ON S. EUTYCHIUS THE ABBOT, AND FLORENTIUS THE MONK,
AT NORCIA AND FOLIGNO IN UMBRIA.
ABOUT 540 AND 547.
PREVIOUS COMMENTARY.
Concerning their monastery, translation, cult on various days.
Eutychius the Abbot, at Norcia and Foligno in Umbria (S.)
Florentius the monk, at Norcia and Foligno in Umbria (S.)
BY G. H.
[1] The city of Norcia, very well known to the ancient Romans,
was held one of the Sabine cities on the borders
of Picenum and Umbria, to which it is now attributed. Among
the Patron Saints of this city and diocese
are SS. Spes and Eutychius, or Euticius or Eutitius,
Abbots of the monastery, After a life lived for a time in solitude, in the neighboring valley of Castoriana, about six
miles distant from Norcia: which there S. Spes the Abbot built,
whose Acts we have given on the 28th day of March.
Not far from the said monastery there lived as solitaries SS. Eutychius
and Florentius, in some crypt in great penance
and holy charity toward each other: and they constructed
some small hut, with also a not great oratory.
But S. Eutychius was a man of much learning, and great
zeal and fervor, also exercised in the active life; hence after
the death of S. Spes the Abbot and an interval of several years,
in which some monk had presided, S. Eutychius becomes Abbot of the neighboring monastery, elected by his subjects as Abbot
S. Eutychius, ruled that monastery for many years in all goodness,
and instructed the monks in every
kind of virtue. Hence when the fame of his sanctity
was spread far and wide, very many subjected themselves to his discipline, embracing the monastic
life: various, leaving their own habitations,
built other dwellings for themselves near the monastery:
from which four parishes grew up under the care of the Abbot
or his Vicar.
[2] But while S. Eutychius lived in this his rule and his
monks and successors, with much observance
and singular example, and various conferred goods stable and mobile; the Abbey was made very rich, and had under itself constituted
Provostships, later most flourishing. Priories, Plebs, Rectorates,
Canonries and Benefices, with Pastoral care annexed to them
or also free: and not only in the territory of Norcia, but
also of Cassia, Cerretana, and more distant places, in the dioceses
of Spoleto, Ascoli, Camerino, and others. Many
privileges, graces and exemptions were granted to the said monastery
by the Supreme Pontiffs Innocent IV, Gregory
XI, and Martin V; likewise by the Bishops of Spoleto Henry
and Bartholomew, and also by the Emperors Otto III,
Conrad II, and other Princes and Magistrates, as
Iacobillus indicated all these things, in his Acts edited among the Saints
of Umbria.
[3] At the Acts of S. Spes the Abbot we said, that he died about the year
517, after whose death when some
of the disciples had presided for almost ten years, translated to a church dedicated to him, according to the calculation
of Iacobillus, S. Eutychius was substituted about the year
526, dying about the year 540, on the 23rd day of May,
buried in the church of his monastery, in whose place another
much more illustrious by his successors was constructed, and dedicated
to S. Eutychius. The bodies of SS. Spes and Eutychius were translated
into that church to the high altar, and enclosed in marble urns:
But their Heads with great veneration are kept
in the Tabernacle and in a little dwelling near the sacristy
erected. Also his clothes, which were like a rough hair-cloth,
made under the form of a tunic of monks, even now are held in great
estimation; deposited in a silvered shrine,
through which God is accustomed to perform many wonders. For besides
those, which below from S. Gregory the Great will be brought forward, when in the year
1492 by long-lasting drought the fruits of the earth, lest all should perish,
were in danger, was exposed the tunic or hair-cloth
of S. Eutychius, and immediately copious rain irrigated the fields, a feast was held by the people: with
great consolation of all. Then by public decree it was sanctioned
that the feast of S. Eutychius in the city and territory of Norcia
should be celebrated solemnly, nor should it be permitted to exercise any servile
work: with the obligation also assumed of offering every year
at his feast two wax torches of twenty-five
pounds. Then by another instrument, made in the year 1509,
in favor of their Protector S. Eutychius they conferred on his monastery
the privilege, by which a double fine was imposed on those, who
would inflict any damage on the goods or persons of the monastery.
[4] For God works many miracles through the intercession
of S. Eutychius, he shines with miracles: while running to his Sacred Relics,
the lame, the frenetic, and others vexed by various infirmities
are healed, and the energumens are freed. When an ox had been stolen
belonging to these monks, S. Eutychius appearing,
threatened the thief with chastisement unless he restored the ox:
he not obeying, the ox of its own accord from the cottage of him who had stolen,
fleeing to the gate of the monastery, was recognized by the monks and
led back to the stable. But a singular privilege seems
to have been conferred by God on this Saint, that in great drought rain
is obtained, if his tunic or hair-cloth is exposed for three days on the high
altar. Which is often demanded by the people of Norcia,
with torches processionally coming and to hear
what then is celebrated as a solemn Mass: and that thus it was done
in the year 1513 and 1609, with most desired success,
is annotated in the registers. Furthermore many churches
dedicated to S. Eutychius are seen throughout Italy, of which kind three are in the territory
of Spoleto, one in the Vissensian, and one also in
the Foligno is indicated by the above-mentioned Iacobillus, various churches dedicated to him. from whom,
what we have related, is chiefly taken. In the Manuscript Martyrology
Vallicellan on this 23rd of May these things are read: "In
the parts of the province of Norcia, the deposition of the most blessed
Euticius the Confessor and Abbot."
[5] But S. Florentius, while S. Eutychius lived, in
the former crypt remained; and after his death is believed to have withdrawn to Foligno
to S. Vincent the Bishop (with whom from Syria to these parts
of Italy some say he came); S. Florentius at Foligno and
in the hut, in which S. Vincent had previously hidden, first
is said to have lived, then in an annexed dwelling, or also in a monastery built to the
honor of S. Sylvester, to have led an austere life; and
at last, broken by the labors of penance, on the first day of the month of June,
in the year 548, to have ended his life most holily. His body
was buried in the Cathedral church: deposited in the Cathedral which when in the year 1146
it had been enlarged at public expense, was consecrated to SS. John the Baptist,
Felicianus the Martyr, and Florentius the monk:
but by today's use it has retained only the name of S. Felicianus, whose
various Acts we gave on January 24. Nevertheless there persists
in the said church the chapel of S. Florentius, and his feast
under double rite is celebrated in the city and diocese of Foligno
on the said 1st of June, he is venerated on June 1. and from the most ancient custom, while
in the Office Suffrages of the Saints are implored, this prayer is recited:
"Through the glorious merits of the holy Martyrs
Heraclius, Justus, and Maurus, and of Florentius, and Peter
the Confessors, whose bodies rest in our
Church etc." Iacobillus deduced his Acts, edited on the said
Kalends of June.
[6] In the same way on account of the great devotion, which the Foligno people
had toward this S. Florentius, as also there S. Eutychius May 23. they wished
also to revere his beloved companion S. Eutychius, and
therefore from ancient times they erected for him a church in
a certain village of their diocese, called Belfiore, and dedicated it to him,
and every year up to now celebrate under double rite
his feast on May 23, on which day from this life to the heavenly
he migrated. In the same way the Clergy of the Church of Norcia and
the Priests of the Abbey of the Castorian Valley, which has the name of S. Eutychius,
with proper lessons approved by the Apostolic See,
celebrate the feast of S. Eutychius on this 23rd of May,
and of S. Florentius on June 27, and among the people of Norcia S. Florentius on June 27 on which day is believed to have been translated
some illustrious Relic of his to the said Abbey. Of both
the memory together on this 23rd of May in the Roman
Martyrology is thus had: "At Norcia of Saints Eutychius
and Florentius the monks, of whom
B. Gregory the Pope makes mention." On which day also each is celebrated
by Ferrarius in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, May 23. with the encomium reported
from book 3 of the Dialogues of S. Gregory chapter 5, which likewise did Petrus
de Natalibus in book 2 chapter 11. and adds at the end, that S. Eutitius rested
in Christ on the 5th Kalends of January, and December 28, on which day also
the feast of his companion Florentius is celebrated in those parts:
But perhaps he was deceived by the natal day of S. Eutychius
the Presbyter and Domitianus the Deacon, Martyrs of Ancyra.
Meanwhile they have been followed by Greven and Molanus
in the Supplement to Usuard, Maurolycus, Galesinius, Canisius,
and others, likewise in the monastic Martyrologies Wion, Dorganius,
Menardus, Bucelinus. Furthermore SS. Spes and Eutychius were Abbots, and had monks under them: and the former
(if Iacobillus is to be trusted) built the monastery about
the year 471, Were they Benedictines? that is nine years before S. Benedict
was born. But whether S. Eutychius afterwards adopted
the Rule of S. Benedict, is not clear. Mabillon in the first century
of the Benedictine Order did not even report him among the Omitted.
Nevertheless the Rule of S. Benedict was assumed in that monastery, but it is not known
when, and remained up to the year
1568, when under a Commendatory there were there
two Canons, two Chaplains secular Presbyters there
with a Sacristan.
LIFE
By the Author S. Gregory the Great,
Book 3 of the Dialogues, chapter 15.
Eutychius the Abbot, at Norcia and Foligno in Umbria (S.)
Florentius the monk, at Norcia and Foligno in Umbria (S.)
BHL Number: 2791
FROM S. GREGORY.
[1] Nor would I be silent of this, which I learned
from the narration of the same region of the venerable
man Sanctulus the Presbyter; and of whose words Peter you yourself do not
doubt, since you are not at all ignorant of his life and faith.
[2] At the same time in the Norcian parts
of the province there dwelt two men in the life and habit of holy conversation,
of whom one was called Eutychius, Saints living near Norcia but the other
Florentius. But the same Eutychius
had exercised himself in spiritual zeal and in the fervor of virtue,
and busied himself by exhortation to lead the souls of many to God.
But Florentius led a life given to simplicity and
prayer. But not far away
was a monastery, which by the death of its Rector was
destitute: Eutychius is elected Abbot: from which the monks wished the same Eutychius
to preside over them. Who acquiescing to their prayers,
ruled the monastery for many years, and exercised the souls of his disciples
in the zeal of holy conversation.
[3] And lest the oratory, in which he had previously dwelt, could remain alone,
there he left the venerable man
Florentius. In which while he dwelt alone, A bear comes as a companion to Florentius, one
day he gave himself to prayer, and asked of the almighty
Lord, that he might deign to give him there for dwelling some
solace. Who as soon as he completed his
prayer, going out of the oratory, found a bear standing before the doors. Who while he depressed his head to the earth,
and showed nothing of ferocity in his ways;
openly gave to be understood, that he had come to the service
of the man of God: which the man of the Lord also at once
recognized. And because in the same cell four or five
flocks remained, to which there was wholly lacking one who
would feed and guard them; he commanded the same bear, saying: and feeds his sheep:
"Go, and lead these sheep out to pasture: but at the sixth hour
return." So he began to do this incessantly.
The pastoral care was enjoined on the bear, and the sheep which it had been
accustomed to eat, the fasting beast pastured.
When the man of the Lord wished to fast until the ninth hour, he commanded
the bear at the same hour to return with the sheep: but when
he did not, at the sixth. So in all the commands
of the man of God the bear obeyed, that neither at the sixth
ordered to return, did it come at the ninth; nor at the ninth
ordered to return, did it come at the sixth. And when long this
was done, the fame of so great virtue began in the same place
far and wide to grow.
[4] But because the ancient enemy, where he sees the good
shine to glory, this killed by the monks, thence by envy snatches the perverse
to punishment, four men of the disciples of the venerable
Eutychius, vehemently envying, that their Master
did no signs, and he who alone had been left
by him, appeared elated by so great a miracle, the same
bear by laying snares they killed. And when at the hour
at which it had been ordered it did not return, the man of God Florentius
was rendered suspicious, and waiting until the evening hour,
began to be afflicted, that he, whom from much
simplicity he had been accustomed to call brother, the bear,
did not at all return. But on another day he proceeded to
the field, to seek the bear and the sheep alike, whom he found
killed: but solicitously inquiring, he sooner found by whom
it had been killed. Then he gave himself to lamentation,
deploring the malice of the Brothers more than the death of the bear.
[5] he grieves that they at his imprecation Whom the venerable man Eutychius led to himself
and tried to console: but the same man of the Lord in his presence
inflamed by the goads of great grief, imprecated,
saying: "I hope in almighty God, that in this
life before the eyes of all from his malice he may receive vengeance,
who killed my bear who hurt them in nothing."
Whose voice immediately divine vengeance followed.
For the four monks, who had killed the same bear,
were immediately struck with the elephantine disease, so that
with their members rotting they perished. Which deed the man
of God Florentius vehemently feared, and that he had so cursed
the Brothers feared. were struck with elephantiasis, For all the time of his life
he wept, that he had been heard, that he had cried himself cruel,
himself in their death a homicide. Which therefore we believe
almighty God did, lest a man
of pure simplicity, moved by however much grief,
might presume to hurl further the javelin of malediction. …
[6] The same man of God did another thing which I ought not be silent.
For when his great reputation grew far and wide;
a certain Deacon placed far away strove to come to him,
that he might commend himself to his prayers.
Who coming to his cell, found the whole place
round about full of innumerable serpents.
And when he was vehemently afraid; by prayer he removes the serpents: he cried out
saying: "Servant of God, pray." But there was at that time wondrous
serenity. But Florentius going out, stretched his eyes
and palms to heaven, that the Lord might take away that pest
as he knew. At whose voice suddenly heaven
thundered: and the same thunder all those, who
had occupied the same place, the serpents killed.
Whom when the man of God Florentius beheld killed,
he said: "Behold thou hast killed them, Lord, who shall raise them
from here?" And immediately at his voice as many birds
came, as serpents had been killed: which
carrying off each one, and casting them farther, made the place
of his habitation altogether clean from serpents …
[7] his companion S. Eutychius But Eutychius, who had been the companion of the aforesaid
Florentius in the way of the Lord, after his death shone great
in the virtue of signs. For although the citizens of that city
are accustomed to narrate many miracles of him, that
is chief, that up to these times of the Lombards
almighty God through his garment
assiduously deigned to work. For as often as rain
was lacking, and by excessive heat long drought scorched the earth,
with the garment carried around rain is obtained.the citizens of that city gathered into one were accustomed to lift
his tunic, and to offer it in the sight of the Lord with prayers.
With which while they proceeded through the fields praying,
suddenly rain was granted,
which could fully sate the earth. From which
it was clear, what virtue within, what merit
his soul had, whose garment shown without averted the wrath of the Creator.