Saint Calminius

However, despite so many virtues and good works, this holy man felt that he was not doing enough for God. His heart was not fully satisfied, and he secretly aspired to a more retired and perfect life. Finally, as the attraction to solitude and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit grew day by day, he did not hesitate to leave his country and his loved ones to withdraw into the desert. The manuscript breviary of La Guène, which informs us of this fact in the office of Saint Calminius, does not state the name of this desert; but the common tradition of the inhabitants of this parish, which once held the title of town, and of the surrounding peoples—a tradition which should be all the less despised as it is founded on monuments that still existed before the Revolution—this tradition, we say, teaches us that our Saint came to lead an eremitic life in a very secluded and small cave, hollowed out on the eastern side in the middle of a barren and steep mountain, which is found on the road from Tulle to La Guène, at approximately equal distance from both, and whose foot is watered on all sides by the Valouse and the Montane, two small streams that flow, quite near there, into the Corrèze. This cave still bears the name of Saint-Calmine today; and one could once see there the image of this great servant of God in a hermit's habit. In front was a chapel where Mass was said, especially on the day of his feast, to which crowds would come from La Guène and the surrounding area. This chapel had been built nearly two hundred years ago by Mr. Melon of Tulle, to whom the mountain belonged, on the ruins of another, older and smaller one, built in the year 1021 through the care of a priest named Léonard Lafon, known as de Vincens, who was appointed its chaplain.

It was, by all appearances, in this cave, which in the time of Saint Calminius must have been very solitary and far removed from the approach of men, that our Saint, who sought only to escape their gaze, went to hide, or rather to bury himself alive, and began to lead a life as meritorious and sweet to the man of grace as it must have appeared harsh and painful to the man of nature. We say that he began to lead the eremitic life there because, in effect, it appears that, whether to flee, out of humility, a region where the reputation of his holiness was beginning to spread, or to obey a new inspiration of grace, which, after having applied him entirely to the care of his own sanctification, was preparing him from afar, without his suspecting it, to work for the salvation of his neighbor, he left the Bas-Limousin and retired to the province of Velay, which he knew perfectly, having been its governor. There he had as a companion in his solitude a venerable and wise old man, of whom he undoubtedly wished to become the disciple and learn more perfectly the secrets of the interior life; and, surrendering himself without reserve to the attraction of grace, he fulfilled to the letter what the prophet Jeremiah says of the true solitary, that by keeping his soul in rest and silence, he will rise above himself through assiduous contemplation and an ardent love of heavenly things.

After having worked for his own sanctification, he undertook to procure, through holy establishments, that of his brethren. With this view, he founded, in the diocese of Le Puy, on land that belonged to him, at the foot of a very high mountain called Monsenicus, and near the place named Villars, a very beautiful monastery, which he called Calminiac, after his own name. Not content with having built it with great magnificence, he enriched its church with ornaments for divine service, and with precious relics of the Saints, and had it consecrated under the invocation of the apostle Saint Peter. Then, burning with zeal for the glory of God and for the salvation of souls, he traveled through all the surrounding places, and attracted to his monastery as many servants of God as he could, to make them fervent religious; and, so that they would not be forced to return to the commerce of the world and the embarrassment of affairs, he gave them large possessions to provide for all their needs: he even fixed his domicile momentarily among them, however without changing his habit, nor abandoning the administration of his goods.

But as the piety and fervor of Calminius grew daily in this tranquil abode, favored by the recollection and regularity that reigned there, he felt pressed by an ardent desire to go on a pilgrimage to Rome, to visit the tombs of the Apostles, and especially that of the apostle Saint Peter, for whom he had a very particular devotion all his life. It is easier to conjecture than to express all that a soul so pure and so inflamed with love for God felt in such a city, and at the sight of the countless religious monuments it contains. On his return, he visited the monastery of Lérins, and obtained from the holy Abbot who governed it a certain numbe monastère de Lérins Monastery devastated by the Saracens. r of fervent religious for his community of Calminiac, one among others named Eudon, who was destined to govern it in the capacity of Abbot, and Eudon Monk of Lérins who became the first abbot of Calminiac. who deserved to be numbered among the Saints.

Saint Calminius, after having enjoyed for some time the innocent satisfaction of seeing his monastery prosper, resolved to do a similar good elsewhere, and cast his eyes preferably upon his homeland, that is to say, Auvergne, which he had governed, as well as Velay, in the capacity of duke; for he wished to provide for the spiritual good of these two provinces, just as he had formerly worked for their temporal happiness. To this end, he retired to Lower Auvergne, which is the part of this province that is both the most fertile and the most pleasant, and chose the village of Mauzac, two l Mauzac Monastery founded by the saint in Auvergne and the place of his death. eagues from Clermont and even closer to Riom, to establish his second monastery, which he had built nobly and at great expense. Having gathered there, as in the first, a considerable number of subjects called to the religious state, he brought in, to train them in the monastic life, experienced monks who had long practiced its exercises, whether he drew them from his first monastery, or from that of Saint-Cyrique, commonly called Saint-Girgue, which observed the statutes of Lérins, or from some other religious house in Auvergne; for there was already a fairly large number of them in this province. And, so that nothing might disturb the holy rest of these children of the cloister, he presented them with numerous estates and assigned them ample revenues that sheltered them from need. He also embellished their church and provided it with everything necessary for divine worship, without neglecting for that the care and relief of the poor, his old friends: thus manifesting at once his zeal for the glory of God and his devotion to the service of his neighbor, that is to say, that double charity in which consists the fullness of the law.

Although our Saint had done so much for his monastery of Mauzac, it seemed to him that his favorite work would always lack something as long as he did not enrich this house with the relics of the Saints. He therefore undertook the journey to Rome a second time to procure them, and explained to Pope John III pape Jean III Pope contemporary to the beginning of the saint's life. , who was then governing the universal Church, that he intended to have the temple of Mauzac dedicated in honor of the head of the Apostles. The Pope, as surprised as he was edified by the extraordinary zeal that had led a man of such rank, a simple layman, to undertake such a long and arduous journey for the sole motive of acquiring such treasures, the value of which the world usually little appreciates; and charmed by his candor and piety, he willingly granted him holy relics. Equipped with this treasure, which he valued a thousand times more than gold and precious stones, the Saint returned to France and passed through the Agenais, where he undoubtedly had some possessions. Having learned in the capital of this province th at they posse saint Caprais First known bishop of Agen, martyr with Saint Faith. ssed the body of the illustrious Saint Caprasius, who had formerly suffered martyrdom there for the name of Jesus Christ, he expressed such a keen desire to obtain some of his relics that they could not refuse his requests. He was granted an entire arm of the holy Martyr. Then, at the height of his wishes, he left in all haste for Mauzac, and was received there with extreme joy, both by the people and the religious. At his solicitation, the Bishop of Clermont consecrated the new church and dedicated the high altar under the invocation of Saint Peter and under that of Saint Caprasius.

After such happy successes, it only remained for Saint Calminius to prepare himself shortly for death which, given his age, his macerations, and the labors with which the whole course of his life had been filled, could not be very far off. Thus, it was to this immediate preparation that he devoted the time he still lived. He no longer left Mauzac, and gave himself entirely to prayer, contemplation, and all the other exercises of Christian piety, urgently soliciting the grace of final perseverance. Finally, the moment that the Lord had marked from all eternity to award his servant the crown of justice having arrived, he fell dangerously ill, and, soon reduced to the extremity, he died on August 19th, full of merits and good works, after having received the last sacraments with all the fervor that could be expected from a Saint who had shown so much since his childhood.

His body was buried behind the high altar of Mauzac, where it remained for many years, during which the Saint often made those who invoked him with confidence and devotion feel the effect of his influence with God.

## CULT AND RELICS.

The reliquary that contained the body of Saint Calminius having been broken and pillaged in 1126, to prevent further outrages to which it might be exposed in Auvergne during those times of war, it was transported, in whole or in part, to the small town of La Guène, in whose parish was the cave that had served as a retreat for the Saint when, giving himself entirely to God, he began to live as a hermit. It also appears that he was deposited under the floor of the church, in a crypt or a type of tomb. What is certain is that he was found there forty-six years later, that is to say in 1172, as is evidenced by the following inscription, written on parchment and kept in the reliquary of Saint Calminius, which is next to the high altar of the church of La Guène: "Here is the body of the blessed Calminius, confessor, who was found in his tomb, which is below the church of La Guène, near the high altar, in the year of the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ 1172."

Two hundred and ninety years after the discovery of his body that we have just reported, the crypt where he had been placed having needed repair, this precious deposit was once again removed, and replaced almost immediately with much pomp and solemnity. Subsequently, a rather beautiful reliquary was made, covered in gilded copper, i n which the relics of the Saint châsse, couverte de cuivre doré Reliquary containing the saint's remains, used for processions. were enclosed, and it was placed honorably behind the high altar. It was from there that it was formerly brought down, in times of extreme drought, to be carried in procession to a fountain called Saint-Calmine, which is not very far from the Saint's cave, and into which the said reliquary was immersed: this attracted a great gathering of people who prayed with fervor, and sometimes succeeded in bending the anger of heaven and obtaining rain. Since then, it has been deemed appropriate to remove it from there, and it has been placed on the right side of the same altar, opposite a reliquary containing other relics, which is located on the Gospel side.

Excerpt from the Saints of Limousin, by Labiche de Reignefort.