Martyrs Valentine

ON THE HOLY MARTYRS VALENTINE, BISHOP OF TARRACINA, AND DAMIAN HIS DEACON, IN THE THEATINE TERRITORY OF ABRUZZO.

ABOUT THE YEAR 312

Valentine Bishop of Tarracina, in the Theatine territory of Abruzzo (S.)

Damian Deacon, in the Theatine territory of Abruzzo (S.)

[1] Tarracina, called by others Teracina and Terecina, in the coastal part of ancient Latium which is now called the Roman Campagna, an episcopal city, glories that its See was erected by Saint Peter the Apostle, and that Saint Epaphroditus was ordained as its first Bishop by him. S. Valentine Bishop of Tarracina But those who succeeded him in the nearest centuries remain hidden, except Sabinus, who attended the Roman Council in the year 313, and Felix, who lived in the time of Pope Damasus around the year 370: between these two seem to be placed Avitus and his successor Saint Valentine, who with his Deacon Saint Damian ended his life with a glorious martyrdom among the Peligni in today's Hither Abruzzo: and rests there between Chieti and Sulmona in a town formerly called Castro-Petra, he is venerated on March 16. but now bearing the name of its Patron, Saint Valentine. Ferrarius inscribed these Martyrs in his General Catalogue from the records of the Church of Chieti, in the first place at the sixteenth of March, in these words: In the territory of Chieti, of the holy Martyrs Valentine the Bishop and Damian the Deacon, of Tarracina.

[2] That the Acts of martyrdom of these Saints exist in manuscript in the said village of Saint Valentine was suggested in the Notes by the aforementioned Ferrarius: Acts of martyrdom, which, in order to obtain them, we wrote to Chieti and asked the Reverend Father Rector of our Society's college to be so good as to procure them for us. He employed every effort to satisfy our desire: but when he saw his endeavors being spent in vain, he implored the assistance of the Archbishop of Chieti: at whose command the townspeople of Saint Valentine gave the said Rector a booklet: in which the martyrdom of these Saints, faithfully restored to the common script from the Lombard handwriting in which it was first written, is attested by the aforementioned Rector, Reverend Father Marco Antonio Rura, written in Lombard script, in a letter sent with the requested documents on the seventeenth of September in the year 1665. The Archbishop of Chieti, to whose kindness we owe much, was Modestus Gavazzi, formerly a Master of Sacred Theology in the Conventual Order of Saint Francis, and Procurator General of his Order, and Consultor of the Holy Office in the City, promoted by Alexander VII to this Archiepiscopal See in the year 1657.

[3] arranged in nine Lessons These Acts are arranged in nine lessons, and were customarily recited by the Priests of the said Church of Saint Valentine at the Matins Office, which, as is added at the end, Sebastian Venturini of Verona, a Canon in Terra-Laureto, faithfully wrote in the year 1558, or rather transcribed from the Lombard script for more convenient use. Lucius Camarra of Chieti had the same Acts and praises them in Ancient Chieti, pages 61 and 69, cited by others. and on page 70 he cites the authority and notes of Giovanni Battista Maro, whom we found to be a very close friend in Rome, but he lacked the robust health and longer life that would have allowed him to bring to the public what he had conceived as a project.

ACTS OF MARTYRDOM

From the Manuscript Lectionary of the Church of Saint Valentine.

Valentine Bishop of Tarracina, in the Theatine territory of Abruzzo (S.)

Damian Deacon, in the Theatine territory of Abruzzo (S.)

BHL Number: 8467, 8468

FROM MANUSCRIPTS.

CHAPTER I

The Education and Episcopate of S. Valentine. The Adoption and Diaconate of S. Damian. The Persecution of Julian the Apostate; their captivity.

LESSON I

In the times of the most pious Emperor Constantine the Great, there was a certain man in the city of Terecina, named Clarus, of Father Clarus, of noble lineage but nobler in his conduct, a Christian who feared God: for indeed, in keeping with the presage of his name, excelling in the service of the Lord night and day, he was regarded by all as illustrious and radiant. and mother Flavia, He took a wife from among the most noble leaders of that city, named Flavia, born of Christian parents, a most devout and quite religious woman. Living together then for a short time, by Divine favor they begot two sons and one daughter: one they named Valentine, the other Sabricius, and the daughter they called Florentia, giving thanks to God the bestower of all good things. S. Valentine is born: After five years had passed from the time of their birth, Valentine and Sabricius were given over by their parents to the liberal arts: while Florentia was joined to a certain nobleman. But not much later, Clarus and Flavia fell asleep in the Lord, leaving behind children of good character. Therefore, after the death of their parents, Sabricius returned to his house instructed in the liberal arts and took charge of all his father's goods. But Valentine, never withdrawing from the church, meditated on the law of the Lord day and night: and like a most prudent bee he did not cease to gather without interruption the flowers of the sacred Scriptures. The Governor of that city, named Avitus, seeing the wisdom of the holy youth, he devotes himself to sacred Scripture: raised him, unwilling and reluctant, to holy Orders: hoping that after his own death (as afterwards happened, God being the author) he would survive him. At length, after the holy man was promoted to the higher Orders, devoting himself entirely to the field of the holy Church, he began to attend to chastity, humility, he receives sacred Orders: and the other virtues: and whatever he could obtain from his own labor or from elsewhere, he distributed to the poor, and thinking nothing of tomorrow, he led, according to the Apostle, an irreproachable life.

LESSON II

It happened that the most holy Bishop Avitus departed to the Lord, and the Church of Terrecina, deprived of its own Shepherd, was tossed about like a ship on the sea in storms. The faithful worshippers of Christ were most harshly reviled by the impious citizens. elected as Bishop, Then all the faithful people of that city, flocking to the church, desired Valentine to be made their Pastor: crying out that he was holy, just, and worthy: all raised their voices together to heaven. At length, though he fled and refused, unwilling and resisting, they raised him with great force to the episcopal throne. The holy man, seeing that he could not oppose the will of God, accepting the care of governance, went to Mount Soracte, where the most holy Sylvester, Bishop of the city of Rome, was hiding from the persecution of the Emperor Constantine; consecrated by S. Sylvester: and by that most holy Prelate he was received with great honor and consecrated: and he returned to the city of Tarracina, where he was received with great honor and joy by men and women, by the Clergy and all the people.

LESSON III

After Saint Valentine ascended to the height of the episcopate, he began to advance from virtue to virtue: taking care of the needy, widows, and orphans: and distributing whatever he could obtain to those in need. Given to almsgiving, Meanwhile there was a certain widow in the city of Terrecina, named Proela, who had an only son named Damian, and had no food with which she and her only son might be nourished. She came to the feet of the bountiful Bishop Valentine, begging him to relieve her poverty: so that she herself might live and be able to nourish her offspring. He adopts S. Damian as a son: The most pious Father, moved by the prayers of the poorest woman, took the child in his arms, and embraced and kissed him, and in the sight of all who were present adopted him as his own son. To the woman he gave fifty gold pieces, so that she might thereby relieve her poverty: has him instructed, and thus sent the woman home rejoicing; but he kept the boy with himself. The most holy Bishop then began to nourish the boy most diligently and to form him most earnestly in the service of God, instructing him in ecclesiastical learning according to the custom and rite of the holy Fathers. When he had grown up, ordains him Deacon: he was promoted by the most holy Father and Bishop to the rank of Deacon, and remained attentive in the teaching of his Master.

LESSON IV

At that time the Church of God was flourishing under the vigorous rule of the most pious and most Christian Emperor Constantine: who, recently baptized by the most blessed Pope Sylvester, permitting Christians everywhere to confess Christ, gave liberty to believers, but served the cup of servitude to unbelievers. For in those days the Church of God was illuminated with such serenity that no pagan dared publicly to sacrifice to the gods, nor to inflict injury on any Christian. Everywhere temples of God were being erected: everywhere the Cross of Christ prevailed. The faithful rejoiced, and the infidels were everywhere confounded. But it happened after the death of the most serene Emperor Constantine that Julian the apostate (who had been a Subdeacon of the Holy Roman Church, nurtured and also instructed by Pigmenius the Priest according to the ecclesiastical rite) denied Christ, Under the Emperor Julian the apostate, abandoned ecclesiastical teaching, and obtained the imperial scepter, because he was born of the stock and family of the Caesars. He decreed by the authority of Roman law that Christians should serve in the army everywhere, and he took from them all their possessions and property, saying that Christ had commanded in the Gospel: Whoever does not renounce all that he possesses cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33 He added moreover, to the confusion of the Christians and the cumulation of his own damnation, that laws and commands should be sent throughout the whole world, so that whoever did not deny the faith and did not sacrifice to idols should be immediately punished. He sent various Dukes, Prefects, Tribunes, and Counts through various kingdoms and places, who should everywhere compel Christians to sacrifice to idols according to the imperial decree, on account of the persecution raised against the Christians, giving also another mandate, that whoever denied Christ and was willing to sacrifice to idols should be enriched with the most ample gifts from the imperial treasury; but those who did not obey their most wicked commands should be afflicted with various punishments and punished with the death sentence.

LESSON V

It happened meanwhile, as a result of this pestilential imperial ordinance, that a certain most wicked Prefect named Aufidian came to Campania to extirpate the Christians. Coming to the city of Terrecina with a great army, he began to seek out Christians in order to compel them to sacrifice to idols. When the crowds of Christian men and women heard this, they all fled to the holy Bishop and threw themselves at his feet, crying out and saying: Holy Father, he gently consoles his flock who flee to him, redeem us by your holy prayers from the power of this tyrant, lest the raging enemy glory over the sheep of Christ. Then Blessed Valentine, bursting into tears, began to console them gently, saying: Brothers and my children, do not fear the devices and snares of the wicked. For the mighty hand of the Lord is strong, both to cast these men down and prostrate them on the ground, and to free His servants from all the dangers and snares of the wicked. Saying this, the most holy Bishop, celebrating with great haste the sacred solemnities of the Mass, gave to all the bountiful Body and Blood of the Lord, and giving to all a last kiss of peace, he commended them to Christ. But while these things were happening, certain most wicked men, Ursacius and Hireneus, approached the Prefect and said to him: Most illustrious of men, Lord Prefect, there is a certain sorcerer named Valentine in this city, who, acting against the Gods and against the Emperors, does not cease daily to preach some Christ or other, to overturn the temples of the gods, and to lead away from the worship of the gods all whom he can. he is led away captive. Hearing this, the most impious Prefect, moved with anger, commanded his soldiers to drag him out of the church with great disgrace and bring him before his tribunal. The soldiers, carrying out his most wicked orders, came to where the most holy Bishop was staying, and dragging him with great fury, they presented him to the most wicked Prefect. Meanwhile Damian, weeping and wailing most bitterly, followed him all the way to the Prefect's tribunal.

CHAPTER II

Torments inflicted on these Saints. The cure and direction by an Angel. The conversion of many. The Martyrdom.

LESSON VI

The Prefect Aufidian, looking at Valentine the Bishop, questioned him saying: Are you Valentine the sacrilegious one, who, acting against the gods and against the Emperors, destroys the temples of the gods, and causes all whom you can persuade to be alienated from their worship? The most holy Bishop Valentine answered: I am a sinner Valentine, not sacrilegious as you say, but a Christian; a Bishop, although unworthy: Before the Governor he professes the faith: who does not cease to build the Church of God insofar as I am able. I always urge people, who are made in the image of God, to abandon the worship of demons, and I endeavor to recall them to the worship of Christ the Son of God. Hearing this, the most wicked Prefect blazed up like fire and ordered his ministers to beat him with clubs until he expired. Then the ministers began to carry out the orders, and stretching him out on the ground, they beat him with all their strength, so much that his bones and sinews were broken. he is dreadfully beaten, But Blessed Valentine, persisting with a cheerful face and mind, said: I give thanks to You, Lord Jesus Christ, who have deigned to number me among Your servants. And as he said this, the arms of the ministers were loosened. But Damian the Deacon began to cry out and say: as is also S. Damian: O sons of the devil, what devil compels you to inflict these evils on the holy Bishop of God? Hearing this, the Prefect ordered that he too be beaten for a very long time. When this had been done, he commanded that both be cast into prison, and that fragments of pottery be strewn throughout the prison, so that, tormented in this way, they might deny Christ. But the holy Martyrs, entering the prison, sang in a clear voice: Our soul has escaped like a bird from the snare of the hunters: the snare is broken, and we are freed. Psalm 123:7 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. shut up in prison, The ministers, binding their hands and feet and necks with chains, most diligently shut the prison, and stationed themselves at the entrance of the prison throughout the whole night. But about midnight the Angel of the Lord came and stood beside the Martyrs, healed by an Angel, and said to them: Do not, most brave Athletes of God, fear the punishments of the most wicked tyrant, which avail but for a moment: because God has prepared for you rest and eternal light, and you shall receive unfading crowns from the hand of the Lord, if you persevere in the faith of His name to the end. As he said this, so great a light overshadowed the prison that the guards who lay before the door of the prison thought they would perish from a stroke of lightning. Immediately their bones were made whole, and all their members were restored to health. The chains, the chains reduced to dust, which were around the necks and hands and feet of the holy Martyrs, were reduced to dust. The Angel of the Lord said to the holy Martyrs: You must preach the word of God to other cities: for almighty God has predestined you for other places, they are led out: so that your suffering may not be fruitless. As the holy Angel said this, he began to lead them out of the city of Terrecina: and the Saints began to travel with angelic guidance. After three days they came into the County of Valva, and arrived at the city of Corfinium, into which they entered, and a certain devout widow named Hirene they come to Corfinium: received them with honor. She had a daughter who had been suffering from a flow of blood for seven years, and had already spent all her substance on physicians: but nothing could help her. S. Valentine heals by the sign of the Cross one suffering from a flow of blood She came to the Saints of God, Valentine and Damian, and kissed their feet, saying: Have mercy on me, Saints of God, and free me your handmaid from the illness by which I am held. Blessed Valentine, making the sign of the Cross over her, said: Be well, woman, from this hour. And immediately the woman was made well from her infirmity. Then that woman, seeing herself to be well, others and with other diseases went out and began to say to everyone:

Come and see gods hidden in the form of men. Then all began to run from every direction, and as many as had sick people laid them before the feet of the most holy Valentine. Blessed Valentine, making the sign of the Cross, healed them all. Then four thousand men, besides children and women, were baptized in the city of Corfinium by the most holy Bishop during the seven days he baptizes 4,000 men that the Martyrs stayed in the city of Corfinium. When the pontiffs of the temples heard this, they seized the holy Martyrs of God, Valentine and Damian: beating them for a very long time, they bound ropes around their necks, they are beaten and dragged them outside the city, and left them half dead. And while they lay outside the walls of the city as if dead, behold the Angel of the Lord stood beside them, and comforting them said: they are comforted by an Angel. Do not be afraid: arise in health: and hasten: come to the place which the Lord has granted you. And the Saints, rising, began to journey with great confidence.

LESSON VII

Coming therefore near the river Pescara at the place called the Marble Bridge, they found there a certain young man lying paralyzed. When they passed by and saw the wretched man, the most holy Bishop Valentine, moved by compassion, made the sign of the Cross over him: by the sign of the Cross they heal a paralytic: and immediately the man arose well from the bed on which he lay. When the inhabitants of the city of Interpromium heard this, men and women came to the holy Martyrs and asked them to stay there for some days. To whom Bishop Valentine said: Because it is necessary for us to go to the place which our Lord Jesus Christ has predestined for us, for the end of our life is near. Saying these things to them, they took up their journey with great joy. And so before sunset they entered the city of Zappina, which was situated across the river Orta near the river Pescara, and on the other side was the river Lavinum. For that city had most wicked and evil men, pagans and devoted to idols. The holy Martyrs, entering the city, found lodging near the temple of Apollo, at Zappina they are told by an Angel that this is the place of their martyrdom: and there they lay that night. The Angel of the Lord appeared to them and said to them: This place and this city have been assigned to you by the Lord, that here the course of your life may end. Hearing this, the holy Martyrs were filled with great joy: and rising in the morning they began to go about the city and preach the word of God. When men and women believed in Christ through the preaching of the Saints, a report concerning them reached the Proconsul of the city, named Demetrius. He had a son who was afflicted with a most grievous illness: and being at the point of death, he was already drawing his last breath. Then Demetrius sent his servants through the city to find the Saints of God and bring them to him with honor: and they went throughout the whole day and found them around evening. They said to them: The Proconsul Demetrius asks you to come to him: because his son is now drawing his last breath. Then the Saints began to go with them. When they came to the house of the Proconsul, they found his son already dead; and they found all who were present lamenting most bitterly at his funeral. When the Proconsul Demetrius saw the Saints of God, Valentine and Damian, he threw himself at their feet, they raise from the dead the son of the Proconsul, saying: Have mercy on me, Saints of God: because my only and dearest son, whom I loved as my own soul, lies dead before me. To whom the most holy Valentine answered: If you believe that Jesus Christ is the true God, you will see your son alive and well. Demetrius answered: In this will the power of your God be manifest, if I see my son alive: I and all my household will believe in your Christ. Saint Valentine said: Bring the boy on his bed before the doors of your palace. When this had been done, the most holy Valentine said in a clear voice: Lord Jesus Christ, who raised Lazarus after four days and the widow's son, raise also this son of the Proconsul Demetrius: so that all who stand here may believe that You are the true God with Your Father and the Holy Spirit. And when Saint Damian had responded Amen, the boy immediately arose and began to say in a clear voice: Christ, whom His servant Valentine preaches, is the true God. Seeing this, all who were present threw themselves at the feet of Saint Valentine together with the Proconsul Demetrius, crying out and saying: Give us the bath of salvation in the Lord. To whom Saint Valentine said: Be ready, so that on the next Lord's Day you may be baptized. they baptize 400 And so on the appointed day the Proconsul Demetrius was baptized with his son and all his household and family, four hundred persons of both sexes. All who were present when his son came back to life were baptized with him, men and women, about two thousand. and 2,000 Meanwhile, Blessed Valentine began to build churches, ordain Priests and Deacons and other ministers of the Church. He was destroying temples and burning groves, and striving daily to root out the worshippers of idols. Seeing this, the pontiffs of the temples, gathered together with a great part of the pagan people, seized the holy Martyrs Valentine and Damian, and led them into a great forest not far from the city of Zappina, and there, having pinned them with swords, they beheaded them, they are killed. leaving their bodies unburied. When the faithful heard of the passing of the holy Martyrs, they came and buried their bodies in that same forest near a great rock that was there, where their benefactions overflow to this day. they are buried. The most holy Martyrs Valentine the Bishop and Damian the Deacon suffered on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of March, in the time of the Emperor Julian; but among us reigning our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

CHAPTER III

The Discovery, Translation, and Miracles of Saints Valentine and Damian:

LESSON VIII

After the most glorious bodies of the holy Martyrs Valentine and Damian were collected by the faithful by divine providence, and, as the necessity of those times required, Under the Lombards, were given decent burial; they remained neglected and without veneration until the times of the Lombards; when all Italy was converted to Christ, and all the people of that province were consecrated by the baptism of Christ. In those times indeed all Italy was illuminated by such peace that all citizens lived in their own possessions. At that time the city of Zappina was destroyed, Zappina destroyed, and reduced to small villages, and in all those villages there were no oratories except the oratory of the Holy Savior, which was situated above the river Pescara; where all the inhabitants of that province gathered to hear the word of God, and there all their dead were buried. It happened that all those living not far from the church were carrying a certain dead peasant, carrying a dead man to the oratory, to bury him in that same place. But when they had begun to go, a great rain mixed with hail so overtook them that they could not proceed further. And when they were placed in mortal danger, being able neither to return home nor to reach the church, by the will and providence of God they came beneath a certain holm oak. Where they sat for a long time while the rains grew more and more. impeded by rain, Taking counsel among themselves, they began to dig beneath that tree, to bury the dead man there. And when they had not dug very much, digging, they discover the bodies of SS. Valentine and Damian, they found the tomb where the bodies of the holy Martyrs Valentine and Damian lay. And they found there an epitaph upon their breasts. A certain Priest, who was leading the body of the dead man to the church, read the inscription, in which was written: Here rest the bodies of the holy Martyrs Valentine and Damian. Seeing this, they were amazed and began to beseech God, saying: Lord Jesus Christ, true God of true God, if these bodies which we have seen are those of Saints, the dead man is raised to life, let this dead man rise, so that Your holy name may be glorified forever. And when those standing by had responded Amen, immediately the dead man rose, and a great serenity of the sky appeared. Those men, therefore, when they had seen such miracles, were astonished and glorified God and the holy Martyrs Valentine and Damian. Then some of them guarded the bodies of the Saints; but others, going through the villages and towns, spread abroad all that they had seen. Then all the peoples of that region, gathered together, built a small oratory above the sepulchre of the holy Martyrs, an oratory is built. and carefully enclosed their tombs. Then all began to build small oratories in the surrounding area of that oratory, and they lived there in that same place.

LESSON IX

The bodies of the holy Martyrs remained until the times of the Normans, when Trogisius, an excellent soldier, one of the greatest nobles of Normandy, held Castrum-Petrae and many other castles by lot and by conquest. This Trogisius had the bodies of the holy Martyrs Valentine and Damian transferred

from the place where they had been, to the oratory under the Normans the bodies are transferred to Castrum-Petrae which was situated in Castrum-Petrae, where God deigns daily to display innumerable miracles. After the death of Trogisius, and Robert his son, and another Trogisius the son of Robert, Richard the son of the same Robert, a young man of excellent character, succeeded his elder brother as rightful heir by Norman law and custom. Although he was young, he shone with such boldness, nobility, prudence, and goodness that he was honored by all throughout all Italy. In his times there was a certain man in the village called Licenesum, named Acto, who had been tormented by a demon for forty years. a demoniac for 40 years, That very demon who possessed the aforesaid man performed many feats of trickery and countless divinations through that man: for he often had himself bound, and was not held by many bindings: placed in a cart, he could not be pulled by a hundred men: when he wished, he entered the church: and when he did not wish, he did not allow himself to be dragged by many. He was very often led to the thresholds of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and of other Martyrs of Christ, but he could not be freed by any of them. It happened, however, that one day the aforesaid demoniac came of his own accord to the oratory in which the holy Martyrs were buried, accompanied by crowds of men and women. And when they had entered the church where the holy Martyrs having confessed the power of S. Valentine, Valentine and Damian rested, the demon began to cry out and say: Valentine, you are casting me out, Valentine, you are casting me out. At this cry the Priests who were present began to insist with prayers and adjurations. he is freed. Then the demon began to torment the man more fiercely than usual: and thrown to the ground, vomiting, he rolled about. Then the church was filled with such a stench that the entire people thought they would perish. But when the Clerics began to sing the Te Deum laudamus, such a fragrance came forth from the tomb of the holy Martyrs that all who were present thought they were dwelling in the paradise of God. He returned to his home, and for all the days that he lived, he glorified God and His holy Martyrs Valentine and Damian.