Saint Privat of Mende

It was towards the middle of the 3rd century that God v isited the chur église de Mende Episcopal see and place of manuscript preservation. ch of Mende in the full extent of His mercies, by sending it Saint Privat as pastor. A 12th-century office traces his birth to a noble family of Auvergne, and certain other titles go so far as to designate, as his birthplace, the village of Coudes, which is located between Issoire and Clermont-Ferrand, on the Allier river, and connects to the railway by a suspension bridge. On the same sources, it is seen that, by the breadth of his knowledge, he showed himself equal to the rank he occupied; that he was the scourge of usurers; that he used the treasures of the church to create stores for the subsistence of the poor and to maintain abundance in the diocese, letting go at a low price what he had bought dearly; finally, that he was remarkable throughout the course of his episcopate for the ardor and vivacity of his faith, for the gentleness of his administration, and for his exemplary piety. The author of his Acts adds that, in his love for retreat, the holy Prelate had fashioned for himself a cave at the summit of the mountain that overlooks Mende, with all possible industry and elegance, to make the stay habitable, and that he remained there most of the time, descending only on days of solemnity and when the needs of his people required it.

A life so well spent could only end in a conclusion even more beautiful in the eyes of God; and this is the grace that God granted to the holy Pontiff by causing him to die a martyr of pastoral charity and the Christian faith.

Here are the principal circumstances of this sacrifice of sweet-smelling savor, which has rendered the church of Mende fruitful forevermore.

In the time of the emperors Valerian and Gallienus, the Alamanni, whose strength consists more in numbers than in martial valor, crossed the Rhine to ravage the Gauls. A tribe of these barbarians, having at their head a prince by the Chrocus Leader of the Vandals and persecutor of saints. name of Chrocus, advanced toward the Gévaudan. At the news of their approach and their innumerable excesses, the inhabitants of the country, and even several prominent figures from the neighboring re gions, took refuge montagne de Grèzes Natural fortress where the population took refuge during the invasion. on the mountain of Grèzes. The enemies did not delay in arriving, and, after having ravaged everything, they came to lay siege to this natural fortress; but they could never capture it. They had already been at the foot of this mountain for two years when they learned that the bishop of the country was not with the besieged, but that he was living in retirement in a cave, three leagues from there. They therefore transported themselves there immediately, and having seized the holy Prelate, they took him with them. While descending, they stopped on the hill that is at the foot of Mount Mincat and proposed to him through an interpreter to urge his people to surrender.

Saint Privat answered them: "I will never do what you demand of me; it is not fitting for a bishop to give such counsel to his people. Moreover, since those who are subject to me are in a very safe place, I will take good care not to make them believe that it is in their interest to surrender: in any case, I am ready to undergo whatever may happen to me, rather than consent to commit the crime you propose to me."

This noble response filled the barbarians with fury; they began to strike him with sticks and led him to the town of Mende while mistreating him in this way. They believed that by dint of ill-treatment they would make him change his resolution; but the good shepherd remained constantly firm, answering their outrages and violence only with these words: "What I told you in the first place may suffice for you, if you have even the slightest intelligence and reason: I absolutely cannot do what you demand of me."

At this sight, the barbarians, indignant and as if beside themselves, tormented the holy old man in an even more atrocious manner, and, joining impiety to cruelty, they proposed that he worship idols: "You are going," they said to him, "to sacrifice to our gods, or else you will die in the midst of tortures." The Saint replied without hesitation: "I am astonished that you dare to propose such an execrable impiety to a bishop. If you had any intelligence, you would understand for yourselves that a man of my station must undergo the cruelest death rather than be the cause of the perdition of his people, by losing himself."

At these words, the barbarians, seeing that they had nothing to gain from him through rigor, took on an air of moderation and said to him: "Are we proposing things that are illicit and that befit only barbarians? All your emperors and their ministers, as you know, worship idols and force all Christians to sacrifice to the gods." — "What you say there is true," replied the holy Prelate. "I agree that the master of the Romans accumulates crime upon crime, and it is very unfortunate. If it were not so, you barbarians would not have the power to shake the empire. Everything you make us undergo is less an effect of your valor than a punishment for the cruelty of the emperors. But the Lord our God, whom you do not know, is so powerful and so merciful that, in a short space of time, He can enlighten the minds of the princes of whom you speak to me, overturn your idols, and, after having chastised us through present tribulations, make us feel the effects of His benevolent protection once again. As for me, in the hope of eternal goods, I despise all the torments you can inflict upon me."

"Sacrifice instantly," the barbarians added, "otherwise, know that we will make you die in the midst of all kinds of tortures, so that your death, as a terrible and unheard-of example, may frighten all those who do not share your sentiments."

The generous Confessor replied to these final threats, saying: "Make me suffer whatever you wish; I protest to you, in the name of the Lord my God, I can only be what I am; it is better for me to endure your torments; for, if I committed the signal folly of obeying you and sacrificing to your demons, I could not escape eternal torments."

Scarcely had he finished speaking thus, when the barbarians gave way to all their rage, flagellated him with redoubled blows, and burned his body with flaming torches; finally, after having tried all sorts of new torments upon him, they abandoned him in the square, believing they had taken his life.

After this, seeing themselves deceived in their hope of obtaining the surrender of the besieged by means of their pastor, the barbarians returned to the mountain of Grèzes, with the intention of negotiating with them. They therefore gave them gifts, and in their turn the besieged provided them with food, but on the condition that they would immediately leave the country. As soon as it was possible for the besieged to leave their place of refuge, they rushed in a crowd to their beloved pastor; they found him still alive, but they only had time to express their sorrow and gratitude to him, to listen to his final advice, and to receive his supreme blessing. When he had rendered his soul to God, his precious remains were buried in

21 AGUT.

an underground place which happens to be today the crypt of the cathedral church.

His death occurred, according to Baronius, on August 21, 262. Indeed, all the martyrologies and all the ecclesiastical histories agree in having him die under Valerian and Gallienus: which is confirmed by a tradition that was current in the church of Mende in the 12th century and for a long time, namely: that Saint Helena, moth sainte Hélène Mother of Emperor Constantine, who came to pray at the saint's tomb. er of the Emperor Constantine, came to pray at the tomb of Saint Privat and that she presented the church of Mende with a large number of relics. Likewise, at the same period and according to a custom that dated back a long time, every year, on Easter day, the purse of Saint Helena was exposed for the veneration of the faithful.

He is represented being clubbed by the pagan invaders, while he was staying in a cave.

## CULT AND RELICS.

In the 8th century, King Dagobert had removed the relics of Saint Privat, along with so many others, to place them in the church of the monastery of Saint-Denis, near Paris. After the death of this prince, they were successfully reclaimed, and, for fear that they might be taken again by ruse or by force, they were hidden in a crypt of a chapel dedicated to Saint Thecla. Over time, this chapel fell into ruins, and those who were the keepers of the secret eventually died without having been able to pass it on. Various secular buildings had been erected on part of the site of the old chapel of Saint Thecla, and the other part had been converted into a garden. Now, in 1170, Bishop Aldebert III ordered a well to be dug in t l'évêque Aldebert III Bishop of Mende in the 12th century, responsible for the invention of relics. his garden. This work was to be carried out during the Prelate's journey to the court of the King of France. No sooner had he arrived in Clermont than a messenger came to join him there to announce that, while digging the well, a crypt had been discovered, and in this crypt, the body of Saint Privat. Aldebert III, being absolutely unable to retrace his steps, instructed the messenger to tell his clergy not to touch anything until his return. Thus, when he returned to his episcopal city, he examined everything with care, and it was established that the body that had been found was indeed that of Saint Privat. He then wrote to all his secular and regular clergy, as well as to all the faithful, to canonically announce the good news and invite them to come to Mende for the ceremony of the translation. It took place on September 15 of the same year with unparalleled solemnity, and on that very day, God manifested the glory of His martyr through the deliverance of a possessed person. The invention of the relics of Saint Privat also brought a most distinguished grace to the entire diocese. The whole country, which had been prey to the horrors of civil war for seven years, calmed down at that time, as if by enchantment.

The body of Saint Privat, except for the head, was placed in the crypt beneath the cathedral, a crypt built on the very spot where the holy martyr had been buried immediately after his martyrdom. Subsequently, these precious remains were removed from this underground place to be placed in a silver reliquary at the high altar. Today, only a very small part of them is possessed, following the disasters that the church of Mende had to endure in the second half of the 16th century, that is to say, during the Wars of Religion.

In the year 1636, Etienne, Bishop of Le Puy, having convened the principal lords of the country in that city to reach an agreement with them on the means to restore peace in his diocese, requested all the prelates of the vicinity to come to Le Puy with the relics of their saints. Raymond, Bishop of Mende, hastened to respond to this invitation, and, having the statue of Saint Privat carried before him, he traveled to Le Puy with several members of his clergy and a certain number of the faithful. At the news of their approach, all the inhabitants of Le Puy, who had often heard of Saint Privat's favor with God, came in crowds to meet his image. On the other hand, the Bishop of Le Puy and those of Clermont, Valence, and Viviers left the city wearing sacred vestments, preceded by all the local clergy and also carrying the relics of their respective saints. The two processions having met not far from the city, they stopped. Then, while on one side the clergy sang the praises of God, and on the other the people invoked the holy martyr inwardly and with fervor, a father arrived carrying in his arms his son, who was crippled in all his limbs. Seeing him, they congratulated him on the good thought he had and encouraged him to present himself quickly and with confidence to a saint who had already performed so many other wonders. Finally, as he asked in a loud voice to be allowed to reach the statue of Saint Privat because of the crowd that was becoming increasingly dense, the bishops, and especially Saint Odilo, Abbot of Cluny, having noticed him, h ad a passage opened for hi saint Odile, abbé de Cluny Abbot of Cluny in the 10th century, founder of the commemoration of the faithful departed in his order. m. He approached, therefore, holding his child in the air and inviting everyone to pray for him; and no sooner had the young child touched the image of the holy martyr than his nerves stretched, blood filled his withered veins again, a slight cracking sound was heard, and he himself let out a small sigh each time the miracle acted upon one of his limbs. Finally, while all those present were in admiration at the sight of these marvelous effects, the child experienced a sudden shudder, and, feeling perfectly restored, he began to walk while blessing God and his deliverer. It would be impossible for us to say, adds Aldebert, the venerable, what the joy of the two peoples was, and to describe the happy influence that this miracle of the holy martyr exerted on the decisions of the assembly, which took place soon after.

Taken from the *Histoire de l'Église de Mende*, by Abbé Charbonnel; from Venantius Fortunatus; from Saint Gregory of Tours; from Surius; and from Baronius. — Cf. *Actes des Martyrs*.