Saint Anselm of Lucca

Having been consecra ted by Saint Grego saint Grégoire VII Pope during whose pontificate Saint Gausbert died. ry VII in 1073, he finally consented to receive the ring and the crosier from Henry, but he felt scruples about it, and some time later went to bec ome a Cluny Benedictine abbey in Burgundy, center of the Cluniac reform. monk at Cluny: it required an order from the Pope to make him take up the government of his diocese.

Upon returni ng to L Lucques City in Italy where Saint Zita lived and died. ucca in 1079, he sought to compel the canons of his cathedral to follow the common life, in accordance with a decree of Leo IX . Countess Matild comtesse Mathilde Influential countess who aided in the reconciliation at Canossa. a, sovereign of Lucca and a large part of Tuscany, supported him in this endeavor; but he could not overcome the resistance of the canons. They incited a sedition against the bishop, who was forced to leave Lucca: he withdrew to Matilda, whose conscience he directed. The Sovereign Pontiff did not leave him for long in the retreat he had chosen; he made him his legate in Lombardy and charged him with the administration of several dioceses that the famous Investiture Controversy had left vacant.

What immortalized the great Pope Gregory VII in the eyes of history was his having wrested investitures from the princes. This was the name given to the right that sovereigns claimed to have to confer ecclesiastical benefices, and consequently to place their creatures at the head of bishoprics and abbeys. Since bishops and abbots, under the feudal regime, especially in Germany, found themselves possessors of forests, castles, and even entire cities, it was just that before governing these domains which were part of the empire, they should submit to the emperor and receive from him the temporal authority they had to exercise over the regions falling under their abbey or bishopric. But this dependence in the temporal order soon became a cause of enslavement for the entire Church. Princes demanded that upon the death of a bishop or an abbot, the ring and the pastoral staff be brought to them, and they then transmitted these insignia to those whom they pleased to designate. The right of election was thus withdrawn from the clergy, the faithful, and the religious: nomination to ecclesiastical dignities depended only on the sovereigns. They made a shameful traffic of these dignities and found buyers for holy things. Most often, they conferred them upon courtiers who dishonored the sanctuary by their excesses. Gregory VII and all that was holy, pious, and disinterested in his century rose up against these abuses. Saint Anselm of Lucca and Mantua was one of the noblest champions of the good c Saint Anselme de Lucques et Mantoue Bishop of Lucca and defender of the Gregorian Reform. ause. His attachment to the Chair of Peter was for him the source of numerous persecutions. This was understandable on the part of Caesar's aides; but what is not understandable is that lives of saints, which are still in everyone's hands today, seek to excuse Anselm for having involved himself in a question upon which, after all, the future of the Church of Jesus Christ depended. Not only does the conduct of Saint Anselm not need any palliation, but it is also worthy of all praise.

This holy bishop, says Fleury, lived in great abstinence, drinking no wine, and depriving himself under various pretexts of delicate meats when he found himself at some well-served table. He slept very little, and almost never went to bed. He would burst into tears while saying Mass, although he celebrated it almost every day, and whatever business he was occupied with, he never lost sight of heavenly things. Throughout all the states of Countess Matilda , he established comtesse Mathilde Influential countess who aided in the reconciliation at Canossa. regularity among the monks and canons, saying that he would have preferred that the Church had neither monks nor clergy, than to have them be undisciplined.

He died in M antua, Mantoue Italian diocese where the cult of Ozanne was authorized. his homeland, on March 18, 1086, and his holiness was soon attested by numerous miracles. He had already performed several during his lifetime, which led to him being honored with a public cult in Italy and chosen by the city of Mantua as its patron.

He was of vast erudition, and when questioned on any passage of Holy Scripture—which he knew entirely by heart—he would immediately explain how each holy Father had interpreted it. Among the works he wrote, we may cite: 1st, the Apology for Gregory VII; 2nd, the Explanation of the Lamentations of Jeremiah; 3rd, a Collection of Canons; 4th, the Ref utation of the claim Collection de Canons Major legal work compiled by Anselm. s of the antipope Guibert; 5th, and the E xplanation of th antipape Guibert Antipope whose claims were refuted by Anselm. e Psalms. He had undertaken this last work at the request of Countess Matilda; but death did not permit him to complete it.

He is depicted before a routed army. In the wars between Countess Matilda and the German Emperor Henry IV, for the c ause of Henri IV King of France mentioned for the dating of the chapel. Gregory VII, he obtained, through his prayers, the rout of the enemies of the righteous cause.

Various Church histories.