Saint Perpet of Tours

Saint Perpet regulated the fasts and vigils that were to be practiced in his Church. In his diocese, people formerly fasted twice a week, on Wednesday and Friday, from Pentecost to the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, and from the month of September to the feast of Saint Martin. From the feast of Saint Martin until Christmas, three times a week. There were then a few days of rest, because of the solemnities of Christmas, but the fast began again, twice a week, at the feast of Saint Hilary, on January 14, to continue until Lent. It was the custom, in the primitive Church, never to fast in the time that elapses from Easter to Pentecost. These multiplied fasts tell us enough about what the fervor of our fathers was.

Saint Perpet also regulated the vigils of the feasts that were celebrated with solemnity in the different churches he designated and which were the cathedral church, those of Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre, Saint-Jean-Baptiste, and Saint-Lidoire. According to the catalogue of these vigils, which Saint Gregory I drew up, we see that the church of Tours celebrated a feast in honor of the Resurrection of Our Lord, on March 27, which was regarded as the anniversary day of this glorious resurrection. Despite this, it celebrated the day of Easter with the universal Church.

What especially illustrated the episcopate of Saint Perpet was his love for Saint M saint Martin Spiritual model for Aquilin. artin and the basilica he had built in his honor. The church that Saint Brice had raised over the tomb of the holy bishop of Tours had become too narrow, due to the influx of pilgrims who came from all sides to implore the help of the great wonder-worker of Gaul. Saint Perpet then resolved to build an edifice more vast and more worthy of the memory of Saint Martin. Sidonius Apo llinaris, who celeb Sidoine Apollinaire Poet and contemporary who celebrated the basilica of Perpetuus. rated him in his verses, says that it was worthy of the one in whose honor it had been raised and of the bishop whose virtues so well recalled the Saint he wished to honor. He compares this basilica to the temple of Solomon and says that it was worthy of being ranked among the wonders of this world.

Saint Gregory informs us that it was one hundred and sixty feet long by sixty wide. Its height to the ceiling was forty-five feet. On the side of the altar, there were thirty-two windows, twenty in the nave, and forty-one columns. Throughout the entire edifice, there were fifty-two windows, one hundred and twenty columns, and eight doors, including three on the side of the altar and five in the nave.

Here is what Saint Odo said about it in a sermon he delivered after the third burning of this temple:

"Their grief was all the more acute because this same church had already been burned some time before. In truth, it had been repaired with care and at very great expense by its clergy, but however more beautiful it was than before this fire, it was much less so than in its origin: for then its interior walls were encrusted with different marbles whose shades, sometimes red, sometimes white, sometimes green, produced an effect as brilliant as it was varied. On its gilded doors, one admired mosaics with the colors of sapphire. The roofs themselves were covered with tin sheets; one can still see some vestiges of all this, and we have had among us old men who bore witness to it. They reported that the summit of this church, struck by the rays of the sun, presented the image of a mountain of gold and offered such a marvelous sight to those who contemplated it that one recognized in it, in a way, all the splendor and glory of Saint Martin. The ancient architects had wanted its galleries to be built with vaulted arches, because this temple, however vast it was, was still too small to contain all the people who rushed there in such great numbers that, without wanting to, the crowd, by pressing, shook the lower part of the choir, as well as the small doors. A pious violence which, I believe, is nonetheless pleasing to Saint Martin, imitating in this the example of his divine Master who loved to be followed by the multitude. The varied colors of this temple, the sapphires of its stained glass, the gold sheets with which it was decorated, offered the most pleasant spectacle to the eyes, etc."

The construction of this beautiful basilica was completed around the year 491: it had required twenty to twenty-two years of work. Its consecration took place with great solemnity: Saint Perpet had invited a large number of bishops and religious to it. They had prepared for this solemnity with fasts and prayers. All the people were gathered when Saint Perpet went to the place of Saint Martin's burial: he himself struck the first blow with the pickaxe to exhume the precious body. But an unexpected obstacle forced them to defer the ceremony. It was impossible to mov e the coffin a précieux corps Spiritual model for Aquilin. nd it could not be shifted from its place. A young cleric, seeing that all efforts were useless, then said: "Why lose heart, in two days we will celebrate the anniversary of the episcopal consecration of Saint Martin. Perhaps he wishes to show you by his resistance that he desires that we wait for this day."

They yielded to this opinion, and the bishops returned to prayer. Two days later, they attempted the translation of the holy bishop again, but uselessly. Faced with such resistance, the prelates were disposed to abandon their project, when an old man, dressed in the habit of an abbot, approached and said to them: "Do you not see that Saint Martin is ready to help you?" And saying these words, he threw his cloak to the ground and, with his hands, lifted, without any effort, the body of the Blessed one, which was solemnly carried into the sanctuary of the new edifice.

It was deposited under the only altar, in the apse, at the very place where the rich ciborium stands today.

The ceremony of the dedication of the basilica being finished, they looked everywhere for the old man who had brought such effective and timely help; but it was impossible to find him. No one, however, had seen him leave the basilica. "One may believe," said the ancient liturgy of Tours, "that God wished to honor the translation of the blessed Martin, his servant, by the assistance of an angel."

Numerous miracles occurred at the tomb of Saint Martin, and from that time the name of Saint Perpet was henceforth united with all the glories of this splendid basilica.

Saint Perpet did not stop at the construction of this church. He used the elegant vault that adorned the basilica raised by Saint Brice over the tomb of Saint Martin, adapting it to the church he erected in honor of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. The churches of Saint-Laurent de Montlouis, Euvres, Barrou, Ballan, and Verrou also recognize him as their founder.

Hence it is that the holy Bishop of Tours is represente d with a sacred edifi saint Évêque de Tours Sixth bishop of Tours and a great builder. ce in his hand: this symbol belonged by right to one of the greatest builders of churches that ever was.

He died in the month of December in the year 494, after thirty years of a laborious and fruitful episcopate. His days, it is said, were shortened by the sorrow he felt seeing, under Alaric, the Goths sei ze Tou Alaric King of the Goths who conquered Touraine. raine and spread Arianism there. He was buried near t he tomb o arianisme Heresy opposed by Columbanus in Italy among the Lombards. f Saint Martin, so that his body would not be separated from the one to whom he had been united, in heart, during his life, and that his tomb would be close to the Pontiff whose fellow citizen he had earned to be in heaven. The Church of Tours no longer has the consolation of possessing relics of the holy Bishop.

Saint Perpet loved the poor, his clergy, and his church with an ardent love, as will be seen in the testament he wrote fourteen years before his death and of which we provide the translation here:

"In the name of Jesus Christ. So be it.

"I, Perpet, a sinner, priest of the church of Tours, have not wished to depart from this world without leaving a testament, for fear that the poor might be deprived of the goods with which the goodness of heaven has liberally and affectionately endowed me, without any merit on my part, and for fear—which God forbid—that the goods of a priest might pass to families other than my church.

"I give and bequeath to all the priests, deacons, and clerics of my Church the peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ. So be it!

"Confirm, O Lord, the good that you yourself have done in us! May they never know schisms! May they remain firm in their faith! May he who has faithfully followed the Gospel be filled with all the blessings of heaven through Jesus Christ. So be it!

"May the Lord Jesus destroy the impious with the breath of his mouth! So be it! So be it! Peace be to the Church! Peace be to the people, to the city, and to the countryside, from our God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. So be it! Come, Lord, and please do not delay any longer. So be it!

"I permit you, priests, deacons, and clerics of my Church, to bury my body in such place as you shall please, with the counsel of Count Agilon. I know that my Redeemer lives and that I shal comte Agilon Governor of Touraine and executor of the will. l see my Savior in my flesh. So be it! However, if you wish to grant me, despite my unworthiness, the grace that I humbly ask of you, you shall bury me at the feet of Saint Martin, to await there the day of judgment. You shall do with it as you please. I leave

1. Martyrul, of Bible, of Florus, etc. — 2. Ancient breviary of Tours, and Greg. Tur. 2. This Count Agilon was governor of Touraine.

that to your choice. I wis h, I order, comte Agilon Governor of Touraine and executor of the will. and I hold as well done whatever you shall have decided, my lords and my brothers.

"First, therefore, I, Perpet, wish and order that all men and women who are serfs in the village of Savonnières and whom I have purchased with my money, be manumitted and set at liberty, as well as the servants of my church whom I shall not have manumitted on the day of my death, on the condition, however, that in this liberty they shall serve my church during their lifetime, but without any obligation of servitude for their heirs.

"I also give to my church the field that the man named Oligcaire sold to me in Savonnières, with the pond, the mills on the Cher near the said village, as well as the pastures and meadows.

"I likewise bequeath and give to my church the farm of Berthenay—with the woods and the roads—which was sold to me by Daniel, deacon, on the condition that the revenues shall be devoted to the purchase of oil to maintain the light that shall always be at the tomb of Saint Martin; if this condition is not met, and if my intention is not executed, I wish, I order, and I command that this land of Berthenay, with all its dependencies, return to my heirs whom I am about to designate.

"Everything that shall be owed to me on the day of my death, in whatever place and by whatever person it may be, I give and bequeath to those who owe it. I wish and I intend that no one shall presume to demand what I remit to them by these presents.

"I give and bequeath to you, Eufronius, my beloved brother and colleague in the episcopate, my silver reliquary adorned with several relics of Saints, that is to say, the one I was accustomed to carry, for as for the other which is gilded and which is in my cabinet, I give and bequeath it to my church, with two gold chalices and a gold cross that was made by Maubouin; furthermore, I give and bequeath to the same church all my books, except for the book of the Gospels that Saint Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, wrote with his own hand; that one, it is to you, Eufronius, my deare saint Hilaire, évêque de Poitiers Bishop of Poitiers and Doctor of the Church, patron of Triaise. st brother and colleague, that I give it, with the aforementioned reliquary. Remember me. So be it!

"I give and bequeath to the church of Saint-Denis of Amboise a silver chalice and a cross, also of silver, one of the arms of which contains a relic of Saint Denis.

"I also give and bequeath to the church of Prenilly a silver chalice with silver cruets. I give to Amalarius, priest of the said place, a common silk cope, a tabernacle, and a silver dove to serve as a repository, unless my church would prefer to give Amalarius the one it uses and keep mine. I permit, I wish, and I intend that my church shall have the choice.

"I give and bequeath to my sister Fidie-Julie-Perpétue a small gold cross, guilloched, in which are relics of Our Lord. I nevertheless earnestly beg her that if, by divine disposition, she were to die before Dadolena, a virgin of my church, to leave it in her possession. I also beg you, my dear sister Dadolena, upon dying, to give it to such church as you shall please to avoid it falling into the power of someone who would be unworthy of it. If, on the contrary, my dear sister Fidie-Julie-Perpétue, it should happen that Dadolena were to die before you, I likewise wish that it be free for you to dispose of it in favor of such church as you shall please. Remember me, my beloved sister. So be it!

"As for you, my dearest Count Agilon, in consideration of the good offices you have rendered to my church and to the poor, my children, and to engage you to protect them in the future as effectively as you have done until now, I give and bequeath to you my parade horse, with a mule, at your choice. My dearest son, remember me. So be it.

"I bequeath and give to the church of Saint-Pierre the tapestries that I have often lent to it for the feast of its patron.

"And you, my brother and dearest colleague, to whom God will entrust, after my death, the government of this church, today mine and yours then, or rather, neither mine nor yours, but that of Jesus Christ, I give you everything you shall please to choose from among my furniture that is for the use of a bishop, in my room or in the sacristy that adjoins it. If you do not want them, they shall belong to the heirs I have instituted. Never restore to the rank from which they have been justly deposed the priest-curate of Maillé, nor that of Orbigny. I am willing, however, that they have a pension from a portion of my revenues from Preslay, and I leave you the enjoyment of the rest, with the life portion that I grant them, when they are dead; and after your death, I give and bequeath them to my church. But you too, my dearest brother and colleague, love, help by your example, anticipate with your benevolence, the priests, deacons, clerics, and virgins who are mine and who will be yours. Show them that they are your children and not your slaves; that you are their father and not their master. I beg you, I wish it, and I order it.

"For you, who are part of myself, my beloved brothers, my crown, my joy, my lords, my children, poor of Jesus Christ, indigents, beggars, sick, orphans, widows, all of you, I say, I make and constitute you my heirs. I wish that you succeed me in all the goods that I possess, whether in fields, pastures, meadows, woods, vineyards, houses, gardens, waters, and mills, or in gold, silver, clothing, and generally in all things of which it shall be certain that I have not disposed, and, so that everything may be prudently administered, I wish that, immediately after my death and as diligently as possible, these goods be set aside to be sold and converted into money, of which three parts shall be made. Two of these parts shall be distributed to the poor through the intermediary of the priest Agrarius and Count Agilon, and the third shall be divided among the widows and poor women, at the discretion and by the care of the virgin Dadolena. Such is my will, my prayer, and my desire.

"I, Perpet, have reread and signed this testament written with my own hand, on the Kalends of May, in the year of the post-consulate of Leo the Younger, Augustus.

"You, my son, Delmatius, keep it with you in deposit, to open and read it before Count Agilon and in the presence of my brothers, priests, deacons, and clerics, with a duplicate likewise written by my hand, of which I have made Dadolena the depositary.

"In the name of the Lord, I wish it so, I conjure it, and I order it. May everything therefore be held as stable and approved.

"Bless me, O Lord. Come, Jesus Christ. I, Perpet, in your name. So be it."

Abbé Rolland, honorary canon, member of the Boarding School of the Brothers of the Christian Schools of Tours.