ON ST. SILVINUS, BISHOP OF CREMONA IN ITALY.
THE YEAR 773.
CommentarySilvinus, Bishop of Cremona in Italy (St.)
By I. B.
[1] The province of the Morini in Belgium was ennobled in the eighth century of the Christian era by the residence, relics, and miracles of St. Silvinus the Bishop, as has been written above. A second St. Silvinus, nearly his contemporary, is recalled as Bishop of Cremona the birthday of St. Silvinus on the 17th of February: in Cisalpine Gaul. Nor does Wion escape blame when in his Tree of Life he criticizes Maurolycus for calling St. Silvinus, rather corruptly, "Bishop of Cremona." The words of Maurolycus are: "On the same day, of St. Silvinus, Bishop of Cremona." Others subscribe to this. Constantius Felicius: "Of Silvinus, Bishop of Cremona." Ferrarius in the General Catalogue of Saints: "At Cremona, of St. Sylvanus the Bishop." He cites in his Notes the Diptychs of the Church of Cremona.
[2] The same author reports that his birthday was formerly celebrated by that Church on this day, but that he does not know the reason for the interruption. He had previously written the same in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, once celebrated: with this added clause, as if a correction: "If, however, that Church ever celebrated his birthday, as they say." But Ludovico Cavitelli, in the Annals of Cremona, published in 1588 after his death, has this: "Silvinus, who on account of his upright life is numbered among the holy Confessors, and his solemnity is celebrated at Cremona every year on the 17th day of the month of February." The same will soon be confirmed by the authority of Ferdinando Ughelli.
[3] One might rightly wonder whether this is not the Silvinus whom on the 26th of January, in the list of those omitted, we showed to be assigned by some as Bishop of Le Mans. whether also on the 26th of January? For thus reads the Martyrology printed at Cologne in the year 1490 and Hermann Greven in his supplement to Usuard: "At Le Mans, of Silvinus, Bishop and Confessor." Maurolycus: "At Le Mans, of Silvinus the Bishop." Felicius: "Of Silvinus, Bishop of Le Mans." For Cremona is indeed truly a city of the Cenomani, built by the Cenomanian Gauls who had crossed into Italy, as were also Brescia and Verona. Ferrarius in the General Catalogue of Saints has: "At Le Mans in Gaul, of St. Silvinus, Bishop and Confessor." He cites in his Notes Maurolycus and Felicius, in whom he had not read that phrase "in Gaul." Indeed, in no catalogue of the Bishops of the city of Le Mans in Gaul — neither in Demochares, nor Chenu, nor Claude Robert, nor Corvaisier, nor Bondonnet — is any Silvinus found; so that one may all the more confidently interpret the cited Martyrologies as referring to Le Mans of Italy.
[4] Moreover, whether the acts of St. Silvinus were ever committed to writing, we do not know. Ughelli in volume 4 of Sacred Italy relates these few details about him: "St. Sylvanus, a citizen of Cremona (of whom our Catalogue speaks), upon the death of Zeno, was created Bishop of Cremona in the year 733 on account of the integrity of his character and the sanctity of his life; he governed the Church of Cremona for 39 years. What were the religion, what the discipline, the time of his See: what the remaining virtues of this great man both in his pastoral office and in his entire life, is easily declared by the fact that we have received that he was enrolled among the holy Confessors; whence on the 17th day of the month of February his solemnity was formerly celebrated at Cremona every year. We believe he migrated from the earthly to the heavenly homeland on that day, in the year 773." the year of death: Ferrarius writes nearly the same in his Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, calling him Silvanus or Silvinus.