ON SAINT VICTORINUS THE MARTYR, BISHOP OF ASSISI IN UMBRIA.
ABOUT THE YEAR CCL.
PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.
On the Saint's cult, Acts of his life, elevation of the body.
Victorinus, Bishop of Assisi & Martyr, in Umbria (S.)
G. H.
[1] Assisi, an ancient city of Umbria, & formerly a noble Roman municipality, is situated between Foligno and Perugia on a mountain. This city after various calamities, Assisi a famous city, for five hundred years has received the greatest fame, from two most celebrated Saints born there, having stayed there for a very long time, & finally laid to rest there, namely Francis, founder of the Order of Minors, & Clare, to whom the most noble offspring of the Poor Clares owes its origin. Yet there were not lacking in the first centuries of Christ distinguished athletes, who illuminated that same city & its diocese with the Christian religion, & with the Blood poured out fertilized it.
[2] Such was S. Victorinus, who is believed to have been ordained Priest & Bishop of Assisi by S. Fabian the Roman Pontiff, The cult of S. Victorinus, and there after many led to the faith of Christ, & various contests tolerated, he was beheaded on this XIII June; on which day in the city & whole diocese his feast is celebrated with solemn cult. Some Acts of his life & martyrdom, not very ancient, composed from a Sermon for the birthday, we found at Rome in the year MDCLXI, at R. D. Joannes Baptista Marus the Roman, Life from a Ms. Canon of S. Angelus in the fish-market, who among his Collectanea had a copy, transmitted by the R. Lord Vicar of the Bishop of Assisi through D. Franciscus Bellhomo. Of these Acts compendia have been edited, Ferdinand Ughelli, his Compendia edited. in the first volume of Italia sacra in the Bishops of Assisi, of which See he sets S. Victorinus as the second Bishop; & Philippus Ferrarius, in the Catalog of the Saints of Italy, at this XIII June; on which day also the same Ferrarius mentions him in his general Catalog. Ludovicus Jacobillus likewise sets forth the Acts of the same Saint in Italian, among the Lives of the Saints of Umbria.
[3] From Assyria he is said to have come to Rome in the time of Gordianus the Emperor, who undertook the Roman Empire, not in the year CCXLVI, as in these Acts is read, but in the year CCXXXVIII, Time of martyrdom. when already in the third year S. Fabian the Pope was administering the Roman Pontificate, illustrated by us on the day XX January. Nor does it militate that the Acts name Princes & Kings of the Romans. For after Gordianus the Philippi reigned, after these the Decii, fathers & sons; then Gallus with Volusianus & Valerianus with Gallienus. But under which of these, & in what year, S. Victorinus obtained the palm of martyrdom, the Acts do not indicate, & therefore prudently Ferrarius is silent about the time. About CCXLV this was done, Ughelli judges: Jacobillus defers the matter to the persecution of Decius, & the year CCLIII.
[4] The Acts end in the martyrdom itself: to which Jacobillus adds these things. The Christians received his body, Body buried, & with great devotion & tears buried it near the Texius river: topographical tables call it Chisius, which from a distance of two miles, flows past the city to the West, thence deposited in a church erected to him from the Apennine from the State of Urbino into the Tiber running down. But the persecution against the Christians ceasing, & peace under Constantine the Emperor brought in, in the same place, where the body had been deposited, was constructed a church to the honor of the said S. Victorinus; & in it his sacred body was placed, there for almost a thousand years from his martyrdom it rested, until the times of Frederick II the Emperor; namely when he was excommunicated by Gregory IX, & the faction of the Ghibellines began for him, against the Guelphs adhering to the supreme Pontiff. translated finally to the church of S. Peter: Then the Assisians fearing lest the sacred body, as elsewhere had been done, be carried off; from the ancient church, which existed outside the city, they translated it into the city, to the church of the Abbatial monastery of S. Peter, which was of Monks of the Order of S. Benedict; & deposited in a stone urn, placed it under the altar: where hitherto it has had public veneration.
[5] In the year MDCXLII on the day VI April, the stone urn was opened, elevated in the year 1642 & in it was found the body of S. Victorinus, & near it a smaller chest, full of sacred bones of the companions of S. Victorinus. Afterwards on the day XX April a solemn procession was made, with a great concourse of citizens & foreigners: in which, besides this body of S. Victorinus & the adjoining bones, were carried the bodies of S. Innocentius the Bishop & Norius the Martyrs, received from Rome. After ten days then, in which all things equally, with noble apparatus & diligent custody, were exposed there to public veneration, they were translated to the middle of the high altar of the said church of S. Peter. The body namely of S. Victorinus, with the sacred bones of the companions, was enclosed in a new marble urn; at the right side moreover was placed the urn of the body of S. Innocentius, & enclosed in marble urns: Bishop & Martyr; & at the left side another urn of S. Norius the Martyr, with a devout inscription carved on stone: where to the present day they rest for public veneration. These things Jacobillus edited in the year MDCXLVII. But afterwards in the year MDCLXI under the end of the third volume he added a Catalog of the sacred Relics, preserved in Umbria, & page XI treats of those which at Assisi at this time are in veneration; with about 50 Martyrs converted by him. in the said Abbatial church of S. Peter he says is the body of S. Victorinus Bishop Martyr, & about fifty bodies of those of Spello; who had been converted by S. Victorinus to the holy faith, & then crowned with martyrdom at Assisi. In the Cathedral church indeed the bodies of S. Innocentius Bishop & Martyr, & of S. Norius the Martyr, from the cemetery of S. Callixtus received from Rome, & at the day XX April in the year MDCXLII translated. These things Jacobillus at Foligno both wrote & had printed, in the year MDCLXI, when we in the preceding year had been hospitably received with him, having learned many things from him, & having also been gifted with many notable monuments.
LIFE
From the Ms. of Joannes Baptista Marus.
Victorinus, Bishop of Assisi & Martyr, in Umbria (S.)
BHL Number: 8597
FROM A MS.
[1] Therefore Blessed a Victorinus, in the kingdom of the Assyrians b born of an illustrious family, doubling the noble stock of his genius with nobility of morals, a noble office he began to perform. Set out for Rome, For that from Assyria, which in the Latin tongue c is interpreted Luminous, to the people of Assisi, in the region of Umbria, walking in the darkness of death & infidelity, the light of the Christian faith might arise; the man of God, certain of his Companions having joined themselves to him, not without the impulse of divine counsel, in the time of Gordian the Emperor, who in the year of the Lord d two hundred forty-sixth undertook the Roman empire, that he might visit the lights of the Apostles, decreed to come to Rome. Having arrived there; by e Fabian the Pope, by S. Fabian he is ordained Bishop of Assisi. who then presided over the Church of God, honorably received, it being known that this holy man Victorinus was conspicuous in honesty of morals, a most fervent zealot of the faith, & in Christian letters not modestly learned, he was promoted to the grade of the Priesthood, afterwards by the same most blessed Father into the city of Assisi as Bishop ordained, to preach the word of God in the province of Umbria, which now is called the Duchy of Spoleto, he is sent.
[2] At Spello he heals a stammerer: When therefore the man of God Victorinus, by command of the same most blessed Father, had come into the aforesaid province; & not far from the camp which f is called Spello, had found a boy now more or less five years old, who stammering in his tongue brought forth in no way loose speech; he restored to him the use of his tongue to the full. For of this holy man it was the custom, that after the title of Christianity, in which all faith consists, whenever the reason of salvation in the Lord demanded, he first wrought the power of some miracle. Therefore being asked by the man of God, whose son he was, the little child, then expressly declared his mother & father , & to the throngs of citizens, spoke loosely, saying: Come ye, & see the man, who has bestowed upon me speech, in the name of the Creator of all things. All hearing wondered, & said to one another, some, that He is Jupiter; others, that He is Hercules, or some other of the Gods, who could work such a miracle. At length having sought him out they found him between the confines of the Assisians, & their province. One of these asked him, saying: Of what condition art thou? or whence dost thou come? or whither dost thou go? To whom S. Victorinus said: Son of a certain man, he preaches the faith there; I hope to have one condition with you: I am sent by the Lord into this region, to sow His word; which whoever shall believe, & shall reject the contagions of false gods, & shall believe in the name of the holy & indivisible Trinity, & in the same triple form baptized, beyond doubt not only shall he immediately know his Maker, but also rejoice that he has acquired the lost joy of the first parent. To whom all with one voice said: Why did not our fathers know this God? & the false ones, which thou sayest we have, not reject? To whom B. Victorinus said: And why did you not hear the stammerer speak, before by me, in the name of Jesus Christ his tongue was loosed? except that neither Prophets nor Patriarchs to you the Lord has hitherto deigned to send, who might give you His doctrine. To whom they: How shall thou prove these things which thou sayest true; that we may believe in Him, whom thou preachest.
[3] Then looking upon a blind man, who from the cradle had lost his sight by a certain infirmity, he illuminates the blind man, who through their way which they were going was coming; he called him to himself, & said to them: If I shall illuminate this man, by the invocation of Him who created all things from nothing, through faith in Him, will you believe in Him? To whom with one voice they said: We will believe, & all things which thou narratest we will do. Then gentle Victorinus spat on the ground, as he had known the teaching of his Master; soon baptized & anointed his eyes, invoking the same triune & one God; & immediately his eyes being opened he believed in Him, with others through whose invocation he was illuminated; & having received faith he was baptized: & all who before had promised they would believe, in the name of the Father & Son & Holy Spirit were baptized , & with him proceeded to Assisi.
[4] By the Prefect of Assisi he is beaten with a staff But when they had come to Assisi, at the entrance of the city they found the Prefect of that city, by name Dagnus g. Whom he looking on astutely began to interrogate them, from what part they came. But they at once answering, said: We from h Eastern parts have come, sent by God to drive away from you the superfluous worship of idols. But the Prefect being angry, having seized a staff exceedingly strikes them, saying: Thou under my dominion dost reproach me myself? To whom Saint Victorinus said: Thy dominion is worth as much, as is permitted from the Lord, because all power is from the Lord God, whether just or unjust; & by power no one uses, except as much as He Himself permits. Whence I wish thee to know; that thou mayest acquire Him, who can diminish & amplify thy power . To whom the Prefect: Hand over to me Him, who has this power, & I shall enrich thee with great gifts. To whom S. Victorinus answered: I do not want thy gifts, but yet if thou wilt yield to me, I will show thee this Mighty One, who has bestowed such power upon His own, that neither here, nor in the future shall they lose it. To whom the Prefect said: Thou fearest Him, or dost not wish to name Him. with his companions shut in prison he converts many; & heals the sick: To whom S. Victorinus says: I dare not name Him with polluted mouth or rashly: because He is not our God, like your senseless gods, who have the effigy of men, but are empty inside of works. Then the Prefect, troubled with too great fury , ordered all to be dragged to prison, until he should consider, with what punishments he might destroy them, which was done. For for eight days shut up in prison, S. Victorinus many i whom he found there, to the faith of Christ converted; & many infirm, suffering with various languors, through him daily were healed.
[5] On the eighth day the Prefect ordered a tribunal to be prepared, All profess the faith. & the Saints to be presented before him: whom when he saw, he said: You seem good men, you will be able to have good counsel, if you put aside the title of Christianity, & begin to worship our immortal gods. Then the Saints together answering, said: We hope to have no goodness, except through faith in Him, of whom is sung, And God saw all things which He had made, & they were very good. Gen. 2. To whom the Prefect said: Then did not our gods make all things which are good? To whom one of the Converts with great confidence said: For we are your known & neighbors, & a little before we hoped, that there was something great in thy gods: One of the converts despising idols, but after we have known from the servant of God the truth of the worship of the true God; truly, Prefect, know thou, that vain & deaf idols nowhere more do we worship. For we know them to be demons, & mortal gods full of deceit, & through their deceit & malice others are dead by the sword, others have been killed by various punishments . But afterwards men blinded by the devil, began to worship them as gods. soon is beheaded, But the Prefect angry ordered him to be beheaded by his soldiers: he was beheaded not far from the city, beside the way which leads to the Tescio k. At the same hour S. Victorinus with his Companions took his body, & buried it with great honor.
[6] The Saint remains unharmed in the furnace: Then the Prefect ordered that the Saints should be brought back before him: who when they had come, he said to B. Victorinus: Thou hast wrought all evil in our country: thou hast turned men away from the worship of their gods: me & my gods thou hast reproached: & yet I suffer thee. But if thou shouldst wish to recover the salvation of our gods, thou couldst have my friendship, & I will enrich thee with great possessions. To whom S. Victorinus said: I thought thee already to have receded from thy insane words, that the true [God], who made heaven & earth, by the great virtues which before He has wrought, thou mightest recognize as God. Ps 16, 3 Thou now art crueler than before. At the same hour the Prefect ordered a furnace to be kindled, & inside S. Victorinus to be sent. & the companions variously tortured are cast into a well, Who when he had entered, the flame was extinguished, & in the furnace he sang psalms thus, saying: By fire thou hast examined me, & iniquity has not been found in me. Then the Prefect vehemently angered, said: By his magic spells, he conquers all torments: & he made his companions to be badly treated. For he ordered them to be beaten with chains & leaded scourges, & their sides to be lacerated with iron claws, at the last all to be cast headlong into a well, & from above covered with a wheel. After the third night however came S. Victorinus secretly with the Christians, & raised the bodies from the well, & buried them in peace.
[7] After these things the venerable man Victorinus, did not cease day & night the faith of Christ far & wide to extend, so that already through the whole province of Assisi the name of the Lord through the disciples of blessed Victorinus prevailed. The Prefect already supposed him to be far from the city; he himself extending the faith of Christ, [but] one of the Pagans, when he had seen the name of the Lord thus promulgated through B. Victorinus, reported as quickly as possible to the Prefect: O good Prefect, did not our Princes order the sect of the Christians to be exterminated? & one Victorinus thou knowest not, who has now almost converted our whole province to the faith of Jesus the Nazarene, whom the Jews crucified. again is dragged to the Prefect. At the same hour the Prefect angrily ordered his soldiers, that with great disgrace before him they should bring him back. Who when they had departed, they found beside the river, with many Christians in an enclosed place praying. Whom when they had found, they seized him rudely, namely some by the hairs, others by the hand, & is struck with a fist: & others beating him exceedingly, from the oratory itself began to push him. What more? Through cliffs & thorns at last they brought the Saint to the sight of the Prefect; & one of them struck him violently with a fist in the face, but unto the end of his exit, he could not at all open that fist; this miracle indeed was manifest to all, unto the time of his death.
[8] Who when he had come thus rudely dragged to the Prefect, with such words the Prefect speaks to him: The piety of the Roman Kings teaches to bear many injuries, & to endure outrages; & therefore, through this I have patiently tolerated thee & thy magic acts hitherto, & supported them; & still we would bear with thee, if to thy l youth we might have compassion. he rejects all blandishments & threats. But because in no way can I recall thee from thy purposes; therefore I propose double to thee: either sacrifice to the gods, or with various torments I will destroy thee & thy malice. To whom the holy man Victorinus with great constancy replied: Thou think with thyself, how thou mayest rescue thyself from the hand of the devil, but I beg thee to have no thoughts about me: since God, who sent me to this Province, continually arranges & ordains, & He Himself will deliver me from thy threats, if He wills: but if He wills not, He will deliver me up to thy punishments, which will be to me for glory, to thee for damnation. Whence already it is permitted by my Lord to thee to lacerate my body [for] the salvation of my soul: & therefore whatever of evil there is in thy heart recall with thyself, & exercise more quickly on me: for as my Lord willingly underwent the passion, so we also willingly undergo punishments for His love. To these things the Prefect said: He confounds the Prefect, I have been thinking up to now to recall thy mind from the evil purpose; but as I see thou seekest death, thou refusest life, thou willest punishment, thou rejectest salvation, thou fleest honor, dishonor thou seekest. To these things S. Victorinus said: And this is wonderful, that whereas thou art greater than all of this city, thou showest thyself to have less knowledge than all who dwell in it: thou deniest that thou knowest the salvation which thou sayest thou hast: now do thou expound, what is salvation, or in what salvation is to be hoped. To whom the Prefect: All know our gods to have great salvation, & through them the helms of state consist, & whatever is moved, is nourished, & is fed. To these things S. Victorinus replied: I was thinking that howsoever little I might open up thy understanding to spiritual things, & because the Lord says in the Gospel m, I do not will the death of the sinner, but rather that he be converted, & live; therefore by such Gospel words as I could I have moved thee: but as I see, the oracle of David the Prophet stands much against thee. Psal. 6, 2 For of those not converting from sins he says: Add, Lord, iniquity upon iniquity, that they may not enter into thy justice: & again, Let them be destroyed from the book of the living n of God, that among the just they be not counted.
[9] To these things the Prefect: Thee & thy superstitious words I will no longer endure. Furthermore therefore almost all my fellow citizens deride me, & thou thyself of me, & ordered to burn incense to Mars, with thy blandishing words, makest a laughingstock; therefore of two choose for thyself one, either place incense on the altar of Mars , or prepare to endure various tortures. To whom S. Victorinus said: If I had feared thy tortures, I would not so boldly speak of Christ. My Lord before His passion warned His disciples, saying: When you shall hear of battles & seditions, do not be terrified; first these things must come to pass, but not yet is the end at once. Luc. 21, 9 Therefore, neither shall I be shaken by thy words, nor shall I love blandishments: but what thou willest now, as I have foretold, do with my body. Then at once the Prefect ordered his soldiers, that to the temple of Mars they should lead him, that he might sacrifice. Whom when they had brought, he went singing psalms saying: My God, in thee I trust, I shall not blush. But when he had arrived at the place, he said to the executioners: Bear a little. Who when they had stood, he prayed: Lord God omnipotent, whom all the elements serve, & to whom all things are subjected on earth, & whatever is contained in the compass of heaven; through whom all sinners hope to obtain mercy; hear my prayers, & refusing to do so & whoever in thy name shall cry out to me for whatsoever o necessity, immediately rescue them from all dangers, who livest & reignest triune & one God world without end. And when he himself had said; Amen, the executioners suddenly say to him: Rise, & offer sacrifice to Mars: to whom he said: he is beheaded. To my God alone do I sacrifice, & continually unto the end render praises. Then one of them drew his sword, & beheaded him under the mountain p of Jove, beside the river which is called Tescium, in the village Macerata, on the entering of June, on the thirteenth day: reigning our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is honor & glory, world without end. Amen.
PRAYER.
Almighty everlasting God, who didst strengthen holy Victorinus, thy Bishop and Martyr, in the contest of the struggle by thy love; be present to the prayers of thy Church, & grant that of him whose triumph we recall on earth, by his prayers we may be helped in the heavens. Through our Lord &c.
NOTES BY D. P.
p Is it the one which Leander calls Mount Asis, on which Assisi is situated?