Daniel of Padua

ON ST. DANIEL, MARTYR, AT PADUA.

Daniel the Levite, Martyr at Padua (St.)

[1] The Roman Martyrology and Molanus in his Additions to Usuard: "At Padua, of St. Daniel, Martyr": and this is the day of his Finding, as Baronius shows in the Notes from the tablets of the Church of Padua. Maurolycus, the German Martyrology, and the Cologne edition of Usuard of the year 1521 also record him.

[2] The martyrdom and Finding of St. Daniel. Galesinius: "At Padua, the Finding of St. Daniel, Levite and Martyr. For he, the Deacon of St. Prosdocimus the Bishop, when he was most steadfastly preaching the Christian faith in public, was arrested by the Prefect of the city, pierced with nails between a stone and a wooden plank, and crowned with martyrdom. His body, long hidden, was wonderfully found on this very day, many years after his martyrdom, through the prayers of Ulderich, Bishop of that same city, with the greatest solemnity of the Clergy and people." Ghinius has almost the same.

[3] Ulderich, Bishop of Padua. That Ulderich is recorded as having been created Bishop of Padua in the year 1064. We give the history of the Finding of St. Daniel from the Agones Martyrum; and another account of his death and finding from Bernardino Scardeone, of which a summary exists in Ferrarius, in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy. A catalogue of the Bishops of Padua exists in Claude Robert: yet it shows no John who lived about the year 767. Peter de Natalibus also treats of St. Daniel, book 2, chapter 40.

THE FINDING OF ST. DANIEL

from the printed Agones Martyrum.

Daniel the Levite, Martyr at Padua (St.) BHL Number: 2092

[4] St. Daniel suffered at Padua. Daniel the Levite suffered martyrdom in the city of Padua; but at what time and at whose hands is unknown. Yet the passion and the manner of his martyrdom became known in this way. For, revealing himself to a certain man deprived of his eyesight in Tuscany, he said to him: He appears to a blind man in Tuscany. "If you wish to obtain the grace of seeing, go, make for Padua, and implore the help of Daniel the Martyr at the memorial of his burial; there call also upon the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, and He will give you light." Hearing this, the blind man arranged to be led to the city of Padua. It was the seven hundred and sixty-seventh year of the Lord. Padua laid waste by the Barbarians. At that time both that city and many holy places in it had been laid waste by various tumults and incursions of the Barbarians.

[5] The blind man, then, having come, diligently inquired through all the churches, oratories, and even the ruins of the holy places, where the body of the blessed Martyr of Christ Daniel rested. But no one was found who could point out anything to him. Whence, becoming very sad, he thought he had been deluded: yet he prayed to the Lord through all the places of devotion that His mercy might come to his aid, and that, if Daniel His Martyr rested anywhere in that city, He would hear his prayers, so that he might receive his sight.

When, therefore, he had done this for several days, and once, for the sake of prayer, had entered the sacred church of the holy Virgin and Martyr Justina, in which place Daniel the Martyr had been buried (which was at that time unknown to all the inhabitants), the Martyr revealed himself to him again, saying: "Pray here, for here lies the body of Daniel the Martyr, whom you were bidden to seek out in order to receive your sight." The blind man receives his sight. The blind man therefore prayed in that place; and he received his sight.

[7] When this had happened, he and his guides, giving magnificent thanks to Christ and to the Martyr, went at once to John the Bishop, a holy man, who at that time presided over the place, and made known to him all that Christ, by the favor of the Martyr, had done for the blind man who had come there from Tuscany, and how, praying at the memorial of Daniel the Martyr, he had received his sight. The Bishop, therefore, having called together the Clergy, accompanied by them and taking with him the blind man, now seeing by the grace of Christ, made his way to the church of the holy virgin Justina. When he had entered, he who had been blind showed him the place of prayer where he had also received the benefit of sight. The body of St. Daniel is found. The Bishop therefore ordered the earth to be dug around and the place opened, and he found, in the manner of a sepulcher, a stone plank fastened right through with long nails standing out at the top; this he ordered to be lifted: and when it had been lifted, he saw at the bottom another plank, which the points of those enormous nails pierced, and beside it a short inscription: "HERE RESTS THE BODY OF DANIEL THE LEVITE, WHO SUFFERED THUS FOR THE CONFESSION OF THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST." The venerable Pontiff therefore ordered the planks to be opened; and he found the body of the Martyr transfixed by those horrible nails through the middle of the head, through the brain, through the middle of the breast, through the groin, and through the other members of the body; and the blood as fresh as if he had just now shed it in glorious martyrdom for an odor of sweetness. Nor did any foul odor of a corpse offend those standing by, because the Lord had preserved His martyr from corruption. From this the Pontiff and the holy and religious men who stood by understood the manner of the martyrdom of Daniel, who had suffered for the name of Jesus the Savior.

The body, then, having been raised and adorned with precious coverings, the Bishop, the holy men, the whole Clergy, and a countless people carried with canticles and hymns into the greater church, founded under the name of Mary the Mother of God, in the year, as has been said, seven hundred and sixty-seven. There Christ, through the intercession of His Martyr, worked miracles and signs; to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory for ever. Amen.

ON THE SAME ST. DANIEL

FROM BERNARDINO SCARDEONE.

Daniel the Levite, Martyr at Padua (St.)

From various authors.

Daniel the Martyr, Levite of Blessed Prosdocimus the Bishop at Padua, although born of a Hebrew family, when he was most steadfastly teaching the Christian faith to the people openly and publicly, was arrested by the Prefect of the city, pierced with iron nails between a stone and a wooden plank, and by this kind of martyrdom merited to have his triumph among the other heavenly ones, in the year of salvation 168.

[10] His body, however, was for some time unknown to men. About the year 1064 he appears to a certain blind man. But when Ulderich, Bishop of Padua, was urgent in pious prayers that almighty God would strengthen His flock and the whole people of Padua more steadfastly in the true faith of Christ and in the Catholic religion, which he hoped he could easily obtain through the intercession of the prayers of the Saints, it happened in the year of salvation 1064 that a certain young man clothed in the habit of a Levite appeared in sleep to a certain blind man in Etruria, promising him sight as a reward if he would go to Padua and search out, in the basilica of St. Justina, the body of Blessed Daniel the Martyr, buried in the ground not far from the altar of St. Prosdocimus. He, therefore, allured by so great a reward, and not at all distrusting the promises, at once made for Padua, entered the monastery of St. Justina, and set forth the whole matter to the monks; and he asked that by their leave he might spend that night in prayer in the church.

[11] When they assented, during the night, while he prayed, the place where the treasure sought for lay hidden in the ground was shown to him in a vision. Wherefore, as soon as it was light, the Bishop was sent for and the people called together; the blind man pointed out the place and directed the diggers. Why say more? Before the soil had been fully dug out, with little labor there was found and recognized what had long been hidden from men. The body is found. The blind man receives his sight. For there the body of the Martyr was found, pressed between two planks, one of wood and one of marble, smelling most sweetly and wonderfully beyond what can be imagined. When this had happened, sight was immediately restored to the blind man: and the men of all orders who chanced to be present then were filled with wonderful amazement, praising and blessing God. Meanwhile, the report of so great and so novel a thing having spread through the whole city, people flocked together from all sides, and countless miracles took place, and so the whole city was stirred, here with prayers, there with tears, there with joy. The place is still to be seen. The underground place, moreover, in which that venerable body had lain hidden so long, is intact to this day.

Bishop Bernard, afterward, desiring to adorn his cathedral church with these holy relics, dealt with the monks that they might allow that body to be transferred there; and, so that he might not seem ungrateful to anyone, as a reward for so precious a gift he made over to the Abbey very ample estates of woodland near the city, which had formerly come to him (as it is said) by paternal inheritance.

[13] Meanwhile, however, something no less wonderful to tell happened. For when the Translation of the most sacred body was now taking place, not without a dense multitude of people flocking from all sides, at the very spot where it was first received within the walls, the bearers stopped, weighed down beyond measure by the burden and exhausted. From there neither any force nor any arts, however most ingenious, were able to complete the rest of the journey. A vow to build a church. Wherefore the Bishop, together with the whole people, terrified by such an occurrence, humbly pronounced vows to build a church in that place under the title of St. Daniel; and at once the advance, previously held back I know not how, was made easy: nor did any further impediment stand in the way of that body, found by so great a miracle, being carried into the cathedral church: where it rests happily to this time.

His Finding is celebrated on the third day before the Nones of January: but the Translation, made to the new Chapel in 1295, takes place on the third Sunday of May. He now lies in a marble chest, on which this epitaph is carved in shapeless letters:

"Here rests the Martyr Daniel the Levite."

[15] Thus far Scardeone, book 2, class 6, who also mentions the same Saint in book 2, class 5, chapter 1. In chapter 32, moreover, he testifies that outside the walls of Padua there is a pleasant hill of St. Daniel, The hill of St. Daniel. and on it an excellent monastery of Canons Regular has been built.