Euseus

CONCERNING ST. EUSEUS, HERMIT AND COBBLER,

at Serravalle in Piedmont.

Euseus, Hermit and Cobbler, at Serravalle in Piedmont (Saint)

I. B.

[1] The Sessites is a river of Cisalpine Gaul, now commonly called the Sesia, which divides the diocese of Novara from that of Vercelli, and the territory of the Duke of Savoy from that of Milan. Along it there is a certain not undistinguished valley, which is therefore called Valsesia by the Italians; near its outermost jaws, at Serravalle, a town of the territory of Vercelli, a smaller river, called the Sessera, falls into the Sesia. At their confluence a town is situated, whose original name, they say, was Borgo Franco; it is now called Serravalle, as if the gateway of the Sesia Valley, a name viewed with jealousy by the inhabitants of the Sesia Valley. The origin, growth, and fortunes both prosperous and adverse of that town were described in the Italian language by Vercellinus Bellinus, a nobleman of Vercelli, born at Serravalle; and Charles Amadeus Bellinus, his son, a Doctor of Civil and Canon Law, published the work. In that booklet he mentions St. Euseus, whose name had not yet become known to us from other sources. Because, however, the plague, hostile plundering, and fires have destroyed most of the writings of that town, Vercellinus acknowledges that he learned by tradition from his forebears, or discovered from the inspection of certain monuments, what he briefly records concerning St. Euseus, in roughly the following manner.

[2] Euseus was born at Serravalle and led an anchoritic life at least three hundred years ago on that rock Euseus, born a hermit, where a church dedicated in his name now stands, in which his body is preserved. Among the thorns and shrubs with which that rock was overgrown, he had constructed a humble little hut, in which he dwelt and procured his livelihood by cobbling shoes. a cobbler. Old paintings in many churches of that district, and also at Vercelli, depict him engaged in that craft. Those paintings, therefore, together with the many votive offerings hung up and the gathering of peoples to venerate him, are clear indications of his sanctity, which has also been divinely confirmed by miracles. Hence a church was constructed in the name of St. Euseus; [from antiquity he has been held a Saint; he is venerated the day before Ash Wednesday.] and commemoration of him is made in the divine office. The annual celebration of the dedication of the church is observed on the third of the Kalends of June, but his blessed death is observed on the day before Ash Wednesday, or the Tuesday after Quinquagesima Sunday. For on that day he is said to have departed this life; in what month or year, it is not established.

[3] They narrate, moreover, that when certain masked persons, for the festive merriment of those days, were walking from the village of Bornato to Serravalle, passing by the rock where the dwelling of Euseus stood, they saw (which at that season of the year was prodigious) three lilies above that dwelling, Lilies sprung up at his death: and these had blossomed to a great height. Aroused, therefore, by the novelty of the miracle, they approached to look and saw the lifeless body of Euseus. The parish priest of Serravalle and the townspeople, upon learning the news, also came there both to see the lilies and to commit the body to burial. It was carried to the parish church of St. Martin for burial. The body was divinely returned to the same place three times: But by a new prodigy, it was brought back of its own accord to its former place by divine power; and this happened three times. No one doubted that the holy man wished to be buried there where he had spent his life. Therefore a small chapel was immediately constructed for his burial, which, as the piety and concourse of the people grew, was enlarged into the form which is now seen. A church was erected to him. His feast has always been celebrated on the day before Ash Wednesday, but in what year it began, or by whose authority, is uncertain. Nine other churches in that district also honor St. Euseus in the Ecclesiastical Office.

[4] Thus Bellinus. Because, however, as he writes, in what year, month, or day he died is unknown, we have assigned him here, so that a memory of him might exist around that day on which the day of Ashes most commonly falls.

a The Martyrology of Cologne, 1490 edition.

b The German text references the Heiligenlexikon digital resource.