Saint Priest

A charming detail is reported on this subject: his companions, envious of the reputation he gained through his virtues and his progress in study, tried to make him suffer a public failure by presenting him to sing in the choir a difficult antiphon that he had not prepared. It was a day of solemn feast, the assembly of the faithful was numerous; Prix, who was still a novice in this art, felt well that he was going to be flustered and fail; immediately he had recourse inwardly to God and to his glorious patron Saint Julian, martyr, and «he made this antiphon flow so sweetly into the souls of the listeners, that he drew a quantity of tears from their eyes, and several bursts of devotion from their chests, by the sweetness and harmony of his voice and by the meaning of his words: which converted the envy of his enemies into admiration». Our Saint was already making himself highly commendable by his austerities, his chastity, his modesty, his charity, his recollection in prayer, his exactitude in fulfilling all his duties and his exercises of piety. Genes, charmed by this assemblage of fine qualities, had early on entrusted him with the handling of the Church's funds for the poor. As soon as he saw himself raised to the episcopal see, he placed in his hands the conduct of the church of Issoire, a surprising thing, which marks in any case the great merit of Prix, since he was not yet a deacon, if one is to believe the author of his Life. When he had received the diaconate, he deployed his eloquence in several ways, and among others in researching and bringing to light the histories of the saints Cassius, Victorinus, Antholian, and several other martyrs of Auvergne, from which came to him an extreme desire to imitate them in their passions, and to expose his life for the cause of God, following their example. He drew above all from this study the love of silence: thus, from this moment on, he spoke only with ecclesiastics, and during Lent, he spoke with no one, in order to have his time free to pray, meditate, and recollect himself inwardly. Saint Felix, successor to Saint Genes, charged him with governing the monastery of Candedin or Chantoin; the Saint put such order, both in the spiritual and in the temporal affairs of these religious, that people flocked from all parts to place themselves under his guidance.

While he was fulfilling this office, he performed a miracle that greatly extended his reputation: a worker was found as if crushed under a section of a wall that had collapsed; everyone believed him dead; Saint Prix began to pray, and ordered him to be pulled from under the ruins; he was found as healthy as if nothing had happened to him. The brilliance of this action, joined to that of his virtues, led Bishop Felix to ordain him a priest, despite the resistance of his humility. This holy prelate, having passed shortly thereafter from this life to a better one, around the year 665, the clergy and the people were going to choose Saint Prix to replace him: but the archdeacon Cayroald prevailed through his intrigues. However, he could only enjoy the fruits of his usurpation for the space of forty days: moreover, he only died after having performed the most exemplary penance for his fault, to the point that he was honored as a Saint. The see of Clermont being vacant again, to fill it they cast their eyes on Genesius, Count of Auvergne; he was a very virtuous person: judging the burden of the episcopate too heavy for his shoulders, he refused, giving as a reason that the canons did not allow a layman to receive this office. He proposed Saint Prix, as the one he believed most worthy, and managed so well that they indeed went to ask for Childéric II King of Austrasia and protector of the saint. him from Childeric II, King of Austrasia, to whom Auvergne was subject. As soon as our Saint saw himself charged with such a great flock, he took as his coadjutor in his duties a religious named Evodius, illustrious for the conversions he had made, and whom Savaron, president of Clermont, says was abbot of Manlieu; they worked together with the greatest success for the salvation of souls, the religious through his preaching, the bishop through his examples and his care as a good shepherd. In his zeal for the house of God, he exhorted Count Genesius, who had no children, to make the Church his heir; indeed, this lord, following the advice of his prelate, founded, in the suburbs of Clermont, the monastery of nuns that was called Chamelière. Saint Prix prescribed for them a rule drawn from that of Saint Benedict, Saint Caesarius, and Saint Columbanus, and gave them as a mother a very pious woman named Gondelena, and as director and spiritual father, the holy abbot Evodius. Our holy bishop also founded another house of nuns himself, in the suburbs of the city, on land given by a pious lady named Caesaria. Finally, he had a hospital built on his own estate, in a place called Le Colombier, to continuously maintain twenty sick people there, for whom he abundantly provided everything they needed.

Such brilliant actions were not performed without miracles that confirmed the opinion held of the holiness of the servant of God; besides the resurrection of the dead man already mentioned, we read in his history that he healed a man who had been paralyzed for fifteen years, and delivered from the falling sickness an ecclesiastic who was sent to him, with some eulogies, by Chrodebert, Archbishop of Tours. Furthermore, through his prayer, he discovered the theft of one of his servants who had stolen a silver vase from him; and we shall finally see that, while traveling through the deserts of the Vosges, he delivered from fever the holy Abbot Amarin, of whom we shall soon speak.

A noble woman in Auvergne, called Claude, drawn by the preachings and examples of the holy bishop, had given him some property for his hospital and his poor. She died shortly after and was honorably buried by the holy prelate; but a wicked man, called Hector, Cou nt of Marseille, scandalou Hector, comte de Marseille Count of Marseille, the primary antagonist responsible for the saint's death. sly abducted the daughter of this virtuous deceased woman; and, not content with this abduction, fearing the reproaches of the Saint, he withdrew to King Childeric II, who was residing on the borders of Lorraine, and accused the holy bishop of having unjustly seized the property of this woman, which he claimed belonged by right to his daughter. This accusation obliged the bishop to go to the court, where the affair turned out quite differently than the abductor had imagined; for the innocence and the rightful claim of Saint Prix were recognized by Ulfoad, Mayor of the Palace of Childeric: Hector, accused furthermore of conspiring against the king, was pursued and put to death, and the Bishop of Clermont was sent back with every kind of honor to his church.

Prix had diverted from his route to visit in the Vosges a holy abbot named Marin or Amari n, who lived in Marin ou Amarin Abbot in the Vosges, companion in martyrdom of Saint Prix. a small monastery built in a place called Doroangus, in the middle of one of the most beautiful valleys of Alsace. Marin was confined to his cell by a painful fever when Prix appeared and healed him by making the sign of the cross over him. Marin, seeing himself restored, thanked the Lord fervently and offered, out of gratitude, to accompany his benefactor to his diocese.

However, the relatives of Hector, who were powerful in the city of Clermont, resolved to take revenge: they sent archers and soldiers to assassinate Saint Prix on the way. The emissaries met the holy bishop in the village of Volvic, where he had retired. As soon as his companion Ama rin caught sight village de Volvic Site of martyrdom and preservation of relics. of the assassins, he wanted to flee; but Saint Prix held him by the hand, telling him that if he lost this opportunity for martyrdom, perhaps he would never find it again. Amarin therefore remained, and it was he who was massacred first, as the executioners had mistaken him for the bishop. The Saint, seeing that they had been mistaken and that, believing they had carried out their commission and had put him to death, they were about to return, called out to them from the same place where he was praying: "Here I am, I am the one you are looking for, do as you please." Then, one of the troop, called Radbert, more determined than the others, struck him with a sword through the chest. "Lord," said the Saint, "do not hold this sin against them, because they do not know what they are doing." Saying this, he received another blow to the head that caused his brains to spill out, and in this way, his holy soul, detached from the bonds of his body, flew off to the company of the Angels with the palm of martyrdom that had been promised to him from his mother's womb; and no one has ever disputed it, the Church having judged the cause of his death sufficient to merit this glorious title, because he suffered in defense of the rights of his Church and of the people subjected to the tyranny, pillage, and extortion of the lords. The murderers also massacred an acolyte named Elide, the only one of his people who had remained w acolyte nommé Elide Acolyte and companion in martyrdom of Saint Prix. ith the Saint.

## CULT, RELICS, AND MONUMENTS.

The four ordinary Martyrologies mark the feast of Saint Prix on January 25; that of Usnard and the Roman Martyrology add that of the blessed Amarin, under the name of Marin, as we have said above. The French Martyrology also gave him as a colleague in martyrdom Saint Elide, of whom we have just spoken. Two senators of Auvergne, Bodo and Placide, who had consented to this parricide, of which Agrico was the principal promoter, saw above the murdered bodies three stars descending upon them: one of them appeared much brighter than the others, which led them to repent of their sins and excited the priests and other Christians to give them an honorable burial. As an infinity of miracles occurred at the tomb of the holy Martyrs, Saint Avite, successor to Saint Prix in his episcopal chair, had a very beautiful monastery built with a church, under the title of Saint-Symphorien, where he established as abbot Godou, a relative of our Saint. But God, who, having reserved vengeance for Himself, never leaves the death of His servants unpunished, willed that the assassins who did not do penance should all perish miserably and by exemplary punishments. One of them (this is the detestable Radbert, who had dealt the death blow to the holy prelate) was eaten by worms while still alive; and the other, falling from his horse, had his whole body broken; but recognizing his fault through this, he was healed by rubbing his broken limbs with the oil from the lamp that burned before the sepulcher of the holy Martyr. The memory of Saint Prix has always been very famous, not only in his own diocese of Clermont, but also throughout France, and particularly in Paris, where there were two beautiful confraternities in his honor: one in the parish church of Saint-Sauveur, near the Saint-Denis gate; and the other, at Saint-Etienne des Grès, at the Saint-Jacques gate, at the two extremities of the city. There is also, in the valley of Montmorency, a church dedicated to him, where miracles were still very frequent in the time of Fr. Giry, and which shows the power that this great Saint has in heaven in favor of those who implore his help. His cult also became very famous in Germany and England; it seems that the Church wished to propose him to its predecessors and its other ministers as an example of the vigor and courage they must show against the great, the oppressors of the small, against injustice armed with violence.

As for his relics, they remained at Volvic, two leagues from Clermont, from his death until the time of King Pepin; at that time, a portion was transported to Saint-Quentin in Vermandois, in an abbey that took the name of the Saint; the other, more considerable portion, was deposited at Flavigny in Burgundy, where Widrad founded, in the year 722, a monas tery in honor of Sain Flavigny en Bourgogne Location where a portion of the relics was deposited. t Prix.

There is still, in the valley of Montmorency, the village and church of Saint-Prix: the church was repaired a few years ago. One notes there the chapel of the holy Patron with its stamp of antiquity. The pilgrimage is still frequented by some of the faithful. As for his miracles, very few are cited today; the present in no way invalidates what Fr. Giry says.

Here is some curious information that the Rev. Fr. Mathieu, a Dominican of the convent of Flavigny, and M. Bergé, parish priest of Volvic, have kindly provided us:

Two words will suffice for me, wrote the Rev. Fr. Mathieu on June 29, 1862, to answer the two questions you ask me in your letter.

1* Some of the relics of Saint Prix, having escaped the ravages of the Revolution, still exist and are found in the parish church of Flavigny. They are not, as far as I know, the object of any cult or pilgrimage.

2* The convent we inhabit has no connection with the old Benedictine abbey where the relics of Saint Prix were located. It is only a house of fairly recent origin, acquired by the bishopric of Dijon at the Restoration to serve as a minor seminary. As for the abbey in question, it still exists, at least in large part. The church was demolished during the Revolution. A wing was destroyed by fire a few years ago. The rest is inhabited by about ten households. I add that the abbot's residence, separated from the abbey, now serves as a gendarmerie barracks.

M. Bergé, parish priest of Volvic, wrote to us on July 2, 1862: Not only do we possess at Volvic something of the relics of Saint Prix, but we have the body almost entirely. His head is still well preserved; we are missing the lower jaw; it appears that it is in a parish near Toulouse; a part of the frontal bone is also missing; it is believed that it was through there that he completed his martyrdom.

We also possess the greater part of the bones, arms and legs, well preserved, and several other parts such as: calcaneal bones, ribs, teeth, and several vertebrae and other bones whose names I do not know.

We have a tooth encased in a silver case which is venerated on the day of the Patron's feast.

Mr. Brun, Vicar General of Clermont, on May 27th last, visited these relics and wrapped them in part with parchment, with the seal of the bishopric on each bone. On the same day, he encased another tooth of the same Saint in a silver reliquary, which the celebrant will carry on the day of the feast, which is celebrated here on July 12th or rather the Sunday after. It is the day of the translation of the Saint's relics.

Although the memory of Saint Prix is spread almost everywhere in the diocese of Clermont, it is in Volvic that he is honored in a more special way. Formerly, pilgrims from very distant parishes came here, and, despite the misfortunes of the times, a fairly large number still come; this feast is celebrated with great pomp. The reliquary chest containing the relics is carried by four young men from the main families of the region: they are in albs, in dalmatics, and preceded by several richly dressed children carrying crowns, and a larger one who carries a palm.

We possess, according to the tradition of the country, the saber that was used to martyr the three Saints. It is a fluted blade, one meter long and double-edged; the handle is made of iron. We have no authentication concerning this weapon; it is not venerated as a relic; however, two young men, also in dalmatics, carry it in the procession on an elegant stretcher. There is an immense crowd at this procession, the faithful rush towards the chest that contains the relics, to have books, rosaries, crosses, and other objects of devotion touched (they say blessed) there.

I must not forget to tell you that we also possess the relics of his two companions, Saint Elide and Saint Amarin. These precious remains of our three Saints are enclosed in three different packages, carefully folded; strips of parchment, with the seal of the bishopric, are applied to each. A fourth package contains the clothes of the holy Martyrs; some red color can still be seen on them; but they easily fall into dust, one is obliged to touch them with caution. There is with this package a piece of leather, a piece of wood, some small stone splinters. One does not know what these might be, but they are kept with respect. All these treasures are enclosed in the chest of Saint Prix, which is sealed with the seal of the bishopric in four different places.

You ask me if any ruins of the abbey remain. It remains intact, though damaged in several places; it is occupied today by the Brothers of the Christian Doctrine, and contains a museum of great value, donated by the late Count Chabrol of Volvic, then Prefect of the Seine.

You know, better than I, that Saint Prix was the most learned man of his time: he was a historian and poet. It was he who first taught the sciences in Auvergne; I therefore limit myself to this information.

As for the relics of Saint Marin, they were brought in large part to the monastery of Doroangus, in Alsace, which was named from that time the monastery of Saint-Amarin. This monastery, as well as the whole valley, later came to the abbey of Murbach; but the abbots of this latter abbey secularized the monks of Saint-Amarin, and the convent thus became a house of canons, who lived under the protection of the abbots of Murbach. This modest monastery gave birth to a small town, which formed around it and which is the main place of the valley. The chapter of Saint-Amarin was transferred to Thann in 1441, by order of the Fathers of the Council of Basel, and re-established in the church of Saint-Thiébant.