ON ST. EULALIA, VIRGIN MARTYR, AT BARCELONA IN HISPANIA
Year of Christ 303.
Preliminary Commentary.
Eulalia, Virgin Martyr, at Barcelona in Hispania (St.)
I. B.
[1] Two Virgins accomplished noble martyrdom among the people of Hispania at the same time, both of whom bore the name Eulalia; one at Emerita, Two SS. Eulalia, of Emerita and of Barcelona, a city of old Lusitania, the other at Barcelona in Tarraconese Hispania; the latter on the twelfth day of February, born at the age of fourteen years; the former at twelve or thirteen, on December 10. Entirely similar torments were applied to both; equal strength of soul, divinely bestowed, was given to both for freely reproaching the Judge; the soul of each is remembered as having flown away in the form of a dove.
[2] Which was the reason for various authors to suppose and write that there was only a single Eulalia, who, born at Barcelona, suffered martyrdom at Emerita. So L. Marineus Siculus, book 5 of his work on the affairs of Hispania: Eulalia, the most holy Virgin and Martyr, combined into one by certain writers; a native of Barcelona, in Emerita Augusta, a city once most flourishing, for the faith and confession of Christ, by the order of Dacianus, Governor of the province, first suspended on the rack and scraped with iron claws, and then, when burning plates were applied to both sides, consumed by fire, on the fourth day before the Ides of December, she rendered her spirit to God. But Maurolycus, and Canisius in his German Martyrology, have the Emeritensian killed at Barcelona on this day; although neither on December 10 (where they record her again) mentions the city of Barcelona. Peter de Natali, book 1, chapter 54, attributes to the Barcelonan whatever is narrated of the Emeritensian, and writes that she was buried at Barcelona on the fourth day before the Ides of December. Yet in the same book, chapter 48, treating of St. Leocadia, he mentions Eulalia as killed in the city of Emerita. Vincent of Beauvais, book 12, chapter 123, after briefly recounting the Acts of the Emeritensian Eulalia, adds: The feast of this Virgin appears to be recorded twice in the Martyrology, namely on the day before the Ides of February and on the fourth day before the Ides of December: unless perhaps there were two women of the same name who suffered in the same province and in the same persecution.
[3] Prudentius appears to have furnished others with a greater occasion for doubt, who, having sung the third Hymn in his book On the Crowns in praise of St. Eulalia of Lusitania, and having described her struggle at length, by others the acts of one are attributed to the other, nowhere treats of the Barcelonan, although he mentions Barcelona elsewhere. But he does not commemorate all the Saints, nor the glories of all cities. And that Eulalia of Lusitania was somewhat more celebrated for the multiplicity of her tortures: but the torments which are read to have been inflicted on her alone, some have also attributed to the Barcelonan. For Thomas Trugillus, among other things, writes of her in part 2 of volume 2 of the Treasury of Preachers: They cast her into quicklime, poured oil upon her, and boiling lead: then they rubbed her nostrils and all her wounds with mustard and vinegar, and with sharp potsherds they tore all her wounds, and burned her eyes with flaming candles. And after a few words: When Dacianus was now weary of such varied invention of tortures, and saw that he could not by this means deflect the immovable spirit of the Virgin from the firmness of her faith, although she was most tender and of slight age, he wished to exercise the torment of ignominy upon her, and so he ordered the holy Virgin, naked and wounded with so many wounds, to be led through the entire city, for her greater shame and the terror of all Christians; and thereafter to be beheaded in a certain field. The same is narrated by Ribadeneira and Villegas in the Flower of the Saints, John Marietta in his Ecclesiastical History of Hispania, book 4, chapter 1, Ambrosius Morales, book 10, chapter 3, and others. But those punishments were inflicted on Eulalia of Emerita alone. and what was similar in both was recklessly taken away from one or the other.
[4] By a similar error, some have attached to this Eulalia of Barcelona the teacher and exhorter to martyrdom Donatus, who attended the Emeritensian. This we have also noticed in various manuscripts, and Barnabas Morenus de Vargas noted it in book 2 of his History of Emerita, chapter 8. With whom, however, we by no means agree when he denies that the Barcelonan, living in the country, went voluntarily into the city to the Judge. St. Eulogius refutes him, writing thus in book 1 of the Memorial of the Saints: So Justus and Pastor, so Eulalia the Virgin of Barcelona, so Babylas the Bishop, and many others offered themselves voluntarily and were crowned. Running in the opposite direction, Morales, in scholium 18 on that book of St. Eulogius, writes thus: From this you may easily understand that Eulalia of Emerita did not proceed of her own will to the confession of the Christian faith, but was carried off by order of the Judge. Otherwise Eulogius would have adduced her example as well. That example might not have occurred to Eulogius. And for him to deny it expressly about the Emeritensian, the authority of Prudentius outweighs his for us, who writes thus:
She, loathing to endure in ignoble delay The aid of rest, At night she moves the doors without a witness, And as a fugitive opens the barred enclosures, Thence she takes her way through trackless paths. And after 18 verses: Proudly in the morning she approaches the tribunal, She stands in the midst of the fasces, etc.
The Acts, to be published on December 10, will reveal this more clearly.
[5] We give here the Acts of St. Eulalia of Barcelona from a manuscript of the monastery of St. Maximin near Trier, the Acts of the Barcelonan published here from manuscripts. and from a manuscript of the monastery of St. Cucuphas de Valles in Catalonia; formerly submitted by John Baptist de Castelarnau, a most devout religious of the same monastery. The same were published from a Toledan codex in the Hispanic Martyrology by John Tamayus Salazar. With these three sets of Acts agree what Francis Diagus narrates in Spanish from an ancient codex of the Church of Barcelona in book 1 on the Counts of Barcelona, chapter 8, and what Francis Padilla records in his Ecclesiastical History of Hispania, century 4, chapter 3, from a manuscript of the Church of Calahorra.
[6] Antonius Vincentius Domeneccus in his History of the Saints of Catalonia collected the deeds of St. Eulalia from various authors, other things written about her upbringing, and among other things, omitted in the Latin Acts and the already-cited records, narrates the following: The mother of the Virgin Eulalia was a Christian and most devout woman: who, so as to occupy her daughter's mind from earliest childhood with the study and love of Divine things, taught her to paint with a needle and to form figures of the Saints: and especially she set before her the life of the Virgin Mother of God to depict, so that she might strive to express with her character what she depicted with her art, even more zealously. But the most holy Virgin was borne along both with great devotion toward the Mother of God, and with much greater (as was fitting) devotion toward Christ: love toward Christ and the Blessed Virgin. and therefore at the beginning of every work she painted the figure of the holy Cross, and then the image of the Virgin Mother. While she was once meditating on Divine things, an Angel appeared to her visibly, and told her that she had been chosen as a bride by Christ, and promised her the triumph of the Cross as a dowry. Animated by this sign and promise, after giving thanks to her heavenly Bridegroom, she immediately set out for Barcelona. If these things are true, then what Trugillus writes is false — that she drew her origin from illustrious and noble parents, about whom it is not said whether they were Christians. Which Morales also writes. But so that we may determine nothing about that narrative of Domeneccus, her parents were Christians: the Acts themselves seem to us to indicate clearly enough that her parents too were Christians, who loved her for her humility and so great wisdom, and allowed her to serve the Lord in a secluded cell with her companions in the praise of hymns, etc.
[7] The torments inflicted on Eulalia that the previously cited authors described, omitted in her own Acts, Domenech also recounts, including the ignominy of nudity. He denies she was beheaded, but says she was put upon a cross; and that this is attested by the tradition of the Church of Barcelona, She herself died on a cross -- that is, on the rack. by the Lessons of the Office, certain Collects, and the Martyrologies. The Acts read: "Dacian ordered the body to be placed on a cross." The Barcelona manuscript, as Diago cites it, reads: "to be left on a cross." He explains this as meaning the rack, for the rack bore a certain form of a cross. Indeed, in the Acts of Saint Dorothy on February 6, chapter 3, number 17, the following is said of Saint Theophilus the Scholastic: "But when he was suspended on the rack, he said: 'Behold, now I have been made a Christian, because I am suspended on a Cross.' For the construction of the rack bears the likeness of a Cross."
[8] One who interpolated the tables of the Roman Martyrology supposed that she was taken down from the rack and then affixed to a cross. These now read: Inscribed in the Martyrologies. "At Barcelona in Spain, Saint Eulalia the Virgin, who in the time of the Emperor Diocletian endured the rack, hooks, and flames, and finally, affixed to a cross, received the glorious crown of martyrdom." Usuard, and Bellinus of Padua in the Martyrology according to the custom of the Roman Curia, have only this: "In Spain, the birthday of Saint Eulalia the Virgin, who is known in the time of the Emperor Diocletian to have received the glorious crown of martyrdom, in the city of Barcelona." Nor did Bede, Ado, Notker, or Galesin express the torments more clearly. Only the name is inscribed in the most ancient Roman Martyrology. Wandalbert writes thus:
"The feast and blood of Eulalia shines on the day before; The city of Barcelona rejoices in this outstanding Virgin."
[9] That Eulalia was crowned with martyrdom in the year of Christ 303, Diago establishes roughly as follows: Although from the beginning of his reign Diocletian had raged against the Christians, Killed in the year 303. yet his fury burned much more fiercely in his nineteenth year, which was the year of Christ 302, around Easter; and then it is likely that Dacian was sent into Spain, and others into other provinces whom he had found to be the more cruel. Therefore in the following February she ran of her own accord to the contest, before Saint Cucuphas and Saint Felix.
[10] Augustine Barbosa in the Collectanea of the Bullarium reports that it was decreed by the Sacred Congregation of Rites on December 6, 1608, Her feast with an Octave, even in Lent. that the feast of Saint Eulalia, even if it should fall in Lent, might nevertheless be celebrated with an Octave, as they say, in the Church of Barcelona, according to ancient custom.
ACTS FROM MANUSCRIPTS
Eulalia, Virgin Martyr at Barcelona in Spain (Saint)
BHL Number: 2693
From Manuscripts.
[1] In those days, the holy Eulalia, a citizen and inhabitant of Barcelona, Eulalia most devout from her earliest age, noble in lineage, from the time of her tender age loved the Lord Jesus Christ with all her heart. She lived with her parents on their own small estate, which was situated a little distance from the city, because on account of her humility and the great wisdom that was in her beyond her years, her parents loved her more than indulgently. And persevering in one purpose, dear to her parents, she constantly sings the praises of God, she did nothing else but on every day, in a secluded cell, with companions whom she had gathered together, serve the Lord in the singing of hymns.
[2] While doing this, when she had reached the years of puberty, the persecution of the raging Princes began to rage against the Christians, so that whoever refused to sacrifice would be put to death by various torments. Dacian the Governor, arriving in the city of Barcelona, sacrificed to the gods upon hearing the report of the persecution and ordered Christians to be sought out to offer incense. About which matter a report immediately spread that the city had been thrown into turmoil by the most impious judge. When Saint Eulalia heard this, she became joyful and, filled with great gladness, rejoiced, she exults, saying: "I give thanks to You, Lord Jesus Christ, and glory to Your holy name, because I see what I desired; and so I believe in You, that in this matter, with Your help, my will may be fulfilled."
[3] When her companions heard this, they marveled, wondering what thing so desirable and wondrous she had seen that she would not reveal to them in the usual way; for whatever she knew through the grace of God she does not disclose the reason even to her own, she made known to them all, according to the vigilance and circumspection of her faith, by which she most sweetly edified them in her discourse. But holy Eulalia was unwilling to tell anyone what she was revolving in her heart, neither her parents, who loved her so insatiably, but secretly at night goes to the city, nor any of her companions or household, all of whom held her dearer than their own lives. But in the silent hour, at the first cockcrow, while they were resting, she set out for the city, and with all the courage of her spirit the delicate maiden tirelessly completed the entire journey on foot.
[4] When she entered the gate of the city, she heard the voice of a herald sounding, and she proceeded to the forum. Seeing Dacian seated on the tribunal, bursting through the throngs of the people mingled with the Officials, she directed herself before the tribunal and in a loud voice said to him: "Judge of iniquity, do you sit on high thus she goes of her own accord to Dacian and publicly rebukes his cruelty without fearing the most high Lord, who is above all your Princes and above you -- so that all those whom the Lord, great and true, made in His own image and likeness, to serve Him alone, you put to death through the torment of punishments on account of the works of Satan?" Dacian, gazing at her with astonishment of mind, said: "Who are you, who have so rashly presumed not only to approach the tribunal of the Judge without being summoned, but moreover, puffed up with the cause of pride, to utter unheard-of things contrary to the Emperors in the face of the Judge?" But she replied with even greater constancy of spirit and force of voice: "I am Eulalia, a handmaid of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords; and therefore, trusting in Him, I have feared nothing in coming voluntarily and in haste to rebuke you -- for why do you act so foolishly as to set aside the true God, to whom belong all things, heaven, earth, sea, and all things beneath the earth and that are in them, and worship the devil? And furthermore, those who serve the true God, that they may merit to attain eternal life, you compel through various forms of torment to sacrifice to gods who are not gods, but the devil is there with his angels -- with whom you all who worship them will be consumed in eternal fire."
[5] The Governor, hearing this, in anger ordered her to be placed and beaten severely from behind. While she was being beaten, she is flogged, Dacian said: "O wretched girl, where is your God? Why does He not free you from this punishment? Why have you been seized by such madness as to do so unlawful a thing? But say that you fell into this out of ignorance, that you did not know what the power of the Judge was, and you shall receive pardon; for I too am sorry for you, that so noble a person should be flogged so severely, and meanwhile she scorns Dacian's words, since you are of noble birth." Saint Eulalia replied: "I laugh at you for urging me to lie, to say that I do not know how great your power is. What man does not know that all the power of any man is temporal, just as the man himself is here today and dies tomorrow? For the power of my Lord Jesus Christ has no end, even as He Himself is eternal. Therefore I cannot speak falsehood, because I fear my Lord, who commands that liars and the sacrilegious be burned in the fire of hell with all who do iniquity. For I, now, while I am beaten for the sake of my Lord, She denies that she feels the blows. am more than sufficiently ennobled. I do not feel your blows, for my Lord Jesus Christ Himself protects me, who commands that you, according to your deeds, be afflicted with eternal punishments on the day of His judgment."
[6] But the Governor, filled with greater anger, ordered the rack to be brought, and that she be suspended upon it and tortured as long as she was being torn with claws. She is tortured on the rack. But Saint Eulalia with a cheerful countenance praised the Lord, saying: "Lord Jesus Christ, hear me, Your unworthy handmaid, for to You alone have I sinned. Pardon my evil deeds, and strengthen me to endure the torments which are imposed upon me for Your holy name, so that the devil may be confounded with his ministers." The Governor said to her: "Where is the one you call upon? Hear me, unhappy and foolish girl, and sacrifice to the gods, so that you may live; for behold, death already threatens you, and there is no one to deliver you." Saint Eulalia, made joyful, said: "May it never be well with you, sacrilegious one, demoniac, doomed to perish, that I should depart from the faith of my Lord. She insults the Governor. My Lord, whom I call upon, is here with me -- whom you, on account of your most foul mind and insane soul, do not deserve to see. He strengthens me, so that whatever punishment you in your fury wish to inflict upon me, I count as nothing."
[7] The Governor, raging, in anger ordered the soldiers to apply burning torches to her sides Burning torches are applied to her sides and to keep Saint Eulalia hanging for as long as she might be consumed by the flames of the torches. Then she, joyful, with exultation, sang in a loud voice a psalm to the Lord: "Behold, God is my helper, and the Lord is the upholder of my soul." Psalm 53:6 "Render evil to my enemies, and destroy them in Your truth. [7] [8] I will freely sacrifice to You, and I will confess Your name, O Lord, because it is good; because from all tribulation You have delivered me, and my eye has looked upon my enemies. [9]" The flames being extinguished or turned against the lictors. And the flame began to turn against the attendants. When Saint Eulalia saw this, looking up to heaven, she prayed in a clearer voice, saying: "Lord Jesus Christ, hear my prayer, and perfect Your mercy in me, and command me now to be received among Your elect into the rest of eternal life, working a sign in me for good, so that those who believe in You may see and praise Your power." When her prayer was completed, the burning torches that had been fueled with oil and had rolled up enormous flames She gives up her spirit, in the form of a dove flying forth. were immediately extinguished. The attendants who were applying them were themselves burned, and trembling, they fell upon their faces. And Saint Eulalia gave up her spirit; a dove issuing from her mouth flew up to heaven. When the people saw this, they marveled; among them the Christians rejoiced that their citizen had merited to have a patroness in heaven.
[8] Dacian, seeing that after such a contest of punishments he had accomplished nothing, groaning with anger and descending from the tribunal, ordered the body to be placed on a cross, with guards posted, Hanging on the cross. and threatening, said: "Let her hang on the cross until she is devoured by the birds of the sky, bones and all." And behold, suddenly snow descended from heaven and covered her. She is covered with snow. When the guards saw this, terrified with fear, they withdrew from the body, but standing at a distance they kept watch according to the judge's command. When this was spread abroad through the territory around the city, many came to see the wonders of God; and her parents and companions ran with great joy, Many flock there, including her parents. who, weeping copiously, were greatly troubled, because they did not know what had happened. After the third day, devout men took her body away at night without the guards' knowledge; and they wrapped it in linens and spices. But the blessed and happy Felix, who had been one with her in confession, She is buried. said with great exultation of spirit to her: "Lady, you were the first to deserve the palm." And Saint Eulalia smiled at him. The rest also began to sing a hymn joyfully to God: "The righteous cried out, and the Lord heard them, and delivered them from all their tribulations." Psalm 33:18 And at the voices of those singing psalms many of the people gathered, and with joy they buried her, To the great joy of the Christians. blessing the Lord, the Father, and Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit, whose kingdom endures forever and ever. Amen.
AnnotationsON THE DISCOVERY AND FIRST TRANSLATION OF SAINT EULALIA, VIRGIN MARTYR
Eulalia, Virgin Martyr at Barcelona in Spain (Saint)
Year of Christ 878. October 23.
Author: I. B.
[1] The body of Saint Eulalia was buried with religious care, not in any church (for all had been razed to the ground by order of the Emperors), but in the private home or estate of a certain Christian, as Francisco Diago rightly judges in book 1 of "The Counts of Barcelona," chapter 9. After the persecution subsided, The body of Saint Eulalia buried outside the city, it was entombed in a small church built outside the city on the seashore, dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God, and hence formerly called Saint Mary of the Sands; now another stands there, large and splendid: Saint Mary of the Sea.
[2] Alfonso de Villegas judges that when the Moors occupied Spain in the year of Christ 714, the people of Barcelona, fearing In 714 it was hidden more deeply and fell into oblivion. that the most sacred body of Eulalia, their fellow citizen, might fall into the hands of that impious and barbarous nation, committed it to secure hiding places in the same church. From that time, the memory of the sacred treasure was gradually entirely obliterated as the few who knew of the hiding places died out. Others think it was originally deposited where it was later found.
[3] The discovery is narrated roughly as follows. Around the year of Christ 878, Sigebod, Archbishop of Narbonne, wishing to build a church of Saint Eulalia, asked for certain relics of the same holy Virgin from Frodoin, Bishop of Barcelona, with whom he had attended the Second Council of Troyes that same year, with Pope John VIII presiding, as can be seen in volume 3 of the Councils of Gaul. He is said to have accompanied the Bishop from there perhaps on account of this matter, and certainly to have come to Barcelona. Here it was anxiously sought where that heavenly treasure had been deposited. Many vows were made to the Saints above. In the Cathedral church, which is sacred to the Holy Cross, In 878 it was understood after prayers where it lay. the holy Bishops offered Masses to God, that they might by divine aid elicit some indication of the hidden treasure. The divine will heard their prayers, and by its inspiration it was understood from an ancient hymn, once composed in praise of the Virgin Eulalia, that the blessed remains had been buried in the church of Saint Mary we have mentioned. Therefore, with prayers poured forth anew to God with the utmost piety of spirit, they came in supplication Three days were spent searching for the site from the Cathedral basilica to that church with all the clergy and a most numerous crowd of people of every age and rank, both Bishops together. Then Frodoin ordered everything that might obstruct the workers removed, and the ground to be deeply excavated in many places. Three full days were spent with every effort and labor, yet no trace either of the sacred body or of the place where it had been deposited could be unearthed. In vain. Hope of finding it being thus abandoned, Sigebod returned to Narbonne.
[4] But Frodoin, mindful of the Gospel oracle by which we are admonished to persevere in prayers, and that it is most pleasing to God that we seek benefits from His generous hand with a kind of obstinate persistence, did not think he should cease from the search for the sacred treasure he had begun. Therefore with constant fasts and prayers, and with a remarkable ardor of piety, he beseeched God. And that, by the united prayers of many, he might more easily obtain what he desired, After a three-day fast and prayers he proclaimed a public fast and prayers of three days for every order, age, and sex. During that time, the people always in great numbers, especially priests and holy women, in the said church, day and night, devoted themselves to singing praises to God and imploring His help in the matter that was sought. The united prayer did not lack success. On the third day the Bishop, having completed the sacred rites in the Cathedral, came to the church of Saint Mary full of hope; a vast crowd of people also ran there. Prayers were again addressed to God and the Saint; the ardor of all in searching for the sacred body grew, with no corner of the church whatsoever left unexplored. The Bishop himself, while carefully examining with his eyes a place previously excavated to the right of the altar, The tomb found, noticed a small hole near the wall; inserting his staff, he probed it and detected a hollow space within. He therefore ordered the ground to be dug more deeply by his men and removed. There, a marble tomb of the Saint was found; when its cover was pried off, immediately a wondrous sweetness of fragrance breathed forth from the holy relics and wafted even to those standing at a distance. From it a most sweet fragrance was diffused. One would have said the tomb was filled with precious ointments. This aroused feelings of extraordinary piety in all minds and drew copious tears from their eyes. Villegas says that the fragrance burst forth from the holy relics when Frodoin lifted the linen in which they had been wrapped.
[5] Having first given thanks to God, the Bishop wrapped the most holy bones, taken from the tomb, in a clean and fine linen shroud, The relics, removed, are honorably conveyed into the city. while the clergy sang sacred hymns and praises of Eulalia. Then they were placed on a bier to be carried to the Cathedral basilica of the Holy Cross. Immediately a splendid procession was arranged; the most honorable members of the clergy placed the bier upon their shoulders, while the rest carried torches in their hands. At the gate of the city, which is called Saint Eulalia's Gate, they paused for the space of half an hour, praising God with immense delight of soul. At the ancient gate. Villegas writes that the spot where the procession stopped -- where anciently the city was encircled by walls and the very entrance of the gate was -- is now the Grain Market.
[6] When they wished to proceed from there into the city, by no force could they lift the bier. The prodigy struck all with awe. Some said it was evidence They become immovable. that it did not please God and the Saints that the sacred remains, taken from their place, should be carried within the city. While this agitation of minds was growing, the Bishop proclaimed After prayers they move, that all should fall upon their knees on the ground and strive to appease the Divine clemency. When the prayers were duly completed, he rose from the ground, applied his hands to the bier, and some priests with him, and lifted it most easily, They are carried to the Cathedral. and with the distinguished procession they had begun, they bore it to the principal basilica and placed it upon the altar. Then, again prostrate on the ground, they sang thanks and praises to God. Throughout that entire week citizens and inhabitants competed in flocking to venerate the relics, For eight days they are honored with gifts and prayers. carrying candles in their hands, offering gifts, propitiating God and the holy Martyr with fasts, vigils, and prayers.
[7] On the eighth day the Bishop ordered the marble coffin, in which the body of Saint Eulalia had been deposited for many centuries, The relics to be placed in the tomb, to be raised from the earth and placed in the Cathedral church, desiring to enclose the bones of the holy Virgin in it. But neither he himself, nor the priests present, could move them in any way. Again they become immovable. Once more the entire people prostrated themselves upon the ground and implored heavenly aid for a happy completion of the celebration as it had been conducted thus far. While all were praying thus, after the space of one hour a priest came forward into the midst, struck with terror and trembling, and threw himself at the Bishop's feet, confessing his crime: Until a certain man returned a cut-off finger. that he had cut off a finger from the most sacred body of the Virgin Eulalia and kept it enclosed in a small box at home. The Bishop ordered him to bring it at once; and then, fearing perhaps that some fraud might lurk beneath, or moved by divine inspiration and wishing to prevent anyone from ever mocking his too credulous gullibility, he publicly cast the finger that was brought and handed to him into the burning coals. The finger was unharmed in the fire. Wondrous is God in His Saints! For no small space of time it lay in the fire, entirely whole and unharmed, like gold which is cast into fire to be tested. When all had poured forth praises of the Divine goodness, the Bishop took the finger from the fire and joined it to the other relics; and then at last, easily lifted without difficulty, they were deposited within the tomb. These things Diago reports from the ancient "Flower of the Saints" of the Church of Barcelona, written on parchment. He acknowledges that others narrate the miracle as occurring at the entrance to the city, because those authors had not read that the relics were rendered immovable a second time. He himself judges that the finger was cut off either when the relics were taken from the tomb in the church of Saint Mary, or rather while they remained placed upon the altar in the Cathedral for the eight days, when the sacred pledge could have been stolen at night.
[8] A public monument of this miracle. Villegas writes that a monument of this event exists: a statue of the Virgin excellently sculpted and placed above that gate of the city, and a stone erected in the middle of the forum as a perpetual memorial of so great a prodigy. This Translation is mentioned by Domenech, Trujillo, Ribadeneira, Morales, Marietta, and Jerome Paul in the Catalogue of the Bishops of Barcelona. Because this Translation had been so distinguished by miracles, its anniversary commemoration is observed not only in the Cathedral basilica but in the entire city and diocese, Anniversary of the Translation, October 23. on October 23; and the dedication of an altar to the same Saint on the 30th of the same month, as the same Diago attests. Ferrari assigned the commemoration of that Translation to October 27. In the Lessons of the second Nocturn in the Barcelona Breviary, at the said October 23, the Translation is narrated, with the second miracle omitted -- in which the relics of the Virgin are recalled to have become immovable again. The Bishop in those same Lessons is always called Frondoinus, and the Translation is said to have been made under Guifre the Hairy, Count of Barcelona, and Charles the Bald, King of France. But Charles the Bald had already died the preceding year on October 6.
SECOND TRANSLATION OF SAINT EULALIA, VIRGIN MARTYR
Eulalia, Virgin Martyr at Barcelona in Spain (Saint)
Author: I. B.
Year of Christ 1339, July 10.
[1] The body of Saint Eulalia remained in the place already mentioned until about the year 1334, when Ferrer Abella of the Order of Preachers, Archbishop of Neopatras, was elevated to the See of Barcelona. For since at that time the principal basilica was being restored and enlarged with new constructions, The relics of Saint Eulalia, around the year 1334, deposited in the sacristy, the tomb of the Saint was carried to the sacristy or treasury. An elegant chapel was built beneath the high altar for the preservation of that treasure, and adorned with such furnishings as would both befit the relics of the great Martyr and excite the piety of the people.
[2] A magnificent procession was then organized, at which several Kings and Queens, nobles of the royal line, Bishops, Abbots, In 1339 they were carried about most splendidly, a copious band of noble men, and finally an innumerable multitude of people were present. The relics were carried through the city; the church of Saint Mary of the Sea was visited; sacred rites were celebrated there, and a sermon preached by the Archbishop of Tarragona. In the cemetery, altars were erected in two places, the sacrifice was offered, and a double sermon was likewise delivered there, because the church was not large enough to hold such a multitude. The relics were then returned to the Pontifical basilica, to a chapel most elegantly constructed and dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God and Saint Eulalia, and placed upon the altar. In a new chapel within a magnificent tomb they were deposited. Then, being displayed by the same Archbishop of Tarragona, they were next placed by him, by Cardinal Legate Bernard, the Bishop of Barcelona, and other prelates into a small marble vessel, and this was itself enclosed within a great marble tomb supported by eight marble columns likewise. On that larger tomb the acts, discovery, and translation of Saint Eulalia were sculpted on the exterior. On the cover of the smaller marble coffin in which the relics were deposited, With an inscription added, this epitaph was inscribed: "Here rests the body of Blessed Eulalia, Virgin and Martyr of Christ, of Barcelona, which was placed in this vessel in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 1339, on the sixth day before the Ides of July." Then the larger tomb was covered with a vast marble slab, and upon it large marble statues were placed: of Saint Mary the Mother of God and four Angels at each corner of the tomb, holding candelabra in their hands.
[3] Besides the dignity of the illustrious persons who were present and the most splendid order of the procession, An immense supply of candles at that time, the furnishings are recalled to have been most magnificent. In the Cathedral church eight hundred candles of eight pounds each burned, besides innumerable other smaller ones. Nor were miracles lacking. For when the sacred relics rested upon the altars, as has been said, and when they were carried through the intersections, A heavenly fragrance from the relics, and even when they had been enclosed in the tomb, they breathed forth a most sweet and utterly wonderful fragrance that pervaded all places.
[4] Whatever was done in that solemnity was recorded in the acts by Marcus Maiolus, a public notary; these acts are preserved in the archive of the Church of Barcelona. The acts of the Translation. Diago has transcribed them in Spanish in book 3 of "The Counts of Barcelona," chapter 18. It has not seemed proper to us to give them in Latin from the Spanish (unless we obtain a copy of the original), Anniversary. lest we err in translating the very numerous names of persons and places. The anniversary of this Translation is observed on the second Sunday of July. Other writers of Spanish affairs narrate the same Translation, but most disagree about the date and in listing the names of the Kings who were present.
[5] The tomb was opened again 112 years later, on July 19, in the year 1451, The relics shown in 1451, and the relics were shown on August 9 to Queen Mary of Aragon, wife of Alfonso V. Diago records this at the cited place from the manuscript codex of the Confraternity of Saint Eulalia, which exists in the archive of the Chapter of Barcelona.
[6] Saint Eulalia, patroness of seafarers. Domenech writes that Saint Eulalia is especially regarded and venerated as the Advocate of seafarers; and therefore, before they commit themselves to the sea, they go to her tomb and implore her patronage with solemn vows; nor does their trust lack success.
[7] He also says she is venerated to avert drought and barrenness: for it is established from certain records that anciently, to elicit rains from heaven, a procession was customarily organized to her church at Sarria, situated half a mile from the city of Barcelona, She is invoked for rain, and the desired result followed immediately. This happened especially in the year 1564, when there had been a dreadful and deadly drought; a procession was organized to Saint Eulalia in Sarria, at which Bishop William, with all the families of religious men, was present; the following morning copious rains fell from heaven.
[8] Philip Ferrari, in the General Catalogue of the Saints, reports that Saint Eulalia the Virgin and Martyr is venerated at Ugento in the Salento region, on the extreme coast of Italy, on January 12. The memory of Saint Eulalia elsewhere. In his Notes he says she seems to him to be the one who received her crown at Barcelona. Whether some relics of hers were carried there, or whether January 12 was written erroneously for February, by the one who reported it to Ferrari, we cannot divine.