Clement

ON ST. CLEMENT, ABBOT OF SYRACUSE IN SICILY.

Clement, Abbot of Syracuse in Sicily (St.)

[1] Octavius Caietanus, in his Sicilian Martyrology, writes from manuscript codices and Syracusan tables the following for March 5: "At Syracuse, of St. Clement, Abbot and Confessor, whose body was carried to Constantinople by George Maniaces." Sacred cult, Induced by the authority of Caietanus, Ferrarius inscribed him in his General Catalogue, and Ménard and Bucelinus in their Benedictine Martyrologies.

[2] The same Caietanus, in his Lives of the Sicilian Saints, volume 2, page 41, indicates somewhat more with these words: "Clement, Prefect of the monastery of St. Lucy, not far from Syracuse. Body carried to Constantinople, His sacred body was formerly kept with great veneration in the same church and was honored together with that of St. Eutychius the Bishop; George Maniaces, a general famous in war, carried them away from there to Constantinople together with the body of St. Lucy, the holy Virgin and Martyr." It is added that this information comes from the Tables of the Church of Syracuse. But in what period Blessed Clement lived, and consequently of what Order he was, could not be ascertained. Meanwhile, Ferrarius, because Caietanus reports him around the year 800, writes that he lived around the year of Salvation 800. Ménard and Bucelinus have also dared to assign him to their Order. St. Lucy is venerated on December 13, and St. Eutychius, Bishop of Syracuse, on November 15, whose memorial from his Acts is more celebrated for having communicated the Body of Christ the Lord when it was brought to him.

[3] around the year 1040. The translation of these three bodies from Syracuse to Constantinople was made around the year of Christ 1040, when George Maniaces the Patrician, sent with a prepared fleet to Sicily by Michael the Paphlagonian, Emperor of the East, defeated the Saracens and recovered Syracuse and other cities.

ON BLESSED PETER OF CASTELNAU, APOSTOLIC LEGATE, FIRST INQUISITOR OF THE FAITH, MARTYR OF THE CISTERCIAN ORDER IN GAUL,

IN THE YEAR 1208.

A HISTORICAL COMMENTARY.

Peter of Castelnau, Monk of Fontfroide of the Cistercian Order and Martyr in Gaul (Bl.)

§ I The deeds of Blessed Peter against the Albigensians up to the year 1206.

[1] Louis a Paramo, book 2 of the Origin and Progress of the Office of the Sacred Inquisition, title 2, chapter 1, asserts that the office of the most holy Inquisition took its beginning at that time when the County of Toulouse was infected and nearly destroyed by the impious errors and execrable blasphemies of the Albigensians. For then the glorious God inspired Pope Innocent III with the idea Bl. Peter, Apostolic Legate against the Albigensians, of creating Peter, a monk of Castelnau, flourishing in the glory of virtue and religion, as Legate, and of sending him to that province to bring it back to Christ our Savior. Thus far that author. But Blessed Peter was called by the surname of Castelnau, and was a monk in the monastery called Fontfroide, which was founded in the diocese of Narbonne in the year 1145. Angel Manrique, volume 3 of the Cistercian Annals, year 1204, chapter 2, number 1, deduces from the Letters of the said Pope Innocent that before entering the Order, he had been Archdeacon of the Cathedral Church of Maguelone — which was afterwards transferred to Montpellier — and that he had then been delegated by the same Pope for carrying out weighty affairs, and that after entering the Order, he was appointed Legate to the Albigensians. The History of the Albigensians is published in volume 5 of the Writers of the History of France, formerly described by Peter, a monk of the monastery of Vaux-de-Cernay of the same Cistercian Order; the first chapter of whose history, concerning the legation of Blessed Peter, begins thus:

[2] "In the province of Narbonne, where the faith had once flourished, the enemy of the faith began to sow tares; the people became foolish, profaning the Sacraments of Christ, who is the savor and wisdom of God, becoming tasteless and departing from the true worship of God, wandering and straying through errors in the depths, with his companion Radulph lost in the pathless wilderness, not on the way. Two Cistercian monks, burning with zeal for the faith, Brother Peter of Castelnau and Brother Radulph, appointed Legates against the plague of infidelity by the authority of the Supreme Pontiff, banishing all negligence and faithfully discharging the legation enjoined upon them, entered Toulouse, entered and approached the city of Toulouse, from which the venom principally emanated, infecting the peoples and thus causing them to fall away from the knowledge of Christ, from the true splendor, from the divine charity. The root of bitterness, sprouting upward, had grown strong deep in the hearts of men and could not be uprooted without much difficulty. The people of Toulouse were often and greatly urged to abjure the heresy and to expel the heretics. They were urged by apostolic men, but not at all persuaded; so greatly had those who had departed from life clung to death, affected and infected by wicked animal, earthly, and diabolical wisdom, devoid of that wisdom which is from above and which is amenable and consenting to good things. At last those two olive trees, those two candlesticks shining before the Lord, he preaches the abjuration of heresies: striking servile fear into their servants, threatening them with the seizure of their goods, thundering the indignation of Kings and Princes, persuaded them to abjure the heresies and to expel the heretics." These and other things the said author relates. How they procured the indicated abjuration of heresies is clearly explained in the form of the oath taken at the instance of both of them by the people of Toulouse. William Catel published that form of the oath in book 2 of his History of the Counts of Toulouse, chapter 6, page 236, a part of which we insert here, and it is as follows:

[3] "Be it known to all, present and future, that Brother Peter of Castelnau and Master Radulph, Legates of the Lord Pope Innocent, in the presence of the Consuls of Toulouse and many other men and worthy persons, he proposes a form of oath, (before the Consuls of Toulouse or the people or other worthy persons publicly took the oath for the Roman Catholic faith, and before the oath was satisfied by those same Consuls for the cause of God and the love of religion, and similarly by all other men of Toulouse on behalf of those Consuls — namely, that each one should promote the Roman Catholic faith) the aforesaid Legates of their own accord granted, and its advantages: and in perpetuity by that power which the Supreme Pontiff had given them, confirmed all those liberties, customs, and all those practices which existed or were established in any way at Toulouse before those oaths were taken. And lest, on account of those oaths, the liberties or customs or practices of Toulouse should at any time in any way be injured or diminished; and these same things the Consuls, taking the oath on behalf of themselves and all the inhabitants of Toulouse, present and future, fully retained for themselves, with the consent and will of the aforesaid Legates. Furthermore, the aforesaid Legates, commanding the Consuls, granted and established that all who should take the oath for the Roman Catholic faith should be regarded as faithful Christians; those who obey are to be considered Christians, and if by chance any of the oath-takers, before they took the oath, had been accused of heresy in any matter, it should not be able to harm their persons or their goods. All of which the aforesaid Legates promised would be confirmed by the Supreme Pontiff. But if any should be rebels and resistant to the oath, they would likewise have to place the sentence of excommunication upon them and no others. the rebellious are to be excommunicated: For thus the prescribed Legates commanded and confirmed all these things determined above under a pact with the Consuls, in the presence of Raymond, Bishop of Toulouse, and William of Cantesio, Abbot of the Church of St. Saturninus... on the thirteenth day of the entry of the month of December, a Saturday. December 13. All the aforesaid worthy persons are witnesses of the command and confirmation and approval made by the prescribed Legates. Likewise, witnesses of all these things are the same Consuls, namely William of Posano and Pons Berengarius... All of whom, on behalf of themselves and all their associates who were then of the Chapter, and on behalf of all men and women of Toulouse, present and future, received this command, confirmation, and approval from the aforesaid Legates. Peter Sancius, who is a witness of the whole, was present at all of these things, and wrote this charter on the eleventh day of the end of the month of March, in the reign of Philip, King of the French, and Raymond, Count of Toulouse, and Raymond, Bishop, in the year 1203 from the Incarnation of the Lord." Thus far that document. The year, according to the Gallic custom then in use, began at Easter, year 1204. and in the month of March, as we now reckon, it was then the following year 1204, beginning from January. This is clear from the indicated day of December 13 falling on a Saturday, which occurred in the year

1203, solar cycle 8, Dominical letter E — when, after labors of perhaps several years, they hoped for this happy success in the affairs they had managed.

[4] In the same year Afterwards, in the seventh year of his pontificate, on the fourth day before the Kalends of June, which is the year of Christ 1204, Innocent III specifically assigned to this work Arnald, the Abbot of Cîteaux, and the said Peter and Radulph, monks of Fontfroide, and sent them Pontifical letters on the said year, month, and day, he receives full authority from the Pope, whose opening is: "Even if our fisherman's bark is sometimes tossed." In these he explains the full and complete power granted to them, thus: "So that you may better and more freely exercise the office of the legation enjoined upon you — not so much ours as divine — with the Cistercian Abbot added as a companion: we grant you full authority in the provinces of Aix, Arles, and Narbonne, and also in neighboring dioceses, if any are polluted with the stain of heretics, to destroy, scatter, and uproot what you know should be destroyed, scattered, and uprooted; and to build and plant what should be built and planted; canonically punishing those who presume to act against your prohibition. If anyone, however, should fall under the sentence of the canon for violent laying on of hands, supported by our authority, you may bestow on him the benefit of absolution, enjoining upon him to arm himself against the heretics." Thus far. On the same day, a letter was given to Philip Augustus, King of the French, by which, as well as by another letter given afterwards, he implored royal aid for these his Legates. He also sent other Apostolic letters at that time to the same Legates, by which he grants them ample power to investigate the crimes and offenses of the Archbishop of Narbonne and to judge them. But the letter sent to the same Archbishop on the sixth day before the Kalends of July, in the eighth year of his pontificate, the year of Christ 1205, the Pope begins thus: "When our Legates were diligently inquiring into the truth concerning those things which have been reported to us against you, we have learned that you appealed to our hearing," etc.

[5] he is encouraged by the Supreme Pontiff. When the Bishops turned against the Legates in the cause of the faith, Blessed Peter of Castelnau asked for his dismissal in a letter written to the Supreme Pontiff. To whom the Pope replied with these words: "To Brother Peter of Castelnau, Legate of the Apostolic See. The duty of charity, which does not seek its own things, demands that he who embraces Rachel, ascending the watchtower of contemplation, should not in the hour of necessity refuse the embraces of Leah, although she is bleary-eyed, undertaking the burdens of action... Since, therefore, by reason of necessity, we have seen fit for the time being to call you from the leisure of contemplation which you had chosen, that being sent in ministry you might fulfill the legation for us, or rather for Christ, so that you might beseech them to be reconciled to the Lord, whose understanding the angel of darkness has blinded and rendered alien — you should not refuse the labor, although the nation to which you are sent may seem hard and incorrigible. For the Lord is powerful enough to raise up children of Abraham from stones. with the hope of eternal reward, Although you have not yet accomplished your will in regard to that nation, you can nonetheless expect no lesser reward, because God rewards not the result but the labor... Since, therefore, we firmly hope in the Lord, whose it is to give the increase, that he will give success to your labor, we admonish and exhort your devotion in the Lord, and of a happy outcome: by these Apostolic writings commanding, that pressing on in season and out of season, reproving and beseeching, laboring in all patience and doctrine, you should strive to fulfill the work of an Evangelist and the ministry committed to you, firmly hoping in the Lord Jesus Christ that he himself, who has given you the desire to labor, lest your labor be in vain, will also grant the effect and the desire. Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, on the seventh day before the Kalends of February."

[6] Thus the Pope, who in the same month sent two letters: the first from Rome on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of February, he deposes the Bishop of Viviers: written to the Chapter of Viviers, in which he indicates that the visitation of the Church of Viviers was committed to Peter of Castelnau and Radulph, monks of Fontfroide, and what was done by them up to the deposition of the Bishop — which the Pope approves and grants a new election to the Chapter. he reproaches the Archbishop of Narbonne: The second was written at Anagni on the fourth day before the Kalends of February to the Archbishop of Narbonne, whom he severely reproves for having denied aid to the said Legates. The third was written at Anagni the following month, namely on the twelfth day before the Kalends of March, to the Bishop of Agde and the Abbot of St. Pons, with this opening: "As we have learned from the tenor of the letters of our beloved sons Peter of Castelnau and Radulph, monks of Fontfroide, when by our command, for the purpose of extirpating the heretics from the province of Narbonne, as prudent men having the zeal of God and grasping arms and shield for the faith of the Christian name, they were laboring diligently and carefully, the Bishop of Béziers, when requested by them, he excommunicates the disobedient Bishop of Béziers: refused to go with them to admonish by our authority the Count of Toulouse concerning this matter. Then, when asked by them to admonish, together with them, the Consuls of the city of Béziers to abjure the heresy and to defend the Church of God against the heretics, he not only did not comply with their admonitions but even completely prevented it from being done, making himself an enemy of Christ, although he himself was bound to do this on his own by the duty of his office. And when, by our authority, having convoked the Clergy, they enjoined upon him that unless by a fixed day the said Consuls abjured the heresy, he should not delay in binding them with the chain of excommunication — and although he promised to do so, he by no means carried it into effect. On account of which, the said Peter and Radulph suspended him from the administration and also from the episcopal office, until he should present himself before us, strictly prohibiting the Clergy of Béziers, in virtue of obedience and under the penalty of excommunication, from obeying him in the meantime in anything." The Pope therefore commits it to the Bishop of Agde to proceed against the Bishop of Béziers for having denied obedience to the Legates, and to cause their commands to be carried out in all things.

[7] There is another letter of Pope Innocent, written on the second day before the Nones of July, to the Abbot of Cîteaux and to Radulph and Peter, monks of Fontfroide, he arranges for the deposition of the Bishop of Toulouse: Inquisitors of the Apostolic See, by which he indicates that he has clearly understood from the inquisition made by them concerning the state of the Bishop of Toulouse, and disapproves his election, because from the beginning he hastened with the vice of simony; lacking a blessing at the end, he was condemned to deposition from the episcopate by the Apostolic See — as William of Puylaurens transmits in his Chronicle on the History of the Albigensians, chapter 6. He then writes in chapter 7: "Since, therefore, this land labored under most wretched infamy before the Apostolic See, both for heretical depravity and remarkable rapine, at those same times Brother Peter of Castelnau of the Cistercian Order, a prudent and discreet man, was sent as Legate by the Supreme Pontiff; to whom Master Radulph, a literate and very honorable person, was added as a colleague. They admonished and bound the Count of Toulouse by oath to expel the heretics and mercenaries from his land and to preserve the peace. he rejoices that Fulco has been substituted: And it came to pass at the same time that, by God's inspiration, the venerable and religious man Lord Fulco, Abbot of Florège or Thoronet, of the Cistercian Order, was elected Bishop of Toulouse. When the said Legate heard of his promotion — for he knew him very well — lying ill in bed, he raised his hands to heaven and gave thanks to God for having provided such a person for the Church of Toulouse. He first entered his Church on the feast of St. Agatha, which was a Sunday in Sexagesima, and when he had prayed, he turned to the people and began a sermon from the Gospel which is read on that day: 'A sower went out to sow his seed' — with which his beginning was most fittingly congruent, since no one should doubt that he had been sent, like another Elisha, to raise up the dead episcopate. Now the year of grace 1205 was in progress when he entered Toulouse." That is, according to the custom then used in France, which for us is the following year 1206, when, with solar cycle 11 and Dominical letter A, the feast of St. Agatha fell on a Sunday, and indeed Sexagesima Sunday, because with lunar cycle 9, Easter was celebrated on the second day of April.

§ II Cooperators added: the Bishop of Osma and St. Dominic, and twelve Cistercian Abbots. Actions taken with the Count of Toulouse and others. Death of some. The martyrdom of Blessed Peter.

[8] The aforementioned William of Puylaurens begins chapter 8 thus: With the arrival of Didacus, Bishop of Osma, and St. Dominic, "In those very days the Lord God himself, who keeps chosen arrows in the quiver of his providence, brought forth from Spain two chosen warriors for this work: Lord Didacus, Bishop of Osma, and a religious man, later declared a Saint, his companion Dominic, a Canon Regular of his Church." Peter, monk of Vaux-de-Cernay, in the cited Chronicle, treats of these in chapter 3 with these words: "In the year of the Incarnate Word 1206, the Bishop of Osma, Diego by name, a great man and one to be magnificently extolled, went to the Roman Curia... It happened, therefore, that while he was returning from the Curia and was at Montpellier, he found there the venerable man Arnald, Abbot of Cîteaux, and Brother Peter of Castelnau, and Brother Radulph, Cistercian monks, Legates of the Apostolic See, who were willing to renounce the legation enjoined upon them out of weariness, because they had been able to accomplish nothing or very little by preaching to the heretics. he conceives a new courage and method with his companion Radulph: For whenever they wished to preach to the heretics themselves, the heretics would object against them the wretched way of life of the Clergy; and thus, unless they were willing to correct the life of the Clergy, they would have to desist from preaching. The aforementioned Bishop gave salutary counsel against this perplexity, advising and counseling that, setting aside all other things, they should sweat more ardently at preaching, and in order to be able to stop the mouths of the wicked, they should go on foot, proceeding in humility and leading by the example of the pious Master, doing and teaching — without gold or silver, imitating in all things the Apostolic form. But the said Legates, not wishing to undertake all these things on their own, as a kind of novelty, said that if any person of favorable authority should wish to precede them under this form, they would most gladly follow him. What more? The man full of God offered himself, and immediately, sending his retinue to Osma, content with one companion (this was St. Dominic), he entered Montpellier with the two oft-mentioned monks, Peter and Radulph. before the arrival of the 12 Abbots of the Cistercian Order, The Abbot of Cîteaux went on to Cîteaux, both because the Cistercian Chapter was soon to be celebrated, and because after the Chapter he wished to bring some of his Abbots back with him to assist him in carrying out the office of preaching enjoined upon him." Blessed Jordan, next after St. Dominic as Master General, in the hitherto unpublished Life of St. Dominic, thought that twelve Abbots of the Cistercian Order, with one legate, had been sent against the Albigensian heretics to preach the faith before Bishop Didacus of Osma arrived. After relating the colloquy and the dismissal of the retinue, he adds: "He also kept with himself the aforesaid Dominic, the Subprior, whom he held in great esteem, and embraced with a great affection of charity. This is Dominic, the first founder and establisher of the Order of Preachers, who from that time onward began to be called not Subprior but Brother Dominic."

The rest must be examined in his Life, which is to be given at the appropriate date. But let us return to Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay, whose accurate narrative on this matter is most approved by us. he visits various places with them: He thus continues: "Leaving Montpellier, the Bishop of Osma and the aforesaid monks came to a certain castle called Caraman." After relating the disputation held with the heresiarch Baldwin, he says: "Leaving the castle, proceeding by the direct route, they attacked the city of Béziers... The venerable Bishop of Osma and Brother Radulph counseled Brother Peter of Castelnau to escape the fury of the heretics, to withdraw from them for a time; for they feared lest Brother Peter be killed, because the heretics hated him above all others. Brother Peter therefore withdrew from the Bishop and Brother Radulph for some time. They, leaving Béziers, came by a prosperous journey to Carcassonne... On a certain day, all the heresiarchs assembled at a certain castle in the diocese of Carcassonne called Montréal, to dispute unanimously against the aforementioned men. For this disputation, Brother Peter of Castelnau returned... Judges were given to the disputants from among the believers of the heretics. The disputation was prolonged for fifteen days, and the propositions and arguments made on both sides were put into writing and handed over to the Judges, so that they might promulgate a definitive sentence. But when these Judges saw that their heretics had been most manifestly defeated, they refused to give a sentence; and the writings they had received from our side, lest they come into the public domain, they refused to return, but handed them over to the heretics." William of Puylaurens has similar accounts and interposes a disputation held at Verfeil. But setting these aside, let us return to Blessed Peter, about whom we are treating. Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay adds the following about him:

[9] "After these things, Brother Peter of Castelnau withdrew from his companions and went to Provence, he withdraws to Provence for a time: and he labored to reconcile the nobles of Provence, with this intention: that by the help of those who had sworn the peace, he might be able to extirpate the heretics from the province of Narbonne. But the Count of Toulouse, Raymond by name, an enemy of peace, refused to acquiesce in the said peace, until, compelled both by the wars which the nobles of Provence waged against him, through the industry of the man of God, and by the excommunication promulgated by the same against the Count himself, he reproaches the Count of Toulouse: he was forced to swear that peace. But he who had denied the faith, and was worse than an infidel, never deferring to his oath, swore many times and perjured himself many times. The most holy Brother Peter rebuked him with great strength of soul, fearlessly confronting the tyrant and resisting him to his face, because he was deserving of blame — indeed, of condemnation. And that man of great constancy, a man of unblemished conscience, so confounded him that he reproached him for being a perjurer in all things — and truly so he was." The same author then devotes an entire chapter 4 to the Count's character and corrupt life, asserting that he learned most of it from the Bishop of Toulouse.

[10] The same author, in another place, relates — as he heard from those who had often heard it from the mouth of Blessed Peter of Castelnau — the following saying of his: he desires martyrdom: "The cause of Jesus Christ in these parts will never achieve a successful outcome until one of us Preachers dies in defense of the faith; and would that I were the first to receive the persecutor's sword." Meanwhile his colleague, Brother Radulph, after the death of his companion Radulph a man of good memory, died at a certain abbey of the Cistercian Order near Saint-Gilles, called Franquevaux. The Bishop of Osma had gone to his own episcopate, and Bishop Didacus, firmly intending to return as quickly as possible to carry on the cause of the faith in the province of Narbonne. But having spent only a few days in his episcopate, while he was preparing to return, he was prevented by death and fell happily asleep in his old age. With these two luminaries removed — namely, the Bishop of Osma and Brother Radulph — the venerable Guido, Abbot of Vaux-de-Cernay in the diocese of Paris, after the arrival of the 12 Abbots, who had come to the province of Narbonne with other Abbots for the purpose of preaching, a man noble by birth but far nobler in knowledge and virtue, who also afterwards became Bishop of Carcassonne, was appointed Chief and Master among the Preachers. Thus the aforementioned Peter in chapter 6, who then in chapter 7 — having related the miracle of the document written by the hand of Blessed Dominic, and a miracle of St. Dominic, which, cast three times into the flames, sprang back unharmed — in chapter 8 treats of the martyrdom of Brother Peter of Castelnau, who fell by the swords of the wicked. He begins thus: "With these things about the Preachers of the word of God briefly touched upon, let us, with God's help, come to the martyrdom of the venerable man and most valiant athlete, Brother Peter of Castelnau — which we believe we can do in no better or more authentic manner than by inserting the letter of the Lord Pope into our narrative, he himself is killed: which he sent to the faithful of Christ, containing a fuller account of this martyrdom. The form of the letter is as follows."

§ III The Letter of Pope Innocent III concerning the death of Blessed Peter of Castelnau.

[11] "Innocent, Bishop, Servant of the servants of God, to the beloved and noble men, the Counts, Barons, and all Knights established throughout the provinces of Narbonne, Arles, Embrun, Aix, and Vienne, greeting and the Apostolic blessing. We have heard a credible report that is to be brought into the common grief of the Universal Church. For when Brother Peter of Castelnau of holy memory, a monk and Priest, a man truly virtuous among men, an Apostolic man, illustrious in life, knowledge, and reputation, having been sent along with others to preach peace and confirm the faith in the province of Occitania, had laudably succeeded in the ministry committed to him and did not cease to succeed endowed with greater gifts (for he had fully learned in the school of Christ what he was to teach; and, holding fast the faithful word according to the doctrine, he was able to exhort in sound doctrine and to confute those who contradicted: prepared to give an answer to everyone who asked, as a man Catholic in the faith, learned in the law, eloquent in speech), the Devil stirred up against him his minister, he is hated by the Count of Toulouse, Raymond, Count of Toulouse. This man, since for his many and great offenses committed against the Church and against God he had often incurred ecclesiastical censure, and since he had often been absolved after simulated repentance, as a man changeable and crafty, slippery and inconstant, was at last unable to contain the hatred he had conceived against him — he is summoned by the Count, because he knew that in his mouth was the word of truth, for executing vengeance upon the nations and rebukes upon the peoples, and more strongly against the same Count, because he was to be rebuked for his greater crimes — he summoned both him and his colleague, Legates of the Apostolic See, to the town of Saint-Gilles, promising to render full satisfaction concerning all the charges with which he was attacked.

[12] "When, however, they had come together in the aforesaid town, the said Count, sometimes, as if truthful and compliant, promised to do the salutary admonitions given him, and sometimes, as if deceitful and obstinate, he utterly refused to do them. When they finally wished to leave the same town, he departs despite the Count's opposition: he publicly threatened them with death, saying that wherever they might turn, whether by land or water, he would diligently watch their departure. And immediately, matching deeds with words, he sent his accomplices to lay cunning ambushes. But when neither the prayers of the beloved Son, the Abbot of Saint-Gilles, nor the urgency of the Consuls and Burghers could mitigate the madness of his fury, they escorted them, despite the Count's opposition and intense resentment, with the protection of an armed guard, to the bank of the Rhone river, where they rested for the approaching night, with certain satellites of the same Count — entirely unknown to them — lodging with them, who, as appeared in the outcome, were seeking their blood.

[13] "On the morrow, therefore, at dawn, with the Mass having been celebrated according to custom, he is wounded by the Count's satellite, while the innocent soldiers of Christ were preparing to cross the river, one of the aforesaid satellites of Satan, brandishing his lance, wounded the aforementioned Peter — founded upon Christ the rock with immovable firmness and unsuspecting of so great a treachery — between the ribs from below. He, first looking upon his attacker, and following the example of Christ his Master with Blessed Stephen, said to him: 'May God forgive you, for I forgive you' — repeating this word of piety and patience many times. Luke 23; Acts 7 Then, thus transfixed, he did not forget the hope of heavenly things even in the pressing moment of his precious death; and not ceasing to arrange with his ministry's companions for the promotion of the faith and peace, he dies in holiness as a Martyr for the faith: after just prayers, he fell happily asleep in Christ. He who indeed, since for the faith and peace — for which there is absolutely no more praiseworthy cause of Martyrdom — shed his blood, would have already shone, as we believe, with brilliant miracles, had not the incredulity of the region prevented it. Of their like it is read in the Gospel that Jesus did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief; because, although tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, the Savior, presented to Herod, who, as Luke testifies, greatly rejoiced at seeing him because he hoped that some sign would be done by him, disdained both to perform a sign and to give an answer to the questioner — knowing that in the credibility of signs, not the inducement of belief but the admiration of vanity delighted him. Matthew 14 Luke 23

[14] "Although, therefore, that wicked and perverse generation of the Provençals is not worthy that a sign from their own Martyr should be given so quickly, as he perhaps desires, we have nevertheless believed it expedient that this one man should die for them, so that, with his blood crying out, the heresy may be removed, lest the whole people perish — so that, infected by the contagion of heretical depravity, through the blood of the slain one that cries out, they might better be recalled from their error. John 11 For this is the ancient sacrifice of Jesus Christ; this is the miraculous ingenuity of the Savior, that when he is thought to be conquered in his own, he then rather conquers in them; and by that power by which he himself destroyed death by dying, he sometimes causes the conquerors of his servants, who had been conquered, to be conquered by those conquered servants. Unless a grain of wheat, falling to the ground, dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. John 12 Hoping, therefore, that from the death of this most fruitful grain, fruit will come in the Church of Christ — since indeed he must be severely blameworthy and blameworthy hard whose soul the sword of this man does not pierce; nor ever utterly despairing, since the utility in his blood should be so great that God may grant the desired increase to the messengers of his preaching in the aforesaid Province, for which he himself descended into corruption — we have thought it fitting to admonish the Venerable Brothers, our Archbishops and their Suffragans, and to exhort them more earnestly through the Holy Spirit, strictly commanding in virtue of obedience, an anathema is pronounced against the authors of the murder: that, making the word of peace and faith sown by him grow through the irrigation of their preaching, and for attacking heretical depravity and confirming the Catholic Faith, for extirpating vices and planting virtues, with unflagging zeal of diligence insisting, they should denounce throughout their dioceses that the aforesaid killer of the servant of God, and all those by whose help or action, counsel or favor, he perpetrated so great a crime, together with those who receive or defend him, are excommunicated and anathematized, on behalf of the omnipotent God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and by the authority of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority; and that all places to which he or any of them may come, while they are present, should be made subject to ecclesiastical interdict. On each Sunday and feast day, with bells rung and candles lit (until, coming to the Apostolic See, they may merit absolution through fitting satisfaction), they shall solemnly renew this sentence.

[15] "Those, moreover, who, burning with the zeal of the Orthodox Faith, gird themselves manfully against these pestilent ones to avenge the just blood that does not cease to cry out from the earth to heaven, the faithful are incited to vengeance, until the God of vengeance descends from heaven to earth to confound the perverted and the perverters, may securely promise them, from God and his Vicar, the remission of their sins, so that this labor may similarly suffice as a work of satisfaction Genesis 4 for those offenses for which they have offered contrition of heart and true confession of mouth to the true God. For these pestilent Provençals are plotting not merely to seize our goods, but to destroy us; and they not only sharpen their tongues to destroy souls, but they also extend their hands to destroy bodies, having become traitors of souls and murderers of bodies.

[16] "Although, moreover, the aforesaid Count has long since been struck by the sword of anathema for his many and great crimes, which would be long to recount in full, since nevertheless he is presumed by certain proofs to be guilty of the death of the holy man — the Count of Toulouse is proscribed, not only because he publicly threatened him with death and prepared ambushes for him, but also because he admitted the killer into great familiarity and rewarded him with great gifts, to say nothing of the other presumptions which are more fully known to many — for this reason also the same Archbishops and Bishops should publicly announce that the same has been anathematized. And since, according to the canonical sanctions of the holy Fathers, faith need not be kept with one who does not keep faith with God, separated from the communion of the faithful as one who is to be avoided rather than encouraged, all those who are bound to the said Count by oath of fealty or of society or of any such covenant, they shall by Apostolic authority declare to be in the meanwhile absolved; and that it shall be lawful for any Catholic man, saving the right of the chief Lord, not only to pursue the person of the same Count, but especially on the ground that through his prudence the heresy which had been foully wounded and stained through his wickedness may be vigorously purged — for it is fitting that the hands of all should rise against him whose hand was against all. If not even thus does affliction give understanding, we shall take care to lay our hands heavily upon him. until he does penance But if by any chance he should promise to render satisfaction, he must first show these signs of his penitence: that with all his might he should expel the followers of heretical depravity and strive to be reconciled to brotherly peace, since it was principally for the guilt he is known to have committed in both that the ecclesiastical censure was pronounced against him. Although if God should wish to observe his iniquities, he could scarcely make fitting satisfaction, not only for himself alone but for the other multitude whom he has led into the snare of damnation.

[17] "Since, moreover, according to the sentence of the Truth, those who kill the body are not to be feared, but rather he who can send body and soul into Gehenna, we trust and hope in him who, that he might take away from his faithful ones the fear of death, died and rose again on the third day, that the death of the aforesaid man of God [the death of Blessed Peter strengthens the resolve of the Legates appointed in his place,] will not only not strike fear into the Venerable Brother, the Bishop of Conserans, and our beloved son A., the Abbot of Cîteaux, Legates of the Apostolic See, and other followers of the Orthodox Faith, but will kindle love; so that by his example — who happily purchased eternal life by temporal death — they may not fear, in so glorious a contest, if necessary, to lay down their souls for Christ. Matthew 10 Whence we have thought it fitting to counsel the Archbishops and Bishops, joining prayers to precepts and impressing precepts with prayers, they are to be helped by the Bishops: that, effectively attending to the salutary counsels and commands of the same Legates, they may, as most valiant fellow-soldiers, assist them in all things which on these accounts they shall think fit to enjoin upon them; knowing that we command the sentence which they shall promulgate, not only against the rebellious but also against the negligent, to be ratified and inviolably observed.

[18] "Come then, soldiers of Christ! Come, eager recruits of the Christian militia! likewise all the orthodox are incited, Let the general groaning of the Church move you; let a pious zeal kindle you to avenge so great an injury against God. Remember that our Creator did not need us when he made us; although he does not need our service, as if through it he would be somewhat wearied in doing whatever he wills, and his omnipotence would be less without our service, he nevertheless gives us an occasion in this crisis to serve him acceptably. Since, therefore, after the killing of the aforesaid Just man, the Church in those parts, sitting without a comforter in sadness and mourning, the faith is said to have vanished, peace to have perished, the heretical plague and hostile fury to have grown stronger; and unless it is powerfully succored in the freshness of this storm, the ship of the Church will seem almost completely to suffer shipwreck — we admonish your Universality more attentively and exhort you more earnestly, and in the crisis of so great a necessity we confidently enjoin upon you in the power of Christ, and grant you remission of sins, to abolish heretical depravity: that you delay not to meet such great evils and strive to pacify those peoples in him who is the God of peace and love; and by whatever means God reveals to you, strive to abolish heretical perfidy there, attacking the followers thereof with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, more securely than the Saracens because they are worse than them. Also, do not cease to press the aforementioned Count with the weight of the oppression brought upon him (if perchance affliction may give him understanding, and his face, filled with shame, may begin to seek the name of God to make satisfaction to us and the Church, or rather to God), to expel the Count and his supporters, expelling him and his supporters from the camps of the Lord and taking away their lands; in which, with the heretics driven out, Catholic inhabitants may be substituted, who according to the discipline of our Orthodox Faith may serve before God in holiness and righteousness. Given at the Lateran, the seventh day before the Ides of March, in the eleventh year of our Pontificate."

[19] The same Pontiff afterwards wrote another letter to the Bishop of Uzès and the Bishop-elect of Narbonne, Legates of the Apostolic See, saying that he could not yet concede the Count's land to another, since he had not been convicted of heresy and homicide. That letter is found among those published in four books by Francis Bosquet, book 3, register 15, number 100, with this opening: whom afterwards the Pope asserts to be suspected but not convicted of homicide, "Although Raymond, Count of Toulouse, has been found culpably guilty in many things against the Lord and the Church, and because he was disobedient and rebellious to the Legates, he has been excommunicated by them and his land exposed — if perchance affliction might thus give him understanding — whence he has already lost a considerable part of his land. Since, however, he has not yet been condemned for heresy or for the death of Peter of Castelnau of holy memory, although he is greatly suspected of those things; wherefore we have commanded that, if within a certain time a legitimate accuser should appear against him, purgation should be imposed upon him according to the form expressed in our letters, with the definitive sentence reserved to us."

§ IV The veneration of Blessed Peter and the translation of the body.

[20] The aforementioned Peter, monk of Vaux-de-Cernay, in chapters 9, 10, and 11, narrates the legation of the Bishops of Toulouse and Conserans to the Roman Pontiff, to set before him the state of the Church in the province of Narbonne; the body of Blessed Peter honored by the Count of Toulouse, after which he relates that the Pope sent Milo, a cleric and legate from his side, and then a council was celebrated at Montilium, and there a day was fixed for the Count of Toulouse to appear at Valence. When all these things had been duly completed, the author says in chapter 12: "The Legate descended to the town of Saint-Gilles to reconcile the Count of Toulouse there." After narrating the reconciliation, he adds: "The Count of Toulouse, by the disposition of God, was by no means able to leave the church through the door by which he had entered, because of the crowd; but it was necessary for him to go down into the lower parts of the church and to pass naked before the sepulchre of the Blessed Martyr Brother Peter of Castelnau, whom he had had killed. O just judgment of God! He whom he had despised while living was compelled to show reverence even when dead." He also notes: "That when the body of the aforesaid Martyr, in the Translation, it was found intact with fragrance of odor. which had first been buried in the cloister of the monks of Saint-Gilles, was after a long time transferred into the church, it was found so whole and unharmed as if it had been entombed that very day; and a fragrance of wonderful odor emanated from the body and garments of the Saint." Thus far that author. Godfrey, a monk of St. Pantaleon, thinks the long time indicated was one year, and dates his death to the year 1208, but was mistaken in thinking he was a Cardinal. He adds these words: after a year had elapsed from his death. "After a year had passed, when by the command of the Supreme Pontiff the sepulchre was opened so that the Martyr's body might be translated into the church and placed in a more decent location beside the tomb of St. Giles, it was found so fresh in flesh and blood without any corruption as if it had been placed there that very day. Such a fragrance of the sweetest odor also emanated there that those present thought the whole church was full of spices." Thus that author in the said Annals, which Marquard Freher published in volume 1 of Writers of German History.

[21] The day and month on which Blessed Peter fell as a Martyr for the faith is nowhere indicated. The letter of Pope Innocent cited above was written on the seventh day before the Ides of March, in the eleventh year of his Pontificate, the year of Christ 1208, in which year others also generally think he attained the palm of martyrdom. But it is necessary that this happened in the month of January or February, so that the Pope, having received information about the entire affair, could have written that letter. Meanwhile, I do not know for what reason he is inscribed in the Martyrologies both on this day, March 5, and again on March 14 of the same month. [His name inscribed in Martyrologies on March 5, and by Ménard with the title of Martyr,] Hugh Ménard in the Benedictine Martyrology on the said March 5 has the following: "In the town of Saint-Gilles, the passion of St. Peter, Abbot and Martyr

of the Cistercian Order." And in book 2 of his observations, he describes his passion in the words of Robert of Auxerre in his Chronicle: "In the year of the Lord 1208, in the parts of Provence, a lamentable event occurred. For when in the same region the seedbeds of vices had grown exceedingly, the Lord Pope had sent there vigorous and prudent men to pluck up useless things from the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts and to propagate useful ones. Among whom he had appointed as Legate against the Albigensian heretics Peter of Castelnau, a Priest and monk, a man truly virtuous among virtuous men, illustrious in life, knowledge, and reputation. While he did not cease to succeed in the ministry committed to him, he frequently reproached the Count of Toulouse, because he seemed more inclined to favoring the heretics, and for his many and great offenses he hurled against him the sentence of excommunication. At last the Count summoned the Legate at the town of Saint-Gilles, promising to render full satisfaction for all the charges with which he was attacked. They meet at the appointed place and day. The Count refuses to comply with the law; and he inveighs against the Legate with such fury that he publicly threatens him with death. The Legate is escorted by the Burghers to the Rhone, despite the Count's opposition; and two satellites of the Count attach themselves to him and lodge with him for the approaching night. On the morrow, at dawn, with the Mass celebrated according to custom, while he was preparing with his companions for the crossing of the river, one of the satellites of Satan, brandishing a lance in his hand, wounds him between the ribs from behind. The wounded man, looking upon his attacker and frequently repeating this word: 'May God forgive you, for I forgive you,' after many prayers at last fell asleep in Christ. His body, carried to the church of Saint-Gilles, was honorably entombed." Saussay and Bucelinus celebrate him both on this day and on March 14 with sufficiently long eulogies, and others. which may be seen in their works.

[22] The miracles intimated as having occurred after his death are those that we said were observed at the Translation, concerning the incorruption of the body and the fragrance of the odor; the Count of Toulouse was punished, to which may be added what is narrated by the aforementioned Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay in chapter 64, in these words: "Behold, that wretched Count of Toulouse, when he had inflicted death on this most holy man because the good man publicly and to his face reproached him for his perpetrated iniquities, afterwards thought he had escaped; afterwards he believed he would recover his land. But with the Lord rendering vengeance and avenging the blood of his Martyr, whence he hoped to have gain, from there he reaped the most grievous loss, from there irreparable damage. It should also be carefully noted that the said wretched Count had received the killer of the man of God in the greatest love and familiarity, he loved the murderer of Blessed Peter too much, to such a degree that, leading him through cities and castles, as if displaying him as a spectacle to all, he would say: 'This man alone loves me; this man alone agrees most with my wishes; this man has rescued me from my enemy.' But although the most cruel murderer was so exalted by the aforesaid Count, even mute animals abhorred him. For as we have heard from the truthful report of many worthy men, Canons of the Church of Toulouse, whom even dogs abhorred. from that day on which the aforesaid murderer killed the aforementioned man of God, in detestation of so great a crime, no dog ever deigned to accept food from his hand. O wonderful thing! O unheard-of thing! We have inserted this so that we might show how justly the Count of Toulouse was disinherited."

ON BLESSED ROGER, DISCIPLE OF ST. FRANCIS, AT TODI IN UMBRIA.

AROUND THE YEAR 1236.

Roger of the Order of St. Francis, at Todi in Umbria (Bl.)

[1] Todi, an ancient city of Umbria, usually called Tudertum, in Italian Todi, celebrates the feasts of many of its saintly inhabitants and is illuminated by their triumphs, as we have said elsewhere. At Todi in Umbria, That Blessed Roger, enrolled in the Order of Friars Minor by the Patriarch Francis himself and who died around the year 1236, should be added to their number, Pope Gregory IX, who had known him while living and had heard of his shining miracles after death, is said to have decreed. Thus Molanus in his supplement to Usuard: "At Todi in Tuscany, of St. Roger, Confessor, of the Order of Friars Minor, whose memory is celebrated there by the consent of Gregory IX." Blessed Roger the Minorite is venerated, Galesinius and Ferrarius recite nearly the same, and the latter calls him a Saint, as does also John Baptist Possevino in his Lives of the Saints and Blessed of Todi. But Louis Jacobilli in volume 1 of the Saints of Umbria calls him only Blessed, although he admits that he was called a Saint by Gregory IX, who also permitted his feast to be celebrated at Todi, and ordered an inquiry to be made by Apostolic authority into his Life and miracles, because he was thinking of enrolling him in the catalogue of Saints. But because the Pontiff died before those processes were completed, the canonization was indeed deferred, by the permission of Pope Gregory IX; but the feast is still celebrated at Todi. The same Jacobilli cites the proper Office and the tables of the Saints of Todi, as does also Ferrarius in both his Catalogues, of the Saints of Italy and the general one. Possevino writes that it was established by Gregory IX that his feast should be celebrated not only in the city of Todi but also throughout the diocese.

[2] Galesinius relates in his Notes for January 4 that the Letters concerning this matter given by Gregory IX are preserved at Todi. Ferrarius cites them in his Topography, following Galesinius, as I think. The same author, however, in his Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, notes the following: but whether his diploma exists is uncertain to us: "The Diploma of Confession of Gregory IX, so that Blessed Roger might be honored with Ecclesiastical Office (perhaps through the injury of time, as many other things), they say does not exist." But twelve years later, in his general Catalogue of Saints, either having forgotten what he had previously written or having been more certainly informed, he seems to retract this in his Notes: "They say," he writes, "that a Pontifical diploma exists by which he is permitted to be honored with Ecclesiastical Office."

[3] The same author, in his Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, writes that, although Gregory IX had permitted him to be venerated with Ecclesiastical Office as a Saint by the Church of Todi where he died, this nevertheless first began to be done under Angelo Caesius, Bishop of Todi, and adds, "almost in our own times." whose cult was not recently introduced, For when he was writing this before the year 1613, that most praiseworthy Bishop had died six years earlier, in the year 1606, in the fortieth year of his episcopate. If among the Offices of the Church of Todi (which we have not seen) that of Blessed Roger also exists, as we have already cited on the faith of others, this also pertains to what Ferdinand Ughelli, in volume 1 of his Sacred Italy, recites from the manuscript Catalogue of Todi's Bishops in the Barberini Library in the encomium of Caesius: "He had the ancient constitutions of the Church and the new Synodal additions printed, together with the Office of the Todi Saints, approved by Apostolic authority." Perhaps induced by these words, Wadding in the cited place confessed that the cult of Blessed Roger was renewed, not first introduced, by Angelo Caesius. And concerning the diploma of Gregory IX, which others so affirm that they do not bring it to light, he himself thus pronounced: "The Pontiff did not prescribe his cult with a solemn rite, nor, but since it was somewhat neglected, as I would judge, by a public diploma given; no trace of which have I found in the Pontifical Register. This was the reason why it was gradually neglected, until, in times close to our own, Angelo Caesius, Bishop of Todi, renewed it — he did not begin it, as Ferrarius has it; renewed by Bishop Angelo Caesius, for his memory was already being celebrated in the time of Bernard de Bessa, companion of St. Bonaventure; and certainly not except from ancient tables did John Molanus receive what he added to the Martyrology of Usuard" — namely, those things which we reported above.

[4] Bernard de Bessa, moreover, flourished, as Wadding reports in his Writers of the Order of Friars Minor, when he flourished in the time of St. Bonaventure: around the year 1278, and was secretary to St. Bonaventure when the latter was Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor. He wrote, among other things, a Booklet on the Triple State of the Minorite Religion, in which the Life and many miracles of St. Francis and the Chronicles of the Ministers General up to the tenth are contained. But we have seen neither these nor his other books. From his Chronicles, Wadding brings forward the following about Blessed Roger: "Roger entered the Order under the very founder Francis himself; Bl. Roger was admitted to the Order of Friars Minor by St. Francis, under whose teaching he so perfectly put on the spirit of poverty that he admitted absolutely nothing except the habit and breeches. By the prophetic spirit he clearly foretold many things. Having attained all the noblest virtues, on account of which, immediately after his death, the Pontiff did not hesitate to proclaim him truly a Saint and to permit his feast to be celebrated in the city of Todi, where he rests."

[5] What St. Francis thought about the virtue of this Roger can be seen from the Appendix of Rudolph of Tossiniano to the first book of his Histories of the Seraphic Religion, where he writes: his charity commended by St. Francis; "Besides these twelve whom we have just enumerated, our blessed Father Francis also had, after the example of Christ, seventy-two disciples, men of upright life and perfect in all holiness, whose lives and practices, arranged in alphabetical order, we shall explain below. Concerning whom Blessed Francis used to say that he is truly a Friar Minor who has the faith of Brother Bernard, the simplicity and purity of Brother Leo, the kindliness of Brother Angelo, the gracious appearance of Brother Masseo, the patience of Brother Juniper, the charity of Brother Roger, the solicitude of Brother Lucidus." These, therefore, Blessed Francis sent throughout the whole world to preach and sow the good seed of the Christian faith. The same thing, concerning the charity and the grace of prophecy of Blessed Roger — or Ruger — this same Todi one, is transmitted by Jacobilli in his Life; but he also numbers many other disciples of St. Francis, of whom some outstanding virtue was commended by the holy Patriarch.

[6] This same Roger is said to have been sent by St. Francis to Spain, which Francis Gonzaga thus relates in part 3 of the Seraphic Religion, treating of the Convent of Villafranca, which is the eleventh of the province of St. James in the diocese of Astorga: he himself was sent to Spain, "Thirty Brothers, the inhabitants of this place, reverently preserve in the Sacristy half of the head of Blessed Father Roger. This Father was an Italian by nationality, and by the command of the Seraphic Father Francis, still living, he crossed over to these regions." That this is the Roger of Todi about whom we are treating is clear from the fact that the same Gonzaga, in the first part, among the Blessed of the Seraphic Order, lists only one Blessed Roger, whom Gregory IX called truly a Saint and ordered his memory to be celebrated at Todi, and who also lies at Todi. (a Priest, or a layman?) I am surprised, however, that one whom Gonzaga called Father — a title given in that order only to Priests — is called a layman by Wadding. For thus he writes in volume 2 of the Annals for the year 1285, number 15, treating of this very Convent of Villafranca: where some of his relics are at Villafranca: "In the Sacristy is reverently preserved half the head of Blessed Roger, an Italian layman and disciple of St. Francis, whom he sent to Spain among the first whom he dispatched." In an old painting, the memory of a singular

miracle is conspicuous, he himself receives the Infant Jesus in his arms; in which Christ the Lord (whose infancy and nakedness lying in the manger that man venerated with the greatest affection) with supreme condescension entrusted himself in the form of a little child to his arms. That he was illustrious for miracles, our ancient writers record. Thus Wadding, who cites in the margin Bernard de Bessa's ancient Chronicles, which we also cited above, and presently again. He also cites Pisanus, book 1, fruit 8, where on folio 73 verso, under the heading "the Place of Todi," the following is found: buried at Todi in Umbria: "In the said place of Todi is also buried the holy Brother Roger, who shone with such evident holiness that the Lord Pope Gregory IX called him truly a Saint and permitted his memory to be celebrated at Todi." This, therefore, is the Roger, part of whose relics were translated to Villafranca. Whether he was a layman, as Wadding maintains, or a Priest, as Gonzaga implies, is not clear to us.

[7] We do not adequately grasp why Wadding, in the year 1236, number 1, calls this Roger "of the Marches," not rightly called "of the Marches"; since no such thing is transmitted about him by Pisanus or other ancient writers of the Order, at least among those we have seen. Indeed, Louis Jacobilli, volume 1 of the Lives of the Saints of Umbria, expressly says he was a native of Todi. The same Wadding, volume 1, for the year 1220, number 8, writes: "Marianus confuses Rigerius with Roger, a holy man who lies at Todi, illustrious for miracles, whom Gregory IX called a Saint and ordered his memory to be celebrated there." Certainly Bartholomew of Pisa, book 1 of the Conformities, fruit 8, part 2, excellently distinguishes the two, different from Rigerius of the Marches: and concerning the Todi Roger, we have already related what he wrote. But Rigerius (whom he calls Rizerius de Mucia, Gonzaga calls Rizerius of Modena, Tossiniano calls Rigerius of Mutia, and some also Roger) the same Pisanus praises at length and writes that he was Minister of the Province of the March of Ancona. Jacobilli calls him Roger, surnamed Riccieri, and says he was a native of Muccia in the Marches; and this is more believable than what Wadding conjectures, that he was born among the Insubrians, where in Transpadane Lombardy Mutia is a large stream and Mutianum is a town near the stream, not obscure — from which, if he had originated, he should have been called Mutianensis, not, as Wadding calls him, Mutianus. And indeed Pisanus calls Rizerius de Mucia "a nobleman of the Marches."

[8] For the Todi Roger, however, not all assign the same birthday or feast day, his feast is on March 5, or, as Wadding calls them in volume 2 for the year 1254, number 47, "solemn festivals." For Molanus and Galesinius place it on January 4, while Arthur du Monstier in his Franciscan Martyrology places it on January 5. on other days according to others: But John Baptist Possevino in his Lives of the Saints and Blessed of Todi places his eulogy on March 3; others finally, as Arthur also acknowledges, on March 5. Thus Philip Ferrarius in his Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, from the Office of the Church of Todi, as he cites. The same author in his general Catalogue of Saints, on the same day, cites in his Notes the Tables of the Church of Todi, which recites the Office concerning him on this day. Louis Jacobilli, volume 1 of the Lives of the Saints of Umbria, testifies that he is venerated on March 5, and cites the proper Office and the table of feasts of the city of Todi — even though others record him on other days.

[9] The same Jacobilli transmits that this Roger was clothed in the habit of the Order of Friars Minor by St. Francis around the year 1216; admitted to the Order in the year 1216, and was then adorned with other gifts of God, including the Spirit of prophecy, by which he foretold many things that afterwards came to pass; and that he also performed many miracles during his lifetime. illustrious for miracles in life, But he performed more after his death, which Bernard de Bessa narrates as follows, as cited by Wadding:

[10] and even more after death: "A certain woman, paralyzed, was carried to his tomb at his death, and having briefly prayed for mercy from God through the merits of his servant Roger, in the sight of Brother Conservus, a companion of the holy man, when a paralyzed woman was healed; and of very many other men, she suddenly became well. On the same day, another woman named Sonina, lame with distorted feet and deformed in other members, a lame, deformed woman. prolonging her vigils at the tomb of the holy man, obtained perfect health. Brother Simeon of Narni testified under oath that he and others present saw a boy, lame from birth, a lame boy; suddenly leap up healed at the same tomb. The boy Valentinus recovered the sight of his left eye; a one-eyed boy; Mary of Castro Megii, afflicted with a frenzied passion and changed into various forms, tearing her clothes, sometimes barking like a dog, at other times bellowing like an ox, emerged with her mind fully restored. Sabina of Sorgola, wife of Peter Bonfili, suffering from a very severe illness for two years two mad women; and having fallen into madness, was restored to her former wholeness. Terracellus of Todi, having an albugine offending his eyes and seeing nothing, placed at the tomb of the holy man, a blind man. through his merits beheld the desired light of heaven." The same miracles are related by Jacobilli and others.