ON ST. JUVENTIUS, OR EVENTIUS, BISHOP OF TICINUM IN ITALY
Second century.
HISTORICAL COMMENTARY.
Juventius, or Eventius, Bishop of Ticinum in Italy (St.)
BHL Number: 4619
By the author I. B.
Section I. Whether St. Juventius, Bishop of Ticinum, is one person or two; his first feast day.
[1] That the people of the city of Ticinum were converted to the faith of the Lord from the earliest growth of the Church, owing to the proximity of the Apostles, the Acts of the most blessed Syrus and Juventius, who were the first preachers and Bishops of this city, confirm in writing. So it stands in the proem of those same Acts, of which more below. Moreover, the memorial of both these holy Bishops is recorded jointly in nearly all the martyrologies under 12 September, because they are believed to have entered the city of Ticinum together on that day—Syrus having been sent by St. Peter, Juventius by St. Hermagoras. On that day, therefore, Usuardus has the following: "At the city of Ticinum, the holy Confessors Syrus and Juventius: who, having been directed to the aforesaid city by Blessed Hermagoras, first preached the Gospel of Christ there and, shining with great virtues and miracles, also illuminated neighboring cities with divine works; and thus, in pontifical honor, they came to rest in a glorious end in peace." These same words are repeated verbatim in very many printed and handwritten codices, some with somewhat fewer words, others with more; and indeed Ado, the Venerable Bede as commonly cited, and others specify the cities illuminated by them through divine works, namely Verona, Brixena, and Laus.
[2] A manuscript of the monastery of St. Martin at Trier makes both of them Martyrs, as does Wandelbertus in the case of Syrus, whom alone he records. But Petrus de Natalibus and Galesinius commemorate Juventius alone on that day, and with these words the Roman Martyrology states: "At Ticinum, St. Juventius, Bishop, concerning whom see the sixth day before the Ides of February. He was directed to that city by Blessed Hermagoras, disciple of St. Mark the Evangelist, together with St. Syrus; and both, preaching the Gospel of Christ there and shining with great virtues and miracles, also illuminated neighboring cities with divine works; and thus, in pontifical honor, they came to rest in a glorious end in peace."
[3] But under 8 February, the same Martyrology has the following: "At Pavia, St. Juventius, Bishop, who labored strenuously in the Gospel." On the same day, Galesinius writes: "At Pavia, St. Juventius, Bishop and Confessor. He, having set out with Blessed Syrus to that city, delivered the teachings and precepts of the Gospel to the peoples of Genoa, Tortona, and Asti. Afterwards, having been made Bishop of Pavia, and having piously and devoutly exercised the episcopal office for thirty-nine years, he fell asleep in the Lord, renowned for the services of admirable sanctity." In his Notes, he cites the Calendar of the Church of Pavia. Hermannus Greuen in his supplement to Usuardus also records him on this day, as does Constantinus Ghinius in his Natales of the Holy Canons, and Ferrarius in his Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, who reports the same things as Galesinius concerning the people of Genoa, Tortona, and Asti illuminated in the faith by him.
[4] "I was at one time of the opinion," says Baronius in his Notes on the Martyrology for this day, "that Eventius was a different person from Juventius, and that both were Bishops of Ticinum who flourished at different times; and that he whom they call Eventius lived in the time of the Emperor Theodosius. For there is found an Eventius who subscribed to the synodal letter of St. Ambrose concerning the condemnation of the heresy of Jovinian, addressed to Pope Siricius, book 1, epistle 9 of the Roman edition—whom I also believed to be the one who is found written erroneously in the Council of Aquileia as 'Eventius, Bishop of Citinensis,' so that the text should be restored to read 'Ticinensis.' But since in a more recent edition of St. Ambrose published at Rome, 'Cenetensis' is given in place of 'Citinensis,' I no longer pursue the matter."
[5] Thus Baronius. The epistle of St. Ambrose that he cites is, in the Basel edition of his works of 1538 and the Paris edition of 1588, number 81, or book 10, epistle 4, and reads as follows—as also in the editions of the Councils published at Venice in 1585 and Cologne in 1606, where it is joined to the epistles of Siricius: "I, Eventius, Bishop, salute Your Holiness in the Lord." But in the Cologne edition of the works of St. Ambrose, conformed, I believe, to the Roman edition which we have not seen, it is book 1, epistle 7; and both other things in the subscriptions have been changed, including this: "Eventius, Bishop of Ceneta, salute Your Holiness in the Lord, and have subscribed to this epistle." He is read to have participated in the Council of Aquileia under Damasus, over which Bishop Valerianus presided, in the Cologne edition of the Councils of 1551, prepared by Petrus Crabbeus of Mechlin of the Order of Minors; and in the two editions of Severinus Binius, likewise from Cologne, of the years 1606 and 1618, and the Venetian edition of 1585: "Eventius, Bishop of Citiniensis"—with "Tiniensis" noted in the margin. So that we cannot determine with certainty whether one should read "Cenetensis" or "Ticinensis."
[6] Of that Eventius who lived in the age of St. Ambrose, Stephanus Breventanus, Bernardus Saccus, Jacobus Gualla, and Antonius Maria Spelta, writers on the affairs of Ticinum, make no mention. Ferdinandus Ughellus, in volume 1 of his Italia Sacra, following the Annales Papienses of Hieronymus Bossius, which we have not yet seen, established St. Juventius II as the eighteenth Bishop of Ticinum, and states that he ascended the episcopal chair in the year 377 and administered it until the year 403, and that he died on the twelfth day of that same year; that it is uncertain whether his relics rest in the Cathedral or at St. Nicholas; that he participated in the Synod of Aquileia in 381 and in the Synod of Milan in 390; and finally adds: "Most people confuse this Juventius with the one mentioned above, although from the distance of the times it is apparent that he is a different person, according to the account of Bossius." No mention was made by us of this second Juventius under 12 January, since that volume of Ughellus had not yet appeared, Baronius seemed to be retracting an uncertain conjecture, and in no martyrology did his name appear under that day—although Ferrarius mentions him in his Notes to 8 February. Whether Ceneta had a bishop at that time, let those who care about such matters investigate. Otherwise, even the earlier Juventius, whom we are now discussing, is found called Eventius, and also Inventius, and Juentius, and even through the carelessness of copyists, in manuscripts and printed works, Yuentius, Yentius, Hyuentius, Quentius, and Juvencus.
Section II. The Acts of Saints Syrus and Juventius; the deeds performed by the latter under the former's guidance.
[7] The Acts of Saints Syrus and Juventius which we have already cited, we shall present in full on 9 December, at the feast of St. Syrus, who is the principal figure in them, from three manuscripts of good provenance—having been previously published by Boninus Mombritius and Surius. The latter noted this about their author in the title: "It is uncertain whether this is the Life which the disciple of Blessed Syrus, Pompeius, or the one which Paulus Diaconus produced from it; from both of whom it was left in writing, as the most learned Petrus Galesinius, Apostolic Protonotary, has noted." But how could St. Pompeius have written the deeds of St. Juventius, when he died many years before him? Nevertheless, that there is one author of both sets of Acts, and indeed that both saints share a single set of Acts, is most evident from the style and entire composition. Concerning these, Galesinius, in his Notes on the Martyrology for 9 December, speaking of St. Syrus, states: "His Life was written by his disciple Pompeius, from whom Paulus Diaconus drew." And under 8 February, concerning St. Juventius: "His Life was first written by Paulus Diaconus, then by Jacobus Guallius." The manuscript codices do not specify the author's name. It is credible that it was Paulus Diaconus, who, being ready with his pen, also committed to writing the deeds of other saints, so that he would seem not to have neglected the people of Ticinum, since he resided there as Chancellor of King Desiderius. He is cited by one who was a Deacon of the Church of Ticinum about two hundred years after Paulus—Liutprandus, in book 3 of his history, chapter 2—although he does not name the author, but cites his very words; from which it may be conjectured with certainty that these Acts were written long after the time of Attila, when Aquileia lay in ruins, indeed under the Lombard Kings, whose capital was Ticinum. The author, however, seems to indicate that he followed more ancient accounts; whether those were also what St. Pompeius is said to have left behind, we cannot affirm. Here we shall excerpt only what pertains specifically to St. Juventius.
[8] St. Hermagoras, who is said to have been a disciple of St. Peter the Apostle and of St. Mark the Evangelist, Bishop of Aquileia (as is recorded in his Acts, which we shall present on 12 July), directed a Priest and a Deacon to the city of Trieste, and did the same for other cities: and not only in the provinces of the Carni and the Veneti, but also in the regions around the Po, he took care that the Gospel should be disseminated. For this reason, he consecrated his pupil Syrus to the episcopal dignity and sent him to Ticinum, assigning to him as a companion Juventius, who had not yet been initiated into any orders and was perhaps not yet of very advanced age—he who is reported to have lived at Ticinum for at least ninety years thereafter. Many writers on the affairs of Ticinum dispute this, and assert that St. Syrus was sent to Ticinum by St. Peter, but that he traveled as far as Aquileia in the company of St. Hermagoras, and there also labored for some time in sowing the Gospel; and that he finally obtained Juventius and other helpers from Hermagoras and brought them with him to Ticinum. More fully on these matters than others has the author who most recently published a Breviary of the Lives of the Bishops of Ticinum.
[9] At Ticinum, moreover, Juventius grew up under the tutelage of St. Syrus, serving as an assistant in his sacred labors and an inseparable companion, as Innocentius Ecclesia relates in book 2 of the Life of St. Syrus, chapter 6. When it was subsequently reported that Saints Nazarius and Celsus had been killed for the faith at Milan, and that Saints Gervasius and Protasius were being held in custody, Juventius was sent by Syrus to Milan, so that the former might be honorably buried and the history of their martyrdom placed in the same tomb, and so that he might attend to matters and admonish the Christians that the same be done for Gervasius and Protasius once they had completed their martyrdom. He entered the city by night and turned aside to the Christians whom Syrus had indicated, and from them he learned that Nazarius and Celsus had already been entombed as he had wished. Then he requested that, when the other two had completed their contest, some particle torn from their bodies or garments be given to him, to be preserved out of love and veneration. They reported that a certain handmaid of God, when Blessed Nazarius was being beheaded, had caught his blood in a linen cloth and had then immediately fled. While he was returning to Ticinum, anxious about this reply, that same handmaid of God, prompted by a heavenly admonition, came to meet him and of her own accord bestowed upon him the blood of the Martyr. Ughellus adds that Juventius had secretly exhorted the captive Martyrs to face their martyrdom.
[10] When he was entering Ticinum, enriched with those precious relics, a boy seized by a demon was writhing in the street, and from his mouth the baleful guest was sending forth these words with wailing: "Woe is me, for I am tormented by the approach of the Martyr's blood!" Juventius, perceiving the adversary to be stricken, drove him out by bringing the relics closer. What fruit followed from this, the author of the Acts relates, of which there is no mention in the Acts of St. Nazarius: "It happened that, for the confirmation of the Catholic faith, the most prudent man Juventius himself, through Christ working many signs, gave proof of the holy blood of the Martyr Nazarius. For when placed upon the eyes of the blind, it restored their sight, and he frequently healed various infirmities of those who came to him. And from that time, through the merits and patronage of Blessed Nazarius, the people of this city of Ticinum attained a full increase of faith." So much for that passage. We shall treat of Saints Nazarius and Celsus on 28 July, and of Saints Gervasius and Protasius on 19 June. There are, however, those who assert that the latter pair lived much later than Nazarius and Celsus.
Section III. The episcopate of St. Juventius, his preaching, and his miracles.
[11] While St. Syrus, as Bishop, was wisely and successfully establishing the Church of Ticinum, he made his disciples Juventius and Pompeius most gentle Deacons, and ordained Chrysanthus, an illustrious man, and Fortunatus, a most distinguished man, as Priests. So the Acts state. Ughellus and Innocentius Ecclesia in book 1 of the Life of St. Syrus, chapter 6, write that Chrysanthus and Fortunatus came to Ticinum together with Syrus, Pompeius, and Juventius. Why should we not rather suppose that those two were natives of Ticinum, converted to Christ in their own homeland? Breventanus, in book 2, chapter 2, says that their relics are preserved at Ticinum in the church of St. Gervasius, along with those of Saints Maynetus, Boninus, and Satyrus, of whom we shall treat on 17 May, the day on which the translation of St. Syrus is solemnly celebrated in the same church.
[12] Before St. Syrus departed from life, he is reported to have addressed St. Juventius thus: "Let it not escape you, dearest Son, that you are the third after me to attain the honor of this office. Be strong and act manfully, lest the fury of those who cause disturbance terrify you." After Syrus's death, and a few years later that of his holy successor Pompeius—of whom we shall treat on 14 December—when all minds were turned toward Juventius, he, in a spirit of self-abasement, looked about for hiding places, thinking perhaps that Blessed Syrus had not so much foretold that this dignity would be imposed on him by God's inescapable decree, as that the wills of the citizens would conspire toward it—which, if he merely withdrew for a little while, he was confident could easily be redirected elsewhere. He therefore fled secretly to Laus Pompeia, a city not far away, situated between the rivers Adda and Lambro, which was later destroyed by the Milanese and rebuilt on the Adda, called Lodi in the Italian vernacular, as we have related on 21 January in connection with the Life of St. Bassianus, Bishop of Laus.
[13] Antonius Maria Spelta and the author of the above-cited Breviary write that he lay hidden there for one year; Paulus Diaconus says "for some time." But having been sought out with the greatest diligence by the people of Ticinum, he was at last brought back and compelled to submit his shoulders to the burden. In that office, he set before himself the footsteps of St. Syrus, by whom he had been raised and instructed, as the model to follow. He was therefore constant in the praises of God, in prayers, vigils, and fasts; he had taken it upon himself with special zeal to assist the poor and to defend widows and orphans. A certain widow, from whom a money-lender was demanding double the sum she had given, implored the Bishop's help. He summoned the Deacon Exuperantius, gave him money, and ordered him to pay whatever the woman owed, and to warn the creditor in his name not to demand back what he had not given, lest he also lose what he had—but if the creditor should in no way acquiesce, to pay even the interest demanded. The Deacon obeyed, paid the debt, and entreated the creditor to be content with it, pressing upon him the Bishop's warning. But the man persisted with equal indignation and obstinacy. Yet as soon as he had received all the money from the Deacon, he fell to the ground and expired in an instant. When the report of this event spread, it stirred great emotions in people's souls.
[14] A certain man among the tax collectors, while crossing the river Ticinus laden with public money, was carried away by the force of the waters and scarcely emerged half-alive, the money having been lost. In grief he had recourse to the Bishop, begging him to have pity on one whose life was in danger. The Bishop ordered that he be led to the place where he had suffered the loss. There he uttered these words, with firm faith, full of sacred authority: "I say to you, O water, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who walked upon you with his feet, do not retain the money on account of which this man is afflicted." Immediately the vessel in which the coins had been enclosed rose from the bottom and, borne gradually by the current, rolled to the feet of the holy Bishop standing on the bank of the river. Seizing it with his hand, he restored it to the man—a miracle surely as illustrious as that which Eliseus performed when he commanded the iron head of an axe to rise from the depths, unless it is a lesser thing for it to come of its own accord to the bank than to attach itself to the handle. Those who were present burst forth in praises of God and thanksgiving. Others report that it was not the tax collector himself who fell into the water, but that the money slipped from him while he was crossing the river in some fashion.
[15] Nor was the city of Ticinum alone honored by his benefactions: the splendor of his virtues also illuminated Milan itself. The Acts recount it thus: "The most blessed Juventius, inflamed with spiritual desires and advancing from virtue to virtue, proceeded to Milan on account of the defiance of the raging pagans." When he began to enter that city, the ministers of the demons strove with great effort to resist him, saying: "Come to your senses! Do not delude this city as your other accomplices have done, lest you too be punished in like manner." And they began to afflict him with various injuries. But the man of God, raising his eyes to heaven, said: "Lord, forgive them, for they are full of ignorance." But since the Lord gives the word to those who evangelize with great power, in that same hour a stormy whirlwind burst forth, and a most violent hailstorm descended upon them, most forcefully battering the heads, arms, and bones of the enemies of the truth; nor was any one of them able to flee from so great a tempest, but standing with their feet fixed in place, they were pounded by the blows of the immense hail. At last, remembering the wickedness of their guilt, they began to cry out: "Holy man Juventius, Father and Lord, deliver us, that we may not die from this punishment; and we will believe in him whom you believe in and preach!" When the most blessed Juventius prayed to the Lord, immediately the tempest ceased from them. And those who were freed from such punishment, immediately prostrating themselves at his feet, requested that they might be deemed worthy to receive the water of baptism. Gualla, by a notable anachronism, writes that the Arians, who arose scarcely a century later, inflicted the injury upon Juventius at Milan and were converted by divine vengeance and baptized by him—whereas they were in fact pagans.
[16] "And because many had gathered at this miracle, they were all baptized by the man of God together with the others. Remaining in that city, the most blessed man, establishing and ordaining Clergy and priesthood among the faithful Christians, returned to the city of Pavia." But at his arrival, a certain paralytic woman, lying on her bed, was begging him for the help of salvation. The man of God, looking upon her, stretched out his right hand and made the sign of the Cross over her; and immediately, restored to most perfect health, all paralysis and pain fled from her.
[17] The same author reports that he revisited the Milanese quite often, for the purpose of strengthening discipline or consecrating Clergy: "The orders of the Clergy of the city of Milan, which had been established by him, were augmented by his daily exhortations in the grace of faith and religion. To them the same blessed man went quite frequently, for the purpose of confirming their minds and those of the faithful peoples; and there, working the powers of many miracles, he would return to the city of Pavia."
[18] Bernardus Saccus, in book 6, chapter 8, of his history of Ticinum, concerning the deeds of Juventius, whom he affirms to have been conspicuous for his learning, adds the following: "Under his sacred administration, the lower part of Liguria bordering on the territory of Placentia, from the town of Arena all the way to Riviscala situated on the slope of the Apennines, together with many villages and fortified places, received the faith of Christ and attached itself to the Church and jurisdiction of Ticinum." Arena is a town near the Po, below the mouth of the Ticinus, where there is the greatest opportunity for crossing the Po.
Section IV. Duke Porphyrius, together with his men, is converted.
[19] How he was subsequently compelled to abstain from public and open preaching, Saccus himself narrates: "They report," he says, "that against Juventius, while he was occupied in instructing the towns of Ticinum, Duke Porphyrius came forth with a band of soldiers to remove the Bishop, lest the religion itself spread more widely. Juventius went out to meet the approaching Duke, and addressing the man with gentle speech, softened his fierce spirit at their first encounter; then he said that he was teaching not his own precepts, but those of God." Porphyrius, having perceived the man's modesty and innocence through long conversation, dismissed the Bishop without harm; he merely forbade him from going out to preach to the people in the future, as he had already begun to do. The Bishop, therefore, fearing lest persecution and slaughter be stirred up against the people through his preaching, abstained from public sermons and only by familiar discourse in hidden places kept the faithful steadfast in the faith. The other Bishops of Ticinum who were successively appointed followed his example. So much from Saccus.
[20] What has been related concerning Porphyrius is recounted somewhat differently in the Acts: namely, that Porphyrius, Prefect of the city of Rome, had been ordered to traverse the cities and villages, and if he found any Christians, to record their names and report them to the Emperor; that so great was the multitude of Christians in the district of Ticinum that it was not easy for the names of all to be entered in the registers; and that upon entering the city, he was honorably received by the populace.
[21] "At that very hour," says the author of the Acts, "the man of God, Juventius, was celebrating the solemnities of the Mass in the basilica of St. Nazarius, which he himself had built. Porphyrius, hearing of this, tormented by excessive fury, entering with an armed band in a savage heart, intended to afflict the people of God and so great a Bishop with tortures and injuries. But before he could make an assault upon the servant of God, he was seized by a demon together with all who had entered with him, and, striking one another with fists on the face, throat, and countenance, they began to drive themselves out of the atrium of the church. Porphyrius himself, blood flowing from his mouth and nostrils, was soaking the surface of the ground. And driven out of their minds, they were sending forth in mournful voices an excessive cry over their heads," until the man of God had completed the solemnities of the Mass.
[22] "When the ministry of the mystical oblation had been completed, he went out of the church with all the people and beheld a great miracle. For, forming circles in groups, they were howling one upon another with immense weeping. Then the Lord's man, Juventius, ordered all the faithful to prostrate themselves on the ground, that they might pray to the Lord on their behalf, so that God, having rescued them from such punishment, might restore them to the understanding of their minds and gather them to the faith of His name. St. Juventius himself also offered prayer for them, saying: 'Lord God, Father of heaven and earth, who commanded Your holy name to be preached to all nations and sent Your only-begotten Son, our Redeemer, to free them from all iniquity and ruin, receive our prayers for the folly of these men, and deliver them from the hand of the enemy who has received power over them, and direct their hearts into the way of salvation, that they may know You, their Creator, and adore no other besides You alone, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.'"
[23] "While the holy man and all the people were praying, there occurred a great earthquake, and suddenly, in the sight of all, fire from heaven encompassed them; and immediately, leaving off their weeping, they began as if with one mouth to cry out, saying: 'Truly great is the God of the Christians; and those who worship idols are all vain.' Porphyrius, moreover, was crying out incessantly: 'Juventius, most prudent man, pray on behalf of my misery to the true and awesome God whom you worship, that He may make me worthy of His dominion, for from this hour I count as nothing the imperial commands and the worship of idols.' To whom the man of the Lord replied: 'The heavenly mercy is not a hearer of the voice, but a searcher of the heart; yet if you believe with your whole heart, whatever you ask, you shall obtain.' On that very day, before he took food, when all who had come with Porphyrius had been baptized, Porphyrius himself also was baptized. And when the solemnities of the Mass had again been celebrated, he ordered them all to be present with him at the refreshments of the table; and the whole city rejoiced at having witnessed these miracles. Porphyrius, moreover, on the following day, rejoicing and exulting, departed to the Lord. Those who had come with him, having received the faith, returned to their own dwellings, making light of the imperial commands."
[24] Jacobus Gualla, in book 2, chapter 6, of the Sanctuarium of Pavia, writes that the soldiers of Porphyrius, struck by divine power, clashed with one another in this way: "While the people were thus placed in the terror of death, hoping in God alone as the author of their salvation—who permits His own to be terrified but not to perish—behold, the fierce Porphyrius, raging with his satellites and intending to cut down the Christian people with the edge of swords, by the judgment of God they were blinded and attacked one another with dreadful weapons, and cast themselves out of the basilica, leaving the pavement of the church bloody; and there, fighting with fierce combat, they ran one another through with mutual wounds." "When Mass had been celebrated as customary, the divine man Juventius ordered all to go out of the basilica and pray for the persecutors. At their prayer, all the satellites themselves rose up unharmed, crying out with loud voices to the stars: 'Great and true is the God of the Christians,' etc." The same account is found in the above-cited Breviary of the Lives of the Bishops of Ticinum. Spelta and Breventanus explicitly write that all were killed by mutual wounds and then raised by the prayers of the Christians. The latter, however, also considers the account of Saccus sufficiently worthy of belief.
Section V. The death, burial, and age of St. Juventius.
[25] Paulus Diaconus narrates the death of St. Juventius as follows: "This great laborer of Christ used to spend the night in sacred prayers during frequent vigils in the basilica of Blessed Nazarius, which he himself had built. But on a certain day, with his sons, Priests and Clerics, standing by, he reported that there had appeared to him, around the silence of midnight, St. Syrus—whom he also called his Father from baptism—together with Nazarius and Celsus, Protasius and Gervasius, the venerable Martyrs, speaking thus: 'Most beloved Juventius, now it is time for you to rejoice with us in the heavenly places; and know that you will very soon pass over to our fellowship, and on the third day after this one you will enter the hall of the heavenly fatherland.' When these words had been spoken, they vanished from my eyes." All who were present, upon hearing these words, became very sorrowful. But he himself rejoiced with immense joy, and remaining watchful within the same basilica for two days, on the third day, which was the day of the Lord's Resurrection, celebrating the solemnities of the Mass, he blessed all the people, and admonishing the Priests, ministers, and all the Clergy with heavenly discourses, he entered into the possession of a luminous dwelling and the habitations of blessed life.
[26] "His holy remains, with the honor and reverence befitting so great a Priest, they placed in the same basilica within a ledge near the altar, on the sixth day before the Ides of February," where even now his holy bones, resting there, flourish with virtues and miracles, "through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ," etc. Breventanus and Innocentius Ecclesia, in book 2, chapter 10, attest that the church built by St. Juventius in honor of Saints Nazarius and Celsus, after he himself was buried in it, began to be celebrated under his name and is still called St. Juventius.
[27] Paulus Diaconus calculates the age of St. Juventius thus: "St. Syrus held the See of the city of Ticinum for the course of eight weeks of years i.e., fifty-six years. After him, Pompeius obtained the insignia of that See, and after passing a few peaceful years, he departed to the Lord. St. Juventius held the chair of episcopal dignity for thirty-nine years." If we allow five years for St. Pompeius, the total comes to one hundred years. In what year of Christ they came to Ticinum is not established; they were certainly sent there before the death of Nero, which occurred in the year 68 of the common era, since under him Saints Hermagoras, Nazarius, and Celsus—who are mentioned in these Acts—suffered martyrdom.
[28] Ferdinandus Ughellus says that St. Syrus came to Ticinum with his companions in the year of Christ 46, which was the sixth year of Claudius, that he held the See for fifty years, and died in the year 96, when Nerva began to reign; that St. Pompeius died around the year 100, the third of Trajan; and that St. Juventius died in 139, which was the first year of Antoninus Pius. The Breviary of the Lives of the Bishops agrees that St. Juventius (whom it perpetually calls Inventius) died in the year 139. Breventanus holds that Syrus came in the year of Christ 50, held the See for about fifty years, that Pompeius held it for seventeen years, and that Juventius died in 154. Gualla says that St. Juventius died in the year 117, after holding the See for thirty-nine years, from which it would follow that St. Syrus died before the year 78. Spelta says that Syrus came in the year 46, held the See for fifty-eight or sixty years, that Pompeius was ordained in 106 and died in 120, and Juventius in 161. But none of these authors adduce the chronological evidence that they follow.
[29] It should be noted that an error, indeed a most foul one, seems to have been introduced by some copyist into the narrative of Paulus Diaconus, foreign to his distinguished erudition and inconsistent with what he writes about the time of the tenure of Saints Syrus and Juventius. For it is said that Porphyrius came to Ticinum while the most impious Emperor Vespasian was raging against the Christian religion; but Vespasian did not trouble the Christians, nor according to the chronology of Paulus himself was Juventius a Bishop during his reign, nor even during that of Domitian. It appears that this happened during the reign of Trajan or Hadrian. In the frequently cited Breviary of the Lives of the Bishops of Ticinum, it is said that he was sent by Trajan.
[30] Baronius reports that around the year of Christ 1580, the venerable body of Eventius was discovered at Ticinum, with the following inscription: "Here lies Eventius, illustrious for miracles." But whether this is the body of St. Juventius I or II, or rather of some other person who was not a Bishop, I would not easily venture to guess.