Blessed Peter of Vallombrosa
Hermit of the Vallombrosan Order
Formerly abbot of Saint-Vigile in Brescia, Peter retired as a hermit in the Apennines in the 11th century. After miraculously feeding lost lords, he founded the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Monte-Plano on a site designated by doves forming the words 'AVE MARIA'.
Guided reading
4 reading sections
THE B. PETER, HERMIT OF THE VALLOMBROSAN ORDER (1098).
Vocation and retreat to the desert
Former abbot of Saint-Vigile in Brescia, Peter retired to the solitude of the Apennines to lead the life of a hermit.
In the Alps, which separate Bologna from Pistoia, stands the abbey of Our Lady of Monte-Plano, which owes its origin to Peter, a hermit of the Vallombrosan Order.
Ble ssed Peter was abbot Le bienheureux Pierre Hermit of the Vallombrosan Order and founder of the Abbey of Monte-Plano. of the monastery of Saint-Vigile, in Brescia , when Brescia City of origin of Blessed Sebastian Maggi. the breath of God drove him into the desert. He pitched his tent in the depths of an Apennin Apennin Mountain range where Andrew's hermitage was located. e forest.
The meeting of the lords and the miracle of the wine
Lost, local lords discover the hermit who changes water into wine to restore them; in return, they offer him land to found a monastery.
Now, one day while hunting, the lords who owned this forest lost their way until they reached the place where Peter lived, unknown to men, known only to God and the denizens of the woods. The hunters were dying of hunger and thirst: they blessed God upon catching sight of a roof made of moss and foliage which, in their minds, must shelter one of their own kind. "Good hermit," they said to him, "would you have something to comfort us?" Without answering, Peter ran to his small store of bread baked under the ashes and wild fruits. Nearby flowed a fountain with silvery waters: he drew a pitcher from it which he changed, by the virtue of the sign of the cross, into an exquisite wine. Charmed by a welcome as kind as it was unexpected, the gentlemen said to Peter: "You see these thickets and these clearings, these hills and these valleys: if it pleases you to take this place as your resting spot, to enlarge the field that gives you wheat, to raise a house of prayer, and to call to your side companions who, like living harps, repeat to the echoes of the solitude the psalms of David, speak, and we shall grant you all that you ask of us."
The divine sign and the foundation of the abbey
After a mysterious intervention by the Virgin, a miracle involving doves designates the definitive location of the abbey of Monte-Plano.
A few days later, workers arrived to lay the foundations of a convent right where the holy man's hut stood.
But the Virgin Mary, to whom Peter had planned to dedicate his monastery, did not intend for it to be built without her being consulted: the night would undo what had been built during the day.
The hermit, struck with amazement, had the idea of forming his band of workers into a procession: then, placing himself at their head, he advanced into the forest while praying to God and the Saints. Arriving on a plateau, they caught sight of doves that were pecking and dropping the grain they had gathered. Now, as they fell, these grains arranged themselves on the ground in such a way as to form the words: AVE, MARIA. Blessed Peter concluded that this was the place chosen by the Madonna: he built there the church and the abbey of Our Lady of Monte-Pl l'abbaye de Notre-Dame de Monte-Plano Monastery founded by Peter in the Alps between Bologna and Pistoia. ano.
Burial and hagiographic references
The saint rests in his abbey, and his life is documented in the Acta Sanctorum.
The remains of Blessed Peter sleep at the foot of the altar of his gracious Sovereign, awaiting the day of awakening that shall not end.
AA. S S., Vol AA. SS. Monumental hagiographic collection by the Bollandists. . II of April, p. 101 and 103, new ed.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Abbot of the monastery of Saint-Vigile in Brescia
- Eremitic retreat in an Apennine forest
- Miraculous encounter with lost hunting lords
- Foundation of the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Monte-Plano
- Miracle of the doves tracing the name of Mary
Miracles
- Transformation of fountain water into exquisite wine by the sign of the cross
- Doves arranging grains on the ground to form the words 'AVE, MARIA' to indicate the site for construction
Quotes
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AVE, MARIA
Miraculous sign of the doves