Saint Serenus

The beginnings of Saint Ser saint Sérénus Bishop of Marseille in the 6th century, successor to Saint Theodore. enus, successor to Saint Theodore, were marked by the arrival in Marseille of the monks whom Saint Gregory the saint Grégoire le Grand Pope contemporary to Saint Psalmodius. Great was sending to England to evangelize the people, whose spiritual misery had touched the heart of this great Pope. Gregory had given them a letter for the Bishop of Marseille: "Although, among bishops full of the charity that is pleasing to God," said the Pope, "religious need no recommendation, yet as a favorable opportunity to write to you has presented itself, we have taken care to send our letters to your fraternity, recommending the bearer of these presents, the servant of God Augustine, whose zeal is well known to us, w Augustin Leader of the evangelical mission to England and first Archbishop of Canterbury. ith other servants of God (John, Peter, and Laurence), whom we are sending there for the good of souls, with the help of God... Furthermore, we recommend in all things to your charity the priest Candidus, our son and yours, whom we are se nding t Candide Priest sent by the Pope to manage the Church's assets. o govern the small patrimony of our Church." This letter, preserved in the works of Saint Gregory the Great, is dated July 20, 596.

Saint Augustine and his companions achieved the greatest apostolic successes in Great Britain. Augustine even came later to be consecrated bishop at Arles, a nd Sa Arles Ecclesiastical metropolis of the province to which Constantine belonged. int Serenus, who had assisted him with his aid and recommendations, was likely one of the three consecrating prelates. In 599, the envoys of Saint Augustine brought back from Rome a new letter from Saint Gregory the Great to Saint Serenus.

This same Pope wrote several letters to our bishop. Some relate to an excess of zeal that was displayed by Saint Serenus against idolaters, when he went so far as to break the images of the Saints in some churches of Marseille. Others relate to calumnies that the Pope had received regarding the allegedly excessive long-suffering of Serenus towards one of his guilty subordinates. The bishop of Arles took up the defense of our holy Pontiff, and Gregory the Great did not delay in restoring all his esteem to a bishop whom some had sought to discredit in his eyes.

Happy and consoled by the testimonies of affection that the Sovereign Pontiff subsequently gave to Saint Serenus, the latter wished to go and visit the tombs of the Apostles and venerate Peter in the person of his worthy successor. Upon his return from Rome, he was forced by a sudden illness to stop at B Blanderat Small town in the Milanese territory where Saint Serenus died. landerat, a small town in the Milanese region. He died there in holiness, and his tomb, miraculously discovered long after his death, became famous for the wonders that are still accomplished there to this day.

A precious relic of Saint Serenus was given by Bishop Solaro of Vercelli to Bishop de Belsunce in 1747. The Revolution profaned it, and it was dispersed along with so many other treasures of the Church of Marseille. But in 1840, B ishop de Mazen Mgr de Mazenod Founder of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and Bishop of Marseille. od went himself to Blanderat, requested a new relic from Bishop d'Angennes, and obtained an entire arm, which has since been entrusted to the care of the chapter of Marseille. A portion of this distinguished relic was g iven in 1842 to the parish church of the l'église paroissiale de la Sainte-Trinité Marseille parish placed under the patronage of Saint Serenus. Holy Trinity, which, while retaining its ancient name, is placed under the patronage of Saint Serenus. It is even in memory of the translation of the relic given to this parish that the feast of Saint Serenus is celebrated there on the second Sunday after the Epiphany.

Taken from the History of the Bishops of Marseille, by Canon Ant. Ricard, who summarized the life of the Saint by Abbé Bayle.