Saints Barontius and Desiderius

One day, upon leaving Matins, he fell into a faint or apoplexy which tormented him at first with great pain, and which, having subsequently caused him to lose consciousness and interrupted his breathing, led the religious to believe that he was dead, or that he was about to die. They divided into groups; and, succeeding one another, they recited prayers in his room, as is customary to do before the dying or the dead. Barontus remained in this state of immobility until the following morning.

Towards daybreak he came to himself, and said three times: Glory be to you, Lord. This return surprised and rejoiced those who were present at the same time; and, after thanks had been given to God for his recovery, he recounted to the community what had happened in his imagination during his ecstasy.

According to what he believed he had seen, two demons had taken him by the throat, and had tormented him until the hour of Terce. Then it had seemed to him that the angel Raphael, having come to his aid, had detached his soul from his body to lead it towards heaven, where he had shown him some Blessed ones whom he had known on earth; that having appeared before Saint Peter, patron of Lonrey, the dem ons had accu saint Pierre Apostle mentioned for the setting of the procession date. sed him of several sins that he had effectively committed in the world; but that the Apostle, taking his defense, had declared that they were expiated by his alms, by his confession to the priest, by his penance, and by his religious profession; that Saint Peter, having chased away the demons, ordered two children dressed in white to show him the torments of hell, and to bring him back afterwards to his monastery; and that he recommended to him to no longer fall into the faults he had committed before his conversion, to distribute to the poor the rest of the property he had reserved in the world, and to remain faithful to his vocation.

Barontus accompanied this account with many very extraordinary circumstances; which led one of the religious who heard him to take up the pen immediately to draw up a historical account of it, which still exists today.

This vision nevertheless made such an impression on the mind of Baro Baronce A nobleman from Berry who became a monk and later a hermit in Tuscany. ntus that, pressed by the desire to strive for greater perfection, he asked his abbot for permission to leave the country and go seek a desert outside the kingdom. It was granted to him with difficulty: but, having finally obtained it after long entreaties, he went to Rome to visit the tomb of Saint Peter, in gratitude for the grace he had received from God through his intercession, and he then retired to t he territory of Pisto territoire de Pistoia Birthplace and place of activity of the blessed. ia, in Tuscany, where he built a cell between two mountains. He lived there as a person who was not of this world, who had no attachment to the earth, no connection with men. His prayer was continual, and he enjoyed in advance the presence of God and celestial objects through contemplation.

The care he took to hide himself did not prevent him from soon being known. His reputation attracted to him a holy solitary from the neighborhood, named Dizier Solitary who joined Barontus in his hermitage in Pistoia. Dizier, who wished to profit from his examples. Soon after, four young men, strongly moved by the desire for salvation, joined them and submitted themselves to the discipline of Saint Baronce. Having built a church, they served God together in the exercises of prayer and penance; and, joining all the advantages of the cenobitic life to those of the institute of the most secluded anchorites, they attained in a short time an eminent degree of virtue. Saint Baronce died first, and was buried in their church. Dizier followed him s Dizier Solitary who joined Barontus in his hermitage in Pistoia. ome years later, and God then called the four who remained, at some distance from one another. They were all buried in the same place with great honor: and the miracles that were performed at their tomb served much to confirm the persuasion that one had of their holiness. According to Baillet Baillet French hagiographer, author of the Vies des Saints. .