ON ST. MARCELLINUS, BISHOP OF ANCONA.
CommentaryMarcellinus, Bishop of Ancona in Italy (St.) BHL Number: 5224
[1] The birthday of the holy Bishop Marcellinus of Ancona is recorded on January 9 in the Roman Martyrology: "At Ancona, of St. Marcellinus the Bishop, who, as St. Gregory writes, freed that city from fire by divine power." He is also mentioned by Galesini, Ghinius, and the Carthusians of Cologne in the Additions to Usuard. This is what St. Gregory writes about him, bk. 1 of the Dialogues, ch. 6.
[2] The life of St. Marcellinus from St. Gregory; he suffers from gout "The Bishop of that same Church of Ancona was also a man of venerable life, Marcellinus, whose walking had been contracted by the excessive pain of gout; and his household members, whenever it was necessary, carried him in their hands. One day, through the fault of negligence, the same city of Ancona caught fire. And as it burned fiercely, all rushed to extinguish the fire. But as they poured water in competition, the flame so grew that it seemed to threaten the destruction of the entire city. And as the fire invaded each place nearer to it, and had already consumed no small part of the city, and no one could stand his ground, the Bishop was brought, carried in the hands of his attendants. And compelled by the great necessity of the danger, he commanded those carrying him, By interposing his body, he stops the fire saying: 'Place me facing the fire.' This was done; and he was placed in the spot where the full force of the flame seemed to be concentrated. Then in a wondrous manner the fire began to turn back upon itself, as if the force of its retreat cried out that it could not pass the Bishop. And so it happened that the flame of the fire, restrained at that boundary, cooled back upon itself and did not dare to touch anything of any building beyond." The same is related from St. Gregory by Petrus de Natalibus, bk. 2, ch. 59.
[3] Baronius testifies in his Notes to the Roman Martyrology that he received other Acts and miracles of his from the Church of Ancona, and Ferrari in his catalogue of the Saints of Italy offers this summary of them: His life from Ferrari "Marcellinus, elevated on account of his virtues to the priesthood and episcopate, was not puffed up with pride, but keeping vigil through fasts, vigils, and prayers, crucified his flesh, mortifying its vices and lusts. He was full of charity, meekness, and gentleness; he cultivated perpetual chastity; and there was much confidence in him before the Lord. For when the city of Ancona was miserably burning in a fire which grew the more the more they tried to extinguish it with water, the people of Ancona took refuge with the holy Bishop, whom they knew to be dear to God and to have worked miracles, and begged him to come to the aid of their burning city. He, as St. Gregory the Pope writes in the Dialogues, asked to be carried to the fire where it raged most fiercely -- for he could not walk on account of old age and the weakness of his limbs. Brought there and fortified with the sign of the cross, he had scarcely finished praying when (wondrous!) the flame of the fire, as if fleeing the sight of the holy man, began to retreat and be extinguished. His book is preserved The book in which the holy man was accustomed to pray is still displayed, in which the traces of the fire remain. For when the demon had turned the greatest force of the fire back upon the holy Bishop, The sick are healed by contact with it he remained unharmed; however, marks of burning remained on the book he held in his hands. By contact with this book, to this very day many sick persons are said to be healed."
[4] "When St. Marcellinus had departed this life, and his body had been buried at the church of St. Cyriacus, patron of the city, he became illustrious through many miracles, of which it is pleasant to narrate a few. A blind man recovers his sight at the Saint's tomb A certain noble citizen of Ancona, deprived of the light of his eyes, was led by his relatives to the tomb of St. Marcellinus on his feast day, and implored his help. The holy Bishop appeared to him in the evening, while his companions were dozing, dressed in sacred vestments, and, touching his eyes, restored his sight."
[5] "They report that another similar marvel occurred on the same feast day the following year: when a certain very wealthy citizen was relating to his household with great devotion the deeds and miracles of St. Marcellinus which he had heard in church, A boy is not harmed by fire the demon, not tolerating this, threw his son into the fire; but although the boy rolled about in it for some time with his head and entire chest, when he was pulled out he remained completely unharmed. This too should not be passed over: that when under Bishop Thomas the village of Trojan was being ravaged by fire, His book stops a fire as soon as the aforementioned book of St. Marcellinus was brought there, the fire immediately ceased, which no human force had been able to extinguish." Thus Ferrari, who notes that the time at which St. Marcellinus lived cannot be known. St. Cyriacus, in whose church he was buried, was killed at Jerusalem by order of Julian the Apostate; his body was later translated to Ancona by the efforts of Galla Placidia Augusta. We shall treat of him on May 4.