ON THE HOLY BISHOPS ANSURIUS, OR ISAURUS, AND VIMARASIUS, OF ORENSE; GONZALO OSORIUS AND FROALENGUS, OF COIMBRA; SERVANDUS, VILIULPHUS, AND PELAGIUS, OF IRIA; ALPHONSUS, OF ASTORGA AND ORENSE; AND PETER.
Tenth century.
CommentaryAnsurius, Bishop of Orense in Gallaecia (St.) Vimarasius, Bishop of Orense in Gallaecia (St.) Gonzalus Osorius, Bishop of Coimbra in Gallaecia (St.) Froalengus, Bishop of Coimbra in Gallaecia (St.) Servandus, Bishop of Iria in Gallaecia (St.) Viliulphus, Bishop of Iria in Gallaecia (St.) Pelagius, Bishop of Iria in Gallaecia (St.) Alphonsus, Bishop of Astorga in Gallaecia (St.) Peter, Bishop in Gallaecia (St.)
From various sources.
[1] The Acts of these most holy Bishops lie hidden; their memory is consecrated. For Philip Ferrari in his General Catalogue of Saints writes thus: "At Orense in Galicia, St. Isaurus, Bishop. In the monastery of Ripa, the holy Bishops Vimarasius, Names of these Saints, Gonzalus, Osorius, Froalensus, Servandus, Athaulphus, Pelagius, and Alphonsus." In his Notes he testifies that Isaurus is called Ansurius by others. Concerning the rest he writes: "Of these, Vimarasius is reported to have been Bishop of Orense; Gonzalus, Osorius, and Froalensus, of Coimbra; Servandus and Pelagius, of Iria; Athaulphus and Alphonsus, of Astorga." And so he omits Peter and divides Gonzalus Osorius into two. It seemed safer to follow John Marietta, a Spaniard, whom Ferrari himself also cites; he makes Ansurius and Vimarasius Bishops of Orense; he holds that Gonzalus Osorius is one and the same person, and says that he, as well as Froalengus, were Bishops of Coimbra; Servandus, Viliulphus, and Pelagius, of Iria; Alphonsus, of Astorga and Orense; of what see Peter was Bishop he says is not known. Wion also recorded Isaurus thus: "In Spain, St. Isaurus, Bishop of Auci (actually Orense or Ourense), who, renowned for holiness, rested in peace." Menard and Dorganius have the same.
[2] We follow, like travelers in an unknown region, the footprints of others, even if sometimes they are not sufficiently sure or deeply impressed, and lead in opposite directions, or certainly, when we dare not follow, we indicate where they seem to tend. The bodies are deposited not at Ribadavia The bodies of these Saints are reported to rest in the monastery of St. Stephen, situated on the bank of the river Sil. Ferrari calls this the monastery of Ripa, and in his Notes writes: "Ripa is a famous town of Galicia on the river Avus, with a monastery in the diocese of Orense, which is commonly called Ribadavia." That town is indeed famous, especially for the excellence of the wine grown in the neighboring countryside and exported to foreign lands, on the right bank of the Minho where the Avus, or Avia, flows into it, some leagues below the city of Orense, or Aquas Calidas.
[3] But Licentiate Molina, in his description of Galicia published in 1551 (which we have obtained through the generosity of the excellent Lucas Torres), shows the true location of this monastery, above the city of Orense, but on the bank of the Sil, on the left bank of the river Sil. For the Sil, or as they commonly call it Sil -- perhaps the ancient Salo -- rising among the Astures, waters a great tract of Galicia, and increased by many streams flows into the Minho and loses its name, although it is far more splendid. Not far from the confluence of these rivers the Benedictine monastery of St. Stephen is seen, which is commonly called De Riba del Sil. This monastery is remote from the crowds and concourse of the people, and so elegantly built that, in the judgment of the same Molina, it deserved to be placed elsewhere than among these rugged cliffs.
[4] The same writer says that seven Bishops of various Churches withdrew there on account of the quiet and the religious character of the place, their Sees, and ended their lives there in holiness. He does not give the names of the Saints themselves, but enumerates the Churches over which they presided -- only seven, however, and somewhat differently from Marietta. He says the first was Bishop of Iria Flavia, a city situated on the river Ulla in Galicia, now called El Padron; the See was transferred to Compostela. The second was of Oviedo; the third of Lugo; the fourth of Mondoñedo, or the city now called Mondoñedo; the fifth of Orense, or Ourense; the sixth of Astorga; the seventh of Tui.
[5] Molina then adds the following: "The names of these Saints, and the time at which each died, were formerly inscribed on their tombs. But about forty the tombs destroyed or more years ago, a certain Reformer, when he came there, disregarding the trustworthiness of the ancient tombs and the illustrious memory of the Saints, the bones mingled, demolished all these monuments and enclosed the mingled bones together in one chest, and placed it behind the high altar of that church, where they are still preserved. The same person found precious rings still clinging to the fingers of the holy Bishops, by which many cures are still wrought -- both by the virtue of the inserted stones and especially by the merits of the Saints themselves." But who was that Reformer? Was he someone sent to Spain by the Apostolic See for another purpose? Or rather someone delegated by a neighboring Bishop to investigate whether anything had been innovated anywhere regarding ancient devotions? John Marietta suggests he was a restorer of the monastery. But what then came into his mind to demolish the tombs and confuse the bones? Even if he perhaps judged that they had not been formally canonized, he should have referred the matter to the Apostolic See -- which itself reverently holds what has been handed down by the ancestors concerning anyone's sanctity or cult, and does not rashly condemn what either has an unknown beginning or has been confirmed by the usage of centuries, unless it is otherwise certainly established that the whole thing was begun on incorrect principles. Animated by this attitude, Baronius, when he understood that St. Faustus, Bishop of Riez, had been venerated as a Saint in his Church from all time immemorial, candidly retracted what he had previously written more harshly about him. But enough of this. Let us see what Marietta transmits about them.
[6] In the monastery of St. Stephen on the bank of the Sil, of the Order of St. Benedict in Galicia, in the territory called Lemos, founded by King Ordoño, nine Bishops were buried at various times in former ages. There used to stand individual stone tombs with epitaphs in the cloister. On what occasion. But when that monastery was being restored, the stones were torn out and used as building material, while the bones were collected and preserved for public veneration. The names of those Saints are as follows: Ansurius and Vimarasius, Bishops of Orense; Gonzalus Osorius and Froalengus, of Coimbra; Servandus, Viliulphus, and Pelagius, of Iria; Alphonsus, of Astorga and Orense; Peter, a Bishop of an unknown See.
[7] Ancient veneration. Therefore, by the ancient tradition that has always flourished in that monastery, their sanctity has been attested. A new altarpiece was skillfully carved not long ago, on whose upper part the faces of these nine Saints with their names are carved out; and there, images, with extraordinary veneration, their holy relics are placed. An illustrious testimony to their sanctity is also drawn from the privilege of King Alfonso of Leon, father of the holy King Ferdinand, which is preserved in the same monastery, written in Latin. He testifies therein that, since what is not committed to writing is easily obliterated by forgetfulness -- for writing sustains memory and drives away the damage of oblivion -- therefore he, Alfonso, by the grace of God King of Leon and Galicia, wishes it to be known to present and future generations through this document that he has given to the monastery of St. Stephen, and to the nine bodies of the holy Bishops buried there, through whose merits many miracles are daily worked by God, whatever royal rights pertained to that place. That testimony is undoubtedly of great authority.
[8] Of Ansurius of Orense alone, this epitaph survives: "Behold, the one whom you see -- the stone enclosure covers the sacred frame of Bishop Ansurius, a man most illustrious in all things. Epitaph of St. Ansurius. His teaching was abundantly holy, and his life shone illustriously in its service. The Lord's life was not uncertain, for thus his pious confession most fully adorned it. Leaving the aforesaid chair, joining himself to the monastic rule, and there doing all things that befit the Lord, following the Lord's voice, he rested in peace; at the time of the deposition of the sacred body, on the seventh day before the Kalends of February, in the era 960, at the age extended through its proper order, the sixth."
[9] That Marietta writes the monastery was founded by King Ordoño: Ordoño I succeeded his father Ramiro in the era 887, or the year of Christ 849, and reigned for 16 years, as Sebastian of Salamanca writes; Ordoño II, son of Alfonso the Great, succeeded his brother Garcia around the year 915. Which of them was the founder of the monastery of St. Stephen is not clear. Concerning the holy King Ferdinand, son of Alfonso IX of Leon and Berengaria of Castile (whose sister was Blanche, mother of St. Louis), we shall treat on May 30. He died in the year 1252 at Seville, having reigned 34 years, 11 months, and 23 days.