ON ST. GRATUS OF OLORON, BISHOP AND CONFESSOR, IN GAUL,
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE VI CENTURY.
HISTORICAL COMMENTARY.
The antiquity of the city and see of Oloron, the Legend and Office of St. Gratus, the finding of the Relics, their description, translations.
Gratus, bishop of Oloron, confessor in Gaul. (S.)
B. B.
Oloron, formerly an Episcopal see, now suppressed. Iluro, or Illuro, now Olero or Oloro, on the river Gave, was formerly an episcopal city under the metropolis of Auch, in the principality of Béarn. The see of Oloron remained suppressed after the new circumscription of the French dioceses made at the beginning of the nineteenth century by virtue of the concordat between Pius VII and Napoleon Bonaparte. And so the church of St. Mary, formerly the cathedral of Oloron, is today a parish, as they call it, of the second class (cure de 2e classe) of the diocese of Bayonne, under the metropolis of Auch. It is worthy of note that the church of the Holy Cross in the same city of Oloron is a parish of the first class Compare the Almanach du clergé de France, year 1844..
[2] The antiquity of the city of Oloron, The city of Iluro, on the witness of Expilly Dictionnaire Géographique des Gaules et de la France, at the word Oléron., is very ancient, although it was omitted by the old Greek and Latin geographers. "The first of all," says Hadrien de Valois Notitia Galliarum, at the word Iluro., "or at least one of the first, to mention Iluro is Aethicus, in the itinerary from Caesaraugusta to Beneharnum, and he places it between Aspalucum, a town on this side of the Pyrenees situated in Aquitaine, commonly called Aspe, and Beneharnum or Lascuris (commonly Lescar)." It is known, further, that Valesius under the name of Aethicus understands not only his Cosmography (in which there is nothing about Iluro) but also the Itinerary of Antoninus. Cellarius Geographia Antiqua, book II, chapter II, section I, no. XXXI. relates things similar to Valesius about Beneharnum: "In that tract," he says, "was Beneharnum; but it is doubtful whether it truly belongs to the ancient geography with which we are concerned, because no monument of it, even a slight one, survives before the author of the itinerary which is called that of Antoninus or of Aethicus." Our Sirmond was the first to publish, and prefix to the Gallican councils, the Notitia of the provinces and cities of Gaul, which he himself refers to the times of Honorius Augustus, and which Valesius calls perhaps the oldest of all, certainly the most correct, notitia of Gaul. In this, where the cities of the province of Novempopulana are treated, in the eleventh place is put: "the city of the Elloronenses."
[3] various names, As regards the name itself, it is written variously by various persons, as mostly obtains in matters of this kind. In the ancient Notitiae is read "the city of the Elloronenses" or "of the Elleronenses"; in some, "the city of the Lurunenses, Elarona," and "the city of the Loronenses, Helaronna"; in others, "the city of the Elloronenses, that is Elinia," or "Elurona, Elorona, Elarona." In the older councils of Gaul it is named now Oloro, now Olero. To the Council of Agde, in the year 506, subscribes "Gratus, bishop of the city of Oloro"; to the IVth of Paris, in the year 573, "Licerius, bishop of the church of Eloro"; to the IInd of Mâcon, in the year 585, the same "Licerius, otherwise Lucerius, bishop of the church of the Eloronenses." The more recent have, with the name truncated, "the city of Olorensis" or "Olerensis." "The genuine and uncorrupted name of the city," says Valesius Notitia Galliarum, place cited., "is Iluro or Illuro, from which afterwards was made Eloro or Elloro, sometimes also Oloro. From Eloro was made Elorona and Elarona, as from Narbo, Narbona, from Barcino, Barcinona. Our people commonly call it Oleron, a city rich in trade with the Spaniards." Which, however, has been greatly diminished in the course of time. "There is also in Tarraconensian Spain an Illuro, mentioned by Mela in these words: 'Thence to Tarraco are small towns, Blanda, Illuro, Betullo.' They also go astray who interpret Apollinaris Sidonius, speaking of the little hares of Olarion, letter VI, book VIII, of little hares born in the territory of Oloron; for Olario here is the island Uliarus in the Aquitanian gulf opposite the Santones, commonly the île d'Oléron, of which in Pliny, which abounds in little hares, that is, rabbits" Nova Gallia Christiana, volume I, columns 1261 and 1262..
[4] History, Fr. de Marca, in the History of Béarn, relates that the city of Oloron was laid waste by the Saracens rushing in from Spain in the year 732. After this disaster it underwent another, when it was levelled to the ground by the Normans; it was restored, or rather rebuilt, about the year 1080 by Centulle IV, viscount of Béarn, and that on the opposite bank of the Gave, where the cathedral church had been erected under the invocation of St. Mary, near which, as very many houses were already rising, it was thenceforth also called the Burg of St. Mary. Centulle, having built walls, built a palace of the viscounts, joined the two banks by a bridge laid over the Gave, fortified the gate of the city towards Spain with a high tower, and founded the parish church of the Holy Cross. He increased the inhabitants with many privileges and immunities; moreover, he granted the right of pasturage and of wood-cutting through the neighbouring forests. That city was afflicted with a new disaster in the XVIth century by the Calvinist heretics bursting in, under the episcopate of Gérard Roussel, by whose authorship and exhortation especially many fell away from the catholic faith, the queen of Navarre then very greatly favouring the innovators Ibid., place cited..
[5] present state. Now the city is seen in the same rather pleasant place in which it was founded by Centulle, between two little rivers, the Ossau (Osseau) and the Aspe (Aspe). So, namely, the Gallia Christiana Ibid.; which, however, are not accurate on every side, as will be established from what we subjoin here according to the larger geographical maps Carte générale de la France. by the author Cassini, printed at the beginning of this century at the expense of the French government; which our Bollandian museum received as a gift from the munificence of the most Illustrious marshal Soult, duke of Dalmatia, at the time royal minister for the ordering of military affairs. In these maps, no. 108, Oloron is marked, situated at the confluence of two rivers running from south to north indeed, but yet with a great bend towards the west. One is called the Gave of Ossau (Gave d'Osseau), and is more to the east than the Gave of Aspe (Gave d'Aspe), which is the name of the other, which is situated more to the west. This, after it has flowed together with the Ossau at the city of Oloron, pursues its course, and is called the Gave or Gaberus of Iluro or of Oloron (Gave d'Oleron), until, near the town of Peyrehorade, it meets the Gave of Béarn or of Pau (Gave Béarnais or Gave de Pau), so called from the cities which it washes; and it begins and pursues its course to the east of both the Ossau and the Aspe. Of the three rivers or streams, then, called Gave, two flow together into one at the city of Oloron itself; then the Gave of Oloron is joined to the Gave of Pau, and after this confluence glides on, retaining this last name (le Gave de Pau), and a little after runs into the Adour (Adour). And the Adour itself, having completed no long course from here, plunges into the Ocean near Bayonne. The city of Oloron, then, is situated at the confluence of the Ossau and the Aspe. Nay rather, it is cut into two parts as it were by the river flowing past: in one of which is found the ancient cathedral of St. Mary; in the other, which is the chief part of the city, rises the church of the Holy Cross, which is now the principal one. The latter is today properly called Oloron; the former is called the City of St. Mary.
[6] The antiquity of the see of Oloron As to the beginnings and primeval antiquity of the see of Oloron, all is obscure. This one thing we know, that at the beginning of the sixth century it already existed, as is clear from the subscriptions of the council of Agde, of which the Gallia Christiana has thus Volume I, column 1263.: "In the five hundred and fifth year of Christ, Alaric, king of the Goths, although a heretic, permitted the catholic bishops to come together at Agde to celebrate a synod, in which many things were decreed for the better constitution of the church and for repairing ecclesiastical discipline; of which council a great part were the bishops of the province of Novempopulana; for eleven came to it, eight in person, and three through presbyters sent by them. And among those who were present was Gratus, bishop of the city of Oloro: for so it is read in the subscriptions" Compare Sirmond, Concilia Antiqua Galliae, volume I, pp. 160–174..
[7] St. Gratus subscribes the Council of Agde, This Gratus, further, leads the column in the catalogues of the bishops of Oloron; any other before him, if there was one, is not known; whence he is commonly held to be the first prelate of that city. This is noticed as especially singular in the catalogue of those bishops (Gallia Christiana, place cited), that there is absolutely none who is distinguished by the title of Saint or Blessed; a rare, and perhaps unique, example indeed among the prelates of the older sees throughout the Gauls. It is nevertheless beyond doubt that Gratus is numbered among the Saints, since certain traces of his cult exist in the church of Oloron, as will shine out from what is to be said.
[8] about whom little has come down to us. After this no one will wonder that very little has come down to us about St. Gratus. Mention of him is passed over by the Martyrologists. Scarcely will you find in the ecclesiastical writers, even the best known, anything else than his bare name, on the occasion of the council of Agde; almost alone our Longueval calls him blessed [Histoire de l'Église Gallicane, volume III, p. 90, Paris, in 12mo, the year 1825.]. Nay, we too, treating at the 17th day of October See above, in this volume. of SS. Gratus and Ansutus, venerated among the Ruteni, put forward this conjecture, resting on a twofold argument, namely that St. Gratus of Rodez is the same as the one of Oloron. And thence perhaps it came about that he was not inscribed either in the catalogue of the saints of whom it remains for us to treat up to the end of December; which catalogue we published and sent in every direction in the year 1838. Wherefore the Reverend Don Darré, director of the major seminary of Auch, sent us a letter full of benevolence, by which he reminded the hagiographers of the omitted name of St. Gratus, and at the same time submitted documents which might serve for illustrating his acts.
[9] And here before all else come the lessons from the breviary of Auch, in which is contained whatever has been handed down about St. Gratus. We append them as they are read under this inscription: "On the 19th day of October, of St. Gratus, bishop. Semidouble."
His Legend from the Breviary of Auch, Lesson II. "Gratus, at the beginning of the sixth century, governed the church of Oloron: for he subscribed the celebrated council of Agde, which in the five hundred and sixth year of Christ" (above, at no. 6, the fifth is put) "was assembled from the bishops of the province of Arles, Narbonne, Auch or Eauze, Bordeaux, Bourges and Tours, St. Caesarius of Arles presiding. What else Gratus did, and at what time he met his last day, is uncertain. But that he fulfilled all the parts of an excellent pastor and departed most holily is established: by a most ancient
rite indeed his memory is venerated on this day in the church of Oloron, which has long since gloried in his patronage. His head, with the upper jaw, the same church has preserved up to now in a silver reliquary.
[10] Lesson III. "That the rest of the body, which on account of the fury of the heretics had been translated to Jaca in Spain, was brought back thence into the church of Oloron when the disturbances were settled, is gathered from the Acts of the finding of the sacred body, found in the year one thousand seven hundred and ten by Joseph, bishop of Oloron, when visiting the cathedral church, many standing around, both canons and others of the clergy, and magistrates and citizens, within the wall above that place in which the most holy Eucharist is kept. For this sacred body, wrapped in Spanish silks, lacks the head, only the lower jaw surviving, which, juridically compared with the upper jaw of the head of blessed Gratus, fits with it most aptly. Some bones, however, are lacking, part of which the church of Jaca confesses that it received from the canons of Oloron in return for the holy deposit having been kept. From that time the church of Jaca solemnly celebrates every year on this very day a mass in honour of St. Gratus in a chapel sacred to the holy Pontiff; it carries his relics, enclosed in a silver reliquary, around in solemn supplications. And by various and remarkable miracles up to these times God has proved how acceptable to him is the cult rendered to the holy Prelate." Compare below, no. 12.
[11] Those lessons have been transcribed from the Breviary of Auch, printed in the year 1753. It is easily perceived that they were put together with great care, inasmuch as they contain nothing which could not be recalled to a more severe criticism. And at what time they were written shines out sufficiently from what is handed down about the Finding of the body, since this took place in the year 1710, on the 13th day of January and the following, under the Right Reverend Joseph de Revol, who was set over the see of Oloron in the year 1705.
[12] the proper office, In the year following the said Finding, under the auspices of the praised prelate, there appeared: "The Proper Office of St. Gratus, bishop of Oloron, patron of the whole diocese, which is celebrated on the 19th day of October, printed at Pau by Jérôme Dupoux, printer of the bishop of Oloron, 1711." The office is preceded by a mandate of the Right Reverend de Revol, by which it is enjoined that this new office be substituted in place of the other which had been said up to then. The lessons are the same as those of Auch, with this sole difference, that they are divided otherwise (in place of two, three are had), and at the end of the third the following are added: "In memory of the benefits received through his intercession, magistrates are sent every year to Oloron on this day, to be present, in the name of several towns, according to an old vow, at his solemn office with burning torches. And the Christian people also experiences daily how great power the holy Pontiff has with God for healing any diseases whatever, and for calming tempests and driving away the inclemency of the air."
[13] The Hymns, The Hymns at Vespers, as also at Matins and Lauds, are proper. The first and third have as their author Santeul of Saint-Victor (a famous name in the poetic annals); the second was composed by Antoine Muret. All three are worthy of their authors: wherefore we have judged that they should be transcribed here.
At First Vespers. Hymn by the author Santeul.
The day that returns for you, Gratus, Returns for us too, to be revered; Do you, kind one, our songs (we are your offspring) Receive.
How great are you, at whose shrine, coming, Each one feels a favourable power upon him, And always returns home, glad With the gift obtained.
Chaste brides and widowed mothers, Virgins, betrothed, young men and old, Every sex finds you a patron, And every age.
Nay, the child, untaught in speech, with lisping mouth Rejoices to sound your name in his mother's bosom, And cheerful youth essays your praises In song.
Guide of the way, whom we follow in our strength, Grant us to go with safe foot where you have gone before; So shall the offspring be always faithful, Joined to its parent.
Nor let the care of your offspring fall from you; As you governed as father, govern still; Let it drink from your fountains copious waters As you drank.
Christ, who for us, the Father so commanding, Wast made Pontiff, praise be to thee, and one Be to the Father, and one to the holy Love for ever. Amen.
[14] At Matins. Hymn by the author Muret.
Blessed shepherd, who never suffered The flock entrusted to your care To lie open to the savage Jaws of wolves;
You, a leader to glad pastures, Opening limpid fountains, Saw your sheep always shining With flowering fleece.
But if any perhaps had begun To languish with raging disease, Wholesome remedies, as a gentle father, You applied to it.
Having now obtained the worthy Rewards of that labour of yours, By your favour (for you can) Help those who pray to you.
Eternal Father of all, Eternal Son, equal to the Father, And Spirit equal to both, To thee, God, be glory. Amen.
[15] At Lauds. Hymn by the author Santeul.
You who now on Olympus Stand a pontiff in a golden stole; Who, the cloud removed, Now see the Truth more securely, This day, which you desired, Gratus, gives you to enjoy Christ.
Do you, as master, teach us untaught, Who are subject to you; Shape our breast, and let it melt With the fire with which you now burn; Bring forth sweet milk for your nurslings From the food with which you are fed.
To us buried in deep night Bear the torch, a leader going before; Make us hold the paths That lead us back to Olympus; The way you mark, let us follow, We shall go to God.
Supreme praise be to the Parent Who created all things; And to the Son, who redeemed us Willingly by his death, And to the Spirit, by whose kindly Indwelling we are refreshed. Amen.
[16] At the Procession (after Terce) the three hymns placed above are said; if they do not suffice, the Litanies of St. Gratus are sung; which we transcribe here, since from them, as also from the aforesaid Hymns, it becomes known for what ends the holy Prelate is chiefly invoked.
Kyrie eleison, etc.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
St. Gratus, most holy pontiff, pray for us.
St. Gratus, abounding in the gifts of graces,
St. Gratus, vessel of election,
St. Gratus, most worthy minister of Christ,
St. Gratus, most faithful dispenser of the mysteries,
St. Gratus, light of the church,
St. Gratus, salt of the earth,
St. Gratus, imitator of the Apostles,
St. Gratus, honour and ornament of prelates,
St. Gratus, glory of priests,
St. Gratus, reconciler of sinners,
St. Gratus, appeaser of the divine wrath,
St. Gratus, worker of miracles,
St. Gratus, calmer of tempests,
St. Gratus, relief of the poor,
St. Gratus, solace of the afflicted,
St. Gratus, remedy of the languishing,
St. Gratus, most loving father,
St. Gratus, our excellent teacher,
St. Gratus, good shepherd,
St. Gratus, most vigilant guardian,
St. Gratus, our peace,
St. Gratus, our leader,
St. Gratus, our most powerful protector,
St. Gratus, our refuge,
St. Gratus, our confidence,
St. Gratus, our riches,
St. Gratus, our joy,
St. Gratus, our crown,
St. Gratus, splendour of our fatherland,
St. Gratus, preserver of our goods,
St. Gratus, safest harbour,
St. Gratus, support of the nation,
St. Gratus, stay of this people,
St. Gratus, our rest and tranquillity,
St. Gratus, most firm column,
St. Gratus, our lawgiver,
St. Gratus, our governor,
St. Gratus, our president,
St. Gratus, our bulwark,
St. Gratus, our love.
Lamb of God, etc.
[17] There follows the Prayer: "O God, who willedst blessed Gratus, thy confessor and pontiff, to be set over thy people, and to profit by word and example those over whom he was set; grant to thy people, seeking his suffrages, that what it shall piously have asked through his intercession it may merit to obtain, and to come to eternal life; through Christ," etc. The Prayer which is placed in the Breviary of Auch differs not a little from this, and is as follows: "Almighty, everlasting God, who didst raise blessed Gratus the pontiff to immortal triumphs, give us a joy worthy of his venerable solemnity, and grant that we who glory in his patronage may by holy morals merit to come to his fellowship. Through," etc.
[18] On account of this office, a sharp dispute between the Bishop and his Chapter. This new office was the matter of a most bitter dispute between the bishop of Oloron and his chapter; which, begun in the year 1711, had its end at last in the twenty-first year of the same century. Various documents pertaining to this question are preserved in the library of the major seminary of Auch. The chief are: 1. The Censure of the most illustrious and most reverend Bishop of Oloron against certain antiphons of a certain old office of St. Gratus [Censure de Mgr l'Illustrissime et Révérendissime Évêque d'Oléron, contre certaines Antiennes d'un viel office de S. Grat, patron du diocèse (Censure of My Lord the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Bishop of Oloron against certain Antiphons of an old office of St. Gratus, patron of the diocese).]. The Auch copy of this censure, printed, has the autograph subscription of Joseph (de Revol), bishop of Oloron; likewise countersigned in autograph: Saubidet; and it was given from the seminary of Pau on the 15th of September 1712. The praised Prelate, namely, relying on the axiom, "The manner of praying is the manner of believing," and on the examples of St. Pius V, Clement VIII and likewise Urban VIII, proscribes six antiphons of the old office, because in them a false application of sacred scripture is made, inept allusions to the name of St. Gratus are found; some of them have nothing which is more proper to a bishop than to any other saint; because the antiphons at vespers are taken from the psalms at lauds; and especially because in each of those six things are attributed to the holy man which befit God or Christ the Lord alone. Wherefore, under pain of suspension to be incurred by the very fact, it is prohibited that anyone henceforth presume to use the said antiphons, or one of them, whether publicly or privately. He protests, however, that he by no means wishes to blame the mind of him who was the first author of those antiphons; nor that he intends by this censure of his to detract even in the least from the cult of St. Gratus, whom he professes to venerate as much as anyone.
[19] 2. From this sentence, as passed through abuse, the syndic of the chapter of Oloron appealed [Mémoire imprimé pour le Syndic du chapitre d'Oléron appellant comme d'abus, etc. (Printed memorial for the Syndic of the chapter of Oloron, appealing as from abuse, etc.)]: for he denied that the right of reforming the said office belonged to the bishop. At the same time also he protests against the mandate by which it was ordered to be printed. Then a similar writing was given to the commissioners designated by the Most Christian king for clearing up this question; and a little after there appeared again a third of the same argument. 3. To all these the bishop opposed a rather prolix commentary, which also he had printed.
[20] Sentence is passed in favour of the Bishop. In consequence of these things the Most Christian king, on the 27th of February in the year 1714, commissioned the archbishop of Auch, the bishop of Aire (in the vernacular Aire), the dean of the Parliament of Pau (de Pau), together with two canons, one of Auch, the other of Aire, to decide upon the said appeal. These, then, settled the matter, passing sentence against the chapter; pronouncing that the bishop of Oloron had by no means overstepped the limits of his power, nor accordingly had there been ground for appeal. All these things we have drawn from the Analysis of the documents which the praised Reverend Don Darré deigned to prepare and submit to us; to whom also we profess with thanksgiving that we owe almost whatever pertains to the acts of St. Gratus.
[21] We saw above, at no. 10, that the sacred body of St. Gratus, The relics on account of the storms stirred up by the heretics, was carried to Jaca, a city of Aragon; then, the disturbances being settled, restored to the cathedral of Oloron, some part of the sacred deposit, however, being left at Jaca; which indeed we do not think took place before the year 1620, when by Louis XIII, the Calvinists having been conquered, the churches were restored to the catholics and the ecclesiastical goods to the clerics and priests Nova Gallia Christiana, volume I, column 1279.. Finally the same sacred body, which had been laid away under the altar, was found or recognized in the year 1710 by the Right Reverend Joseph de Revol, bishop of Oloron. All these things shine out from the following authentic instruments.
[22] are transferred to Jaca, and thence again to Oloron. And first indeed, concerning the translation to the city of Jaca and thence to Oloron, it is established from the process instituted at Jaca by mandate of the most illustrious bishop of Jaca. We shall set down the chief parts of the instrument from the copy transmitted to us by the Reverend Don Darré. We note two things beforehand, that what is to be said may become clear: the one, that Jaca is an episcopal city in Aragon, between which and Oloron formerly, and up to the end of the XVIIth century, frequent trade was carried on La Martinière, Dictionnaire Géographique, at the word Oléron.. The other, that in the latter half of the XVIth century heresy ran riot at Oloron. Gérard Roussel (le Roux, otherwise Roussel), namely, having set out into Germany, stayed for some time with Luther. Thence, having returned into France, he betook himself to Marguerite de Valois, sister of Francis, and wife of Henri d'Albret, king of Navarre, by whom, kindly received, he was taken among her household and familiars, and by her patronage obtained the abbey of Clairac, and finally the bishopric of Oloron, from the year 1542 to the year 1599 Nova Gallia Christiana, volume I, column 1277.. And since he feigned himself a catholic, and was otherwise strong in learning and gravity of morals (so much so that Charles de Sainte-Marthe, deceived by this appearance) in the funeral encomium of Marguerite called him a man most learned in every respect), "by this herald," says Sponde Continuation of the Annals of Baronius at the year 1549, no. 7 and following. (whose parents were then seduced), "a vast corruption of religion was brought about in Béarn and in the court of the king of Navarre." What detriment the church of Oloron suffered under such a pastor it is easy to conclude. This pest lasted up to the year 1599, when Arnaud de Maytie, born of an intrepidly catholic father (who at the city of Mauléon, armed with an axe, had cast Roussel half-dead from the pulpit), and designated bishop of Oloron by Henry IV, laboured unweariedly with the bishop of Lescar to restore religion [Gallia Christiana, ibid., column 1278 and following. Compare Sponde, place cited.]. These things premised, let us come to the instrument of Jaca.
[23] The Instrument of the Bishop of Jaca of the year 1712 is recited, "In the name of the Lord. Let those present and to come know that in the year from the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ one thousand seven hundred and twelve, on the twenty-seventh day of July, in the city of Jaca, I, Miguel Juan de Sas, notary and principal clerk of the ecclesiastical court of Jaca, appeared personally before the most illustrious lord Mateo Foncillas, by the grace of God and of the holy Apostolic See bishop of Jaca, royal counsellor, etc.; which lord bishop declared that he had knowledge that it happened in past years that the body of the Lord St. Gratus, bishop of Oloron and patron of the diocese, was brought into this city of Jaca by the canons of the holy cathedral church of St. Mary of Oloron, because they feared the reformers who were invading the province of Béarn; and that, when, matters being pacified, the said sacred body was restored to the said holy cathedral church of Oloron, relics of the said Saint remained in the said city of Jaca, which relics are recognized to be part of a thigh-bone, having a length of three fingers, but a breadth of one finger, and are laid up in a silver reliquary, with this inscription: To St. Gratus Vincent Blasco offered this.
[24] "Namely, according to the tradition of the holy church of Jaca, the said Relics were given to Don Vicente Blasco, canon of the same church, by a canon of the said holy cathedral church of St. Mary of Oloron, in token of gratitude, because he had received him in hospitality in his house when he had come to Jaca to recover and transfer the said body of the Lord St. Gratus to the church of Oloron; afterwards the said canon Vicente Blasco gave the said relics with the said reliquary as a gift to the said holy cathedral church of Jaca; which relics are venerated chiefly every year on the nineteenth day of October, a solemn mass being celebrated in the oratory in which a painted image of the said saint is seen; the said relics are also carried around in the general supplications which occur to be made every year. And since it is fitting, for certain ends and for certain causes, that these things should become known, and that they should be established by authentic testimony and writing which may make faith of them, he (the bishop of Jaca) requested and requests me to make suitable investigations to the said ends.
[25] "Therefore I, the above-said notary, according to the aforesaid request and mandate, together with the witnesses subscribed to the present instrument, appeared in the hall of the most illustrious lords the Dean and Canons of the chapter of the said holy cathedral church of Jaca, where were assembled in chapter" (there follow the names, which for brevity's sake I pass over) "all the Dean, dignitaries and canons of the said holy church of Jaca, to whom I read what is written above" (he means the testimony of the bishop of Jaca) "and made known the aforesaid request of the said bishop, and asked that they would set forth and declare what they knew concerning the aforesaid. Then the said most illustrious Dean, dignitaries and canons, all and each, said and declared that they knew very well that it is publicly notorious in the whole city of Jaca that the body of the Lord St. Gratus, bishop of Oloron and patron of the diocese, was brought into this city of Jaca" (here the declaration of the bishop, which we saw above, is repeated word for word), "all which things the said Lords Dean, dignitaries and canons testified to be conformable to the truth, as they are contained in the present writing.
[26] "After this, I, the above-said notary, together with the witnesses written below, appeared before the most illustrious lord Blas de Torrejón y Lasala, apostolic inquisitor emeritus of Aragon, and archdeacon of Gorga, which is a dignity of the holy cathedral church of Jaca, and before Raimundo Borruel, archdeacon of Anzo, which is another dignity of the said church, as also before Don José Carrera de Arto, vicar general and official of the said city and diocese of Jaca, to whom I read the tenor of the declaration and request or mandate of the aforesaid most illustrious bishop, and asked that they would be pleased to say what they knew upon these matters; who declared that they knew very well, and that it is publicly notorious in the whole city of Jaca, that the body of the Lord St. Gratus," and the rest as above. Afterwards the notary declares that he appeared in the same manner before the Lords Pedro Pablo Bonnet, Juan Antonio Bernuez, Jerónimo Loriente and Pedro Borrez, noble men and among the chief of the city of Jaca, who testified to the same public notoriety and about the same matters. Finally the instrument is completed with the following.
[27] "And we, the above-named Mateo Foncillas, by the grace of God and of the holy apostolic See bishop of Jaca, royal counsellor, etc., having seen the aforesaid declarations, all and each; and since I have found them conformable to the tradition which, as is also said in them, subsists in our holy cathedral church of Jaca; pronounce and declare that whatever is contained in the above-said is true: and that it may be established of them more authentically, we have ordered to be made, and have made, the present instrument, signed by our hand and fortified with our seal, etc. Given in our episcopal palace of the city of Jaca on the twenty-eighth day of the month of July in the year one thousand seven hundred and twelve. There were present as witnesses Don Miguel Benefonte, presbyter, and Pedro de Cyto, inhabitant of the city of Jaca." In the original it is signed: Matheo Obispo de Jacca Mateo, Bishop of Jaca. And below: por mandado: Miguel Juan de Sas Notario by order: Miguel Juan de Sas, Notary. Beside the name of the bishop the seal is impressed.
[28] rendered here in Latin. This instrument was written in the Spanish and French languages; we have given it Latinity, rendering word for word as far as was permitted; whence, if some things are found less neatly Latin, the learned reader will indulge us. For he does not require of us above all elegance of speech, but fidelity to the instrument.
[29] The Instrument of the Visitation of the church of Oloron in the year 1710. The other things which pertain to the relics of St. Gratus we subjoin from the process of the visitation instituted by the Right Reverend Joseph de Revol in the cathedral church of Oloron, begun on the twelfth day of January, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ten, completed on the thirtieth day of the same month and year. We have translated from French into Latin.
[30] The finding of the relics. Description of the chest. On pages 4 and 5 is read: "On the thirteenth day of the aforesaid month of January in the year one thousand seven hundred and ten, when we were already departing, we are informed that there is found behind the high altar, above the place where the sacred Eucharist is customarily distributed to the people, an iron door, which seems to indicate laid-up relics of the Saints or something similarly precious. In order, then, to investigate more accurately what lay hidden there, we summoned Raymond, the carpenter of the church of St. Mary, to open the aforesaid door. This being done, he found in the wall a recess (or hollowed space) fit to hold a chest or box. In the recess lay hidden a chest. When we learned this, we ordered master Jean de Balthazard, beneficiary presbyter of St. Mary's, to climb up so as to let the chest down from on high; and receiving it, we had it placed on the altar which is opposite and dedicated to St. Peter, where also it was unlocked, in the presence of the Lords d'Abbadie Igon and Lamouroux Gurmaçon, canons of the said church, and of Pierre Lamouroux, parish priest, and of many other clerics and laymen. And first indeed we saw a wooden chest, much worn and decayed, and no longer locked with a key, although formerly a lock had been put on it, furnished on the upper part with a handle by which it might be carried. It was wrapped in a cloth, whose outer edges were embroidered with the needle in red colour; within lay hidden bones in great number, which seemed to us to represent almost an entire body, but with the head removed. The bones were wrapped in an old cloth, and still more worn out than the other mentioned above. There lay beside them also other wrappings of linen, almost reduced to dust, which we suppose were deposited in the chest for this reason, that they had formerly been used for covering the sacred bones, since they seemed otherwise of no use, and moreover by their age indicated the antiquity of the bones themselves. These things being done, we restored everything to the chest as it had been at first. Then we ordered the chest itself to be carried into the sacristy and, in our presence, to be shut in a cupboard, the key of which we took away, so that no one might touch the sacred deposit. After this we departed."
[31] A surgeon is summoned to examine the bones discovered. Pages 6 and 7: "Coming on the said fourteenth day of the current month (January), having ourselves celebrated the sacred rites, and after a solemn mass had been sung, we pursued the work of visitation which we had undertaken... As regards the sacred bones, we ordered Pierre Marsaing, sworn surgeon, to be summoned to examine them; on which labour he spent the whole time
up to the hour of midday, at which we departed, after we had again restored everything to the chest, and the chest to the cupboard, the key of which remained with us." The relics were kept in the same place until a suitable place should be prepared, of which discourse will recur below. There follows the declaration of the surgeon.
[32] The authentic declaration of the surgeon. An accurate enumeration of the bones. "I, the undersigned royal sworn surgeon of the city of St. Mary, testify, where and before whom it shall be needful, that on this day, the fourteenth of January in the year one thousand seven hundred and ten, between the tenth and eleventh hour, I was requested by the most illustrious and most reverend Lord Joseph de Revol, bishop of Oloron, to come to the cathedral church, to examine, inspect and compare certain bones found in a wooden box, deposited at the middle height of the outer wall of the choir of the said church. And these bones were shown to me by the same Right Reverend bishop, that I might put them together and at the same time see what was present and what was lacking, in the sight of the said bishop and of the Lords d'Abbadie Igon and Lamouroux, parish priest, and of many others, both clerics and laymen, and also of the sacristans of the said church, de Porte and André. I found a good part of the lower jaw, the left shoulder-blade, the bones of the left upper and lower arm almost entire, one collarbone, seven ribs, the breastbone divided into two parts; three cervical vertebrae, and five others of the back; both hips, the ilium, ischium and pubis, well preserved on both sides; likewise certain small bones belonging to the hands; the thigh-bones, somewhat worn on the lower part; the knee-caps entire, the leg-bones broken below" (certain others belonging to the ankles and feet are enumerated here). "All these bones, further, I judge to come from one and the same body of tall stature. Moreover, since the Right Reverend bishop had wished to see whether the lower jaw (found) would fit the part of the head which is held to be the head of St. Gratus, a trial having been made, we found that the said jaw fitted the aforesaid part of the head on every side.
[33] The bones which are lacking. "There are lacking, however, part of the jaw (namely the lower, which is broken and shows only the right part), the shoulder-blade, collarbone, the bones of the upper and lower arm and of the hand, all these belonging to the right side of the body; likewise seventeen ribs and sixteen vertebrae are lacking. And because all the above-said things in fact are so, I have given the present declaration at the request of the said most illustrious bishop, at St. Mary's, on the said day and year, the fourteenth of January, one thousand seven hundred and ten." It was subscribed: Marsaing, Surgeon.
[34] The bones, duly laid away, are restored to their place. Page 55: "Returning on the said XXIIIrd day of the current month, after hearing a sung mass, we pursued the work of the Visitation. And first indeed, in a Chest of walnut, recently made for this purpose, we deposited, wrapped in white silk, the bones of which mention was made above, and which by our order were examined by master Marsaing, sworn surgeon of the city. In the same chest we laid away the declaration of the aforesaid surgeon; then to the lid of the chest, on the inner side, we fixed the acts of all things which happened in the aforesaid finding of the bones, that they may be for a perpetual memorial. Then we shut the chest into the recess of which mention occurred at the beginning of this process. The key we deposited in the Cupboard of the sacristy with the papers which are possessed in common by the bishop and the chapter. The Cupboard, further, is locked with a double lock: one remaining in our power, the other in the hands of the syndic or deputy of the chapter."
[35] An end is put to the Visitation. On pages 70, 71, 72 and 73, after very many other things which make for the confirmation of the foregoing, the visitation is said to have been completed on the XXXth of January 1710; and its acts read out in the choir of the church by Master de Poey, secretary to the bishop, in the presence of the canons, prebendaries, etc., who all subscribed those acts after the bishop.
[36] [The Relics of St. Gratus found at Oloron in the year 1710 exist there today, as is established from a recent solemnity celebrated in honour of St. Gratus.] From these things it is clear that the head of St. Gratus had been shown from time immemorial in the cathedral church of Oloron to the veneration of the faithful; and that the bones found in the year 1710 by the most illustrious Joseph de Revol rightly fit the aforesaid head; and since, besides, all these bones, in the judgment of the praised surgeon Marsaing, belong to one and the same body, it is easy to conclude that the church of Oloron, when its solemn visitation was instituted, possessed the sacred remains of St. Gratus. It is established moreover that they have remained there up to our times. For in the French periodical commonly called l'Ami de la Religion, at the 2nd day of November 1844 Volume CXXIII, p. 229., the following are read: "The solemnity which is celebrated every year at Oloron on the feast of St. Gratus, at which since the year 1830 no bishop had been present, seems this time to have answered the wishes of both cities, namely of Oloron and of St. Mary. It took place, as is reported in the Mémorial des Pyrénées Le Mémorial des Pyrénées., on Sunday, the XXth of October. Although very many of the country people lacked the time to be present, yet a dense multitude of people was seen through the whole circuit which the procession traversed; the clergy of the three parishes, to whom had joined themselves very many priests gathered from the neighbourhood on the occasion of the sacred exercises, formed a striking crown, preceded in double order by girls adorned with white garments. That numerous clergy, the pious confraternities, that beautiful column of girls carrying banners, advancing amid hymns and incense, wonderfully ravished the eyes of the beholders. Between the cathedral of St. Mary and the market commonly called Marcadet various altars had been placed, at each of which the Right Reverend bishop of Bayonne imparted to the people the benediction of the most holy Sacrament. Returning to the cathedral, the pontiff addressed the multitude, congratulating it on the recollection of mind religiously preserved. The reliquary having been inspected, it was found that the head of the blessed Apostle of Novempopulana has remained still untouched or entire after thirteen centuries. The reliquary bears the seal of the Right Reverend Joseph de Revol, the last bishop of Oloron; and on this occasion the prelate of Bayonne also affixed his own."
[37] The preceding narrative is confirmed and partly emended. Concerning the preceding narrative, the often-praised Don Darré wrote back to us that the solemnity, as it is reported in the said periodical, was in fact celebrated, and the reliquary of St. Gratus recognized by the bishop of Bayonne. The reason why the festivity is not indicated for the Saturday, or the 19th of October, on which it occurs in the breviary, but on the Sunday, namely the 20th of the same month, is this, that in France, from the concordat of the year 1801, patronal feasts are thrown back to the Sunday next following. But it is altogether false that Joseph de Revol was the last bishop of the church of Oloron, since this see lasted up to the beginning of the present century. From the royal Calendar (Almanach royal) it is made out, among other things, that in the year 1767 the Right Reverend François de Revol presided; in the year 1786 the bishop was the Right Reverend Jean-Baptiste-Auguste de Villoutreix de Faye.