Vouga

ON S. VOUGA, OR VIO,

BISHOP IN ARMORICAN BRITAIN.

Of his cult & the acts of his life, gathered by Albert le Grand, which are exhibited in Latin.

SEC. VI.

Vouga or Uio, formerly Irish Bishop, Anchorite, in Armorican Britain (S.)

BY THE AUTHOR F. B.

Penmarc'h is a promontory of lesser Britain in Cornouaille; at the mouth of the Odera river. Temples dedicated to the Saint, Thence by one milestone is distant the parochial church of Treguenec, around which stands the chapel of S. Vouga or Vius, in which his sacred Relics are kept. There stands also another church dedicated to the same Saint in the diocese of Léon, also in lesser Britain, in that place where the Saint is handed down, with an oratory constructed, with few others to have cultivated the monastic life until death, & buried to have grown famous for miracles, until the sacred body by the Normans depopulating Britain (which happened several times in the IX century) was taken away. That oratory, on account of the multitude of pilgrims running to it, grew into a temple of just magnitude: show the cult; which then by S. Tenonanus Bishop of Léon, one century after the death of the Saint, was consecrated to his honor, or certainly received the Parochial dignity. And these things indeed make the ancient veneration of S. Vouga indubitable: to whose annual feast, from the usage of the same churches, as I believe, as also the veneration of Relics. Albert le Grand assigns, the fifteenth of June. But neither after the sacred body was translated by the Normans, has the people's devotion toward the Saint been diminished: & that there might be something, by which it might be fostered, a sacred pledge; his Missal is kept in the church, near which he is believed to have dwelt; & is offered to the people to be religiously kissed. But in the church of Treguenec there remained some Relic of him; probably brought there, before Britain was infested by the Normans.

[2] His Acts were gathered by Albert le Grand, as he himself testifies, Acts gathered from Mss. from an ancient Chronicle of Britain Manuscript & ancient legendary also manuscript in parchment, which exists in the monastery of S. Matthew of the diocese of Léon; from the antiquities of the church of Léon gathered by D. Yves le Grand, Canon of Léon, Rector of Plouneventer & Almoner of Duke Francis II (who reigned from the year MCCCCXVIII to the year MCCCCLXXXVIII); from an old choral Legendary of the church of Léon also; finally also from authentic memorials of Armagh in Ireland, communicated by R. P. Vincent du Val of S. Maria, Vice-Provincial of the Order of Preachers of Ireland. All which although they seem to have great weight of authority; yet while there are not brought forth the very words of the alleged Mss. to be judged; nor is it established what, from which, & with what faith taken, or what Albert himself added of his own by conjectures, to which, as truths certainly ascertained, to be offered to the Reader, we have noted him otherwise sufficiently inclined, it is not permitted to him securely to adhere; especially while some things occur not easily to be received. In the first place I do not see, by what reason it can be proved & ought to be received, that S. Vouga was Archbishop of Armagh; not very probably they make him Bishop of Armagh, since about him are silent, & thus have found nothing in the Hibernic monuments, which they most studiously have searched, Usher, Colgan, Ware. For if they had found anything about S. Vouga, & had thought those Hibernic memorials sufficiently authentic, how would they have omitted his name in the Catalogues of the Archbishops of Armagh, those among the Hibernians more recent deservedly most praised Historians? Truly we cannot believe this, unless we wish to feign some little fable, similar to that, which about Cyriacus the Roman Pontiff in the Chronological attempt Dissertation V is refuted: where also is shown how great is the force of the negative argument in such questions. When S. Cyriacus the Pope with S. Ursula & her companions, with the Roman Clergy unaware or unwilling, had departed in hope of martyrdom; with the Clergy & Cardinals gathered it pleased (as is feigned) to erase his name from the Catalogue of the Roman Pontiffs, because it was believed, that not from devotion, but from the delights of the Virgins he had dismissed the Papacy. Here truly, unless we should wish to feign a cause equally inept, & many contain things apparently fabulous. why the Hibernian writers did not number him among the Archbishops of Armagh, if truly he governed that Archbishopric. I prefer therefore to believe, that he never did this, yet I have written Bishop in the title, because perhaps he was such; not of Armagh, but of some more obscure Church; of which there were almost innumerable in Ireland, so that almost all Abbots & Parish priests were consecrated Bishops, the Acts of S. Patrick & of other Hibernic Saints persuade. But since the Britons did not know to name that Church of S. Vouga, they seized first of all that of Armagh: just as our S. Rumold, Patron of the Mechelinians, they fictioned in the same Hibernia Bishop of Dublin, who made him for us a Hibernian, although much more ancient than the very city of Dublin.

[3] Nor is pleasing such sudden punishment & resuscitation of the contumelious old woman, such as is mentioned below: [at least as to the circumstances of the rock e.g. on which the Saint crossed the sea:] for such miracles although possible to God, yet because they occur more often in the Lives of Hibernic Saints, not without fabulous circumstances; we do not believe them done, unless written by a serious author. For the same causes is not pleasing such wondrous crossing of the Ocean on a rock. But if there be thought to survive some part of that stone, on which still is seen the trace, which the Saint had impressed by reclining his head; I would prefer to believe, that the Saint used that stone for the cause of penance, for tormenting the body in the time of sleep, & that he himself therefore was held in veneration by posterity, & honored by God with miracles. Indeed in the Life of S. Yves the Presbyter num. 24 mention is made of the stone of S. Elavus, existing in the cemetery of the church of Landelau, which similarly was in veneration, because S. Elavus was believed to have performed penance on it. For in the process of the Canonization of the aforesaid S. Yves, D. Theophania witness XVI said, to have heard from Mauritius de Monte, that when D. Yves & the said Mauritius were in one chamber in the village of Landelau, & the same Mauritius was sleeping in his bed, which from elsewhere may have merited veneration. & he believed that D. Yves also was sleeping in his bed; the same Esquire heard a certain voice, three times thus saying; Arise, because the Blessed lies on the stone. Which heard by Mauritius, awakened from sleep he felt next to himself, & could not find D. Yves there. And rising swiftly, & approaching the cemetery of the said place, to a certain stone

hollow, on which S. Elau had done his penance while he was living, Meanwhile they are given those things in Latin from French, he found the same D. Yves sleeping on the same stone. These things thus prenoted, I shall give the Life in Latin, which the aforesaid Albert wrote in French, in this manner.

[4] About the year of salvation DXXIII, with Hormisdas holding the Pontificate, with Justin Augustus moderating the Empire, with Hoël II reigning in upper Armorica, in lower Jugduvalus, who then had fled to France to Childebert: at which, I say, time from greater Britain into Armorica there sailed across now & then men conspicuous in sanctity, of whom some administered Episcopates with great praise, others filled that region with holy Monks & imitators of themselves. Meanwhile dwelt in Hibernia a venerable man Vouga, who on account of probity of manners & life, obtained the Priesthood (which they call Canonicate) in the Church of Armagh, & at length was legitimately elected Archbishop of the same See & Primate of Hibernia.

[5] But, who to that dignity had been unwillingly taken up, with the desire of solitary life, without intermission with prayers wearied God, that he might be freed from that most grave burden: for he was wishing to betake himself to some monastery or desert, & to transfer his mind free from all perturbation to the quiet contemplation of divine things. God heard his prayers, & ordered him to cross the Ocean, promising to lead him into a place, where he should gather much fruit, & should find quiet & desired solitude. The Saint gave thanks to God, that he had revealed his will to him; & by night going out from his Archbishopric palace, he proceeded to the shore of the sea: but there with no ship found by which he should cross, he performed a great miracle. There stood on the shore a very great rock, which he ascended; & in the name of him who said; Amen indeed I say to you, if you shall have faith as a grain of mustard, & using the rock for a ship you shall say to this mountain, Pass hence thither, & it shall pass, &

nothing shall be impossible to you; he commanded, I say, the rock, that departing from the shore, it should be for him in place of a ship, for crossing to where it should please God. Matt. 17 A stupendous matter! At such a command the rock, moved from the place, is rolled into the sea: & lightly floating through the waves of the Ocean, scarcely in the time of twenty-four hours, arrived at Armorican Britain, in the port of Cornouaille, whose name is Penmarc'h. Many who at the same time walked along the shore, come to Armorica; & the sailors of the ships which were at anchor in the port, when they saw this swimming mass from afar; estimated some huge ship, with the mast broken & lost by the tempest, by the force of the waves driven to land. But when it entered the port, all stood struck with stupor, that that heavy rock, as a ship, was carrying a man sitting on its summit. The Saint descended to the land, & immediately the rock returned into the sea; & with all who were present seeing, took the way toward Hibernia, whence he had come.

[6] & there preached, That miracle divulged through the surrounding districts excited a great multitude of men wishing to see the Saint. The citizens too of Penmarc'h, moved by such a miracle, gave thanks to God, that he had destined to them a man so holy: & officially receiving him in hospitality, assigned a house in which he might dwell. & performed several miracles: He preached there frequently the word of God, & miraculously healed the sick, gaining many souls for Jesus Christ. There also remained some part of the rock, which had brought him; & to this day is in the parish of Treguenec, by one milestone from Penmarc'h, in the cemetery of the chapel dedicated to the Saint: which also are done at the rock to which he reclined his head: & still on it is seen the trace of the holy head. Wherefore pilgrims, who for the cause of religion visit the chapel, that they may be freed from fevers, are accustomed to recline their head upon the stone; & to carry with themselves water, blessed by the touch of the sacred Relics, which is drunk by those with fevers, or sprinkled on their forehead: Then the Saint constructed a hermitage at half a milestone from the city, into which he retired to live to God in quiet: but when daily with great concourse the people flocked to him, briefly he changed his habitation.

[7] On a certain day the Saint, going out of his hut, found a petulant little woman, also a contumelious little woman, who instigated by a malign spirit, was singing contumelious songs to him. The Saint reprehended her sweetly: but when he profited nothing, leaving her silently he went his way. But that unhappy one, briefly felt the divine vengeance of her crime: for agitated with great pains of the viscera, with all her intestines cast out, suddenly dead, dead she fell to the earth. Upon this punishment seen, S. Vouga orders the cadaver to be carried into the church; & unmindful of the injuries received from her, places his knees on the ground; & with eyes suffused with tears prays the Lord, that he permit the soul of that wretched woman to return to the body; lest otherwise dead impenitent, she should at the same time lose the life of the soul. Scarcely had the Saint finished his prayers, resuscitated; she rose again, & cast herself at his feet, begging pardon: which obtained she went to her home, praising God, who showed himself wonderful in his servant S. Vouga.

[8] Immediately the fame of so great a miracle spread through all Cornouaille, & with the habitation again changed, & called forth very many from all surrounding places to his hermitage. But he, fearing lest so great a frequency of men should disturb the quiet of prayer, decreed to execute what he had long before proposed in mind. And so he crossed a gulf of the sea from Lanveoc, & came to Brest; where he did not wish to stay, but passing through the city of Lesneven, hid himself in a very dense forest: where, with an oratory constructed & next to it a small hut, he associated to himself some Religious, with whom he exercised himself in holy works; holily lived with few companions: until it pleased God to call him to the rewards of pious labors: which happened on the fifteenth of June, about the year DLXXXV. But his disciples buried him beneath the altar of his chapel: in which place God then through his intercession worked so many miracles, that with the forest cut down there was built a church, consecrated to his name: buried beneath the altar & famous for miracles. which then S. Tenenanus Bishop of Léon erected into parochial. In this honorifically were reserved his venerable Relics, until the coming of the Normans into Britain, at which time this country, with them transferred elsewhere, was bereaved. Yet his Missal is religiously kept in the church sacred to him, at whose touch those with fevers feel themselves relieved. The Body taken away by the Normans A great part too of his Relics is kept in the chapel of his name, erected on the shore of the great Ocean by one milestone from Penmarc'h, in the parish of Treguenec, in the diocese of Cornouaille: Relics which chapel is frequented by those with fevers, who in the same place daily receive health.