ON THE HOLY ROMAN MARTYRS VICTOR AND HIS COMPANION, AT LILLE IN FLANDERS.
Year of Christ 1611.
PrefaceVictor, Martyr at Lille in Flanders (St.) His Companion, Martyr at Lille in Flanders
[1] At Lille, a large and wealthy city of Flanders, a college and church were built at public expense for the Society of Jesus at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Claudio Acquaviva, who at that time presided over the entire Society, resolved to adorn it with the bodies of two holy Martyrs, Victor and his companion, The Translation of Saints Victor and his companion. judging that nothing more fitting could be given in return for the munificence of so generous a city than to send thither those sacred remains, which would serve both as protection and as an encouragement to the practice of piety. These he had unearthed, by the authority of Pope Paul V, from the Catacomb of Priscilla, which was found in our time beneath the estate of the Roman College of the Society of Jesus, at the third milestone from the city.
[2] Their solemnity is celebrated annually (whether one chooses to call it their feast day -- for the actual date of their martyrdom is unknown -- Their annual feast. or their Translation, which occurred on this day, January 23) on the Sunday after the feast of St. Agnes, with great concourse and devotion of the people. Arnold Raisse, in his Belgian Sacred Treasury, cataloguing the relics of Belgium, writes the following about them: "At Lille in Walloon Flanders, the bodies of the holy Roman Martyrs Victor and his companion, enclosed in most elegant caskets, which the Senate of Lille, decorated with gold and silver in various ways, and adorned with nearly palm-sized silver images of Christ, the Blessed Virgin, St. Victor, and the twelve Apostles, and further resplendent with multiple emblems, and with the Corinthian order of columns, and with triglyphed friezes, and other ornaments, presented as a gift."
[3] The history of the Translation. John Buzelin of Cambrai, of the Society of Jesus, who had been present at the Translation, accurately described and published its history. He is the same who later published the Annals of French Flanders. We have divided it into chapters, after our custom, to relieve the reader's weariness. Michael Desnaeus, Bishop of Tournai, in whose diocese Lille is situated, presided over the Translation. Aubert Le Mire mentions St. Victor in his Belgian Calendar on July 14, and Antoine Sanderus in Book 3 of his Hagiologion of Flanders, though the latter errs in writing that the Translation of the holy Martyr took place in the year 1615. Both treat of the Catacomb of Priscilla, as do we frequently elsewhere, but Le Mire at greater length. Very many have publicly professed, by votive offerings hung at St. Victor's casket, that they have obtained health or other heavenly benefits through the invocation of his patronage; these, however, since they have not yet been approved by public authority, we have not undertaken to investigate.
TRANSLATION, OR TRIUMPH,
of the Holy Martyrs Victor and His Companion. By John Buzelin, S.J.
Victor, Martyr at Lille in Flanders (St.) His Companion, Martyr at Lille in Flanders
By John Buzelin.
PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR,
to the Senators of the City of Lille.
[1] We have resolved to commit to writing the solemn procession publicly accorded to St. Victor, and to dedicate it to you, Most Illustrious Senators -- an enterprise glorious, as it seems to us, both for the Martyr and for you. For although we have no doubt that the memory of so great an event is so deeply engraved in the minds of the people of Lille Why this Translation is written, that it can be effaced or removed by no injuries or intervals of time, we would nonetheless seem to grudge the most noble Martyr and yourselves no small honor among foreign nations, if we did not cause his fame to roam more widely through the world by means of a written account. We have therefore long intended to carry this out, and we have accomplished it as quickly as possible -- though perhaps not in such a way as to place all of you equally in our debt with equal deference and goodwill; but certainly so as to stir you powerfully by the illustrious name of Triumph to aspire to glory.
[2] And called a Triumph. Blessed Victor indeed won a splendid victory over the cruelty of the tyrant, when he yielded neither to his savage threats nor hesitated to meet death for Christ under the boldly pressing hand of the executioner. He won no less glory over the greedy appetite of time, since through so many centuries of years his bones, struggling in the tomb, neither subsided into dust nor lay forever crushed beneath the marble, but at last came forth whole from the darkness into the open air. If, then, the once most invincible King of the Macedonians, Alexander, after he cast forth his soul by the force of poison or unmixed drink, prevailed so much upon Arrhidaeus that, placed upon a golden chariot, he was carried about in the noble appearance of a triumph through many cities -- why should not our Martyr also, so outstanding and unbroken in spirit, after so long a span of time since his death, having in a way come back to life, have obtained a triumph in this city in name and in procession? And indeed, with you magnificently exerting yourselves according to your ancient piety and munificence toward the Saints, he achieved it; and you so acted that ornaments and decorations befitting so distinguished a cause of triumph adorned the city throughout.
[3] He triumphed, then, not carried aloft upon a golden chariot, not drawn by white horses, nor by lions, nor tigers, nor other such monsters of Roman pomp of old; but rather, borne aloft in distinguished sacred splendor upon the shoulders of resplendent Priests, as it truly was. with you for his glory holding a lofty canopy overhead. No slave pressed upon the one triumphing from behind, whose fear of incurring servitude had among the Romans tempered the force of excessive pleasure during a triumph; but rather the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Lord Bishop of Tournai attended, who with his own majesty would attest the eternal Prince of heaven. No one preceded him who, as of old, might provoke laughter with scurrilous gestures or assail him with witty remarks; but rather a distinguished procession of men shining and vying with praises. Having been carried in so distinguished a triumph, it was not the temple of the Capitol, reeking with smoking sacrifices, that received him; but rather a most elegant and august church, fragrant with sweet odors, which you had magnificently erected for us, embracing him, joyful forever in so illustrious a seat. The distinguished triumph, therefore, which he won with your laboring, which he celebrated with you accompanying, and which we have written with you meriting it -- this triumph, Most Illustrious Senators, we now freely consecrate and dedicate to you, by your own right and your own merit. If you embrace it with hearts as favorable as the willing spirit with which we offer it, neither shall we hereafter lack the will to undertake greater things; nor will the immortal glory you have won among all by such a procession in honor of the Saints ever grow old.
CHAPTER I.
The relics of Saints Victor and his companion sent from Rome.
[4] What has befallen many of the Saints and not a few nations by a happy lot -- that their bodies, brought forth from darkness, obtained a great deal of honor among men, The bodies of Saints Victor and his companion, and that nations received no little benefit and favor from such relics -- this, we are right to believe, will now at last also come about for St. Victor and his companion, Roman Martyrs, and for Lille, a noble trading city among the Belgians. For when the sacred bodies of these Saints had lain unknown for many centuries in the vast Catacomb of Priscilla, in recent years they were at last brought to light and carried into this city of Lille with incredible joy and the greatest pomp. How this was done, and with what success, I have now been moved to set forth. I shall do so all the more willingly because of the great glory I think will accrue from this event to immortal God, by whose providence this gift was granted; to the Martyrs themselves, in whose honor and praise it was so nobly accomplished; and finally to the people of Lille, who for the embellishment and worship of these Saints attempted and performed all things greatly, as is their custom.
[5] The Senate had begun to raise at public expense for the Society of Jesus at Lille a most munificent mass of building, which had already grown almost to its full height, as the eleventh year after sixteen hundred from the birth of Christ was approaching. No labor or expense was spared; the sole concern was that the entire building should rise within that year, and, having its roof set in place, receive its interior ornament; (after a college and church had been built at Lille for the Society of Jesus) and that the immense expanse of the garden be enclosed by the highest walls. The fame of so great a building had excited the spirits of many, and it had already spread through the remote parts of the world that those who were undertaking this royal work with such great ambition were striding toward immortal glory, and that those who brought it to completion would surpass every kind of praise and reward. No one was more powerfully stirred by this news, as was fitting, than the Reverend Father General of our Society, Claudio Acquaviva, since it was his office both to accept the houses that were offered and to give and show thanks to those who offered them. After, therefore, he came to hope, upon receiving this news, of entering upon so distinguished and commodious an inheritance for us after the year, he turned himself in every direction to find something distinguished with which he might repay the munificence of the Senate. The divine providence assisted his pious will and his grateful zeal. For what could indeed have been hoped for but hardly believed possible came to pass, with the Supreme Pontiff's favor, that several sacred bodies of Martyrs came into his power. This happened in the following manner.
[6] On the Via Salaria, not far from the walls of the city of Rome, the vast Catacomb of Priscilla lies deep within the bowels of the earth. At the time we have mentioned, dug up from the Catacomb of Priscilla, a portion of this was opened, by the permission of Pope Paul V, to the General of our Society for the purpose of searching for relics of sacred bodies; and among the finds that fell to him was the body of St. Victor. An inscription formerly affixed to the burial niche asserts his name and the distinguished palm of his martyrdom, which is known to have been found together with it. Having therefore gained possession of the body of St. Victor, along with others, the Father General then turned his mind to sending it, together with another companion in death, to us. by the Father General of the Society Two things above all, I am certain, powerfully impelled him to take up this plan more willingly, apart from the Senate's goodwill and munificence toward us. First, he was well aware how distinguished this people was in piety toward sacred things and how ardent was their devotion in the worship of those things. Wherefore, if he were to deliver to them any relics of the Saints to be venerated, he had the firm hope that they would be abundantly venerated by them, as far as is permitted by the most pious of men. Second, since he knew for certain that an august church of remarkable spaciousness was being raised for us, he drew from this the firm confidence that there would be no lack of a seat worthy of the sacred bodies, nor would the narrowness of the space hinder the citizens in their frequent worship. That both of these turned out beyond his hope and expectation, to the great glory of the Saints and the favorable report of the people, what I shall presently narrate will make clear. Impelled, therefore, by such great reasons, as autumn was beginning he committed those pledges of supreme love to the road for this city. sent hither. They were first conveyed to Florence, to the Rector of the College of our Society. There, after the sacred remains were packed and wrapped as if they were merchandise, a Belgian merchant received the sacred bundle from the Father Rector and not long after sent it here with the greatest fidelity.
[7] At the time when the sacred bodies were thus being transported to us, we received from Rome a key together with letters, the key having been sent ahead: so that we might already then, as it were, take possession of the chest in which they were enclosed, even though it was still absent, at the beginning of October. This was a source of great joy to us, but would have been of even greater joy if we had been able to take the relics in hand at the same time. For since that season was approaching in which we planned to dedicate our church and enter the new building with a solemn procession, it seemed that the presence of those relics would add much splendor and glory to both events. Since, therefore, it pleased the divine will otherwise, and it was determined that the Martyrs should claim their own procession and glory, the great joy in the meantime sufficed us soon an altar was dedicated to them. that the Most Reverend Lord Bishop consecrated one of the altars in the name of St. Victor. Thence a distinguished devotion to invoking and venerating this Martyr seized the people, which began to grow more ardent when, a few days later, the Senate received from our Reverend Father General a letter as a pledge of so great a gift. For from it they learned what manner of gift this was, whence it was received, and with what purpose it was destined for this place. All of which things impel me not to begrudge anyone those letters, but to insert them into this narrative in the very words in which they were written.
[8] Letter of the Father General to the Senate of Lille. "Illustrious and Magnificent Lords. From the frequent reports of our men from your city, we have learned with what great munificence your Illustrious Lordships have raised from the foundations for our Society a distinguished college building; have also erected a splendid and august church; and have finally assisted our men most liberally with frequent other subsidies. On which account, besides giving and rendering you, as is fitting, immense thanks, it has seemed good also to repay you in some measure, and to render spiritual things for temporal things. Namely, so that this church in your city, recently built at your expense, may be more amply adorned at its very inception, and so that the piety and religion of the people of Lille -- which is known to surpass most eminently the other cities of Belgium -- may, with divine grace, be promoted, we send there the body of St. Victor the Martyr, recently extracted by Pontifical authority from the Catacomb of Priscilla on the Via Salaria. We do not doubt that your Illustrious Lordships, out of your devotion and faith toward the Saints and their relics, will receive this sacred pledge with a grateful spirit. Meanwhile, we humbly pray to that same Martyr that, together with the other Guardians and Patrons of your city, he may deign to come to share in the protection and patronage, and, truly and in a manner befitting his name, as Victor, to bestow victory over enemies both spiritual and temporal. Rome." When these letters had been read in full assembly, the Magistracy was greatly bathed in joy, Response of the Senate. since it was already known to them that they and their affairs were of the greatest concern to our Father General, and that so outstanding a reward was being rendered for their munificence toward us. The pleasure they had received therefore elicited from them this response: "That they were greatly pleased by the most grateful spirit of our Father General; that the relics he had sent them they embraced, even in their absence, with devout and reverent minds; that when they arrived, they would take care that nothing would be lacking for their adornment and worship; and that they would carry them into the church erected by them with whatever triumph and procession they could muster."
CHAPTER II.
Arrived in Belgium, examined.
[9] Meanwhile, the rich cargo of sacred bodies was for us a source of grave and prolonged anxiety, lest it perish over so great a distance of travel; and it can scarcely be believed how much the burning desire to touch them added to our fear. Yet the cargo brought excellent protection to its carrier and joy to us. For since we accompanied it daily with many prayers to God, The bodies arrived at Lille on January 10, 1611. exposed to none of the dangers of the road amid the injuries of the winter season, it arrived here safely, sooner than could have been hoped, three months later. January 10 was then hastening on, when it was announced at home that the sacred bodies of the Saints were within the city, at the house of a most respectable citizen, the brother-in-law of the merchant who had sent them from Florence. Our Father Rector therefore went there with some of ours who would carry them to us, and after he had saluted them with a reverent embrace by the light of burning candles (which that family, out of its devotion to the Saints, had lit), he ordered the entire bundle to be transported to our house in the first hours of darkness. Meanwhile, as had been ordered, carried to the college: we all stood at home in readiness, joyful indeed, so that when the relics were carried within our door we might honor them in the atrium with blazing torches, and accompany them with reverence, light, and prayers to our domestic chapel. When therefore they arrived, we vied with one another in whatever service we could render, and having carried them into the chapel, we placed them upon a table that had been quite fittingly decorated, and covered them with a distinguished veil. There hymns were sung for some time, praises of the Martyrs were offered, and the pious kissing of the bundle was indulged in, to the point of sweet tears as joy overflowed in some.
[10] The next day the Father Rector reported to the Senate concerning the relics finally received from Rome, so that they might at leisure deliberate what the merits of the Martyrs demanded and what their own piety and devotion toward the Saints required. The news was a source of pleasure to the Senators. It was decided that all the members of the Magistracy should be summoned to the next day's session, so that by common vote it might be approved what could be done for the glory of the Martyrs and what was befitting the name of Lille in so great a matter. When therefore nearly forty men had been convened in the town hall on that day, all were of this opinion: That it was very pleasing to them that, as they had previously responded, they should exert all their strength and resources toward the worship and glory of the Martyrs; that it would be the responsibility of their munificence the Senate allocating the expense for the pomp of the Translation; that whatever was to be spent on adorning the sacred reliquary chests and whatever on the remaining preparations for the entire ceremony should all be defrayed from the public treasury; and that it would be the part of their devotion to the Saints that their bodies be carried into the city with a distinguished public triumph and procession, once they had been approved by the Most Reverend and Most Illustrious Lord Bishop; that they would invite the entire Clergy and all the religious families, if it should so please the Lord Bishop; that they themselves would take care to set an example for the nobles and citizens by carrying white wax torches to illuminate the sacred bodies; that everything in the city should smile with festive adornment; that the force of military cannons and fires artfully raised at strategic points should testify to everyone's joy; and that nothing whatsoever that might contribute to the glory of the Martyrs, or that was fitting to their own devotion, would be lacking.
[11] Three days after this, which was January 16, carried to Tournai, to be approved by the Bishop: the sacred bodies were conveyed from Lille to Tournai, at the wish of the Most Reverend Lord Bishop of Tournai. The Father Rector went there to present them to the same Prelate for approval according to custom. Upon his arrival and the announcement of the relics that had been brought, great joy and immense devotion seized the most pious Bishop. For it had seemed to us the best course of action if, on the next day and at whatever hour he wished, the sacred bundle were carried to his palace, so that he might open and approve it at his convenience. But he thought this plan entirely contrary to piety and to his duty toward the Saints: he should not be approached by them, but rather he should go to them with a reverent body. For what grace he hoped from them, he owed to be committed to their glory. He comes to the college. Two hours after sunrise on the following day, therefore, while our men were waiting, he was carried to the college, full of devotion with his retinue; then he went straight to the place, elegantly prepared as he had ordered, where the sacred bodies were still covered with their wrappings intact. There, after bowing low and greeting the Martyrs with supplicant prayers, with the Official, Secretary, and quite a few other grave men standing on one side, and three Rectors of our Society on the other, he ordered the coverings to be cut open and removed. With the wrappings removed, two chests were revealed and immediately opened with the key. Patent letters were then produced. From these it was established that the bodies of the Saints contained therein had been recently unearthed from the Catacomb of Priscilla, which is found underground on the Via Salaria, by the permission and authority of the Supreme Roman Pontiff Paul V. The principal body among them was assigned to St. Victor the Martyr; the other to one of his companions, likewise a Martyr. He opens them. After the patent letters were read, the sacred bones were gradually uncovered. At this, immense devotion seized the hearts of all, and no small amazement struck them when such bones were seen after so great an interval of so many years. The most pious Bishop himself was especially delighted at being able to feast his eyes and touch with his hands the gifts so divinely granted in his time. He declared that a splendid lot had been offered him, if his poor health would not deny his shoulders the carrying of so pious a burden; already then it was in his mind to shoulder this burden in a public procession. After, therefore, all the relics had been successively examined and inspected, the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Bishop approved them in the presence of his attendants and approves the relics, and issued patent letters attesting to their authenticity. The same afternoon, he thought it worthwhile to have deliberations in his palace concerning what should be done about the translation of St. Victor. and decrees the Translation. At that session, it was decreed by all in substantially the same terms as we shall presently narrate were afterward carried out.
CHAPTER III.
Solemnly carried from Tournai to Lille.
[12] The twenty-second of January was appointed for the carrying out of the relics from Tournai. This happened to be a Sunday, suitable for gathering crowds of people. What the Most Reverend Lord Bishop had commanded, The bodies of the Saints carried out from Tournai, the Father Rector accomplished by arriving there the evening before, with two companions from our Society, equipped with a coach, horses, and coachmen for the transport of the sacred bodies. At that time a serious illness was tormenting the Most Reverend Bishop, which would have kept any other man, however great of spirit, confined at home. With the Bishop, though ill, accompanying them. Yet the man's accustomed piety and his devotion to St. Victor prevailed; these supplied the excellent Prelate with the strength and spirit for the journey he desired. On the day we mentioned, therefore, sufficiently early, at about the ninth hour, as soon as the Most Reverend Lord Bishop arrived, we set out from the house in the following manner. The leather coverings of the coach having been gathered and rolled up, it lay open on every side. In the front of the coach sat one of our Society who was not a Priest, wearing a linen surplice over his cassock, bareheaded, holding a crucifix. At the first two sides, remarkable bronze lanterns were fastened to the small pillars; the bodies carried in the coach; another hung inside from the middle of the canopy, with candles burning within them. Above the body of the coach, held fast on every side by ropes lest it be thrown about by motion, the chest rose somewhat above the level. This, covered with a linen veil of purple color and another of shining white linen adorned with various figures, with the purple showing through in patches, served as the bier for both sacred bodies. Behind, the Father Rector on the right and I on the left -- both wearing linen surplices with a stole hanging from our shoulders, both bareheaded -- took our seats. in the presence of the Author. The Masters of the Tournai college, at the request of our Father Rector, wearing linen surplices, flanked the carriage three on each side, illuminating it with candles. The singers went before in a dense column, led by the Prefect of Studies. The Most Reverend Prelate, in another coach with a distinguished and numerous retinue, chose to follow close behind the relics. With all thus departing in this order and proceeding through the city at a slow pace, the citizens who happened to be standing before their doors, moved by devotion, reverently joined themselves as companions. The unusual chanting at that time drew people from their houses or from elsewhere along the way to every quarter; some, bowing low and bending their knees, saluted the sacred bodies; others, pressing upon those who followed, swelled the procession. Nor was there any end of singing by the students, of flanking by the Masters, of lighting by the candles, or of following by the citizens, until, with the city left far behind, we reached nearly the farthest suburb.
[13] At about the first milestone from the city, as our route lay along the hedges of a village, as parish priests come running along the way, the sound of bells from the sacred tower and the trampling of feet nearby were heard. With the Cross borne before them and banners waving, the Pastor of the place appeared, followed by a great number of people. When he came in sight of the relics, he began to honor them with song, and the whole crowd to venerate them by bowing low. From that point, as the Most Reverend Lord Bishop had commanded, with bells ringing everywhere; everywhere along the road through the villages, all the church bells rang out with festive clamor; with Crosses borne before them and sacred banners, the Pastors came running at once, in varying attire, manner, and song; the common people in streaming crowds surrounded the coach, fell on their knees, addressed the Saints with prayers, and accompanied them with their gaze and their steps for a long distance -- preferring neither the slippery nor the muddy road (the sun's rays melting the frost) to stop them, nor the long duration of the pursuit to exhaust their pleasure, choosing rather to sink deep into the mud.
[14] We were about a league and a half from Lille. Then from the opposite direction the rumble of drums began to be heard; the blare of trumpets to resound; a military standard to be raised and wave in the wind; and a great throng of men to come into view. This was a company of archers, who by a perpetual institution established since time immemorial had formed a sworn association. The Most Excellent Count of Annapes had dispatched them from Annapes, a troop of the men of Annapes coming to meet them, equipped with bows and quivers, in no inelegant array, to meet the approaching Saints, venerate them, and escort them onward. When therefore they had drawn near, face to face with our column, they withdrew a little from the road, in order to station themselves before us in a curving line, and then, having saluted the relics in passing, to go before us in gratitude in the same order in which they had come. In this procession we advanced for about three-quarters of a league, until the boundary of the territory brought them to a halt.
CHAPTER IV.
Festively received by the people of Lille.
[15] We had scarcely come within the first milestone from the city when a great wedge of horsemen burst forth from a nearby village with a tremendous blast of trumpets. There were at least five trumpeters and about a hundred horsemen. The nobility comes to meet them, together with the Governor: Among them was the better part of the nobles; the rest were citizens holding public office. At the head of the entire column was the Most Excellent Count of Annapes, Governor of Lille, who out of his devotion to the Saints had rallied all of them and ordered them to be present on horseback with him. This cavalcade was just about to join us. The Count was the first to leap from his horse to the ground; the rest soon followed suit. With their knees touching the earth, they all saluted the sacred bodies and prayed briefly. Then the Count approached the coach with the greatest reverence and briefly addressed the Father Rector as follows: That he had come, surrounded by so great a number of nobles, so that he might render whatever service he could -- both his own and theirs -- to these most noble Martyrs; that he congratulated himself and his people that by divine providence so rare a fortune had fallen to them in these times, one which is very rarely granted to mortals: that a splendid source of protection was to be given to the people of Lille by these pledges; and that it therefore befit the people of Lille to honor the Saints with the greatest glory. The Father Rector joyfully accepted, in the name of the Martyrs, the service so graciously offered toward the Saints, and added that this dutiful service would be most pleasing to the Saints and most profitable for the Most Excellent Count and all the nobles: for the souls dwelling in heaven are accustomed to vie in generosity toward those who show them devotion. After such words had been exchanged, the Count immediately turned to the coach of the Most Reverend Lord Bishop to pay his respects. Then, with all quickly remounting their horses, he commanded the procession to proceed toward the city in this order: the trumpeters held the front of the column; men of lower rank were next arranged; the nobles and the Count were placed nearest to the sacred vehicle. A throng of attendants on horseback flanked the bodies of the Saints on both sides. The coach of the Most Reverend Lord Bishop brought up the rear of the procession.
[16] In this manner, having at last completed a slow and difficult journey, we came within sight of the city. There, while we followed various roads through winding turns (whether to avoid the ruts that were feared on another route, or rather to stimulate the eyes of the citizens watching from all sides to come running out, I am quite uncertain; the former was alleged as the reason, but the difficult descents and the streets deep with mud caused great difficulty), an almost infinite number of youths and men were seen running up from every side with the eagerness to see and to salute. Those who arrived first, after they had venerated the sacred bodies, surrounded the carriage from the sides, from behind, and from the front in the form of a crown; whenever some difficulty of the road had to be overcome, they vied with one another to support the sides, turn the wheels, and lend their efforts in helping, thinking nothing of it if their garments were stained with mud, so long as they labored for the glory of the Saints. There remained about a quarter of a league, which by a straight and broad road would bring us to the city walls, but it was terribly broken up, then an immense multitude of citizens: difficult, and full of wretched mud; and this was so thronged and blocked by citizens of every condition that the city could have been thought empty of people. The equal piety of all stood out in their eagerness to bend their knees to the ground and venerate the relics. With the horsemen having difficulty breaking through the crowds, those who clung stubbornly to the carriage made slow progress, often tumbling through the mud and thrown headlong into ditches -- but with no harm beyond the damage to their clothing.
[17] Where the road turned along the walls toward the gate, an immense crown of people watching from the walls on one side and of bronze cannons on the other came into view. All the bells in the tower of the Church of the Holy Savior (because it was nearest to the walls) began to ring in celebration, and subsequently in the other towers of the city, by the will of the Most Reverend Lord Bishop. Before us along the road in front of the city gate, a procession of many ranks came to meet us, so that the greater the addition to the procession, the greater it would become. The first rank was formed by the Pastor of the Church of the Holy Savior with his Clergy; the second by a good number of singers and musicians making melodies, The Clergy, Magistrate, Fathers of the Society. flanked on both sides by torch-bearing youths from our school. The third rank consisted of the chief Magistrates and the Senators of the first bench, carrying torches. Last stood our own men, in their usual vestments and shining with torches. From all these we were at last escorted to a chapel in the suburban house for lepers, decently adorned with tapestries. After we had dismounted from the coach there at the threshold, lifting the chest of the sacred relics onto a bier on our shoulders, we entered the little sacred chapel, with nobles on one side, Senators on the other, and the Reverend Lord Provost, Dean, and other leading Canons of the distinguished Church of St. Peter (who had also come as a mark of honor) looking on. When the relics had been placed upon the altar, the military cannons thundered with a tremendous roar from the walls. The bodies deposited in the suburban chapel. Within the chapel, the hymn Te Deum Laudamus was sung in thanksgiving to eternal God, in brief but elegant music, with the Most Reverend Bishop himself singing aloud at the end in praise of the Martyrs and blessing the people in attendance.
[18] Before I develop the remaining events in my writing, it seemed best to touch briefly upon one or two things that are believed to greatly contribute to the glory of the Martyrs. A cannon burst harmlessly. When the cannons placed upon the walls grew hot from the frequent discharge of flames, one of them was shattered by the force of the gunpowder with a horrible crash. Its fragments were hurled in different directions with great force; some were violently flung into the streets -- but by a benign chance, with no injury to any person. This was universally regarded as a miracle, especially since in those streets the most densely packed crowds of people were passing to and fro; and there were those who declared that fragments had fallen harmlessly at their very feet.
[19] What follows was judged no less wonderful. The wife of a most respectable citizen had for many months been gravely troubled with a difficult and, in the physician's judgment, dangerous palpitation of the heart. Palpitation of the heart driven away through the help of the Martyrs. No help, no hope had been brought by the many medicines she had applied. Moved therefore by the favorable report of the approaching Martyrs, she wished to leave home at once, to station herself on the city walls and from there, by forthwith making a vow, to venerate the relics. Her family fulfilled her pious desire. When she had comfortably settled herself in an open place from which she could easily see the carriage laden with the sacred relics, full of hope and burning with faith, presently the cry of the bystanders grew that the coach bearing the sacred bodies could be seen in the distance. At this murmur she raised herself and began to conceive hope with her whole heart and to vow a nine-day devotion to St. Victor. What therefore the shadow of the Apostle Peter was to the sick, that was to this woman a certain heavenly breath, as it were, of the approaching Martyr. For she felt all pain immediately wiped away and peace and quiet restored to her heart. That this was not an illusion, her good health thenceforward, and the silver heart hung at St. Victor's casket as her offering, attest.
CHAPTER V.
Carried into the city by solemn procession.
[20] Let us return to the chapel from which we departed a little while ago. As the sun was now setting and all had slipped away home, only the schoolmasters from our college and a good number of our Lay Brothers remained praying to God before the relics. To succeed them through the night, about a dozen Priests went from our house thither at the sixth hour, by order of the Most Reverend Bishop, the city gate being then open, which then at last began to be closed as others returned. At the eighth hour all the church bells throughout the city rang for some time. Night watches over the sacred bodies: The vigil in the chapel was kept in turns by the Priests, for whom, as well as for the relics themselves, the Senators had made this provision: from each of the citizens' confraternities -- which, bound by oath, guard the city and are well-supplied with various types of arms -- ten men were selected. They were ordered to be present under arms at nightfall, to perform their watches through the night hours in a fixed number and by turns; they were also given a password, which they would exchange when they changed shifts, or which they would demand from any of our men who might be called away by some necessity. Their guard was no less faithful than devout. After performing their watches in due order, and even scorning the fire -- which, because of the severe cold, was burning brightly all night long -- it is established that many of them prayed fervently within the chapel for several hours.
[21] As the night was departing, the sky seemed to grow troubled, and a very dense rain suddenly fell from the clouds to the earth, believed to threaten weather adverse to our plans. But all of this remained within the bounds of fear, the sky afterward proving harmless. At the fifth hour of the day, our schoolmasters and other Brothers went from the college to the little chapel to take up their station at the relics again while the Priests were occupied saying Mass. The bodies placed in reliquary chests. And then indeed the Father Rector, by the will of the Most Reverend Lord Bishop, transferred the bodies of the Saints from the chest into individual reliquary chests, one for each body. Meanwhile, all the streets within and without the city were teeming with the various activities of the citizens. Some were erecting altars sumptuously with much staging, piling them high with silver vessels and images, illuminating them with multiple rows of lights, and surrounding them with many adorned persons for the sake of display; with the city festively adorned. they set up tables in front of the altars to receive the bodies of the Saints. Others covered the walls with tapestries figured with beasts or gilt with gold; adorned their houses with paintings, panels, and various cloths; and strung ropes crossed diagonally across the streets, intertwined with leafy greenery, distinguishing them with elegant garlands and little circles of yellow, red, and white. Others prepared other things; all smoothed their brows with joy, were suffused with delight, and celebrated the festive day, with all shops and stores closed.
[22] The eighth hour at the latest had been appointed for beginning the Translation of the sacred bodies. Therefore all to whom it fell to be present exerted themselves so that the procession might proceed at that time, amid such a flood of people running together from every direction with the desire to see, and such a multitude watching from windows and rooftops, that you would have thought it was the population not of a city but of the world. The citizens distinguished by various pilgrimages formed the head of the entire procession, the procession arranged, beginning with the Confraternity of St. James, each of their associations (which are very numerous in number and in members, owing to the customary habit of pilgrimage among this people) having their linen insignia and images of their patron saints, with burning candles on both sides. The last in this group were those who had made pilgrimages to the Holy Land, notable among the few for the number of their members, their bodily attire, and their many banners. One could read a singular modesty in their faces, an outstanding devotion from their bare heads, and an ardent love for God from the banners -- each of which displayed some mystery of the suffering Jesus on a linen cloth between individuals, or displayed images of the same in two places in the middle. The Fathers of the religious families pressed close behind them: Capuchins, Franciscans, and Dominicans. These were followed by the entire Clergy of the city; among them very many singers who chanted something pious here and there, many chaplains, all the pastors, and the Canons of St. Peter. Then came a long line of youths and men carrying torches; among the youths were very many of our students, and among the men a great number of members of the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin; the greater part of the leading men and nobles carried torches. The Magistrates held the last place, bearing white torches.
[23] After these we proceeded, to carry the relics in turns. We were sixteen Priests, all in the vestments and attire of those who celebrate Mass. At the bier of St. Victor, the Provost and Dean of the Canons of St. Peter stood out, in the same vestments and ritual. Since therefore the bodies of the Saints had to be carried separately, each in its own chest and on its own bier, it seemed worthwhile to maintain this order: six went before in three pairs, illuminating the way with white torches, who would successively take the place of the next two to receive the sacred burden; then the last two of that column carried on their shoulders the relics of the Companion of St. Victor, in a smaller chest covered with a linen and flowered cloth. The Senators holding a canopy above them. Four Senators extended an elegantly crafted canopy above the Martyr. Eight of the next column followed in four pairs, likewise carrying torches, to take the sacred burden of the principal chest in turns. Then another two, preceded by the trumpeters of the Senators, carried the body of St. Victor on their shoulders, in a larger chest veiled with the same cloth as the other. Four Senators lent dignity to the Martyr with a canopy of the richest material, adorned with gold.
[24] This order was maintained throughout the entire procession, with the beginning slightly different owing to the outstanding devotion of the most pious Bishop. Though sick in body, he was great in spirit, and indeed he burned with such devotion toward St. Victor that he rejoiced to place his shoulders beneath the burden, although his illness left him scarcely able to use them. The Bishop carrying them on his shoulders for a time. He was therefore the first to take upon his shoulders the body of this holy Martyr when it was lifted from the altar, and carried it with the Reverend Provost of St. Peter to the street. There, as his limbs gave way, he laid down the sacred burden, which the venerable Dean of St. Peter then took up. As these men finally bore the load with measured and dignified step, the excellent Prelate seated himself in a pontifical sedan chair, his bodily illness preventing him from walking further. Behind St. Victor's bier walked two Abbots, of Loos and of Cysoing, who had been joined by the Coadjutor of Fauquembergue and the Prior of Fives, all illuminating the procession with white torches. Behind them, the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Lord Bishop was carried in his sedan chair. The procession concluded. The Most Excellent Count of Annapes closed the procession, professing by a burning torch the glory he wished for the Martyrs, and showing by his expression and bearing what devotion he felt toward them, with nobles attending him in a great throng.
CHAPTER VI.
Carried triumphantly into the church of the Society.
[25] While we were carrying the Saints into the city in what was the most splendid Triumph that Lille had ever seen, the clouds more than once dared to threaten rain, with scattered drops falling from the sky. Yet by divine Providence it was so ordered that neither showers should cheat the devotion, nor winds (with the torches and tapers always burning) rob the Martyrs of their glory. After we had all been received within the city, with bells clanging everywhere, a tremendous crash of cannons belching fire from the force of their powder thundered from the walls more than once for the sake of rejoicing. What multitude of people there then was in the city along the very famous and very long street from the gate to the market square, across the broad expanse of the market square, and thence in a long course and circuit past the church of St. Catherine amid an immense concourse of people, (all of which places we visited), a multitude summoned by the novelty of the event -- no one (as I judge) will easily believe who did not see it with his own eyes. Whoever saw the facades of houses draped with spectators' heads, and the pinnacles and ledges of rooftops, would have sworn that nothing remained to look for in the streets; on the other hand, whoever saw the streets and the market square packed with so many dense columns on either side would wonder what could possibly be required in the windows or balconies. Of the piety and devotion of the people at that time, any report would be an understatement. What usually grows to immensity by the telling would here not have announced anything greater than the reality. If I had not observed more attentively, it would not find credence even with me. In short, I affirm that a greater display of devotion has rarely been seen and could not be demanded.
[26] When, in the order we have described, with the bearers changing shifts at intervals at the altars stationed in various places, with the devoted inclination of spectators from the windows on every side, with the ardent devotion of those kneeling in the streets and the market square, and with the wonderful frequency of the applauding populace everywhere, we had at last come to our church, the spirit of the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Bishop was again moved with devotion. carried into the church. Rising therefore from his chair, he took the sacred burden upon his shoulders and carried it for some paces to the vestibule of the church, in the company of the Reverend Provost, and would have carried it eagerly into the church had the steps not caused too much difficulty for one climbing them. After another took his place under the bier, a line of our men inside the church near the door met us: two Priests, all the Masters and Lay Brothers, some in surplices, some covered with cloaks, all illuminating the way with burning torches. With these flanking us on both sides, we carried the sacred chests of the Saints to a place fittingly prepared. placed in the center. This rose up in the middle of the church to a height of about eight feet, with elegant adornment. Its height brought distinction to the glory of the Martyrs, while affording a view to the citizens pressing around and eager to see. A skillfully crafted enclosure served the same end for safety and beauty. At each corner of this enclosure a single torch burned; on the sides, ten candles in all; with which number and light the glory of the Martyrs was honored for eight continuous days.
[27] When the bodies of the Saints had been deposited in that place, with all the Religious and Clergy seated on one side of the relics, and the Most Excellent Count of Annapes, the Magistrates, and the nobles on the other, and an infinite multitude of people occupying the rest of the church -- the solemn Mass, which the Most Reverend Bishop wished to celebrate but was prevented by his illness from doing so, Mass, etc. was performed at the high altar by the Reverend Dean of St. Peter; the singers from the music gallery modulated most excellently. After the Gospel was chanted, a preacher of ours spoke briefly (for about a quarter of an hour, as the lateness of the hour demanded) about whose sacred bodies these were, whence they had been obtained, by whom sent hither, and in what honor they were to be held. When the sacrifice of the Mass was completed, the Most Reverend and Most Illustrious Lord Bishop, joyful at such great glory of the Martyrs and moved by such a vast throng of people, bestowed upon the people a solemn benediction: Indulgences granted by the Bishop. and to those who on this day had honored the Saints with their pious attendance, and who would continue over the next seven days to venerate the sacred relics by presenting themselves before them, he benignly granted an indulgence of forty days. In the afternoon, although the people were permitted to open their shops and sell their wares, by the will of the Most Reverend Bishop, who had proclaimed the feast as far as that point only, it nevertheless remained in nearly everyone's mind to observe the holiday, with the shops of goods for sale closed almost everywhere. Whence it happened that a large number of citizens also attended Vespers, which we sang with music.
CHAPTER VII.
The remaining celebration and the Octave solemnity.
[28] Triumphal bonfires. Two hours after sunset, when we were going to the chapel to recite Litanies before the bodies of the Martyrs, a great pile of wood was set ablaze for the sake of rejoicing. The Senate had ordered this to be erected before the front of the church in the following manner: a great tree was driven into the ground; its top was encircled by several platforms diminishing gradually in size, with a considerable space between each; upon these were fastened barrels, proportioned to their capacity, in a circular arrangement, and bundles and quantities of straw were stuffed in as well. From this there burst forth a mighty flame into the sky, which equaled the height of the church roof, though that is high, and was visible from many open places to the south outside the city -- a sign of the public joy. On the same evening, in that part of the market square which extends along the city hall, another pile of wood also burned, at public expense, by the Magistrates' order, of a different design but the same expression of joy. And there were in various places throughout the city men devoted to the Martyrs who pooled contributions to erect a distinguished pile of artfully arranged logs and wished their flames to be witnesses of their own joy. From the walls, at the same time, the cannons again thundered for the Saints with tremendous force and sound. This day brought to the holy Martyrs a glorious, to the Most Reverend Lord Bishop, to the Most Noble Count, to the Most Illustrious Senate, to the entire city, and finally to us, a most joyful and beneficial conclusion. If you consider the glory with which the sacred relics of the Saints were honored by all, you will not easily have seen a greater glory elsewhere, nor could a greater one have been expected. If you look at the general joy, so many public and private expressions of it would wring from even the unwilling the admission that it was supreme. How great a benefit to all mortals the bringing of the bodies of the Saints to this city has been, the very name of Victor will serve as a sure indication. For those relics which won for themselves so distinguished a victory will perpetually avail for manifold victory for all, and so distinguished a name promises this to us.
[29] Nor in the days following was anything lacking in glory for the Saints Applause and piety continued for eight days. or in piety for the citizens. First, indeed, the students of our school vied in various ways in honor of St. Victor. Some covered the entire wall of the portico with the verses they had composed in various genres; others, coming out upon the stage, honored the praises of the Martyr with a distinguished dramatic performance. On all the days of that week, toward evening, some recited Litanies, others prayed softly, and all together called upon God and the Saints for their aid before the sacred relics. The fervor of devotion which the divine will had cast into the minds of the citizens toward the Saints gained strength with each passing day. There was a great daily concourse of people to the relics. This was especially evident in the following practices: after they had spent some time in devotion to God and the Saints while Mass was being celebrated, The custom of venerating relics among certain Belgians. it was invariably their practice to draw nearer to the enclosure of the sacred bodies, to walk around the relics three times in a circle while praying, and to stretch out their rosaries in eager competition so that they might touch the sacred chests, at least on the outside. Such was the press of those circling at times that more than two hundred could be counted in a single circuit, and many were shut out from access for a long time. The same ardor seized nobles and commoners alike, and most of them came daily. The same throng begged that their rosaries and beads be made to touch the Saints' caskets of bone. Often for several hours a surpliced Priest stood by the relics, constantly busy with this duty of touching. Sometimes another was added, to take up the rosaries offered and return them. The outstanding ardor of the sacred Poor Clare Virgins shone brightly among the rest, The devotion of the Poor Clares toward the Saints. since they sent from their entire convent (which is famous in the city for the number and holiness of its nuns) garlands, rosaries, and wax Agnus Dei images in an immense heap, in order to obtain such a benefit. Every day there was no lack of a great number of those who offered the sacrifice at the altar in our church in compliance with the vows of others. Very many came bringing votive candles to be burned perpetually before the relics at the enclosure, so that usually six or eight burned at the altar or at this time before the sacred bodies. Women afflicted with various diseases, because they could not walk on their own, had themselves carried into the church, and some of these for many days. For some, fasting for eight days was their vow, with such devotion that to have taken even the smallest amount of food in the evening would have seemed a sin. So great is the power of piety and veneration toward the Saints in devout souls; so great is their confidence in the power of the Saints and their favors toward men.
[30] The chief display of piety shone forth on the last two days of the Octave of the Translation. The seventh day of the Translation: Of these, the Sunday drew many to the sacrament of Penance, moved by the report of the indulgences granted by the Most Reverend Bishop. The number of those who visited the church out of devotion that day was almost beyond belief. All morning until midday, the densest throngs filed past the relics. In the afternoon Vespers were celebrated with such solemnity as the sacred building had never before enjoyed: everything was packed with people; at the door there was a continuous stream of those coming and going who seemed to try the entrance in vain. The eighth day. We spent the eighth day in nearly equal attendance of those venerating the sacred bones, though with a somewhat different form of worship. A solemn Mass was celebrated with the full rite at about the tenth hour, with a splendid competition of musicians. In the afternoon at the second hour, a sermon was delivered on the relics and their power and excellence, before a distinguished audience. After Vespers were then sung, with the multitude of people swelling, it was decided to close the feast with a procession, with only our men appearing in the ceremony. We were standing in the sacristy, about to prepare the procession, when behold, there came running with a hurried step that citizen whose wife we mentioned earlier had been relieved of her heart palpitation. Tears were flowing from his eyes; words stuck in his throat. From this some sign of grief was taken; but in fact everything tended in a different direction. Joy had wrung forth the tears, and haste had tied his tongue. He therefore produced a heart of silver, fresh and just received from the goldsmith, not yet polished. He explained that it was his wife's vow, a memorial of the health she had received from St. Victor, A silver heart hung up for St. Victor. and that it would be a great pleasure to him if this offering could be hung upon the sacred casket of the Saint. His piety was obliged. We then entered the church in supplicant procession, illuminating it with torches. Four Priests in the vestments of those celebrating Mass, placing their shoulders under the pious burdens of the reliquary chests, carried the relics taken from the high altar around the entire interior of the church. Before us went no small crowd: youths and respectable citizens, honoring the glory of the Martyrs with the light of their torches; behind pressed a long train of attendants. The musicians in the gallery modulated the Litanies. This act found favor with the pious minds of the people and stirred in them an ardent devotion toward the Saints, for tears broke forth in not a few, as the sweetness of devotion watered their souls. The sacred bodies placed in an elevated location. After we had returned to the altar, having completed the procession, it was at last decided to carry the sacred bodies upward and set them in an elevated place where they might be visible from afar to the eyes of beholders. There sighs and showers of tears were indulged all the more vehemently. For it grieved many not a little that they could no longer approach the Saints more closely in body, walk reverently around their bones, or touch them with their rosaries to seek their protection. When, therefore, the sacred relics had been placed in the location we have described, after the entire multitude had spent a little while in prayers and vows, each departed to their own homes in the first hours of darkness.
[31] I cannot but admire at last the most excellent providence of the divine Will, Epilogue of the Author. and it pleases me to exclaim with the royal Prophet that the friends of immortal God are honored with the most distinguished marks of esteem. For what could have contributed more powerfully to the outstanding glory of these Martyrs than all those things by which so many and such great men have contended in their Translation? Indeed, the people of Lille seem to have wished, with the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Bishop of Tournai, the Most Excellent Count of Annapes, and the Most Illustrious Senate exerting themselves, to compensate in a few days for whatever had been lacking in honor to these Saints among mortals during so immense an interval of passing years, by every possible outlay of resources and by the full measure of their devotion. Nor indeed can the Saints themselves deny -- for this procession was a source of incredible joy to them -- that they have been amply satisfied by such great devotion and worship. So that perhaps it seemed more glorious to them, after having lain for a long time among men devoid of honor, to arise with such great worship and glory alone in a noble city among the Belgians, than to have been honored from the time of their death to the present with ordinary honors among a great number of Saints. I am also certain that already at that time a prophecy most pleasing to our Martyrs came from God, when their bodies were being conveyed hither -- the prophecy He had once spoken to His own through Isaiah: "You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the grass." Isaiah 66:14. For just as they, gazing from heaven upon the glory bestowed by men upon their bones, were filled with joy, so their bodies began to blossom forth with wondrous effects upon mortals -- and they will continue to flourish ever more fruitfully with each passing day, as long as their veneration endures on earth.