Saint Vernier

A young Christian woman noticed it and informed the mayor, who arrived early enough to receive the complaints of this innocent victim; she had recourse only to God, and, in the midst of her pains, ceaselessly pronounced the holy names of Jesus and Mary. But this judge, corrupted by a sum of money, closed his ears to the moaning voice of this child, and abandoned her to the fury of these tigers: they finished their tragedy without fear, of which here is the catastrophe.

During the night, they threw the Martyr's body into a boat, with orders to go up the Rhine to Mainz and transport it to some place covered in brushwood, for the Jews do not grant burial to Christians, even to hide a crime. But divine vengeance pursued them; after sailing all night, the boat, the next morning, had barely made a league. The criminals tried to throw the corpse into the water. Vain efforts! Seeing this, they placed it in a cave surrounded by bushes, not far from Baccarac, near the place where Winsbach was later built. They believed they had thus well hidden their murder. But God, who brings to light the deepest secrets, caused such great torches to appear the following night above and around this bush that the whole neighborhood ran there to recognize the cause of this prodigy. The body of the holy martyr Vernier was found there still bathed in his blood; which led the magistrates to search for the authors of this murder. It was not difficult to identify them through the deposition of the young Christian woman of whom we have spoken. The homicides were punished as they deserved, and the honors due to the Saints were rendered to the blessed Vernier.

The martyrdom of Saint Vernier took place on April 19, 1287. His remains were placed in an oak coffin with the pruning hook he used to prune the vines. This coffin was carried to Bacharach, on the R Baccarac Town on the Rhine where the saint's body was transported and venerated. hine, and placed in the chapel of Saint Cunibert. One can see, in the Bollandists, the numerous miracles with which God honored him. His cult was approved by the Holy See in 1427. The diocese of Trier publicly celebrates his office. Hidden in a wall at the time when the desecrations of the Calvinists were feared, th e body of S Calvinistes Religious group that destroyed the saint's relics in 1567. aint Vernier was discovered in 1621 and carried to Brussels.

The cult of Saint Vernier was honored in Franche-Comté from the 16th century onwards: it was probably imported there by Thiébault de Rougemont, who had visited the relics of Saint Vernier in 1426 and was able to witness the numerous miracles that occurred at the tomb of the young martyr. In 1548, Jean Chuppin, canon of Sainte-Madeleine, filled with the desire to honor God by glorifying His Saints, traveled to Baccarac and requested a portion of the Martyr's relics for his church. With the permission of the Elector Palatine and of John, Bishop of Trier, he obtained the index finger of the right hand and a part of the shroud stained with the blood of Saint Vernier. When the preciou Besançon Episcopal see restored by Saint Nicet. s relic arrived in Besançon, the canons of Sainte-Madeleine and the entire clergy went to meet it and received it with the greatest respect. The Archbishop of Besançon made an authentic recognition of it and granted an indulgence of forty days to all pious faithful who would devoutly visit the shrine of the Martyr, exposed in the church of Sainte-Madeleine.

The name of Saint Vernier soon became famous throughout Franche-Comté. The vintners of Besançon chose him as their special patron and formed a Confraternity un der his i Confrérie Guild of winemakers dedicated to the cult of Saint Vernier. nvocation. The feast was celebrated with great pomp on the Tuesday after Quasimodo, and the preacher, chosen by the confreres, had to deliver the panegyric of the Saint. This Confraternity, famous in the traditional history of the Bousbots, spread to several parishes in the province. Enriched with indulgences by the Sovereign Pontiff, protected by the archbishops of Besançon, and honored by the city's magistrates, it long preserved among the class of vintners of Battant, Charmont, and Arènes that love of religious practices whose naive expression is found in our old Bisontine Noëls. On feast days, the confreres wore the camelot habit, pigeon-throat colored, and the tricorn hat with wide brims, placed horizontally on the head. It was in this traditional costume that the representative of the Bousbots race, the famous Barbisie, appeared at the crèche to speak in the name of the vintner class, with their costume, their patois, and their ideas.

United by the bonds of faith and charity, the confreres of Saint Vernier long held a high opinion of their profession and played an important role in the administration of the city; for the city of Besançon, formerly divided into seven banners, counted three in the districts inhabited by the vintners: those of Battant, Charmont, and Arènes; and the feeling of this social importance inspired the Bousbots with verses such as this one:

| Lou père Noé, bon enfant, Plant el lui n Bousbots Guild of winemakers dedicated to the cult of Saint Vernier. ouèble veigne. Y fesa tout comme nous fans; Les pas au la metie nous ans En Comté, en Espagne. Et las bè premie nous marchans, Même dans l'Ollemaigne. | Father Noah, good fellow, Planted the noble vine. And did just as we do; We have the step in the trades, In Comté, in Spain. We march as the fine first ones, Even in Germany. | | --- | --- |

One of the side chapels of the Sainte-Madeleine church is dedicated to Saint Vernier, and the altar was erected at the expense of the Confraternity, as recalled by the inscription placed above the painting representing the holy Martyr. Doubtless, the corporation of the Bousbots has lost this original physiognomy that once distinguished it from the other classes of the city. Nevertheless, the confreres of Saint Vernier still gather each year in the chapel of their patron to celebrate his feast. On that day, a vase filled with wine is placed on a table set near a pillar, and each of the confreres drinks a few drops, according to the ancient custom. The offering is also made on an antique dish, of a particular shape, which is called the Dish of Saint Vernier. The shroud of this Saint was formerly carried in the processions that took place in the city; but this relic disappeared, as did the bone of the Martyr, during the French Revolution.

In Auvergne, of which Saint Vernier also became the adopted Saint under the name Ver ny, w Verny Thirteenth-century young martyr, patron saint of winemakers. inemakers carry his statue in procession on April 19, adorn it with religiously preserved bunches of grapes, and in some localities, wash his feet with wine. — The holy Martyr is depicted picking grapes or holding a pruning hook in his hand. At other times, he is represented crucified head down; a spring miraculously emerging from the ground near him. This is how he is painted on a diploma or certificate of admission of the Confraternity of Winemakers of the city of Auxerre, where he is also especially honored.

At the end of this story, we shall say a word about another of the same nature, and just as bloody, which occurred in th e city Prague Capital of Bohemia and final burial place. of Prague, in Bohemia, in the year 1287, and reported by Albert Krantze, in his *History of Vandalia*. On Good Friday, the Jews, having seized a poor Christian laborer, exercised upon him the same ignominies and the same cruelties that their fathers had formerly exercised upon the body of Jesus Christ our Savior, and put him to death on a cross; which he suffered with admirable patience and courage. The Christians, having discovered it, punished the crime of these homicides with the ultimate penalty, and built two churches in honor of this new Martyr. His name has not come down to us, but it is written in the *Book of Life*, where we shall read it one day.

*Vie des Saints de Franche-Comté*, by the Professors of the College of Saint-François-Xavier, vol. IV, p. 866, and local notes.