Faustinianus

ON ST. FAUSTINIANUS, BISHOP OF BOLOGNA IN ITALY

Fourth Century.

HISTORICAL COMMENTARY.

Faustinianus, Bishop of Bologna in Italy (St.)

Author G. H.

Section I. The deeds of St. Faustinianus. Sacred veneration.

[1] Baronius, at the year of Christ 272, number 22, asserts that he can by no means be persuaded that Bologna, a most noble city of Italy, always full of a large population, was without a church and a bishop to preside over it for nearly three centuries after the coming of Christ. Indeed, the first Bishop is considered to be St. Zama, who, ordained by Pope Dionysius of Rome, marvelously spread the Christian faith there, as the tables of the Roman Martyrology report in these words on the 24th of January, the day on which we treated of him.

[2] After his death, says Carlo Sigonio, book 1 of the History of Bologna, the Christians, attracted by the wonderful holiness of the man, appointed Faustinianus as his successor. Confirmed by the Bishop of Rome, while he devotes his efforts to converting as many as possible to the faith of Christ, he suffered great loss together with the entire Christian community. For Diocletian, who had begun his reign in the year of Christ 284, having associated Maximian as his colleague two years later, being excessively hostile to Christians, sent inquisitors to all cities and ordered the most severe investigations to be conducted against them. When one of these came to Bologna, he destroyed the temple of the Christians; and after making a diligent search for them, in addition to others whom he tortured for their steadfast profession of Christ, he most cruelly put to death Hermes, Agaeus, Gaius, Agricola, and Vitalis... And these things were done in the year of Christ 301. The tomb of Zama and Faustinianus, the first two bishops, at the church of St. Peter (which is now called St. Felix), with inscriptions indicating this, is visited to this very day. After an interval of five years, the most brilliant light shone upon the Christian people, long afflicted by the various persecutions of the Emperors. For Constantine the Great, the foremost professor and patron of the Christian name, assumed the Empire... At this time, both other peoples of Italy, and especially the Bolognese, under the leadership of the Bishop himself (this was Basilius, appointed by Pope Sylvester), not only rebuilt their old church but also constructed other new ones according to the Christian rite, which were called parishes.

[3] So far Sigonio in his History of Bologna; Ludovico Zacconi agrees with him in book 2 of his Compendium of the Lives of the Saints, published in Italian, and adds that St. Faustinianus during the time of persecution strengthened his people in the faith with holy exhortations, even adding courage for sustaining martyrdom to those among them who seemed to be wavering and thinking of abandoning the palm of martyrdom and denying the faith of Christ.

[4] The same Carlo Sigonio, who flourished as Professor of the Latin language at Bologna, published there in 1586 five books On the Bishops of Bologna, and in book one considers St. Zama to have died before the year 300 and the persecution of Diocletian in peace, and that the See was then vacant during the years of the persecution itself. After narrating the persecution, he treats of St. Faustinianus in these words: In the year 312 thereafter, the Emperor Constantine, having destroyed the tyrant Maxentius, brought Italy and Rome under his power, and having become a Christian, at last brought the long-desired light of peace. And so, as he was adorned with the greatest piety, he not only ordered sacred basilicas to be built for God and himself erected them in many places, but also held the very bishops of those basilicas in great honor. Wherefore, as other cities, so also Bologna, having survived the cruel tempest of persecution, chose a Bishop for itself. And this was St. Faustinianus, who is judged to have gathered from all quarters the remnants of the Christians, scattered by the earlier shipwreck of the Church, and to have prepared for the building of a basilica after the fashion of Constantine. It is also possible that the same man was present at the Roman Synod among the one hundred and sixteen bishops whom Pope St. Julius convened in the year 337 to confirm the Council of Nicaea against Arius. He was buried, however, in the same monument as Zama, which is still visited at St. Felix with this inscription: Here rest the bodies of Zama, the first Bishop, and Faustinianus, the second, of the city of Bologna. His memory is observed on the fourth day before the Kalends of February.

[5] So far Sigonio On the Bishops of Bologna, and he immediately adds St. Basilius as the next. Ughelli, in volume 2 of Sacred Italy, interposes two bishops between Faustinianus and Basilius, namely Domitianus and John; and nevertheless reports that St. Faustinus, as he calls Faustinianus, governed that Church in the times of Constantine the Great in the year 312, and departed this life on the 30th of January. Cherubino Ghirardacci, book 1 of the History of Bologna published in Italian, assigns the year 350 as the year of St. Faustinianus's death, and the 29th of January as the day of his sacred veneration. He copies the rest largely from Sigonio On the Bishops of Bologna, adding with the same that he reports these things from the Life of St. Petronius, which is held by the monks of St. Stephen, and from Fr. Leandro in the History of Bologna. But Ghirardacci adds that the same St. Faustinianus was present at the first General Council held at Nicaea and among the three hundred and eighteen bishops condemned the heresy of Arius. That Synod was held in the year 325, and very many names of those who subscribed are missing, especially of bishops of the Western Church, just as of all the bishops who attended the Roman Synod mentioned above. That St. Faustinianus was present at both synods is the opinion of Celso Faleone in his Historical Memoirs of the Church and Bishops of Bologna, where he more fully amplifies the virtues and actions of the same St. Faustinianus. The church of Saints Peter and Paul, which stands near the church of St. Stephen the Protomartyr, to which St. Ambrose transferred the bodies of Saints Vitalis and Agricola with great solemnity, is said to have been built by St. Basilius, but by others by St. Faustinianus; by some, begun by the latter and completed by the former.

[6] Antonio di Paolo Masini, in his survey of Bologna, says the birthday of St. Faustinianus is celebrated on the 26th of February, on which day an Ecclesiastical Office under the double rite is celebrated for him; and from the tables of the Church of Bologna the following is read in the Roman Martyrology: At Bologna, St. Faustinianus, Bishop, who strengthened and enlarged the Church vexed by the persecution of Diocletian by the word of preaching. Ferrarius also records him on this day in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, and abridged his acts from the account of Sigonio On the Bishops of Bologna, as also Gaspar Bombaci in the Sacred Memorials of the city of Bologna, who likewise asserts that his solemnity is celebrated on the 26th of February, which day is also assigned by Zacconi.

Section II. Preliminary account of the Translation of the bodies of Saints Zama and Faustinianus.

[7] Gabriele Paleotti, after having attended the Council of Trent as Auditor of the Rota, was created Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church in 1565 by Pius IV, and then made Bishop of Bologna by his successor Pius V, being a citizen of that city. When the Church of Bologna was then elevated to a Metropolitan See in 1582, he was appointed the first Archbishop by Gregory XIII. Among other distinguished works, he labored diligently in translating the relics of Saints from a less venerated or adorned location to a more honorable and spacious one, often at the request and urging of the Magistracy and the city itself, and generally with the prior notification and consent of the Supreme Pontiff. The Archiepiscopal Record of Bologna, printed at Rome in 1594 while Paleotti was still alive, presents four such Translations solemnly celebrated, among which is reported the third Translation of the bodies of Saints Zama and Faustinianus, celebrated on the 4th of May in the year 1586, from whose account we give certain excerpts here.

[8] These sacred bodies lay in a certain very ancient marble vessel in the cemetery of the church of St. Felix—a place that was formerly a suburb, where both the episcopal church and the episcopal residence were situated, but is now enclosed within the city and is a monastery of nuns of the Order of St. Clare. The solemnity, moreover, was postponed to this time both so that the greater Chapel, which was being built in the metropolitan church, might present to all eyes no small admiration and delight by the grandeur and magnificence of the building, its illustrious paintings and statues; and so that the gathering of Bishops, who were convening for the first Provincial Council of Bologna to be celebrated, might lend greater dignity to the proceedings. Furthermore, the Most Illustrious Archbishop, to honor this Translation by his presence, also invited all the Bishops who were citizens of Bologna, with the following letter, which was common to all and each.

[9] Most Reverend Lord. The sacred bodies of Saints Zama and Faustinianus, the first and second of the Bishops of this Church of Bologna—whose memory is recorded in the Roman Martyrology and is celebrated annually among us with a double office—have hitherto been hidden in a place more humble and less adorned than befits them. With God's help, we have resolved to translate them to our metropolitan basilica and place them in the high altar on the 4th day of the coming month of May. Since Translations of this kind are customarily celebrated with solemn preparation and a gathering of Bishops and a great concourse of the faithful—which we have learned both from the reading of ecclesiastical history and have known to be observed in our own times by the most distinguished and most devout bishops—in order to fulfill our duty and to respond as best we can to the merits of these our heavenly Patrons, we have wished to invite Your Most Reverend Excellency by these our letters to adorn this spiritual triumph with your presence. For since these our most blessed Bishops were the first to lay the foundations of the faith in this city and the first to enlarge it with salutary teaching, they seem by right to require that the due honor of Christian piety be paid to them by all the citizens of Bologna; and to us Bishops, who acknowledge them as the bravest and wisest commanders in this pastoral administration, it is especially owed. Wherefore we earnestly request this service, as most honorable to the fatherland itself and most worthy of the piety of Your Most Reverend Lordship, and most gratifying to us. May God bestow his grace upon you abundantly. Given at Bologna, etc.

[10] The names of the Most Reverend Bishops to whom the letters were sent are listed as follows:

Lord Marco Antonio de' Marsili, Archbishop of Salerno. Lord Ludovico Bentivoglio, Bishop of Tiferno. Lord Christophoro Boncompagni, Archbishop of Ravenna. Lord Alessandro Musotti, Bishop of Imola. Lord Giovanni Francesco Canobio, Bishop of Forli. Lord Celso Pasio, Bishop of Castro. Lord Giacomo Masini, Bishop of Segni. Lord Nicola Orazio, Bishop of Catanzaro. Lord Giorgio Mangioli, Bishop of Aversa. Lord Alessandro Cospi, Bishop of Vigevano. Lord Vincenzo Torfanini, Bishop of Rimini. Lord Giulio Cesare Segni, Bishop of Rieti. Lord Luigi Marescotti, Bishop of Strongoli. Lord Sigismondo Zannettini, Bishop of Fermo. Lord Giovanni Antonio de' Grassi, Bishop of Faenza. Lord Vincenzo Casali, Bishop of Massa and Populonia. Lord Angelo Perucci, Bishop of Sarsina.

Of all these, the Most Reverend Lords Bishops of Sarsina, Tiferno, Imola, Forli, Castro, Aversa, Faenza, and Massa attended. In addition, Lord Giacomo Diedo, Bishop of Crema, was also present. The rest, detained by the difficulty and length of the journeys and other serious impediments, responded with most courteous letters, full of pious affection toward the most holy Bishops, that they were unable to come.

[11] And so that spiritual fruit might be added to the dignity and adornment of this occasion, the Most Illustrious Archbishop obtained a plenary indulgence from Pope Sixtus V, given on the 23rd of April in the year 1586, the first year of his pontificate, with this opening: You have caused it to be made known to us that, since in the city of Bologna, outside the church of Saints Nabor and Felix, in a less decent and exposed place, the bodies of Saints Zama I and Faustinianus II, Bishops of Bologna, are found, you desire to translate them to the place of the high altar of your Metropolitan church of Bologna, where they can be kept more honorably, etc. The sense of the remaining part will be produced shortly.

[12] As the day of the Translation itself approached, so that the people might learn from their Pastor himself what this solemnity was, and be more inflamed to celebrate it, the Most Illustrious Archbishop wished Pastoral letters, as they are called, concerning the same Translation, rendered also in the common tongue, to be both promulgated by preachers and posted throughout the city. Their opening is: The glorious bodies of the Saints, dwelling places of the inhabiting Holy Spirit, etc. In which, after treating the ancient veneration of relics on the occasion of these that were to be translated, and after explaining the first conversion of the Bolognese to Christ and the deeds of Saints Zama and Faustinianus, he thus exhorts the people: Apply yourselves above all to this, most beloved, especially in this time of solemnity—that, in accordance with the letters of our Most Holy Lord concerning the plenary indulgence granted to those celebrating this Translation, all and each of you, having first been purified by sacred Confession and the Eucharist, approach the procession and humbly pour forth devout prayers for the Supreme Pontiff, for Christian Princes, for the extirpation of heresies, for the exaltation of holy Mother Church, and for the welfare of this city and province... And so that a more honorable escort and a more celebrated veneration may accompany these lofty Commanders of ours as they migrate to the Metropolitan basilica, we have taken care not only to have the Most Reverend Bishops of our province present but also to summon the Most Reverend Bishops who are Bolognese citizens from their churches...

[13] Wherefore, with God's favor, we have resolved to accompany this triumph of the most glorious Princes of our Church with solemn preparation together with all Ecclesiastical ranks; and therefore we admonish Prelates, Canons, Chapters, Parish priests, and our entire Clergy to be present on the appointed day and to carry lit candles before them, and that all and each proceed in their place, order, and vesture (which should be sacred), and with Ecclesiastical and pious singing, with minds raised to heaven, give their service—full of edification and reverence—to the devout procession of these most religious bodies. The same service of religion we require in the Lord from all Orders and families of Regulars. We also command the spiritual Confraternities to be present at the solemn ceremonies of this Translation under their banners, with lit candles, singing psalms and displaying every piety. As for the nuns, who have dedicated the holocaust of themselves to the Most High within the cloister of their monasteries—since they cannot be present at this celebration—we earnestly admonish them to accompany it with the interior fervor of their minds and with devout prayers.

[14] But the Most Illustrious Senate, Magistrates, colleges, and all the secular orders of the city we invite with paternal affection, and we earnestly exhort and ask all and each of them in the Lord to be willing to adorn this sacred celebration of the Translation with their presence, carrying lit candles and praying in a spirit of humility. From the matrons also, that is, the mothers of families, and from every devout female sex of the city, we request that they venerate these most holy Bishops—who are most solicitous for their salvation—with lit candles and pious prayers, and devoutly follow them. Moreover, we likewise exhort all the peoples of our entire diocese to duly celebrate this very solemnity and to visit the sacred bodies of the blessed Bishops, and to honor them with every veneration and devotion as best they can, so that especially at that time they may testify their piety and grateful spirit toward these their Pastors in every way, etc.

[15] Copies of these letters were sent to each of the city's Parish priests, and in an attached note they were commanded to appear on the day of the Translation itself, dressed in a handsome chasuble and carrying a lit torch, and to proceed with the same throughout the entire course of the procession, and to have a book of prayers published for this purpose, devoting themselves with a devout heart to singing those psalms and hymns. Similarly, the same copies were sent to all and each of the Archpriests and Parish pastors of the diocese—as many as the parishes they govern—and in other letters it was enjoined that the Parish pastors and Priests and other Priests of the diocese, dressed in clean surplices and carrying lights in their hands, should convene at the city at the appointed time and by all means be present at this solemnity, as was fitting... In other letters, the Parish priests of the suburbs were admonished to proceed devoutly with their people—though after the midday meal, lest the order of the celebration be disturbed by too great a throng—in the manner of a procession under their respective banners, to visit and venerate the sacred relics.

[16] Since there is a great number of monasteries or convents, spiritual societies, and other pious places at Bologna, the following only were invited, lest confusion arise from the multitude. The Carmelites of the church of St. Martin, the Servites of the church of St. Mary of the Servants, the Augustinian Hermits of the church of St. James, the Conventual Minors of the church of St. Francis, the Preachers of the church of St. Dominic, the monks of Monte Oliveto of the church of St. Michael in the Wood, the Canons Regular of the church of St. Savior, the Benedictines of the church of St. Proclus, the Lateran Canons of the church of St. John on the Mount, the Canons Regular of St. George in Alega of the church of St. George. Each Superior was individually instructed that the monks, friars, and canons should come dressed in chasubles, dalmatics, and copes, and whatever other most precious vestments they could have, carrying silver candlesticks, thuribles, and incense boats, bearing lit torches in their hands, and accompanying this most holy triumph with music in various choirs. Of the spiritual societies of the laity, the societies called della Vita, of the Borgo of St. Peter, of the Magdalene with a certain pious orphanage attached, of the Angels, of St. Mary dei Guerini, of St. Job, of St. Francis, of St. Dominic, of St. Bartholomew with the orphans and of Death were invited. All the schools of Christian Doctrine also participated, which encompassed a nearly infinite number of little ones singing devoutly and carrying lit candles in their hands.

[17] As the day of the Translation itself approached, a new edict was issued commanding all and each of the Canons and Chapters, the parochial clergy, and other Priests, Deacons, Subdeacons, and Clerics of every kind in the city or residing in the diocese of Bologna, to accompany the procession of this solemn Translation on the appointed day, in their order and place, under their crosses or banners, in sacred vestments—namely, the Canons and Chapters in copes, the Mansionaries and Chaplains in chasubles or dalmatics or tunicles, other Priests in chasubles, Deacons, Subdeacons, and Clerics in dalmatics or tunicles or clean surplices—and carrying lit candles in their hands. It was also commanded to all Rectors of churches, both regular and secular, to Parish priests and others whose duty it is to preside over the churches of the city, and likewise to all and each of the Superiors of religious women, that on the eve of the Translation, on Saturday evening, after the signal of the Angelus, when the bells of the Cathedral church should be rung, they too should have the bells of their churches rung solemnly at one and the same time; and that they should do the same for the entire time the sacred procession was being held. Finally, it was requested of all that on the night preceding Sunday, according to the ancient custom of such solemnities, lights lit in honor of these Saints should be displayed in the windows.

Section III. Events in the Translation of the bodies of Saints Zama and Faustinianus.

[18] The ornaments of the Metropolitan church of Bologna for this solemnity and the first celebration of the Provincial Council were extraordinary, devised by the ingenuity of the most skilled craftsmen—whether one looked at the lofty vault and dome where the greater chapel was, or at the altar itself, or at the paintings. Statues of the Bishops of Bologna who have been enrolled among the Saints were beautifully arranged in the church itself above the arches; walls and columns gleamed with gold and silver. The ornamentation of the streets was most splendidly prepared by the most noble citizens, who so united their riches with piety that, if men are accustomed to call Bologna hospitable, they would have seen it much more so when it received, as it were, its most holy Bishops.

[19] The Most Illustrious Archbishop, following the custom of the ancient sacred rites, recognized these sacred relics a third time, in the presence of the Reverend Father Master Giovanni Antonio Florano, Inquisitor, many of the Magistrates, the Senate and Colleges, and others deputed by the city, the Officials of the aforesaid Society, and likewise the Reverend Lord Sebastiano de' Medici, Vicar General, the Reverend Lord Alfonso Paleotti, Archdeacon of Bologna, the Reverend Canon Penitentiary, the Canon Theologian, and other Canons of both the Metropolitan and the distinguished Collegiate Church of St. Petronius, and other Doctors and skilled physicians—especially Arancio and Sacco, most excellent anatomists—and notaries summoned for this purpose. With these the Most Illustrious Archbishop went to the place where the holy relics were. Entering the oratory, where everything had been prepared by the Master of Ceremonies and other ministers, he briefly spoke about the excellence of these Saints and the obligation by which the city of Bologna is bound to venerate them with every form of worship. Then, together with the ministers and others, with lit torches, he approached the vessel in which the sacred relics were preserved. When it was opened, Doctor Arancio, at the command of the Most Illustrious Lord, publicly read all the bones and, having enumerated them upon the altar while the notary wrote, arranged them; they were placed in two small chests by the Most Illustrious Archbishop, which, firmly closed with a lock, he replaced in the vessel where they had been before, which was also secured with mortar and bricks.

[20] In the same manner, the second and third recognition was performed—but the latter on the morning of the Saturday preceding the Translation itself—when, extracted from the aforesaid small chests, the relics were distributed into three tabernacles, most handsomely adorned with gold and silk, which had been crafted for transporting them, so that the heads were preserved separately in one tabernacle. In the afternoon of the same day, the Most Illustrious Archbishop, together with the Bishops and others, went to the aforesaid Oratory, and solemnly translated the tabernacles from the oratory to the church of St. Felix, and having placed them upon the altar, after saying Pontifical Vespers, he left the sacred bodies for the people to adore throughout the following night.

[21] The procession was held on Sunday, with the Most Illustrious Cardinal Salviati, Legate of Bologna, among others following, along with the Magistracy and the rest in the order described above, with the most celebrated rite, an immense multitude of people, and a wonderful devotion on the part of all. The tabernacles were carried under three golden umbrellas, which Priests in vestments held in their hands. The Most Illustrious Archbishop and the other Bishops and Canons took turns carrying them, placed upon certain gilded biers. Everything was full of music, and when they arrived at the Metropolitan church, the thunder of cannons, the blare of trumpets, and the harmony of organs and voices kindled all minds to the contemplation of the eternal glory that these Saints enjoy. Finally, they were placed upon the high altar by the Most Illustrious Archbishop. Then a most solemn Pontifical Mass was celebrated by the same, in the presence of the Most Illustrious Legate, the Magistracy, and others; and after the Gospel, a sermon was given in honor of the sacred bodies.

[22] After the Mass, having removed the Pontifical vestments, after the Most Illustrious Legate had departed together with the Magistracy, the Most Illustrious Archbishop with the Bishops, Prelates, and Canons withdrew to the palace, in whose hall a table was sumptuously set. There he humbly served twelve poor men, whom he had also clothed in new garments, while they sat at table, and after they had eaten, he distributed twelve purses with alms to them and dismissed them.

[23] In the afternoon, again in the presence of the Most Illustrious Legate, the Magistrates, and others, he celebrated solemn Vespers and blessed the people with the sacred relics. Then two cedar caskets, skillfully crafted and most carefully wrought for this purpose, were brought; in each of these was a lead case. With candles lit, the relics were taken from the tabernacles—in the presence of all who had been present at the other recognitions—and arranged by the Most Illustrious Archbishop in the cedar caskets themselves, with a silver plate affixed inside each casket. On the one that contained St. Faustinianus, the following was inscribed: Here is preserved the body of St. Faustinianus, the second Bishop of Bologna, translated from the church of St. Felix with the greatest solemnity to this metropolitan church by Gabriele Paleotti, first Archbishop of Bologna, at the first Provincial Council, on the 4th day of May in the year of Christ 1586. Furthermore, a parchment covered with a lead wrapper was placed in each casket, on which was written: The body of St. Faustinianus, who in the year of Christ 312 was the second Bishop of Bologna, translated to this Metropolitan church by Cardinal Gabriele Paleotti, first Archbishop of Bologna, with the greatest attendance and devotion of every order, age, and sex, both of the city and of the diocese, at the first Provincial Council, on the 4th of May 1586. Similar things are read concerning St. Zama.

[24] Finally, after the lead lid was first carefully compressed by the blacksmith, so that the lead casket could neither be opened nor extracted without the whole work being dismantled, the cedar caskets were closed and firmly fastened with keys, and placed by the Most Illustrious Archbishop under the high altar, so that they might be visible through a small window secured with golden grilles, with a silver lamp lit inside, to any who wished to see them; and on each casket the name of the Saint whose relics it contained was written on the outside in capital letters, namely: THE BODY OF ST. ZAMA, FIRST BISHOP OF BOLOGNA. THE BODY OF ST. FAUSTINIANUS, SECOND BISHOP OF BOLOGNA. And thus those most holy bodies are devoutly preserved and piously venerated, whose souls in the heavenly fatherland enjoy eternal blessedness. These are the things we have excerpted from the Archiepiscopal Record of Bologna and arranged in an order more convenient for our use, aided in some measure by Celso Faleone, who in book 6, under Archbishop Paleotti, describes the same Translation. Masini also treats of it at the 24th of January, and Gaspar Bombaci in the Life of both Saints, who adds that to this day they are venerated by the people of Bologna with the same piety and devotion with which the bodies of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul are honored in the Vatican basilica at Rome.

Section IV. Hymn, Antiphon, and Prayer of Saints Zama and Faustinianus.

[25] A book of prayers was published by the Most Illustrious Archbishop, in which hymns, psalms, prayers, and petitions to be said for these Saints are found. From these we append a few. The Hymn:

Hail, holy Bishops Of the Church of Bologna; Hail, renowned Fathers, And lights of the city. You, Zama, first with arduous Labors for Christ Gathered this flock, and nourished it With the food of sacred doctrine. Soon throughout the world raged The final persecution, When the tender flock was exposed To the jaws of wolves. But when peace was restored to earth, Faustinianus came, Who brought back the lambs Scattered everywhere to the fold. Thenceforward the worship of the true God Felsina* saw flourish, And the ensigns of the Cross And sacred temples rise. We therefore your names And these consecrated pledges Lift up with praise and due honor, Venerating them with devotion. While this new Metropolis Eagerly desiring to adorn itself With so great a gift, dedicates For them a more honorable place. So, Blessed ones, continue To favor the city with your patronage, That from hence merciful Christ May ward off all dangers. May he bind us with the bond Of mutual charity and peace; May he grant purity of heart, May he grant health of body. Who, having broken by his own power The bonds of dark death, Rising victorious, reigns With everlasting glory. Amen.

Antiphon. Let our mouth speak the praise of the Lord; let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

V. They sang, O Lord, your holy name. R. And praised your victorious hand together.

Prayer. Almighty and everlasting God, who do not cease to bestow upon us your servants innumerable gifts of your grace, we beseech your clemency: that we who by the example of the life and the preaching of Saints Zama and Faustinianus, your Confessors and Bishops, have come to know you as the true God, may, walking in the way of salvation through the merits of both, be worthy to serve you. Through our Lord, etc.

* So was Bologna formerly called.