Avertanus

CONCERNING SAINT AVERTANUS, A CONVERSUS OF THE CARMELITE ORDER, AND BLESSED ROMAEUS, AT LUCCA IN ETRURIA

FOURTEENTH CENTURY

Preliminary Commentary.

Avertanus, Conversus of the Carmelite Order. Lucca in Etruria (Saint) Romaeus, Lucca in Etruria (Blessed)

By G. H.

Section I. The ancient memory of Saint Avertanus: his suburban burial. Three churches of Saint Peter at Lucca.

[1] Lucca, an ancient city of Etruria and celebrated for its defense of liberty, besides its native and domestic Patrons, also rejoices in holy Protectors who, having come there from elsewhere, at Lucca in Etruria happily completed their lives there. Of these was Saint Richard, a man of the first rank among the Anglo-Saxon nobility, father of the most holy Virgin Walburga: of him we treated on February 7, and of Saint Walburga on this the twenty-fifth, on which she departed this life. Another patron from abroad came to the people of Lucca from the Carmelite Order, Saint Avertanus is venerated, Avertanus from transalpine Gaul, called by others Albertanus and Alvertanus, or even Averardus: whose sacred bones, as will be more fully related below, were brought to the cathedral church of the city of Lucca in the year of Christ 1513, having previously been preserved with honor in the suburb.

[2] The people of Lucca, intending to render eternal thanks to Peter, Prince of the Apostles, on account of Saint Paulinus, their Bishop sent to them by Peter, are said in the year 1301 to have built a church in his honor in the suburb toward the south, in the ancient suburban parish on the road to Pisa. That it was also formerly a collegiate church with the title of a Priorate is clear from a certain privilege granted by Pope Alexander III to the Cathedral Church of Lucca in the year 1172. Furthermore, because two other churches under the title of the same Apostle had been built in the city, this suburban edifice received the honorific name of Saint Peter Major, called Saint Peter Major, where he was buried: and it is so indicated in ancient records dated to the year 1266: and that it then had nearby a hospice for receiving poor pilgrims, in which Saint Avertanus, denied entry into the city, after struggling with illness for some time, returned his most holy soul to his Creator. Whose body, on account of the many miracles soon wrought through his intercession, was buried, with great solemnity as is likely, in the said church of Saint Peter Major: in tracing the origin of which we have followed the author Caesar Franciottus, a priest of the Luccan Congregation of the Blessed Mary, in his treatise on the Churches and Relics of Lucca, appended to his most accurate study of Luccan Affairs, published in the Italian language in the thirteenth year of this century.

[3] At what time this pilgrimage of Saint Avertanus to Italy and his blessed departure to eternal salvation among the Luccans occurred, there is by no means agreement among the authors. whether around the year 1366 or 1380 The older writers pass over the year in silence; the modern ones assign various dates, some 1366, others 1380 above the one thousandth and three hundredth. Among the former are Bzovius in the Annals at the year 1366, number 14; Alegraeus in the Carmelite Paradise, state 4, age 15, chapter 125; Ferrarius in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, February 25. The eightieth year of that century is set by the above-mentioned Franciottus in the Life of Saint Avertanus, Peter Thomas Saracenus in the Menologium of the Carmelites in the Life of the same, and below, the author of the Life, number 13. Aubert Miraeus in his booklet on the Origin and Progress of the Carmelite Order states that he flourished in life and miracles around the year 1370. John Grossius, who lived at that time, or perhaps much earlier, elected Master General of the Carmelites in the year 1389, and the first of all to mention Saint Avertanus, moves us especially to believe that he died long before, since he confirms his miracles from ancient paintings, not from the more certain report of men then living. This man, therefore, in the Carmelite Garden, which exists in manuscript in the library of the Carmelites at Frankfurt, writes thus: "Saint Albertanus, a Conversus in the Order, from the parts of Gaul, in the diocese of Limoges, a native: who for the sake of pilgrimage, with the permission of his superiors, visited very many places, and at last came to the city of Lucca, on account of ancient paintings about him then extant? where he closed his last day, renowned for many miracles both in life and after death. Whose glorious body is buried in the church of Saint Peter outside the wall of the city of Lucca, where very many of his miracles are depicted in ancient paintings, and especially in the cathedral church of the same city of Lucca." Thus Grossius.

[4] Some of the ancient paintings from the said suburban church of Saint Peter Major, when that church, as will be said below, was to be destroyed in the year 1513, were brought into the city, and to this day one is seen hanging in the new church of Saint Peter Major: to which the following poem, inscribed upon it, indicates that some solemn elevation of the relics of Saints Avertanus and Romaeus was once performed. whether then a solemn elevation These are the verses:

Once of Carmel, now Avertanus, tiller of Olympus, of Saint Avertanus dying here, left his bones in this earth. John the Greek, of Luccan origin, recently unearthed them, and raised them to a lofty place. And he gave Romaeus as companion, that one honor might join them and of Blessed Romaeus to the urn, for whom heaven is one home. And because they reign with the Prince of eternal life, Lucca, safe beneath their divine protection, flourishes.

We hardly doubt that this John was the Provost of the church of Saint Peter Major, whom they themselves called Prior: but at what time he lived is not certain. which cannot be regarded as sufficiently distinct from the first burial? Did the solemn elevation of the sacred relics perhaps occur at the time when the more recent authors place his death? Did Paul Gabriel of Gubbio, Bishop of the Church of Lucca, whom Saracenus records as having decreed by statute that the sacred body of the most poor Carmelite should be placed in a nobler location in the city with great solemnity, rather sanction or permit by his decree this elevation of the body which remained in the suburb? He was elected Bishop, according to Franciottus and Ughelli in volume 1 of Italia Sacra, in the year of Christ 1374, and died at Perugia in the year 1380 of the same century. Did, finally, that painting which Grossius recognized around that time as being in the cathedral church lead posterity into error, so that they wrote both that the body was then translated into the city and that Avertanus died in that year? In a doubtful matter, how can we determine anything certain?

[5] Moreover, the sacred relics of Saint Avertanus had not yet been brought into the city by the year of Christ 1500, as two men testify the body was present in the suburban church in the year 1500. who then lived in Italy, illustrious writers of the Carmelite Order. The first is Baptista of Mantua in his Poem on the Life of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, book 1, where he writes thus:

You also, whom Lucca encloses in Lunese marble, Father Avertanus, nor do you wish to be carried within the walls:

namely, content with the honor of the suburban church. The second is Baptista of Venice, of the Catanei family, in the Mirror of the Carmelite Order, printed at Venice in the year 1507, who on folio 103 records this: "Saint Albertanus, from the parts of Gaul, namely of the diocese of Limoges, who died on his pilgrimage at Lucca, and was not buried in the Convent, but in the church of Saint Peter Major outside the walls of the city of Lucca." These things are read in the Mirror of the Order, from which Saracenus professes to have organized the Life of Saint Avertanus: and yet he writes that immediately after his death, on a day appointed by the Bishop of Gubbio, with an incredible throng of people, which other urban parish of Saint Peter was also taken for one and the same. the sacred relics of Lord Avertanus the Carmelite were most devoutly translated by the whole Clergy into the city of Lucca, and placed in an honorable tomb in the parochial church of Saint Peter. At the time when Saint Avertanus died, there was within the city of Lucca a double church dedicated to Saint Peter, one surnamed Somaldi, from the illustrious Somaldina family, which claims that one of its ancestors was the founder of this church. That a certain restoration of it was made in the year 1199 is indicated by an ancient inscription still preserved there: various donations made to it before the year 1300 are attested by ancient documents. This was a parochial church, with the title also of a Priorate, just as that one, and the other suburban church of Saint Peter, would have been easily taken for one and the same.

[6] There was another church of Saint Peter in the city, called Cigoli, or Cicoli, from the founder Peter Cigoli, a third church of Saint Peter in the city, who is said to have built it in honor of Saint Peter. We gather its antiquity from records drawn up concerning it in the year 1187. It was afterward obtained by the Carmelite Fathers, who call it Saint Peter Civilis, or Caelicola, but at what time they entered into possession is uncertain. What is certain and indubitable, Franciottus affirms (whom we follow here as our authority), is that by the year 1381 the Carmelite Fathers were dwelling within the city of Lucca. whether this was the Carmelites' before the arrival of Saint Avertanus? Indeed, since Saint Avertanus was buried outside the city walls and not in the Carmelite convent, the above-cited Baptista of Venice, of the Catanei family, a member of the Mantuan Congregation, supposed that the latter then existed at Lucca. That Congregation is celebrated among the Carmelites, formed from various Italian convents into one body in the year 1425, at a Chapter held at Mantua on August 18, over which a Vicar General, Stephen of Toulouse, was placed by the authority of the Apostolic See in the year 1445. The constitutions of this Congregation survive, printed at Bologna in the year 1602, with a prefixed catalogue of all the monasteries of the same Congregation, preserving, as is asserted, the order of antiquity: in which, after the Mantuan monastery (the head of the Congregation), those of Selve and Ferrara, the Luccan monastery, called Saint Peter Civilis or Caelicola, is placed in fourth position. The said monastery of Selve is seven miles distant from Florence, in which Saint Andrew Corsini offered the firstfruits of his priesthood before the year 1330, having been admitted to the Carmelite Order at the Florentine Convent around the year 1317, as we accurately showed in his Life on January 30. However, since the same Florentine Convent occupies only the twenty-sixth place in the aforesaid Mantuan Congregation, preserving, as they claim, the order of antiquity, it follows that the Luccan monastery of Saint Peter Civilis was built long before. nor is it sufficiently distinguished from the suburban church: This church of Saint Peter Civilis is not distinguished from the suburban church of Saint Peter Major below in the Life, numbers 10 and 14, and by Saracenus, who in the Life of the same records: "Saint Avertanus predicts that the Carmelites will thereafter live gloriously in the church of Lord Peter Civilis, where that same Carmelite happened to breathe forth his spirit in obscurity and extreme poverty in the hospice of Lord Peter."

Section II. The relics of Saints Avertanus and Romaeus brought into the city.

[7] Contemporary with the aforesaid Italian writers Baptista of Mantua and Baptista of the Catanei family are two writers of the same Carmelite Order from Belgium: to whose knowledge came the memory of Saint Avertanus, which they commended to posterity in their writings. One of these is Arnold Bostius, buried among the Ghent Carmelites in the year, as they say, 1499. The body of Saint Avertanus in veneration among the Luccans, He writes thus in his Marian Patronage, chapter 9: "Albertanus, a Frenchman of Limoges, a man of sublime holiness, whose relics the city of Lucca venerates, became known to many through the glory of his miracles." Thus he: and rightly does the city of Lucca venerate the relics, then still preserved in the suburb outside the walls, though the painting of his miracles was displayed in the cathedral church. That the citizens once wished to bring these same relics into the city, but were prevented by divine power, was first written by John Palaeonyderus, or de Aqua Vetere, a Batavian, whom Saracenus followed as a second authority in writing the Life of Saint Avertanus, concerning whom Seger Pauli the Carmelite, to be more fully cited by us below, thus judges: "The Tripartite Chronicle of Palaeonyderus, although it was once held in esteem by many historians of no small reputation, is nevertheless now recognized as needing great chronological correction." In book 3, chapter 12, of this Chronicle, Palaeonyderus records the following: "Saint Albertanus also, a Frenchman of Limoges, a man of sublime holiness, on the twentieth day of February, renowned for the glory of great miracles, went to Christ at the city of Lucca. When he perceived whether it was divinely prevented from being brought into the city? that he was about to depart from this world, desiring to enter the city of Lucca, having met with refusal from the guards, he said: 'A time will come when, though you wish to bring me in, the power to do so will not be given to you.' Therefore withdrawing a little way, and yielding his spirit to God, he shone forth with such brilliant miracles that the Clergy with the people rushed to bring the relics of so great a man inside. But since the body remained fixed and entirely immovable, they built there with the greatest reverence a vast basilica." Thus Palaeonyderus: and first, the day of death he assigns, February 20, is the same day put forward by Didacus de Coria in the Carmelite Chronicle, published in Spanish in 1598, book 11, chapter 13; he adds that a feast in his honor is celebrated by the Carmelite Religious on that same day: which it will appear below was either (which is remarkable) a lapse of memory on this point, or certainly the errors of both should be imputed to the printers.

[8] whether a new basilica was built for him, Second, the basilica which Palaeonyderus believed was built at the same place where the body had remained immovable outside the walls, the same Coria believes was built within the city walls. We add the words from the Chronicle of that Order, faithfully drawn out, as he says, by Alegraeus, a Spanish Carmelite, in the Life of Saint Avertanus, inserted in the Carmelite Paradise, state 4, chapter 166, published by him in Latin. After the refusal received from the guards, he says, "After a few moments, the spirit of Avertanus flew upward to heaven beside the walls of the city, while his body remained there, surrounded by celestial splendor and breathing forth wondrous odors. When he had shone with many wondrous miracles, the city with the Bishop and Clergy, amazed, flocked to the place, and upon seeing so great a marvel, all repented of having denied Avertanus entry; and when they attempted to bring the body inside, to be entombed in an honorable sepulchre, the body of Avertanus was found to be immovable. Wherefore they resolved to erect a church and a bridge built over the walls on the inner side of the wall, facing the place of his glorious passing. Since, therefore, they could not introduce the body through the city gate, it was introduced over the top of the walls by means of a bridge erected for the purpose, and whether it was formerly brought into the city in this way? placed in a celebrated church at Lucca, in a raised sarcophagus, and is preserved with the great veneration of the faithful. There, most illustrious for miracles to this day, he is honored with a great throng of people." Thus from the Chronicle of Didacus de Coria by Alegraeus: before whom, from the same Chronicle of the Order, the same narrative, but more briefly, was published by Abraham Bzovius in the Annals, volume 14, at the year 1366, number 16, and by Philip Ferrarius in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, February 25. But since from the things said above and those to be said hereafter, it is clearly established that the body of Saint Avertanus was both committed to burial in the suburban church of Saint Peter Major immediately after his death, and afterward honorably elevated there, and was preserved with the greatest reverence until the year 1513, the entire narrative of these more recent writers just adduced is justly rendered suspect. The suburban church itself, as we reported above from Franciottus, is believed to have been built five hundred years before Avertanus came to Lucca as a guest. But leaving these matters, we hasten to things more certain.

[9] The same Franciottus, the Luccan author praised above, reports that for the greater security of the city of Lucca, various suburban buildings had to be destroyed in the year 1513, When the suburban church was destroyed lest, should war break out, some greater detriment to the city should arise therefrom. Wherefore the Luccan Senate, having first obtained permission from the Roman Pontiff, also destroyed the church of Saint Peter Major; but with the obligation of erecting another church for these parishioners, also under the title of Saint Peter Major, in a suitable place within the walls: and the place assigned for this church to be built in the city was named from an ancient but then ruined edifice of Saint Peter de Cortina; which is to be reckoned there as the fourth church dedicated to Saint Peter: and the ancient painting of Saint Avertanus and Blessed Romaeus, to which the poem we gave above concerning the elevation of their sacred relics is inscribed, is still to be seen in the new church erected there. [The bodies of Saints Avertanus, Romaeus, and Senesius are deposited in the cathedral church.] The bodies of these saints, as well as of Saint Senesius the Martyr, whose feast day is May 4, were then translated from that suburban church which was to be demolished into the city, and deposited in the cathedral church, with public documents drawn up asserting the right of the Clergy and people of the church of Saint Peter Major to reclaim those sacred pledges at any time. Peter Thomas Saracenus testifies that while he was performing the office of Lecturer in sacred Theology at Lucca in the year 1597, he saw those documents in the possession of the Excellent Lord Joseph Altogrado, and that in the following year he publicly made known in a sermon at the cathedral church the documents he had seen: and that the bodies of Saints Avertanus and Romaeus, enclosed in a single leaden chest, are preserved in the sacristy of the same church. A copy of these documents, transcribed and signed by his own hand, John Baptist Lezana, most distinguished from the same Carmelite Order on account of his published books, sent from Rome to Belgium, and it was communicated to us by the Reverend Father Daniel of the Virgin Mary, then Prior of the Carmel of Brussels, afterward Provincial of the Belgian Province: of which no mention is made by Didacus de Coria, Alegraeus, Bzovius, or Ferrarius, perhaps supposing that the sacred body had been brought immediately after death to this church of Saint Peter de Cortina by means of a bridge laid over the walls.

Section III. The public documents concerning the relics deposited in the cathedral church.

[10] In the name of the Lord, Amen. Since the venerable bodies of Saint Senesius and Blessed Romaeus and Avertanus, which had been committed to burial in the church of Saint Peter Major outside and near the gate Authentic document: called Saint Peter's, of the city of Lucca, had been translated from the said church of Saint Peter to the cathedral church of Saint Martin of Lucca, with the consent and authority of the Reverend Lord Vicar of the Most Reverend Lord Cardinal Bishop of Lucca, and also of the Chapter of the said cathedral church, as well as of the Magnificent Lords of the Magnificent City of Lucca, on account of the demolition to be made of the said church of Saint Peter, because of the necessity of an impending war which was feared to be declared by the Florentines against the city of Lucca, as could easily be understood from the invasions, incursions, and plundering which were being carried out daily by the soldiers and forces of the Florentines in the Luccan countryside. And since the said bodies had been brought processionally the relics were honorably brought to the cathedral church, and with honor to the said cathedral church, and the below-written Lords Canons, the Warden, and the Parishioners of the aforesaid church of Saint Peter wished diligent care to be taken of them, as was fitting and as befitted the reverence due to those bodies; therefore, after the Chapter of the Reverend Lords Canons of the aforesaid cathedral church had been convoked and assembled, by the mandate of the interior sacristan, at the request of the Acolytes of that church, and at the sound of the bell, according to custom, in the below-written place, which they chose and designated as their chapter room for the carrying out of the below-written business especially for this occasion, in which Chapter so assembled there were present the below-cited, namely: Lord Francis Gigli, Archpriest; Lord Sebastian Menochius, Primicerius; Lord Dominic Sinibaldi; Lord Ginforts de Ginfortibus, interior sacristan; Lord John de Giglis; Lord Peter de Pinis; Lord Michael de Orsucciis; Lord Peter Angelo Baldassaris; and Lord Jerome Philippi Petri; in the absence of Lord Nicholas de Thegrinis, Archdeacon, Ambassador to the Pontiff; Lord Robert de Guinigi, who had been summoned and was awaited for the proper time; and Lord Matthew Ghiova, who was ill. All of whom, as stated above, being assembled, constitute the greater and sounder part of the said Chapter, and make up and represent the whole of the said Chapter.

[11] To which Lords Canons and Chapter, assembled as stated above, the venerable men, the Priest Pantaleon de Silico, the Priest Olivus de Massagrogia, and Francis Laurentii Barsantis, Cleric of Lucca, Canons of the said church of Saint Peter, Francis, formerly of Philippus Massei, Warden of the works of the said church, and Francis Melchioris, Parishioner of the aforesaid church of Saint Peter, acting in the name of and on behalf of the whole Parish of the said church, in the absence of the Prior of the said church presently residing at Rome, by this public instrument consigned and released the said Bodies to be held on deposit

and to be faithfully guarded in the aforesaid cathedral church, to be returned at the pleasure of those making the deposit, at the pleasure of the same depositors, in the manners and with the designations prescribed above. Which Lords Canons, assembled as stated above in Chapter, and that same Chapter, received the aforesaid bodies on deposit from the said depositors, and declared that they had and held them with themselves, etc., renouncing etc., and promised to guard and preserve and keep them honorably, to the aforesaid depositors above named, present, stipulating, and in the manners and with the designations aforesaid, and to me the Notary as a public person, etc., and to return to the new church of Saint Peter Major. and restore them to the Rector, Canons, Wardens, and Parishioners of the aforesaid church of Saint Peter, at their every wish and request, under the penalty of one thousand gold ducats of the full amount of that which would be in question and dispute, by a special pact and solemn stipulation promised, which penalty whether incurred or not etc., and should be incurred as many times, etc., under the promise of restitution, restoration, etc., for which etc., they obligated to the said depositors and to me the Notary as a public person, etc., the said Chapter and its goods present and future by right and in the name of pledge and mortgage, renouncing etc. Done in the choir of the aforesaid cathedral church, in the presence of Lord Caesar de Bonvisiis of Lucca, Priest, James formerly of James de Carraia, Pastor of the Parish of Saint Paul and Priest, Torrignano formerly of Thomas de Scotia, citizen of Lucca, witnesses, etc. In the year of the Lord's Nativity 1513, Indiction 1, on the 31st day of the month of August. At folio 104.

I, Peter, formerly of John Paul de Piscilla, Notary of Lucca, was present at the aforesaid and, being requested, subscribed.

I likewise make it known, the undersigned, that I have in my possession a copy of this instrument. At Rome, at the Carmelite church of the Traspontina, October 9, 1649.

I, Brother John Baptist de Lezana.

The Bishop of Lucca at that time was Sixtus Gara della Rovere of Lucca, nephew through his sister of Pope Julius II, Cardinal of the title of Saint Peter in Chains, who died in the year 1517. On the cathedral church of Saint Martin, Franciottus should be read. He, in the catalogue of Saints whose sacred bodies are preserved there, inserts thus: "The body of Saint Senesius on deposit for the church of Saint Peter Major... The bodies of Saints Avertanus and Romaeus only on deposit for Saint Peter Major." And having listed the relics of the church of Saint Peter Major, he adds: "Hither should in due course be returned the three aforesaid holy bodies, namely of Saint Senesius the Martyr and Saints Avertanus and Romaeus."

Section IV. The cult of Saint Avertanus confirmed. Written Acts.

[12] In the year following the translation of the body of Saint Avertanus to the cathedral church, the Missal of the Carmelite Order was printed, which still survives at Cologne among the same Carmelites. The feast of Saint Avertanus in Missals In its Calendar one reads at February 25: "Avertanus, Confessor of the Carmelite Order." Likewise in the Breviaries and Missals of the Order, published at Venice and Lyons in the years 1572 and following, this inscription appears at February 25: "Saint Avertanus, Confessor of our Order. Double." And proper prayers are added to be recited at Mass and at the Canonical Hours. and Breviaries of the Carmelites, Pope Sixtus V granted to the Discalced Carmelites, who had adopted the Roman Breviary in place of their own, permission to recite the Ecclesiastical Office by a diploma issued in the year 1589, approved by the Pontiffs: on June 27, for both Saint Avertanus and other Saints of the same Order, whose proper offices exist published at Venice, Evreux, and elsewhere, as Miraeus also observed in his book on the Origin and Progress of the Carmelite Order, in which he also mentions Saint Avertanus, illustrious for miracles. That Pope Paul V granted the same privilege again in the year 1609, on June 20, is recorded by Franciottus, Saracenus, Bzovius at the place cited above, and Ferrarius in the Notes to the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy on this day: the name in Martyrologies: whose eulogy taken from Coria we have already in part rejected above. The same Ferrarius in the general Catalogue of Saints writes: "At Lucca in Etruria, the deposition of Saint Avertanus, Confessor, of the Carmelite Order." In their Martyrology published at Bordeaux in the year 1624, the following is read: "At Lucca in Tuscany, Saint Avertanus, Confessor of the Carmelite Order, illustrious in life and in the glory of miracles; whose body is honorably preserved in the same city in the cathedral church." The Prayer customarily said at the Canonical Hours and in the Sacrifice of the Mass, and anew approved under Urban VIII by the Congregation of Sacred Rites in the year 1628, on June 12, is of this kind: "Grant us, we beseech You, O Lord, Prayer: perfectly to follow the religious life of Blessed Avertanus, Your Confessor, under the standard of Your Mother Mary of Mount Carmel; and by his interceding merits to be confirmed in all perfection. You who live, etc."

[13] Saracenus in his Life of the same, together with the Menologium of the Carmelites cited above, published in the twenty-eighth year of this century, places the birthday of Saint Avertanus on the following day, February 26. commemoration on February 26, Saussaius in the Gallican Martyrology at the same February 26 transcribes Saracenus. We would here subjoin the Life of Saint Avertanus published by the said Saracenus, recently Lecturer in sacred Theology at Lucca, as we have related; had not another, Life written in Italian, brought from the General Chapter of the Carmelites in the year 1645, written in Italian by a certain Father of the Luccan Carmel, and translated into Latin by another, translated into Latin, but in a style too concise and faulty. Wherefore the same, arranged in a more convenient method and a more elegant style, was communicated to us by Seger Pauli, a learned man of the same Carmelite Order: judging that from this same Italian Life Saracenus had published the deeds of Saint Avertanus in an abridged form, but here more reliable and more accurate than usual in writing the Acts of other Saints of his Order. Of him we treated on January 29, in the Life of Saint Peter Thomas, sections 2 and 3. Seger had added his own Annotations, and various testimonies of other Writers, some of which we have adduced from him in this preliminary discussion. Let the Reader bear in mind that many of these Acts rest on the authority of this modern writer: to be corrected in places. which are to be corrected in places from the above-cited authors, more proximate to the age of Saint Avertanus.

Section V. The Memory of Blessed Romaeus.

[14] The most ancient memory of Blessed Romaeus is found in the poem given above, number 4, concerning the relics of Saint Avertanus elevated by John, to which he joined the sacred bones of this man, or, as the poet says:

And he gave Romaeus as companion, that one honor might join them to the urn, for whom heaven is one home. The relics of Saint Romaeus honored, And because they reign with the Prince of eternal life, Lucca, safe beneath their divine protection, flourishes.

That the relics of both were brought from the suburban church to the principal church of the city in the year 1513 is established from the manuscript records of the same church already cited. In those records the venerable bodies of Saint Senesius and Blessed Romaeus and Avertanus are said to have been translated from the church of Saint Peter Major outside the gate to the cathedral church of Saint Martin. translated, Furthermore, Saracenus, cited above, writes that the bodies of these Saints, enclosed in a single leaden chest, are preserved in the sacristy of the same cathedral. These things are certain. But who this Blessed Romaeus was, or at what time he lived, is uncertain. He who is named Saint Senesius among the three Patrons of the suburban church is believed to have been one of the ancient Martyrs and to have given his life for Christ in the year 316, which is to be examined on May 4. Did Blessed Romaeus live at some intermediate time between Saints Senesius and Avertanus, that the second place should therefore be assigned to him? He was made the companion in burial, or of the leaden urn or chest, of Saint Avertanus, so that the same honor might be shown to both: which we likewise do on this day. Saussaius in the Gallican Martyrology joined both on the following day.

[15] Some make Romaeus the companion of Saint Avertanus on his Italian journey, others Henry: and in order to reconcile these authors more easily with one another, others determine that Romaeus and Henry are one and the same. What is recorded about Henry is roughly as follows. whether another Saint Henry is distinct from him First, Baptista of Venice, of the Catanei family, in the Mirror of the Order mentioned above, writes thus: "The seventeenth was Saint Henry, whose body rests at Lucca in a certain parochial church, where many miracles are wrought through him." Next, they report that Henry's

commemoration is assigned to the seventeenth day of January in a certain manuscript Calendar of the Carmel of Mechlin. Moreover, this eulogy is said to be brought by Philip Metius in his Catalogue: "Blessed Henry, a devout, good, and religious man, setting out from the province of Tours to Rome for the purpose of visiting the thresholds of the Apostles. buried at Lucca? Where, having acquired the public title of sanctity on account of his wondrous deeds, he went to Lucca: where, living holily for three years and dying most holily, he now dwells in heaven. His body is now preserved in the cathedral church at Lucca. From the archive." Thus Metius, whose words Seger Pauli has in his Annotations. Franciottus, a diligent investigator of the Luccan archives, reports that twelve bodies of Saints are preserved in the cathedral church, besides various heads and other bones of very many Saints; nor does he mention any Henry: indeed, not even among the relics which are honored with public veneration in other churches of the same city does he list any of Saint Henry. Much here is indeed perplexing and intricate: first, whether any Henry among the Carmelites lived and ended his life at Lucca with a reputation for sanctity; second, whether he should be considered the same as Saint Romaeus, or different from him. Peter Thomas Saracenus in the Life of Saint Avertanus, number 7, writes in the margin these very words: "Concerning the infirmity of Blessed Romaeus, others say Henry," regarding Romaeus and Henry as one and the same.

[16] Third, since the Carmelites have hitherto not celebrated the feast of Blessed Romaeus, the question arises whether he should be ascribed to their Order. So indeed judged John Carthagena, book 17, [whether Saint Romaeus was a Carmelite and a companion on Saint Avertanus's journey?] homily 3, in a sermon delivered on the feast of the Blessed Mary of Mount Carmel: "Blessed Avertanus," he says, "a Frenchman, and Blessed Romaeus, the bodies of both of whom are venerated at Lucca in the cathedral church, flourished in that Order." In the catalogue of Confessors of the Carmelites published by Laurence Beyerlinck in the Theatre of Human Life, there is recorded "Blessed Romaeus, an Italian, whose relics are held in veneration at Lucca." The same Romaeus is joined to Saint Avertanus as a companion on the journey by Franciottus, Saracenus, and the author of the Life soon to be given. Because this is neither sufficiently confirmed nor refuted by the testimony of the ancients, neither shall we decide the matter. Let the most religious Carmelite Fathers venerate, together with the people of Lucca, Saints Avertanus and Romaeus: and let those whom one honor of the urn has joined be considered to have been joined also by one profession of the Carmelite institute.

LIFE OF SAINT AVERTANUS, by an Italian Carmelite, translated by Seger Pauli of the same Order.

By an Italian Carmelite, translated by Seger Pauli.

CHAPTER I

The holy childhood of Saint Avertanus: his entry into the monastery.

[1] Avertanus, the glorious offspring and splendor of Mount Carmel, a Frenchman by nationality, a Limousin by birthplace, Saint Avertanus of Limoges, was born of parents modest in fortune but richest in virtues. His name Avertanus was not without mystery; for he was to liberate very many sinful souls from the hellish maw of Avernus. From his very infancy he began to enrich his soul as a treasury of heavenly virtues. For his mother observed not infrequently of the infant he refuses to suck on fast days: that on certain solemn fast days, after the fashion of the most holy Bishop Nicholas, he refused to suck his mother's milk before sunset, to the great wonderment of his parents, so that when his mother sometimes tried to give him food, with cries directed toward heaven he seemed to summon the very angels to his aid. Nor did he supply his parents with less cause for wonder, when they saw him staring with fixed eyes at the sky for whole hours at a time, as if he were to be enrolled in the future possession of the heavenly city. In spiritual discourse (if any occurred) the divine child, still lisping, a boy who loves the virtues: lent attentive ears, suggesting by a wonderful propensity, as one well instructed in the school of divine love, that he delighted in such conversations. In short, there was scarcely any virtue which he did not seem to possess even in his tender age, always surpassing his parents' expectations of him.

[2] Growing thus in wisdom and age, the boy Avertanus was inflamed with a vehement desire to consecrate himself as a victim to God in religious cloisters. Whence he would sometimes spend entire days in prayer and fasting, beseeching the Divine Majesty most earnestly, and also imploring the patronage of the most worthy Empress of heaven, that she would make known to him the will of God and direct him on the right path of perfection. When one night, the greater part of which had been spent in tears and prayers, he had more earnestly made this petition, God, wishing to console him, sent to him a Seraph Angel, By angelic counsel he is ordered to enter the Carmelite Order: addressing him with these words: "God console you, fortunate youth, beloved servant of the Most High, from whom I have been sent to fulfill your desire: in whose name I announce to you that, stripped of all worldly attachment, without delay early tomorrow morning you should go to the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, and there, living piously with those devout Religious, offer yourself as a holocaust to the Divine Majesty." With these words spoken, the celestial messenger vanished, leaving behind a most sweet fragrance. The holy youth, entirely astonished, and at the same time filled with internal consolation and spiritual joy, shedding tears of gladness, gave God the greatest thanks he could, saying: "I give You thanks, eternal God, for such great favors shown to me. And whence have I merited them, with so many sins, so many errors, by which I have offended You?" (although he himself shone with nearly angelic purity.) "I acknowledge all these things as shown to me from Your goodness. Blessed be Your Divine goodness forever. May Your most holy name ever be praised. I will follow You, I will follow Your most loving voice."

[3] At the first appearance of the dawn, therefore, rising from his most humble bed, he approached his father, narrating on his knees with tears the wonderful vision he had had, earnestly and humbly requesting his blessing and permission to fulfill what the heavenly messenger had commended to him. It cannot be believed his parents saddened by this, how great then were the sobs and tears of his aged parents, what pain they felt within their breast. The father said with sighing: "So then, my son, my only hope, will you forsake me in my great miseries? You are the sole relief of my decrepit old age and unhappy grey hairs, and will you now frustrate my hope and desire? In losing you, I shall lose life: when you depart, my unhappy spirit will depart." His mother was similarly distressed, scarcely able to speak: "My son, my son," she said, "from you alone I expected the reward for the milk I gave you for so many months, and will you leave me desolate in the midst of my needs? Let a mother's love move you, with which I have always pursued you. Without your presence, pain lives within me, life will die, that mortal light will be unhappy to me, and life tedious." Wholly afflicted and distressed, therefore, Avertanus gave them this response amid sighs and tears: "Dearest parents and progenitors, do not afflict me, I beg you, by casting up your sorrows; he consoles them and makes them peaceful: but grant me to show myself obedient to the Divine will. I do not forsake you; but with all the affection I can, I hold you imprinted in my breast and heart. I will surely help you more, enclosed in some hermit's hut and in the poor garment of a religious institute, though removed from your sight, than if I were always present to you in a royal palace and on an august throne. Greater joy and gladness will come to you upon seeing me in a rustic sheepskin and wrapped in rough sackcloth, than crowned with a royal diadem and dressed in purple and fine linen." Moved by this pious response of the holy youth, the devout parents

answered with tears, saying: "We cannot, dear son, fail to subscribe to your pious petition. Go then, go with our blessing: do what pleases, what the Lord commands. Our sorrows over the loss of your presence will be well borne, provided you achieve your purpose with affection. Bear with patience whatever adversities may befall you: for all those things will be turned into sweet consolation."

[4] Upon hearing this, Saint Avertanus, humbly kissing the feet of his pious parents, thanked them for the permission thus granted to him. He therefore hastened to the ^eCarmelite monastery of Limoges, at that time very celebrated for the holiness and learning of its men: and at the very entrance meeting the Prior of the house, prostrate before him, having related the angelic vision and command, with many tears and profound humility he earnestly asked of him the habit and institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. admitted to the monastery, The holy Prelate, already well instructed by divine revelation as to what should be done, consoling the weeping youth, promised to grant what he asked. To him Avertanus, after kissing the ground and his feet, gave the greatest thanks for the promised favor. When the pious youth's petition had therefore been set before the Fathers by the Prior, all, divinely inspired, admitted him with favorable votes, to his great joy and inner sweetness. Stripped therefore of his secular habit and surrounded by the ineffable light of the Divine Spirit, he puts on the habit, he was adorned and enriched with the precious habit of the Religious life with great solemnity. Present at his investiture was a certain devout contemplative, together with many other pious persons, by whom were then ^fheard angelic harmonies and seraphic voices, with heavenly favor. resounding with the sweetest melody among other spiritual hymns, "Glory to God in the highest." The heavenly Empress of the Angels was also seen to bless him with outstretched right hand and to accept him under her filiation and most secure patronage.

CHAPTER II

The monastic life of Saint Avertanus.

[5] Already clothed in the sacred habit of religion, and wholly renewed in God and recollected in himself, after various conversations held with his own soul concerning the manner of sincerely serving God, of eradicating vices, of implanting virtues, and especially of fulfilling the vows of the religious life, He suffers an ecstasy of mind, his spirit was rapt to God, and he remained in ecstasy for not a few hours, that, as far as is granted to mortal man, he might enjoy God. Having returned to himself, he put into execution with such affection and fervor the works of virtue which he had formerly conceived in his mind, that he surpassed all the Brothers, even the seniors, of his monastery, and drew them to love and admiration of himself. He did not spurn the lowly tasks of the monastery, but embraced them with immense charity. He did not wait for a second command from his Superior, supremely obedient, but as soon as the Superior opened his mouth, he immediately put what was commanded into execution; so much so that he often asked his Prelate to enjoin upon him certain tasks in which he could give proof of obedience and humility. Whence he was commonly called by all "the Son of obedience." In like manner he was most devoted to poverty, to such an extent that it was observed that he never touched or even named money; indeed, he turned his eyes away from the very sight of money as from the most pernicious plague of the soul. His Superior sometimes offered him, by way of assistance according to the custom of the religious life, clothing and other necessities: yet he could not be induced to accept them. he loves poverty, For with tears and sighs he begged his Superior not to oblige him by a precept of obedience to accept those things: citing as an example of poverty and want Christ our Redeemer and the great ^aProphet Elijah, the founder of his Order. There also shone forth in the holy youth a wonderful chastity. For he was adorned with the most beautiful bodily gifts and delicate features; he lives chastely: yet he did not permit these to serve sensuality; rather, his outward beauty was conjoined with great majesty and spiritual comeliness, so that it was a cause of admiration and devotion to all who beheld him, nor was he ever tempted by any person to any illicit act.

[6] The most perfect charity of Blessed Avertanus must not be passed over in silence. For in this virtue he showed himself so eminent that he would almost lead any beholder to believe that he was gazing not upon some simple man, but upon those great and divine Prophets Moses and Elijah, or the Apostle Paul. he burns with charity for his neighbor: For with such love did he converse with his neighbor, with such affection did he discourse, with such ardor did he seek his salvation, so did he thirst for the sinner's conversion, that he showed himself ready to go to a thousand deaths, provided his desire might achieve its effect. He could not see a sick pauper without being immediately moved to compassion, feeling his infirmities in himself, and seeking by every means the necessities to relieve his want, he helps the poor even depriving himself (with the Superior's permission, however) of his own necessary food. And if sometimes he could not succor a wretched person in need with his own temporal resources, he would approach the wealthier citizens, and prostrating himself on the ground before them, would cry out with tearful eyes in these words: "Give what is necessary to the unfortunate pauper!" Moved by the holy man's manner of supplication, the rich not only gave abundantly, even by begging alms, but were themselves bathed in devotion and tears: indeed, some of them, bidding farewell to the world and abandoning avarice, bestowed their opulent patrimonies upon the poor servants of God and, following his example, entered religious cloisters.

[7] In the virtue also of prayer and contemplation, the illustrious servant of God Avertanus was so celebrated that he would often spend whole days fasting, without any care for his own body, in prayer; rapt in ecstasy while praying, and with such an alienation of spirit that when some of the Religious, by the Superior's command, came to his cell and raised great cries and disturbances, he could scarcely at last return to himself. This served no small benefit to those same devout and contemplative religious brethren of his. It was his custom on certain feast days throughout the year (even in the deeper tranquility of sleep) to rise at ^bmidnight, without any noise, from his hard and poor bed, on account of long kneeling to ascend on bended knees the hills near the monastery, to pray upon hard stones with arms extended in the form of a cross and with weeping eyes, and also with a very hard stone to strike his breast until it bled, until the dawn broke. It is related with astonishment concerning the glorious ^cApostle James, Bishop of Jerusalem, that from the constancy of his praying, the skin on his knees so hardened that it appeared harder than a camel's hide. But let that amazement and wondrous portent now cease. For the servant of God, Avertanus, had skin so hardened from excessive genuflection that the skin on his knees the skin hardening: appeared like iron. Nor should this seem so impossible to anyone, though perhaps difficult to believe; since he would very often spend entire days from his very boyhood on bended knees in prayer, and from the constant effusion of blood upon the hardest stone, as was said, the hardness of his most tender flesh increased. This angelic Saint Avertanus ought therefore to be a mirror for all Christians and Religious in our times to imitate.

[8] In this manner the holy man grew in virtue and perfection. Whence there was also in him a great desire to visit the sacred places and the relics of the Saints resting therein, especially the nourishing ^dcity of Rome, illustrious with the treasure of very many relics. about to venerate the relics of the Saints For which journey he also obtained permission from his Superiors, with a companion of his Order, Blessed Romaeus, assigned to him, a great servant of God. In the year of Christ, therefore, one thousand three hundred and seventy-nine, after the solemnity of All Saints, they set out upon their journey. But there is no need for me to weary myself in describing the devotion and affection with which those two earthly Angels performed their loving piety. he makes the Roman journey in a holy manner. There was no church in the cities through which they passed that they did not visit with the greatest affection. Their conversations were not filled with idle tales and lies: no unseemly comedies were staged, nor ridiculous stories narrated, as is the custom of some modern pilgrims. Nothing else issued from their mouths except evidences of the love of God and love of neighbor. Their ears were delighted by nothing except the sacred Scripture and heavenly words.

CHAPTER III

The pious death of Saint Avertanus, his burial, and miracles.

[9] Having therefore happily completed a good part of their journey, when they arrived at the Alps, or the borders of Italy, at that time infected with pestilence or some other pernicious disease, they were compelled to endure the most grievous troubles and sorrows of heart, Excluded everywhere by the raging plague, because they could enter no city of Italy, being suspected of the pestiferous disease: whence they were everywhere repulsed with disgrace. Yet the holy men bore this repulse with great patience, giving thanks to the Divine Majesty for having made them worthy to suffer such tribulations for love of Him. Blessed Avertanus could not, however, fail to be saddened at being deprived on this occasion of the sight of the bodies of so many holy Martyrs and of the enjoyment of so many other precious spiritual treasures. stricken with fever, Whence, seized by a slight fever, he was compelled, together with his beloved companion (who himself was also exhausted by the long and laborious journey), to turn aside to some place for the sake of rest. Therefore, divinely inspired, as is believed, they directed their way toward the illustrious and noble city of Lucca. in the suburban hospice at Lucca Near the walls of this city was a hospice, called Saint Peter Major, in which pilgrims and travelers were customarily received. To this same hospice both turned aside, and were received charitably and kindly, and remained there the whole of that night. On the following morning Saint Avertanus, rising and recognizing that the time was at hand when he would render his soul to his Creator, approached the gates of the city, humbly asking the guards to permit himself and his companion to enter the city. But his petition was in vain: for they were suspected of the plague and were repulsed. Afflicted therefore on every side, the holy man he remains: was compelled to remain in the same hospice of Saint Peter Major.

[10] As the illness of the fever took daily increase, he panted in expectation of the fortunate day on which, leaving this mortal life, he might enjoy the joy of eternal glory promised to all faithful servants of Christ, not without the grief of his companion Romaeus and all those standing by. fortified with the last Sacraments, Having been duly fortified with all the Sacraments of the Church, when his holy soul was preparing itself for the presence of its Creator, in the greatest ardor of the fever, wholly absorbed in God with pious meditations, he somewhat relieved his exhausted body in this manner. God, wishing (in reward, I believe, for so many sufferings which he bore with patience) to honor him with the gift of Prophecy, on a certain day of his more intense illness, his spirit being rapt to heaven, he perceived and predicted ^athree wonderful events. he predicts three future events: First indeed, that by the intercession of the most holy Mother of God, Queen of heaven, the fierce and ^bgeneral schism of the Church would be ended. Second, that his body, which the citizens of Lucca had denied entry to while alive, would be placed with great honor in a more worthy ^cplace of the city when dead. Third, that his brethren the Carmelites, with the greatest observance and perfection, would possess the ^dchurch of the aforesaid hospice of Saint Peter Major outside the city, in which he himself was about to render his soul to his Creator.

[11] As the fortunate hour drew near in which he was to bid farewell to this mortal life, when he felt his spirit gradually failing, wholly dissolved in tears and sighs, he began to bewail his faults, although he was most clean from any stain of graver sin. And with his eyes fixed upon heaven, he said: "Come, come, sweet Jesus, with Your infinite mercy, succor this soul devoted to You. he humbly implores the mercy of God: I do not deserve glory, since I have offended You with so many faults: but trusting in Your loving-kindness alone, I dare to offer You this unhappy spirit. Let grace superabound, my sweetest Jesus, where malice has abounded; You who said with Your own mouth: 'I do not will the death of the sinner; but rather that he should be converted and live' Ezek. 33:11. I do not deny that I have sinned: but behold, now with tears at the most benign feet of Your mercy I seek remission. Place now, beloved Jesus, Your ineffable pity upon this unworthy sinner, who acknowledges himself deserving of perpetual fire in punishment of my sins: yet I do not despair of Your paternal love, with which, though most unworthy, You have always loved me, and I securely promise myself heavenly glory." Present at his death was his most faithful companion, Blessed Romaeus, who, with the others standing by, perceiving and seeing the devout sighs, sufferings, and tears of this soul, having already well understood his sanctity, yet hearing such most humble words and the abject and lowly opinion he had of his own person, he himself could not restrain his tears.

[12] Scarcely at last had the holy man finished his aforesaid prayer, when, behold, suddenly the entire place where the dying Avertanus lay was filled with a certain divine splendor and the sweetest heavenly fragrance. Nor is it a wonder: for Christ Jesus the heavenly Creator came, with the most serene Queen of heaven, the Virgin Mother of God, surrounded by an innumerable multitude of angelic spirits, called by the appearing Christ, from whose glorious wounds most brilliant rays shone forth, for the consolation of His beloved servant. Who also addressed him with the sweetest words, saying: "Come, come, beloved soul and devoted to me, into the rest of your Savior: enter into this open side, to receive the reward befitting your labors. Come now gloriously with me into paradise, to enjoy the glory promised to you." he dies, With these words spoken, blessing His beloved servant, He received his most pure spirit, that He might glorify him forever in heaven with the other citizens of the celestial Paradise. That Almighty God might openly declare that the glorious Confessor Avertanus, now dead, lives for all eternity, immediately in the surrounding area the ^ebells were heard divinely resounding, the bells ringing of their own accord: not without a miracle, without any human effort. Whence, when the passing of the holy man was made known, an innumerable throng of people rushed to visit his sacred relics.

[13] God, wishing also to further glorify His beloved servant on earth, whom He had made to reign in heaven, bestowed upon his sacred body the power of working miracles, and those stupendous and unheard of. illustrious for miracles, There was no one, laboring under any infirmity, however severe, who, upon visiting that body, did not return healed. All stood amazed, seeing the marvels that were wrought: the blind illuminated, the lame walking, the deaf hearing, the paralyzed rising, and the dead raised to life. Wherefore all praised the Almighty Creator for all the wondrous works of this heavenly pilgrim. The report of such great marvels reached the ears of the Most Reverend and Most Illustrious ^fPaul Gabriel of Gubbio, the Most vigilant Bishop of Lucca. he is transferred to the principal church of the city. He, informed of the whole course of events, with the pious consent of the Most Excellent Senate, by a decree and command enjoined that the sacred body should be transported with a solemn procession to the noble ^gparish of Saint Peter in the city, and there placed in a more elevated location. When the said procession had been arranged, therefore, with the greatest concourse of people weeping from devotion and honoring the sacred relics with garlands and fragrant flowers, the same sacred body was translated with royal pomp to the aforesaid church, and enclosed in the ^hpurest crystal, to the honor and glory of Almighty God and of His glorious Confessor, Saint Avertanus: who died in the year of our salvation ⁱone thousand three hundred and eighty, on the twenty-fifth day of February.

[14] The Divine Majesty had honored His beloved Avertanus with the gift of prophecy, According to the prediction of the dying man, the schism ceases, by which he had first predicted that by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary the schism of the Church would be ended, which, introduced by certain malicious persons, had grievously afflicted it. And this indeed came to pass happily. For when the ^kfeast of the Visitation of the Mother of God was instituted by Pope Urban VI, the Church rested in its former peace and quiet. He had predicted secondly that his body, though repulsed by the people of Lucca while alive, the body brought into the city. would be carried with honor when dead to the more distinguished basilica of the same city. And this too came to pass: for when his death and the holiness of his life were spread abroad, it was placed with sumptuous display in the greater parochial church of the same ^lcity. Finally, he had predicted thirdly that the Brothers of his Order, the Carmelites, would possess with the most perfect observance the place where he was to render his spirit to God. And this also came to pass: for shortly afterward the most Serene Republic of Lucca assigned the same place to them.^m

CHAPTER IV

The death of Blessed Romaeus.

[15] Blessed Romaeus, wholly afflicted and desolate at the loss of his companion Avertanus, exhausted also by the labors and austerities of the journey, when the illness of the fever supervened, to the dying Blessed Romaeus he remained confined to his bed until the seventh day, the disease increasing daily: on the eighth day, coming to his last extremity, having received the Sacraments of the Church, and absorbed in the divine mysteries then shown to him, he sought from the Divine Majesty the grace of attaining to the enjoyment of heavenly glory and the presence of his dear companion, Saint Avertanus, who had been taken from him. Moved by the devotion and desire of His servant Romaeus, our Redeemer came to him as he was now dying, accompanied by an innumerable multitude of the Blessed, Christ appears with Saint Avertanus. together with the glorious soul of Saint Avertanus, on the very eighth day after his death, to receive the spirit of Blessed Romaeus, adorned with the whiteness of virtues, that He might glorify him for all eternity in the celestial paradise.