Indaletius

ON SAINT INDALETIUS,

BISHOP OF URCI IN SPAIN.

FIRST CENTURY.

Indaletius, Bishop, of Urci in Spain (Saint)

BY D. P.

[1] The most celebrated monastery of Saint John at Pinna in Aragon received the beginnings of sanctity from the first hermit inhabitants of its exceedingly rugged crag, John, Felix, and Votus; under Sancho I, King of Sobrarbe, the form of cenobitic religious life; and under another Sancho, King of Aragon called the Elder (Maior), the perfection of regular observance — who, as he himself says in a certain donation, in the Era 1060, that is, in the year of Christ 1022, hearing that the teaching of Blessed Benedict shone everywhere, considered how he might transplant it into his own regions; and sending to the monastery of Cluny, summoned thence Abbot Paternus, and with him a flock of monks, whom he established in the monastery of Saint John the Baptist; so Sandoval in the first part of his Foundations, treating of the monastery of Saint Aemilian, §42. One of the first seven Apostles of Spain, Finally, under Sancho, son of Ramiro, grandson of Sancho the Elder, the same place obtained its highest splendor, when the body of Saint Indaletius was brought thither, who was one of the first seven heralds of the Christian faith among the Spanish. Concerning these we have said much, on occasion of Saints Caecilius and Hesychius, on the Kalends of February and March, from the account of various writers, which if anyone shall have read them with a mind not prejudiced to either side and compared them among themselves, he will scarcely reach any other conclusion than that one ought to pronounce it still in doubt whether the Spaniards were disciples of Saint James or not, was he a disciple of Saint James? judging rightly with Mariana, that most accurate writer of Spanish history, who in book 4, chapter 2, after having set forth the same things, adds: "We, since the antiquity of the events detracts from any certain faith in what is written, leave free the reader's judgment on the whole matter."

[2] Whence it is also easy to judge how little credit is deserved by those things which Tamayo publishes in his Martyrology on April 30 concerning the birth and homeland of Saint Indaletius: "From those ancient Hebrews," he says, "whom Nebuchadnezzar's monstrous dispersion separated and Pyrrhus dispatched into Spain, he took his origin: was he a Spaniard born of the Jews? whose ancestors fixed their seat among the Carpetani. From these, down to the times of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, flowed the lineage of the fathers and forefathers of Indaletius; which, instructed in the Mosaic law, observed the mysteries of the written law with tenacious devotion." No more certain are those things which the Chronicle of Julianus Petrus conveys at number 9: namely, that through letters from the Jerusalem Jews (among whom the chief were Annas, Caiaphas, and Joseph) those of the same race who had their seats in Spain were informed that, if the disciples of Christ were to come into the Spains (for it was being said that James, son of Zebedee, his Apostle, was already coming), they should by no means receive them, but should keep them from their cities as impostors and rascals. The Spaniards, on the contrary, moved not at all by these letters, sent Euphrasius and Indaletius; was he sent to Jerusalem and converted by Saint Peter? asking Peter and the other Apostles to send James at once; and these same men, coming to Jerusalem, delivered their letters to Peter; and having seen his miracles were converted, and came into Spain with Saint James. Briz in his History of Pinna, book 3, counts Saint Indaletius with his six companions Torquatus, Ctesiphon, Secundus, Caecilius, Hesychius, Euphrasius in the catalog of the seventy-two disciples of Christ, moved by the authority of an ancient Breviary of the monastery of Pinna, was he one of the 72 disciples of Christ? in which the portion of the second Lesson concerning Saint Indaletius runs thus: "Thence it came to pass that, just as to the other Coapostles, so also to Blessed James, brother of the holy Evangelist John, seeking the Spains for the sake of preaching, seven men predestined from the aforesaid seventy-two disciples were joined to him for the aid of pious preaching, endowed with divine knowledge, illustrious in honesty of morals, and no less glorious in the dignity of their works." These things indeed conflict with those which we were just reporting from the Chronicle of Julianus: for there Saint Indaletius, still a Jew in religion, is said to have come first to Jerusalem after Christ's death, and to have been converted by Saint Peter to the Christian faith. From which it appears how little certainty can be pronounced here: since also there are those who say that Saint Indaletius and his companions were taken from the Roman clergy and went into the Spains, inferring this even from their very names, which are partly Greek and partly Latin.

[3] [he is ordained Bishop at Rome by Saints Peter and Paul together with 6 companions;] Whatever, therefore, be the case concerning Saint Indaletius's birth, homeland, and first conversion to the faith of Christ, this is more probable: that at Rome, with his six aforesaid companions, he was consecrated Bishop by the holy Apostles Peter and Paul. So Usuard clearly says on May 15 in his Martyrology, when he asserts that "at Rome they were ordained Bishops by the holy Apostles, and were directed to preach the word of God to the Spains, which were then still entangled in pagan error." The same is clear from the 64th letter of Pope Gregory VIII, written to Alfonso VI, King of Castile, and Sancho IV, King of Aragon; in which the Pontiff speaks thus: "Since the Blessed Apostle Paul indicates that he went to Spain, and afterwards seven Bishops are known to have been sent from the city of Rome by the Apostles Peter and Paul to instruct the peoples of Spain, who, having destroyed idolatry, founded Christianity," etc.

The same thing is most plainly urged by an inscription of this kind, found in his tomb in the year of the Lord 1080:

"Here rests Indaletius, Pontiff of the city of Urci, ordained by the Blessed Apostles at Rome."

[3] In what year, having been sent into Spain, he came, we have said under Saints Caecilius and Hesychius; namely, after the year of Christ 58: for in the year 56, which was the second of Nero, Saint Paul was brought to Rome in chains, and two years later restored to liberty; so that he could not have set out for Spain before that, and having returned thence afterward urged Saint Peter to consecrate Bishops to be sent there. Coming into Spain with his companions, Saint Indaletius lands at Guadix, first went to the city of Acci: which, enumerated by Ptolemy among the inland cities of the Bastitani, is called in Greek Ἂκκι, commonly Guadix. What, upon their arrival, marvelously befell them, Ado in his Martyrology on May 15, together with Notker and others, recounts in these words: "When, because of the weariness of the journey, resting a little, [where, rescued by a miracle from the hands of their persecutors, he converted the pagans:] they had sent disciples into the city for the sake of buying provisions; presently a multitude of pagans, who were then by chance celebrating festivities for their gods, pursued them as far as the river: on which a bridge of wondrous size and firmness erected, after the Saints had crossed, by God's nod fell utterly to ruin along with the whole multitude of pursuers. Terrified by this miracle, the rest, following the example of a certain great matron Luparia (who, divinely inspired, receiving them kindly, believed), abandoning their idols, believed in Christ the Lord." And a little later he adds the following: "There endures to this day an illustrious miracle, in commendation of their precious death: for on the same solemnity, at the aforesaid city of Acci, at the tomb of Saint Torquatus, an olive tree flowering by divine power is laden with ripe fruits."

[5] Thence, the others having departed to preach the faith further afield, three of them seem to have remained in the Bastitani country; Torquatus, the leader of the rest, at Acci, at the very place where they had first fixed the faith: Ctesiphon is said to have had his burial at Vergium. We judged Hara to be Virgi, which is today called Vera, on April 1; but because among the Episcopal Sees none is named Vergium or Virgi, we conjectured he places his See at Baza. that in the very metropolis of the Bastitani, Basta, today Baza, a place worthy above others, the Episcopal See of Ctesiphon was. Finally to Indaletius fell the city of Urci, whose Bishops are found to have subscribed: Marcellus to the 4th and 5th Councils of Toledo in person, but through his Vicar Daniel to the 8th, 9th, and 10th; Palmatius to the 11th and 14th; Habitus to the 15th and 16th.

[6] There are those who would have Urci to be the same as Virgi or Vergi. But Usuard evidently distinguished them, when he wrote in his Martyrology that Ctesiphon had come to rest at Vergium, and Indaletius at Urci. near present-day Almería. In the provincial Catalogues, which Loaisa opportunely inserted after the Council of Lugo in his volume of the Councils of Spain, it is written not indeed Urcum, but with softer pronunciation Urgum or Urgi, though elsewhere for the sake of explanation is added "that is, Almería," or "alternatively, Almería." Almería however does not lie upon the Virgitane gulf, but has its own proper Gulf, which among the ancients gave the name Portus-Magnus, and is separated from the aforesaid Virgitane gulf by the promontory of Charidemus, commonly called Cabo de los Gatas. Yet it is established from the history of the discovery of his body, that near Almería was the place in which the Saint was buried, and therefore also the city of Urci; at about the sixth milestone, or (as Briz explains) the second league, and indeed toward the interior: otherwise the barbarians would not have had any reason to transfer the city, as they did.

[7] commemorated on May 15 with his companions The name of Indaletius is read inscribed in various Ecclesiastical fasti; of Bede, Usuard, Ado, Notker, the Roman Martyrology: but conjoined with his companions, to whose common feast one and the same day, namely May 15, is dedicated in the universal Church: although in particular Churches individuals obtain almost a separate cult, distinct in month and day. So the Church of Almería venerates Saint Indaletius on March 3, a proper cult on March 3 and April 30 in Spain as we are taught from the common order of reciting the divine office, and on that day among the Pretermitted we have spoken of him: but in the Church of Burgos the festivity is celebrated on this day, on which his Relics were there received: which day, because Tamayo, the author of the Hispanic Martyrology, preferred, we also hold; perhaps otherwise more notable is the Translation of the Body to the church of Pinna, on account of which April 9 is held a festival there.

[8] In the Breviary of the Church of Burgos, published in the year 1502, the following is recited: "Let us see, therefore, with the office. dearly beloved Brethren, whose Translation we celebrate today; that of Saint Indaletius, namely, and what this name signifies: let us see, let us handle, let us ruminate with the senses of the mind, that which we hold in the bowels of our heart; for we ought to be holy animals. The Lord says in a certain place through Ezekiel: 'I do not will the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live.' Ezek. 33:11 Is not this the voice of gladness? It is indeed. Now Indaletius means 'Index of gladness': because this gladness, at Christ's command, in the beginning of the nascent Church, he strove to announce to all Spain. There is also another gladness greater than this, as Paul says, because the Lord Jesus came into this world to save sinners. 1 Tim. 1:15 We therefore, who ought to be winged animals, at least on the day of so great a solemnity, by searching and investigating the mysteries of God, let us be lifted up a little from the earth: let us see whether our Confessor and Bishop is the index of yet greater gladness. It is written that 'Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights'; and this perfect and best gift is from above. Jas. 1:17 This Saint therefore, as I said, is given to us as an index of gladness."

[9] The body, found by divine agency in the formerly Episcopal city of Urci, and thence translated to the aforesaid monastery of Pinna, the body found at Urci, is translated to the monastery of Pinna commonly called San Juan de la Peña, was deposited in a silver reliquary of exquisite price and workmanship: King Sancho defraying the expense, who at that time with his son Peter was keeping Lent in the said monastery. The history of the Invention and Translation, which Briz rendered into Spanish and inserted into his own work, (as Hebretmus who saw it writes) book 3 of the history of Pinna, chapter 28 and following, Tamayo de Salazar brings forth in Latin, on the 9th of this month, as received from the Pinna manuscripts. Hebretmus, an unworthy monk of the monastery of Cluny, described it, as he himself professes at the end. The whole style, overflowing and superabundant in words, and not at all barbarous if referred to the 11th century, indicates the author to be rather a Frenchman than a Spaniard. But as to why, just as Abbot Paternus with his flock of monks was summoned from Cluny, so successively from the same monastery of Cluny men were not sent who might preserve there, by their example and vigilance, the tenor of that discipline. Certainly the name Hebretmus is not Aragonese: if indeed it be read Hebrelmus or Hebrermus, in the manner that Guilielmus and Guiliermus are said, it is perfectly Frankish; nor was it difficult for unskilled copyists in transcribing to corrupt one letter. We will however call him Hebretmus, lest we seem to attribute more to our own conjecture than to the Pinna monks themselves, who so call the author.

[10] not in the year 1084 Hebretmus or Hebrelmus wrote not uncertain things as certain, but things which he saw with his own eyes and which he heard from the very authors of the said Translation, at the command of Abbot Sancho (under whom the matter was done), in the year from the Incarnation of the Lord 1084, that is, Era 1122, on the 5th day before the Kalends of April, as he professes at the end: which year, so expressly noted, without further discussion of the matter, led the author of the History of Pinna astray, so that he believed it to be the very year of the Translation. But he ought to have considered that it is no less expressly said, that the bringing of the Saint's Body into the monastery fell on the feast of the Lord's Supper, and the same was April 9, observed thereafter annually with religious devotion by the Pinna monks, as appears from Tamayo and others. Moreover Hebretmus himself, when he says in the prologue "whose Translation we today venerate with due observances," sufficiently clearly indicates to 1080, not the first, but the anniversary celebration; to whose Lessons at Matins this writing was meant to serve. Therefore, pressing upon the characters of the concurrence of the Lord's Supper and April 9, I find no other year in which these events could more fitly be said to have taken place than the year 1080, in which, with lunar cycle 17, solar 25, Dominical letter D, Easter was celebrated on April 12.

[11] Yet the aforesaid Briz confirms his own error by the authority of a certain diploma, whose conclusion is as follows: "In the Era 1122 was translated the body of Saint Indaletius, Bishop, into the monastery of San Juan de la Peña, on the fifth of the Kalends of April, and the castle of Argedas was captured by me, Sancho the King." But I, already taught from other sources how such fragments of ancient diplomas are not easily to be received unless it is established that they were received from autographs, am moved not at all by them; nay, from this very error I am led to believe that this is one among many spurious pieces, whose author transcribed this mark of time from a poorly understood Hebretmus.

[12] The same Briz moreover writes that the bones of Saint Indaletius, when in the year 1495 the aforesaid reliquary had been burned in a chance fire, appeared unharmed in the fire licking all around; and were translated into another reliquary, less precious indeed in material, yet equally elegant in workmanship. he is held in honor by the neighboring peoples for the rain granted in drought. Likewise he recounts in book 3 of the History of Pinna: that it had been placed in the custom of the inhabitants of the said monastery, among whom were also the people of Jaca, that every year, about to venerate the relics of Saint Indaletius, they should institute solemn supplications, and each should bring a certain measure of grain according to his portion of land: this custom flowed from this, that in a certain exceeding drought of summer, when great damage threatened the crops from it, having fled to the patronage of Saint Indaletius, they obtained from heaven copious showers. From the same Briz is the twin miracle which we append to the Acts of the Translation.

ACTS OF THE TRANSLATION

By Hebretmus, monk of Cluny.

Indaletius, Bishop, of Urci in Spain (Saint)

BHL Number: 4270

By HEBRETMUS

PROLOGUE.

[1] The Apostles are sent to convert the nations After the glorious and saving Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and His admirable Ascension, after the due infusion of the Holy Spirit from the heavens, the true Priests of this world were sent; that, just as the Israelites destroyed the walls of Jericho not with just any weapons, but with priestly trumpets, ^a so these might overthrow the ramparts of pride and the walls of iniquity with the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit; that, the engines of unbelief having been destroyed, the tower of our David might be built up for the protection of true Israelites, with the Lord's help. But because to all, and from these disciples to various regions: and especially to the Most Blessed Prince of the Apostles, the care of this matter had been committed, knowing that the harvest is plentiful and the laborers few, to whom he could come in person, or spiritually by letters, ^b with all eagerness he was busying himself, that if any suitable helpers for this work he could find

he was able, instinct with the Spirit of God with whom he was filled, to transmit them to inaccessible places and procure ^c that the throng ^d of the faithful, to the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, running hither and thither, should uproot the weeds of the enemy from the cultivation of the Lord's harvest, and should be able to reach any idle laborers, even at the ninth and eleventh hour, and lead them into the Lord's vineyard; ^e that those who before had tasted from the perverse vine the vinegar of evil deeds with gall from hardened iniquity, with Him ministering the increase, might be able to temper their long thirst ^f with the fruit of the new vine. While these and similar things were being done by the Blessed Prince of the Apostles, by the nod of God, by which all these things were being done, it happened ^g that seven men of one mind were delegated into the regions of Spain ^h to rebuke their sluggishness: into Spain, Indaletius with six others so that, just as the loving Father and Lord suffered the punishment of death for all, so too the mystery of so great a sacrament should profit all. Therefore the aforesaid Disciples, embracing the command with pious desire — namely Torquatus, Indaletius, Secundus, Euphrasius, Caecilius, Ctesiphon, and Husitius — began to preach the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in the regions of the aforesaid ⁱ Province, and to do battle as good soldiers; whom neither the roughness of the way, nor the severity of the people, nor the purple of Kings, nor the importunate garrulity of soldiers, nor the bared sword, often brandished in their presence, could turn from the office received. And thus it came to pass that, as the Lord's disciples obtained great increase, they acquired abundant fruits of the faithful for holy Church: whence after a short time they carried back the glorious triumphs of their labors to the heavenly homeland, among whom the Most Blessed Confessor of the Lord, Indaletius (whose Translation we today venerate with due observances), was honorably entombed at Urci. To explain whose Translation (since the present solemnity seems to demand it), with the Lord's help, bending the joint, I will unfold — not uncertain things as certain, but things which we saw with our eyes and which we heard from the authors themselves — to you and to all believing in Christ, in faithful narration.

NOTES.

PART I.

Search for and finding of the body of Saint Indaletius under Abbot Sancho.

[2] In the time, therefore, of Sancho ^a, the most pious and God-fearing King of the Aragonese, there was in the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, which is called "de Pinna," ^b a certain Monk, the Abbot concerned with acquiring Relics a servant of God, the Abbot of that place, Sancho by name; who from his very cradle, educated in regular disciplines, whatever goodness, whatever honesty he was able to attain, not unmindful of himself, he strove to deposit in the little cabinet of his breast: and rightly so, that one who had been born of noble birth might be imbued with spiritual morals; but afterward, as one devoted to the faith, he took up the dogmas of doctrine, and wisdom wove him heaps of them. Among the other gifts of sacred virtues, therefore, not only in his prelacy, but even before, he had been inflamed with a great desire for the Saints of God, that in the aforesaid monastery, as temporal supports abounded, so the most holy pledges of God's Saints should not be lacking. If ever he went to Rome, ^c to Monte Cassino, or to Saint James; if ever, I say, he saw the bodily presence of God's Saints, Saint John de Pinna came back to his memory; and although there was a great clamor in his conscience, yet long and frequent sighs were drawn from his innermost bowels; and when his resolve kicked in his breast, his eyes by turns sought now heaven, now the relics present: indeed the refreshment of others was his own torment, and with such a lament he approached the most holy gifts of Christ. ^d But what are you doing, servant of God? why are you troubled? why are you consumed with grief? Is not the hand of God strong? Is He not Himself the lover and kindler of all good will? Are you forgetful of what He did for the Canaanite woman? He was silent, as if He did not care; He was unwilling to answer, so that he might burn yet more in prayer; for He was seeking the price of humility, He was seeking the gold of great faith; He delayed in prayer, lest those to come should despair of salvation; when they should see their petition deferred, they should yet know beyond doubt that this was healthfully ordered by God. For to her whom He was at first unwilling to answer, after He saw her persevering in prayer, He both granted the vow and praised her faith, and so dismissed her. You ask a great thing, but how it shall come to pass, you know not. It is enough that you persist in prayer, and do not despair of obtaining; let faith be offered as the price, let the offering be made of great humility. For it is close at hand, inspired by God, that your desire be fulfilled: for now He is sending you an unexpected messenger, with whom you may take counsel on this matter; because He who gave the willing will also grant the ability.

[3] Therefore, while the aforesaid man of God was placed in such sorrow, behold, sent by God, there came from Spain a certain ^e kinsman of his, a strenuous soldier of great nobility, from a kinsman guest who from his very infancy, nurtured in the said country, among the other exercises of his soldiery which he had there learned, knew very well the venerable places of the Saints. Since he was going to Saint James, he first resolved to visit the Lord's Baptist for the sake of prayer, to plead for his sins, and to visit his kinsman's vineyard. Come, servant of God, your sighs have been heard, let your lament cease, let your wholesome wrath be laid to rest, open now gradually the secrets of conscience long closed; do not fear to confess to your kinsman the desire which you have long held in secret; hitherto we have seen your face sorrowful, now let us see it glad; for you have that Helper in heaven who for you suffered the punishment of death on earth. When therefore the aforesaid soldier had seen the religious observance of that place, and had by experience known the charity and kindness of his kinsman, it greatly ^f pleased him, and he greatly bent the power of his nobility toward him, and commended himself to him with all devotion, saying: he asks for the body of Saint Indaletius "My Lord, hitherto, as it is, I did not know this place to be so given over to the service of God; but from this hour, if God bring me back to my own, life being my companion, I have in mind to serve you abundantly. What shall I say of service? I offer my very self to you, ^g with all that I have or shall have." When the aforesaid servant of God had heard this, gradually putting aside temporal matters and ascending to spiritual ones, he begins to unlock to him the doors of his heart, that whatever he might have in conscience might clearly come out through the opened gate; and after a few words: "Dearest one, in this Pinna which you behold, the generous and loving Lord administers temporal goods to us abundantly, as need is; but if you could benefit us in spiritual things, that is, if by your great power, which in that country you have honorably increased, you could acquire and transmit the Body of the Disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ, Indaletius, this would be a gift welcome and acceptable to God, and to this Saint himself, and especially to all of us your faithful friends, and a memorial unto the ages of ages."

[4] Having learned this desire, the soldier assented with his whole mind that he could be the agent of this, God having mercy, and pledging his effort to it if he should return unharmed to his own, life being his companion. "But since, my Lord," he said, "in procuring my honors ^h and various councils I am detained, and I myself dare not put my hand to this work; only be ready, while I go to Saint James and return, to send one or two of your Brothers with me; I for my part will provide the means of acting, and will be protection and help to all." Thus with such an agreement made, the noble man takes up his begun journey; and the Abbot now somehow made more eager, girds himself somehow to his work. For as a wise architect, having considered the continence and manners of his Brothers, from many he chose few, and from the few two, to whom with all diligence he enjoins the care of this matter, and taking them in secret utters these words: "He ⁱ who has the pearl of good will in himself strives ^k to hide it with all zeal, to guard it with all observance; that neither an approach be given to the thief, nor an occasion of derision to the malevolent. Come, little sons," he said, destining two monks to go with him: "I have a desire, for a long time now revealed to no man: but now, since, as I think, the time is at hand that it should either be fulfilled by God, or, if not, we should give it up on account of our hidden sin; I would with every hope, if ever it might be, venerate in this place the most holy bones of some Saint, and especially of Saint Indaletius; because, as you have seen in these days, a conversation has been had with that ^l kinsman of ours about this matter. Now therefore, Brothers, through God, I entrust this my desire into your hands. But see you what you shall do; I shall perceive in this cause your prudence; and the hope which I have hitherto had in you, I now have need to put to the test. If you have offended in anything against the Lord and against me your Abbot, sinner though I am, by the power in which I am able, I release and absolve you from every bond of sins: and if there is any memory of true obedience, as God the Father sent into this world, for our salvation, His only Son unto the Passion; so I send you, for the salvation and office of your spiritual Father and the Brothers, who coming to Murcia into a far country, for the sake of this matter; and whatever adversity you shall there suffer, may Almighty God, when you stand before His tribunal, repay you in praise and glory. But what need of words? Going, go, labor while you can, sowing the seeds of good works, that in the sight of God you may be able to carry back sheaves of justice. Be ready, watching in prayer, that when our kinsman returns from Saint James, you may take up the journey with him in the Lord."

[5] A few days therefore having elapsed, the aforesaid Soldier returned; and as he had said, having taken with him the aforesaid Brothers, one of whom was called Euantius and the other Garsias, and with the confirmed blessing of the Father of the monastery, they departed. Coming therefore into the region of the Ishmaelites, into the city of Murcia, peace was had among those pagan Kings: but then, perhaps by the nod of God, a great discord arose between the Kings ^m of Seville (which now the Ishmaelites themselves, by corruption, call Sibilia) and the King of Almería, on account of a certain city called Bearia ⁿ, which the King of Almería had by deceit taken from the dominion of the King of Seville. Kindled with very great fury by this, he gathered an army from every side of his whole kingdom, and sending legates with his letters, commanded the aforesaid Prince Garcia that with his whole army he should meet him at the aforesaid city of Almería, to besiege it. Which was done: for the aforesaid Prince, his army being assembled as had been commanded him, went out to meet him; with whom the aforesaid Monks, on the vigil of Saint Michael, and thence to the tomb of Saint Indaletius that is on the 4th day before the Kalends of October, left the city of Murcia. After ten days they found the aforesaid King staying in the city ^o of Baza, with whom and with others they stayed four days, besieging and devastating on all sides the castles of the King of Almería. Thence the King and the whole army, moving camp, after four more days, came to a city named Urci, which was once famous by the multitude of its peoples, and by the preaching of the blessed man Indaletius the Bishop was converted to the faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ; in which, having honorably exercised the office of Bishop, in the church which he himself had built, at the time of his sleep in the Lord, he was buried by the Christian people: after whose departure, with faith and religion growing, the people of those believing in Christ was increased throughout all Spain, so much so that Christian Kings held the helm of the whole Kingdom of Spain for many [p] courses of years. But afterwards, with the sins of the people increasing, by the just judgment of God, the land was handed over into the hands of the Ishmaelites crossing over from Africa and Arabia into Spain. Who, having overthrown very many cities and destroyed churches, near Almería, miserably devastated the people of God with sword and slaughter, and seized the government of the whole kingdom. Which done, of the aforesaid cities they rebuilt some, as it pleased them, in other places; among which they rebuilt the aforesaid city of Urci, likewise destroyed, along the sea on account of the strength of the place and the advantage of its sea-port, at the sixth milestone, in a most fit place, and having changed its name, called it Almería. The ancient city, however, reduced to a small village, solely for reverence of the Blessed Pontiff Indaletius, was inhabited by certain Christian worshipers, and by corruption of its name by the barbarians is called [q] Pasquena.

[6] The aforesaid Brothers therefore, carefully attending to the purpose for which they had been sent, and entering the church of the aforesaid most glorious Pontiff, began to visit it often, both for the sake of prayer and for the diligence of investigation. And so, while they persisted in fastings and prayers and frequent vigils, that the piety of the Lord might aid them, and deign to show some other indication of the corporal presence of the holy Pontiff, they are made certain about the body existing there, one of them, to whom especially the care of this matter had been committed, and who was also sacristan of the aforesaid monastery, Euantius by name, was led from doubt to certainty by the following vision. He seemed to himself to be in the Church of Saint Indaletius in a vision, and, as is the wont of seekers, to look about him eagerly here and there: to whom a handsome youth, clad in beautiful garments, standing by, addressed him with such words: "Friend, what are you doing here? or what do you seek, casting your eyes about?" To whom the Brother in turn answered in a humble voice: "My Lord, I wish, if it could be, to know for certain in what place the holy limbs of Blessed Indaletius, Bishop of this ancient city, are reposed. For I have heard from many that he is buried here, but I am ignorant of the place." And the youth in turn: "If," he said, "you desire to know this, have no further doubt about it": and saying this, with his right hand raised: "Look," he said, "behind the altar, at the sepulchre placed on the right side, whence you see a flame rising from the earth, which especially designates the bodily presence of the blessed man: for there the bones of his whole body are held intact, just as at the time of his sleep they were placed. For the monument is whole: because from the time he was buried, to no man has his body been open; nor has it been sought by anyone, because it has not pleased him hitherto to be translated from his own place." Having heard which, the aforesaid [r] was going out of the church, and, as is the wont of those rejoicing and loving, he returned within again, as if to prove whether the things he had heard were true. and with the Saint by a nod willing to be translated: When behold, looking here and there, he saw [s] an old man with venerable white hair, clad in beautiful garments, to whom turning he spoke thus: "And you, Lord, who are you? or what are you doing here?" To whom the venerable old man replied: "I hitherto have been the guardian of this church of Saint Indaletius, and now my Lord wishes to depart from this place with you; I also wish to go with him from here: I shall go with him, for whose sake I was standing here." And having said this, he was seen no more. By such a vision, therefore, the aforesaid monk was made certain, and with great joy, as was fitting, he reported to his spiritual Brother; whence both rejoicing gave immense thanks to the Lord, who does not spurn the affection of his faithful.

[7] After this in like manner, counsel having been taken, for the accomplishment of which two helpers are given them they went to the aforesaid Prince, having taken with them his Cleric, a man of good testimony; and they narrated with joy what they had seen and heard. What more? After sweet conversations on this matter, they ask from him counsel, they ask also help, that since, as it seemed to them, it pleased the aforesaid Pontiff to be taken up from the earth, they might begin, with his counsel and aid, in the name of the Lord, the work for which they had been sent. The Prince already mentioned, therefore, having learned of the revelation, as a wise and prudent man in all things, began to consider with himself how, as was necessary, this should be done in such a way as to be hidden from all; because indeed to the church of Blessed Indaletius the whole Christian army was flocking, and therefore on account of the tumult and seditions of the people, it was fitting to begin all things wisely, that what had been begun might be successfully brought to effect. Wherefore, two of his chief soldiers, by God's providence men of good testimony, having been secretly summoned, to whom also before God had already in part revealed the mystery of this matter, "Of the monks already mentioned," he said to them, "you know that it is a little while since I returned from Saint James, and while I was going and returning, our way was through Saint John's: where how honorably I was received, and with how bountiful a charity in soul and body I was refreshed, it were long to tell. And when I to my kinsman, the Abbot namely of that place, already beforehand forewarned in vision: declared that I could and would serve him, he, setting aside all temporal things, as a lover of the Saints of God, begged me to obtain beforehand the Most Blessed Indaletius, Disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ; and I, to such and so great a man, what could I deny? I handed myself over to him, and by his prayers I believe and have believed my soul and body to be cherished. Behold, as you see, for this cause he has transmitted with me these two monks; that if it be God's will, with my help they may fulfill, I my promise, and they their enjoined office. And that you may know that this does not displease Indaletius, therefore on this night, concerning the presence of his body, he has deigned to make them certain by his grace." As he said this, the two Soldiers with whom he was speaking, with hands stretched out to heaven, they also reported with joy the vision of the past night, saying: "We were on this night in a certain church, watching; and while these two monks were drawing out the body of a certain Saint from under the altar, we by the light of two tapers were serving them."

[8] While they were reporting this, with whom returning thither the voice of the herald of the King of Seville thundered out, that all, their tents collected, should pitch them six miles hence, before the gate of the city of Almería. Hearing which, the aforesaid Prince, filled with great joy because the whole army was departing thence, said to them: "Since, as you see, the whole army is departing; therefore now you can begin the work of God and your own." At the ninth hour of the day, therefore, setting their hand to the work, both in destroying the sarcophagus and in drawing out the most holy body, they spent what was left of the day; and now, the sun sinking, that is the light failing, on one side they were shaken by the horror of night, on the other by the incompleteness of the work begun. "What now shall be done?" they were saying. "Pious Confessor, do you not care for the anxiety of your workmen? What has been begun at your indication, shall it be fitting to leave unfinished? May your piety abundantly supply their lack; you, out of the manifold brightness which you eternally enjoy in heaven, accommodate to them even a momentary light on earth; to the praise and glory of your translation, [t] utter day unto day." What is to utter day unto day, by the light of tapers they open the sepulchre. but to join solemnity to solemnity, namely the Translation to the birthday feast? Let the lovers of your Translation have signs of the present solemnity, by which they may yearly recite your anniversary in praise, which may be committed both to those present and to those to come as a perpetual gift. Pressed, therefore, by the blindness of night, the aforesaid Brothers with their fellow soldiers knew not what to do. When behold, prayer having been sent up beforehand, they received the bountiful gifts of the blessed man, namely, tapers lying most abundantly in the place, mingled with the earth of the sepulchre, which for eight or more nights, if it had been necessary, could have sufficed for the begun work. With the greatest reverence therefore raising the marble stone, which had been placed over the most holy body, the nectar-like fragrance of all spices so filled them as they stood that it seemed to them they were caught up into the paradise of delights. Who, looking more carefully, found below a writing containing such things: "Here rests Indaletius, the First Pontiff [u] of the city of Urci, ordained by the holy Apostles at Rome."

NOTES.

PART II.

Translation of Saint Indaletius to the monastery of Pinna.

[9] The body borne to the camp before Almería Therefore with great hilarity, taking up the pledges of the blessed man as far as the knees, they return to their lodgings, leaving for the coming day what remained of the body of the blessed man. Why? Because, namely, half the night being past, being six miles away from their companions and from the whole army, they dared not longer delay there. And why? Certainly before they had begun this work, when for the sake of prayer they went to Blessed Indaletius, they found his church full of robbers of the Ishmaelites, who, when they saw them, kindled with the fury of their own iniquity, having taken up stones, attempted to stone them, had not flight and the merits of the holy man freed them. And for this reason rightly five souls dared not stand any longer there, but, the sepulchre having been covered over as diligently as they could, they made their way, with the body of the blessed man, to the tents of the aforesaid Prince Garcia. When therefore the aforesaid Prince saw that Blessed Indaletius had arrived in the camp, filled with great joy at his arrival, he announced this to all his soldiers, who were placed in great danger. Which was a solace of huge gladness to them, for on that very day it was determined to begin a conflict with the King of Almería. The Christians themselves, the bloody battle is prevented: because they feared to shed Christian blood, and to kill others and be killed by others, turning to Blessed Indaletius, with tears began to implore him, that by his coming, there might be a diversion of the great contest which on that same day was going to be between the Christians of each side. And since of him and his likes the prophecy of Wisdom reports: "Because in time of wrath he was made a reconciliation, in time of war also he was made an evacuation of great peril." Ecclus. 44:17 For when they were already arranged, and the battle-lines of each side were already mingling, and now soldier, with reins loosened, attempted ^b to attack soldier, by the merits of the holy man, human blood was preserved untouched. In the very stroke of the contest, therefore, with great clamor, the herald of the King of Seville thundered out, that all, leaving the battle, should return to their tents, nor any longer should soldier attempt to attack soldier. By this, dearest Brothers, the blessed Confessor was glorified with a sweet miracle, in the beginning of his Translation. Which done, the Brothers with the aforesaid Prince took counsel again how without disturbance they might complete the begun work, now divulged to all. Who, having taken eight soldiers with the two whom we have mentioned, sent them ^c armed with the Brothers, that when these should take up what remained of the body of the blessed man, they themselves might be a protection to them by arms. Thus therefore what was left of the Relics of the venerable Pontiff they took up with great reverence, and enclosed within the precious little chest of the most holy body. Who, sane and wise, would believe this was done by chance, which it is manifest was divinely ordered? For if, as Scripture says, not even a leaf of a tree falls without the nod of God, ought we to believe this happened by chance, and not by divine dispensation? Note, dearest Brothers, note the words, mark the mysteries. And since we have not yet borne to relate the tokens of his Translation, it is worthy first to explain his miracles, and after, as God shall give, to investigate the mysteries of that great solemnity.

[10] When therefore the aforesaid Prince was for a long time campaigning in the aforesaid military expedition against the King of the Ishmaelites, and the monks, the Saint turns away from the uncleanness of the place, with the body of the Venerable Pontiff, were staying in his territory, it happened one day, with the army marching, that it could not arrive at the determined place of encampment. And when now in the dark night the weary soldiers had pitched their tents from the march, the monks unwarily set down the bier of the blessed man in an unseemly place. When behold in the silence of midnight, the blessed Pontiff appeared to a certain soldier, sleeping on his bed, saying to him: "Arise, and tell those monks who are staying in the tent of Garcia your lord, that from this hour they should better provide a place in which they set down the bier of my body: for on this night, pitching their tent unawares, they did not set it as was fitting in a clean place." Arising therefore in the morning the soldier, pricked by the admonitions of the man of God, with great tears recounted what he had seen and heard, both to his Lord and to the Brothers themselves. At once at such a holy complaint of the man of God, they recognized the negligence into which they had unknowingly fallen; and they found round about the bier the dry bones of a dead animal lying scattered. Hence, dearest Brothers, you can gather of what merit, of what dignity that spirit is in the heavens, which so dreads so subtle and light a stain on earth.

[11] Therefore, when the aforesaid monks, with the little body of the man of God, were delaying for a month in the palace of the aforesaid Soldier; because they did not dare to begin such long journeys without a guide, at the fiftieth milestone from there, namely in the city of Lorca ^d, such a revelation concerning these things was shown by vision: For the Most Blessed Man appeared to a certain man at an unseasonable hour of the night, saying to him: "Go into the city of Murcia, and tell those pilgrim monks, who are staying in the house of Prince Garcia, and he commands the monks to be warned to hasten back, why they do not bear me away, where they have promised to carry me. If it had pleased me to stay in this province, I would be resting in my own church." It is thine, O excellent Doctor, to put aside earthly palaces, and to love the tabernacles of Christ: for this you were doing when present in body, which now, taken from the world, you desire in the Lord. After a short time, therefore, when he saw that his admonitions were not being fulfilled, and that he was detained in the same place: to a certain soldier of the aforesaid Prince, resting on his bed, in his Episcopal habit, with venerable white hair, as if angry he appeared; and striking him, commands him to look at him. Terrified therefore the soldier at the unexpected vision, he asks who he is, and what he seeks. To whom the blessed one: "I am," he said, he chastises those who delay with a heavy earthquake. "Indaletius the Bishop, who against my will am detained in this region. Rise therefore more quickly, and tell Prince Garcia, and the monks who guard my body, that unless by the most sacred Supper of my Lord Jesus Christ they shall have borne me away to the church of Blessed John the Baptist, which they promised me,

neither I, nor they themselves, shall any longer depart from this region." While they were still staying with the often-mentioned Prince; as providing what was necessary for the long journey, and moreover considering with what honor, with what reverence they ought to carry the heavenly pearl; it happened one night, in the house in which the most holy Body was kept with worthy vigils with great lights of tapers, that so great an earthquake arose that the whole house itself seemed to collapse from its foundations. Shaken with excessive fear, those who with the Brothers themselves were held in the same house, leaving them, fled. After these things such great lightnings, and such terrible thunders, with immense rain, followed, that they seemed to threaten death to those not obeying the holy commands of the man of God. But these things were happening in the house in which the Blessed Pontiff was kept, and in its surroundings only; for in the whole province there was great serenity of sky. Hearing and seeing which, the Prince, nor daring to detain him any longer against his will, having taken precious gifts, both in gold and also in cloaks woven with gold, which seemed worthy to be sent with the blessed Pontiff, for his honor and praise, with great honor he began to conduct the Saint of God. When indeed he had gone about six miles, having taken legates from among his most noble soldiers, he directed them with the blessed Pontiff as far as the King of Denia ^e, commanding him by special letter that he should conduct the little body of the holy man of God, with his own travelers, honorably as far as the land of the Christians. The King of Denia having received the legates, as had been commanded him, honorably conducted him, until he transmitted him safely to his own. While they were passing through, by God's providence they came ^f to Valencia. Opportunely, and fittingly is that city called Valencia, in which, as they were now coming, how the piety of the holy man was able to help a certain captive, is not to be passed over.

[12] There was in that city a certain merchant, who had a certain Christian captive, whom he intended to sell in parts overseas. Which being learned, taking the opportunity he fled secretly, a fugitive Christian slave and entering the house of a certain most faithful Christian, with his whole heart he was begging him, that with closed doors he might suffer him to hide there. Meanwhile the ministers of the aforesaid Bishop, entering the city itself with the most holy Body, were received honorably, in the lodging of a certain Christian worshiper, named Servandus. When both the captive and also his host learned this, approaching the aforesaid monks, they began with great prayers to implore them, that taking out the captive, placed in great peril, from the city along with themselves, they would try to restore him to his former liberty. But the Brothers, placed between hope and fear, anxious, knew not what to do. At length presuming upon the mercy of God and the presence of the blessed man, they received the captive. When his master learned this, namely that the captive he intended to sell had fled, he began to seek him through the alleys and streets of the city. When the merchant heard and saw that the aforesaid monks with the blessed Relics had come into the city, and knowing that they were to go out of the city the next day, he suspected, as was indeed the truth, that his captive wished to flee with them. All night long at the two gates, which are at the bridge of the river of that city, whence they were to go out the next day, having placed guards together with his brother, he with others secretly was watching the house in which the blessed Confessor was lodged, and its door with great curiosity, that if the captive should be in the house, he might seize him as he went out the next day. He leads him out of Valencia while the master watches in vain. But the Monks, perceiving the doors of the house to be guarded on all sides by the captive's master and his men, having compassion on the most wretched man, commended themselves with their whole heart to the Lord and the blessed Patron; and thus trusting in God's mercy, together with the captive they went out. But the captive's master, when he saw the doors, long closed as he desired, to be opened, meeting each one going out, looked at each one's face, and likewise gazed upon the captive's face, and did not recognize him. Indeed he looked at all, and toward all had his eyes open to recognize, only toward the captive was he blind. Freed thus from his master's hands, with the blessed man's Relics he came to the first gate of the aforesaid bridge, in which in like manner, together with others being inspected by his master's brother and his men, he was by no means recognized. What more? Confidently now crossing the great bridge itself, they came to the second gate, in which likewise being considered by the other guards, he was not recognized: and thus by God's mercy and the blessed man's presence the captive was freed; as we saw him and heard from his own mouth. Oh how great was the fear with sadness in the captive's mouth, when he saw his master and his guards, whom he himself well recognized, meeting him, and saw them looking at him! And oh how great, in turn, the joy, when he felt himself not recognized through the blessed man's merit!

[13] Having therefore gone out from the aforesaid city of Valencia (and how his virtue and piety availed to bring aid to the captive, Announcement of the coming of the holy body, you have now heard), on the fourth day they happily came to the city of Tortosa ^g; in which staying one night, the next day they came to the town which is called Flix ^h. Leaving thence in like manner, and the river Ebro having been crossed, on the same day they came to the city of Lleida ⁱ: leaving which on the next day they came to Seda ^k, in the borders of the Christians. But the Brothers, by the mercy of the true God and with the help of the blessed Patron, seeing all things to have turned out prosperously for them, coming to a certain church of Saint John, called Vallaran ^l, they turned aside there for two days, and sent ahead messengers to their spiritual Father, announcing to him in humble report, that his servants, as he himself had desired, had arrived with the blessed man's Relics. When the venerable Father of the aforesaid place heard this, filled with great joy, having called the whole congregation together in Chapter, he announced to them how the loving Lord, by his bountiful mercy, had deigned to visit them, by sending to them one of his most holy fellow-servants, named Indaletius. Hearing which, as though awakened from a heavy sleep, the Brothers were marvelously gladdened; because, having known nothing about it, they were in a moment rejoiced with so great a joy and enriched with so great a gift for perpetual time; and therefore rightly you would see one raise his palms, another strike his breast with pious fist under his habit, another draw long sighs from his soul, another likewise with bowed head glorify and bless the Lord God, another with eyes fixed on the ground sweetly weeping; all however in common lifting up their voice to the heavens, they were magnifying and praising, for so great a gift, the mighty works of Christ.

[14] After this, the Chapter having been ended, as was fitting, the same saving news was announced to King Sancho, and his they proceed to meet with the monks, with the Kings son Peter, who there by customary practice were observing the holy days of Lent. For which cause there was made a joy not unlike the one above, in all the King's court. The King exults with his Princes, all also rejoice for joy with the soldiers, and fame flying ^m descends from the Royal household to the plebeian multitude, illuminating the whole land with such news. Thereafter therefore the whole congregation being clothed honorably in albs and copes, with great flaming tapers and thuribles flagrant with much incense and perfume, together with the venerable Father of the monastery and the aforesaid King and his son, and his Princes also, and an innumerable multitude of Christ's poor, who had come from various places for the feast day of the Lord's Supper ⁿ, the glorious Confessor and Pontiff of God, Blessed Indaletius, was received, from the middle of the mountain which is above that place, spreading out in a very beautiful plain, verdant with density, and with the height of the Pyrenees, and at the same time with the greenness of the herbs in the fitting season. When indeed he was greeted by the servant of God himself, namely the Abbot of the monastery, and by the King and his son, and the whole congregation, and the innumerable multitude, with that glorious hymn also, which is "We praise Thee, O God," having been chanted, and the Response, and ^o Collect finished, with great honor he was brought into the church of Blessed John the Baptist by the Prior of the cloister, Sancho by name, a man of good testimony and of good life, to whom by God's providence, for the cause of honesty and holiness, was committed by the aforesaid servant of God to bear him. Which the Saint of God did not suffer to take place without a worthy recompense: of whom the prior is healed by touching the bier. for while he was weighed down in his left arm with great infirmity, as soon as he began to carry, he was healed by the blessed man's merits from all his sickness. Come, O servant of God, rejoice and be glad, because behold you see what you have long desired; behold you hold what you have long awaited: embrace in friendly manner, I say, O soul beloved of God, him rushing into your embraces: follow him as he goes before, more in morals than in foot. For he who once went before you, taken up by the Lord, now again goes before you, invited by your holy prayers and bound by your love. Behold, dearest Brothers, the incomparable treasure, enclosed in a small place. See how much with God avails pure faith and a good conscience. But why do I tarry with many words? With all chanting, and offering praises to God, with great exultation, as we have said, he was carried into the church of Blessed John the Baptist, which is called "de Pinna," with me seeing, Hebretmus namely, unworthy Monk of the Cluny monastery, who dictated this page of the Translation by command of the aforesaid Abbot, as I was able, in the year from the Lord's Incarnation 1084, Era 1122, on the Fifth of the Kalends of April, our Lord Jesus Christ assisting, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns forever. Amen.

NOTES.

MIRACLES.

From John Briz, History of Pinna, book 3, §36.

Indaletius, Bishop, of Urci in Spain (Saint)

[15] There was a woman in the Tena valley, which the Spaniards in common tongue call Val de Tena, the blind woman recovers her sight who for six years had been destitute of all faculty of seeing: whom, thinking and hoping for nothing less, Saint Indaletius, on the eighth day of the translation of his relics, gifted with sight. The matter was done in this manner. The Saint appeared to the woman in the inner recess of the house, professing himself to be Indaletius, Bishop of Urci; and commanded, warned by Saint Indaletius to betake herself to his Relics: that she should at once betake herself to San Juan de la Peña, whither not long before the sacred remains of his body had been brought: for it would come to pass that, with him as intercessor and patron, the merciful God would restore her the faculty of sight; let her therefore go full of hope. The woman obeyed, and led by friends to the monastery, sets forth to the Abbot and the other monks the commands of Saint Indaletius. While these were making supplication for her and performing divine service, she herself before the altar of Saint John, at which the Relics of the Saint were standing, bends her knees; again she had Saint Indaletius standing at her side, warning her with a glad and gentle face that she should look upon him. While she strives to do this, she begins at once again to see, to look upon and know those standing around, showing herself grateful to her Saint-preserver for the benefit.

[16] A few days after, there also came a man born of noble station, about to venerate the holy Relics of Saint Indaletius: for among other things, the miracle just narrated had much moved him, that there too he might seek a medicine for his own disease: he was gouty, so severely suffering from gout and passing the night at the Relics of Saint Indaletius that it was necessary he be carried borne on others' hands into the temple. He came therefore at late evening, all but lifeless, and composed in a little bed beside the altar at which the Relics of Saint Indaletius were, by a certain monk of the monastery of Saint John, whose name was Asnar, he passed almost the whole night sleepless; all the while consuming the time, his mind turned to God and Saint Indaletius, in entreating aid. He had lain for a while, by the force of his pain, somewhat withdrawn from his senses; but when he returned to himself, full of joy and consolation, he sees the whole temple suddenly filled with a most pleasant and brightest light; and astonished at what so unusual a thing would end in, he sees coming from the temple of Saint Mary, which is below that of Saint John the Baptist, venerable men in great number, he sees him chanting the Office with other monks, together with the Mass: and enter the church, all clad in white garments, and one in the crowd greater in age than the rest. They had now with solemn gait come up to the altar which keeps the Relics of Saint Indaletius: when behold, having bent their knees before the venerable Sacrament, one coming forth from the number, taking in his hand the candle which was burning in a candlestick near the sick man's bed, casts it to the side of the sanctuary, at the door through which is the entrance to the sepulchres of the Kings. And at once he who seemed to excel the rest in years, raising his voice, began the beginning of the matins office, the rest carrying it on to the end with great piety and decorum. Having finished the Office, the same one putting on the priestly garment, seemed to make a solemn Mass at the altar of the Relics, the words being understood by the sick man; and the Sacrifice being performed, to ask the assembly that they would depart, since the place was beginning to grow light, to make way for monks succeeding them to the Office. As he thus speaks: "Behold," he adds, "this sick man is asking us so much for health; come, let us bestow it." The sick man felt at once himself soothed by a gentle wind as by some Favonius; which, blowing first upon his feet, and with these done, he is healed by him. and then pervading his whole body, eliciting thence a kindly sweat, drove out the gout at the same time. To whom he who excelled the rest in years and majesty seemed to be none other than Saint Indaletius, whose patronage he had implored to drive away his disease.