer was heard and answered in
other sort, for a great eagle came between the travellers and
the sun, and floated over their heads with wings expanded,
accompanying them, so that they walked on in the shadow.
Now, Sabine's ardour in prosecuting his studies raised the
suspicion of the multitude, and they denounced him as ad-
dicted to the arts of magic ; so this report came to the ears
of the Pope, and he summoned him to Rome, to clear his
character from the aspersion cast upon it. Then Sabine
hasted and went to Rome, and arrived in the evening, and
was lodged in the palace of the Holy Father, who, pre-
judiced against him, received him coldly, and harshly bade
him not set foot outside the house till his case were heard.
And at midnight, a strange, unearthly music resounded
through the courts, and men started from sleep to listen.
Then they were aware of chanting, as of a multitude, and
they rose, and the Pope also, and they followed the sound,
and till they came to the door of the hall in which the
Bishop of Canosi lay. And beneath the door was a streak
of dazzling light Then they burst in, and beheld the
accused prelate standing in a blaze of heavenly radiance,
amidst angel forms, chanting the Psalms of David. So the
Pope cast himself at his feet, and acknowledged his com-
plete innocence.

Now, on his way home, the holy bishop doubtless visited
S. Benedict, at Monte Cassino, for between them there
existed a warm friendship ; and we find that S. Placidus,
the loved disciple of Benedict, often visited and was enter-
tained by the Bishop of Canosi, for the love he bare to the
great Patriarch of the Monks of the West

A pretty incident of his life is as follows, — it is but a
trifle, but these trifling anecdotes give the character of the
man. He was walking in his garden one day, among the

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February 9.J S. Sabim. 243

flower-beds, reciting psalms and hymns, when a bright smile
broke out over his face. Those accompanying him were
surprised, and asked the reason of that smile. “ Listen to
those sparrows,” said he, “ there is a wagon upset yonder,
which was laden with com, and they are all eagerly commu-
nicating to one another the joyful news of an abundant feast
Oh ! the charity to one another of those dear little birds P1
In the year 535, Pope Agapetus sent an embassy to
the Emperor Justinian at Constantinople, of which the
bishop of Canosi was a member. Agapetus was himself
obliged to follow his embassy, the following year, on a
deputation to the emperor from Theodatus, the Gothic
king. Theodoric, king of the Goths, had been succeeded
by Athalaric, son of his daughter Amalasvintha, but he,
being a minor, the public affairs were administered by his
mother, who did not spare any pains in the education
of her child. But the young king fell a victim to intemper-
ance, before he had attained the age of manhood. On the
failure of issue in the male line, Amalasvintha, in order
to maintain herself on the throne, gave her hand to Theo-
datus, her cousin, and allowed him to participate in the
sovereign power. But Theodatus grasping at supreme
sovereignty, suffocated his wife and benefactress in a bath,
and then, in abject terror for the consequences, sent off
Pope Agapetus to Constantinople, to deprecate the wrath
of the Emperor Justinian. Agapetus arrived in Constanti-
nople, when that see was vacant, Epiphanius, the patriarch,
being dead. He found the Empress Theodora in power,
favouring the Eutychian heretics, and encouraging Anthi-
mus, bishop of Trebizond, a ringleader of the sect. Aga-
petus at once deposed Anthimus, and ordained one Mennas,

1 In the original, the simplicity of this story is quite spoiled by what is evidently
added by the monkish author, unable to see the beauty of the unadorned inci-
dent ; for, it is said, this was a proof of miraculous power in the saint, that be
was able to see through a stone wall the upsetting of a corn-cart. i

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244 Lives of the Saints. [February 9.

a Catholic, in his place ; then, feeling his end approach, he
exhorted Sabine and his companions to stand by and
maintain the new bishop of Trebizond. Agapetus died
in 536, and the same year a council was held against
Anthimus the heretic, at which Sabine was present, and the
anathemas of which he subscribed. In consequence of this
decided action, the bishop of Canosi suffered much from
the anger of the Empress Theodora. In 537 he returned
to Italy, and according to some accounts, died on his way,
and was buried at Tripalta on the Sabbato, above Bene-
vento, near Avellino, where his body, entire, still rests
enshrined. But at Bari is the body of S. Sabine, bishop of
Canosi, and it is believed that there were two saints of this
name, and that the first Sabine, bishop of Canosi, is at
Bari, and that the events we are about to relate, occurred
to the second bishop of this name, who lies at Tripalta.
That there were two is most probable, as it is hardly pos-
sible that he who was bishop in 493, could have sat till 566,
which would give an episcopate of over seventy-three years.

Totila, king of the Goths, the seventh of that race
who had governed Italy, swept Campania and Samnium
with his barbarian army, occupied Naples, and in the
midst of his victorious course, visited S. Benedict on his
rock of Cassino. The incident of the meeting between the
barbarian king and the ascetic patriarch shall be recorded
in the life of S. Benedict S. Gregory relates in his Dia-
logues, (lib. iii. c. 5), that Totila, hearing of S. Sabine of
Canosi, now blind with age, that he was endued with the
spirit of prophecy, visited him and invited him to dinner,
and to prove the old bishop, when the page brought wine
round, the king took the goblet from the boy’s hand, and
himself offered it to the prelate. Then Sabine, taking the
goblet, and turning his darkened eyes on the royal bearer,
said, “ May that hand that offers live long l” And the king

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February 9.] S. Sobtfie . 245

blushed, joyous at receiving this part blessing, part pro-
phecy. S. Gregory relates another story of this saint. The
Archdeacon of Canosi, a man full of ambition and pride,
desiring the episcopate, and impatient of the long life of
Sabine, bribed his butler to poison him. The deadly cup
was offered him, and the aged prelate drank it off, but
instantly the Archdeacon was seized with all the symptoms
of having been poisoned, and died in agony, whereas the
bishop remained unhurt

It is unfortunate, that owing to the carelessness of the
historian, who wrote two hundred years after the death
of S. Sabine I., the records of the two bishops of that name
should have been so run together as to render it almost
impossible to dissever them.

There seems also to have been a third S. Sabine of Canosi,
bishop of Lesina, a ruined and deserted city, on the lagoon
of the same name in the Capitanta. Lesina, in the 10th i

century, was the seat of a bishop. No records of this saint
exist, but in November, 1597, the cathedral and second
church of Lesina .being thoroughly ruinous, officials were
deputed to remove from the deserted churches such relics
as could be found, and works of value that remained.
They found the roof of the cathedral fallen in, doors and
windows broken and open, and grass growing on the sacred
floor. The crypt was in better preservation, and there
they found altars standing, containing sacred relics. In
one of these they found a marble sarcophagus, on which
was inscribed, S. Sabinus Canusinus, “S. Sabine of Canosi.”
Within was a leaden coffin, on which was engraved, S.
Sabinus Canusianus, pontifex Lesinensis. “ S. Sabine of
Canosi, bishop of Lesina.” The skeleton in this was
perfect This body, together with others there discovered,
was removed to Naples, where it now reposes in the church
of the Annunciata.

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246

Lives of the Saints. [February*.

SS. VICTOR, M., AND SUSANNA, V. C
(date unknown.)

[Of local celebrity at Mouzon, on the Meuse, above Sedan. The
names occur, however, in some Martyrologies of minor importance.
Authority : — A MS. life published by Bollandus.]

SS. Victor and Susanna were peasants at Mouzon, or
the neighbourhood, Victor being the brother and protector
of Susanna, a modest and beautiful girl. The Lord of
Mouzon having cast his lustful eyes on Susanna, endea-
voured to deceive her, but her virgin modesty withstood his
threats and promises; and finding her inflexible, in a
paroxysm of rage, he tore out her eyes. Victor, her
brother, denounced the tyrant to his face, and threatened
him with the vengeance of the God of the fatherless, and
protector of the poor, whereupon the noble, furious at being
insulted by a vile peasant, ordered his retainers to despatch
him, which they did.

S. ANSBERT, B. OF ROUEN.

(A.D. 695.)

[Roman and other Martyrologies. Authority Life by Ansgrad, the
monk, dedicated to Abbot Hilbert, the successor of S. Ansbert. This life
has, however, suffered from interpolators.]

This saint was at one time chancellor to Clothaire III.,
and in the midst of the temptations of a court, preserved
his integrity and purity. At length, quitting the court, he
assumed the monastic habit at Fontenelle, and on the
election of the abbot Lantbert to the see of Lyons, he
succeeded him as abbot of that famous monastery. He
was confessor to Thierri III., and was, with his consent,

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February 9.!

S. A nsbert.

247

chosen archbishop of Rouen, on the death of S. Ouen, in
683. Pepin, mayor of the palace, afterwards banished him,
on a false accusation of treason, to the monastery of
Hautmont in Hainault, where he died on the 9 th February,
695. His body was transported to the abbey of Fontenelle,
and afterwards to Boulogne, but in 944, through fear of the
Northmen, it was translated to the convent of S. Peter in
Ghent; but was dragged from its resting-place by the
furious Calvinists, under William of Orange, in 1578 ; some
portions of the sacred relics have, however, we believe,
been preserved

S. Ansbert is often called S. Aubert

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248

Lives of the Saints.

[February ia

February 10.

SS. Charalampius, P. and Companions , MM. at Magnesia , a.d. 20a.
S. Soteris, V.M. at Rome , 4 th cent.

S. Zeno, Monk at Antioch , in Syria; circ. a.d. 419.

S. Scholastica. y. at Monte Cassino, a.d. 543.

S. Protadius, B. of Be sane on, a.d. 626.

S. Trumwine, B. of the Piets, circ. a.d. 700.

S. Austrebertha, y. in French Flanders, a.d. 704.

S. Sura or Zuwarda, y.M. at Dortrecht.

S. William or Maleval, H. in Italy , a.d. 1137.

B. John William of the Olive, P.H. at Manemont , in
Belgium , a.d. 1241.

S. Arnald or Catanea, Ab. at Padua, a.d. 1255.

S. Clara or Rimini, Matr., a.d. 1346.

SS. CHARALAMPIUS, P. AND COMPANIONS, M.M.

(a.d. 202.)

[Commemorated in the West on this day ; in the East on Sept. 17th.
The Acts are not trustworthy.]

JAINT CHARALAMPIUS was priest at Mag-
nesia, in the reign of Severus. He was brought
before the governor, Lucianus, and was flayed
with iron scrapers ; the governor himself, in his
rage, assisting the executioners in their barbarous work.
With him suffered two soldiers and three women.

S. SOTERIS, V.M.

(4TH CENT.)

[Modern Roman Martyrology, and those of Usuardus and Ado. But
the ancient Roman Martyrology, bearing the name of S. Jerome, and those
of Notker Bede (so-called), Rabanus, and others, on Feb. 6th. Nor are the
Martyrologies agreed as to where she suffered, some saying, “ in the East,”
others “ at Rome.” Authority: — S. Ambrose, who was of her family,
gives an account of her martyrdom in his Exhort Virginit. lib. iii.]

S. Ambrose boasts of this saint as the greatest honour
of his family. She was descended from a long series of

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•S'. Soteris.

249

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consuls and prefects ; but her greatest glory was in despis-
ing, for Christ’s sake, her wealth, birth, and beauty. When
the edicts of persecution were issued under Diocletian and
Maximian, against the Christians, she was summoned before
the judge, and her face was beaten because she would not
deny Christ She, however, counted it all joy to suffer in
the like manner of her Master, and, though cruelly beaten,
shed not a tear. At length, overcome by her constancy,
the judge ordered her head to be struck off.

One of the Roman catacombs on the Appian way, bears
the name of S. Soteris. This catacomb was restored by
Pope Stephen III., when the roof had fallen in. It has
been erroneously supposed, by some, that this catacomb
was called after Pope S. Soter ; but Anastasius the
Librarian, in recording the restoration of the cemetery, calls
it “ Cemeterium Sanctae Soteris.” Stephen III. (II.)
reigned from 752 to 757. The body was removed from
this catacomb by Pope Symmachus, (498-514,) to the
church of S. Sylvester, in the city of Rome. A portion of
the relics were given to the church of Sezanne, in the
modem department of Mame, in France. One of her
bones is preserved in the Jesuit Church at Luxembourg.
A body of S. Soteris is preserved in the Cistercian Church
at Madrid ; but as the history of the Acts of this S.
Soteris cannot be adapted to the saint of Rome, it is
probable that she is some local Spanish saint, of whom
nothing authentic is known.

S. ZENO, H. I

(ABOUT A.D. 419.)

[Theodoret in his Philotheus, c. 12, give » an account of this venerable
monk, whom he had visited, and knew personally.]

This venerable hermit lived in an old tomb cut out of
the rocks in the neighbourhood of Antioch, in Syria. He

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observed the monastic rule for forty years, living on bread
and water, and on Sunday visiting a church, that he might
partake of the divine mysteries, and listen to sermons.
Theodoret makes a quaint little remark about him : “ That
he used to borrow one book at a time from his friends,
read it through, and return it when read, and then borrow
another.”

S. SCHOLASTICS V.

(A.D. 543.)

[Famous wherever the name of S. Benedict, her brother, is known.
Authorities for her life, the same as those for his. The following sketch
of her life is extracted from Montale mbert’s Monks of the West.]

In the history of most saints who have exercised a refor-
matory and lasting influence upon monastic institutions, the
name and influence of some holy woman is almost
invariably found associated with their work and devoted-
ness. These bold combatants in the war of the Spirit
against the flesh seemed to have drawn strength and conso-
lation from a chaste and fervent community of sacrifices,
prayers, and virtues, with a mother or a sister, by blood or
choice, whose sanctity shed upon one comer of their
glorious lives a ray of sweeter and more familiar light. To
instance only the greatest : Macrina is seen by the side of
S. Basil, and the names of Monica and Augustine are
inseparable; as in later ages are those of S. Francis of
Assisi and S. Clara, S. Francis of Sales and S. Jeanne
Chanlal. S. Benedict had also a sister, bom on the same
day with himself, named Scholastica; they loved each
other as twins often love, with fraternal regard, elevated
into a passion. But both loved God above all Still
earlier than her brother, Scholastica had consecrated herself
to God from her infancy ; and, in becoming a nun, she

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S. Scholastica.

251

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made herself the patroness and model of the innumerable
family of virgins who were to acknowledge, adopt, and
follow the code of her brother. She rejoined him at Monte
Cassino, and established herself in a monastery, in the
depths of a valley near the holy mountain. Benedict
directed her from afar, as he did many other nuns in the
neighbourhood. But they met only once a year, and then
it was Scholastica who left her cloister, and sought her
brother. He, on his side, went to meet her: they met
upon the side of the mountain, not far from the door of
the monastery, in a spot which has long been venerated.
There, at their last meeting, occurred that struggle of
fraternal love, and the austerity of the rule, recorded by S.
Gregory,1 which is the only known episode in the life of
Scholastica, and which has insured an imperishable remem-
brance to her name. They had passed the entire day in
pious conversation, mingled with praises of God. Towards
the evening they ate together. While they were still at
table, and the night approached, Scholastica said to her
brother, “ I pray thee, do not leave me to-night, but let us
speak of the joys of heaven till the morning.” “What
sayest thou, my sister?” answered Benedict; “on no
account can I remain out of the monastery.” Upon the
refusal of her brother, Scholastica bent her head between
her clasped hands on the table, but prayed to God, shedding
torrents of tears, to such an extent, that the table was
flooded with them. The weather was very serene : there
was not a cloud in the air. But scarcely had she raised her
head when thunder was heard, and a violent storm began ;
the rain, lightning, and thunder were such, that neither
Benedict, nor any of his brethren, who accompanied him,
could take a step beyond the roof that sheltered them.
Then he said to Scholastica, “ May God pardon thee, my

1 Dialog, ii., c. ia, 33, 33.

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252

sister, but what hast thou done ?” “ Ah, yes,” she answered
him, “ I prayed thee, and thou would’st not listen to me ;
then I prayed God, and he heard me. Go now, if thou
canst, and send me away, to return to thy monastery.” He
resigned himself, against his will, to remain, and they passed
the rest of the night in spiritual converse. S. Gregory,
who has preserved the tale to us, adds that it is not to be
wondered at, that God granted the desire of the sister rather
than that of the brother, because, of the two, it was the
sister who loved most, and that those who love most have
the greatest power with God.

In the morning they parted, to see each other no more in
this life. Three days after, Benedict, being at the window
of his cell, had a vision, in which he saw his sister entering
heaven under the form of a dove. Overpowered with joy,
his gratitude burst forth in songs and hymns to the glory
of God.

Her body was translated to Le Mans, in France, of
which city she is patroness, but her relics were dispersed
by the Huguenots, in 1562. However, some portions have
been preserved, some in the Jesuit Church at Antwerp, and
a bone in the Carthusian Church at Cologne.

S. SURA, V.M.

(date unknown.)

This Saint, called in Dutch, Zuwardt, is said to have
built the first Christian Church at Dordrecht. She was
murdered by some ruffians, who hoped to possess them-
selves of her money, wherewith she paid for the edification
of the house of God, but found only three pennies in her
purse, whence arose the tradition that she had only that
sum the whole time, and that as often as she paid it away,
the same sum remained in her purse.

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February io.] ^ William of M lleVdl.

253

S. WILLIAM OF MALEVAL, H.

(a.d. 1157.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority : — His Life, by his friend and disciple,
Albert, in whose arms he died. Several modern writers have confused S.
William of Maleval with S. William of Mariemont, and even with S.
William I., Duke of Aquitaine, and S. William IX., Duke of Guienne,
who died 1137.]

Nothing is known of the birth of this saint, or of his
early life, on which he preserved an impenetrable secrecy.

It is said that he made a pilgrimage to S. Jago of Compos-
tella, but even this is uncertain, as S. William of Guienne,
his contemporary, is known to have made this expedition,
and it is quite possible that the act of one S. William has
been transferred to the other.

In the year 1153, there appeared in Tuscany a man,
who sought to hide himself from the eyes of his fellow-
men. The islet of Lupocavio, in the district of Pisa,
seemed to him to answer his desire; there he con-
structed a small habitation, and remained there. His
edifying example attracted several persons to him, who
settled near his cell, and undertook to follow his rule of
life. But their fervour soon cooled down, and their undis-
ciplined manners obliged him to withdraw from his solitude,
and retire to Monte Prunio, where he hoped to be alone with
his God, and where he erected in a dense wood, a hut of
boughs, and thatched it with leaves and fern. He was soon
joined by idle vagrants, who, under the pretence of a reli-
gious life, attempted to impose on the charity of pious
persons. S. William soon discovered that these men were
actuated by no religious vocation, and their hypocrisy drove
him again from his resting-place. He was, indeed, com-
pulsorily ejected by these miscreants, who could ill bear his
sanctity subsisting as a reproach upon their irregularities.

He then returned to the island of Lupocavio, but not find-

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Lives of the Saints.

[February xo

ing his former associates there disposed to receive him, he
fixed his habitation in a desert valley, called at that time
“The stable of Rhodes,” but since known as “the bad
valley,” Maleval. It was situated in the territory of Sienna,
about a league distant from Castigline, Pescara, and Buriano.

It was in 1155, that he hid himself in this solitude, having
at first only a hole in the earth, in which he could shelter
from the inclemency of the weather, till the Lord of
Buriano, taking compassion on him, built a little cell for his
lodging. For four months he lived only on roots and herbs,
having no other companions than the wild beasts ; but, in
the beginning of the year 1156, he received a disciple,
named Albert, who wrote the account of the close of his
life. The saint practised surprising austerities; thrice in
the week he took only very little bread, and wine much
diluted ; on the other days he took bread, and herbs and
water. He wore sackcloth next his skin, and slept on the
bare ground. He was endowed with the gift of prophecy,
of which Albert had himself experience, for when the
saint was dying, and his disciple was lamenting that he
should be left alone, S. William bade him be of good cheer,
for God would give him a companion shortly. This seemed
so improbable, that Albert could not trust it; but going
forth from the cell shortly after, he met a man, named
Raynald, a physician, who had come to renounce the
world and place himself under the direction of the pious
hermit Albert, fearing that the death of the saint might
make him change his purpose, cast himself at his feet, and
implored him to come and make his profession before the
dying saint at once. Raynald did so, and Albert submitted
himself to the direction of his new companion on the death
of his first master. S. William died in the arms of Albert,
after having received the last sacraments from a priest of
Castigline, who had been warned of the illness of the hermit.

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Raynald and Albert buried S. William in his little garden.
After his death they preserved the spirit of penitence and
mortification with which he had inspired them during his
life, and they endeavoured to follow his maxims as their rule
of life \ and thus originated the Order of the Guillemites,
which rapidly spread from Italy, through France, the Low
Countries, and Germany. At first they followed the insti-
tutes of S. William only, and fasted almost perpetually, and
walked barefoot But Pope Gregory IX. moderated their
great austerities, allowed them to be shod, and required
them to follow the rule of S. Benedict

S. J OHN-WILLI AM, H.

(a.d. 1241.)

[Day unfixed for his commemoration, but locally, he is commemorated
on the same day as his namesake. He is called Saint in Belgium, but is of
local canonization only. Authorities s— Life by an anonymous Cistercian
monk, of undecided date, published by Bollandus, and another life in the
annals of Jacobus Guisius.]

This venerable hermit of Brabant was the founder of the
ancient abbey “ of the Olive,” whose ruins may still be seen
at some little distance from the ancient castle of Marie-
mont, near Binche in Hainault

Having lived a life of great irregularity during his youth,
John- William retired, in a moment of remorse, to the
abbey of Chdrailles, near Vervins; but he shortly after-
wards quitted it, being drawn into the world again by his
passions. But God, says the legend, gave him a warn-
ing which brought him once more to his senses, and he
retired to a lonely place near Morlanwelz, where he built a
little hermitage of branches, and lived for some time, un-
known, exercising himself in prayer and vigil, and living on
roots and wild fruit If we may believe a popular legend,

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256 Lives of the Saints . [February to.

to punish himself for having yielded to his animal passions
so long, he would not stand upright, but walked about like
a beast, on all fours. Later on, Dame Bertha, the widow of
Eustace de Rseulz, having heard of his piety, offered him
the choice of any spot on her lands, where he might culti-
vate the soil to supply his necessities. He accepted her
offer, and began diligently to till the ground. John of
B&hune, Bishop of Cambrai, informed of the perfection
of the hermit, conferred upon him priest's orders; after
which, John-William undertook the construction of a stone
church on the ground given him by the lady Bertha.
When this was complete, the hermit asked the abbess of
Fontenelle to send some of her nuns to establish them-
selve there. She complied with his request, but the place
not suiting them, they returned to their convent. At his
request, seven nuns from Monstres-sur-Sambre were then
sent to him, and they placed themselves under his di-
rection; the institution was incorporated in the order of
Citeaux, an abbess was elected, and the place which had
formerly borne the designation of “ The Hermitage," was
now called “The Olive.” There are many hypotheses
to account for the origin of this name. One is, that it was
derived from the number of cures wrought by olive oil,
from the lamp burnt before the image of the Holy Virgin in
the church. The founder died in 1240, on the 10th
February, at the age of sixty-six, and was buried in the
monastery church.

S. CLARA OF RIMINI, MATR.

(A.D. 1346.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority : — Life by Cardinal Joseph Garampi.]

Clara was bom at Rimini, her father's name was
Chiarello, and her mother's Gaudiana ; they belonged to a

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S. Clara.

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noble family, and were very wealthy. Clara was married
early, but shortly after lost her husband. Having been*
exiled on account of a civil war, she returned to Rimini, to
see her father and one of her brothers perish on the
scaffold.

She was married again, but after a while, with the con-
sent of her husband, devoted her life to the practice of
self-mortification. She slept on a hard board, and en-
circled her neck and wrists with iron rings to punish herself
for her extravagance in jewelry when young. Her food
was bread and water, and a little oil on Sundays.

Not content with these austerities, and the rigorous fasts
she imposed on herself from the feast of S. Martin till
Christmas, and from Epiphany till Easter, she spent the
greater part of many nights in prayer, and during Lent she
retired into an old look-out box on the town walls, where,
exposed to the cold and rain, she spent the time in con-
fessing her faults, and reciting the Lord's Prayer, a hundred
times a day. Her close communing with God made her
heart overflow with charity towards all men. Hearing that
her brother had been banished a second time from his
native town, and was sick at Urbino, she flew to his bed-
side, and nursed him with the utmost tenderness, escaping
occasionally into an ancient ruined tower, near the cathe-
dral at Urbino, to refresh her spirit with prayer. On the
restoration of tranquillity, she returned to Rimini with her
brother, where she became shortly the solace of all the
afflicted. One day, hearing that the poor Clares were
without fuel, she ran into the country, and getting a large
log of wood, laid it on her shoulder, and carried it through
the streets to their door. A noble kinsman, not liking to
see her thus demean herself, as he considered it, sent a
servant to relieve her of the load, but she refused to
surrender it, saying that her Lord was not ashamed to bear
vol. 11. 17

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His cross for the sake of sinners, and that, therefore, it was
no dishonour for her to carry wood for the use of His
servants.

Once, hearing that a man was sentenced to pay a heavy
fine, or have his hand chopped off, and that he was unable
to ransom his hand, she sold herself as a slave, and with
the money would have redeemed the hand from amputation,
had not the magistrates, touched by her charity, pardoned
the man. Having once given way to intemperate speech
towards someone who had annoyed her, she punished herself
by nipping her tongue with a pair of pincers, so that she
was unable to speak for two or three days after.

She built a convent for those women who had placed
themselves under her direction, near the old watch-box on
the walls, and gave it the name of “The Annunciation,”
but the title was changed afterwards to that of “ Our Lady
of the Angels.”

Towards the end of her life she lost her sight She died
on Feb. 10th, 1346, and was buried in the church of her
convent, where her relics are still preserved. The cult of
her was approved in 1784 by Pope Pius VI., and her
commemoration was fixed for the 10th February.

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February n.] .Sts'. Satuminus & Companions. 259

February 11.

S. Calocerus, B . of Ravenna, 2nd cent,

S. Tigrinus, M. at Rome ; relics at Turin , 2nd cent,

SS. Saturnikus and Companions, MM. at Carthage , a.d. 303.
S. Jonas the Gardener, Monk in Egypt , 4 th cent.

S. Lazarus, B. of Milan ; circ. a.d. 449.

S. CA8TRBNSIS, B. of Volterra ; circ. a.d. 450.

S. Secundinus, B. of Troja in Southern Italy ; circ. a.d. 450.

S. Euphrosyne, V. at Alexandria ; circ. a.d. 470. ( Transferred

from Jan. 1st.)

S. Severinus, Ab, of S. Maurice in the Valais, a.d. 506.

S. Ecian, B. in Ireland ,* circ. a.d, 58 7.

S. Ceadmov, Monk at IVhitby ; circ. a.d. 680.

S. Theodora, Empress at Constantinople , a.d. 867.

S. Martin, P. at Leon in Spain, a.d. 12a z.

S. Adolph, B. of Osnaburgh, a.d. zaaa.

S& SATURNINUS AND COMPANIONS, MM.
(a.d. 303.)

[Roman Martyrology. In the ancient African Church, as we learn from
S. Augustine, their commemoration took place on Feb. 12th, and on that
day they are given by Usuardus. The Acts are genuine. They were
appealed to in the reign of Honorius, in 412, during the Donatist contra*
versy to prove that even in the stress of persecution, Christians had not
failed to attend Divine Service on the Lord’s Day. S. Augustine also
quotes them in his book against Cresconius, lib. iii. c. 17, 26, 27, and 29,
written in 406. The Synodical Epistle of the Council of the Catholic
Bishops held at Cirta which quotes these Acts, is included among the works
of S. Augustine in the Benedictine Edition, numbered Ep. 141. It is dated
the 14th June, 412.]

S"]HE persecution of Diocletian having broken out
I in Africa, the magistrates of Abitina broke, one
Sunday, into the house of a citizen, Octavius
Felix, during the celebration of the Divine
Mysteries, and took the priest Satuminus, his four children,
and forty-four other Christians who were assisting at the
Holy Sacrifice. The two elder sons of the priest, Satuminus

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260 Lives of the Saints . [February 11.

and Felix, were both lectors; Mary, his daughter, had
consecrated her virginity to God; Hilarion, the youngest,
was still quite a child. Among the other prisoners were
Dativus, a noble senator, Ampelius, Rogatianus, Januarius,
Cassian, Victorian, in all thirty men, and nineteen women.

Dativus marched at the head of the troop which sur-
rounded Satuminus, standing as children about their father.

When brought before the magistates, they confessed
Christ so resolutely, that their very judges applauded their
courage.

The confessors were shackled and sent to Carthage, the
residence of the pro-consul. They rejoiced to see them-
selves in chains for Christ, and sang hymns and canticles
during their whole journey to Carthage, praising and thank-
ing God. The pro-consul, Anulinus, addressing himself
first to Dativus, asked him of what condition he was, and if
he had assisted at the collect or assembly of the Christians.
He answered that he was a Christian, and had been present
at it The pro-consul bade him declare who presided, and
in whose house those religious assemblies were held : but
without waiting for his answer, commanded him to be put
on the rack and tom with iron hooks, to force the infor-
mation from him. The martyrs underwent severally the tor-
tures of the rack, iron hooks, and cudgels. Felix was asked
if he had been at the collect or assembly1 on the Lord's day.
Felix answered, “lama Christian." “ I did not ask that,"
said the magistrate, “ but whether you had been at the col-
lect." “Oh, foolish judge!" cried Felix, “Could I be a
Christian and not be present ? As if the Lord's day gathering
should be without the Christian, and the Christian without
the Lord's day gathering. Knowest thou not that the one
was made for the other, and the one cannot be without the
other ?" Then he was savagely beaten and sent to prison.

1 The term used throughout in the Acts is the Collect.”

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The weaker sex fought no less gloriously, particularly the
illustrious Victoria; who, having been converted to Christ in
her tender years, had signified a desire to lead a single life,
but to this her pagan parents would not agree having pro-
mised her in marriage to a rich young nobleman. Victoria,
on the day appointed for the wedding, full of confidence in
the protection of Him whom she had chosen for the only
spouse of her soul, leaped out of a window, and took
refuge in a Christian church, where she consecrated her
virginity to God, with the ceremonies then used on such
occasions at Carthage, in Italy, Gaul, and all over the West1
To the crown of virginity she earnestly desired to join that
of martyrdom. The pro-consul, on account of her quality,
and for the sake of her brother, a Pagan, tried all means to
prevail with her to renounce her faith. He inquired what
was her religion. Her answer was, “I am a Christian.”
Her brother, Fortunatianus, undertook her defence, and
endeavoured to prove her lunatic The saint, fearing his plea
might be the means of her losing the crown of martyr-
dom, made it appear by her intelligent answers that she was
in her perfect senses, and she protested that she had not
been brought to Christianity against her will. The pro-
consul asked her if she would return with her brother. She
replied, “ Being a Christian, I acknowledge none as brethren
but those who keep the law of God.” The pro-consul then
laid aside the quality of judge to become her suppliant, and
entreated her not to throw away her life. But she rejected
his entreaties with disdain, and said to him, “ I have already
told you my mind. I am a Christian, and I assisted at the
holy assembly.” Anulinus, provoked at this constancy,

1 These were, by laying her head on the altar to offer it to God, and all her life
after wearing her hair long, as did the ancient Nazarenes : Act. p. 417. S. Optatus,

1. 6. S. Ambr. and Virg. c. 8.) But in Egypt and Syria the ceremony of this
consecration consisted in the virgin cutting off her hair in the presence of a
priest.

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[February 11.

ordered her to prison with the rest, to wait the sentence of
death which he not long after pronounced upon them all.

However, he made an effort to gain the little boy,
Hilarion, not doubting that he would easily prevail with
one of his tender age. But the child showed more con-
tempt than fear of the tyrant's threats, and answered his
interrogatories, “ I am a Christian : I have been at the
collect,1 and it was of my own voluntary choice, without
any compulsion." The pro-consul threatened him with
those little punishments with which children are accustomed
to be chastised, little knowing that God himself fights in
his martyrs. The child only laughed at him. The governor
then said to him, “ I will cut off your nose and ears."
Hilarion replied, “ You may do it ; but I am a Christian
still." Then the governor ordered the child to be taken to
the prison with the rest, and Hilarion, with his shrill voice
cried, “ God be thanked !" — and so was led away.

At this point these interesting Acts break off abruptly,
but a fragment which has been tampered with by some
Donatist hand has, at the end, this passage, which has been
lost from the genuine Acts: — “These blessed martyrs,
being deprived of all nourishment for their bodies, one by
one, and by degrees, sank, overcome with hunger, and
migrated to the heavenly kingdom with the victor's palm,
our Lord Jesus Christ sustaining them, who, with the Father,
reigns through ages of ages. Amen."

1 An instance of a child being, in the fourth century, allowed to assist at Mass.

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6\ Jonas.

263

S. JONAS THE GARDENER, MONK.

(4TH CENT.)

[Roman Martyrology, not to be confounded with the S. Jonas, monk,
commemorated by the Greeks on Sept. aist. Authority Mention in the
Life of S. Pachomius.]

In the monastery of Muchon, in Egypt, lived an old
monk who acted as gardener. For eighty-five years he
cultivated the fruits of the monastery garden, and gathered
them, and gave of them to the monks, and to guests, and
to travellers, as much as they would, but in all those years
he never tasted so much as a grape, a date, or a fig ; but
lived on raw herbs with a little vinegar. Now, there stood
in the midst of the monastery a very fruitful fig-tree, and the
boys were in the habit of climbing it to gather and eat the
luscious figs. And when S. Pachomius came one day to
inspect the monastery, he saw that this fig-tree was a cause
of self-indulgence and gluttony to some of the younger
aspirants after an ascetic life. So he said to Jonas the
gardener, “ Cut that tree down !” Then the gardener
lifted up his hands in dismay, and when Pachomius saw
how greatly it would grieve the good man, he let him spare
it But lo ! on the morrow the fig-tree was withered away,
and Jonas knew that he had acted wrongly in opposing his
will to the command of his superior. Jonas wore a dress
made of three sheep-skins sewn together, and over this he
cast a linen surplice without sleeves,1 when he approached
the Divine Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ; but
as soon as he had communicated, he laid it aside. Jonas,
after supper, was wont to retire to his cell, sit on his
chair weaving rushes in the dark, reciting passages of
Scripture, till the midnight call to the monks to rise for the
night office. Then, when that was concluded, he returned

1 Ubito , or Lrvitonarium, described thus in the life of S. Pachomius, c. 14.
Leritonarium est colobinum lineum sine mantids, quail Monachi ASgyptii utuntuz.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February xx.

to his seat, and slept seated till dawn. And one day he
was found dead in his chair with the rushes in his stiff hand.
Then the monks buried him as he sat, with the half-plaited
mat on his knees.

S. LAZARUS, B. OF MILAN.

(ABOUT A.D. 449.)

[Roman Martyrology. He died on March 14th, but as by the Milan use
no saint is commemorated in Lent, his festival has been there thrown back
to Feb. nth ; and adopted thence into the Roman Martyrology. His life
from scattered notices is given by Bollandus.]

Of the acts of this saint, who was bishop of Milan before
440, but in what year consecrated is unknown, we have
scarcely any records. He lived in the stormy time of the
Gothic invasion of Italy. It is disputed whether he or
S. Mamertus, bishop of Vienne, was the first to institute
the use of litanies. It is certain that Bishop Lazarus
ordered their use for three days in succession in all the
principal churches of Milan.

S. EUPHROSYNE, V.

(ABOUT A.D. 470.)

[Roman Martyrology on Jan. 1st, but anciently on Feb. nth; with great
solemnity by the Greeks on September 25th. She is sometimes erro-
neously called Euphrosia or Euphrasia by martyrologists. The life of
S. Euphrosyne is found inserted in the Vita Patrum. The authors of
some of these lives are known, as S. Ephrem, S. Jerome, Sophronius of
Jerusalem, Paulus Diaconus, but it is not known by whom the life of S.
Euphrosyne was written. In gravity and purity of style it is not behind any
of the others. That after her death a Greek life was written, which was
translated into Latin, seems probable, from the extension of her cultus in
the ancient Latin Church. Her life exists in an ancient Greek ode, and
in a Latin heroic poem ; another life is given by Simeon Metapnrastes,
in all particulars of importance agreeing with that in the Lives of the
Fathers, but without its freshness and ring of antiquity.]

The history of S. Euphrosyne, as given in the “ Lives of
the Fathers of the Desert,” written, apparently, shortly after

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her death, is told so simply and beautifully by the ancient
historian, that it shall be given here, somewhat abbreviated,
but otherwise literally translated.

There was a man of Alexandria named Paphnutius,
honourable, and observing the commandments of God.
He married a wife worthy of his race, and of honest
manners, but she was barren. Thereat the man was
troubled much and sorrowful, likewise his wife was sore
afflicted, seeing the distress of her husband. And after
some time he told a certain abbot his desire; and he,
compassionating him, besought the Lord to give him a
child. Then God heard the prayers of these twain, and
gave to Paphnutius a daughter. After that, Paphnutius
brought his wife to the monastery, that she should be
blessed by the abbot and the brethren. And when the
little girl was seven years old, she was baptized, and
called Euphrosyne, and her parents rejoiced over her,
because they had received her of the Lord, and she was
comely of face. Now when she was twelve years old, her
mother died, and she lived with her father, who taught her
her letters, and to read, and all the rest of the world's
knowledge. The good report of her spread through the
town, for she was wise in knowledge, and very comely, and
composed in face and spirit Thus many desired to mate
her with their sons, and tried to come to terms with the
father, but could not gain their point ; for he said, “ God's
will be done." But one man excelled all in wealth and
honour, and he sought the father and asked him to give his
daughter to his own son in marriage ; and he consented ;
so the usual betrothal gifts were made.

And after some time, when she was aged eighteen,
Paphnutius, taking her, went to the monastery with her, and
gave monies for the need of the brethren, and said to the
abbot, “I have brought to thee the fruit of thy prayers,

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266 Lives of the Saints . [.February II.

that thou mayest pray for her, for I am about to deliver her
in marriage.”

Then the abbot bade that she should be taken to the
guest-house, and he spake with her, and said much about
purity, humility, and meekness. Now she was there three
days, and she gave ear to the psalmody every day, and saw
the holy conversation of the monks, and she wondered at
their life, and said, “ Blessed indeed are these men.” So
her heart began to be solicitous in the fear of the Lord.

And when three days were accomplished, Paphnutius
led her to the abbot and said, “Come, my father, that
thy handmaiden may salute thee, and pray for her,
for we are going home to town.” And the maiden cast
herself at the abbot's feet, saying, “I pray thee, my
Father, entreat the Lord to give me my heart's desire,”
so he, extending his hand over her, blessed her, saying,
“God, who knewest man before ever he was bom,
take care of this thy handmaiden, that she may merit
a portion and fellowship in thy heavenly kingdom.” So
they returned to the city. Now, it fell out, one day, that the
abbot was about to be ordained, and he sent a monk to
Paphnutius, to invite him to the solemnity. Then the
brother asked after him, and the servants said, “ He has
gone out” Then Euphrosyne called to her the monk, and
began to question him. “ Tell me of your charity, my
brother, how many brethren are there in the monastery ?”

He answered, “There are three hundred and fifty-two.”

The maiden said, “ If anyone desired to go there for con-
version, would your abbot receive him ?” He answered,

“ He would receive him with the greatest joy, for the Lord
said, * He that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.' ”
Euphrosyne said, “ Do all of you chant in your church, and
all fast together alike?” The monk answered, “We all chant
together, but every one fasts following his own way, as

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much and how suits him best ; there is no constraint, but
ready will” Presently Paphnutius returned from his walk,
and the monk, seeing him, told him the message of the
abbot Then Paphnutius was glad, and went with him in a
little boat to the monastery. Now, when he was gone,
Euphrosyne sent a trusty servant, saying, “Go into the
monastery of Theodosius, enter the church, and bring
hither any monk you find there.” Now, by the goodness of
God, there was a monk just coming from the monastery,
and when the boy saw him, he bade him come to the house
of Euphrosyne. And when the maiden saw him, she rose
and saluted him, saying, “ Pray for me, my Father !” So,
praying, he blessed her, and sat down. Then Euphrosyne
said to him, “ My lord, I have a Christian father, but my
mother is dead. My father wishes to give me to this world,
and I shrink from being defiled thereby, but I fear to be
disobedient to my father, so I am in a strait and know not
what to do. I spent all last night without sleep, asking God
to show me His way, and this morning I have sent into the
church for a father, who might tell me what I should do.
I know that God hath sent thee to me ; declare to me, now,
His will.” Then the old man said, “ This is the Word of
the Lord. If any man come to me, and hate not his father,
and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and
sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
(Luke xiv., 26.) This is the saying of the Lord Christ I
have nothing to add thereto.” Then said Euphrosyne, “ I
trust in God and in thy prayers. Cut off my hair.” So the
old man arose, and shore off the hair of her head, and laid
on her the tunic of profession, and praying, he blessed her,
saying, “The God, who hath delivered all His saints, pro-
tect thee from all evil.” And when he had thus spoken, he
departed, and went on his way rejoicing.

But Euphrosyne thought in herself, “ If I go to a convent

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Lives of the Saints.

[February n.

of maidens my father will make inquiries and drag me
violently away, and give me to the bridegroom. I will go
to a monastery of men, where none will suspect me.” So
saying, she put off her female attire, and clothed herself in
the habit of a man, and, leaving her house in the dusk of
evening, taking with her 500 pennies, concealed herself all
night Next morning her father came to the city, and went,
by the will of God, to church, before going home. Now,
Euphrosyne made her way to that monastery where her
father was so well known, and announced to the abbot,
through the porter, that an eunuch of the palace was without
desiring to speak with him. Then, when the abbot came
forth, Euphrosyne cast herself on the ground, and when
they had prayed they sat down. Then said the old man,

“ Wherefore hast thou come hither, my son ?” And she
answered, “ I desire to dwell here and follow your holy con-
versation.” Then said the old man, “ Thou hast done well,
my son ! Here is the monastery. If it please thee, dwell
with us. But tell me, what is thy name?” She answered,
“Smaragdus (Emerald).” He said, “ Thou art very young,
and not able to dwell alone, but needest a master to teach
thee the rule and conversation of the monks.” To whom
she made answer, “ As thou wiliest, my father.” So she
put the ftve hundred pence in his hand, and he called to
him an aged brother, named Agapitus, a holy man, and gave
to him Smaragdus, saying, “ Henceforth he shall be to thee
a son and disciple.” Then, having knelt, he blessed them,
and they responded Amen, and Agapitus led her away to
his cell.

Now Paphnutius, her father, went home, and when he
found her not he sought through Alexandria. He searched
every convent of women. Now, there were ships in the
harbour, and his servants by force entered them, and
searched them through, and they hunted the country round,

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the deserts and the caves, not to mention the houses of
their friends, and they found her not Then he bewailed
her as one dead, together with the bridegroom and his
father ; but Paphnutius could not be comforted, he had no
rest, not knowing where his daughter was. And at last,
unable to bear his anguish longer, he hastened to the abbot
of whom we have already spoken, and fell at his feet, and
cried, “ I pray thee, cease not from supplication that the
child of thy prayer may be found, for I know not what has
befallen my daughter.” Hearing this, the venerable old
man was mightily troubled, and he summoned all the
brethren, and said, “ Show your charity, my brothers, and
let us all entreat the Lord, that he may declare to us what
has befallen the daughter of our good friend, Paphnutius.”

So they all fasted and prayed for the space of a week, and
nothing was revealed touching Euphrosyne, as was wont,
when they at other times besought the Lord. Now when
nothing was revealed to any, the abbot began to console
the father, saying, “Do not be downcast, my son, at the
Lord's discipline, for whom He loveth He chasteneth.
Know this, of a surety, that no sparrow falls to the ground,
without His knowledge, how then can anything have
happened to thy daughter without His consent? If any
evil had befallen her — which God forbid ! — would not the
Lord have showed it to one of the brethren praying for her?

I have confidence in God, that thou shalt see thy daughter
again in this life.” So the father went away comforted.

But he often returned to commend himself to the prayers
of the brethren, and one day he cast himself down before
the abbot and said, “I cannot bear my anguish, O my
father ! because of my lost daughter, but the wound in my
heart bleeds more every day, and my spirit is vexed within
me.” Now when the old man saw him so broken, he said,

“ Wouldst thou converse with a spiritual brother here, from

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the palace of Theodosius ?" But he knew not that he
spake of the daughter of Paphnutius ; and the man said “ I
am willing/' Then the abbot called Agapitus, and said,
“Take Paphnutius, and introduce him to the cell of
Smaragdus.” And he did so, knowing nothing. Now,
when she suddenly heard her father's voice, and knew him,
her eyes filled with tears. But Paphnutius did not recog-
nize her, for her face was much shrunk with fasting, vigils,
and tears ; and she drew her hood over her face, that he
might not see her distinctly. And when they had prayed,
they sat down. Then she began to speak to him of the
future kingdom of happiness and eternal glory, and how it
was to be won through humility and purity, and a holy life,
and tender love. For she saw that her father was much
depressed, and she pitied him ; yet fearing lest he should
recognize her, and it would prove a hindrance in her path,
and willing to comfort him, she said, “Believe me, God
will not despise thy groaning. If thy child were living in
wickedness, God would shew thee the way to her, that thou
mightest pluck her away. No ! trust God, she has chosen
the better course, and is serving God somewhere. He is
able to lead thee to her. Be of good courage, He will
reveal her to thee some day." Then she said “ Go, sir !"

And as he retired, she grew deadly pale, and tears flowed
from her eyes. But he was full of comfort, and he said
to the abbot, “ I go comforted as though to-day I had seen
my child.'" And he returned home magnifying the Lord.

Now after Smaragdus had lived thirty-eight years in
the cell, she fell sick, and knew that she must die. And
when, on a certain day, as was his frequent custom, Paph-
nutius came to the monastery, and asked to see Smaragdus,
the abbot bade that he should be conducted to the cell.

But when he found that Smaragdus lay sick, he kissed him,
and weeping, said “ Woe is me ! where are all the promises,

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and sweet hopes, that thou didst give me, of seeing my
daughter again ? Not only do I not see her, but thou in
whom I have found some consolation, thou goest away, and
there is none left to be the comfort of my old age. For
thirty and eight years I have lost my daughter, and nothing
has been revealed to me concerning her, though I have
prayed for her night and day.” And when Smaragdus saw
the old man’s distress and tears, he said, “Be of good
courage, is the hand of the Lord shortened, that He cannot
perform what is promised? Lay aside thy sorrow. Re-
member how Joseph was revealed by God to the patriarch
Jacob, who bewailed him as one dead. But I pray thee,
tarry here three days, and leave me not” So Paphnutius
remained beside him three days, for he said, “ May be, the
Lord will reveal somewhat to him ;” and he was all that
while full of anxiety. And on the third day he said, “ I
have waited, my brother !” Then Smaragdus knew that he
should not survive that day, and he said to Paphnutius,
“Draw near to me.,, And he drew near. Then said
Smaragdus, who is also Euphrosyne, “Because the Almighty
Lord hath brought me to the end of my contest, not by
might of mine, but by His help, there remaineth to me the
crown. And now I would not have thee troubled about
thy daughter — I •am thy daughter, Euphrosyne, and thou
art my father, Paphnutius. And now I pray thee, (for none
know that I am a woman), when I am dead, do thou, my
father, wash and lay me out for my grave, and pray for me.”

And when she had said this, she gave up her souL And it
was the first of January.

Then when Paphnutius heard these words, and saw that
she was fallen asleep, all his bowels were moved, and he fell
on the ground, and was as one dead. Now Agapitus came
running in, and saw Smaragdus dead, and Paphnutius lying
senseless on the ground, so he cast water on his face aud

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said, “What aileth thee, Master Paphnutius ?” Then said
Paphnutius, “ Let me go that I may die.” And when he
was risen up, he cast himself on the face of the dead monk,
and cried, “Woe is me ! my sweetest daughter, why didst
thou not tell me before, that I might have died with thee ?”
So Agapitus, having guessed the truth, was amazed,
and hasted and told the abbot, who came, and cried
“Euphrosyne, spouse of Christ, forget not thy fellow-
servants, who dwell in this monastery, but pray for us to
our Lord Jesus Christ, that he may make us manfully
contend to reach the port of safety, and to have our portion
with Him, and with all His saints.” Then he called all the
brethren together, and they buried Euphrosyne reverently.
And after that her father came and dwelt in the same cell,
and was there for ten years, and after that he migrated to
God, and they laid him beside his daughter.

S. CEADMON, MONK.

(ABOUT A.D. 680.)

[Anglican Martyrology, published by John Wilson. Authority Bede :
Hist. Eccl. iv. 24. J

According to an usage very general in the 7th century in
England, but principally prevailing in Celtic countries,
monasteries and nunneries were placed under the rule of
one abbot or abbess. This was the case at Whitby,
where the abbess Hilda governed a community of men,
as well as one of women; and she inspired the monks
subject to her authority with so great a devotion to their
rule, so true a love of sacred literature, that this monastery,
ruled by a woman, became a true school of missionaries,
and even of bishops. But not all the bishops and saints
nurtured in her school, occupy in the annals of the human

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EUPHROSYNE FINDING HERSELF AT DEATH’S DOOR, MAKES HERSELF KNOWN TO HER

FATHER.

From the “Menologmm Graecorum” of Cardinal Albani.

Bigiti;

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mind a place comparable to that held by an old cowherd
who lived on the lands belonging to Hilda's community.

It is on the lips of this cowherd that Anglo-Saxon speech
first bursts into poetry, and nothing in the whole history of
European literature is more original or more religious than
this first utterance of the English muse. His name was
Ceadmon. He had already reached an advanced age, hav-
ing spent his life in his humble occupation without ever
learning music, or being able to join in the joyous choruses
which held such a high place at the feasts and social gather-
ings of all classes, both poor and rich, among the Anglo-
Saxons as among the Celts. When it was his turn to sing
at any of these festal meetings, and the harp was handed
to him, his custom was to rise from the table and go home.

One evening, when he had thus withdrawn himself from his
friends, he went back to his humble shed and went to sleep
by the side of the cattle. During his slumber he heard a
voice, which called him by name, and said to him, “ Sing
me something ” ; to which he replied, “ I cannot sing, and
that is why I have left the supper and am come hither.”

“ Sing, notwithstanding,” said the voice. “ But what, then,
shall I sing?” “Sing the beginning of the world: the
Creation.” Immediately on receiving this command he
began to sing verses, of which before he had no knowledge,
but which celebrated the glory and power of the Creator.

On awaking he recollected all that he had sung in his dream,
and hastened to tell all that had happened to him to the
farmer in whose service he was.

The Abbess Hilda, when the story was repeated to her,
called for Ceadmon and questioned him in the presence of
all the learned men whom she could assemble around her.

He was made to relate his vision and recite his songs, and
then the different passages of sacred history and various
points of doctrine were explained to him that he might put

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274 Lives of the Saints . [February II.

them into verse. The next morning he was again called,
and immediately began to repeat all that had been told
him, in verses, which were pronounced to be excellent He
was thus discovered all at once to possess the gift of impro-
visation in his mother tongue. Hilda, and her learned
assessors, did not hesitate to recognise in this a special gift
of God, worthy of all respect and of the most tender care.

She received Ceadmon and his whole family within the
monastic community of Whitby, and afterwards admitted
him to the number of monks who were under her rule, and
made him carefully translate the whole Bible into Anglo-
Saxon. As soon, accordingly, as the sacred history and the
gospel were narrated to him, he made himself master of
the tale, ruminated it, as Bede said, and transformed it into
songs, so beautiful that all who listened to him were de-
lighted. He thus put into verse the whole of Genesis and
Exodus, with other portions of the Old Testament, and,
afterwards the life and passion of Our Lord, and the Acts of
the Apostles. His talent and his poetic faculty thus went
on, day by day, to fuller development, and he devoted
numerous songs to such subjects as were best calculated to
induce his companions to forsake evil, and love and practise
the good: the terrors of the last judgment, the pains of
hell, the joys of paradise — all these great and momentous
subjects were in their turn woven into verse. The frag-
ments that remain enable us to estimate the earnest and
impassioned inspirations, strongly Christian and profoundly
original, which characterised these first efforts of genius,
barbarous, but subdued and baptized. But it would be a
totally mistaken idea to recognise in the Abbess Hilda’s
dependant, nothing but a poet or a literary pioneer ; he was,
above all, a primitive Christian, a true monk, and, in one
word, a saint. His mind was simple and humble, mild and
pure ; he served God with tranquil devotion, grateful for

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the extraordinary grace that he had received from heaven.
But he was full of zeal for monastic regularity. No frivolous
or worldly subjects ever inspired his verse ; he composed
his songs only that they might be useful to the soul, and
their solemn beauty did even more for the conversion than
for the delight of his countrymen. Many were moved by
them to despise this world, and to turn with ardent love to
the divine life. He died as poets seldom die. At the very
beginning of his illness he desired his bed to be made in
that part of the infirmary which was assigned to the dying,
and, while smiling and talking cheerfully with his brethren,
asked for the viaticum . At the moment when he was about
to administer the Communion to himself, from the pyx
brought from the Church, according to the usage of the
period, and while holding in his hands the Holy Eucharist,
he asked all those around him, if any one had any grudge
against him, or any complaint to make? All answered,
“ No.” Then said he, “I, too, my children, have a mind
at peace with all God’s servants.” A little while after he had
received the venerable Sacrament, as they were about to
waken the monks for Matins, he made the sign of the
Cross, laid his head on the pillow, and fell asleep in silence,
to awake no more.

' S. THEODORA, EMPRESS.

(a.d. 867.)

[Commemorated by the Greeks ; not regarded as a Saint by the Western
Church.]

Theodora, wife of Theophilus, the Byzantine Emperor,
has the glory of having brought to an end the triumph of
the Iconoclasts in the East After the death of her savage
husband she ruled during the minority of her son, Michael
III. Her claim to sanctity is certainly very questionable.

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February 12.

S. Eulalia, V.M. at Barcelona* a.d. 303.

S. Melktius the Great, Patr. of Antioch , a.d. 381.

S. Rioch, Monk in Brittany , jth cent.

S. Ethelwold, B. of Lindisfame , a.d. 740,

S. Benedict of Aniane, Ah., a.d. 821.

S. Antony Caulbas, Patr. of Constantinople , a.d. 896.
S. Benedict, B. of Albenga, in N. Italy , a.d. 900.

S. Goslin, Ab. of Turin, a.d. 1061.

S. Ludan, C. near Strasbourg , a.d. 1202.

S. EULALIA, V. M.

(a.d. 303.)

[There are two saints of this name very celebrated in Spain, whereof one
is of Merida, the other, the subject of this notice, of Barcelona. The
former is commemorated on the ioth of December ; the latter on Feb.

12th. The former is said to have been aged twelve or thirteen, the latter
aged fourteen. There is also a striking similarity in their acts and their
legends ; and it seems that writers have often confounded the one with the
other, that is, supposing there were two saints, virgins and martyrs of this
name. But it seems not improbable, that the Eulalia of Barcelona and
her namesake of Merida are the same. Such a mistake as the making one
saint into two might easily arise, if a portion of the relics of Eulalia of
Barcelona had been transferred to Merida. Martyrologists as generally
name a saint as “ of such a place ” by the place where his or her relics are, as
by the scene of the martyrdom. The Roman Martyrology says, on Feb.

1 2th, “At Barcelona, in Spain, S. Eulalia, V., who endured the little-
horse, hooks, and flames, in the reign of Diocletian, the Emperor, and was
finally fastened to a cross,1 and received the crown of Martyrdom.’' Usu-
ardus says much the same. The Martyrologies of Bede, Ado, and Notker
enter into fuller details. The feast of S. Eulalia is observed with an octave
according to ancient custom, sanctioned by a decree of the Congregation of

1 This is a mistake, as Bollandus has pointed out ; the cross means the little-
horse on which she was extended.

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S. Eulalia.

277

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Rites, Dec. 6th, 1608, at Barcelona, even when it falls in Lent. It is diffi-
cult to fix the date of the Acts, but it is certain that we have not got them
in their original form, though there is no reason for doubting their substan-
tial authority.]

ULALIA, the daughter of Christian parents, lived
on a farm outside the gates of Barcelona. Now,
when she heard that persecution had broken
out, she cried, “ Thanks do I render to Thee,
Lord Jesu Christ, and glory to Thy holy Name, for now I
behold that which I have desired, and I believe that with
Thy help all my desire shall find accomplishment” Then
the young girl at night escaped from her home, and, enter-
ing the city in the morning, presented herself before the
magistrate, and defied him and his gods. The magistrate
ordered her to be whipped, thinking that the lashes on her
tender skin would subdue her constancy. But he was mis-
taken. She accepted the sufferings with joy, and was then
stretched on the little-horse and hef sides tom with iron
hooks and burnt with torches. And in her agony she looked
up to heaven and cried, “Lord Jesu Christ, hear my
prayer, and perfect Thy work in me, and bid me be num-
bered among Thine elect in the rest of life eternal.” And
when she had so prayed, her soul sped from her, and
entered into the Paradise of God, as a dove flies to its nest
Then the executioners cast her off from the rack upon the
blood-stained soil; but the magistrate ordered, “Let the
body hang to be devoured by the birds of the air.” Then a
light snow began to fall out of heaven and softly cover
the virgin's naked and mangled body with a pure white pall.
Then the executioners, astonished, withdrew, and on the
third day the Christians were allowed to bear away the
sacred relics.

Patroness of Barcelona and of sailors. Her relics are
preserved at Barcelona, in the Cathedral. She is repre-

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278

sented in art, with her soul, as a dove, issuing from her
mouth, or lying covered with snow before a rack. It seems
to be an error to regard her as having been crucified. In
the Acts the command of the magistrate is, “ Let her hang
on the cross ” ; but this refers to the rack on which she was
stretched. She is, however, sometimes represented with a
cross.

a MELETIUS, PATR. OF ANTIOCH.

(a.d. 381.)

[Commemorated by Greeks and Romans on the same day. But Mauro-
lycus, by mistake, inserts him along with S. Meletius, B. of Pontus, on
Dec. 4th. Authorities : — Sozomen, Socrates, Theodoret, and the oration
of S. John Chrysostom in his honour.]

The history of this noble Confessor is a sad one, for it
opens up to us a picture of the dissensions which tore the
Church in the 4th century. It will be remembered that the
Church was at that period suffering from the prevalence of
Arianism, which denied the Eternal Godhead of the Son.
Favoured by the Court, Arianism had penetrated into the
Church on all sides; many of the bishops were Arian,
others were semi- Arian, unwilling to pronounce decidedly
against the Godhead of Christ, and unwilling also to declare
that great doctrine to be the Truth. The election of the
bishops being in the hands of the people, if among the
laity and clergy low views of Christ's nature prevailed, an
Arian was chosen to be their bishop. It was none the
better when the emperors interfered to nominate, for they
would expel an orthodox prelate and substitute for him one
who was an Arian. And it must be remembered that Arians
were at that time mixed up with Catholics, as parties in
the Church, and did not at first stand to one another
in the position of separate and antagonistic communions.

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S. Meletius.

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279

By the predominance of the votes of Arians, Meletius was
elected and consecrated bishop of Bercea, and was after-
wards by the same influence translated to the See of
Sebaste.1 He was present at the council of Seleucia (359).
where he sided with the shifty semi-Arian Acacius of
Caesarea. But his eyes seem to have opened to the
truth, and that gentle and peace-loving disposition which
made him at first willing to soften differences was braced up
by the imminence of the danger to true religion, to take a
bold step. A council, assembled at Antioch in 361, placed
Meletius in the see. This excellent man had a persuasive
eloquence and a disposition which endeared him both to
Catholics and Arians. A rumour began to spread that he
was positively Catholic. After some sermons of a general
character, he was desired to take part in a series of exposi-
tions of the great controverted text, Prov. viii. 22. After
George, bishop of Laodicea, had given a strongly Arian
address, and Acacius, bishop of Caesarea, had read a paper
which seemed to aim at a safe ambiguity, Meletius rose, and
asserted, in unequivocal language, the essential doctrine of
Nicaea. The church rang with cries of applause and wrath,
proceeding from Catholics and Arians. The Arian arch-
deacon stopped the new patriarch's mouth with his hand.
Meletius held out three fingers, then one ; and when his
lips were freed by the archdeacon's seizing his hands, he
repeated aloud his former words, and exhorted the people
to cling to the Nicene faith. This could not be borne ; the
council, at another session, deposed Meletius ; the Emperor
Constantius drove him into exile ; Euzoius, an old comrade
of Arius, was made bishop of Antioch ; and a new creed
was published which affirmed that the Son was in nowise

1 It is uncertain whether he was first at Sebaste or at Bercea. Socrates says he
was translated from Bercea to Sebaste, but there are circumstances which make
this statement impossible to reconcile with other facts.

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280 Lives of the Saints . [February 11

like to the Father, and was made out of what once was
not This led to a separation between the Catholics and
the Arians. The latter were put in possession of all the
churches, by imperial authority. Unfortunately, the Catho-
lics were divided. Many held with the orthodox banished
patriarch, Meletius, but some of the more obstinate refused
to acknowledge him, and to communicate with those who
did, because he had been ordained through Arian influence
at Sebaste. On the accession of the Emperor Julian the
Apostate, Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari, and Eusebius of
Vercelli resolved to do what was possible to allay the
miserable schisms which devastated the East and Egypt.
Accordingly a council was summoned at Alexandria, to
which Eusebius betook himself but Lucifer, sending a re-
presentative to the council, hasted to Antioch, where, with
that unfortunate precipitancy which characterised all his
actions, he ordained one Paulinus to the Patriarchate, a
man belonging to the extreme orthodox side, without
waiting the return of Meletius, who had been re-called from
banishment As soon as the council of Alexandria had
reinstated S. Athanasius, Eusebius of Vercelli arrived at
Antioch, and found that the visit of Lucifer of Cagliari had
made matters worse instead of healing divisions. There
were now three Patriarchs of Antioch : one, Euzoius, the
Arian, in possession of all the churches except one, which,
out of personal friendship for Paulinus he had ceded to
him; another, Meletius, the banished and now recalled
patriarch, against whose orthodoxy no breath of doubt was
raised ; and Paulinus, acknowledged by the Roman pontiff,
at the head of a small party who rejected Meletius, because
he had once been mixed up with Arians. Eusebius re-
gretted what had been done, but his respect for Lucifer,
says Socrates, induced him to be silent about it, and, on his
departure, he engaged that all things should be set right by

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February ia.] S. MeletiuS . 28 1

a council of bishops. Subsequently, he laboured with great
earnestness to unite the dissentients, but without effect
Shortly after the departure of Eusebius, Meletius arrived in
Antioch, and was obliged to assemble the faithful who clung
to him outside the walls of the city. This was in 362.

On June 26th, 363, Julian died, and his successor, Jovian,
was a Catholic. Instantly the party of Acacius held a
conclave, and agreed to become orthodox, conforming to
the Catholic creed, showing very plainly, says Socrates, that
their great object was to be in agreement with the imperial
mind. Acacius had a meeting with Meletius, and joined
his party.

The Emperor Jovian was succeeded by Valens in the
East, in 364, and Meletius was again driven into exile, for
the cruel tyrant was an Arian. As he was being taken out
of the city in the chariot of the governor, the mob, exas-
perated at losing their beloved prelate, would have stoned
the chief magistrate, had not Meletius screened him with his
mantle. He was banished into Armenia, and during his
absence, the Catholics were left without pastors through the
severity of the imperial orders. Valens fell before the
Goths, in the great battle of Hadrianople, in 378, and was
succeeded by Gratian, who recalled the bishops that had
been banished, and ordered “ that the churches should be
given up to those who held communion with Damasus,
bishop of Rome.”1 Paulinus promised to communicate on
the subject with Damasus. “ Meletius, the mildest of men,”
continues Theodoret, “ addressed Paulinus in a kind and
affectionate manner : ‘ As God/ said he, ‘ committed to me
the care of this flock, and as you have received the charge
of another, and as our respective sheep hold the same doc-
trines, let us, O friend, unite our flocks. Let us throw aside
all contests for superiority, and tend with equal assiduity the

Theodoret, lib. v. c. a.

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282 Lives of the Saints . [February I*

sheep entrusted to us. If the episcopal chair of this city
be to us a matter of contention, let us place the holy
gospel upon it, and let us seat ourselves on each side of it
If I die first, thou, O friend, wilt become the only ruler of
the flock ; but if your death occur before mine, I will, as
far as I am able, tend the flock alone.' Paulinus, however,
refused to comply with the offer so kindly and affectionately
made by Meletius. The general sent by Gratian to execute
his orders, after reflecting on what had been stated, gave up
the churches to the holy Meletius. Paulinus continued to
rule those who had from the beginning separated themselves
from the rest of the flock."

S. Athanasius, S. Eusebius of Samosata, S. Gregory Nazi-
anzen, S. Gregory Nyssen, S. Basil the Great, S. Cyril of
Jerusalem, S. Pelagius of Laodicaea, S. Amphilochius of
Iconium, and nearly the whole of the East were in commun-
ion with Meletius, whereas Paulinus alone was acknowledged
by Pope Damasus of Rome, the whole of the West, and
Egypt The Pope sent to him a synodal letter denouncing
various heresies which prevailed in the East Meletius at
once summoned a council at Antioch, in 378, and accepted
the synodal letter, though addressed to his rival.

Two great saints arose from the rival parties : S. Jerome,
who was ordained priest by Paulinus, and S. John Chrysos-
tom, who was the discipfe of Meletius, from whom he re-
ceived deacon's orders.

The Emperor Theodosius resolved to assemble a council
in order to settle various affairs concerning the welfare of
the Church, and to crush the Macedonian heresy. The
bishops, 150 in number, met at Constantinople on May
2nd, 381, and Meletius was appointed to preside. “When the
whole assembly of bishops had been ushered into the palace,"
says Theodoret, “ the emperor, without noticing the others,
ran up directly to the great Meletius, and embraced him

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kissed his eyes, lips, breast, head, and the right hand which
had crowned him, and exhibited all those demonstrations of
affection which would be shown by a dutiful son on behold-
ing a beloved father after a long separation.”1 During the
council, Meletius was attacked by an illness which proved
fatal. He exhorted the bishops to peaceful courses, and
died while the council was sitting. “ Where now,” asked
S. Gregory of Nyssa, in the funeral sermon, “ is that sweet
calm look, that radiant smile, that kind hand which was
wont to second the kind voice ?” His name, as S. Gregory
observed, expressed the sweetness of his character ; and
S. Chrysostom adds, that so dear had the gentle patriarch
become to the people of Antioch that they had engraved
his likeness on their rings, their cups, and the walls of their
bed-rooms. His funeral was magnificent ; lights were borne
before the embalmed corpse, and psalms sung — this latter
was “a practice quite contrary to the usual Roman customs,”
curiously says Sozomen.2 These honours were repeated in
all cities through which it passed, until it rested beside the
grave of S. Babylas, at Antioch.

& ETHELWOLD, B. OF LINDISFARNE.

(A.D. 740.)

[Anglican Martyrology of Wilson. Authorities : — Simeon of Durham
and Malmesbury.]

There is nothing of much importance to relate concern-
ing this saint, who was minister to S. Cuthbert in Fame,
afterwards abbot of Mailros, and finally bishop of Lindis-
farne.

1 Lib. v., c. 7. * Lib. vii., c. 10.

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S. BENEDICT OF ANIANE, AB.

(A.D. 821.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority: — His life by Ardo Smaragdus, his
disciple.]

This Benedict, the reviver of monastic discipline, was
the son of Aigulf, Count of Languedoc, and served King
Pepin and his son Charlemagne as cupbearer. But, at the
age of twenty, he resolved to seek the kingdom of God and
His righteousness with all his heart From that time for-
ward he led a mortified life in the Court for three years,
eating sparingly and allowing himself little sleep. Jn 774,
having narrowly escaped drowning, he made a vow to quit
the world entirely. Returning to Languedoc, he was con-
firmed in his resolution by the advice of a hermit, named
Widmar, and, under pretext of going to the Court at Aix-
la-Chapelle, he went to the abbey of S. Seine, five leagues
from Dijon, and became a monk there. His discipline of
himself was most severe. He frequently spent the whole
night in prayer, standing barefoot on the ground in a keen
frost On the death of the abbot, the brethren desired to
elect Benedict, but he, knowing their aversion to a reforma-
tion, left them, and retired to a hermitage, in 780, on the
brook Aniane, on his own estate in Languedoc. Here he
was joined by the hermit Widmar and other solitaries, who
placed themselves under his direction. They earned their
livelihood by their labour, and lived on bread and water,
except on Sundays and great festivals. In a short while
Benedict had three hundred monks under his rule, and he
built a monastery ; and also exercised the office of general
inspector to all the monasteries of Provence, Languedoc,
and Gascony. King Louis the Pious, who succeeded his
father, Charlemagne, in 814, committed to the saint the
inspection of all the abbeys in his kingdom. In 817 he

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presided at an assembly of abbots, to enforce restoration
of discipline in their monasteries. He died at Inde, a
monastery near Aix-la-Chapelle, on February nth, 821,
at the age of seventy one ; but his festival is usually
observed on the following day, which is that of his
burial.

The Papermaker.

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Lives of the Saints,

[February 13.

February 13.

SS. Fusca, F., and Maura, MM. at Ravenna, 3rd cent.

S. Polyeuctu8, M. at Melitene, in Armenia} eirc. a.d. 259.

S. Juliana, Matron at ‘twin, 9 th cent .

S. Domninus, B. of Digne in France , 4 th cent.

S. Castor, P. at Coblenz , end qf 4th cent.

S. Martian, H. in Palestine ; circ. a.d. 400.

S. Stephen, qf Lyons, B. C.; circ. a.d. 512.

S. Modomnoc, qf Ossory, C. 6th cent.

S. Stephen, Ab. qf Riete in Italy, 6th cent.

S. Licinius, B. qf Angers ; circ. a.d. 6x7.

S. Ermenilda, Q. Abbess qf Ely, circ. 700.

S. Gregory ii.. B. qfRome ; a.d. 731.

SS. Aymon and Weremund, Counts qfTurbio in Italy ; circ. a.d. 790.
S. Fulcran, B. of Lodeve in France, a.d. xoo6.

S. Gislbert, B. of Me asm, after a.d. 1000.

B. Jordan, O.S.D. a.d. 1237.

S. Catherine, qf Ricci, V., O.S.D., a.d. 1590.

SS. FUSCA AND MAURA, MM.

(3RD CENT.)

[Roman Martyrology. It is doubtful whether these martyrs suffered
under Caracalla, or under Decius. The Roman Martyrology says “ under
Decius the Acts are silent on this point. Baronius says under Decius, in
the year 254 ; but Decius fell in 251. There exist several editions of the
Acts, all apparently derived from the original authentic account of their
passion, and differing from one another in no important particular.]

HE blessed Fusca was a young girl of Ravenna,
aged fifteen, who, with her nurse Maura, had been
instructed in the faith of Christ, and had been
baptized by S. Hermolaus. Her parents, who
were heathens, were exceedingly annoyed, and endeavoured
by persuasion and threats to turn their daughter from her
confidence in God ; and on one occasion her father was so
far exasperated as to rush upon her to strike her, but the
mother interposed and restrained him. The Praefect Quinti-
le *

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February 13.]

-S'. Polyeuctus .

287

anus, hearing of the conversion of Fusca, sent for her,
together with her nurse, and having scourged her, ordered
the executioner to run her through with his spear. The
maiden fell into the arms of Maura, and the old woman,
clasping her bleeding mistress, implored the man to de-
spatch her also ; this request was readily complied with,
and the nurse and her young charge died together.

The relics of these holy martyrs are preserved at TorcellL
In Art they are represented holding a spear.

S. POLYEUCTUS, M.

(about 259.)

[Commemorated by Greeks, Armenians, and Latins. The ancient Roman
Martyrology, called that of S. Jerome, on Jan. 7th, as also the Armenians ;
another on Feb. 13th ; another on Feb. 14th ; by the Greeks on Jan. 9th.
Usuardus, Ado, and the modem Roman Martyrology on Feb. 13th ;
some ancient ones on Jan. 10th. There are two editions of the Acts of
S. Polyeuctus, one in Latin, the other in Greek, based on the original by
Nearchus, who took his body to burial after his death. The following
account is a literal translation of the later Acts.]

Whilst the Christians, especially those in the East, were
suffering persecution under the Emperors Decius and
Valerian, there were two men very friendly, Polyeuctus
and Nearchus by name. Now Nearchus was a Christian,
but Polyeuctus was a heathen. But when Decius and
Valerian could not be satiated with the blood of the saints,
they issued an edict that those Christians who would sacri-
fice to the gods, should be favoured by the majesty of the
empire, but that those who refused should be cruelly
punished. Which things being heard, Nearchus, who
desired to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, lamented
because his comrade, whom he loved as a second self,
would be left in peril of eternal damnation. Going there-

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 13.

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fore to his friend, Polyeuctus, he announced to him that on
the morrow their friendship must come to an end. And
when he answered that death alone could terminate this,
Nearchus said, “You speak the truth, we are about to be
separated by death.” And he showed him the imperial
edict Then Polyeuctus narrated to Nearchus how Christ
had appeared to him in vision, and had taken off his dirty
vestment, together with his military harness, and had thrown
over him a gorgeous silk robe, linking it at his shoulder with
a golden brooch, and had mounted him on a winged horse.
Hearing this, Nearchus was glad, and having expounded
the vision, and instructed Polyeuctus more fully in the faith,
his friend believed perfectly, and began to thirst for martyr-
dom.

Now when Polyeuctus declared himself openly to be
a Christian, and rebuked idolatry, being tried by the perse-
cutors, he was for a long time tortured. And when he had
been a long while scourged with rods, the tormentors were
weary, and endeavoured to persuade him with bland
speeches and promises, to return to the worship of the
gods. But he, remaining immoveable in the confession of
the Lord, and deriding them, was more furiously beaten.

Then came his wife and only son, and she filled the place
with her cries, and held out to him his son, alleging his
marriage ties, with many tears and sighs, and laboured to
call the saint from martyrdom, by the thoughts of his son,
of his wealth, and of his friends. But he, divinely inspired,
could not be separated from Christ by any temptations, but
all the more exhorted his wife to desert her idols and believe
in Christ

Now when the governors saw that the constancy of the
martyr was not to be shaken, they pronounced capital
sentence against him. And when the martyr heard this, he
gave thanks, and praising God, was led to the place of

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February I3.] SS. Castor & Martian .

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289

execution, confirming the faithful with his holy exhortations,
so that not a few of the unbelievers were converted. Then,
turning to the Blessed4 Nearchus, he announced to him that
he should follow him according to mutual agreement ; and
bidding him farewell, died a glorious death.

S. CASTOR, P. C.

(end OF 4TH CENTURY.)

[Cologne, Belgian, Treves Martyrologies. The accounts we have of him
are not of any great antiquity.]

S. Castor was ordained first deacon, and then priest, by
S. Maximus, second bishop of Tr&ves. He was appointed
to preach the Gospel at Carden, on the Moselle, where is a
church founded by him. A popular legend represents him
as having asked of a boat which was going up the river with
a load of salt, a small quantity of that useful condiment,
which was however refused him ; but when the vessel was
shortly after nigh sinking in a storm, Castor saved it by
making the sign of the cross over the tossing waves. His
body, or part of it, was translated in after years to Coblenz.

S. MARTIAN, H.

(about 300.)

[Commemorated by the Greeks with special solemnity on this day.
Authority: — A Life written by a contemporary. Anciently, S. Martian
was venerated at Constantinople in the Church of S. Peter, with great
honour, probably because his relics reposed there.]

Martian was a native of Caesarea in Palestine. At the
age of eighteen he retired to a mountain near that city,
where he lived for twenty-five years among many holy
solitaries in the practice of all virtues. A courtesan of
vol. it. 19

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 13,

Caesarea, called Zoe, having heard of his sanctity, moved by
an evil spirit, resolved to endeavour to lead him into sin.
One stormy night she presented herself at his door, and
cried to be admitted. “ Have pity on me !” she pleaded,
“ I fear the wild beasts, I have lost my way !” Then he
admitted her, and when she used all her efforts to fascinate
him, and he felt his heart rebel against the law of God, by
a sudden act of resolution, he thrust his legs into the fire,
crying, “ O Martian ! how feels this fire to thee now ? Yet
it is not comparable to that which the devil kindles to
consume the sinner.”

The woman, horror-struck at his proceeding, was filled
with shame at her wicked purpose and manner of life. She
burst into tears, and entreated the holy man to give her a
rule whereby she might conform her life to the will of God.
Then he sent her to S. Paula,1 who governed a convent at
Bethlehem, who received her ; and Zoe became a model of
penitence, eating only once a day, and sometimes spending
two days without food ; sleeping on the bare ground, and
ever bewailing with many tears her former wicked life.

Martian, after his legs were healed, resolved to escape to
some place where he could not be tempted so readily. He
therefore found a rock at some little distance from the
shore, in the sea, and in that was a cave. Martian spent
six years in this solitude, deprived of all human conso-
lations, but full of joy in being separated from all creatures
who might draw his heart from God. After the lapse of six
years, one stormy day a vessel was wrecked near his islet,
and a girl, who was one of the passengers, managed to save
herself upon the rock of Martian. The hermit was placed
in a sore predicament ; he had no wish for the society of a
young damsel in his place of retreat, and yet he had no
power to drive her from her refuge. He therefore said to

1 See Jan. 36th.

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February x3 ] .S.S. Martian & Modomnoc.

291

her, “ My daughter, we must not both live here together.
In two months a ship will touch on this island to bring me
what is needful for my support. Till then there is bread
and water in my cave. Take it, and live here ; when the
ship arrives, tell the captain how you came here, and he will
take you on board and convey you to the main land.”
Then he flung himself into the sea and swam ashore. For
two years he wandered without finding a home, but at last
died at Athens. The girl left on the island, had, in the
meantime, become attached to the solitary life, and when
the boat arrived, she besought the ship-master to give her
a warm dress, some wool to spin, and bread and water.
The captain readily promised to do as she required, and
returned shortly after with his wife, bringing her all she
needed; and from that day he came to the island every
three months, bringing her what she needed, during the six
years she lived there.

S. MODOMNOC, C.

(6th cent.)

[Irish Martyrologies. Sometimes called S. Domnoc.]

This saint, who is greatly reverenced in Ossory, was a
pupil of S. David in Wales, but a native of Ireland, a mem-
ber of the princely house of the Nialls, son of Saran, and
fourth in descent from Eugene, one of the sons of Neill
Neigilliach. After having spent some time in Wales in the
little monastery cultivating flowers and vegetables and bees,
he returned to his native island. And as he mounted the
ship, his bees swarmed, and settled on the boat. So
Modomnoc took the swarm with him to the Emerald Isle.
After his return home he served God at Tiprat Fachtua, in
the west of Ossory, near the Suir, now Tibrach, in Kil-
kenny.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 13

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& LICINIUS, B. C.

(about A.D. 617.)

[Roman Martyrology. Usuardus, Gallican Martyrologies, &c. Autho-
rities : — Two ancient lives, one by an anonymous author, the other by
Marbod, archdeacon of Angers, and afterwards Bishop of Rennes.]

This saint was bom about the year 540, and at the age
of twenty was sent to the court of King Clothaire I., whose
cousin he was. He was made Count of Anjou by King
Chilperic, and was about to be married in 578, when, on
the wedding morning, the bride was struck with leprosy.
This incident so affected Licinius, that he renounced the
world ; and in the year 600, was elected bishop of Angers,
where he set an example of great piety and zeal. He
is called in French Lessin.

S. ERMENILDA, Q. ABSS.

(ABOUT A.D. 700.)

[Wytford, Maurolycus, Carthusian Mart, of Cologne, Ferrarius and Can-
sius. Authorities: — Bede, John of Brompton, the Historia Eliensis, &c.]

Ermenilda was the daughter of the saintly queen of
Kent, Sexburga, who after the death of her husband, and
regency till her son was of age, retired to Ely, where she
became abbess. Ermenilda was married to Wulfhere, king
of Mercia, and became the mother of S. Wereburga. She
used all the influence which the love of her husband gave
her to extirpate the last vestiges of idolatry in the country
which had been the centre and last bulwark of Anglo-Saxon
heathenism- The example of her virtues was the most
effectual of sermons, and it was, above all, by her incom-
parable sweetness, her pity for all misfortunes, her un-
wearied kindness, that she touched the hearts of her subjects
most Like her mother, it was her desire to offer herself

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entirely to God, to whom she had finally led back her
people ; as soon as she became a widow, she took the veil
like her mother, and under her mother — for it was to Ely
that she went to live in humility and chastity, under a
doubly maternal rule. The mother and daughter contended
which should give the finest examples of humility and
charity. At last, and still following in' her mothers steps,
Ermenilda, on the death of Sexburga, became abbess, and
was thus the third princess of the blood of the Uffings who
ruled the flourishing community of Ely. The local chronicle
affirms that it was not her birth, but her virtues, and even
her love of holy poverty, which made her preferred to all
others by the unanimous suffrages of her numerous com-
panions. She showed herself worthy of their choice; she
was less a superior than a mother. After a life full of
holiness and justice, her soul went to receive its eternal
reward in heaven, and her body was buried beside those of
her mother and aunt, in the church of the great abbey,
which had thus the singular privilege of having for its three
first abbesses, a queen of Northumbria, a queen of Kent,
and a queen of Mercia.

S. GREGORY II., POPE.

(A.D. 731.)

[Roman and other Western Martyrologies on this day, though he died
on Feb. xoth.]

S. Gregory II. was ordained sub-deacon by pope Sergius
I., and under the four succeeding popes he acted as trea-
surer and librarian to the Church in Rome. When elected
pope, he signalized himself by his unwearied zeal in de-
fending the pure faith against heresy, and in combating the
Iconoclasts who, protected by the Emperor Leo the
Isaurian, waged war against sacred pictures and images.

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Lives of the Saints.

[.February 13

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The tyrant sent officers on several occasions to mnrdef
the holy pope; but he was so faithfully guarded by the
Romans, that he escaped unhurt He held the pontificate
fifteen years, eight months, and twenty-three days, and died
on Feb. ioth, 731.

S. FULCRAN, B. C.

(A.D. 1006.)

[Gallican Martyrology, Authority : — A Life by Bishop Bernard Guido,
compiled from ancient notices and lives of this saint, published by
Bollandus.]

The blessed Fulcran was a native of Lodeve, in the
archdiocese of Narbonne, in France ; and from his child-
hood exhibited marked piety. He was educated by
Theodoric, Bishop of Lodeve, who also ordained him. On
the death of Theodoric, the city elected Fulcran to be his
successor ; and he was consecrated at Narbonne by Arch-
bishop Imerick, on the 4th February, 949. His zeal and
humility endeared him to his flock, as did also his abundant
charity in time of famine. Having been told of a certain
neighbouring bishop that had fallen into heresy, Fulcran,
in a moment of indignation, without weighing his words,
exclaimed, “The man deserves to be burnt!” Shortly
after he heard that the people had burnt the bishop
alive. He was at once filled with remorse, fearing lest his
rash and uncharitable speech should have been reported,
and encouraged the people to commit this crime. Unable
to find rest of conscience, he went to Rome, and entering
the city, tore the clothes off his back, and bade his com
panions beat him through the streets with thorn branches,
till he reached the Church of S. Peter, where he made his
confession with many tears. After this, he returned to his
diocese, but again feeling agonies of remorse, revisited

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February i3.] 6*. Catharine de Ricci . 295

Rome, and again a third time, subjecting himself to various
penances. When his end drew near, he announced it to
his friends, and the rumour spreading, multitudes poured
to Lodeve to see him for the last time, and receive his
parting benediction. Though consumed with fever, he said
Mass in the Cathedral before all, and weeping, prayed for
his flock ; then he blessed the tomb he had ordered to be
prepared for himself, and died peacefully shortly after.

S. CATHARINE DE RICCI, V.

(A.D. 1590.)

[Roman Martyrology. Canonised by Pope Benedict XIV, in 1746.]

S. Catharine, bom of the noble Ricci family at Florence,
from her infancy exhibited a precocious piety. Being
placed in a convent when young, she prayed every day
before a crucifix, shedding many tears, and meditating
continually on the passion. She afterwards entered the
Dominican convent of S. Vincent, in the town of Prato.
She was asked to come home, but refused to revisit her
parents till they had given her a promise that they would
not oppose her vocation. At the age of thirteen she
embraced the religious profession.

The grace of God descended upon her in abundant
measure, and she is said to have received from our Blessed
Lord the ring of espousal, and the stigmata. Being at
Prato, she is said also to have seen and conversed with
S. Philip Neri, who was then in Rome. At length after a
life of great self-denial and continual ecstasy, exhausted by
grave sickness, and strengthened with the sacraments of the
Church, she departed to her rest, in the year 1590, in the
sixty-ninth year of her age, on Feb. 2nd.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 14.

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February 14.

SS. Vita lis, Fbchula, Zeno, MM, at Rome.

S. Elxucodius, B, of Ravenna, a.d. xia.

S. Valentine, P.M. at Rome , a.d. 269.

S. Valentine, B.M. at feramo in Umbria ; cire. a.d. 273.

SS. Modestine, B., Florentine, P., and Flavian, D., at Avellino
in Italy .

S. Maro, H. in Syria ; cire, a.d. 370.

S. Abraham, B. at Carrfue , in Mesopotamia ; cire. a.d. 390.

S. Auxentius, Ab, in Bithynia ; cire, a.d. 470.

S. Antonins, Ab. at Sorrento ; cire. a.d. 830.

SS. Bruno, B.t and Eighteen Companions, in Prussia , MM. a.d. zoo8.

S. VALENTINE, P. M.

(a.d. 269.)

[All Western Martyrologies. Acts contained in those of SS. Marius,
Martha, Audifax, and Habachuc.]

HIS saint was a priest of the Roman Church, and
was put in chains by Claudius II. for having
assisted the martyrs during the Emperor’s per-
secution of the Christians. Calpumius, the
prefect of the city,^ who had charge of him, intrusted
him to the care of Asterius, his chief officer. S. Valentine
used his opportunity, and preached the faith to his guard,
and restored sight to his adopted daughter. Asterius
was converted and baptized with his whole family, and
confirmed by a bishop named Callistus. Claudius hearing
this, condemned Valentine to be beaten with clubs, and
afterwards beheaded. He suffered on the Flaminian Way,
on February 14th, a.d. 269.

The body of S. Valentine is preserved in the Church of
S. Praxedis, in Rome ; but the head in that of S. Sebastian.
Much difficulty is caused by the great number of relics of
saints called Valentine, commemorated on the same day,
but of whose acts nothing is known.

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February 14.]

•S'. Valentine.

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There is a S. Valentine, bishop and martyr, whose body
is preserved at Baga, in the Asturias, and the head at Toro,
on the Douro.

The body of a S. Valentine, together with that of a S. Al-
binus, and S. Paulianus, Bishop of Rieux, are preserved at
Annecy. The body of another S. Valentine, M. at Rome,
was extracted from the cemetery of S. Calixtus, and given by
Pope Urban VIII. to the monastery of Socuellamos, in
Albacete, in Spain. Another body claiming to be that
of a S. Valentine, Roman martyr, is venerated in Belgium,
at Hamme ; this body was extracted from the catacomb of
S. Laurence on the Flaminian Way, and given by Pope
Gregory XV., in 1623, to Count Louis Egmont; part of
these relics were translated to Armentiferes on the Lys,
upon the French frontier. Again, another body of a
S. Valentine, martyr at Rome, was found in the catacomb
of S. Cyriac, and was given in 1651 to the Jesuits of Ghent
The name was so common in the later period of the Roman
Empire, that it is probable there were many martyrs of the
same name. This is proved by the discovery in the catacombs
of three, with the palm branch and bottle of blood. Besides,
the ancient Martyrology, called that of S. Jerome, mentions
on this day, “ In Africa, Valentine and twenty-four soldiers,
martyrs,” of whom nothing further is known. There was
also a S. Valentine, first Bishop of Teramo, in Umbria, who
having healed the crippled son of one Crato, a citizen of
distinction, was seized and beheaded by order of the
governor, about the year 273.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 14.

S. ABRAHAM, B. C.

(ABOUT A.D. 390.)

[Greek Menaea. Authority : — The Philotheus of Theodoret, c. 17. ]

Abraham was a native of Cyrus in Syria, and a monk, who,
moved by desire to spread the kingdom of God, visited
the Lebanon in the quality of a merchant buying nuts.
And whilst there he collected the Christians into his hut, and
together they recited the divine office in a low tone. But
when the heathen heard the subdued strains of music, they
supposed that they were engaged in incantations, and
assembled about the house, then climbed upon the roof,
broke it, and poured down dust and sand upon those within,
to choke and bury them. However some of the elders of
the village interfered, and the half-stifled Christians were
drawn out of the house, and bidden to depart. After this
the taxgatherers of the Emperor came round, and the
people being hardly able to pay, Abraham went to Emesa
and begged the money, and then, returning, paid the tax
for the whole village, thereby completely conciliating the
barbarous people, who at once insisted on his remaining
among them, and teaching them the way of God. He
accordingly sought priest's orders, and became their pastor
for three years, till he was elected Bishop of Charan. In
his new position he remained a monk, living on lettuces
and water, and never using a bed for rest, nor fire for
warmth. Every night he chanted forty hymns, interspersed
with prayer, and slept seated in his chair. The Emperor
Theodosius visited him, having heard of his fame, and found
him a poor old man in a country smock, unable to speak a
word of Greek.

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S. Auxentius.

299

S. AUXENTIUS, AB. P.

(ABOUT A.D. 470.)

[Commemorated on the same day by Greeks and Latins. Authorities : -
A life by a contemporary and a disciple ; mention also by Sozomen, who
wrote his history before Auxentius had retired from the world, and whilst
the saint was setting a holy example in the court of Theodosius the
Younger.]

S. Auxentius was the son of Abdas, a Persian Christian,
who had fled to Syria from the persecution of king Sapor.

In the reign of Theodosius the Younger, Auxentius visited
Constantinople, to see his uncle, who had a charge in the
imperial guard ; but finding that he was dead, he attached
himself to the court, and was placed in the fourth company
of the guards. He Was well built, handsome, active, and
strong, and to these bodily perfections was added a lively
intelligence, and rigid rectitude. Sozomen says that he
was especially commendable at this period for his piety
towards God, the purity of his morals, his learning in
profane and ecclesiastical sciences, and his courtesy and
gentleness.

By this conduct he preserved himself from the contagion
of the world, and drew upon himself such heavenly bene-
diction, that, before renouncing a secular life, he received
of God the gift of miracles. He associated with pious
persons, but chiefly with a solitary named John, who lived
as a recluse in the Hebdon, a suburb of Constantinople.

He visited this man frequently in company with Marcian
and Anthimius, both at that time laymen like himself, but
afterwards priests.

At length the voice of God spake so clear in the soul of
the young officer, that he could not mistake its import, and
renouncing his position in the court, about the year 446, he
retired to a mountain in the neighbourhood of Chalcedon,

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in Bithynia, where he hoped to live unknown to men. His
dress consisted in a sheep-skin, and he had no shelter from
the rain and snow. When he prayed, he ascended a rock,
and then, raising his hands and eyes to heaven, his heart
swelled with joy at the thought of his disengagement from
all creatures. But he had not spent a month in this retreat
before he was discovered by some shepherd boys, who
sought, crying, some strayed sheep. When they first saw
him, they ran away screaming, thinking he must be some
mountain goblin, but he called after them, and asked them
the cause of their sorrow; and when they plucked up
courage and told him their griefj he bade them be of good
cheer, their sheep were on the left side of the mountain.

The boys, having recovered their sheep, returned to their
parents, who hastened to visit the strange man. They
found him on his rock in the attitude of prayer, with up-
lifted hands. After this, many people resorted to him, and
he instructed them in their duty to God, and healed many
that were sick and possessed.

The heresy of Eutyches, which consisted in denying the
duality of natures in Christ, then imperilled the Church.
Nestorius had denied that “God and Man made one Christ”
Eutyches denied that in Christ the nature of man and the
nature of God remained distinct “Was Christ of two
natures after the Incarnation, or of only one?” he was
asked at his trial. Eutyches replied, “Of two natures
before the union ; but after it, I acknowledge but one.”
Eutyches being the chief abbot in Constantinople, his views
had influenced many of the religious there and throughout
Asia Minor. A general council met at Chalcedon, in 451,
to try Eutychianism, into which so many had fallen in their
eagerness to escape Nestorianism. The Emperor Marcian
sent messengers to Auxentius to demand of him a con-
fession of his faith, and his presence at the council. He

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now inhabited a little cell, which had been built for him.

The messengers spoke to him through the window ; Auxen*
tius refused to be mixed up with the controversy, and shut
his window in their faces. They beat at his door, and
endeavoured to break in, but in vain. Then he opened to
them his window once more, and asked, “ My fathers and
ray brethren, of what error am I accused ?” They replied
that his presence was required at Chalcedon. Auxentius
said that he believed that the Word had truly taken flesh in (
the womb of the holy Virgin, ever virgin ; and that he
adored Him as the only Son of God the Father, and that
He was without beginning as to His Godhead, but that He
assumed flesh in the end of time ; and that it was heresy to
declare that the Son of God was man only. This reply
showed that Auxentius was profoundly ignorant of the
subject of dispute ; it was a theologic point that had not
been raised when he lived in the world, and it had not
invaded and troubled his retreat on Mount Oxia. As the
messengers still insisted on his accompanying them, he
opened his door reluctantly, and came forth, so fearfully
emaciated, ragged, and covered with sores, that then-
hearts were moved with pity and veneration. As he
stepped over the threshold one of his nails fell from off his
foot, and one of the company reverently stooped to pick it
up. Then the hermit recoiled in shame and indignation,
exclaiming, “ What ! am not I a man like you ? I pray
you, spare me this distress.” As he was too feeble to ride,
he was mounted on a car, and thus conveyed to Chalcedon,
followed by troops of poor, amongst whom he had distri-
buted the charities placed at his disposal by rich visitors,
and surrounded by multitudes bearing their sick, so many
of whom were healed by the benediction of the saint, that
his guards were astonished and irritated, believing him, at
heart, to be an Eutychian. Under the same impression,

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 14.

the monks of the monastery of Phileas, with whom he
was placed, treated him with roughness, lodging him in
an obscure cell without window; but placing a candle
and a basket of dates beside him, to prove him ; as
also a little child, to watch him. At the end of a
week they opened the cell, and found the candle still
burning, and the fruit untouched. The child said that
the holy man had spent the time in prayer and praises, and
that angelic forms had surrounded him, and a dove had
brought him food. The saint was next taken to the
monastery of the abbot Hypacius, where he was received
with much cordiality; and thence h§ was brought before
the Emperor at Constantinople, and required to subscribe
to the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon. “If the
council has decided nothing contrary to that of Nicsea, if it
has declared that Jesus Christ our Lord was truly incarnate,
and that the holy Virgin is truly the Mother of God, I will
gladly communicate with it.” The prince, satisfied with
this answer, embraced him, and commanded him to be
conducted to the great church. He sent also to the
patriarch of Constantinople, to show him the decrees of the
Council of Chalcedon, concerning the errors of Eutyches.
The saint went to the church followed by a crowd. He read
the Acts of the council, and declared that he thoroughly
and heartily agreed with them. It is probable that he was
then ordained priest, but his historian does not state the
time of his reception of holy orders. He then returned to
the monastery of Hypacius, and asked to be allowed to
inhabit mount Sinope, instead of Mount Oxia. This
mountain was nearer to Chalcedon than that on which he
had before resided. It was very high, barren, and deficient
in springs. Thither he was conducted by the monks of the
monastery of Hypacius, singing hymns; a little hut was
erected for his accommodation in a cave, with a window,

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S. Auxentius .

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through which he could receive food, and converse with his
visitors. Here he spent some years, becoming more and
more emaciated and covered with wounds. Those who
visited him in the morning, he retained with him till the
hour of Tierce, after which he dismissed them; those
coming after, he kept till Sext, which he repeated with
them, and then sent them away. He composed hymns and
spiritual songs, which he taught to those who came to him,
and made them sing them along with him. He daily
preached to the people, and gave them instruction in the
faith, and how to conduct themselves in the most difficult
circumstances. His sermons produced a most striking
effect, and many who heard him renounced the world, and
adopted the religious habit.

As the saint was one night saying Matins, he suddenly
opened his window, and exclaimed thrice, “ The Lord be
praised !” Then he bent his head and said, “ Simeon, the
great father, is dead.” And it was so, for the news reached
Bithynia afterwards, that Simeon Stylites,1 the great an-
chorite, had died that night

Many women having renounced the world, and placed
themselves under the direction of Auxentius, a convent
was built to receive them not far from his cavern, at the
foot of the mountain, and the nuns visited his cell once
a week, to receive instruction from his lips. At length,
when he knew that he had not many days to live, he came
forth from his hut, and visited the convent, where he prayed
with many tears for the spiritual welfare of his children.
Then he returned to his cave followed by a great multitude.
Three days after he was stricken with a sickness which
proved fatal ; and he died on the 14th February.

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1 Sec January 5th.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 14.

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S. ERUNO, B. M.

(a.d. 1008.)

[Roman Martyrology on October 15th, that being, as Baronius conjec-
tures, the commemoration of a translation of the relics, as it is certain
that S. Bruno died on Feb. 14th. Authority : — His life by his kinsman
Ditmar, bishop of Merseburg, in his Chronicles, lib. 6 ; and mention by
Marianus Scotus, and other chroniclers of Germany.]

The Sclavonic races in Prussia were some of the last to
receive Christianity in Germany. S. Adalbert, bishop of
Prague, had gone amongst the Lithuanians and Prussians,
bearing the gospel, and, in 997, had fallen a victim to his
zeal. Probably obeying the call of S. Adalbert, Bruno, a
monk of Magdeburg, a man of good education, and kinsman
to Ditmar, bishop of Merseburg, went on the mission to
these heathen. Boleslas, king of Poland, sent, urging his
coming, and, after having visited Merseburg, where he re-
ceived episcopal ordination, Bruno, with many companions,
entered on his apostolic mission. But the Pagans refused
to hear the word of salvation, and, falling on the little
band, hacked off Bruno's hands and feet, and put to death
with him eighteen men who accompanied him

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305

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February 15.

SS. Faustinus, P., and Jovita, D., MM. at Brescia, a.d. 190.

SS. Crato, his Wire and Servants, MM. at Rome, eirc. a.d. 973.

S. Aoapb, V.M. at Ter arm, in Umbria, circ . a.d. 273.

S. Eusebius, H. in Syria , after a.d. 400.

S. Georgia, V. at Clermont.

S. Skverus, P. in Valeria, circ. a.d. 330.

S. Quinidius, B. of Vaison in Vaucluse, circ . a.d. 578.

S. Bbrach, B. Ab. in Ireland, circ . a.d. 6x3.

S. Faustus, Monk, O.S.B.; circ. a.d. 607.

S. Walfrid, Ab. of Monte Virido , circ . a.d. 763.

S. Siofribd, B., Ap. of Sweden, circ. a.d. 1043.

SS. FAUSTINUS, P., AND JOVITA, D., MM.

(a.d. 120.)

[Roman Martyrology, and those of Bede, Usuardus, and others ; but
Usuardus, misled by the name, makes Jovita a virgin martyr. Three
different versions of their Acts are published by Bollandus. None of these
are the original.]

AUSTINUS and Jovita were brothers, nobly
bom. Faustinus, the elder, was a priest; Jovita
was in deacon’s orders. During a time of perse-
cution under Hadrian, the bishop of Brescia lay
concealed, and the brothers strengthened and encouraged
the fainting flock. The Acts of their Martyrdom are of
such doubtful authority that it is unsafe to affirm concerning
them more than that their zeal provoked the fury of the
heathen against them, and procured them a glorious death
for their faith, at Brescia. Their constancy, under the tor
ments of boiling lead and red-hot iron, was the means of
converting one Calocerus, who afterwards also suffered for
the faith.

These saints are venerated as the chief patrons of Brescia,
where their relics are preserved in the church dedicated
under their invocation.

vol. 11. 20

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Lives of the Saints.

[February x$.

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S. EUSEBIUS, H.

(after A.D. 400.)

[Greek Mensea. Life from the Philotheus of Theodoret, c. 18.]

Was a hermit at Aschia, in Syria. Theodoret visited him,
and was admitted into his cell. There is nothing remark-
able related concerning him.

S. GEORGIA, V.

(DATE UNCERTAIN, BUT PROBABLY IN THE 5TH CENT.)

[Gallican Martyrology. Authority : — S. Gregory of Tours, De Gloria
Confess., c. 34. J

This pious virgin was a native of Clermont, in Auvergne,
where she served God like Anna, constantly attending in
the temple. Very little is known of her life, which flowed
on in calm simplicity, and would hardly have required a
more particular notice than the insertion of her name, were
it not for one graceful incident narrated by S. Gregory of
Tours, to the effect that as her body was being carried to
the cathedral for sepulture, a great company of doves or
pigeons fluttered above the mourning train, and settled on
the roof of the minster, whilst the last rites were being per-
formed ; and this the pious and simple people regarded as a
token of divine favour.

S. SEVERUS, P.

(ABOUT A.D. 530.)

[Roman Mart. Authority : — S. Gregory the Great, Dialog., lib. !., c. 12 ]

S. Severus was priest to a church in the district of
Valeria, which is that part between the Tiber and the
Velino, occupied by the cities Riete, Terni, and Narni. S.

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February i5.J SeVeTUS & Berach .

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Gregory relates that on one occasion a message was brought
him, whilst he was pruning his vines, that a dying man
needed his pastoral assistance. Severus promised to go as
soon as he had done cutting the vine he was then engaged
upon. When he drew near to the sick man's house, the
people ran out to meet him, saying, “ Oh, sir ! why didst
thou delay? the man is dead.” Then Severus entered, full
Df self-reproach, praying to God for pardon. And when he
saw the dead body, he burst into tears, and beat his head
against the ground, reproaching himself for his neglect.
Then the dead man's spirit returned, and he opened his
eyes, and sat up. So he made his confession and received
absolution, and died shortly after.

The relics were translated to the monastery of Miinster-
Maifeld, near Coblenz, about the year 980, by S. Egbert,
bishop of Trfeves.

S. BERACH, B., AB.

(about a.d. 615.)

[Irish Kalendar. Two lives of this saint exist, but both are late, col-
lected from oral tradition, and full of fable. J

The lives of the Irish saints were, for the most part,
written from popular tradition, many centuries after their
decease. They are characterised by a love of the marvel-
lous and the grotesque, diminishing their historical value.
The same quaint legends re-appear in almost all, or with
slender modifications. It seems that every Irish saint yoked
stags to his plough, and made bells come to him over the
water. If some of these fanciful stories are here inserted,
it is not that we desire a ready credence to be yielded to
them, but rather because it is all that there is to be told
about these saints, and some of them possess a strange
beauty or are characteristically grotesque.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 15.

Berach is said to have been the son of Nemnald, descend-
ant of Brian, Prince of Connaught, by his wife, Finmaith,
who took him to be baptized by his unde, S. Froech. And
here follows a strange tale. When Berach was taken from
the font, the mother wished to resume her charge of him,
but “No,” said the bishop, “let me have the bringing up
of this little one ; God will provide for his sustenance." So
S. Froech took him, and when the babe cried for the breast
of his mother, his unde gave him the lobe of his ear to
suck, and thence flowed a copious supply of honey. Now,
when the boy was grown up, guided by an angel, he went
to Glendalough, and there he settled, leading a monastic
life under S. Coemgen. One day a wolf fell on a calf, be-
longing to the monks, and devoured it, then the cow ran
lowing painfully about, and Berach, pitying her, bade the
wolf come and suck her, and be to her in place of the calf
he had eaten.

Now there was in the charge of S. Coemgen, a lad, the
son of Duke Colman, who was very ill, and consumed with
fever. As the boy fretted in his bed, and cried for apples
and sorrel to quench his burning thirst, S. Coemgen said to
Berach, “ Go forth, my son, taking my staff, and bring me
what the sick boy needs." So Berach went forth. And it
was midwinter. Then he prayed to God, with whom no-
thing is impossible, for he was stirred with pity for the
fevered child, and he went to a willow, and blessed it ; then
it thrust forth its little silky flowers, and these swelled and
ripened into red apples, and beneath the willow the snow
dissolved, and green sorrel thrust up its shoots and spread
its delicate leaves ; so he gathered of the apples a lap-full,
and picked a large bunch of sorrel, and came with them to
his master.1

1 See Giraldus Cambrensis, who refers to the legend in his book, De Mirabilibus
HlbernUe, c. 28, but relates it of S. Keiven.

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And after some time, Berach went forth and built a
monastery in a remote spot, Clon-cairpthe, in the desert of
Kinel-dobhtha ; but a certain wealthy man interfered to
pull it down, and to disturb him in many ways. So Berach
appealed for protection to the king ; and when he came to
the court his adversary arrived also, and was admitted by
the porter, for he was well-dressed ; but the door was shut
against the abbot in his tattered clothing. Now it was
winter, and the ground was white with snow, and rude boys,
seeing the poor man, scantily clothed, shivering outside the
gate, began to pelt him with snow-balls, but suddenly they
were struck as by an icy blast, that they could not stir.
And Berach saw that the snow had been scraped from the
palace-door into a great heap. So he approached it, and
blew upon it, and a flame crackled in the snow heap, and
leaped up, and he stood and warmed himself at the flaming
snow. Then, when the king heard what had taken place,
he was full of wonder, and went forth, and besought the man
of God ; so he restored the boys to their usual activity, and
quenched the blazing snow-heap.

S. WALFRID, AB. OF MONTE VIRIDO.
(about a.d. 765.)

[On this day Benedictine Kalendar ; but Wyon, Menardus, and Ferra-
rius, on April 17th. The life of this saint was written by his friend and
companion in monastic life, Andrew, who was third abbot of the monastery.
Walfrid was founder and first abbot ; he was succeeded by his son, Gim-
frid, and then by Andrew.]

Walfrid, a native of Pisa, was married to a virtuous
wife, by whom he had five sons. Both he and his wife
then resolved to retire from the world. He founded and
governed the abbey of Monte Virido, in Tuscany, near
Volterra. There is nothing of remarkable interest in his life.

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& SIGFRIED, B. AP. OF SWEDEN.

(ABOUT A.D. 1045.)

[Anciently venerated in Sweden ; named in the Cologne and other Ger-
man Kalendars. Authority Joannes Magnus, Archb. of Upsal, Hist.
Goth. lib. xvii., c. 18, 19, 20.]

The faith of Christ was first preached in Sweden, as has
been already related (February 3rd) by S. Ansgar, in the
ninth century; but the Swedes soon relapsed into their
former heathenism, partly from want of a sufficient supply
of teachers, till the reign of Olaf Scobkongr. This prince
sent ambassadors to King Edred (others say Ethelred) of
England, to renew the ancient alliance between the two
crowns, and desired that some persons might be sent to
him, knowing the Christian law, to instruct him and his
people. Edred received the proposition with joy; and,
assembling the prelates and chief clergy of his kingdom, ex-
horted them to make choice of proper missionaries for this
great work. Sigfried, archdeacon of York, perceiving that
most of those present shrank from the undertaking, as one
hazardous and laborious, sprang to his feet, and offered him-
self for the mission. His offer was at once accepted. He
was consecrated bishop, and then sailed to Sweden, taking
with him his three nephews Sunaman, Unaman, Wiaman, and
other companions. He landed in South Gothland, where
now stands the cathedral of Wexio, which, by the admoni-
tion of an angel, he caused to be erected ; and there he
made some stay, the king being at that time absent in West
Gothland. The chief Jarl or earl of those parts came to
see the strangers, and observed their conduct with interest ;
he was even present when Sigfried celebrated the Holy
Sacrifice ; of all which he gave an account to the king, in-
forming him that he had seen the old man, as he called
him, whilst he was standing at the table of his religion, raise

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February S. Sigfried \ 3 I I

above his head a most radiant and beautiful infant, who
extended his arm towards him with a smile. The king sent
for the saint, and, at his coming, went forth to meet him,
and received him with joy ; and, after he had been suffi-
ciently instructed in the Christian faith and moral law, was
baptized with his queen, and many of his nobles, and gave
the saint the royal castle of Husaby to be converted into a
church. For this it was well adapted, for the palaces of
the Scandinavian kings and nobles consisted of huge halls
with sleeping-apartments in what might be termed the aisles,
and doors at both ends. By removing the partitions and
beds, and blocking up one door, the building at once as-
sumed the appearance of a stately church, of nave and side
aisles, separated by huge square pillars of pine-wood. At
Husaby, Sigfried long resided, till he had converted all West
Gothland to the faith of Christ. But this was not effected
without opposition, and his three nephews, Sunaman, Una-
man, and Wiaman, to whom he had committed the care of
the Church of Wexio, were murdered, and their bodies
cast into a neighbouring pool. The murderers were dis-
covered, and the king would have put them to death, but
were spared at the intercession of S. Sigfried, but the king
forced them to pay a blood-fine, which he offered to the
bishop as the nearest kinsman of the deceased. Sigfried,
however, refused to receive the money. The relics of the
three brothers were miraculously discovered by a light
hovering above the pool in which they lay. Their names
have been recorded among the saints on Feb. 15th, along
with their uncle, S. Sigfried. This loss of his coadjutors did
not discourage the saint from the work of the Gospel, which
he carried on with great success. He was buried in the
cathedral of Wexio, and canonized by the Pope in 1155.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 16.

February 16.

S. Onesimus, Disciple if S. Paul , a.d. 9$.

S. Onuimus, B.M. if Ephestu, a.d. 109.

S. Honestue, P.M., Ap. if Pampeluna , circ. a.d. 370.

SS. Proclus, Ephebus, Apollonius, MM. at Terumo, circ . a.d. 383.
S. Cornelius, M. at Rome , relics at Ghent.

SS. Elias, Jeremias, Isaias, Samuel, and Comp., MM. mi
Ceesarea , in Palestine , a.d. 309.

S. Juliana, V.M. at Nicomedia , circ. 309.

S. Flavian, H. in the East.

S. Eu la li us, B. if Syracuse , after a.d. 503.

S. Tanco, B. of Per den, in Hanover, circ. a.d. 80a.

S. ONESIMUS.

(a.d. 95.)

[There is much confusion between the S. Onesimus, disciple of St. Paul,
and his namesake, bishop of Ephesus. Indeed, by many it is supposed
that there was only one Onesimus, and that the runaway slave spoken of
by S. Paul was afterwards bishop of Ephesus. The Greeks commemorate
the first on Feb. 15th, and the second on December zst.]

NESIMUS was a Phrygian by birth, slave to
Philemon, a person of note of the city of
Colossae, converted to the faith by S. Paul
Having run away from his master, he provi-
dentially met with S. Paul, then a prisoner at Rome, who
there converted and baptized him, and sent him, with his
canonical letter of recommendation, to Philemon, by whom
he was pardoned, set at liberty, and sent back to his
spiritual father, whom he afterwards faithfully served. The
apostle made him, with Tychicus, the bearer of his Epistle
to the Colossians,1 and afterwards, as S. Jerome3 and other
fathers witness, a preacher of the gospel and a bishop. The
Greeks say he suffered under Domitian. There was a

1 Colos. iv. * Ep. Ixii. c. 9.

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February 16.]

•S'. Oneszmus.

3X3

bishop of Ephesus, after S. Timothy, of the same name,
who showed great respect for S. Ignatius, when on his
journey to Rome, in 107, and is highly commended by
him.1 He was conducted to Rome two years after, and
was stoned to death.

S. HONESTUS, P. M.

(ABOUT A.D. 270.)

[Commemorated at Pampeluna, as the apostle of that place, and at
Amiens with nine lections, and at Toulouse, where his head is preserved.
Besides being mentioned in these Breviaries, his name occurs in the Angli-
can Martyrology of Wytford, and in the additions to Usuardus, by
Molanus. All that is known of him is found in the Acts of S. Firmin,
B. M, See Sept. 25th.]

Honestus, a native of Nismes, was found by S. Satum-
inus, as he passed through that city, to be of so pious and
zealous a disposition that he called him to follow him, as a
disciple, and after he had fully instructed him, he ordained
him priest, and sent him into Spain. He preached with
great effect at Pampeluna, where he converted one Firmus,
a senator, with all his house, and his son, Firmin, became
his most devoted pupil. He so completely succeeded in
the destruction of superstition in the minds of the people
of Pampeluna, that he persuaded them to entirely overthrow
a temple of Diana, which adorned their town. In some
martyrologies he is called a martyr, but nothing is known of
the place or manner of his death.

1 Ep. ad Ephes.

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3 £4 Lives of the Saints . [February 16.

S. CORNELIUS, M.

(date unknown.)

The relics of this martyr, found in one of the Roman
catacombs, were given by Pope Innocent X., in 1649, t0
the Jesuit church at Ghent, where they are enshrined in a
silver reliquary, and are exhibited on Feb. 16th.

SS. ELIAS, JEREMIAS, ISAIAS, AND COMP., MM.

(a.d. 309.)

[Commemorated on this day by the Greeks, and in some Western
Martyrologies. On this day also the Roman Martyrology. Authority : —
Eusebius ; Martyrs of Palestine, c. ii.]

In the year 309, the Emperors Galerius and Maximinus
continuing the persecution begun by Diocletian, five pious
Egyptians went to visit the confessors condemned to the
mines in Cilicia, and on their return were stopped by the
guards of the gates of Caesarea, in Palestine, as they were
entering the town. They readily declared themselves
Christians, together with the motives of their journey ;
upon which they were apprehended. The day following
they were brought before Firmilian, governor of Pales-
tine, together with S. Pamphilus, and others. The judge,
before he began his interrogatory, ordered the five Egyptians
to be laid on the rack. After they had long suffered all
manner of tortures, he addressed himself to him who
seemed to be their chief, and asked him his name and his
country. They had changed their names, which, before
their conversion, were those of some heathen gods, as was
customary in Egypt. The martyr answered according to
the names they had given themselves, which were those of

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prophets, as Elias, Jeremy, Isaiah, Samuel, and Daniel.1
Firmilian then asked their country; he answered, Jerusalem,
meaning the heavenly Jerusalem, the true country of all
Christians. The judge inquired in what part of the world
that was, and ordered him to be tormented with fresh
cruelty. All this while the executioners continued to tear
his body with scourges, whilst his hands were bound behind
him, and his feet squeezed in stocks. The judge, at last,
tired of tormenting them, condemned all five to be be-
headed, and this command was immediately executed.

Porphyry, a youth, the servant of S. Pamphilus, hearing
the sentence pronounced, exclaimed that the honour of
burial ought to be accorded to these men. Firmilian, pro-
voked at this boldness, ordered him to be apprehended,
and, finding that he confessed himself a Christian, and re-
fused to sacrifice, “ commanded,” says Eusebius, “that
they should scrape and mutilate him, not as though they
were dealing with flesh of a human being, but as with stone
and wood, to the very bones, and the inmost recesses of the
bowels. This being continued for a long time, he at length
perceived that he was labouring in vain, as he continued
without uttering a sound, or evincing any feeling, and almost
totally lifeless, although his body was dreadfully mangled.
But, as the judge was of an inflexible cruelty, he condemned
him to be committed to a slow fire. One could then see
Porphyry covered with dust, but with his countenance
bright and cheerful, advancing on his way to death, covered
only with his philosophical garb thrown round him like a

1 It is, perhaps, inaccurate to say that these were the names ot the five brethren,
Eusebius does not affirm as much. He says, “ The governor asked the chief of
them who he was, when, instead of his proper name, he heard him repeat some
name of the prophets, which was done by them, if they happened to have had
names given to them by their parents from the names of idols, in which case you
would hear them calling themselves Elias, Jeremiah, l.iaiah, Samuel and Daniel. .

. . . When Firmilian had heard some name like this from the martyr, &c.”

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 16.

cloak, and, with a calm and composed mind, beckoning to
his acquaintance and friends, and preserving a cheerful
countenance at the stake. When the fire was kindled,
which was done at some distance from him, he attracted
and inhaled the flame, and then, most nobly persevering ;.n
silence, until his last breath, he uttered not another word,
save that which he uttered when the flame reached him, a
call upon Christ, the Son of God, his helper.”

Seleucus, an eye-witness of this victory, was heard by the
soldiers applauding the heroism of these martyrs, whereupon
he was apprehended, and his head was struck off.

S. Pamphilus is commemorated in the Roman Martyr-
ology on June ist ; Elias, Jeremias, Isaiah, Samuel, Daniel,
Porphyry, and Seleucus, on Feb. 16th.

The relics of S. Daniel are preserved at Bologna, in the
churches of S. Cecilia and S. Gabriel.

S. JULIANA, V. M.

(ABOUT A.D. 309.)

[Commemorated by the Greeks on December 21st. The ancient Latin
Martyrologies on Feb. 16th. The Acts are very ancient. They were cer-
tainly written before 600, when her relics were at Puteoli. Usuardus,
whose Martyrology dates 800, speaks of her relics as at Cumae, to which
place they had been translated about the year 600. The Acts are not,
however, to be trusted. They have apparently been interpolated by those
who were not satisfied with their original brevity.]

S. Juliana was a Christian maiden, the daughter of
heathen parents, very beautiful, and of good birth. Her
father resolved on marrying her to the prefect Eleusius, but
she refused, alleging, as her excuse, that she was resolved
not to marry a heathen. Her father, much exasperated,
beat her severely, and when he could not shake her con-
stancy he gave her over to the prefect, hoping that the

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terror of appearing in court would quell her courage. But
he was deceived. She enthusiastically confessed Christ,
and her betrothed, brutally ordered her to be stripped and
beaten before him, for his love was turned into rage and
hatred. The more cruelly she was treated, the more re-
solved she seemed to become, and the more exasperated
grew Eleusius. At last he ordered molten metal to be
poured over her, and then that she should be thrown into
prison, with her feet made fast in the stocks. On the fol-
lowing day he ordered her to be let down into a vessel of
molten lead, and then he bade the executioner strike off
her head.

The head of S. Juliana is preserved at Hal, in the Tyrol?
but the chief portion of her relics is in the church of Notre
Dame de Sablon, in Brussels.

S. TANCO, B. OF VERDEN.

(ABOUT A.D. 800.)

[Authorities : — Krantzius, Leslie, and Wion, in Mart. Benedict.]

Patto, abbot of Amabaric, in Scotland, having gone to
preach the faith to the heathen in Germany, and being ap-
pointed bishop of Verden, in the kingdom of Hanover,
Tanco, monk of Amabaric, was chosen abbot ; but, desiring
to follow his former superior, he resigned his charge, and
sought Patto at Verden, whom he succeeded after a while,
being the third bishop of that see. He is said to have
fallen a victim to a barbarous mob who were enraged with
him for denouncing their licentious and savage manners.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 17.

3i8

February 17.

S. Mariamne, V., sister of S. Philip the Afostle , ist cent.

S. Polychronius, B.M. of Babylon, a.d. 251.

SS. Donatus, Castulus, Magnus, and Companions, MM. at Teramo
circ. a.d. 273.

SS. Donatus, Skcundian, Romulus, and Companions, MM. at
Concordia , in N. I taly, a. d. 303.

SS. Theodulus and Julian, MM. at Ceesarea , in Palestine , a.d. 308.
SS. Loman and Fortchern, BB. in Ireland , 7 th cent.

S. Fintan, P . Ab. of Cluain- Edttech, in Ireland , 6 th cent.

S. Fin an, B. of Lindisfame , a.d. 661.

S. Silvine, B. of Auxy-les- Moines, circ. a.d. 720.

S. Fulrad, Ab. ofS. Denys , in France , a.d. 784.

S. Constabilis, Ab. of Cavia, in Italy , a.d. 1124.

S. Evermod, B of Ratzeburg, a.d. 1178.

S. MARIAMNE, V.

(ist cent.)

[Commemorated by Greeks only. Authority : — Nicephorus Callistus,
Hist. Eccl. lib. ii. c. 89, of no weight, as he wrote in 1341.]

FTER the Ascension of our Blessed Lord,
S. Philip, with Bartholomew, and Mariamne, his
. sister, came to Hierapolis, where the people
held in special veneration a monstrous serpent
The apostles, filled with holy zeal, rushed into the temple
and drove the serpent from its sanctum, but the people,
enraged, fell on them, and hung S. Philip to a pillar, and
would have executed S. Bartholomew and S. Mariamne, had
they not been terrified by the shock of an earthquake.
They released SS. Bartholomew and Mariamne, who buried
Philip, and then went into India.

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S. POLYCHRONIUS, B. M.

(a.d. 251.)

[Roman, and almost all Martyrologies. The Acts of this martyr, some-
what fragmentary, are extant.]

The following fragment is all that remains of the Acts of
S. Polychronius, slightly epitomized at the commencement :

“ In those days the storm rose under Decius Caesar, and
many Christians were slain in the city of Rome. Galba
being regent in Rome, Decius went against the Persians.
Coming to the city Ponticum, he stayed there, but he was
warring. Then Decius went up into the Median hill-
country, and gained a victory, and took several cities of the
Persians, as Babylon, Bactria, Hyrcania, Cordula, where
he found many Christians, whom he slew with tortures.

At that time he found in the city of Babylon, a bishop
named Polychronius, with the priests Parmenias, Elymas,
Chrysotelus, and the deacons Luke and Mucius ; whom,
when he had taken, he ordered to be led forth and to
sacrifice to idols. Then Polychronius answered promptly,

‘We offer ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, and will not bow
to devils, or idols made with hands/ Then Decius ordered
him and his clergy to prison. And he built there a temple
to Saturn, and made a gypsum image, and gilded it . . ,l
And when it was ready, he ordered Polychronius, his
priests, and deacons, to be led before him, and he ques-
tioned them, saying, ‘Thou art the sacrilegious Polychronius,
who will not keep the commandments of the gods of the
Emperor/ But Polychronius answered not Then Decius
said to the clergy, ‘ Your chief is silent' Parmenias an-
swered, ‘ Our chief will not defile his mouth ; he keeps the
command of Our Lord, Cast not your pearls before swine.

Dost thou deem it seemly that what has once been purified

1 Portion lost.

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320 Lives of the Saints . [February 27.

should be defiled with dung ?’ Decius said, * Ha ! we are
dung, are we ?' and he ordered their tongues to be cut out
Now when they had cut out the tongue of Parmenias,1 Par-
menias exclaimed, *0 blessed father Polychronius, pray
for me, for I see that the Holy Spirit rules thee, signs thy
mouth, and distils honey thereunto/ Decius said, ‘Poly-
chronius, sacrifice to the gods;’ but he answered not a
word. Then Decius ordered his mouth to be beaten in
with stones ; and he, as they beat him, raised his eyes to
heaven, and spread forth his hands, and so expired.”

SS. THEODULUS AND JULIAN, MM.

(a.d. 308.)

[Roman Martyrology. The Greeks on Feb. 16th. See account of
SS. Elias, Jeremias, Isaiah, and Companions, Feb. 16th. Authority the
same.]

“Immediately after Seleucus, (see p. 316) came the
aged Theodulus, a grave and pious man,” says Eusebius,

“ who was of the governor's family, and who, on account of
his age, had been treated with more regard by Firmilian
than any of his domestics, as also, because he was now
a father of the third generation, and had always evinced
great fidelity and attachment to himself and family. He,
however, pursuing the same cause as Seleucus, when
arraigned before his master, was condemned to endure the
same martyrdom as our Saviour on the cross. After all the
rest came Julian. He had iust come from abroad, and had
not yet entered the city ; but learning on the road the death
of the martyrs, he hastened at once, just as he was, to the
sight. Then, when he saw the earthly tabernacles of the
holy men lying on the ground, filled with joy, he embraced

1 A mistake of a copyist lor Polychronius, apparently.

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every one, and kissed them all. Upon this, he was imme-
diately seized by the ministers of death, and conducted to
Firmilian, who consigned him to a slow and lingering fire.
Then Julian, exulting with joy, gave thanks to God with a
loud voice, who had honoured him with martyrdom. He
was a native of Cappadocia ; in his manner he was most
religious, and eminent for the sincerity and soundness of
his faith.”

SS. LOMAN AND FORTCHERN, BB.

(7TH CENT.)

[Colgan is the only authority for their insertion ; he says that in Ireland
these saints are venerated on Feb. 17th, and Oct. nth. These saints
are mentioned in the Tripartite Life of S. Patrick, and in that by Jocelin.]

S. Loman is said to have been the son of Tigridia, sister
of S. Patrick ; his brothers Brochan and Mogenoch, were,
like him, also bishops ; and his cousins, Mel, Rioch and
Mun, (Feb. 6th), sons of his aunt Darerca, were saints and
prelates. S. Loman accompanied S. Patrick to Ireland,
and when they landed at Temora, the great apostle left
Loman in charge of the boat, ordering him to bring it up
the river Boyne to Trim. And when one Fortchern, son of
Fethlemid, chief of Trim, heard the sweet chanting of
Loman on his boat, a great longing came over him to hear
the doctrine which exhaled such sweetness. Therefore he
came to him and received instruction out of the boat, and
he sang with him the songs of Zion. Then came the
mother of Fortchern, seeking her son, and she was a
Scottish princess, and she saluted the priest of God rever-
ently, and rejoiced that the Gospel of Christ was wafted to
the shores of Ireland. And Fethlemid came also, and
received instruction, and himself believed, and his whole
house ; and they were baptized ; and he gave Antrim to

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322 Lives of the Saints . [February i7.

the church as a possession. Then came Patrick and
founded there a church, and placed Loman over it, as chief
pastor. Jocelin, the writer of the life of S. Patrick, states
that he used a life of the great apostle of the Irish, written
by S. Loman, his nephew.

Now when Loman was dying, he called to him Fortchem,
that he might consecrate him to be his successor in the See
of Antrim, but he would not, “Lest,” said he, “it should be
thought that the government of this diocese was mine by
hereditary right, for my father owned it till he gave it to
God.” Then Loman recognised this reason as fitting, and
he was succeeded by one named Cathald.

Such is the legend, and a sad confusion of history and
fable does it prove to be. These are Dr. Lanigan’s judicious
remarks : “ The Tripartite Life makes S. Loman or Luman
a nephew of S. Patrick, left in charge of the boat, and adds
that, in consequence of the order of the saint, he sailed up
against the current of the river as far as Trim. This was
too good a story to be slightly passed ovei by Jocelin, who,
to make it still more marvellous, subjoins that, the sails
being hoisted, he went up, without the assistance of oars,
notwithstanding furious blasts of wind in the direction
opposite to its course. He might as well have said that it
had been carried in the air ; for the channel of the Boyne
is so unfit for navigation, that it would be impossible for a
boat to proceed as far as Trim, even were both the current
and the winds favourable.”1

There can be no doubt that Loman lived much later, and
that he is no other than the bishop Loman of Trim, who
lived in the 7th century, of whom nothing authentic is
known. Dr. Lanigan carefully traces the fable of the
donation of Antrim, and shows that it is partly blunder,
partly wilful invention. Colgan patched up the Acts of

1 Lanigan, i. p. 22a.

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S. Loman from the stories in the Tripartite Life of
S. Patrick, and in Jocelin, who quotes from the Martyr-
ologum Tamlachtense the following passage : — “ Loman of
Trim and his companions, who were (of the list two only
are worth noting) Ossan and Fortchern.” “If,” says
Dr. Lanigan, “ by sod is suis we should understand disciples
of Loman, Loman must be brought to much later times
than those of S. Patrick, for Ossan was, in all appearance,
the person of that name whose memory was revered at
Rath-Ossan, near the west gate of Trim, and whose death is
marked at a.d. 686. Some of them are placed by Colgan
himself in still later times. It may be objected that Tire-
chan, who is supposed to have lived in the 7 th century,
speaks of Loman as being in S. Patrick’s days. But if
Tirechan lived so early, the account given of Loman is
undoubtedly an interpolation thrust into his work. For no
author of that country would have written certain nonsense
therein contained, such as that prince Fethlemid, a son of
king Leogaire, made a grant of all his territory, property,
and family, to Saints Patrick and Loman, and thus to the
Church of Trim. Such fables, relative to ecclesiastical
endowments, did not appear in Ireland until a much later
period.”1

With regard to Fortchern the same difficulty exists.
Notwithstanding that he is made the son of Fethlemid,
prince of Trim, he is spoken of in the Tripartite Life as
blacksmith to S. Patrick; and if he were a disciple of
S. Loman, he must be moved from the 5th to the 7th
century. Anyhow he is not to be confounded with Bishop
Fortchern of Ross, as does the legend ; if he was a bishop
at all, it was of Trim.

1 Lanigan. ii., p. 34$.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 17

S. FINTAN, AB. OF CLONENAGH.

(6th cent.)

[Roman Martyrology, and those of Bede, Usuardus, Ado, &c. Colgan
says there were twenty-four saints of this name in Ireland, which has led to
some confusion. Authority : — An ancient life published by Colgan, and
also by Bollandus, but, like all the lives of Irish saints, late, and resting on
tradition.]

S. Fintan, abbot of Cluain-Ednech, (Clon-Enach), was
bom in Leinster, in the sixth century. He was brought up
in piety and letters by a holy man, who led a religious life
in a place called Chiain-mhic-Trein,1 under whom he made
such progress, as to give early evidence that God was with
him. When he was grown to man’s estate, he took leave
of his spiritual father, and went for further improvement to
S. Columba of Trydaglas, (December 13th), with whom he
remained, till he was ordered to Cluain-Ednech, in East
Meath, where he laid the foundations of a famous mona-
stery, to which many resorted from all parts of Ireland, to
place themselves under his direction, (about a.d. 548.)

The rules he gave his monks were very strict ; they abstained
from all kind of meat, butter, and milk ; living only upon
vegetables ; they laboured like hermits in the fields, and
tilled their ground with their own hands. This rigour
appeared excessive to the other holy solitaries in those
parts, and assembling together, they resolved to send a
deputation to remonstrate with the saint for imposing a rule
which it was impossible for flesh and blood to endure. The
night before they were to come to him, with S. Cannech at
their head, Fintan was admonished from heaven of their
coming ; and for further instructions how he was to proceed,
was ordered to go out in the morning, and follow the

1 Whence it appears that S. Fintan was a native of Ross, (in Wexford), for Ross
is Roj-mhic-Trein ; is., Ross of the Sons of Treln.

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directions of one whom God would send to meet him. The
first person he met was one bom dumb. Fintan blessed
him, and bade him declare to him the will of God.
Then the dumb man spake, “All these good things that
thou thyself hast begun for God carry out unto the end ;
but beware of scandalizing others; for some vessels are
weaker than are others.” The saint observed this lesson,
and when the deputation reached him, he was in a com-
pliant mood, and ready to remit the rigour of his mle with
regard to those under his direction; but with respect to
himself, he persevered in his penitential exercises. Amongst
the disciples of S. Fintan was the famous S. Comgal,
who afterwards founded the monastery of Bangor, where
S. Columbanus, and many other saints, received their
education. When this holy abbot had served God in great
perfection, from his very childhood to a venerable old age ;
after a long exercise of humility, charity, patience, meek-
ness to others, and severity towards himself, he called his
children about him, and recommending to them his suc-
cessor, gave them his benediction, and arming himself with
the Holy Sacrament, fell asleep in the Lord.

S. FINAN, B. OF LINDISFARNE.

(a.d. 661.)

[Anglican Martyrology. Colgan in his Acts of the Irish Saints notes him
on the same day. Same day in the Aberdeen Breviary, but Dempster says he
was commemorated in Scotland on Feb. 16th. Among the Irish, Jan. 9th
was regarded as a day on which S. Finan was honoured. Authority
Bede, Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. c. 17, 21, 25, &c.]

England was Christianized from two quarters ; Kent
and all the south received the Gospel from Rome through
the mission of S. Augustine ; but the whole of the north-east

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326

of the island, called Northumbria, including the modern
Northumberland, Durham, and Yorkshire, was Christianized
from Iona, the great monastery of S. Columba.

The first four successors of Augustine at Canterbury were
all chosen from the Italian monks who had accompanied
him to England ; but they all belonged to that first mission;
whereas the See of Lindisfame, as it became vacant, was
filled from Iona. The Scottish monks, thus placed during
thirty years at the head of the Church in the North of
England, showed themselves worthy of the saintly school
whence they issued, and of the glorious mission to which
they were consecrated.

The first monk sent from Iona to replace the noble Aidan,

(Oct 22nd), was S. Finan. His episcopate was prosperous;
it lasted ten years, and was not interrupted by any melan-
choly event, such as those which had troubled the life of
Aidan, by taking from him his two royal friends. S. Finan
always lived on good terms with king Oswy, and before
going to join his predecessor in heaven, he had the happi-
ness of introducing to the Church the heads of the two
great Saxon kingdoms. Sigebert, king of the East Saxons,
and Peada, king ot the Midland English, came to seek
baptism at the gates of Lindisfame. This made way to the
conversion of their respective provinces, which this holy
prelate furnished with proper missioners; and after some
time, he ordained the Scot, Diuma, bishop of the Midland
English, and S. Cedd (January 7 th), bishop of the East
Saxons. In the island sanctuary of Lindisfame, S. Finan
caused a cathedral to be built, not of stone, like that which
Paulinus and Edwin had commenced at York, but accord-
ing to the Keltic custom, and like the churches built by
Columba and his Irish monks, it was made entirely of
wood, and covered with bent, that long rough sea-grass,
whose pivot-like roots bind together the sands on the sea*

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shore, and which is still found in great abundance on the
island, as well as on the sandy beach which has to be
crossed before the traveller can reach Lindisfame.

Vast as was his diocese, which embraced the two great
Northumbrian kingdoms, and great as must have been his
influence over the other Saxon provinces, S. Finan seems to
have preserved and exercised an authority not less complete
over the country of his origin, the kingdom of the Dal-
riadian Scots. The Scotch annalists all speak of a certain
king Fergus, who, by his violence and exactions, had raised
the indignation of the Scottish clergy, and called down
upon himself a sentence of excommunication from the
bishops of Lindisfarne, Finan and his successors. Bede,
who is prejudiced against this holy prelate, because of his
adhesion to the Keltic ritual, and resistance of the intro-
duction of the Roman usages in vogue in the South of
England, nevertheless admits his gieat virtues, his contempt
of the world, love of poverty and disinterestedness, and
great diligence in preaching the Word of Life.1

1 Montalembert : " Monks of the West/'

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328

February 18.

S. Simeon, BM. of Jerusalem, a.d. 107.

SS. Leo and PaREGORIu*, MM. at Patara (commemorated by
Greeks only).

SS- Maximus, Claudius, Prapbdiona, Alexander, and Cutias,
MM. at Rome , a.d. 39$.

SS. Constantia, Augusta, Attica, and Artemia, VV. at Rome,
4 th cent.

S. Flavian, BM. of Constantinople , a.d. 449.

S. Helladius, B. of Toledo, a.d. 632.

S. Akoilbxrt, Ab. of S. Riquier, in Prance , a.d. 8x4.

S- Theotontius, Prior of S. Crux, at Coimbra , a.d. xx66.

S. SIMEON, B. OF JERUSALEM.

(a.d. 107.)

[Roman, and all ancient Martyrologies, but commemorated by the
\ Greeks on April 27th. Authorities Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., lib. iii., c. 10,
32 ; Hegesippus quoted by Eusebius.]

j] TER the martyrdom of S. James, and the cap-
ture of Jerusalem by the Romans, the surviving
apostles and disciples of our Lord are reported
to have assembled at Jerusalem to consult who
should be appointed bishop in the room of S. James. They
unanimously declared Simeon, the son of Cleopas, as de-
serving to succeed to that important office. He is said to
have been cousin-german to our Saviour, for Hegesippus
asserts that Cleopas was the brother of Joseph. Hegesippus
gives the following account of his martyrdom : — “ There
are those that take the lead of the whole Church as martyrs,
even the kindred of our Lord. Profound peace had lasted
for the Church till the days of Trajan, when Simeon, the
relative of our Lord, being the son of Cleopas, was waylaid
by the heretics, and was accused to the Consul Atticus.
After he had been tormented many days, he died a martyr,

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with such firmness that all wondered, even the president
himself that a man of one hundred and twenty years of
age should endure such tortures. At last he was ordered
to be crucified.”

In art, S. Simeon appears with a cross, and as a very aged
man. Some of his relics are preserved in the church of S.
James the Great, at Bologna ; his head in the Jesuit church
at Brussels ; other portions of the body at Lisbome, near
Lipstadt, in Westphalia.

SS. CLAUDIUS, MAXIMUS, AND COMP., MM.

(a.d. 295.)

[Almost all Martyrologies. Authority The very ancient, but fabulous
Acts of S. Susanna, VM. See Aug. nth.]

Claudius and Maximus were brothers of Pope S. Caius,
and S. Gabinius, priest in Rome. Maximus was count of
the privy purse to Diocletian, and Claudius also held a post
of distinction about the person of the emperor. Their
family was one of the most noble in Rome, and when
Galerius Maximianus, the Caesar, had lost his wife, Valeria,
daughter of Diocletian, the emperor resolved on finding for
his son-in-law another wife, of good repute and honourable
birth. Hearing of the beauty and modesty of Susanna,
daughter of Gabinius, he sent Claudius to the father, to ask
the hand of Susanna for the young Caesar. But Susanna
had resolved to love and devote herself to none, save Jesus
Christ When she was brought into the room by her father
to hear the flattering announcement, her uncle Claudius
would have kissed her, but she gently withdrew her face,
saying, “ Pardon me, my uncle, but no man has ever kissed
me.” Then she declared that she was resolved to continue
in celibacy, loving none save Jesus. Claudius was sur-

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330 Lives of the Saints . [February is.

prised and alarmed, for the request of an emperor is the
same as a command. He had already received some
Christian teaching from his brothers, the bishop and the
priest, and now was fully convinced of the power of that
religion which could make a young girl reject a princely
lover and the prospect of a throne, with every prospect of
death as an alternative. He consulted with his brother
Maximus, and with his wife Praepedigna, and they, together
with his sons, Alexander and Curias, forseeing an explosion
of imperial rage, which would sweep them all away, hastened
to receive the sacrament of regeneration, and then Claudius
and Maximus calmly informed the emperor that the maiden
preferred a heavenly to an earthly crown. Diocletian was
furious, and gave over Maximus, Claudius, and the whole
family to be disposed of by one Julian, a heathen favourite,
and apparently personally hostile to Maximus and Claudius.
He hurried these brothers, with the wife and sons of Clau-
dius, to Cumae, where they were burnt alive, and their ashes
cast into the river. Gabinius and his daughter Susanna
were reserved in prison to suffer later.

SS. CONSTANTIA, AND HER COMPANIONS, W.

(4TH CENT.)

[In some authors on Jan. 28th ; in others, on Feb. 17th ; in others, on
Feb, 25th ; also on Feb. 18th. Authority : — The Acts of S. Agnes, attri-
buted to S. Ambrose, but of questionable authenticity ; and the apocryphal
Acts of SS. John and Paul.]

S. Constantia, daughter of Constantine the Great, was
afflicted with a distressing disease, apparently scrofula. The
Roman general, Gallicanus, being much in favour with Con-
tantine, and having lost his wife, was offered Constantia in
marriage by the emperor. Gallicanus was called off to
oppose an inroad of the barbarians on Thrace, and he

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vowed, if he obtained the victory, to accept the faith of
Christ He succeeded in repulsing the enemy, and returned
to Rome to find that Constantia had been healed of her
scrofula at the tomb of S. Agnes, and that she had per-
suaded his three daughters, Augusta, Attica, and Artemia,
to live with her, as consecrated virgins, near the shrine of
the virgin martyr, to whose intercession she attributed her
cure. It is difficult to decide what shadow of historical
foundation there is for this story.

S. FLAVIAN OF CONSTANTINOPLE, B.M.

(A.D. 449.)

[Roman Martyrology ; but by the Greeks on Feb. 16th. Authorities
Nicephorus Callistus, Evagrius, and the letters of S. Leo the Great to
Flavian.1]

It is not easy to understand the position of any great
man of the eventful 4th and 5 th centuries, without a general
knowledge of the struggles of the Church against one heresy
after another for the maintenance of the true doctrine, as to
the natures and person of Christ Jesus, and this it is almost
impossible to compress into a single article on the life of
one actor in that eventful period. S. Proclus, author of
the famous “Tome,” as it was called, or doctrinal state-
ment on the Incarnation, was patriarch of Constantinople.

S. Leo, pious, earnest, Roman-spirited, was bishop of Rome.
Domnus was patriarch of Antioch. The great S. Cyril of
Alexandria was dead, and had left a large bequest to his
successor, conjuring him, “by the venerable and awful
mysteries,” to befriend his kindred. The archdeacon
Dioscorus was elected in his place, and forthwith extorted
from the family of Cyril considerable sums, and imprisoned

1 To a great extent taken from Canon Bright’s Church History.

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LFebruaiy x8.

and otherwise outraged the nephews of the deceased patri-
arch. The new patriarch had previously borne a fair char-
acter, but his exaltation revealed a spirit at once tyrannous
and sensual His life became openly scandalous. He de-
posed from their functions those whom Cyril had favoured ;
he burnt the house, felled the trees, and hacked up the land
of one deacon against whom he bore a grudge.

S. Proclus of Constantinople died on October 24th, 447,
and Flavian, the treasurer of the chinch, was elected to
succeed him. He immediately became obnoxious to the
eunuch Chrysaphius, by refusing him the fee which the
creatures of the court attempted to impose on the patriarchs
on their appointment Theodosius, the younger, was then
emperor ; his sister, Pulcheria, was at the head of the ortho-
dox party in the Church, and the royal chamberlain, Chry-
saphius, godson of Eutyches, supported the heretical party
out of motives of hostility to the rival power of Pulcheria,
and affection for his godfather. Dioscorus of Alexandria
took the same side as Chrysaphius, and these men used
their influence to expel from their dioceses bishops who did
not satisfy them. Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, the famous
ecclesiastical historian, was anathematized by the haughty
patriarch, Dioscorus, in his cathedral at Alexandria; and
Theodoret wrote to Flavian of Constantinople, complaining
of the outrage. Domnus of Antioch took part with Theo-
doret, and sent envoys to Constantinople in his favour,
whom Theodoret charged with letters, in which he pro-
tested his orthodoxy, declaring that he believed in one
Christ, truly God, and truly man. “ I give Him one wor-
ship," he wrote, “ yet I know that the Godhead and the
flesh are distinct, for the union is without confusion." But
now began the great Eutychian struggle. Eutyches, abbot
of the principal monastery of Constantinople, denied that
Christ, at His incarnation, was “perfect God and perfect

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February is.] ,S. Flavian of Constantinople. 333

man — one, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of
person.” On November 8th, 448, a council of bishops
assembled in the synod-room of Flavian’s palace, at Con-
stantinople. One of these bishops was Eusebius of Dory-
lseum, who begged the council to summon Eutyches, assert-
ing that he would convict him of heresy. Flavian observed
that an accusation against one so respected was simply
astonishing. Could not Eusebius visit Eutyches before in-
voking the judgment of the council ? Eusebius, who was
greatly excited, declared that Eutyches had once been his
friend ; he had repeatedly warned him to desist from hetero-
dox language , he could not, after these vain remonstrances,

“ go and hear him once again blaspheme.” It was, there-
fore, agreed that Eutyches should be summoned ; the
council adjourned to the 12th, and the patriarch Flavian,
having made profession of his faith in Christ as perfect God
and perfect man, of one substance with the Father as to his
Godhead, and with Mary as to his manhood, called on the
other bishops to declare the true faith on this great doctrine.
When they had done so, the council was adjourned till Nov.

15th, when the messengers who had been sent to Eutyches
reported that he would not leave the monastery; that he
regarded Eusebius of Dorylseum as his personal enemy ;
and that, as to his faith, he denied that Christ’s flesh was of
one substance with ours, and that, after the incarnation,
there was more than one nature in Him. He also sent a
brother abbot to inform the council that he was ill. Flavian
answered, kindly, “ We have no idea of pressing hardly
upon him. We are old friends of his ; we will wait till he
is better, and then let him come and confess that he has
erred.” He added, after the sitting was broken up, that
“ fire itself seemed cold to Eusebius,” whose vehemence he
had endeavoured to calm down. A third summons was
followed, on Nov. 27 th, by the personal attendance of

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334 Lives of the Saints. [February X8.

Eutyches. His great influence and position was shown by
the officers, soldiers, and monks who escorted him, and by
an imperial order that the patrician Florentius should have
a seat in the synod to see that justice was shown to the
accused. The patriarch Flavian asked if Eutyches con-
fessed an union out of two natures. He replied that he
did. “ My lord abbot,” asked Eusebius, “ do you confess
two natures after the incarnation ?” Eutyches attempted to
fence with the question, but, when brought to the point, he
denied the existence of two natures in the one Christ
Then, all the bishops rose, and Flavian, in the name of the
synod, passed sentence of deposition and excommunication
against Eutyches. After the council was broken up, Eutyches
said, in a low voice, to Florentius, “ I appeal to Rome,
Alexandria, and Jerusalem.” He at once wrote to S. Leo
of Rome. Flavian also wrote, and sent a record of what
had passed. On Feb. 18th, before Flavian's letter, which
was unaccountably delayed, had reached Rome, Leo wrote
to Flavian, marvelling at his silence, and requesting him to
explain the grounds on which Eutyches had been thus
severely punished. Dioscorus of Alexandria was forward
in espousing the quarrel of Eutyches. He at once admitted
him into his communion, and worked, in conjunction with
the chamberlain Chrysaphius, in support of his petition for
a general council. Flavian now replied to Pope Leo's
letter ; he entreated Leo to give a written approval of the
sentence against Eutyches, and thereby to preserve Chris-
tendom from any fresh disturbance. Before S. Leo could'
receive this letter, the Emperor Theodosius wrote on March
30th to Dioscorus, announcing his will that a general council
should meet at Ephesus, on August 1st. S. Leo sent three
legates to attend this council: Julius, bishop of Puteoli ;
Renatus, a priest; and Hilarus, a deacon. On the 13th
of June, he wrote several letters, one of them was his famous

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“ Tome,” a doctrinal epistle addressed to S. Flavian, a clear,
forcible, intelligible text-book on both aspects of the incar-
nation-mystery. On the 8th of August, 449, the council
met in the church of S. Mary at Ephesus. About a hun-
dred and thirty bishops were present Dioscorus of Alex-
andria presided. Next to him sat the papal legate, Julius.

It was evident from the first that this council was not free.

The eunuch Chrysaphius was at hand to support his god-
father Eutyches ; veteran troops of Asia, a band of archers,
were collected to obey the summons of Dioscorus. After
the writ of convocation had been read in due form, Hilarus
explained the reason of Leo’s absence, and announced that
Leo had sent a letter. “ Let it be received.” The letter
was handed in, but, by a pre-concerted scheme, it was put
aside unread, as Dioscorus dreaded its effects on the as*
sembled fathers, in its place being read a letter of the em
peror to Dioscorus. Eutyches was then introduced. The
records of his trial were read, and Dioscorus still kept back
the letter of Leo of Rome, promising to read it afterwards.
During the reading of the trial a scene of tumult took place.

One bishop exclaimed, when he heard that Christ was of
two natures, “This language turns the Church upside
down !” Another cried, “ Let him who says that in Christ
are two natures be cut in twain.” “ Will you endure,”
asked Dioscorus, “ to hear of two natures after the incarna-
tion?” His followers, among the bishops, responded,

“ Anathema.” “ I want your voices, and your hands too,”
said Dioscorus, “ if anyone cannot shout, let him hold up
his hand.” In the uproar, one bishop after another yielded,
and re-habilitated Eutyches. Hilarus again vainly attempted
to procure a hearing of Leo’s letter. Dioscorus, not con-
tent with having restored Eutyches, determined on having
Flavian of Constantinople and Eusebius of Dorylseum
deposed and excommunicated. The scene now became

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Lives of the Saints.

really terrific. The bishops who had acquitted Eutyches
against their conscience, struggled hard to escape this new
degradation. Several started up, and clasped the knees of
the president, Dioscorus. Onesiphorus of Iconium cried,
imploringly, “ By the feet of your piety, I pray you forbear ;
Flavian has done nothing worthy of condemnation. If he
deserves rebuke, rebuke him ; but do not condemn a bishop
for the sake of a priest.” Dioscorus rose from his throne,
and, standing upon the footstool, made a signal with his
hand, and exclaimed, “ Look you, he that will not sign the
sentence has to deal with me, If my tongue were to be
cut out for it, I would say, ‘Depose Flavian/ Are you
making a sedition ? Where are the counts ?” At the signal,
which had been pre-concerted, a body of soldiers, with
clubs and swords, rushed in ; monks followed ; the trembling
bishops hid themselves behind the altar, or under the
benches, and as they were not inspired with a zeal of mar-
tyrdom, they successively subscribed a blank paper, which
was afterwards filled with the condemnation of the patriarch
of Constantinople. Flavian was instantly delivered to the
wild beasts of this spiritual amphitheatre, the monks and
soldiers, and the bishops even, most hostile to him, fell on
him. Dioscorus, the patriarch of Alexandria, buffeted and
kicked, — like a wild ass, says Zonaras, — and trampled his
brother of Constantinople. Some of the bishops were
locked up in the vestry of the church, and not allowed to
leave till they signed the sentence. Hilarus escaped with-
out compromising his fidelity. Nothing is known of the
conduct of Julius. Renatus was not there \ he had died
on his way. Flavian was ordered into exile, but was so
bruised by the treatment he had received in the church at
Ephesus, that he died three days after, August nth, in a
village of Lydia.

So closed the assembly, which has received its name from

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February 18.]

5*. Angilbert.

337

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an indignant letter of S. Leo : “ It was no court of justice,
but a gang of robbers.” This Latrocinium, it is almost
needless to say, has been rejected by the Church ; its de-
crees were reversed by the council of Chalcedon ; and S.
Flavian, “ that second Abel,” as he was called by S. Leo,
was re-vindicated with honour.

S. ANGILBERT, AB.

(a.d. 814.)

[Some French Martyrologies. Authorities: — A life by Hariulph the
Monk, which is, however, much interpolated ; and a later life.]

A ngilbert, a man of noble birth, was much loved by
Pepin the Short, son of Charles Martel, and by his sons,
Charles and Carloman. He was destined to rule one of
the Archiepiscopal sees. Nevertheless, he married Bertha,
daughter of Charlemagne, after he was ordained priest, with
the king’s consent, and by her had two sons, Nithard and
Amid.1 Charlemagne now made his son-in-law duke of
the northern coast, and his office was to watch against, and
resist the attacks of the Norman pirates. In his perigrina-
tions he often stopped at Centulum, where was a monastery,
and prayed with fervour at the tomb of S. Richarius
(Riquier). Falling into a dangerous illness, he vowed that,
should he recover, he would embrace the monastic life. On
his restoration to health, he was summoned to resist the
Danes, who had ran their boats up the Somme, and were
devastating the country on both sides. Angilbert at once
went to the tomb of S. Richarius, renewed his vow, and
then, buckling on his harness, fell like a thunderbolt on the

1 This is stated by the author of his life, and Nithard himself (lib. 4) says of his
father, ** He begot me, Nithard, and my brother, Harnid, of the daughter of this
great king, called Bertha " ; but, on the other hand, Eginhard does not mention
Angilbert, and this has led Bollandus to express a doubt on the matter.

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338 Lives of the Saints. [February i*.

pirates, and utterly defeated and exterminated them. He
at once communicated his intention to his wife and to the
king ; neither raised any objections, and the gentle Bertha
herself took the veil at the same time that her husband
donned the monastic habit, in the same house of Centulum,
though, probably, in a different part of the monastery.

S. Angilbert was sent on several missions to Rome. On
one occasion he was charged to conduct thither Felix, bishop
of Urgel, who had been condemned by a provincial council
at Ratisbon, for having affirmed that Christ was merely the
adopted son of God.

He died twenty-two days after Charlemagne.

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-S'. A uxibius.

339

February 19.

S. Auxibius, B. of Solias, in Cyprus , circ. a.d. 102.

S. Gabiniub, P.M. at Rome, a.d. 296.

S. Zabdas, B. of Jerusalem, a.d. 304.

S. Odran, M. in Ireland ; about a.d. 451.

S. Conon, Ab. in Palestine ; circ . a.d. 555.

S. Mansuetus, B. of Milan ; after a.d. 680.

S. Barbatus, B. of Benevento, a.d. 682.

S. Beatus, P. at Falle-cava in Asturia, a.d. 798.

S. Bblina, r.Af. at Landreville , a.d. xx<>3.

S. Boniface, B. of Lausanne, a.d. 1263.

B. Conard, H. at Noto in Sicily, a.d. X351.

S. AUXIBIUS, B. OF SOLIAS.

(a.d 102.)

(Roman Martyrology. Greek Menaea on Feb. 17th. Authority:— A
Greek life of uncertain authority, written by a native of Solias.]

AINT AUXIBIUS was a Roman, who coming
to Cyprus after the martyrdom of S. Barnabas,
was baptized and ordained priest by John
Mark, the companion of the apostle whose
sister's son he was, and sent to Solias, the modern Lerka,
in the north of the island, where he succeeded in converting
to the faith a priest of Jove. After Mark had visited
Alexandria, he went to S. Paul,1 who, hearing that there
was a deficiency of apostles in Crete, sent Epaphras and
Tychicus to Heraclias, the bishop of Crete, ordering him
to place Epaphras in the See of Paphos, and Tychicus in
that of Neapolis, and to seek out Auxibius, at Solias, who
had been ordained by Mark, and consecrate him bishop.
Amongst the converts made by Auxibius was one, a native
of Solopotamus, his namesake, who was afterwards bishop.
Auxibius of Solias is said to have foreseen his future eleva-

1 Col. iv. xo ; 3 Tim. iv. n.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 19

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tion in the following way. One day that he and his pupil
were out walking, they came to a tree, where there was
pleasant shade, and beneath this they sat down to rest;
whereupon Auxibius of Solopotamus fell asleep with his
head against the trunk. Then a great multitude of ants,
which were running over the bark, came down on his head,
and the bishop thought it was a token of the future industry
which his namesake would exhibit, and a sign that he would
be a suitable person to receive the grace of episcopal orders.
Auxibius had the happiness of converting and baptizing his
brother Themistagoras, and his sister-in-law Tima ; and
when he was dying, he bade his disciples not open his
sepulchre till the death of Themistagoras, when his brother
was to be laid beside him. He then appointed his name-
sake to succeed him, and expired. But when Themistagoras
was about to die, he felt himself unworthy to lie beside his
brother, and bade that he should be entombed elsewhere,
and “ thus it follows,” says the writer of the Life of S. Auxi-
bius, “that to this day the sepulchre of the saint remains un-
opened.”

S. GABINIUS, P. M.

(a.d. 296.)

[Roman Martyology, and those of Usuardus, Bede, Notker, &c. ; by
some of these however on the 18th.]

S. Gabinius, priest at Rome, and brother of S. Caius,
the pope, was father of S. Susanna, (August nth), and was
brother of the martyrs Claudius and Maximus, (February
1 8th), to the account of whose Acts the reader is referred
It is uncertain by what death Gabinius glorified God.

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■S’. Mansuetus.

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S. ZABDAS, B. C.

(A.D. 304.)

[Roman Martyrology. Name mentioned by Eusebius among the
Bishops of Jerusalem. He is also called Zambdas and Bazas. He is said
to have baptized a portion of the Theban legion, but nothing authentic is
known of him.]

S. ODRAN, M.

(about A.D. 451.)

[Irish Martyrologies of Tamlach and Donegal ; another Odran on
October 27th. Authorities The Life of S. Patrick, by Jocelyn, the
Tripartite Life, and others.]

There was a noble named Faigle, who bore a bitter
hatred against S. Patrick and the Christian faith, and who
resolved to murder the apostle. Now Odran, the chariot-
driver, heard of his threats, and fearing for his master's life,
one day, as they passed near the castle of Foilge, he said to
S. Patrick, “ Master, for long have I driven thee. For this
once let me ride in the chariot, and do thou run beside the
horse, and urge it on.”

Then Patrick consented, and changed places with Odran.
Shortly after Failge rushed out upon them from an ambush,
and thrust his spear through Odran, deeming him to be the
apostle. Then Patrick raising his eyes, saw angels bearing
the soul of his faithful servant to the mansions of eternal
bliss.

S. MANSUETUS OF MILAN, B. C.

(AFTER A.D. 680.)

[Roman Martyrology.]

S. Mansuetus is alluded to by many writers, but nothing
of interest connected with him has survived ; except the

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 19.

fact that he was present at the Roman Synod in 680, under
S. Agatho, in which the heresy of the Monothelites was
condemned.

His relics are preserved in the Church of S. Stephen at
Milan.

S. BARBATUS OF BENEVENTO, B. C.

(a.d. 682.)

[Roman Martyrology, and some others. Authorities : — Two lives, one
of which, very ancient, is found in MS., in Lombardic characters. Both
lives seem to be genuine, and may be trusted.]

Of the early life of S. Barbatus nothing authentic is
known.1 He first comes before us as a priest, zealously
combating the superstition of the people of Benevento,
who, though nominal Christians, retained much of their
ancient heathen belief. The great objects of their vene-
ration in the city were a golden image of a viper, and a
sacred tree ; and Romuald, the Lombard Duke, son of the
famous Grimoald, was not more enlightened than his subjects.
It is said of the tree to which they offered religious honours
that they were wont to hang on it the skin of a wild beast,
and shoot over their shoulders at it S. Barbatus preached
for long zealously against these abuses, but with no result ;
however he did not desist, but joined to his exhortations
fervent prayer and rigorous fasting, for the conversion of
the unhappy people. At length he roused their attention
by foretelling the distress of their city, and the calamities
which it was to suffer from the army of the emperor
Constans, who landing soon after in Italy, laid siege to
Benevento. In their extreme distress, and still more

1 Butler gives an account of his early life, and his ministry at Moncona, bat
nothing of all this is found in the two ancient lives. It is taken from a life by
Ovid, a monk of Monte Vergine, quoted by Vincent Chiarlanti, but this seems ts
be no authority.

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February 19.] S. Boniface of Lausanne.

343

grievous alarm, they listened to the holy preacher, and
renounced their idolatrous practices. Thereupon S. Bar-
batus gave them the comfortable assurance that the siege
should be raised, and the emperor worsted : which happened
as he had foretold. Upon their repentance, the saint with his
own hand cut down the tree, which was the object of their
superstition, and afterwards melted down the golden viper
which they adored, of which he made a chalice and paten
for the use of the altar. Hildebrand, bishop of Benevento,
dying during the siege, S. Barbatus was consecrated bishop
on the 10th of March, 663. Barbatus, having been invested
with the episcopal character, pursued and completed the
good work he had so happily begun, and destroyed every
trace of superstition in the diocese over which he presided.
In the year 680, he assisted in a council held by pope
Agatho at Rome, and the year following, in the sixth general
council, held at Constantinople against the Monothelites.
He did not long survive this great assembly, for he died on
the 29th of February, 682, being about seventy years
old, nineteen of which he had spent in the episcopal
chair. He is honoured at Benevento among the chief
patrons of the town ; in Art he appears with the golden
viper under his foot, and an axe in his hand.

His relics are said to be preserved in the monastery of
Monte Vergine.

S. BONIFACE OF LAUSANNE, B. C.

(a.d. 1265.)

[Molanus, in his additions to Usuardus. Not extensively known.
Authority : — A Life by an anonymous monk of the Cistercian Order, date
uncertain, but probably very Httle posterior to the death of S. Boniface.]

Boniface, son of a goldsmith at Canteisteen, was
trained in the Cistercian monastery of Cambre, near

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344 Lives of the Saints . [February *9.

Brussels ; he afterwards studied, and in 1258, became
lecturer on theology in the university of Paris. But after a
while his pupils fell off, and he went to Cologne, where he
taught with success for two years. He was then appointed
bishop of Lausanne, where he laboured to enforce celibacy
on the clergy, and some, enraged, armed themselves, and
entered the church where he was celebrating mass, with
intent to kill him. But a Franciscan friar, seeing his peril,
ran through the streets of Lausanne calling for help;
and the people crowding into the cathedral, rescued him.
Boniface, despairing of his power to accomplish the work,
with the consent of the Holy Father, resigned his charge,
and returned to Cambre, where he died in 1265. He was
buried in the choir. A small chapel has been recently
erected at Cambre, by a Recollet father, Francis Vancutzen,
in his honour. His festival is solemnized in Brabant in
virtue of a bull of Pope Clement XI., in the year 1702. On
June 25th, 1600, his relics were exhumed, and placed in a
wooden coffer, by Robert Van Ostebaere, abbot of Cam-
bron, and Hautmont, acting under authority for the arch-
bishop of Mechlin. This reliquary was translated to the
Church of Notre-Dame de la Chapelle, at Brussels, in
1796, whence a portion was transported on May 9th, 1852,
to the Church of Ixelles, of which S. Boniface is patron.

S. BELINA, V. M.

(A.D. 1153.)

[Venerated in the diocese of Troyes in France. Canonized in 1203.]

Belina was a little peasantess of Landreville, in the
diocese of Troyes, the daughter of pious parents, who were
the serfs of John, Lord of Pradines and of D'Arcy, in the
popular legend called John Paterae. She was engaged to a

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young man in her village of the same humble rank ; and
her parents asked the Lord of Pradines, permission to
allow the marriage to take place, for no serf could marry
without the consent of his or her lord. The nobleman
made some demur, and declared he chose the beautiful
little maiden to be his mistress. She indignantly rejected his
sinful proposals, and one day as he surprised her when
she was keeping her sheep in a little glen, she defended
herself against his violence with such vehemence that he
lost all control over himself, and drawing his sword struck
at her, and the blade falling on her slender neck, dealt her
her death-wound. The peasants, enraged at this act of
barbarity, rose in a body and burnt the castle, and would
have killed the Lord of Pradines, had he not escaped in
disguise. Shortly after, pope Anastasius IV. excommuni-
cated him for the crime, and laid the lordship of Landre-
ville under an interdict for a brief space, till the king
confiscated the territory, and the parliament of France
condemned J ohn de Pradines to perpetual exile.

Most of the relics of the saintly virgin were dispersed
and lost at the Revolution, but some particles of bone
remain in a bust at Landreville. The day on which she
was killed was September 8th, but her festival is observed
with great solemnity at Landreville, on Feb. 19th.

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346

February 20.

SS. Tyrannio, B.M.t and Companions, MM. at Tyre , a.d. 304,
and 310.

S. Paula, tub Bearded, F. at Avila, in Spain,

SS. Sadoth, BM., and cxxviii. Companions, MM. in Persia.
a.d. 345.

SS. Eucher and Falco, HB. at Mastreeht , eirc. a.p. 500.

S. Olcan, B . in Ireland , eirc. a.d. 500.

S. Elbuthbrius, B.qfToumai, a.d. 531.

S. Mildred, V Abs. in Thanet , eirc. a.d. 700.

S. Eucher, B. of Orleans , a.d. 743.

S -*o, the Wonderworker, B. of Catanea, eirc. a.d. 780.

S. Wulpric, P.H.at Haselborough, in /Wiltshire, a.d. 1154.

SS. TYRANNIO, B.M., AND COMPANIONS, MM.

(A.D. 304 AND 3x0.)

[Roman Martyrology. Not mentioned in any Martyrologies earlier than
that of Usuardus. Among these martyrs are some commemorated separ-
ately on other days. Sylvanus, by the Greeks, on Jan. 29th ; by the Latins,
on Feb. 6th. Zenobius, on Oct. 29th. Peleus and Nilus, on Sept. 17th or
19th. Tyrannio is not noticed on any other day, nor named by the Greeks,
but they celebrate four martyrs at Tyre, on Jan. 21st, without name given,
and, possibly, Tyrannio may be one of these. In the old Roman Martyr-
ology, published by Rosweydus, on this day, Feb. 20th, the notice is of
martyrs at Tyre, without any name given, save that of the governor who
sentenced them. The authorities for these martyrdoms are Eusebius, lib.
viii., c. 7, and Ruffinus in his paraphrase thereon.]

USEBIUS, an eye-witness of what he relates
concerning these martyrs, gives the following
account of them : — “ Several Christians of Egypt,
whereof some had settled in Palestine, others at
Tyre, gave astonishing proof of their patience and con-
stancy in the faith. After innumerable stripes and blows,
which they cheerfully underwent, they were exposed to wild
beasts, such as leopards, wild bears, boars, and bulls. I,
myself, was present when these savage creatures, accustomed
to human blood, being let loose upon them, instead of de-

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347

vouring or rending them, as it was natural to expect, refused
to touch them, but turned upon their keepers, and others
that came in their way. They utterly refused to touch the
soldiers of Christ, though these martyrs, pursuant to the
order given them, tossed about their arms, which was
thought a ready way to provoke the beasts, and stir them up
against them. Sometimes, indeed, they were perceived to
rush towards them with their usual impetuosity, but, with-
held by a divine power, they suddenly withdrew ; and this
many times, to the great admiration of all present The first
having done no execution, others were let out upon them,
a second and a third time, but in vain ; the martyrs stand-
ing all the while unshaken, though many of them were very
young. Among them was a youth, not yet twenty, who had
his eyes lifted up to heaven, and his arms extended in the
form of a cross, not in the least daunted, nor trembling, nor
shifting his place, while the bears and leopards, with their
jaws wide open, threatening immediate death, seemed just
ready to tear him to pieces ; but, by a miracle, not being
suffered to touch him, they speedily withdrew. Others were
exposed to a furious bull, which had already gored and
tossed into the air several infidels who had ventured too
near, and left them half dead : only the martyrs he could
not approach ; he stopped, and stood scraping the dust
with his feet, and though he seemed endeavouring to rush
forward, butting with his horns on every side, and pawing
the ground with his feet, and was urged on by red-hot
iron goads, yet it was all to no purpose. After repeated
trials of this kind with other wild beasts, with as little suc-
cess as the former, the saints were slain by the sword, and
their bodies cast into the sea. Others, who refused to
sacrifice, were beaten to death, or burned, or executed
divers other ways.” This happened in the year 304, under
Veturius, a Roman general, in the reign of Diocletian.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February aa

348

The church on this day commemorates the other holy
martyrs, whose crown was deferred till 310. The principal
of these was S. Tyrannio, bishop of Tyre, who had been
present at the glorious triumph of the former, and en
couraged them in their conflict He had not the comfort to
follow them till six years after ; when, being conducted from
Tyre to Antioch, with S. Zenobius, a holy priest and physi-
cian of Sidon, after many torments, he was thrown into the
river Orontes. Zenobius expired on the rack, whilst his
sides were being laid open with iron hooks. S. Sylvanus,
bishop of Emesa, in Phoenicia, was, some time after, under
Maximin, devoured by wild beasts in the midst of his own
city, with two companions, after having governed that
church forty years. Peleus and Nilus, two other Egyptian
priests, in Palestine, were consumed by fire. S. Sylvanus,
bishop of Gaza, was condemned to the copper mines of
Phoenon, near Petra, in Arabia, and afterwards beheaded
there with thirty-nine others.

S. PAULA, THE BEARDED.

(date uncertain.)

[Venerated at Avila, in Spain, where her relics are preserved. No
authority for her story except popular tradition. J

This saint was the daughter of poor parents, near Avila.
She was very beautiful, and a youth fell in love with her, and
pursued her one day to an oratory, whither she was wont to
resort, in the forest Knowing that his intentions were evil,
and that there was no human assistance at hand, according
to the popular legend, Paula fled to the crucifix, and, em-
bracing it, besought the Saviour to be her deliverer from the
young pursuer. At once a beard sprouted on her chin, and
moustaches on her lip. The youth coming in, shortly after,

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February ao.]

•S'. Olcan .

349

•*

did not recognise her, and asked the bearded personage if
he had seen a young damsel pass that way. Paula replied
that no one had come into the chapel except herself, where-
upon the youth withdrew. It is impossible to say what
foundation of truth there is in this curious story, which bears
some resemblance to that of S. Wilgifortis (July 20th).
The festival of S. Paula is observed on Feb. 20th, at Avila.
This story would not deserve notice, but that it is some-
times represented in Spanish art

S. OLCAN, B. OF DERKAN.1
(about 500.)

[According to Wytford, S. Olcan or Bolcan is on this day commemorated
in Ireland. In the Tamlacht Martyrology he is called Olcan ; in the Don-
egal Martyrology he is Bolcan. Authorities : — The Tripartite Life of S.
Patrick, and that by J ocelin.]

A wild legend is connected with this saint His mother
is said to have been an Englishwoman, married in Ireland,
whose husband died, leaving her pregnant She fell into a
fit, and was buried, as dead. But a certain nobleman, pass-
ing near her tomb, heard, from within, the wailing of a
child, and, opening it, found that a new-born babe lay by
the dead mother. It is probable that this is an exaggera-
tion of the simple fact that Olcan’s mother died in child-
birth, and that he was taken up by a noble. He grew up
to be admitted to holy orders, and to receive episcopal con-
secration. A certain chief, named Saran, had incurred the
malediction of S. Patrick, for having driven him from his
territories and overthrown the churches he had erected.
Saran, having made many captives in war, would have
massacred or sold them, had not Olcan hastened to him to

1 In Antrim.

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implore him to show pity upon them. Saran answered that
he would spare the captives, if Olcan would promise him
eternal life. Olcan hesitated. Then Saran gave orders for
a general butchery. The bishop, rather than see so much
innocent blood flow, consented to baptize Saran on the
spot When S. Patrick heard of this he was very angry
that the holy Sacrament of Regeneration should be adminis-
tered thus to an unrepentant and uninstructed tyrant
Olcan, hearing of S. Patrick’s anger, ran to seek him, and,
seeing him in his chariot, he fell on his knees and implored
pardon. Patrick sternly averted his head. Then Olcan
flung himself prostrate in the road before the horses. The
driver stopped. Patrick ordered him to whip the horses
on. The charioteer replied that he dare not drive over a
bishop. Then Patrick, after having reproached Olcan, for-
gave him.

He is said to have studied in GauL

S. ELEUTHERIUS OF TOURNAI, B. M.

(A.D. 531.)

[Roman Martyrology. Additions to Usuardus by Molanus ; all modem
Martyrologies. Authorities : — A very ancient life written before 880, but
not until long after the death of the saint ; a second, written before 900 ; a
third by Guibert of Tournai, is late, 1257. The authority of these lives is
much diminished by the length of time which elapsed between the death ol
Eleutherius and their composition.]

Tournai was evangelized by S. Piatus, in 287. During its
early history it had seen the blood of martyrs shed. The
Vandals had taken possession of it in 407 ; then it had be-
come the principal seat of the Salic Franks. In the reign
of Childeric, there lived in this city a rich and noble citizen,
named Serenus, with his wife, Blanda. They had been con-
verted from heathenism, and they honoured the religion

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February 2o.] ,£ Eleutherius of Tournai. 351

they had adopted by their virtues, and especially by their
abundant charity to the poor and infirm. In 456, they be-
came parents of a son, whom they named Eleutherius. All
their care tended towards educating him in every science
befitting his condition. The young Eleutherius so thoroughly
responded to their hopes, that S. Medard, who frequented
along with him the school of S. Quentin, foretold that his
friend would one day become a bishop.

About the year 484, whilst Clovis was marching upon
Soissons, the governor of Tournai, an inveterate heathen,
profited by his absence, to banish from the city all who bore
the name of Christians, or to seize on their goods. Serenus
and Blanda were included in the number of exiles. They
took their son with them, and found a place of refuge at a
distance of about six miles from Tournai, where they built
a church, in honour of S. Peter. A number of Christians
settled on the same spot, and many heathen, converted by
Serenus, helped to swell the colony, which was called Blan-
dinium.1 The number was now so great that they asked
for, and obtained, a bishop, Theodore by name, who died
immediately after his ordination. The faithful assembled
at Blandinium, charmed by the virtues of Eleutherius,
elected him to succeed Theodore, and sent him to Rome.

The Pope approved of the choice, and the new pastor was
consecrated in the year 487, at the age of thirty. Now it
fell out that the daughter of the governor of Tournai was
passionately in love with the young and handsome Eleu-
therius, and she resolved to make the attempt to withdraw
him from the ministry of God, that he might serve the
world, reposing in her loVfe, and the favour of her father.

She found him engaged in prayer, but, regardless of what
he was about, she arrested his attention, and declared to
him her passion. He started to his feet, and she held him

1 Blandain, on the high road from Tournai to Lisle.

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35 2 Lives of the Saints [February 20 I

by the mantle. Then, like another Joseph, he cast his
mantle from him, and fled from her presence. The unfor-
tunate girl, heart-broken, sank upon the ground, breathless
and motionless. When she had been buried, Eleutherius
returned, and now, touched at her misfortune, as much as
he had been irritated at her offence, he summoned the
father, and promised to restore to him his daughter, if he
would embrace Christianity. The governor readily con-
sented. Then Eleutherius celebrated the holy sacrifice, and
followed by all his clergy and the faithful, went to the tomb,
and struck it with his pastoral staff. But God revealed to
the bishop that the promise of the father was made without
purpose of observing it The earth shook, but the dead
rose not. Eleutherius passed the night in prayers, and re-
turned to the grave on the morrow ; again, the earth
trembled, but the heart of the heathen governor remained
unshaken. On the third day the father came with tears,
and all tokens of true contrition, to promise sincere re-
pentance ; then the bishop went again to the sepulchre. At
his command the stone was rolled away. He called thrice
to the dead girl to rise. Then she sat up, and the people
uttered a shout of joy. Eleutherius took her by the hand,
and presented her to her father. After that, he bade her
fast for six days, and, on the seventh, he baptized her, his
mother, Blanda, standing as god-mother, and giving her her
name. The father, however, would not keep his promise,
but withdrew his child from the hands of the Christians,
and threatened to disinherit her unless she returned to the
worship of idols. A plague breaking out shortly after, in
Toumai, was attributed to the incantations of Eleutherius,
who was seized at night, severely beaten, and thrown into
prison, from which, however, he escaped, and returned to
his flock. The plague continued its ravages with such fury,
that the city of Toumai was deserted of its inhabitants,

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February 20.] 61 Eleutherius of Tournai.

who fled into the country, in hopes of escaping the epidemic
by isolation. Then the governor was humbled, and, coming
to Eleutherius, implored him to forgive his past resistance
to the truth, and to baptize him in the faith of Christ.
Eleutherius, after having instructed him, and made him
prepare, by fasting, for the holy sacrament, afterwards
baptized him. The submission of the governor led to the
recall of Eleutherius, who re-entered the city of Toumai on
the 22nd September ; a day which has ever since been cele-
brated as a feast in that place. Eleutherius at once over-
threw the temple of Apollo and the altars of the heathen
deities in Tournai ; and his labours to convince the pagans
were followed by such effect that, in one week, probably
that of Pentecost, he baptized as many as eleven thousand
persons.

As soon as heathenism was overcome, heresy manifested
itself, and, as Eleutherius was himself accused, he visited
Rome, in 501, to vindicate his orthodoxy before Pope
Symmachus. He combated Arian false doctrine with word
of mouth, and with his pen, and made a second journey to
Rome, to Pope Hormisdas, to obtain confirmation of his
writings. On his return some of the heretics fell upon him,
as he left the church after mass one morning, and wounded
him so cruelly that he died of his injuries five weeks later,
in the 66th year of his age. He was laid in the church
built by his father at Blandain, but his relics were afterwards
removed to Tournai, of which city he is patron.

VOL. 11.

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354

Lives of the Saints.

[February 90.

S. MILDRED, V. ABSS.

(end OF 7TH CENT.)

[Anglican Martyrology, Molanus, and Saussaye. It is uncertain which
of her two festivals, Feb. 20th or July 13th, is the day of her death, and
which the day of her translation. In the first edition of Wilson’s Anglican
Martyrology, Feb. 20th is given as the day of her death ; in the second edi-
tion as that of her translation ; and he is probably right, for he follows in
this William Thome’s Chronicle.]

Domneva, or Ermenberga, the wife of Merewald, son of
Penda, King of Mercia, had by him three daughters and a
son, who were all reckoned by our ancestors among the
saints. These were Milburgh, Mildred, Mildgitha, and
Mervin. King Egbert having built and endowed the nun-
nery of Minster, in the, isle of Thanet, Domneva became
its first abbess, and the house was soon occupied by seventy
nuns. But she soon gave up the government to her daughter
Mildred, whom she had sent to France, to Chelles, to re-
ceive a literary and religious education. The Abbess of
Chelles, far from encouraging the young princess to em-
brace monastic life, employed every kind of threat and ill-
usage to compel her to marry one of her relations. But
Mildred resisted victoriously. She returned to England to
govern the abbey founded by her mother, and to give an
example of all monastic virtues to her seventy companions.
Very few details of her life have been preserved, which
makes the extraordinary and prolonged popularity which has
attached to her name, her relics, and everything belonging
to her, all the more wonderful. Her popularity eclipsed
that of S. Augustine, even in the district which he first won
to the faith, and to such a point that the rock which had
received the mark of his first footsteps, and which lies a
little east of Minster, took and retained, up to the last cen-
tury, the name of S. Mildred’s Rock.

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February 20. J

•S'. Eucher.

355

S. EUCHER, B. OF ORLEANS.

(a.d. 743.)

[Roman Martyrology. In those of Bede, Notker, and Rabanus, on
Feb. 21st. Authorities A Life by a contemporary, published by Bol-
landus.]

This saint was dedicated to God from his infancy.
About the year 714, he retired to the abbey of Jumikges, on
the banks of the Seine, in the arch-diocese of Rouen.
After having spent six or seven years there, his uncle
Suavaric, bishop of Orleans, died, and Eucher was elected
in his room, with the consent of Charles Martel, mayor
of the palace, in 721. But he shortly afterwards incurred
the anger of Charles Martel, for some political reason not
mentioned by the author of the life of the saint, and
Charles, on his return from defeating the Saracens near
Tours, in 732, took the bishop from his see, and sent him
into exile to Cologne, where, however, his piety and gentle-
ness attracted such general admiration, that Charles ordered
him to be removed into the less populous county of
Hasbain, or Haspengau, in the territory of Lidge, under the
guard of Robert, the governor of that county, who allowed
him to retire into the monastery of S. Trond, where he
passed the rest of his days in prayer, glad to rest once more
in the peaceful round of cloister life. He was buried at
S. Trond, and there his relics are preserved.

In Art, S. Eucher is often represented contemplating a
man in the flames of hell, on account of a legend which
relates that he saw Charles Martel undergoing torment in
the place of the damned. Sometimes he is depicted lying
in his sepulchre, with a serpent marked with the arms of
France, symbolising Charles Martel, writhing beneath it.

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Lives of the Saints .

[February 20.

356

S. WULFRIC, P. H.

(a.d. 1154.)

[S. Wulfric is also called Ulric. Wilson's Anglican Martyrology ;
also the Benedictine Kalendar. Authorities John Fordun, Roger of
Wendover, Henry of Huntingdon, and other historians.]

S. Ulric was bora at Lenton, eight miles from Bristol
When he had reached man's estate, he entered holy orders,
and was made priest, without much thought of the responsi-
bilities of his calling. He allowed himself to follow the
sports of hunting, hawking, and other diversions incon-
sistent with his profession. One day, whilst out hunting,
there came to him a man, who by his dress seemed needy,
and begged of him a new piece of money, as alms ; for at
that time there was a new coinage in England, but it was
rare, on account of its recency. Wulfric replied that he
did not know whether he had any of the new coins or not ;
upon which the man said, “ Look in thy purse and thou
wilt find two pieces and a half." Wulfric did as he was
bidden, and found the money, which he at once bestowed
on the beggar. Then the man said, “ May He, for whose
love thou hast done this, give thee a fitting reward. Be-
hold, in His name, I tell thee that thou shalt remove hence,
and at length find repose; and He will summon thee to
join the communion of His saints.** Musing on these words,

S. Wulfric felt that his life must undergo a change ; and he
resolved at once to embrace a very austere life. He there-
fore retired to Haselbury, in Dorsetshire, to a cell given
him by a knight of his acquaintance, and there he served
God in cold and want and tears. He wore a suit of chain
mail next his flesh, even in winter. One Easter Eve he was
troubled by impure thoughts. Then, next day, he went to
the church and made public confession of what had befallen
him, and humbly besought the prayers of the congregation.

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February 20.]

S. Wulfric.

357

His shirt of mail hindering him from kneeling, he privately
called to him his patron, and asked him to shorten it. The
knight said that he would send the coat to London, and
have it cut shorter. “ Take a pair of shears and cut,” said
the recluse. The knight obeyed, and found that he was
able to cut it as if it had been cloth.

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358

Lives of the Saints.

[February ai.

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February 21.

SS. Maurice, Photinus, Theodore, and Companions, MM. ai
Apamea, circ. a.d. 298.

SS. Verulus, Skcundinus, and Companions, MM. at Adrumetum,
in Africa.

S. V Italian a, V. at Ar tonne, in Auvergne, circ. a.d. 390.

S. Severian, B.M. of Scythofolis, a.d. 452.

S. Zacharias, Patriarch of Jerusalem, a.d. 631.

S. Paterius, B. of Brescia ; beginning of yth cent.

B. Pepin of Landen, C. at Nivelles, in Belgium , A.D. 646.

S. Gondebert, B. of Sens, in France , 7 tk cent.

SS. German, Ab. M., and Randoald, Prior, M. of Munsterthal,
in Switzerland, end of 7 tk cent.

S. Peter of Majuma, M. in Palestine, a.d. 743.

S. George, B. of Amastris, in Paphlagonia, beginning of gth cent.

SS. MAURICE, PHOTINUS, THEODORE, AND
COMPANIONS, MM.

(ABOUT A.D. 298.)

[Commemorated by the Greeks on this day, and also on December 27th.
Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus, speaks of the festival of S. Maurice being
observed in his time, (A.D. 400) ; the Acts in Metaphrastes are not
altogether trustworthy. This S. Maurice is not to be mistaken for the
S. Maurice who suffered at Agaunum, commemorated by the Westerns on
September 22nd.]

URING the persecution by the tyrant Maximian,
which began in the army, Maurice and seventy
soldiers, amongst whom was his son Photinus,
boldly confessed Christ, and refused to sacrifice
to the gods. They were deprived of their military belts,
a humiliation similar to the striking off the spurs of a
knight in the Middle Ages, and were consigned to prison.
The head of Photinus, who was only a lad, was struck
off ; the others were tormented with iron hooks and fire ;
and then, with cruel malice, they were conducted to a

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February ai.]

6". Zacharias.

359

low, marshy spot, near Apamea, were smeared with honey,
and tied to stakes, that they might be tormented by
wasps, hornets, and musquitos. The brave soldiers of
Christ lingered without food for many days, but by the
tenth day all were dead; their heads were then cut off,
and they were buried.

S. VITALINA, V.

(ABOUT A.D. 390.)

[Commemorated as Patron at Antonne, between Riome and Gannat, in
Auvergne. Commemorated also at Metz. Nothing is known concerning
her except a strange story of her having spoken to S. Martin out of her
tomb, and told him she was still mourning for having washed her head on
a Friday,— a story related by Gregory of Tours. De gloria Confes-
sorum, c. v.]

S. ZACHARIAS, PATR. OF JERUSALEM.

(a.d. 631.)

[Greek Menaea. Authorities : — The Chronicon Alexandrinum, Theo-
phanes, the Annals of Eutychius, Anastasius Bibliotbecarius, Paulus
Diaconus, Cedrenus, &c.]

Zacharias was made Patriarch of Jerusalem in the year
609, having beep previously warden of the sacred vessels at
Constantinople. During his reign, in the year 614, the holy
city was taken by the Persians, and as many as 90,000
Christians are said, by Theophanes, to have perished in the
massacre which ensued, the Jews taking the opportunity to
revenge themselves on the worshippers of the Crucified:
Chosroes having swelled his army with twenty-six thou-
sand Jews, who fought with fury, in the hopes of recovering
Jerusalem for themselves. The sepulchre of Christ, and
the stately churches of Helena and Constantine, were

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consumed, or at least damaged, by the flames ; the devout
offerings of three hundred years were rifled in one sac-
rilegious day; the patriarch Zacharias, and the true Cross,
were transported into Persia. The fugitives of Palestine
were entertained at Alexandria, by the charity of John,
the Patriarch, who is distinguished by the epithet of the
Alms-giver, (Jan. 23rd), and Modestus, abbot of S. Theo-
dosius, was appointed vicar of the scattered and bleed-
ing flock in the Holy Land, during the captivity of their
pastor. In 628 Chosroes was deposed and assassinated
by his son Siroes, who concluded peace with the Emperor
Heraclius, restored to him all that had been taken by
his father, the wood of the true Cross, and the captives,
amongst whom was Zacharias, who returned to Jerusalem,
the following year.

The seals of the case in which the venerable relic had
been enclosed before it was carried into Persia, were found
unbroken, and it was easy for the patriarch, who had been
its fellow-captive, to verify it Zacharias died in the year
631, two years after his restoration.

B. PEPIN OF LANDEN, C.

(A.D. 646.)

[Of local veneration only, at Nivelles ; mentioned in some of the later
Martyrologies, and called, sometimes Saint, sometimes the Blessed.
Authorities : — A Life contained in the Acts of his daughter, S. Gertrude,
(March 17th), Fredegar, and other early French historians.]

The Blessed Pepin of Landen1 died on February 21st,
in 640, or 647, at Landen, where he had also been bom, in
all probability. He was buried at Landen, but afterwards,
at what date is unknown, his body was translated to

1 See further, S. Sigebert, (February xst.)

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February ax.] 6\Sl German & Randoald \

361

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Nivelles, where he reposes beside the altar of his daughter,
S. Gertrude, and where one tomb enshrines his body and
that of his wife, S. Itta, and that of his nurse. On the day
of his translation, a great procession of people bearing
candles accompanied his relics from Landen to Nivelles,
and during the long course, the wind, though very violent,
did not extinguish one of the tapers, says the story. This
prince has always been venerated at Nivelles and Landen
as a saint, though he has never been canonized, and every
year, in the Rogation processions, his reliquary is borne,
together with those of S. Itta or Iduberga, his wife, and
S. Gertrude, his daughter. To Pepin is attributed the
foundation of the Church of S. Mary, which subsists to
this day at Landen.

SS. GERMAN, AB., AND RANDOALD, PRIOR, MM.

(END OF 7TH CENT.)

[Commemorated as a double in the diocese of Basle. Not noticed in
any other Kalendar. Authority: — A Life by a contemporary, Bobolen,
Priest, at the request of the Monks of Miinsterthal, who asked him to put
iu record what had taken place under their eyes.]

S. German was a native of Trfeves, son of a man of
senatorial rank, named Optardus. His brother Opthomar
became a favourite courtier of king Dagobert, and after-
wards with the saintly Sigebert, King of Austrasia, (Febru-
ary 1st) When German was quite young he was given to
S. Modoald, bishop of Trfeves,1 that he might be educated
in all the knowledge of the times. At the age of seventeen
the boy longed to devote himself wholly to God, in the
monastic life, and as his parents were dead, he asked
permission of his preceptor, but Modoald answered that
he dare not give him the requisite permission, without the

1 He was Bishop of Treves about 6aa, and is honoured as a saint on May aand.

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362 Lives of the Saints . .February ai.

consent of the king. The boy then evidenced his sincerity
by at once disposing of all his possessions. With three other
boys similarly disposed, he went to the blessed Amulf, a
holy bishop living as a hermit at Herenberg, and grew
to man’s estate, disciplining himself after the example, and
by the advice, of his new preceptor. Then he sent two of
his companions to Trfeves to bring to him his little brother,
Numerian, who was still quite a child -} and migrated first
to Remiremont, and thence, followed by numerous monks
who had placed themselves under his direction, to the
famous abbey of Luxeuil, which was then ruled by S. Walde-
bert, (May 2nd), who had him ordained priest, and sent
him to found a house in the valley of Miinsterthal, or
Val Moutier, in the Jura, which was given to him by a
nobleman of great piety named Gundoin, the father of
S. Salaberga, (September 22nd.) The Miinsterthal is a
grand and romantic defile, traversed by the Birs. The
huge cleft through which the stream passes testifies to the
mighty convulsion which has forced the horizontal strata to
assume their present almost perpendicular position, re-
sembling gigantic walls on either side of the old Roman
road which passed through it, and served as the line of
communication between Aventiacum (Avenches), the most
important town of Helvetia, and Augusta Rauracorum
(Rheinfelden.) German found the old road blocked up
with fallen rocks, so as to be impassable. He cleared these
away, and enlarged the entrance to the gorge, and settled
with his monks at the present Moutier. On the death of
his protector Gundoin, Duke Boniface Kattemund suc-
ceeded to the government of the land, and crushed the
poor people with his taxes. He also traversed the country
exacting large sums from all who could pay, and wasting
the lands of those who refused. On his appearance in the

1 He became afterwards Bishop of Treves, and is venerated on July $th.

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February ai .]

S. George of A mas tr is.

363

valley, the abbot German and the prior Randoald went to
meet him, to implore him to deal less harshly with the
people ; but Kattemund repulsed them with insolence, and
allowed some ruffians of his suite to fall on the helpless
monks, strike off the head of the prior, and transfix the
abbot with a lance, whilst they were kneeling in prayer in
the church of S. Maurice.

S. GEORGE OF AMASTRIS, B. C.

(BEGINNING OF 9TH CENT.)

[Mentioned in no late Martyrologies ; but commemorated by the Greeks
on this day. Authority *— A Life written towards the end of the 9th cent.]

S. George was bom of parents who had long been
childless, at Cromna, near Amastris, in Paphlagonia. When
three years old he fell into the fire, and burnt his hands and
foot, but though disfigured by the scars, he was not thereby
deprived of the use of these members. When a youth, he
secretly fled his home, and retired into a mountain, followed
only by one servant, and lived among the rocks the life of
an anchorite, with an old hermit whom he there discovered.
When this hermit was on the point of death, he bade
George go to the monastery of Bonyssa, and serve God
there. George obeyed, and among the monks he distin-
guished himself by the perfection of his self-control. On
the death of the bishop of Amastris, the citizens elected
George, whose fame had reached them, and sent a depu-
tation to announce to him their choice ; but George stead-
fastly refused the proffered dignity ; whereupon the depu-
tation forcibly carried him off to Constantinople, where the
patriarch, S. Tarasius, who had known him as a boy, gladly
agreed to consecrate him. But the Emperor interfered,
and nominated some one else. The patriarch, however.

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would not yield, as George had been canonically elected.
He nevertheless, brought forward the two candidates, and
bade the clergy and people proceed to a new election, and
decide which was to be chosen. As the lot fell again upon
George, the patriarch resolutely rejected the imperial nomi-
nee, and ordained George. He was received at Amastris with
demonstrations of the holiest joy. During his episcopate
Asia Minor was overrun by the Saracens. George, fore-
seeing an mansion, and finding that the farmers and
peasants could not be induced by others to take warning,
and flee in time, went round the country, cross in hand,
and urged all to escape within the walls. The threatened
incursion took place, and the Saracens, not being in suffi-
cient force to take the city, retired without having done
serious damage.

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February «.] S. Peter's Chair at A ntioch. 365

February 22.

S. Petfr’s Chair at Antioch , a.d. 37.

S. Aristion, at Sal amis, ut cent.

S. Papias, £. of Hierapolis, in Phrygia , beginning of 2nd cent .
SS. Martyrs in Arabia , circ. a.d. 304.

S. Paschasius, B. of Pienne, circ. a.d. 313.

SS. T HALA8SIU8 and Limnaus, HH. near Cyrus, in Syria, $tk
cent.

S. Baradatu8, H. in Syria, circ. a.d. 460.

S. Maximian, B.of Ravenna, a.d. 556.

S. Margaret of Cortona, Pen. a.d. 1297.

& PETER’S CHAIR AT ANTIOCH.

(a.d. 37.)

[Roman Martyrology ; the ancient Roman Martyrology, called that of
S. Jerome ; Bede ; Ado ; Usuardus, &c.]

|NDER this name is celebrated the foundation
of the see of Antioch by S. Peter the Apostle,
before he went to Rome, so that this day may
be called the birthday of the Church and
Patriarchate of Antioch. Through the coincidence of this
Christian festival with some ancient pagan solemnities, its
observance has become surrounded by spurious usages, at
least among the Northern races. These usages were so
rooted into the habits of the people, that the Church, un-
able to eradicate them, sought to give them a Christian sig-
nificance, and to substitute the feast of the Chair of S. Peter
for the car a cognitio celebrated by the pagans of the Teu-
tonic races on this day. This heathen festival was a com-
memoration of deceased relations by a great banquet, called
in Flanders the dadsisas , or death-wake, on the 27 th Feb.,
the day on which, in the North of Europe, the year was
supposed to begin.

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[February a a,

366

S. ARISTION, DISCIPLE OF CHRIST.

(1ST CENT.)

[Latin Martyrology. S. Aristion is not mentioned in the Greek Mensea.
No Acts exist, but he is mentioned in the Apocryphal Acts of S. Barnabas.
The Apocryphal Synopsis of the 7a Disciples, by Dorotheus of Tyre, does
not mention S. Aristion, but S. Jerome mentions him in his Ecclesiastical
Writers, c. 18 ; and Papias quoted by Eusebius, lib. iii., c. 39.]

AristAn is mentioned by Eusebius in his account of the
writings of Papias. Eusebius quotes the words of Papias,
who says, “ If I met with any one who had been a follower
of the Elders anywhere, I made a point of inquiring what
those Elders taught; what had been said by Andrew,
Peter, or Philip; and what by Thomas, James, John,
Matthew, or any other of the disciples of our Lord ; and
what was said by Aristion, and by the priest John, disciples
of the Lord ; for I do not think that I derived so much
benefit from books, as from the living voice of those that
are still surviving.”

Papias inserted in his book, says Eusebius, many accounts
given him, concerning our Lord, by Aristion. It is much
to be regretted that the book of Papias is lost

S. PAPIAS, B. C.

(BEGINNING OF 2ND CENT.)

[Roman, and all Latin Martyrologies. Authorities : — Eusebius, lib. iii.
c. 39 ; and S. Jerome, De Scrip. Ecclesiasticis, c. 9 ; epist. 29, ad.
Theodoram.]

Papias lived at the same time as the illustrious Polycarp,
and had the privilege of conversing with those who had
known and heard the Apostles, as also with Aristion and the
priest John, who had been disciples of our blessed Lord.

He wrote a work entitled “ The interpretation of Our Lord’s

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February aa.] ^vS*. ThdldSsiuS & LimtUZUS . 36 *]

declaration,” in five books, containing various parables of
Our Lord not contained in the Gospels, and other portions
of His doctrine. Papias was visited at Hierapolis, where
he was bishop, by the daughters of S. Philip the Apostle,
and from them also he derived much information. Papias
does not seem, from Eusebius’ account, to have been a
man of much mental power. He says, “He was very
limited in his comprehension, as is evident from his dis-
courses.” Nor had he much acuteness of judgment, for he
is accused by the same writer of having inserted in his work
much that was fabulous.

SS. MARTYRS IN ARABIA.

(ABOUT A.D. 304.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority : — Eusebius, lib. viii., c. 12. J

Nothing more is known of these martyrs than that in
the persecution of Maximin they were slain with the axe.

SS. THALASSIUS AND LIMNAEUS, HH.

(5TH CENT.)

[Commemorated by the Greeks. Authority : — The Philotheus of Theo-
doret, c. 12. Theodoret knew these hermits, and visited -them. He wrote
whilst the latter was still alive.]

Thalassius was a hermit, living on the side of a hill near
the village of Pillima, in the diocese of Cyrus, in Syria,
then govei^ied by the famous Theodoret, the ecclesiastical
historian. Under his direction was disciplined Limnaeus,
who, as a boy, having a too glib tongue, learned to control
it by imposing on himself, for many years, complete silence.
Limnaeus afterwards became the pupil of the hermit Maro.

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He lived in a sort of court, made of rough stone walls,
open to the sky, with a little door and window. Through
the latter he spoke with the people who visited him, but he
suffered none, save the bishop, to enter through the door.
One day, as he went forth, he trod on a viper, which bit his
heel. He put forth his right hand to withdraw the venom-
ous beast, when it turned and fixed its fangs in his hand,
and when he endeavoured to grasp it by the left, it bit his
left hand also. He was bitten in more than ten places be-
fore he could disengage the serpent, yet he would not allow
the wounds to be dressed by a physician, but signed them
with the cross. He suffered great torture from the bites,
but recovered. He loved to assemble the blind around
his cell, and teach them to sing hymns to the glory of God.
For their accommodation he built two houses adjoining his
cell, and he devoted himself especially to their spiritual
direction. Theodoret wrote of him when he had spent
thirty-eight years in this manner of life.

S. BARADATUS, H.

(ABOUT A.D. 460.)

[Greek Mensea. Authority : — Theodoret, in his Philotheus, c. 27; who
wrote whilst Baradatus was still alive, and from personal knowledge of him
and his manner of life.]

S. Baradatus held so high a position among the soli-
taries of Syria, that the Emperor Leo, wishing to know the
opinion of the Eastern Church touching the council of
Chalcedon, wrote to him, as well as to S. Simeon Stylites
and S. James the Syrian. All we know of him is derived
from the account left us by Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus,
who calls him the admirable Baradatus, and says that he
manifested his ingenuity in discovering new austerities.

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February aa.]

S. Maximian.

369

■*

Baradatus at first dwelt in a hut, but afterwards he ascended ,
a rock and built himself a cabin, so small that he was
unable to stand upright in it, and was obliged to move
therein bent nearly double. The joints of the stones were,
moreover, so open that it resembled a cage, and exposed
him to the sun and rain. But Theodosius, patriarch of
Antioch, ordered him to leave this den, and the hermit, at
his advice, chose one more commodious. He spent most
of his time in prayer, with his hands raised to heaven. His
clothing was of leather, which covered him so completely
that only his nose and mouth were visible. Theodoret says
that his knowledge of heavenly things and doctrinal perspic-
uity were very remarkable. His answer to the Emperor
Leo is found appended to the Acts of the Council of
Chalcedon.

S. MAXIMIAN OF RAVENNA, B. C.

(a.d. 556.)

[Roman Martyrology ; insertion by Baronius on Feb. 21st, by mistake,
apparently, for Maximian died on Feb. 22nd. Authority ; — An ancient
life used by Rubaeus in his Hist. Ravennae.]

The story of the elevation of Maximian to the Archi-
episcopal See of Ravenna is by no means edifying. He was
a deacon at Pola, and was one day ploughing up his land
when he lighted on an immense treasure, which had probably
been hidden at some time of invasion, and never recovered.

He was at a loss what to do with this wealth, but, after some
consideration, he killed his ox, disembowelled it, and filled
the belly with money, and also a pair of tall goatskin boots
he possessed. Then he presented all the rest to the Em-
peror Justinian, and it was quite sufficient to highly gratify
the monarch, who, however, claiming all treasure-trove as
belonging to the crown, asked Maximian whether he would
vol. 11. 24

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Lives of the Saints.

[February aa.

swear that this was all he had found. “ It is all but what is
in my boots and belly, he answered ; and Justinian, not
seeing through the equivocation, allowed him to depart,
promising to reward him for what had been given to the
crown. Shortly after, in 546, the see of Ravenna became
vacant, and Justinian, remembering the deacon, appointed
him to the archiepiscopal throne, and he was ordained
thereto by Pope Vigilius, on Oct. 1 2th, 546. But the people
of Ravenna had already canonically elected a successor,
and refused to acknowledge the archbishop sent them by
the emperor. They even refused to admit him into the
city, and he was obliged to lodge in the suburbs. Those
who took part with Maximian desired to carry a complaint
to the emperor against the citizens, but Maximian would not
permit it He preferred waiting patiently, till the hostility
of the people and clergy should die away. His course was
wise, and it succeeded in the end, for the people of Ravenna,
seeing it was impossible to resist the will of a despot yielded
their right and admitted Maximian into possession of the
see. He spent his ten years of rule in building and adorn-
ing the churches, using for that purpose the money “ in the
boots and belly,” and exhibited such gentleness, piety, and
prudence, that he gained the love of his flock, and was re-
garded by them as a saint

1 Apparently a vulgar expression used at the period to mean, ** All but a mere
trifle.”

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February 3J.] s. Margaret of Cortona.

37*

■*

S. MARGARET OF CORTONA, PENITENT.

(a.d. 1297.)

[Leo X. allowed the festival of this saint to be celebrated in the diocese
of Cortona on Feb. 22nd. Urban VIII. extended this faculty to all con-
gregations of the Order of S. Francis, in 1623. She was canonized by
Benedict XIII., in 1728, She is mentioned by Ferrarius in his Catalogue
of the Saints of Italy, on this day, but, probably on account of the coinci-
dence of the day with the Chair of S. Peter, the festival of S. Margaret is
usually observed in the Franciscan Order on the day following, Feb. 23rd.
Authority : — A Life written by Friar Juncta, her Confessor ; but he trips
lightly over her life before her conversion, saying nothing concerning it but
giving only vague allusions. For fuller details we must go to some of
the writers on the Saints of the Franciscan Order, and to Ferrarius.]

Margaret was a girl of Alviano, in Tuscany. Her good
looks attracted the attention of a young nobleman, and, led
astray by passion and love of dress, she deserted her father's
house, and followed her seducer for nine years. One day
he went out, followed by his dog,1 and did not return.
Some days passed, and, at last, the dog appeared at the
door, and, plucking at Margaret's dress, drew her forwards,
as though it wished her to follow. She obeyed the animal,
and it led her into the wood, and began to scratch where
dry leaves and sticks were thrown over a sort of pit She
hastily uncovered the spot, and found the body of her lover,
who had been assassinated, frightfully decomposed. The
shock was great She went sorrowfully to her father's house,
but he refused to admit his fallen daughter, urged thereto by
her step-mother. Then she sought the protection and guid-
ance of the Minorite friars at Cortona, and, after two years,
she entered the third order of S. Francis. Her director had
now to restrain her enthusiastic self-mortification. Knowing
that it was her beauty which had turned her head and led
her astray, she wanted to cut off her nose and lips, but was

1 Catella is the word in Ferrarius ; in art it is a dog.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February aa.

peremptorily forbidden by her confessor. Then she desired
to make public confession in Cortona of all her iniquities,
but was also forbidden this. She, however, went, one Sun-
day, to her native village, with a halter round her neck, and,
casting herself down before all the congregation, expressed
her deep sorrow for the scandal she had caused there. Her
conversion took place in 1274, when she was aged twenty-
five. The rest of her life was spent in penance for her sin.
At length, worn out by her austerities, she died on the 22nd
February, 1297, in the forty-eighth year of her age.

Her body is preserved at Cortona.

In art, she appears contemplating a corpse, or more often
a skull at her feet, whilst a dog plucks at her robe.

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February 33.]

S. Martha.

373

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February 23.

S. Martha, V.M. at Astorga , in Spain, a.d. 351.

S. Priamian, B.M . at Ancona.

S. Polycarp, P.C. at Rome , circ. a.d. 300.

S. Romana, V. at Rome , circ. a.d. 324.

S. Serenus, M. at Sirmisch , in Hungary , circ. A.D. 327.

S. Priamianus, B.M. at Ancona.

SS. Zebinas, Polychronius, Moses, and Damian, HH.
in Syria , 5 th cent.

S. Dositheus, Monk in Palestine , circ. a.d. 530.

S. Felix, B. 0/ Brescia, circ. a.d. 652.

S. Earcongotha, V. Abss. at Faremoutier , end of 7 th cent.
S. Milburgh, V. Abss. of iVenlock, in Shropshire, ith cent.
S. Lazarus, Monk at Constantinople , circ. a.d. 870.

S. Celsus, B. of Treves, circ. a.d. 980.

B. Peter Damiani, Card. B. of Ostia, a.d. 107a.

S. MARTHA, V. M.

(a.d. 251.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority : — The ancient Acts, which are not,
however, in their original form ; but the substantial authenticity of the
facts mentioned by them there is no reason to dispute.]

[HIS blessed saint suffered in the reign of Decius,
under the proconsul Patemus. He ordered her
to be racked, and beaten with knotted sticks,
and then taken back to prison, She seems to
have been noble by birth, and wealthy, for the proconsul
endeavoured to persuade her to relinquish her religion and
marry his son. She, however, constantly refused, declaring
that she had chosen Jesus Christ as her heavenly bride-
groom. She was then ordered to be executed with the
sword, and her body to be cast into a foul place. It was
withdrawn from this place by a pious matron; and her
relics are preserved at the monastery of Rivse de Sil, and
in the church of Tera, in the diocese of Astorga.

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Lives of the Saints. [February 13. I

& SERENUS, M.

(ABOUT A.D. 327.)

[Roman Martyrology ; also the ancient one of S. Jerome. In the An-
glican Martyrology of Richard Wilson (1608) on Feb. 24th. Authority :
— The genuine Acts ; of these there are two editions ; one, the most
ancient, given by Bollandus, terse and short; the other, by Ruinart,
longer.]

Serenus was by birth a Greek. He quitted estate,
friends, and country to serve God in an ascetic life. Com-
ing with this design to Sirmium, the modem Sirmisch, or
Mitrowitz, in Hungary, he there bought a garden, which he
cultivated with his own hands, and lived on the fruits and
herbs it produced. When persecution broke out, he hid
himself for some months, but, on its abatement, he returned
to his garden. One day there came thither a woman to
walk. Serenus, knowing that she had come there to meet
a lover, gravely rebuked her, saying, “A lady of your
quality ought not to walk here at unseasonable hours, and
this, you know, is an hour you ought to be at home. Let
me advise you to withdraw, and be more regular in your
hours and conduct for the future, as decency requires, in
persons of your sex and condition.” It was usual for the
Romans to repose themselves at noon, as it is still the
custom in Italy. The woman, stung at our saint's remon-
strance, retired in confusion, but resolved on revenging the
supposed affront. She accordingly wrote to her husband,
who belonged to the guards of the Emperor Maximian, to*
complain of Serenus as having insulted her. Her husband,
on receiving her letter, went to the emperor to demand
justice, and said, “ Whilst we are waiting on your Majesty's
person, our wives in distant countries are insulted.” Where-
upon the emperor gave him a letter to the governor of the
province, to enable him to obtain satisfaction. With this

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February 33.]

.S. Serenus.

375

letter he set out for Sirmium, and presented it to the
governor, conjuring him, in the name of the emperor his
master, to revenge the affront offered to him, in the person
of his wife, during his absence. “ And who is that insolent
man,” said the magistrate, “ who has dared to insult such a
gentleman's wife ?” “ It is,” said he, “ a vulgar fellow, one

Serenus, a gardener.” The governor ordered him to be im-
mediately brought before him, and asked him his name.

“ It is Serenus,” said he. The judge said, “ Of what pro-
fession are you ?” He answered, “lama gardener.” The
governor said, “ How durst you affront the wife of this
officer in your garden ?” Serenus : “I never insulted any
woman, to my knowledge, in my life ; but, I remember
that, some time ago, a lady came into my garden at an un-
seasonable hour, with the design, as she pretended, of tak-
ing a walk; and I own I took the liberty to tell her it was
against decency for one of her sex and quality to be abroad
at such an hour.” This plea of Serenus having put the
officer to the blush for his wife's conduct, he dropped his
prosecution against the gardener and withdrew.

But the governor's suspicions were roused, and he deter-
mined to convince himself whether this gardener were a
Christian or not He, therefore, said, “ What is your reli-
gion?” Serenus at once replied, “I am a Christian.”
Then, said the magistrate, “ Where have you been lurking,
that you have not sacrificed to the gods ?” The gardener
replied, “ God reserved me till this day. Now he calls me,
and I am ready to magnify his name, that I may inherit his
kingdom.” Then the governor ordered him to be executed
with the sword.

Relics at Billome, in Auvergne. The feast of his transla-
tion is observed in the diocese of Clermont, on May ioth.

In art, S. Serenus is represented with a sword in his
hand.

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S. PRIAMIANUS, B. M.

(unknown date.)

[Commemorated at Ancona, and nowhere else.]

The story of this saint, of local celebrity, is somewhat
curious. In 1370, a marble tomb, on which was inscribed
“ Here reposes the body of the Blessed Bishop Priamian, a
Greek,” was discovered under the tabernacle, in the walL
It was opened, and found to contain a human body. This
was now enshrined in silver. But, as yet, nothing was
known of who S. Priamian was, beyond what was stated on
the tomb. One night, however, he appeared in a dream to
an old woman, in Ancona, and announced to her that he
had been a martyr for the faith more than a thousand years
before, with many details, which do not deserve record, as
the revelation is very questionable.

SS. ZEBINAS, POLYCHRONIUS, MOSES, AND
DAMIAN, HH.

(5TH CENT.)

[Commemorated by the Greek Church on this day. Authority The
Philotheus of Theodoret, c. 24. Theodoret knew personally Polychronius,
the disciple of Zebinas, and Moses and Damian were admitted to be dis-
ciples of Polychronius at the advice of Theodoret Theodoret wrote
whilst these three latter were still alive.]

Zebinas, a hermit in Syria, was said to have exceeded all
others of his time in the ardour of his devotion. The
bishop of Cyrus says that he was engaged in prayer night
and day, without finding his fervour satisfied, but with ever
increasing vehemence of desire. And when people came
to him for counsel, it was with an effort that he detached his
mind from heavenly meditation that he might attend to

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February 23.] .SVS. Zebinas , Polychronius , &c. 377

them, impatiently desiring release that he might soar again
to divine communings. And when very old he had a staff
on which he leaned to pray. After his death he was fol-
lowed in the same ascetic way of life by his disciple Poly-
chronius, on whom Zebinas had impressed his spirit, just,
says Theodoret, as a signet stamps its device on wax. His
mind was ever in heaven, and when he talked with those
who came to see him, it was as though his voice spoke from
celestial habitations. Theodoret, the bishop, seeing the old
man worn with years and feeble, urged him to take two
disciples into his cell to tend him. He consented, and ad-
mitted Moses and Damian. But they had not been long
with him before they ran away; “For,” said they, “his
manner of life is too austere for our endurance. He stands
all night in prayer, and he urges us to lie down and sleep,
but how can we, who are young and robust, do so, when
that aged and infirm man stands all night without repose ?”
Moses, however, returned to him, and served him con-
tinually, but Damian went elsewhere, and found an old
cottage, where he served God in an ascetic life, and
gradually trained himself to bear fatigue and privations
like Polychronius, so that he grew greatly to resemble him.
“ In both,” says Theodoret, “ there is the same simplicity,
and gentleness, and moderation; the same kindliness in
speech, and sweetness in conversation ; the same watchful-
ness of spirit, intelligence of God, and condition of life,
labours, vigils, and fastings.”

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378 Lives of the Samts. [February »3-

S. DOSITHEUS, MONK.

(a.d. 530.)

[Not in Roman Marty rology nor in Greek Menaea, but inserted in the
Martyrology of Peter Galesinius on this day, and by Ferrarius, and also in
the Acta Sanctorum by the Bollandists, on this day. Authority : — His
Life, by a fellow-disciple.]

Dositheus was page to an officer in the army, who was
warmly attached to him, and regarded him almost as a son.

He grew up among soldiers, without the least knowledge of
the truths of religion. One day he heard a conversation
turn on Jerusalem, which was called the Holy City, and he
was filled with curiosity to see it, and know why it was re-
garded as sacred. As a friend of his master’s was about to
visit Jerusalem, he asked permission to accompany him, and
his request was readily granted. On his arrival at Jerusa-
lem, Dositheus went to Gethsemane, and saw there a paint-
ing which represented the lost in the flames of hell. This
picture produced a most powerful impression upon him, and
he stood long before it, wondering what it meant A lady
who was present, seeing the astonishment of the boy, ex-
plained to him about the judgment and hell, truths he had
not heard before. When he asked her how the terrible
place could be escaped, she replied, by fasting and prayer.

The instruction of the lady made upon the youth so deep
an impression that he at once began to abstain from meat,
and pray as best he could. His companions, astonished at
the change, said, laughing, that he was going to become a
monk. But he had not heard of monks before, and when
he ascertained what monks were, he resolved to seek the
nearest monastery. He accordingly went to that governed
by S. Serides, who was at first disposed to reject him, on
account of his rich dress, youth, and delicate complexion ;
but, at last, overcome by the boy’s earnestness, he com-

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S* Dositheus.

379

mitted him to S. Dorotheus, as a disciple. Dorotheus saw
that the youth was not of sufficiently robust temperament
to stand austerities, he, therefore, laboured to correct his
self-will, and discipline his hitherto ungovemed tongue.
“ Well, Dositheus,” said the master to him, soon after his
admission, “ How much hast thou eaten to-day ?” “ A loaf

and a half,” answered the boy; — this was equivalent to
about five pounds. “ That is pretty well,” said Dorotheus,
smiling. “ Try, my son, to be a little more moderate to-
morrow.” And then, when the lad had taken somewhat
less, “ How farest thou to-day?” asked the master. “Well,
my father.” “Then learn to eat sufficient to satisfy thy
need, but never devour food in excess of what is necessary.”
He made the youth serve the hospital. Dositheus was so
cheerful, that the sick therein loved his presence. Some-
times he lost patience, and when a sick man provoked him
he gave way to temper and bad words. Then, filled with
compunction, he ran to his cell, and fell, crying, on the
floor, and would not be comforted till his master came to
assure him that God would on his repentance pardon the
little outbreak. One day, Dorotheus heard the lad talking
noisily in the infirmary, so he called him, and said, “ Go,
my son, and bring a bottle of wine.” Thereupon the lad
obeyed, and presented the flask to his master. “ Oh, Dosi-
theus,” said his superior, “ the bottle is for thee, not for me.
It is the way of the rollicking Goths to drink and shout I
heard thy clamouring, and I thought the bottle of wine was
all that was wanted to make a complete Goth of thee.”
Dorotheus was watchful to check every feeling of vanity
and self-will in his young pupil, and for this purpose he
sometimes assumed a harshness of manner, which ill-
accorded with his natural gentleness. “There, father,” said
Dositheus one day, “ See how neatly I have made the infir-
mary beds.” “ Humph 1” answered Dorotheus ; “ thou art

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an excellent bed-maker, no doubt, but not much of a
monk.” The steward one day gave Dositheus a knife,
which he showed with much elation to his master. “ Let
me see it,” said Dorotheus. And when the youth had put
it into his hand, the old monk turned it and studied it “ It
will serve me admirably for cutting up my cakes,” said Dosi-
theus. “Art thou very much delighted with it, my son ?”
asked the master. “ Inched, I am, father,” was the reply.
“ Then, my son,” said Dorotheus, “ give the knife to the
other brethren ; let them use it, and do thou never touch it
again.” Dositheus obeyed without a murmur. Dorotheus
obliged him diligently to study the Holy Scriptures. Some-
times the youth came to a passage he could not understand,
and he sought his master to have it explained. One day,
to prove his humility, he said, roughly, “ I cannot attend to
thee, go to the abbot” Now, he had before advised the
Abbot Serides what he should do. So the novice came to
him with the book, and said, “ My father, explain to me this
passage.” Then the abbot boxed his ears, and sent him
away, saying, “ I have other matters to attend to than to
teach an ignorant fellow like thee.” Then Dositheus went
patiently back to his cell, and God illumined his under-
standing in the reading of the Scriptures. Now, after five
years, the lay brother began to spit blood, and exhibit
marks of consumption. He had heard it reported that raw
eggs would cure this complaint, and the idea haunted him.
However, he schooled himself till he was quite able to feel
that if they were denied him he would cheerfully submit
without a contrary wish. Then he said to Dorotheus,
“ Dear master, I have heard that raw eggs will stop the
blood, but, I pray thee, forbid me to try this remedy.”
“Well, my son,” answered Dorotheus, “thou shalt not
prove the efficacy of eggs, but of every other remedy.”
Accordingly, everything was done for the young novice that

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could be devised, but he became rapidly worse. Now, when
he was ill, Dorotheus said to him, “ Dositheus, be instant in
prayer, lose not hold of that.” He replied, “ Master, it is
well, pray for me.” And when he became greatly exhausted,
Dorotheus asked him, “ Well, Dositheus, how farest thou in
prayer ?” “ Oh, pardon me, master, I cannot continue.”

“ Then,” said the monk, “ give it up, my son, but keep God
in thy mind as though He were present beside thee.” And,
after some days, he said to the old man, “ Send me away, I
care no more.” Then Dorotheus answered, “ Patience a
while, my son. The mercy of God is not far off.” And
again, after some days, he said, “ I can bear no more.”
Then the old man said to him, “ Go in peace, and stand
before the Holy Trinity, and pray for us.”

Now, some of the monks murmured that Dorotheus
should have thus promised heaven, and asked the inter-
cession of one who had never done anything in the way
of fasting, and had wrought no miracles. Then Doro-
theus said, “ He fasted not, but he never gave way to his
self-will.”

And after some days, there was an old monk taken into
the hospital, who prayed to God to show him all the holy
fathers of that house who had served Him, and had entered
into their rest And he saw in vision a goodly choir of
aged saints, and amongst them was a young lay brother,
with hair on which the snows of age had not fallen, and a
hectic colour in his cheek. Now the old man told his
vision to the brethren, and when he described the novice,
the monks knew that it was Dositheus, touching whose
sanctity they had doubted.

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S. EARCONGOTHA, V. ABSS.

(end OF 7TH CENT.)

[Benedictine Martyrology. Authority : — Bede, lib. iii., c. 8.]

Earcongotha, great granddaughter of the first Chris-
tian king of the Anglo-Saxons, and daughter of Ercombert,
King of Kent, was a nun in the French community of
Faremoutier, where so many of the English princesses were
trained. She was, says Bede, a virgin of great virtue,
worthy in everything of her illustrious origin, and was
elevated to become Abbess. Being warned of her ap-
proaching end, she went from cell to cell in the infirmary
of the monastery, asking for the prayers of her sick nuns.
She died during the following night, at the first glimpse of
dawn. At the same hour the monks, who occupied another
part of the double monastery, heard a sound like the noise
of a multitude, who, to the sound of heavenly music, in-
vaded the monastery. When they went out to see what it
was, they found themselves in a flood of miraculous light,
in the midst of which the soul of the foreign princess
ascended to heaven.

S. MILBURGH, V. ABSS.

(7TH CENT.)

[Milburgb or Milburga is inscribed in the Roman Martyrology, and in
that bearing the name of Bede. Authority : — William of Malmesbury and
Capgrave.]

Perhaps no higher commendation can be passed upon
Domneva, the saintly wife of Merewald, than this that she
was the mother of three eminent saints, Milburgh, Mildred,
and Mildgytha. S. Milburgh was the eldest, if the names are
mentioned according to the order of birth, and this being

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most probably the case, the date of her birth would be
about the year of grace, 662. We are told that from
her earliest years she dedicated herself to God with all
the ardour of her soul. Whatever she did, she did it for
the love of Christ alone, endeavouring always to please
Him, and to grow up in His holy service. The world,
which would have many attractions to a highborn maiden,
she thoroughly despised, and even life itself she counted as
nothing, unless it were spent in entire devotion to God.

That she might live such a life with greater freedom, and in
holy companionship with others, moved by the same
heavenly desire, she founded a monastery for religious
virgins at Wenlock, in Shropshire. Wenlock Magna it was
afterwards called, and Much Wenlock at the present day.

Her father, and her uncle Wulfhere, king of Mercia,
assisted her in this pious undertaking, and the monastery
was endowed with ample possessions, many precious relicts
of saints, and great privileges. Milburgh was consecrated
abbess by Archbishop Theodore, and under her gentle rule
the monastery became like a paradise in which Our Lord
had planted the fairest flowers, and the sweetest fruits ; and
among them all S. Milburgh was pre-eminent in every
virtue, and more especialty did the grace of humility shine
forth in her. But the more she humbled herself, so much
the more did God manifest His power in her by many gifts,
enabling her to restore sight to the blind, and life to the
dead. Her exhortations, full of heavenly unction, and the
teaching of her saintly life, had a marvellous effect in bring-
ing many souls from the darkness of error to the light of
truth ; and from the death of sin to a life of righteousness.
Among the many wonderful things related of her, we read,
that one day she went on some good errand to a village
called Stoke, (Stoke S. Milburgh), when she was seen by
the son of some neighbouring king, who wished to carry her

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off by force, that he might marry her. He got together a
few soldiers, and formed a plan for intercepting her; but
she, divinely admonished of the wicked scheme, fled at once
with a companion she had with her. On her way she
crossed a shallow stream called the Corve. As soon as the
rash man heard of her flight, he followed in great haste, but
when he came to the stream, the water suddenly rose, and
rendered further pursuit impossible ; so Christ's lamb
escaped, while he stood still, confounded and amazed.

One night she had continued longer than usual in prayer
and contemplation, and, overcome with fatigue, fell asleep ;
nor did she awake till the rays of the morning sun fell
upon her. Then she started up so suddenly that the
sacred veil fell from her head, but a slanting sunbeam
caught it ere it touched the ground, and held it suspended
in mid-air until she had time to rouse herself. Then she
perceived the divine manifestation, and gave thanks to God,
praising and magnifying Him.

Upon another occasion, when she was alone in her
oratory, a widow came in carrying her dead child, and fell
down at the feet of the holy virgin, and with many tears
implored her to intercede for her, that her child might be
restored to life. Milburgh rebuked her for making such a
strange request, and recommended submission to the divine
will. “ Go," she said, “ and bury thy dead, then prepare
to follow thy son, for man is bom to die." But the widow
refused to go. “No, I will not leave thee, unless thou re-
store my child to life." When the holy virgin saw the
woman's faith, she prostrated herself in prayer by the body
of the child. Immediately she was surrounded by fire,
which came down from heaven, and so entirely enve-
loped her, that it seemed impossible that she could escape
being consumed by it One of the sisters coming in, cried
out to her to fly, but she had no sooner spoken, than

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all trace of fire was gone, and S. Milburgh, rising from her
knees, presented the now living child to his mother.

S. Milburgh is represented as having authority over the
birds of the air, and protecting crops from their ravages.

In the parable, the fowls that came and devoured the good
seed, were, we know, evil spirits.

After many years spent in good works and holy exercises,
she was further purified and fitted, by long and painful ill-
nesses, for those eternal mansions for which her soul
longed. When the time of her departure drew near, she
called together the whole community, and exhorted them
all to have ever before them those two heavenly sentences :
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the
children of God.” She then recommended them to choose
the most pious of the sisters for their future abbess. Taking
leave of them, she said, “ Most dear sisters, I have loved
you as my own bowels, and have been over you, as a
mother over her children, with pious care. A higher call
now in mercy invites me, I go the way of all flesh, and
commend you to God and the Blessed Virgin.” Having
armed herself for her passage with the holy sacraments, she
gave up her pure soul into the hands of her Maker, on
Feb. 23rd, 722, and was buried with honour near the altar,
in the church of the monastery.

The monastery was afterwards destroyed by the Danes,
and, in course of time, all trace of the tomb of the saint
was lost But many ages after, when it was being re-built
by some Cluniac monks, two boys who were playing there,
fell through the pavement, and sunk down to their knees in
the ground. This accident occasioned some surprise, and
the monks had the ground opened, and found human bones
in the very foundation of the altar. An odoriferous exha-
lation, as of a most precious balsam, perfumed the whole

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church when the tomb was opened, and numerous miracles
are said to have taken place at the tomb of the saint ; so
many, that of all the crowds who went to it, none came
away without receiving some benefit On May 26th, 1501,
the relics were enclosed in a costly chest, and deposited
in a conspicuous and eminent place in the same monastery,
where they remained till its destruction in the time of
Henry VIII.

Some ruins of the abbey church, built in the year 1080,
may still be seen at Wenlock. They consist of south aisle
and transept, and part of the cloister, sufficient to shew the
magnificence of the ancient building.

S. LAZARUS, P. C.

(ABOUT A.D. 870.)

[Inserted in the Roman Martyrology by Baronius. Venerated by the
Greeks on November 17th, and his translation on October 17th. Authori-
ties : — Cedrenus and Zonaras.

S. Lazarus was priest, monk, and painter. During the
persecution by the emperor Theophilus against sacred
images and monks, Lazarus, as a painter of pictures for
churches, was imprisoned, and his right hand was fearfully
burnt by the application of red-hot iron plates. On the
death of the emperor he recovered his liberty, and painted
two celebrated pictures, one at Constantinople, of S. John
the Baptist, the other at Chalcis, of the Saviour, on a wall,
where there had been a similar picture, which had been
scraped off by the Iconoclasts. He was sent to Rome by
the Emperor Michael the Stammerer, with some magnificent
corporals and altar vestments, minutely described by
Anastasius the librarian. On a second expedition to
Rome he died.

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6". Peter Damiani.

387

S. PETER DAMIANI, B. D.

(a.d. 1072.)

[Roman Martyrology. A double of the Breviary. Pope Leo XII. gave
to S. Peter Damiani the title of Doctor of the Church, and extended to
the whole of the Catholic Church the right of venerating him, which was
formerly reserved to the Camaldolese, and to the dioceses of Ravenna and
Falonza. Authority : — Life by his disciple, John of Lodi.]

Peter, sumamed of Damian, was born about the year 988,
in Ravenna, of a good family, the Onesti, that was con-
siderably reduced in circumstances. He was the youngest
of many children, and when very young, losing his father
and mother, he was left in the hands of a married brother, in
whose house he was treated more as a slave than a relation;
and when grown up, he was sent to keep swine. One day
he became possessed of a piece of money, which, instead of
spending on himself, he bestowed in alms on a priest,
desiring him to offer up prayers for his father's soul. He
had another brother called Damian, who was arch-priest of
Ravenna, and afterwards a monk ; who, taking pity on him,
gave him an education. Damian sent Peter to school, first
at Faenza, afterwards at Parma. Having good natural parts,
it was not long before Peter found himself in a capacity to
teach others. To arm himself against the allurements of
pleasure, and the artifices of the devil, he began to wear a
rough hair-shirt under his clothes, and to inure himself to
fasting, watching, and prayer. In the night, if any temp-
tation of concupiscence arose, he got out of bed and
plunged into the river. After this, he visited churches,
reciting the psalter whilst he performed this devotion, till
the church office began. He not only gave much away in
alms, but was seldom without some poor person at his
table, and took a pleasure in serving them with his own
hands. But at length he came to the resolution of desert-
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distance from his own country. While his mind was full
of these thoughts, two religious of the order of S. Benedict,
belonging to Font-Avellano, a desert at the foot of the
Apennines in Umbria, happened to call at the place of his
abode; and being much edified at their disinterestedness,
he resolved to embrace their institute ; which he did
shortly after. This hermitage had been founded by Blessed
Ludolf, about twenty years before S. Peter came thither,
and was then in the greatest repute. The hermits, in pairs,
occupied separate cells. They lived on bread and water
four days in the week : on Tuesdays and Thursdays they
ate pulse and herbs, which every one dressed in his own
cell : on their fast days all their bread was given them by
weight They never used any wine (the common drink of
the country) except for mass, or in sickness : they went
barefoot, used disciplines, made many genuflections, struck
their breasts, stood with their arms stretched out in prayer,
each according to his strength and devotion. After the
night office they said the whole psalter before day. This
severe life brought on S. Peter a nervous attack of wakeful-
ness, which nearly wore him out, and of which he was cured
with very great difficulty. But he learned from this to use
more discretion. He gave a considerable time to sacred
studies, and became as well versed in the Scriptures as he
was before in profane literature. His superior ordered him
to make frequent exhortations to the religious, and as he
had acquired a very great character for virtue and learning,
Guy, abbot of Pomposia, begged his superior to send him
to instruct his monastery, which consisted of a hundred
monks. Peter staid there two years, and was then called
back by his abbot, and sent to perform the same function
in the large abbey of S. Vincent, near the Pietra Pertusa, or
Hollow Rock. On his recall, he was commanded by his
abbot, with the unanimous consent of the hermitage, to

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February 33.] S. Peter DamianL 389

take upon him the government of the desert after his death.
Therefore, on the decease of the abbot, in 1041, Peter
assumed the direction of that holy family, which he
governed with wisdom and sanctity. He founded five
other hermitages ; in which he placed priors subject to his
jurisdiction. His principal care was to cherish in his
disciples the spirit of solitude, charity, and humility.
Among them, many became great lights of the Church, as
S. Ralph, bishop of Gubbio, whose festival is kept on the
26th of June ; S. Dominic, sumamed Loricatus, the 14th
of October \ S. John of Lodi, his successor in the priory of
the Holy Cross, who was also bishop of Gubbio, and wrote

| S. Peter’s life ; and many others. He was for twelve years
much employed in the service of the Church by many
zealous bishops, and by four popes successively, namely,
Gregory VI., Clement II., Leo IX., and Victor II. Their
successor, Stephen IX., 1057, prevailed on him to quit his
desert, and made him cardinal bishop of Ostia.

Stephen IX. dying in 1058, Nicolas II. was chosen
pope, a man of deep penetration, of great virtue and learn-
ing. Upon complaints of simony in the Church of Milan,
Nicolas II. sent Peter thither as his legate. Nicolas II.
dying, after having sat two years and six months, Alexander
II. was chosen pope, in 1062. S. Peter had with great
importunity solicited Nicolas II. to grant him leave to
resign his bishopric, and return to his solitude ; but could
not obtain it His successor, Alexander II., out of affection
for the holy man, was prevailed upon to allow it, in 1062,
but not without great difficulty, and the reserve of a power
to employ him in Church-matters of importance, as he might
have occasion hereafter for his assistance. The saint from
that time thought himself discharged, not only from the bur-
den of his flock, but also from the government, as Superior
of the several priories, dependent on his monastery.

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In this retirement he edified the Church by his penance
and compunction, and laboured by his writings to enforce
the observance of discipline and morality. He wrote a
treatise to the bishop of Besangon, against the custom
which the canons of that Church had, of saying the divine
office sitting, a custom which has unfortunately, since his
time, become general; but he saw the propriety of all sitting
during the lessons. This saint wrote most severely on the
obligations of religious, particularly against their rambling
over the country, and going from monastery to monastery.

He complained of certain evasions, by which many palli-
ated real infractions of their vow of poverty. He justly
observed, “We can never restore what is decayed of
primitive discipline ; and if we, by negligence, suffer any
diminution in what remains established, future ages will
never be able to repair such breaches. Let us not draw
upon ourselves so base a reproach; but let us faithfully
transmit to posterity the examples of virtue which we have
received from our forefathers.” The holy man was obliged
to interrupt his solitude in obedience to the pope, who sent
him in the capacity of legate, into France, in 1063, com-
manding the archbishops and others to receive him as
himself. S. Peter there reconciled discords, settled the
bounds of the jurisdiction of certain dioceses, and con-
demned and deposed in councils those who were convicted
of simony. He notwithstanding, tempered his severity with
mildness and indulgence towards penitents, where charity
and prudence required such a condescension. Henry IV.,
king of Germany, in 1067, married Bertha, daughter of
Otho, marquis of the Marches of Italy, but afterwards, in
1069, sought a divorce, and persuaded the Archbishop of
Mentz to favour his design, by promising full payment of
monies due to him if he complied, and threatening to fall
on his territories with an armed band if he refused. For

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the purpose of sanctioning the divorce, the archbishop
assembled a council at Mentz. Pope Alexander IL
forbade him ever to consent to such an injustice, and
chose Peter Damiani for his legate to preside in the
synod. The venerable legate met the king and bishops at
Frankfort, laid before them the orders and instructions of
the pope, and in his name conjured the king to pay a
due regard towards the law of God, the canons of the
Church, and his own reputation, and seriously reflect on the
public scandal of so pernicious an example. The noble-
men likewise all rose up, and entreated their sovereign never
to stain his honour by so foul an action. The king, unable
to resist so cogent an authority, dropped his project of a
divorce ; but remaining the same man in his heart, con-
tinued to hate the queen more than ever.

S. Peter hastened back to his desert of Font-Avellano.
Whatever austerities he prescribed to others he was the first
to practise himself, remitting nothing of them, even in his
old age. He lived shut up in his cell as in a prison, fasted
every day, except festivals, and allowed himself no other
subsistence than coarse bread, bran, herbs, and water, and
this he never drank fresh, but what he had kept from the
day before. He tortured his body with iron girdles and
frequent disciplines, to render it more obedient to the spirit.
He passed the first three days of every Lent and Advent
without taking any kind of nourishment whatsoever; and
often for forty days together, lived only on raw herbs and
fruits, or on pulse steeped in cold water, without touching
so much as bread, or anything that had passed the fire. A
mat spread on the floor was his bed. He used to make
wooden spoons and such like useful cheap things, to exercise
himself at certain horns in manual labour. Henry, arch-
bishop of Ravenna, having been excommunicated for
grievous enormities, S. Peter was sent by Pope Alexander II.

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in the character of legate, to adjust the affairs of the Church.
When he arrived at Ravenna, in 1072, he found the unfor-
tunate prelate just dead ; but brought the accomplices of
his crimes to a sense of their guilt, and imposed on them a
suitable penance. This was his last undertaking for the
Church, God being pleased soon after to call him to eternal
rest, and to the crown of his labours. Old age and the
fatigues of his journey did not make him lay aside his
accustomed mortifications, by which he fulfilled his burnt-
offering. In his return towards Rome, he was stopped by
a fever in the monastery of Our Lady, outside the gates of
Faenza, and died there, on the eighth day of his sickness,
whilst the monks were reciting Matins round about him.
He passed from that employment, which had been the de-
light of his heart on earth, to sing the same praises of God
in eternal glory, on the 22nd of February, 1072, being four-
score and three years old. He is honoured as patron at
Faenza and Font-Avellano, on the 23rd of the same month.

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February 34.]

.S'. Matthias.

393

February 24.

S. Matthias, Ap. M., after a.d. 6o.

SS. Montanus, Lucius, Julian, Victor! us, and Companions., MM.
in Africa, a.d. 259.

S. Scroius, M. at Caesarea in Cappadocia , a.d. 334.

S. Modcstus, B. of Treves ; circ. a.d. 480.

S. P IUKTKXTATU8, of Rouen , 5.M., A.D. $86.

S. Liuthard, o/Senlis, B.C. in England , of *]th cent .

S. Ethklbkrt, X. /Cent, a.d. 6x5.

S. John Therutis, Mon* a/ Stylum in Calabria ; circ. a.d. 1139.

S. MATTHIAS, AP. M.

(AFTER A.D. 60.)

[Roman Martyrology, but in leap year on Feb. 25th. So all Latin
Martyrologies, with the exception of the ancient Roman one bearing the
name of S. Jerome, which does not include any mention of S. Matthias, and
the Church of Milan venerates S. Matthias on Feb. 7 ; the Greeks com-
memorate him on August 9th. The election of this Apostle is said to have
taken place on May 12th. Authorities: — The Acts of the Apostles, and
various traditional notices concerning him. The Apocryphal Syriac Acts
of S. Matthias are extant.]

AINT MATTHIAS not having been an Apostle
of the first election, immediately called and
chosen by our Blessed Lord, particular remarks
concerning him are not to be expected in the
narrative of the Holy Gospels. He was, probably, one of
the Seventy disciples who had attended on Christ the whole
time of his public ministry. A vacancy having been made
in the college of the Apostles by the suicide of the traitoi
Judas, the first thing which they did after their return from
Mount Olivet — where Our Lord took leave of them on His
Ascension — to S. John’s house on Mount Sion, was to fill
up their number with a fit person ; for this purpose, S. Peter
informed them that Judas, according to the prophetic pre-

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diction, having fallen from his ministry, it was necessary that
another should be substituted in his room, one that had
been a constant companion and disciple of the Holy Jesus,
and, consequently, capable of bearing witness to His life,
death, and resurrection. Two were proposed as candidates
— Joseph, called Barsabas and Justus (whom some make
the same with Joses, one of the brethren of Our Lord), and
Matthias — both duly qualified for the place. The way of
election was by lots, a way frequently used both among
Jews and Gentiles for the determination of doubtful and
difficult cases, and especially in the choosing judges and
magistrates : and this course the Apostles rather took be-
cause the Holy Ghost was not yet given, by whose
immediate dictates and inspiration they were chiefly guided
afterwards. The lots were put into the urn, and the name of
Matthias was drawn out, and thereby the Apostolate de-
volved upon him. Not long after, the promised powers of
the Holy Ghost were conferred upon the Apostles, to fit
them for that great and difficult employment upon which
they were sent ; and, among the rest, S. Matthias betook
himself to his charge and province. The first period of
his ministry he spent in Judaea ; whence, having reaped a
considerable harvest, he betook himself to other provinces.

The Greeks, with some probability, report him to have
travelled eastwards into Cappadocia (which they erroneously
call ^Ethiopia). Here, meeting with a people of a fierce
and intractable temper, he was treated by them with great
rudeness and inhumanity; and from them, after all his
labour and sufferings, and a numerous conversion of men
to Christianity, he obtained at last the crown of martyrdom,
about the year of Christ, 64. Little certain information can
be ascertained concerning the manner of his death ; but the
Greek Menaea, which are corroborated by several ancient
breviaries, relate that he was crucified, and that as Judas was

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| February *4.] SS. MoiltanUS, LuCtUS, &C. 395

hanged upon a tree, so Matthias suffered upon a cross. His
body is said to have been kept a long time at Jerusalem,
thence thought to have been translated to Rome by S.
Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, where some sup-
posed portions of it are shown with great veneration at this
day ; though others contend that his relics were brought to
and are still preserved at Trfeves. Among many apocryphal
writings attributed to the Apostles, there was a Gospel pub-
lished under his name, mentioned by the ancient ecclesias-
tical historians, and condemned with the rest by Gelasius,
Bishop of Rome, as it had been rejected by others before
him.

S. Matthias is seldom represented in works of art ; when
his figure does occur, he generally carries an axe or halbert,
sometimes a spear or lance, occasionally a book and a stone.

The Greeks represent S. Matthias as an old man with a
rounded beard.

SS. MONTANUS, LUCIUS, JULIAN, AND
COMP., MM.

(A.D. 259.)

[Roman and other Western Martyrologies. Authority : — The yery in-
teresting letter written by these Martyrs, when in prison, to their brethren,
with the conclusion, relating their passion, by an eye-witness.]

The persecution raised by Valerian had raged two years,
during which, many had received the crown of martyrdom,
and amongst others, S. Cyprian, in September, 258. The
proconsul, Galerius Maximus, who had pronounced sen-
tence on that saint, dying soon after, the procurator, Solon,
continued the persecution, waiting for the arrival of a new
proconsul from Rome. After some days, a sedition was
raised in Carthage against him, in which many were killed.
Solon, instead of making search after the perpetrators of

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396 Lives of the Saints . [February 14

the riot, vented his fury upon the Christians, knowing that
this would be agreeable to the idolaters. Accordingly, he
caused eight Christians, all disciples of S. Cyprian, and most
of them of the clergy, to be apprehended. “ As soon as
we were taken,” say the martyrs, “ we were given in cus-
tody to the officers of the quarter. The governors soldiers
told us that we were to be condemned to the flames ; then
we prayed to God, with great fervour, to be delivered from
that punishment, and he, in whose hands are the hearts of
men, was pleased to grant our request The governor
altered his first intent, and ordered us into a very dark and
incommodious prison, where we found the priest Victor,
and some others ; but we were not dismayed at the filth and
darkness of the place, our faith and joy in the Holy Ghost
reconciled us to our sufferings in that place, though they
were such as it is not easy for words to describe ; but the
greater our trials, the greater is He who overcomes them in
us. Our brother Rhenus in the meantime had a vision, in
which he saw several of the prisoners going out of the jail
with a lighted lamp preceding each of them, whilst others,
who had no such lamp, stayed behind. He discerned us in
this vision, and assured us that we were of the number of
those who went forth with lamps. This gave us great joy,
for we understood that the lamp represented Christ, the
true Light, and that we were to follow Him by martyrdom.

“ The next day we were sent for by the governor, to be
examined. It was a triumph to us to be conducted, as a
spectacle, through the market place and the streets, with our
chains rattling. The soldiers, who knew not where the
governor would hear us, dragged us from place to place till,
at length, he ordered us to be brought into his closet He
put several questions to us ; our answers were modest, but
firm : at length we were remanded to prison ; here we pre-
pared ourselves for new conflicts. The sharpest trial was

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that which we underwent through hunger and thirst, the
governor having commanded that we should be kept with-
out meat and drink for several days, insomuch that water
was refused us after our work; yet Flavian the deacon
added great voluntary austerities to these hardships, often
bestowing on others that little refreshment which was most
sparingly allowed us at the public charge.

“ God was pleased himself to comfort us in this our ex-
treme misery, by a vision which he vouchsafed to the priest
Victor, who suffered martyrdom a few days after. ‘ I saw
last night,’ said he to us, ‘ a child, whose countenance was
of a wonderful brightness, enter the prison. He took us to
all parts to make us go out, but there was no outlet ; then
he said to me, — Thou art still concerned at being retained
here, but be not discouraged, I am with thee : carry these
tidings to thy companions, and let them know that they
shall have a more glorious crown. I asked him where
heaven was ; the child replied, Beyond the world.’ Victor
then desired to be shown the place of the blessed, but the
child in the vision reprimanded him gently, saying, ‘ Where
then would be thy faith ?’ Victor said, ‘ I cannot retain
what thou dost command me : tell me a sign that I may
give to my companions.’ He answered, ‘Give them the
sign of Jacob, that is, his mystical ladder, reaching to the
heavens.’ ” Soon after this vision Victor was put to death.

“ This vision,” continues the letter of the martyrs, “ filled
us with joy.”

“ God gave us, the night following, another assurance of
his mercy, by a vision to our sister Quartillosia, a fellow-
prisoner, whose husband and son had suffered death for
Christ three days before, and who followed them by martyr-
dom a few days after. ‘ I saw,’ says she, ‘ my son, who
suffered ; he was in the prison sitting on a vessel of water,
and he said to me, — God has seen thy sufferings. Then

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entered a young man, of a wonderful stature, and he said,
— Be of good courage, God hath remembered thee/ ” The
martyrs had received no nourishment the preceding day,
nor had they any on the day that followed this vision ; but,
at length, Lucian, then priest, and afterward bishop of Car-
thage, surmounting all obstacles, got food to be carried to
them in abundance by the subdeacon Herennian, and by
Januarius, a catechumen. The Acts say, they brought the
never-failing Food,1 that is, the blessed Eucharist. They
continue : “ We have all one and the same spirit, which
unites and cements us together in prayer, in mutual conver-
sation, and in all our actions. These are the lovely bands
which put the devil to flight, are most agreeable to God, and
obtain of Him, by joint prayer, whatever they ask. These
are the ties which link hearts together, and which make men
the children of God. To be heirs of His kingdom we must
be His children, and to be His children we must love one
another. It is impossible for us to attain to the inheritance
of heavenly glory, unless we keep that union and peace with
all our brethren which our heavenly Father has established
amongst us. Nevertheless, this union suffered some preju-
dice in our troop, but the breach was soon repaired. It
happened that Montanus had some words with Julian about
a person who was not of our communion, and who was got
among us (probably admitted by Julian). Montanus on
this account rebuked Julian, and they, for some time after-
ward, behaved towards each other with coldness, which was,
as it were, a seed of discord. Heaven had pity on them
both, and, to reunite them, admonished Montanus by a
dream, which he related to us, as follows : — * It appeared to
me that the centurions were come to us, and that they con-
ducted us through a long path into a spacious field, where
we were met by Cyprian and Lucius. After this, we came

1 Alimentum indericiens.

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February 14.] .SIS'. Montanus, Lucius, &c. 399

into a very luminous place, where our garments became
white, and our flesh whiter than our garments, and so won-
derfully transparent, that there was nothing in our hearts but
what was clearly exposed to view ; but, in looking into my-
self, I could discover some filth in my own bosom : and,
meeting Lucian, I told him what I had seen, adding, that
what I had observed in my breast denoted my coldness
towards Julian. Wherefore, brethren, let us love, cherish,
and promote, with all our might, peace and concord. Let
us be here unanimous, in imitation of what we shall be here-
after. As we hope to share in the rewards promised to the
just, and to avoid the punishments wherewith the wicked
are threatened, as we desire to be, and to reign with Christ,
let us do those things which will lead us to Him and to His
heavenly kingdom/ ”

Thus far, the martyrs wrote in prison what happened to
them; the rest was written by those persons who were
present, according to the recommendation of Flavian, one
of the martyrs.

After suffering extreme hunger and thirst, with other hard-
ships, during an imprisonment of many months, the confes-
sors were brought before the president, and made a glorious
confession. The edict of Valerian condemned only bishops,
priests, and deacons to death. The false friends of Flavian
maintained before the judge that he was not a deacon, and,
consequently, was not comprehended in the emperor’s de-
cree ; whereupon, though he protested that he was one, he
was not then condemned ; but the rest were sentenced to
death. They walked cheerfully to the place of execution,
and each of them gave exhortations to the people. Lucius,
who was naturally mild and modest, was a little dejected on
account of a sickness he had contracted in prison; he,
therefore, went before the rest, accompanied by only a few
persons, lest he should be oppressed by the crowd, and so

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[February 24.

not have the honour of spilling his blood. Some cried out
to him, “ Remember us.” “ Do you also,” said he, “ re-
member me.” Julian and Victoricus exhorted the brethren
to peace, and recommended to their care the whole body of
the clergy, especially those who had undergone the hard-
ships of imprisonment Montanus, who was endued with
great strength, both of body and mind, cried out, “ He that
sacrificeth to any God but the true one shall be utterly de-
stroyed.” This he often repeated. He also checked the
pride and wicked obstinacy of the heretics, telling them that
they might discern the true Church by the multitude of its
martyrs. Like a true disciple of S. Cyprian, and a zealous
lover of discipline, he exhorted those that had fallen not to
be over hasty, but fully to accomplish their penance. He
exhorted the virgins to preserve their purity, and to honour
the bishops, and all the bishops to abide in concord. When
the executioner was ready to give the stroke, he prayed
aloud to God that Flavian, who had been reprieved at the
people's request, might follow them on the third day. And,
to express his assurance that his prayer was heard, he rent
in pieces the handkerchief with which his eyes were to be
covered, and ordered one -half of it to be reserved for
Flavian, and desired that a place might be kept for him
where he was to be buried, that they might not be separated
even in the grave. Flavian, seeing his crown delayed, made
it the object of his ardent desires and prayers. And as his
mother kept close by his side, with the constancy of the
mother of the holy Maccabees, and with longing desire
to see him glorify God by death, he said to her, “ Thou
knowest, mother, how much I have longed to enjoy the
happiness of dying by martyrdom.” In one of the two
nights during which he survived, he was favoured with a
vision, in which one said to him, “ Why dost thou grieve ?
Twice hast thou been a confessor, and thou shalt suffer

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February a4.] SS. MontdUUS , LltCmS, &C.

martyrdom by the sword.” On the third day he was ordered
to be brought before the governor. Here it appeared how
much he was beloved by the people, for they endeavoured
by all means to save his life. They cried out to the judge
that he was no deacon ; but he affirmed that he was. A
centurion presented a billet, which set forth that he was
not The judge accused him of lying, to procure his own
death. He answered, “Is that probable? are not they
rather guilty of an untruth who say the contrary ?” The
people demanded that he might be tortured, in hopes he
would recall his confession on the rack ; but the judge con-
demned him to be beheaded. The sentence filled him with
joy, and he was conducted to the place of execution, accom-
panied by a great multitude, and by many priests. A shower
dispersed the infidels, and the martyr was led into a house
till the storm was passed, and there he had an opportunity
of taking his last leave of the faithful, without the presence
of any heathen spectators. He told them that in a vision
he had asked Cyprian whether the stroke of death is pain-
ful, and that the martyr answered, “ The body feels no pain
when the soul gives itself entirely to God.” At the place
of execution, he prayed for the peace of the Church and
the union of the brethren. Having done speaking, he
bound his eyes with that half of the handkerchief which
Montanus had ordered to be kept for him, and, kneeling in
prayer, received the last stroke. Although he suffered two
days after the others, the whole glorious company receives
commemoration together on one day.

I VOL. IL
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Lives of the Saints .

[February z\.

S. SERGIUS, M.

(a.d. 304.)

[Roman and German Martyrologies, and those of Bede, Usuardus,
Ado, Ac. Authority: — The Acts, apparently not in their original form,
but trustworthy.]

S. Sergius lived a retired, hermit life, near Caesarea,
in Cappadocia. When he heard of the breaking out of
persecution, under the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian,
his zeal led him to come into the city, and appear before
Sapricius, the governor, and proclaim his abhorrence of the
gods* of Rome. The governor at once ordered him to
execution.

His relics were translated to Ubeda, in the diocese of
Taragona, in Spain.

S. PRETEXT ATUS OF ROUEN, B. M.

(A.D. 586.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority : — S. Gregory of Tours, Hist.
Franc, lib. ix. c. 39, 42, and the zealous champion of Prsetextatus in the
Council of Paris.]

On the death of Clothair, sole king of the Franks,

(a.d. 561), his dominions were divided amongst his four
sons, Charibert, who became king of Paris and the adjacent
country ; Guntram, of Orleans ; Chilperic, of Soissons ; and
Sigebert, of Austrasia. The reign of Charibert was un-
attended by any important event ; he died at the expiration
of eleven years from the date of his accession, leaving an
only daughter, Bertha, who married Ethelbert, king of
Kent, and converted him to Christianity. The brothers
Sigebert and Chilperic were engaged in bloody wars with
each other. Sigebert had espoused Brunhild, daughter

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February a4.] *S*. PrCZteXtdtUS . 4O3

of Athanagild, king of the Visigoths. Chilperic was
married at three several periods to as many wives : first,
to Audovera, by whom he had three sons ; Theodebert,
Meroveus, and Clovis; secondly, to Gailesuinth, sister of
Brunhild, by whom he had a daughter, During the life-
time of his second queen, Chilperic became enamoured of
Fredegund, and his passion led him to put Gailesuinth
to death, and elevate her rival to the throne. This bar-
barous action induced Sigebert to take up arms against his
brother, urged thereto by the vehement Brunhild, desirous
of revenging the murder of her sister; and a destructive
war ensued, in the course of which Chilperic and his guilty
consort were driven from their country, and became exiles
in a foreign land.

At no very distant interval of time, in 575, Sigebert was
assassinated by the directions of his unnatural brother.
Brunhild, his widow, sued for protection to Meroveus, son
of Chilperic by his first wife, who was at Rouen, where
Chilperic had imprisoned her. Meroveus, dreading the
power of Fredegund, who wished to secure the succession
to the crown for her son, took up arms against his father,
and making common cause with Brunhild, his aunt,
married her.

At that time, Praetextatus was bishop of Rouen. His
position was difficult. The insurgent son had made Rouen
his head-quarters, and expected, or exacted contributions
from the Church, which Praetextatus was unwilling to
grant, but which the prince was strong enough to obtain.

To make the case more difficult, Meroveus was the
spiritual son of this bishop, that is, Praetextatus had baptized
him, and this spiritual relationship was then regarded as a
sacred and dear tie. Chilperic heard exaggerated accounts
of what the bishop had done, and hastily concluding that
Praetextatus was privy to the revolt of Meroveus, ordered

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[February 34.

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a council of prelates to meet in Paris, to try and sentence
Praetextatus either to have his episcopal habit rent in
twain, and to have Psalm cviii. (a.v. 109), said over him, in
token that his bishopric was taken from him, or that he
should be excommunicated. Praetextatus was first charged
by the king with having broken the canons by marrying
Meroveus to his aunt, and with having fomented rebellion
by giving large contributions to the prince. The bishop
denied both charges. The king in person pressed the
charge. S. Gregory, bishop of Tours, who gives us a full
account of the affair, and Aetius, archdeacon of Paris,
were the only two who had courage to take the part of the
bishop, on whose destruction the king was resolved.
Gregory steadfastly refused to condemn Praetextatus on
charges which could not be substantiated. Then the king
sent for him privately, and endeavoured by flattery to
break his resolution, but in vain. Then bursting out in
a passion, he exclaimed, “ Hah ! bishop, you who have to
dispense justice, will not show justice to me. True, by my
faith ! is the proverb, Hawks will not peck out hawks’ een.
Here is a collation I had prepared for you,” pointing to a
table on which were roast fowl and other delicacies.
Gregory refused to eat, till the king had sworn that he would
not violate the laws of the realm and the canons of the
Church, by forcing the council to condemn an innocent
man. After that he took, so he tells us, some bread, and
even a little wine; and so departed. That night queen
Fredegund sent to his lodgings a large sum of money,
in hopes of bribing him to consent to the sentence on
Praetextatus, but Gregory refused the bribe.

The king next raked up another charge against the
bishop of Rouen, of having stolen some handsome birds
he valued at three thousand sous, but this charge broke
down also. Then some false friend urged Praetextatus to

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405

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deliver the bishops who tried him from their perilous
predicament, by confessing himself guilty, assuring him that
this would satisfy the king, who would not press further
punishment on him. Praetextatus was weak enough to yield
to this treacherous advice,1 and thus to remove it out of the
power of his two defenders to maintain their opposition to
the majority. The bishop of Rouen was at once con-
demned and banished to a little island off Coutances,
probably Jersey.

The ferocious Fredegund now cleared the way for her own
son to the throne of her husband, by causing Meroveus,
Theodobert, and Clovis, the sons of Chilperic by his first
wife, Audovera, to be put to death. The only remaining
obstacle to the accession of her child, was Chilperic, her
husband; but that impediment was speedily removed by
his assassination, (584), after which his son ascended the
vacant throne. On the death of Chilperic, Praetextatus
returned to Rouen, with the sanction of Guntram, second
son of Clothair, king of Soissons, much against the wishes of
Fredegund. A council was assembled at Macon, and the
Bishop of Rouen was reinstated, against the protest of
Fredegund, who asserted that it was indecent to over-
throw the sentence of deprivation pronounced against him
by forty-five bishops. In 586 the queen was at Rouen,
where words passed between her and Praetextatus. Seeing
him on her arrival, she greeted him with, “ The time is
coming when thou shalt revisit the place of thine exile.,,
“ I was a bishop always, whether in exile or out of exile,”
answered Praetextatus ; “ and a bishop I shall remain ; but

1 Alban Butler, in his life of S. Praetextatus, says that the bishop married Meroveus
to his aunt, deeming the case one deserving a dispensation, and that he confessed
this at the council ; but S. Gregory of Tours, who is the authority for all that
passed, says that the bishop denied having married them, and when he was
persuaded to confess, he did not confess that he had done this, but that by giving
money to Meroveus, he had encouraged him in his revolt.

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as for thee, thou shalt not for ever enjoy thy crown ;” and
then he earnestly besought her to abandon her wicked life,
and seek reconciliation with God. This was shortly before
Easter. On Easter morning he went after midnight to the
church to sing Matins; he precented the antiphons, and
then during the psalms rested in his seat ; an assassin, sent
by the queen, approached at this time, and stabbed him
under the armpit He rose with a cry, and staggered to
the altar, on which he placed his hands, dabbled with
blood, and received the Holy Sacrament. He was then
carried to his bed, where he died. His death took
place on April 14th, 586 ; but Feb. 24th is observed in his
honour, as being probably the day of his translation.

S. ETHELBERT, K. C.

(a.d* 616.)

[Roman, Ancient Anglican and German Martyrologies, that of Usu-
ardus, &c. Authority : — Bede, lib. i. c. 11-15, 25, 26 ; Ub. ii. c. 5.J

S. Ethelbert was son and successor of Irmenric, king
of Kent, and great grandson of Hengist, the first of the
Saxon conquerors of Britain. He reigned for thirty-six
years over the oldest kingdom of the Heptarchy — that of
Kent — and gained over all the other Saxon kings and
princes, even to the confines of Northumbria, that kind of
military supremacy which was attached to the title of
Bretwalda, or temporary chief of the Saxon Confederation.

His wife was Bertha, daughter of Charibert, son of Clovis,
king of France; a Christian princess, who brought over
with her as chaplain, one Lethard or Liudhard, of Senlis,
a bishop, who exercised his ministry in a church formerly
built, in Roman times, near the walls of Canterbury, and
dedicated to S. Martin. Tradition records the gentle and

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lovable virtues of queen Bertha, but little is known of her
life ; she has left but a brief and uncertain illumination on
those distant and dark horizons, over which she sits like
a star, the herald of the sun. Her example and the
virtues of Liudhard probably did much to break up the
ground in the heart of Ethelbert; but his conversion was
reserved for the coming and preaching of S. Augustine and
his companions, the missioners sent from Rome by Gregory
the Great These landed first in the Isle of Thanet, which
joins close to the east part of Kent, and thence they sent a
message to king Ethelbert, saying why they had come into
his land. The king sent word back to them to stay in the
isle till he fully made up his mind how to treat them ; and
he gave orders that they should be well taken care of in the
meanwhile. After some days he came himself into the
isle, and bade them come and tell him what they had to say.
He sat under an oak, and received them in the open air,
for he would not meet them in a house, as he thought they
might be wizards, and they might use some charm or spell,
which, according to the superstition of the time, was held to
be powerless out of doors. So they came, carrying a silver
cross, and a picture of Our Lord painted on a wooden panel,
chandng in procession the litanies in use at Rome, in the
solemn and touching strains which they had learnt from
Gregory, their spiritual father, and the father of religious
music. At their head marched Augustine, whose lofty
stature and patrician presence attracted every eye, for, like
Saul, “he was taller than any of the people from his
shoulders and upwards.”1 The king, surrounded by a
great number of his followers, received them graciously,
and made them sit down before him. After having listened
to the address which they delivered to him and to the
assembly, he gave them a loyal, sincere, and, as we should

1 Gotselinus : Vita S. Aug. c. 4$.

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[February 34.

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say in these days, truly liberal answer. “You make fair
speeches and promises,” he said, “ but all this is to me new
and uncertain. I cannot all at once put faith in what you
tell me, and abandon all that I, with my whole nation, have
for so long a time held sacred. But since you have come
from so far away to impart to us what you yourselves, by
what I see, believe to be the truth and the supreme good,
we shall do you no hurt, but, on the contrary, shall show
you all hospitality, and shall take care to furnish you with
the means of living. We shall not hinder you from preach-
ing your religion, and you may convert whom you can.’’
So he gave them a house to dwell in, in the royal city of
Canterbury, and he let them preach openly to the people #
of whom they quickly brought some over to the faith,
moved by the innocence of their lives, and the sweetness of
their heavenly doctrine, which was confirmed by miracles.
They were given, as Bede tells us, the Church of S. Martin
in which “ to sing, to pray, to say mass, to preach, and to
baptize.” But it was not long before the king also sub-
mitted to the truth, and was baptized ; and before the year
was out, there was added to the Church more than ten
thousand souls. It was on Whitsun-Day, in the year of
grace, 497, that the English king entered into the unity
of the Holy Church of Christ Since the conversion of
Constantine, excepting that of Clovis, there had not been
any event of greater moment in the annals of Christendom.
Then the king told Augustine and his companions that they
might build new churches, and repair the old ones which
Christians had used before the Saxons invaded England,
and drove the ancient Church into Cornwall and Wales.
Ethelbert, faithful to the last to that noble respect for the
individual conscience, of which he had given proof even
before he was a Christian, was unwilling to constrain any.
one to change his religion. He allowed himself to show

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no preference, save a deeper love for those who, baptized
like himself, became his fellow-citizens in the heavenly
kingdom. The Saxon king had learnt from the Italian
monks that no constraint is compatible with the service of
Christ1 It was not to unite England to the Roman Church,
but it was in order to tear her from it, a thousand years
after this, that another king, and another queen, Henry
VIII., and his cruel daughter Elizabeth, had to employ
torture and the gallows.

From the time of his conversion, Ethelbert behaved for
the twenty remaining years of his life, as became a good
king and a good Christian. He gave his royal palace in
Canterbury for the use of the archbishop, founded Christ
Church in Canterbury, S. Andrew's in Rochester, S. Paul's
in London, and built and endowed the abbey and church
of SS. Peter and Paul without the walls of Canterbury,
commonly called S. Augustine's ; and was instrumental in
bringing over to the faith of Christ, Sebert, king of the East
Saxons, with his people, and Redwald, king of the East
Angles. The former remained true to Christ till his death ;
but Redwald returned, at least in part, to the worship of
Thor and Wodin. Ethelbert died in the year 616, and was
buried in the Church of SS. Peter and Paul, near the body
of his devout queen Bertha, and the holy prelate Liuthard.
A light was always kept burning before his tomb by our
pious ancestors.

Liuthard of Senlis, the chaplain of queen Bertha, is also
commemorated on this day.

1 “ Didicerat enim a doctoribus auctoribusque suae salutis, servitium Christ I
roluntarium, non coactum esse debere.” Bede i. 26.

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February 25.

SS. Victorinus, Victor, and Comp., MM. in Egypt, a.d. *84.
SS. Ananias, P.M , Peter, and Seven Soldiers, MM. in
Phoenicia, circ. a.d. 298.

S. CjBSArius, C. in Bithynia , circ. A.D. 369.

S. Felix III., Pope 0/ Rome. a.d. 492.

S. Aldetrudis, V. Abss. 0/ Maubeuge, end of jth cent.

S. Walburga, V. Abss. of HeicUnheim, about a.i>. 780.

S. Tarasius, Pair, of Constantinople , A.n. 806.

S. Grrlandus, B. of Girgenti , in Sicily , a.d. xioi.

B. Robert of Arbrissel, Founder of the Order of Fontevrault,
a.d. ix 17.

S. A vert an us, O.M.C. in luscany , 16 thcent.

SS. VICTORINUS, VICTOR, AND COM., MM.
(a.d. 284.)

[Roman Martyrology, and those of Bede, Ado, &c. But the ancient
Roman Martyrology, bearing the name of S. Jerome, on Feb. 24th. By
the Greeks commemorated on Jan, 31st and April 5th. A mere epitome of
their Acts was all that was known to Bollandus, as contained in the Mensea
and Martyrologies ; but Assemani has since recovered the genuine Acts in
Chaldaic.]

IJICTORINUS, Victor, Nicephorus, Claudian,
Dioscorus,1 Serapion, and Papias, were citizens
of Corinth, and had witnessed a good confes-
sion before Tertius, the proconsul, in 249.
They then passed into Egypt, for what reason is not stated,
and were again called upon to confess Christ, in the reign
of Numerian, in Diospolis, capital of the Thebaid, in 284,
under Sabinus, the governor. After the governor had tried
the constancy of the martyrs with the rack and scourge, he
caused Victorinus to be thrown into a great marble mortar.
The executioners began by pounding his extremities, saying
to him, at every stroke, “Spare thy life, Victorinus, by

1 Or Diodorus.

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abjuring thy new God.” But, as he continued to maintain
his steadfastness, by order of Sabinus they crushed his head
and chest Victor was threatened with the same death.
He pointed to the mortar, stained with the blood and brains
of his companions, and said, calmly, “My salvation and
my true joy await me there !” He was immediately cast
into it, and pounded to death. Nicephorus was impatient
of delay, and leaped of his own accord into the mortar.
He met with the same fate. Sabinus caused Claudian, the
fourth, to be chopped to pieces, and his bleeding joints to
be thrown at the feet of the survivors. He expired, after
his feet, hands, arms, legs, and thighs had been cut off.
The governor then, pointing to the mangled limbs and
bleeding trunk, said to the three who remained, “ It con-
cerns you to escape this punishment ; I do not compel you
to suffer.” The martyrs replied, with one accord, “We
desire of thee to bid us suffer by the most excruciating
pains thou canst devise, for never will we break our fidelity
to God, and deny Jesus Christ, our Saviour, for He is our
God, from whom we have our being, and to whom alone
we aspire.”

The tyrant then condemned Dioscorus to be roasted to
death ; Serapion was suspended by his heels and decapi-
tated ; and Papias was cast into the sea with a stone
attached to his neck, and drowned.

This happened on Feb. 25th, on which day these martyrs
are commemorated in the Western Martyrologies ; but the
Greek Menaea and the Menology of the Emperor Basil
Porphyrogenitus honour them on January 31st, the day of
their confession at Corinth.

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| 412 Lives of the Saints. [February 15.

SS. ANANIAS, P., AND COMR, MM.

(ABOUT A.D. 298.)

[Greek Menaea, on Feb. 26th ; Martyrology of Ado on Feb. 25th. In-
serted in many of the later Western Martyrologies, but in none of the
earlier ones except that of Ado. Authority : — The notices in the Martyr-
ologies, and an ancient MS. Acts of these saints found in the Monastery of
Gladbach, which is, however, of very doubtful value.]

S. Ananias was a priest in Phoenicia, who was put to a
terrible death by the governor for his testimony to the
truth. After having been scourged till his back was a mass
of wounds, salt and vinegar were rubbed into the exposed
and bleeding flesh, and he was wrapped in a horse-hair
garment so as still further to inflame and irritate the
wounds. In prison he converted the gaoler, Peter. He
was brought forth again, and slowly scorched on a grate
over live coals; then salt was again applied to his sores,
and the charred flesh was then cut off with a fish-slice.
Peter was also exposed to a slow fire, and was then, with
the priest, and seven believing soldiers, cast into the sea
and drowned.

S. C^SARIUS, C.

(ABOUT A.D. 369.)

[Roman Martyrology. Greek Menaea on March 9th. Authority His
life, written by his brother, S. Gregory Nazianzen.]

S. CiESARius was given by his parents an excellent edu-
cation, and, being a man of great natural parts, he soon
distinguished himself for his accomplishments in all the
known sciences. He became one of the first physicians of
his day, and was urged by the Emperor Constantius to
reside in the imperial city, but declined to do so. Julian
the Apostate nominated him his first physician, and loaded

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him with marks of favour, without, however, being able to
shake his Christian constancy. Jovian, who succeeded
Julian, also honoured him, and finding that, moved by the
remonstrances of his father and brother, Csesarius had
thrown up his appointment at the court of the Apostate,
he recalled him. Valens created him keeper of the privy
purse, and treasurer of Bithynia. A narrow escape in an
earthquake at Nicsea, in 368, when almost all the chief
men of that city were killed, moved him to renounce the
world. He died shortly after, and was buried with great
solemnity, his parents assisting at the funeral with lighted
tapers in their hands, and his brother, S. Gregory, Bishop of
Nazianzus, preaching his funeral oration.

S. ALDETRUDIS, V. ABSS.

(end OF 7TH CENT.)

[Mo’anus, Wyon, Miraeus, Menardus, Bollandus, &c.# on this day ;
some other hagiographers on March 15th. Authority An ancient life,
part of which formed the lections of the Breviary for the Collegiate Church
of Mons, founded by S. Waldetrudis.J

The Abbey of Maubeuge, in France, on the Sambre,
near the confines of Belgium, was founded by S. Aldegund
(Jan. 30th), sister of S. Waldetrudis (April 9th), wife of S.
Vincent, a count, (July 14th), and aunt of the two holy
daughters of this pious couple, S. Aldetrudis and S. Madel-
bertha (Sept. 7th), who succeeded Aldegund as abbesses of
Maubeuge. Aldetrudis was brought up by her saintly
parents to tread the path of light and life from her earliest
infancy. She chose the religious life, and entered the house
founded and governed by her aunt, whom she succeeded.
One little incident of her life has retained its hold on the
popular memory, and is sometimes represented in art.

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Determined not to waste the precious wax from the altar
and other candles, Aldetrudis melted up all the scrapings,
drippings, and ends of the tapers in a large pot on the fire,
but, when it was melted, the wax caught fire. Aldetrudis,
thinking there was danger from the blaze, and not wishing
to lose the wax, boldly caught the pot from the fire with
both her hands, and placed it on the stone floor. The
legend adds that though some of the melted wax ran over
her hands she was not burnt

Another story is to this effect One evening she stood at
the convent gate, looking out at an advancing thunder-
storm. Presently there came a flash and a roar, which so
frightened her that she cried out, “Lord Jesus, into Thy
hands I commend my spirit !” Then there passed her the
Lord Himself, shining out of the darkness, fairer than the
sons of men, and comforted her with the words, “ Be not
afraid, I am with thee.”

S. WALBURGA, V. ABSS.

(A.D. 779.)

[On this day the Martyrology bearing the name of Bede ; also those
of the metropolitan Churches of Prague, of Treves, and Utrecht; the
Benedictine Kalendar ; and as usually commemorated in Germany. But
some give April 27th. No mention of S. Walburga in the French Mar-
tyrologies. Some give Feb. 25th as the day of her Translation, others
October 12th, others September 21st; but May 1st is the most solemn
day of her Translation. Authority : — Her Life by a priest of Eichstadt in
the following century ; another life by Adelbold, B. of Maestrecht, d. 1027 ;
another by Eynwick, provost of S. Florian ; another by an anonymous
writer, and others later. Walburga is variously called Waldburga, Wil-
burga, Vaubone, Valpurgis, Vaubourg.]

The blessed Walburga was a daughter of S. Richard,

West Saxon Thane, (Feb. 7th), and sister of S. Willi-
bald, (July 7th), and S. Wunnibald, (December 18th).

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These holy brothers accompanied their uncle, the great
S. Boniface, (June 5th), apostle of Germany, on his mission,
and are regarded and honoured as his fellow apostles.
S. Walburga was educated from early childhood in the
monastic calm of Wimbourne, in Dorsetshire, where she
took the veil, and spent an untroubled youth till called by
S. Boniface to Germany. Boniface had asked his kins-
woman, the abbess Tatta, to send him a colony of nuns to
found a religious house in the newly acquired provinces of
the kingdom of Christ. She sent S. Lioba, with several
under her, amongst whom was S. Walburga, and they
settled at first at Bischofsheim, in the diocese of Mainz.
Two years after she was appointed abbess of Heidenheim,
a religious house founded by her brothers, Willibald, bishop
of Eichstadt, and Wunnibald, who ruled an abbey of men.
So great was her prudence and virtue, that on the death of
Wunnibald, in 760, following the Anglo-Saxon precedent,
Walburga was appointed to superintend the abbey of monks,
as well as her own convent of nuns, and this double charge
she executed till her death. S. Willibald translated the
body of his brother to Eichstadt, in 776 ; and S. Walburga
was present at the ceremony. She died in 779 or 780, but
on what day is not mentioned by her biographer.

In art she is represented with a flask of oil, on account
of the miraculous and fragrant oil which distilled from her
relics in the church of S. Cross, at Eichstadt ; or with three
ears of com, with which she is said to have cured and
satisfied a girl afflicted with a ravenous appetite.

Her relics were translated in 870, to Eichstadt, on
Sept. 2 1 st A considerable part still remains there;
another portion was carried by Baldwin the Bearded,
Count of Flanders, in 1109, to the abbey of Fumes, near
Ostend, where they are still preserved, and the festival
of the translation is kept on May 1st From Fumes, small

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 25.

portions have been distributed to churches in Antwerp,
Brussels, Thiel, Amheim, Zutphen, and Groningen. Other
relics of this saint are said to be preserved at Prague,
Cologne, Augsburg, and Hanover, and many were anciently
distributed over Lorraine, Alsace, and Burgundy.

There can be no doubt that S. Walburga has inherited
the symbols and much of the cultus anciently devoted to
Walborg, or Walburg, the Earth Mother.

& TARASIUS, PATR. OF CONSTANTINOPLE.

(a.d 806.)

[By Greeks and Latins on the same day. Authority His life by
Ignatius, deacon and keeper of the sacred vessels at Constantinople,
afterwards bishop of Nicsea, a disciple of Tarasius ; also the Church
historians of the period.]

The Incarnation of God was the descent of the Most
High to the level of human necessity. Man had found a
difficulty in believing in and loving the Infinite ; human
language failed to express the nature of God save by a
multitude of abstractions and negations. He was not
limited, had no localized habitation, was not comprehensi-
ble by man ; so the philosophers taught, and so they strove
to make men believe ; men made the effort, believed, and
in the effort, their devotion expired. The philosophers
had lifted God into the region of an idea, and in so doing,
had divested him of personality; and when His personality
was lost, all interest in Him died away. God was to them
an object of speculation, not an object of worship. God
the Father, knowing man's natural incapacity for realizing
the Godhead, sent His Son into the world clothed in flesh.

Man had now a God-Man, whose nature and personality

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had been brought vividly before him to believe in and to
love. God was “manifest in the flesh,” the visible and
the invisible, the spiritual and the material, the finite and
the infinite, the local and the omnipresent were united in
One. Thenceforth the law of God’s dealings with man
was to be in accordance with his natural capacities, the
visible was to become the medium of the invisible, the
material the vehicle of the spiritual, the omnipresent
adorable through a local presence, the infinite discernible
through the finite. In Jesus Christ men saw God and lived ;
and when He was withdrawn from the eyes of men, He did
not leave them orphans, but perpetuated his presence in
the Holy Eucharist, even unto the end of the world.

In the old heathen world men had been idolaters or
philosophers. The idolater saw in the material image his
God; the philosopher declared that God was everywhere
present, and he despised the idol. Christianity combined in
one the truth taught by the philosopher, and the craving felt
by the idolater. Through the sacraments as outward and
visible means, grace was conveyed to man, chiefly through
the Holy Eucharist; and through sacred images and the
holy cross, worship was addressed to God. Through the
seen to the unseen, to God ; from the unseen through the
seen to man, is the law of the Incarnation.

At first, on account of the idolatry which surrounded
them, the early Christians did not deem it prudent to
introduce images into their churches. Idolatry was so
prevalent, that the first lesson they had to insist upon to
the heathen, was the omnipresence of God; but when
heathenism was conquered, the danger of idolatry ceased,
and the peril was in the other direction; men began to
insist on the infinity of the essence of the Godhead, and to
deny the possibility of His becoming local by incarnation.
They were ready to admit that Christ was inspired with a

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divine afflatus, but not that He was very and eternal God.
Then, at once, it became necessary for the Church to use
her every effort to impress on men’s minds and hearts the
truth that God had become very man, of the substance of
His mother. Then pictures and images were introduced
into churches. We must remember that the Church, to
defend the truth, had to assume successively opposite
positions, for the truth was double, — if we are to understand
how she first opposed images, and then defended them.
She did not contradict herself, her attitude was forced
upon her, to maintain a two-fold truth.

The use of images was commonly received in the east,
when the Emperor Leo the Isaurian, resolved to abolish the
practice. The contest began about the year 725. He
was opposed by Pope Gregory II., Germanus, patriarch of
Constantinople, and S. John Damascene. The first wrote
vehemently to him on this subject He maintained that
the Word by having rendered Himself visible in taking a
human body, subjected Himself to all conditions of a
man, and that as it was lawful to represent any man,
emperor or prince, so it was lawful to make representations
of Christ But, said he, Christians do not worship the
cloth on which the picture is painted, nor the stone out
of which the statue is hewn, but they use these visible
representations as means of renewing the memory of the
saints, and of raising up the mind to God. He denied
that images received divine honours, but if “Lord Jesus,
save us,” be said before an image of Christ, “ Holy Mother
of God, intercede with Thy Son for us,” before one of the
Virgin, and “Intercede for us,” before one of a Martyr;
these prayers are not addressed to the image, but to Christ,
or the Holy Virgin, or the Saint whom the figure is designed
to portray.

Constantine Copronymus, the son of Leo, followed in his

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father’s steps, and for the better establishing his purpose, he
called together a council (a.d. 754) at Constantinople, com-
posed of 338 bishops. It began its sittings in February and
ended in August. The Western Church, and the patri-
archates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, were not
represented at this council, which was thus composed of
prelates under the immediate control of the emperor,
gathered together in his imperial city, surrounded by
guards, and, unfortunately, the majority of these bishops
partook of that time-serving and obsequious disposition
which characterised and disgraced the episcopal order in
the Eastern Empire for many centuries. This council
decreed the destruction of images in churches, and the
erasure of paintings on the walls.1

By the authority of the emperor, a great part of the
Eastern Church received and executed this decree; but
Irene, who had married Leo the Fourth, son of Constan-
tine Copronymus, though a cruel, ambitious woman,
espoused, perhaps out of caprice, the opposite side, and
on the death of her husband, during the minority of her
son Constantine, who was but ten years old, assumed the
regency, and stopped the savage persecution of the monks,
and the ruthless destruction of images which had proceeded
without intermission through the three preceding reigns.
Paul III., patriarch of Constantinople, had been raised to
that dignity by the late emperor. Being a timid man,
desirous of remaining in favour with court, he had bowed to
the will of the emperor in the matter of images. But he
was a good and charitable man, greatly beloved by the

1 The Iconoclastic party was not actuated by any religious feeling, but was
simply that of free-thinkers, as the Protestant and very prej udiced ecclesiastical
historian Gieseler is constrained to admit. He says, “ the enlightenment party,
the opponents of images, was not created by a religious feeling, but merely by the
emperor’s will, and thus partly fostered a superficial, free-thinking, rather than a
beneficial reformatory tendency.”

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420 Lives of the Saints . [February as.

poor. Finding that the Iconoclasts were now out of favour,
and fearing for himself, he suddenly resigned his patriarchal
see, and took refuge in a monastery.

The empress and her son visited him, and endeavoured
to dissuade him from his intention, but found him re-
solved. Tarasius, an officer of the court, noted for his
piety, was then appointed patriarch, in spite of his urgent
remonstrance. He declared that he would not accept
the office till a council had been called, which exhibited
those marks of being oecumenical which the former council
had lacked, and which might compose the differences
which had agitated the Eastern Church. This being
agreed to, he was solemnly declared patriarch, and was
consecrated soon after, on Christmas Day.

His first act was to write synodal letters to the patri-
archs of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, con-
vening a general council. Pope Adrian sent two priests
to act as his legates, and the Eastern bishops did the same.

The council assembled on the ist August, 786, in the
Church of the Apostles at Constantinople, but a tumult
having broken out, and the soldiers having besieged the
bishops in the church, and endeavoured to break up the
council, it was adjourned till the following year, when it
met at Nicaea. The papal legates sat in the first place, then
Tarasius, patriarch of Constantinople, then the deputies of
the Eastern bishops, who were themselves unable to attend
because not permitted by the Saracen conquerors, after-
wards Agapetus, bishop of Caesarea, in Cappadocia, John,
bishop of Ephesus, Constantine, metropolitan of Cyprus,
with 250 bishops and archbishops, and above 100 priests
and monks, and two commissioners of the emperor and
empress to maintain order.

The first session was held on the 24th September, 787, in
the Church of S. Sophia ; it opened with the reading of the

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letter of the empress Irene and the emperor, wherein they
assured to the bishops that they had assembled the synod
with the consent of the patriarchs, and that they left the
bishops at full liberty to speak their minds ; that Paul, the
last patriarch of Constantinople, acknowledging his fault
in having received the decrees of the council of the Icono-
clasts, had quitted his see, and had caused Tarasius to be
elected in his room ; that Tarasius had refused the dignity,
but having been urged to , accept it, had required a council
to be held to suppress the schism which divided the Church
on the subject of images ; and that, therefore, in accordance
with his request, this council was convened. In conclusion,
the empress and her son exhorted the bishops to judge truth-
fully and courageously, in accordance with Catholic doctrine
and practice ; and they said that letters had been received
from Pope Adrian, which should be read to the assembly.

After this many of the prelates who had taken part with
the Iconoclasts, or had submitted to the decrees, seeing
that the direction of the courtly breeze had changed, veered
round with obsequious readiness. Such were, Basil, bishop
of Ancyra, Theodosius of Myra, Theodosius of Amorn,
Hypatius of Nicsea, and others, who now acknowledged that
they reverenced sacred images.

In the next session the letters of Pope Adrian were read,
declaring the utility of images as means of teaching the
ignorant, and of awakening piety and compunction. He
demanded also that all archbishops of his patriarchate
should receive ordination from the bishop of Rome, and
that the primacy of the see of Rome should receive general
recognition, as also that the patriarch of Constantinople
should be prevented from assuming the title of “ Universal
Bishop.” These latter articles were not transcribed by the
Greek fathers. Dupin, the judicious historian, suggests
that probably the legates of the Pope did not judge it

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prudent at that moment to present them. A letter
from Adrian to Tarasius was then read, expressing the
trouble given to the Pope by the news of the nomination
of a layman to the influential see of Constantinople,
and exhorting him to procure the condemnation of the
synod which had forbidden images in churches. After the
reading of this letter, the Papal legates asked Tarasius
whether he approved of it. He answered that he did,
and that he did reverently honour the images of Christ,
the Holy Virgin, and the saints, but that to God alone was
due true adoration and worship (latria). Of this the synod
approved. Our English word worship has got at the pre
sent time a meaning which it had not of old. Worship now
means to adore as God, with supreme reverence ; and such
worship may not be given to creatures, however exalted ;
but the old signification of the word had not this force, but
was synonymous with reverence. Thus, in the Anglican
prayer book, in the marriage service, the husband says tc
the wife, “ With my body I thee worship,” />., honour ; and
magistrates are called the “worshipful.” When Protes-
tants accuse Catholics of worshipping images, in one sense
they are right, but in another sense they are wrong.
Catholics do worship sacred images so/ar as to render them
respect and honour, but they do not give to them that
honour which is implied by the word “worship” in its
modern sense. In the old signification of the word, the
sailor worships the quarterdeck when he touches his cap on
passing it, the soldier worships the royal standard when
he presents arms to it, and the peers the throne when they
bow to it on taking their places in the House of Lords.

In the third session of the council, a letter from the
patriarch of Jerusalem, approved by his bishops, was read,
wherein he acknowledged that reverence and honour were
to be shown to sacred images.

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In subsequent sessions the acts of the Iconoclastic Council
at Jerusalem were examined and refuted in order, and the
council closed with the usual acclamations and prayers for
the prosperity of the emperor and empress; after which
synodal letters containing the decrees were sent to all
churches. Pope Adrian approved of all that had been
decreed, and sent copies of the Acts into France, where
pictures and images were used historically, but no honour,
such as burning candles or offering of incense before them,
was allowed. On receiving these copies, Charlemagne
wrote, or caused to be written, or put forth under his name,
a work containing an examination of the decrees of the
second council of Nicaea, by some of the bishops, of whom
Alcuin was chief. This contained a repudiation of these
Acts, and a rejection of image-worship. It maintained that
respect was due to pictures and statues of the Saviour and
the Saints, but refused the right of offering them any sort
of religious honour, as by lighting candles and incensing
them. This work was presented to Pope Adrian by Engil-
bert, the ambassador * of Charlemagne, and it drew forth
from the pope an answer which, however, did not alter the
practice of the Gallican Church, for in the Council of Frank-
fort, held in 794, the decrees relative to the worshipping of
images passed by the second Council of Nicaea were re-
jected, as was the case again in a council held at Paris, in
824. Tarasius, in the meantime, obedient to the decrees of
the synod, restored holy images throughout the extent of his
patriarchate. His life was a model of perfection to both
clergy and laity. He lived a quiet, austere life, in the midst
of magnificence and luxury. He reduced to the smallest
possible amount the expenses of his household, and gave to
the poor what he had economised. He often took the
dishes of meat from his table to distribute among them
with his own hands : and he assigned them a large annual

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revenue. And that none might be overlooked, he visited
every house and hospital in Constantinople. His discourses
turned on the mortification of the senses, and he was parti-
cularly severe against all theatrical entertainments, which
served then to encourage and diffuse licentiousness. Some
time after, the emperor became enamoured of Theodota, a
maid of honour to his wife, the empress Mary, and, after
having spent seven years in marriage, in 795, he resolved
to divorce the empress. He used every effort to gain the
patriarch. He sent an officer to him to inform him that a
plot of the empress to poison him had been discovered. S.
Tarasius, however, received the request to divorce the em-
peror, and marry him to Theodota, with a stern refusal.
“Tell him that I will rather suffer death and all manner of
torments than consent to his design." The emperor, hoping
to prevail with him by flattery, sent for him to the palace,
and said, “ I can conceal nothing from you, whom I regard
as my father. No one can deny but I may divorce one who
has attempted my life. The Empress Mary deserves death
or perpetual penance." He then produced a vessel, fuli of
the poison, which he pretended she had prepared for him.

The patriarch, with good reason, judging this to be an
attempt to impose upon him, answered, that he was too well
convinced that his passion for Theodota was at the bottom
of all his complaints against the empress. He boldly de-
clared to Constantine that even if she were guilty of the
crime laid to her charge, a second marriage during her life-
time would be adulterous. The monk John, who had been
legate of the Eastern patriarchs in the council at Nicsea,
being present, also spoke resolutely to the emperor, who
was so irritated that he drove them both out of his presence,
and John narrowly escaped with his life. As soon as they
were gone, he turned the empress Mary out of the palace
and obliged her to assume the veil. Tarasius persisted in

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liis refusal to marry him to Theodota, and the ceremony
was performed by Joseph, the treasurer of the church of
Constantinople. The patriarch became thenceforth an
object of persecution to the emperor, who placed spies
about his person, suffered no one to speak with him with-
out their leave, and banished many of his relations and
servants. This confinement gave the patriarch more leisure
for prayer and contemplation. In the meantime, the ambi-
tious Irene, discontented at being no longer at the head of
the administration, formed a conspiracy to dethrone her
son. The secret was faithfully kept above eight months,
till the emperor, suspicious of his danger, escaped from
Constantinople, with the design of appealing to the pro-
vinces and armies. By this hasty flight the empress was
left on the brink of a precipice. She addressed a private
epistle to the friends whom she had placed about his person
with a menace that, unless they accomplished, she would
reveal, their treason. Their fear rendered them intrepid.
They seized the emperor on the Asiatic shore, and trans-
ported him to Constantinople, where his mother and the
other conspirators decided to render him incapable of the
throne by blinding him. Her emissaries assaulted the
sleeping prince, and stabbed their daggers into his eyes.
He survived for several years, oppressed by the court, and
forgotten by the world ; whilst his unnatural mother resumed
the sovereign power, of which he had divested her by be-
coming of age. She reigned for five years, during which
she recalled all the banished, and favoured the Catholics.
But she was in turn conspired against by the high treasurer,
Nicephorus, who was secretly invested with the purple, and
crowned at S. Sophia by the patriarch. The empress was
sent into exile in the isle of Lesbos, where she was obliged
to earn a scanty subsistence by the labours of her distaff,
till her haughty spirit consuming her, she died of grief!

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[Februaiy as.

Under Nicephorus, S. Tarasius persevered peaceably in
his practices of penance, and in the functions of his pastoral
charge. Through his last sickness he continued to offer
daily the holy Sacrifice as long as he was able to move.
A little before his death he fell into a trance, as the author
of his life, who was an eye-witness of the scene, relates,
wherein he was heard disputing with a number of accusers,
very busy in sifting his whole life, and objecting to his
actions. He seemed to be in fear and agitation, and de-
fending himself against everything laid to his charge.
This filled all present with fear, seeing the endeavours of
the enemy of man to find some condemnation in the life of
so holy and so irreprehensible a bishop. But a great
serenity succeeded, and the holy man gave up his soul
to God in peace, on the 25th of February, in 806, having
sat twenty-one years and two months. God honoured his
memory with miracles, some of which are related by the
author of his life. His festival began to be celebrated
under his successor.

B. ROBERT OF ARBRISSEL.

(a»d. i i 17,)

[Authority : — His life, by Baldric, B. of Ddle (d. 1130) ; and another
attributed to Andrew, monk of Fontevrault, and his disciple.]

Robert of Arbrissel was bom of poor parents, in a
village of Brittany, then called Arbrissel, and now known
as Arbresec, in the diocese of Rennes, near La Guierche,
in the year 1045 or io47- His father, Damalioc, who after-
wards embraced a religious life, and his mother, Orvenda,
were pious people who brought him up to love God above
all things. When of an age to study, with their consent he
went to several towns of his native province, to leam in the
schools without being a charge to his parents ; and, making

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great progress, he went to Paris, where he so distinguished
himself that he became a doctor in the university. At this
time Silvester de la Guierche, Chancellor of Conon II.,
duke of Brittany, was placed upon the episcopal throne of
Rennes, but being desirous of relieving himself of his duties
on various accounts, he chose Robert, and appointed him
his vicar-general, with absolute power in the diocese. Robert
employed his authority in restoring ecclesiastical discipline,
putting down simony, prohibiting incestuous marriages
amongst the laity, and in enforcing clerical celibacy. As
long as Silvester de la Guierche was alive, Robert was safe
from the enemies his discipline had aroused, but, on the
death of his protector, he was obliged to leave Brittany, and
take refuge in Angers, where he gave lessons in theology.

But, wishing to consecrate himself entirely to God, he
quitted Angers, and buried himself in the forest of Craon,
in Anjou, where he lived in great austerity, wearing a habit
of pig skin, and eating roots and wild fruit. His fame as a
second S. John the Baptist, having been bruited about,
great numbers came to place themselves under his direc-
tion, so that he speedily saw his forest solitude invaded by
many hundreds of anchorites. The number became at
length so great as to oblige him to disperse them through
the neighbouring forests. Not being able to watch over
all, he divided them into three colonies, of which he re-
tained one, and gave the others to two of his disciples :
the B. Vitalis of Mortain, who founded the order of
Savigny ; and the B. Raoul de la Futaye, founder of the
abbey of S. Sulpice, at Rennes.

Robert was obliged to quit his retired life, and preach the
Crusade, by order of Pope Urban II. He, therefore,
placed his colony under the care of the bishop of Angers,
and undertook the execution of the task imposed upon
him.

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On the confines of Anjou and Poitou, about four
miles from the little town of Candes, was an extensive
tract of undulating land, covered with bushes, and wholly
uncultivated ; a litde valley, traversed by a slender stream
in this district, bore the name of Fontevrault. Here, in
1099, Robert began to build some huts to shelter his fol-
lowers, and here he setded to found a new colony. Many
religiously disposed persons of both sexes, young and old,
gathered round him, and Robert found it necessary to
establish distinct residences for the men and for the women,
each with its own separate oratory. The work of the women
was to sing continually the praises of God ; that of the men
was, between their spiritual exercise, the tillage of the soil.
Charity, unity, modesty, and gendeness, prevailed in this
singular colony. All lived on what their hands produced,
or on the alms sent them; and they bore the name of
“The poor of Jesus Christ.”

The example of these new solitaries attracted great num-
bers, many of whom had only an imperfect or a mistaken
vocation. Women who had led dissolute lives, feeling a
passing compunction, hastened thither, assumed the out-
ward profession, waxed cold, and gave great scandal by
fresh lapses. This drew forth severe censure from Marbod,
bishop of Rennes, and Godfrey, abbot of Vendome. The
former wrote to Robert a letter full of reproach, in which
he told him that he had quitted the Order of the Regular
Canons to run after women, and that the colony of Fonte-
vrault was a scandal to the Church, through the confinement
of some of the women, and the cries of new bom babes ;
and he rebuked him for having given the religious habit to
persons who asked for it, without having previously tested
their sincerity. The letter of Godfrey of Vendome, was
couched in a similar strain of remonstrance; but he went
further, and, trusting to hearsay, reprimanded Robert for

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associating too freely with the females of his Order, and
seeing them in private without the presence of witnesses.
Some have supposed these letters to be spurious, but with-
out sufficient grounds. A man of great singleness of mind
and guilelessness of spirit is easily deceived by the profes-
sions of others, and is liable to be led into actions which,
with more worldly wisdom, he would avoid as indiscreet.
Indeed, the formation of this double society was hardly
consistent with prudence, and Robert found it necessary to
keep it within the bounds of severe and vigilant prescrip-
tions, to prevent the recurrence of those scandals which had
called forth the reprimand of Marbod and the abbot of
Vendome. Godfrey was afterwards so thoroughly con-
vinced that he was in error in attributing evil to the saintly
Robert, that he became his ardent champion. Robert
erected three convents, strictly enclosed, for the women :
one for virgins and widows, called the Grand Moutier, was
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin ; another for penitents, was
placed under the patronage of S. Mary Magdalene ; and a
third, for leprous and infirm women, was dedicated to S.
Lazarus. The house of the men was completely distinct,
and was placed under the invocation of S. John the Divine.
One large church was erected to serve the four houses, and
the whole community was placed by Robert under the
supreme direction of an abbess ; and he set the example of
submission, by appointing Petronilla de Craon, widow of
the Baron de Chemille, Superior to the Order, and he lived
in obedience to her till his death, which took place on
February 25th, 1117.

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Lives of the Saints. [February

February 20.

S. Nestor, B.M. of Magida , a.d. 251.

SS. Fortunatus and Companions, MM. at Antioch,

S. Dionysius, B.M. of Augsburg^ a.d. 303.

S. Alexander, Pair, of Alexandria, a.d. 326.

S. Faustian, B. of Bologna, in Italy , 4th cent.

S. Porphyry, B. of Gaza , a.d. 421.

SS. Eoladius and Agricola, BB. of Nevers , 6th cent.

S. Victor, P. at A tcis-sur-A ube, in France , 6th or jth cent.

S. Edigna, V. at Puech , in Bavaria , a.d. mg.

S. NESTOR, B. M.

(a.d. 251.)

[Roman Martyrology, the ancient one called S. Jerome's, those of Bede,
Ado, Usuardus, Notker, &c. By the Greeks on Feb. 28th. Authority
The ancient and genuine Acts.]

N the reign of Decius, Pollio was governor of
Pamphylia. When persecution broke out, Nes-
tor, bishop of Magida, an obscure town in that
province, knowing that he was particularly feared
by the pagans, and that the first stroke was sure to fall
upon him, ordered his flock to disperse into places of
safety, and then calmly awaited the officers of justice.
They found him in prayer, and led him forth with his head
covered with a hood (mafortium.) And when he came
into the forum, he was honourably received, all the court
rising and saluting him. He said, “ God pardon you, why
have you done this ?” They answered, “ Thy manner of
life is deserving of respect.” Then he was taken apart
from the public, and stools were placed for the magistrates
and his advocates, and a chair for the bishop, and he was
requested to sit down. He replied, “The honour of
being summoned into your presence suffices me.” Then

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the Irenarch said, “Sir, dost thou know the order of the
emperor ?” “I know the command of the Almighty, not
that of the emperor,” was the reply of the Bishop. “ O
Nestor,” said the magistrate, “consent without difficulty,
that we be not called to judge thee.” “ I obey the com-
mands of the heavenly King,” answered Nestor. “Thou art
possessed,” said the magistrate. “ Nay,” said the bishop,

“ not I, but thou, for thy gods are devils.” “ I shall have
to send thee to the governor,” said the Irenarch, “ for they
are true gods. Beware of torture.” Then Nestor signing
the cross on his brow, said, “ Wherefore dost thou threaten
me with torture ? The only torments I dread are those of
my God. Be well assured, in torture, or out of torture,

Him shall I confess.”

Then he was taken to Perga, where was the governor of
the province, which he reached on the fourth Sabbath
(Saturday.) And when the Irenach had presented him to
Pollio the governor, Nestor was again urged with kind and
courteous words to renounce his religion; but he as con-
stantly refused. “Torment me as thou wilt,” said he,

“ with chains or wild beasts, or sword, as long as there is
any breath in my nostrils, I will confess the name of my
Lord Jesus Christ.” Then the judge ordered him to be
suspended on the little horse, and to be cruelly tortured.

The executioner laid his sides bare, tearing them with
iron hooks; but Nestor chanted, “ I will alway give thanks
unto the Lord : his praise shall ever be in my mouth.”

(Ps. xxxiii. ; (a. v. 34) 1.) The judge, astonished at his en-
durance, exclaimed, “ Why, wretched man ! art thou not
ashamed to put thy faith in a man, and he short-lived?”

“ Let that be my confusion, and that also of all who call on
the name of the Lord Jesus,” answered the martyr. And
when the crowd clamoured that he should be released from
his sufferings, the governor asked again, “ What, then, is

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thy final choice, to be with us, or with thy Christ?”
Then the martyr exclaimed, “ With my Christ have I ever
been, with Him am I now, and with Him shall I ever be.”
Seeing his inflexibility, Pollio said scornfully, “Nestor,
as thou hast rejected the immortal gods to follow the
crucified One, I will not be so wanting in devotion to this
God of thine, as to condemn thee to any other death.
Thou shalt be crucified on the wood.”

Then a cross was made ready, and Nestor, the bishop,
was nailed to it. And as he hung, he exhorted the people,
and at length he bid them kneel and pray to God through
Jesus Christ; and all knelt, and when he had said the
final Amen, he breathed forth his spirit.

S. DIONYSIUS, B. OF AUGSBURG, M.

(a-d. 303.)

[German Martyrology. No trustworthy authorities for his life and acts.
The following account is from the Augsburg Breviary.]

Dionysius, together with his sister Hilaria, (August 1 2th),
her daughter Afra, (August 7th), and the rest of his family,
was converted and baptized by S. Narcissus the bishop,
afterwards chief pastor of the Church of Gerona, in Spain,
(March 18th.) As Narcissus was obliged to leave the little
band of Christians at Augsburg, he instructed, and then
ordained, Dionysius to be their priest, or, as some writers
assert, their bishop. Thus Dionysius became the spiritual
father of a little family of true believers, and was called to
encourage them during the fiery trial of persecution. He
saw his sister Hilaria, and her daughter Afra, glorify God
by martyrdom. Knowing that his own turn had come,
he fortified himself with the Holy Sacrament, yielded him-
self into the hands of those who sought his life, and dying
a martyr’s death, gained the crown and palm.

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S. Alexander .

433

The relics of this saint, who is reckoned the first bishop
of Augsburg, together with those of Quiriacus, were dis-
covered in the year 1118, and were translated by the abbot
Egino to the Church of S. Ulrich, in Augsburg, and en-
closed in an altar. Later, in the year 1258, Hartmann,
bishop of Augsburg, opened this altar, and placed them, on
26th Feb., in a new altar, dedicated to SS. Dionysius and
Quiriacus, and he ordered that this day should be observed
as the festival of S. Dionysius. The Church of Augsburg
honours him as her first bishop, though the episcopal see of
Augsburg was not regularly constituted till 250 years later,
when Sosimus became the first of a succession of prelates
which from that time to the present has not failed.

S. ALEXANDER, PATR. OF ALEXANDRIA.

(a.d. 326.)

[Roman Martyrology, and those of Bede, Usuardus, Ado, Notker, &c.
Authorities Sozomen, Socrates, Eusebius, and the Apology of S. Atha-
nasius.]

S. Alexander was patriarch of Alexander when Arius,
the arch-heretic, began to preach his denial of the eternal
Godhead of Christ Alexander, one of the mildest of men,
endeavoured by gentleness and kind expostulation to bring
the heretic back to the true belief. But when he found
that he was incorrigible, he summoned an assembly of his
clergy, and therein questioned Arius, and on his boldly
proclaiming his disbelief in the fundamental doctrine of the
Catholic faith, he excommunicated him. A council was
called at Alexandria about the end of the year 320, in
which Arius was again tried, and the sentence of excom-
munication was ratified by nearly one hundred bishops,
who were present Alexander attended the famous General
vol. 11. 28

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Lives of the Saints.

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Council of Nicaea, assembled in 325, which finally con-
demned the heresy of Arius. S. Alexander, after this
triumph of the faith, returned to Alexandria ; where, after
having recommended S. Athanasius for his successor, he
died on the 26th February, in the year 326. For a fuller
account of the Arian heresy, and the Council of Nicaea, the
reader is referred to the life of S. Athanasius, (May 2nd.)

& PORPHYRIUS, B. OF GAZA
(a.d. 421.)

[Commemorated by Greeks and Latins on the same day. Authority x —

His life, written by Mark the Deacon, his disciple.]

Porphyrius, a native of Thessalonica, in Macedonia,
was of a noble and wealthy family. The desire of renounc-
ing the world made him leave his friends and country at
twenty-five years of age, in 378, to pass into Egypt, where
he consecrated himself to God in a famous monastery in
the desert of Scetd After five years spent there in the
penitential exercises of a monastic life, he went into
Palestine to visit the holy places of Jerusalem. After this
he took up his abode in a cave near the Jordan, where he
passed other five years in great austerity, till he fell sick,
when a complication of disorders obliged him to return
to Jerusalem. There he never failed daily to visit all
the holy places, leaning on a staff, for he was too weak
to stand upright. It had happened that, about the same
time, Mark, an Asiatic, and the author of his life, came to
Jerusalem with the same intent He was much edified by
the devotion with which Pophyrius visited the holy places.

And seeing him, one day, labour with great pain up the stairs
in the chapel built by Constantine, he ran to him to offer
his assistance ; but Porphyrius refused it, saying, “ It is not

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right that I who am come hither to supplicate pardon for
my sins should be eased by any one : rather let me under-
go some labour and inconvenience, that God, beholding
it, may have compassion on me.” He never omitted his
visits of piety to the holy places, and daily partook of the
Holy Sacrament. The only thing that afflicted him was,
that his fortune had not as yet been sold for the use of the
poor. This he commissioned Mark to do for him, who
accordingly set out for Thessalonica, and in three months’
time returned to Jerusalem with money and effects, to the
value of four thousand five hundred pieces of gold. When
the blessed man saw him, he embraced him, with tears of
joy. But Porphyrius was now so completely recovered,
that Mark scarcely knew him to be the same person : for
his body was erect and vigorous, and his face looked full,
fresh, and ruddy. Porphyrius perceiving his friend’s
amazement, said with a smile, “ Be not surprised, Mark, to
see me in perfect health and strength, but admire the un-
speakable goodness of Christ, who can easily cure what
man has despaired of.” Mark asked him by what means
he had recovered. He replied, “ Forty days ago, being in
extreme pain, I made a shift to reach Mount Calvary,
where, fainting away, I fell into a kind of trance, during
which, methought I saw our Saviour on the cross, and the
good thief hanging beside him. I said to Christ, Lordy
Remember mey when Thou contest into Thy kingdom : where-
upon he ordered the thief to come to my assistance, and
he, raising me off the ground on which I lay, bade me go
to Christ I ran to Him, and He coming off His cross,
said to me, Take this wood (meaning the cross) into thy
custody . In obedience to Him, methought I laid it on my
shoulders and carried it some way. I awoke soon after,
and have been free from pain ever since, and without the
least appearance of my having ever ailed any thing.” Mark

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was so edified with the holy man’s discourse and good
example, that he resolved to live with him, for he was
endued with a divine prudence, an eminent spirit of prayer,
and a complete control over his passions. He distributed
all the money and effects Mark had brought him among the
necessitous in Palestine and Egypt, so that in a very short
time, he had reduced himself to the necessity of labouring
for his daily food. He therefore learned to make shoes
and dress leather, while Mark, being well skilled in writing,
obtained a handsome livelihood by copying books. He
therefore desired the saint to partake of his earnings. But
Porphyrius replied, in the words of S. Paul, He that doth not
work , neither let him eat. He led this laborious and peni-
tential life till he was forty years of age, when the bishop of
Jerusalem ordained him priest, though much against his
will, and committed to him the keeping of the holy Cross.
This was in 393. The saint changed nothing in his
austere life, feeding only upon roots and the coarsest bread,
and not eating till after sunset, except on Sundays and holy
days, when he ate at noon, and added a little oil and
cheese ; and a small quantity of wane in the water he drank.
This was his method of living till his death. Having been
elected bishop of Gaza without his knowledge, in 396, John,
the metropolitan and archbishop of Caesarea, wrote to the
patriarch of Jerusalem to desire him to send over Porphy-
rius, that he might consult him on certain difficult passages
of Scripture. He was sent accordingly, but charged to re-
turn in seven days. Porphyrius, receiving this order, seemed
at first disturbed, but said, “ God’s will be done." That
evening he called Mark, and said to him, “ Brother Mark,
let us go and venerate the holy places and the sacred Cross,
for it will be long before we shall be able to do it again."
Mark asked him why he said this. He answered, “Our
Saviour appeared to me the night past, and said ‘Give

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February 96.]

up the treasure of the cross which thou hast, for I will marry
thee to a wife, poor indeed, and despicable, but of great
piety and virtue. Take care to adorn her well ; for, however
contemptible she may appear, she is My sister.' This,” said
he, “ Christ signified to me last night : and I fear, in conse-
quence, that I am about to be charged with the sins of
others, whilst I labour to expiate my own ; but the will of
God must be obeyed.” When they had venerated the holy
places, and the sacred Cross, and Porphyrius had prayed
long before it, with many tears, he shut up the Cross in its
golden case, and delivered the keys to the bishop; and,
having obtained his blessing, he, and his disciple, Mark,
set out, with three others. They arrived the next day,
which was Saturday, at Caesarea. The archbishop obliged
them to sup with him. After spiritual discourse they took
a little sleep, and then rose to assist at the night service.
Next morning the archbishop bid the Gazaeans lay hold on
Porphyrius, and, while they held him, he ordained him
bishop. The holy man wept bitterly, and was inconsolable
at being promoted to a dignity for which he judged himself
unfit The Gazaeans, however, performed their part in en-
deavouring to comfort him; and, having assisted at the
Sunday office, and stayed one day more at Caesarea, they
set out for Gaza, and, late on Wednesday night, arrived
there much harassed and fatigued. For the heathens living
in the villages near Gaza, having notice of their coming, had
so damaged the roads in several places, and clogged them
with thorns and logs of wood, that they were scarcely
passable.

That year happened to be one of great drought, and this
the pagans ascribed to the coming of the new Christian
bishop, saying that their god Mamas had foretold that
Porphyrius would bring public calamities on their city. In
Gaza stood a famous temple of that idol, which the emperor

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Theodosius the Elder had commanded to be shut up, but
not demolished, on account of its beautiful structure. The
governor afterwards had permitted the heathens to open it
again. As no rain fell the two first months after the arrival
of S. Porphyrius, the idolaters, in great affliction, assembled
in this temple to offer sacrifices, and make supplications to
their god Marnas, whom they called the Lord of rains.
These they repeated for seven days, going also to a place of
prayer outside the town. But, finding all their endeavours
ineffectual, they lost all hopes of a supply. A dearth
ensuing, the Christians, to the number of two hundred and
eighty, women and children included, after a day's fast and
a night's vigil, by the order of their bishop, went in proces-
sion to S. Timothy's church, in which lay the relics of the
holy martyr, S. Meuris, and of the confessor, S. Theis,
singing hymns. But, on their return to the city, they found
the gates shut against them, and the heathens obstinately
determined not to open them. In this situation, the Chris-
tians addressed Almighty God with redoubled fervour,
imploring Him to send them the blessing so much wanted.
Presently the clouds gathered, and there fell such a quantity
of rain, that the heathens opened their gates, and, joining
them, cried out, “ Christ alone is God : He alone has over-
come.'' They accompanied the Christians to the church,
to thank God for the benefit received ; and this miracle re-
sulted in the conversion of one hundred and seventy-six
persons, whom the saint instructed, baptized, and confirmed,
as he did also one hundred and five more before the end of
that year. The miraculous preservation of the life of a
pagan woman in labour, who had been despaired of, occa-
sioned the conversion of that family and others, to the
number of sixty-four.

The heathens, perceiving their number decrease, grew
very troublesome to the Christians, whom they excluded

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from commerce, and all public offices, and annoyed in
various ways. S. Porphyrius, to screen himself and his
flock from their outrages, had recourse to the Emperor’s
protection. On this errand he sent Mark, his disciple, to
Constantinople, and went thither, afterward, himself, in com-
pany with John, his metropolitan, archbishop of Caesarea.
At Constantinople they applied to S. John Chrysostom, who
joyfully received them, and recommended them to the
eunuch Amantius, who had great credit with the Empress,
and was a zealous servant of God. Amantius, having in-
troduced them to the Empress, she received them with great
distinction, assured them of her protection, and begged their
prayers for her safe delivery, a favour she received a few
days after. She desired them, in another visit, to sign her
and her new-born son, Theodosius the Younger, with the
cross, which they did. The young prince was baptized with
great solemnity, and on that occasion the Empress obtained
from the Emperor all that the bishops had requested, and in
particular that the temple of Gaza should be demolished.
An imperial edict was drawn up for this purpose, and de-
livered to Cynegius, a patrician full of zeal, who was charged
to see it executed. They stayed at Constantinople during
the feast of Easter, and, at their departure, the Emperor
and Empress bestowed on them great presents. When they
landed in Palestine, near Gaza, the Christians came out to
meet them, with a cross carried before them, singing hymns.
In the place called Tetramphodos, or Four- way s-end, stood
a marble statue of Venus, on a marble altar, which was in
great reputation for giving oracles to young women about
the choice of husbands. As the two bishops, with the
procession of the Christians, and the cross borne before
them, passed through that square, this idol fell down of
itself, and was broken to pieces ; whereupon thirty-two men
and seven women were converted.

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Ten days after, arrived Cynegius, having with him a
duke, or general, with a strong guard of soldiers, and the
civil magistrates of the country. He assembled the citizens,
and read to them the emperor's edict, commanding their
idols and temples to be destroyed. This was accordingly
done, and no less than eight public temples in the city were
burnt; viz., those of the Sun, Venus, Apollo, Proserpine,
Hecate, the Hierion, the temple of fortune, and that of
Marnas. The Mamion, in which men had been often
sacrificed, burned for many days. After this, the private
houses and courts were all searched ; the idols were every
where burned or thrown into the common sewers, and all
books of magic and superstition were cast into the flames.
Many idolators desired baptism ; but the saint gave them a
long probation, and prepared them for that sacrament by
daily instructions. On the spot where the temple of Mamas
had stood, was built the church of Eudoxia, in the figure of
a cross. The empress sent for this purpose, precious pillars
and rich marble from Constantinople. Of the marble taken
out of the Mamion, S. Porphyrius made steps and a road
to the church, that it might be trampled upon. Before he
would suffer the church to be begun, he proclaimed a fast,
and the next morning, attended by his clergy and all the
Christians in the city, they went in a body to the place,
from the church Irene, singing the Venite exultcmus Domino ,
and other psalms, and answering to every verse, Allelulia ;
the procession being led by a cross. They all set to work,
carrying stones and other materials, and digging the founda-
tions, according to the plan marked out and directed by
Rufinus, a celebrated architect, singing psalms and saying
prayers during their work. The church was begun in 403,
when thirty high pillars arrived from Constantinople, two ol
which, called Carostise, shone like emeralds, when placed
in the church. It took five years to build, and, when

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■S'. Porphyrins .

441

finished in 408, the bishop performed the consecration of it
on Easter-day, with the greatest pomp and solemnity. His
alms to the poor on that occasion seemed boundless. The
good bishop spent the remainder of his life in zealously
instructing his flock in the doctrine of God, and in ail
virtuous living.

The heathen, on one occasion, rose in sedition, attacked
the house of the bishop, and set it on fire, so that he and
his deacons were obliged to escape over the roof, and take
refuge in the room of a maiden of fourteen, an orphan,
named Salaphtha, and a heathen. The girl showed them
every kindness, keeping their place of retreat secret, and
supplying them with bread and cheese and vegetables.
The bishop took the opportunity of infusing into the young
mind of the girl the first principles of Christianity, and
when the tumult was abated, and he with his companions
were able to go forth in safety, he left her earnestly desiring
baptism. The maiden afterwards became a zealous Chris-
tian, and was consecrated to a life of virginity by the old
bishop, whom she had saved from the rage of his enemies.

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Lives of the Saints .

fFebruary 27.

February 27.

SS. Julian, Chronion, and Besas, MM. at Alexandria, a.d. 350.

S. Gelasius, M. at Heliopolis, in Phoenicia , a.d. 397.

S. Honorina, F.m. at Confians , in France.

S. Thalelabus, H. in Syria, circ. a.d. 460.

S. Comoan, Ab. in Ireland, before a.d. 569.

S. Leander, B. of Hispala or Seville , a.d. 596.

S. Baldomer, Subd. at Lyons , circ. a.d. 660.

S. Alnoth, H.M. in England , circ. a.d. 737 .

B. John, Ab. of Gorze, near Metz, a.d. 1163.

SS. JULIAN, CHRONION, AND BESAS, MM.
(a.d. 250.)

[Roman Martyrology ; but some on Feb. 19th ; by the Greeks on Oct.
30th. Authority : — The contemporary letters by Dionysius, B. of Alexan-
dria, to Germanus, quoted by Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. vi„ c. 41.]

(ppSj^SjSAI NT DIONYSIUS, bishop of Alexandria, in a
letter describing the sufferings of his church
dining the persecutions of Decius, after having
lamented the apostacy of some, adds : “ But
others remained firm and blessed pillars of the Lord, con-
firmed by the Lord himself, and receiving of Him strength
suited to their measure of faith, proved admirable witnesses
of His kingdom. The first of these was Julian, a man
afflicted with the gout, neither able to walk nor to stand,
who, with two others that carried him, was arraigned. Of
these, the one immediately denied his faith, but the other,
named Chronion, sumamed Eunus, and the aged Julian
himself, having confessed the Lord, were carried on camels
through the whole city, a very large one, as you know, and
were scourged, and finally consumed in an immense fire, in
the midst of a crowd of spectators. But a soldier, named
Besas, standing near, having opposed the insolence of the
multitude whilst these martyrs were on the way to execution,

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•S'. Gelaszus .

443

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■*

was assailed by them with loud shouts, and this brave soldier
of God, after he had excelled in the great conflict of piety,
was beheaded.”

Relics at Autun.

S. GELASIUS, M.

(A.D. 297.)

[Greek Menaea. Authority : — The Chronicon Alexandrinum, or Chron.
Paschale, under date 269 from the Ascension, which is equivalent to 297 of j
the vulgar era. In this Chronicle he is called Gelasinus. Theodoret may,
perhaps, allude to him, when he says that some have passed from the stage
of the theatre to the ranks of the martyrs. Du curand Graec. Affect.,

Serm. 8. Much the same circumstances are related of S. Genesius (Aug.

25th), who suffered about 286, unless both are the same ; Gelasius in the
West becoming Genesius by a slight change of liquids.]

Gelasius was a comic actor, the second clown of the
theatre at Heliopolis, in Phoenicia. One day, on the stage
was performed a parody of Christian rites for the amuse-
ment of the heathen spectators. A large bathing tub was
introduced on the stage, filled with warm water, and the
clown, Gelasius, was dipped in it, the other clown pro-
nouncing over him the sacramental words. When he rose
from the bath, and was vested in white, it was observed
that a change had come over him ; the jesting air and
laugh were gone, and a solemn expression had overspread
his countenance. “ I am a Christian,” said he ; in the
font I saw a dazzling light Therefore, I will die as a
Christian.” As soon as the audience became aware that he
spoke in sober earnest, the theatre became a scene of wild
tumult, the people deserted their seats, and rushed on the
stage, and dragged the poor actor forth, clothed in his white
robe, and stoned him to death outside the theatre. His
body was transported to the village of Mariamnia, near Heli-
opolis, of which he was a native, and an oratory was erected
by the Christians over his tomb.

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444

Lives of the Saints.

[February 37.

S. HONORINA, V. M.

(date unknown.)

[Some Gallican Martyrologies.]

Nothing whatever is known of this saint The author
of the history of the translation of her relics to Conflans,
near Pontoise, a short distance from Paris, says that her
virtues, her merits, and her mode of passion, are utterly
unknown. So also is the date of her death. The relics
were translated about the year a.d. 912. As an instance of
the manner in which confusion has arisen in the lives and
acts of martyrs of an early date, it is deserving of mention
that in the church of Quimper, the Matin lections for the
feast of S. Honorina are portions of the Acts of S. Doro-
thea, transferred to Feb. 27 th, to do duty for the unrecorded
S. Honorina.

S. THALELiEUS, H.

(ABOUT A.D. 460.)

[Greek Menaea. No commemoration in Western Church. Authority :
— Theodoret, Philothaeus, c. xxviii.]

“ Not only have I heard of this man from others,” says
Theodoret, “ but I saw him myself.” Thalelseus erected
for his habitation a small hut against an idol shrine, near
Gabala, to which many people resorted, and where they
offered sacrifice to devils. The evil spirits, enraged at his
thus assaulting them in their sanctuary, endeavoured by
hideous clamours and frightful apparitions, to scare the
Christian hermit away; but every effort of demons and
idolaters to drive him from this shrine proved ineffectual.
Thalelseus succeeded in converting many who came as
votaries to the temple, and persuaded them to bend their
necks to the sweet yoke of Christ's law. With many of

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February 37.]

S. Leander.

445

these converts Theodoret conversed. After that Thalelseus
had lived thus a while, he devised for himself a strange and
horrible penance. He made two wheels, and then joined
them by pieces of wood into a species of barrel, but open
between the bars. He enclosed himself within this case,
which was so low that his chin rested on his knees, and re-
mained therein for many years. He had been ten years in
it when Theodoret saw him. This frightful self-immolation
is by no means to be regarded as deserving of imitation.
But it was called forth by peculiar circumstances, and for a
special purpose. The rude people of Syria could be im-
pressed no other way. To win these souls from heathenism
this phase of the ascetic life was evoked, it served its pur-
pose, and passed away.

S. LEANDER, B. OF HISPALA.

(ABOUT A.D. 596.)

[Roman Martyrology, and those of Usuardus, Notker, Ado, and Bede ;
but by the Spanish Church and Mozarabic Kalendar, followed by the
Bollandists, on March 13th. Authorities His own writings, the letters
of S. Gregory the Great, and early Spanish histories.]

This illustrious friend of the great S. Gregory, this apostle
of the Visigoths, was of illustrious birth. His father, Seve-
rian duke of Carthagena, and mother, Turtura, of royal
Ostrogoth blood, had three sons and two daughters. The
sons were, S. Leander, S. Fulgentius, B. of Ecija, and S.
Isidore, who succeeded Leander as archbishop of Seville.

The daughters were S. Florentina, abbess of fifty convents,
and the princess Theodosia, married to king Leovigild,
who became the mother of the illustrious martyr, S.
Hermenigild.

From his boyhood, Leander was regarded as endowed
— *

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446 Lives of the Saints. [February >7.

with singular eloquence and power of fascinating others.

He retired, when young, from the world, and took the reli-
gious habit in a monastery of Seville, where he gained so
great a reputation that, on the archiepiscopal see becoming
vacant, he was elected to it by the unanimous voice of
clergy and people.

Leovigild, his brother-in-law, then reigned over the Visi-
goth kingdom, in Spain, and openly professed Arianism.

This caused great embarrassment to Leander, who used
every effort to confirm the Catholics in their faith, and to
oppose the heretics at every point He was sent on an
embassy from the Catholics to the emperor Tiberius, at
Constantinople,, where he made the acquaintance of S.
Gregory the Great, then cardinal-deacon of Pope Pelagius
II., who had sent him at this time on the affairs of the
church, to the imperial court The warmest attachment
sprang up between these two great men, and it was at the
instance of S. Leander, that S. Gregory wrote his famous
“ Morals of the Book of Job.” When their business was
concluded, both saints returned to their country, S. Gregory
to Italy, and S. Leander to Spain, where he succeeded in
converting prince Hermenigild, his nephew, the eldest son
of king Leovigild. This placed the Catholics in great
danger. The king, in an explosion of rage, executed his
son on Easter-day, 586, and began a furious persecution of
the Church. S. Leander and his brother, S. Fulgentius,
together with several other bishops, were exiled, and the
king seized on the property and revenues of the Church,
and, adding cruelty to robbery, put several nobles to death,
and confiscated their lands.

S. Leander, though exiled, warred with his pen against
the Arian heresy, and wrote two works confuting the errors
of Arianism, and a third book answering objections which
had been raised against his arguments.

* — £1

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February 27.J .S'. BdldoiflBT • 44 7

The persecution did not last long, for in the following
year, 587, Leovigild, finding himself about to die, recalled
the Catholic bishops, and commended his son, Recared, to
the care of S. Leander. Thus, to use the words of S.
Gregory, Recared, following not the perfidy of his father,
an Arian, but the faith of his martyred brother, was brought
himself, and the whole nation of the Visigoths, to the true
faith.

In the third council of Toledo, 589, the archbishop of
Seville presiding, a solemn declaration of the consubstan-
tiality of the Divine Persons was drawn up, and signed by
the king, Recared, and his queen, Badda, daughter of king
Arthur, of Britain. Next year another synod was held at
Seville, in which he presided, to establish the complete
conversion of the nation from Arianism to the true faith.

S. Leander died in 596, on March 13th, and his body
was laid in the church of SS. Justus and Rufina. His
relics are now preserved in a chapel of the Cathedral
church.

In art, S. Leander appears with (1) a flaming heart in his
hand, to represent his zeal for the conversion of the Visi-
goths, but this is a symbol used for a multitude of other
saints; or with (2) a pen; or (3) with Recared or Hermeni-
gild as a boy at his side.

S. BALDOMER, SUBD., C.

(ABOUT A.D. 660.)

[Roman Martyrology, and those of Bede, Usuardus, Ado, Notker, &c.
Authority: — An ancient epitome of his life, pub. by the Bollandists. In
French he is called S. Garmier or S. Germier .]

Baldomer was a blacksmith of Lyons, living a simple,
pious life, “ in chastity clean, in friendship firm, in charity

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448 Lives of the Saints . [February

benign, in reading intent, in watchings solicitous, in alms-
giving prompt,” says his biographer. S. Viventius, abbot of
S. Just, going into a church one day, noticed the blacksmith
at his devotions, and afterwards entering into conversation
with him, was so struck with his holiness and knowledge of
the Scriptures, that he gave him a cell in his abbey, where
he edified all the brethren by his modesty and diligence.

His gentleness was so great, that at meal times he crumbled
bread in his hand, and, holding it out of the window, the
wild birds came, full of trust, and perched on his fingers.
Then he would say, “ Eat, little birds, eat, and praise the
Lord.” He was ordained subdeacon much against his
will, by Caudrick, bishop of Lyons, and died about the
year 660.

S. ALNOTH, H. M.

(ABOUT A.D. 727.)

[Anglican Martyrology of John Wilson, in the first edition ; but in the
second edition on Nov. 25th. Ferrari us and Boilandus on Feb. 27th.
Authority : — Mention in the life of S. Wereburga, attributed to Joscelyn.
c- 3-1

S. Alnoth was a hermit, who had been a cowherd of S
Wereburga, but embracing the eremitical life, settled in a
wood at Stowe, near Bugbrook, in Northamptonshire, but
was murdered by robbers. His body was buried at Stowe.

February *8.i 6'6'. Nymphas & Eubulus.

449

February 28.

SS. Ntmphas and Eubulus, xst cent.

SS. Alexandrine Martyrs in the plague, a.d. 261.

SS. Stmphorian, Macarius, and Others, MM. at Rome .
S. Proterius, M. Patr. of Alexandria, a.d. 459.

S. Romanus, Ab. of Condate ; eirc . a.d. 460.

SS. NYMPHAS AND EUBULUS.

(1ST CENT.)

|N the last day of February are commemorated
two friends of S. Paul, Nymphas, of whom he
speaks in his Epistle to the Colossians, and
Eubulus, whom he mentions in his Second
Epistle to S. Timothy, as being with him at Rome. Nym-
phas was at Laodicea. Nothing further is known of these
two.

SS. MARTYRS IN THE PLAGUE AT ALEX-
ANDRIA.

(a.d. 261-3.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority: — A paschal letter by Dionysius,
patriarch of Alexandria, quoted by Eusebius, lib. viii. c. 21, 22.]

These brave victims of the plague in Alexandria, who
died through ministering to pest-stricken heathens and
Christians alike, are commemorated by the Church as
examples to all whose office or charity calls them to attend
to the sick. Dionysius, the patriarch, writes of the pesti-
lence which succeeded war and famine in Alexandria, in
one of his Easter letters, “ To other men the present is a fit
season for a festival, but now to us all things are filled with
vol. 11. 29

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Lives of the Saints . [February a8.

tears ; all are mourning, and by reason of the multitudes,
already dead and dying, the whole city resounds with
groans. As when the first-born of Egypt were slain, so is it
now ; there is a great lamentation, for there is not a house
in which is not one dead. I wish this were all, but we
have undergone other calamities before this plague. First,
we were driven into exile, and persecuted, and put to
death ; then came war and the famine, which, indeed, we
and the heathen endured alike ; and now we are assailed
by this pestilence, a calamity to the heathen more dreadful
than anything else, but not so to us, but rather a school to
try us. Most of our brethren, by their exceeding great love
and brotherly affection, not sparing themselves, were con-
stant in their attendance on the sick, ministering to their
wants without fear and without cessation, and they have
departed most sweetly with those to whom they ministered.
Many also, who had healed others, fell victims themselves.
The best of our brethren have departed this life in this way,
some were priests, others deacons, and some laity of great
commendation. This death, with the piety and ardent
faith which attended it, appears to be but little inferior to
martyrdom itself. Our people took up the bodies of these
saints with their open hands and on their bosoms, cleansed
their eyes and closed their mouths, carried them on
their shoulders, and composed their limbs, and decently
washed and clothed them for burial, and those who did this
themselves shared in receiving the same offices. Those
that survived always followed those going before them.
But it was different with the heathen. They repelled those
who began to sicken, and avoided their dearest friends.
They would cast them out into the roads half-dead, or
throw them out when dead without burial, shunning all
communication with the sick and infected.”

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February ag.]

•S'. Proterius .

*■

45^

SS. SYMPHORIAN AND OTHERS, MM.
(unknown date.)

The bodies of fourteen martyrs, by name, Symphorian,
Macarius, Victorinus, Maurice, Anicetus, Modestus, Cyri-
acus, Faustus, Placidus, Rocchus, Alexander, Genesius,
Eulalia, and Irene, extracted from the catacombs of
S. Callixtus and S. Lucina, are preserved at Antwerp, in
the Church of the Jesuits, to which they were translated
on Feb. 27th, 1650. Nothing is known of the acts and
martyrdom of these saints.

S. PROTERIUS, M. PATR. OF ALEXANDRIA.

(A.D. 457.)

[Greek Menaea on this day. Baronius and others have expressed sur-
prise that the name of S. Proterius is inserted in no Western Martyrologies.
Authority Evagrius, lib. iii. 13; Theophanes, the letters of Anatolius,

Patr. of Constantinople, &c.]

S. Proterius was the head of the orthodox party at
Alexandria, when the patriarch Dioscorus adopted Euty-
chian views. That unprincipled and haughty prelate,
knowing the esteem in which Proterius was held, made
him arch-priest of his diocese ; but as his heretical opinions
became more evident, Proterius took decided steps to
oppose him, and on the condemnation and deposition of
Dioscorus by the Council of Chalcedon, in 452, he was
ordained in his room. This led to a schism in the Church
of Alexandria, the Catholics acknowledging Proterius, and
the Eutychians holding with Dioscorus. The Eutychians
were headed by two ecclesiastics, Timothy Ailurus, and
Mongus, who had been excommunicated for heresy. In a
tumult that broke out, Ailurus, having obtained consecration
from two bishops of their faction, mounted the episcopal

* *

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452

Lives of the Samts.

[February a£

throne, and proclaimed himself sole patriarch of Alexandria.
Proterius fled for safety to the baptistery of the Church of
S. Quirinus, but the heretics broke in and stabbed him to
death ; then dragged his body through the streets, hacked
it to pieces, and burnt it

S. ROMANUS, AB. OF CONDATE.

(a.d. 460.)

[Roman, Benedictine, and most Latin Martyrologies. Authorities: —
A life by a contemporary monk of Condate, also a life by S. Gregory ol
Tours.]

Romanus, trained in the monastery of Ainay, near
Lyons, left his father's house at the age of thirty-five, and
carrying with him “ Lives of the Fathers of the Desert,”
and some tools and vegetable seeds, made his way into the
high mountains and inhabited forests of the Jura, found a
site enclosed between three steep heights, at the confluence
of two streams, and there founded, under the name of
Condate, a monastery destined to become one of the most
celebrated in the West. The soil was well adapted for
cultivation, but in consequence of the difficulty of access to
the place, it became the property of the first occupant. He
found shelter at first under an enormous fir tree, the thick
branches of which represented to him the palm which
served Paul, the first hermit, in the desert of Egypt, for a
tent; then he began to read, to pray, and to plant his
herbs, with a certainty of being protected against the
curious and importunate, by the extreme roughness of the
paths which crossed those precipices, and also by the masses
of fallen and interlaced trees, which are often met with in
fir woods not yet subjected to regular care and tendance.

His solitude was disturbed only by the wild animals, and
now and then by some bold huntsman. However, he was

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February 28.]

■5*. Romanus.

453

joined there by his brother Lupicinus and others, in so
great a number, that they were soon obliged to spread
themselves, and form new establishments in the environs.

The two brothers governed these monasteries together, and
maintained order and discipline, not without difficulty,
among the increasing multitude of novices, against which
an old monk protested, complaining that they did not even
leave him room in which to lie down. Women followed ;
and upon a neighbouring rock, suspended like a nest at the
edge of a precipice, the sister of our two abbots ruled five
hundred virgins, so severely cloistered, that having once
entered the convent, they were seen no more, except during
the transit of their bodies from the death bed to the grave.

As for the monks, each had a separate cell ; they had
only the church and the refectory in common. In summer
they took their siesta under the great firs, which in winter
protected their dwelling against the snow and the north
wind. They sought to imitate the anchorites of the East,
whose various rules they studied daily, tempering them
by certain alleviations, which were necessitated by the
climate ; their daily labour, and even by the constitution of
the Gaulish race. They wore sabots, and tunics of skins
tacked together, which protected them from the rain, but
not from the rigorous cold of these bleak heights, where
people are, says their biographer, in winter sometimes
crushed beneath the snow, and in summer stifled by the
heat produced by the reflection of the sun upon the perpen-
dicular wails of rock. Lupicinus surpassed them all in
austerity; he slept in the trunk of an old tree, and lived
only upon pottage made of barley-meal, ground with the
bran, without salt, without oil, and without even milk ; and
one day, disgusted at the delicacy of his brethren, he threw
indiscriminately into the same pot, the fish, the herbs, and
the roots, which the monks had prepared apart, and with

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454

Lives of the Saints.

[February a&

some care. The community was greatly irritated, and
twelve monks, whose patience was exhausted, went away.
Upon this, an altercation arose between the two brothers.
“ It would have been better,” said Romanus to Lupicinus,
“ not to have come hither, than to be a cause of dispersion
to our monks.” “Never mind,” answered Lupicinus, “it
is the straw separating from the corn; those twelve are
proud, mounted on stilts, and God is not with them.”
However, the more gentle and forbearing Romanus suc-
ceeded in bringing back the fugitives, who all, in their turn,
became superiors of communities.

S. Romanus made a pilgrimage to Agaunum (S. Maurice
in the Valais), to visit the scene of the martyrdom of the
Theban Legion. On his way, he cured two lepers by a
kiss, and the fame of this miracle coming to the ears of the
Genevese, the bishop and clergy, and the whole town,
turned out to meet and receive him with honour.

When he felt that he must die, he called to him his
sister from the convent on the rock, and his brother
Lupicinus, to whom he commended the care of his monks,
and then fell asleep in Christ.1

Relics in the Church of S. Romain-de-Roche in the Jura.

1 Chiefly from the Monks of the West, ii. p. 486, seq.

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February 39.]

S. Oswald .

455

February 29.

S. Oswald, Archbishop q/ Tori, a.d. 99a.

S. OSWALD, ARCHB. OF YORK.

(a.d. 992.)

[Wilson's Anglican Martyrology, and those of Wyon, Menardus, and
Morolycus. But Molanus on October 15th. Authorities His life by
Eadmer ; also Florence of Worcester, William of Malmesbury, and the
Ramsey Chronicle.]

KSjgSsraSWALD, the only saint commemorated on Feb.
I 1 29th, was the nephew of S. Odo, archbishop of

Canterbury, and of Osketill, bishop, first of
Dorchester, and afterwards of York. He was
educated by S. Odo, and made first canon and then dean
of Winchester, but he took the monastic habit in the abbey
of Fleury, in France, and was re-called by S. Odo to Eng-
land, where he found favour with S. Duns tan, who com-
mended him to king Edgar, and, by his command, he was
chosen bishop of Worcester, about the year 959. One of
his first acts was to establish twelve monks at Westbury, in
his diocese. He afterwards built Ramsey monastery, on
an island in Ramsey Mere, given to the Order of S.
Benedict by Earl Hilwyn, cousin of king Edgar, who had
been cured of gout by an apparition of the patriarch of
western monks. S. Dunstan, as is well known, laboured
diligently to enforce celibacy on the clergy in England. A
council was held in 969, in which the clergy were ordered
to live single or to resign their cures, and Oswald of Wor-
cester, and Ethelwold of Winchester, were commissioned to
enforce this decree. Oswald was afterwards made arch-
bishop of York, without resigning the see of Worcester.

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Lives of the Saints.

[February 29.

He had established a Benedictine monastery, dedicated to
the Mother of God, at Worcester, and the monastic church
from that time became the Cathedral.

It was his wont to wash every day the feet of twelve poor
men, whom he afterwards fed. On the Tuesday after the
third Sunday in Lent, Feb. 29th, he was performing this
duty as usual. After he had wiped the feet of the last poor
man, and had stooped to kiss them, he said “ Glory be to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,” and
gentiy expired.

He died, and was buried at Worcester. Ten years after,
his remains were taken up by his successor, Adulph, and
translated to York, on October 15th. It is said that when
his body was taken into Worcester Abbey Church, after
his death, a white dove hovered above it. His purple
and gold stole was preserved in Beverley Minster, in the
time of Thomas Stubbs, who mentions the fact in his
account of the Archbishops of York.

Printed by BaLLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.

Edinburgh and London

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