Saint Sacerdos of Limoges

Saint Sacerdos Sacerdos Bishop of Limoges and abbot of Calviac in the 8th century. was born in the year 670, on the banks of the Dordogne, in a place called Calviac, and designated by the name of Calabre in the ancient chronicles, only a few leagues from the city of Sarlat. Laban, his father, an d Monda Mondane Mother of Saint Sacerdos, recluse and martyr. ne, his mother, were natives of Bordeaux and occupied a distinguished rank among the most eminent families of that city. At that time, Aquitaine had as its duke or governor Anticius or Anicius. He had great possessions in the province of the Petrocorii; he wished to visit them; Laban and Mondane accompanied him there. Having thus ascended the course of the Dordogne, Anicius stopped with his illustrious friends in the village of Calabre, on the borders of the Petrocorii and the Cadurci. God had resolved to honor this country with the birth of a great saint. Indeed, shortly after, Mondane brought her firstborn into the world. The happy Laban, going to the governor, said to him: "Lord, if it were pleasing to you to honor your servant with a signal favor, I would dare to pray you to lift from the sacred fountain of baptism the son that God has just granted me." And Anicius, happy to associate himself with the happiness of a family he loved, said to Laban: "If you present your son to me, I will do what you ask of me." And Laban did not delay in presenting his son to Anicius, and he said to him: "Lord, here is the son that God has given me and whom you have promised to lift from the sacred fountain of baptism." And the son of Laban and Mondane was baptized, and he received the name Sacerdos, in anticipation, says the legend, of what he would one day be, in the Church, an eminent priest and a holy bishop. Anicius showed himself generous toward the child of whom he had become the spiritual father. He gave him in ownership the village of Calabre, with the lands that depended on it, so that he could enjoy them, govern them, and transmit them to his successors.

However, the young Sacerdos had grown up; it was necessary to think about giving him a master who would perfect the work of his education, begun under the paternal roof. Laban and Mondane believed they had found the master they desired in the person of Saint Capuan, who then occupied the episcopal see of Cahors. The holy bishop did not take long to understand that God had chosen his disciple to raise him to the dignity of the priesthood. He was confirmed in his judgment by an angel who appeared to him and ordered him, on behalf of God, to confer the order of deacon upon the young Sacerdos. After his ordination, Sacerdos had to separate from Capuan, his master, and return to the village of Calabre, which Laban and Mondane had always inhabited since the birth of their son. God had His designs; we shall see their fulfillment. He destined the young Levite for the fullness of the priesthood, for the glory of the episcopate; He wished to prepare him for it through the recollection of solitude. There was in the village of Calabre a monastery that may have been founded in that place, in the 6th century, by Canalis, abbot of the monastery of Genouillac, or by one of his three illustrious disciples, Sour, Amand, and Cyprien. Before being a monk of the monastery of Calabre, Sacerdos was its benefactor. The church and the dwelling of the monks were falling into ruins; Sacerdos had them rebuilt with his own funds, and, wishing that the preoccupations of temporal necessities could never harm the fervor of the service of God, he gave the monks the village of Calabre with all its dependencies, just as he had received them himself from the generosity of Anicius. After having thus stripped himself of everything he possessed, he could freely follow the Lord and give himself over to his full attraction for solitude. He soon took the monastic habit and spent seven years before being promoted to the priesthood, in the austerities of penance, distinguishing himself above all by acts of the most perfect humility.

The very austere life of Sacerdos, so many acts of virtue, which he strove to hide, but whose vessel, too full, overflowed on all sides, had soon won him the affection, the esteem, and the veneration of the religious. Thus, the abbot having died, all, with a common voice, acclaimed Sacerdos to succeed him.

God wished to honor his faithful servant and manifest his great holiness through the gift of miracles. There was, at that time, in the village of Calabre, a man who had been a leper for several years and was separated from the society of his brothers. And an angel appeared to Saint Sacerdos and said to him: "Go and visit the unfortunate leper, wash your hands carefully, and touch all the parts of the body where you find traces of the disease." And Saint Sacerdos hastened to obey the angel's command: he went to visit the leper, and, addressing a fervent prayer to God, he washed his hands and touched the leper's body; and the leprosy disappeared instantly, and the unfortunate man was healed. And the inhabitants of the place and those of the whole region, upon learning of this miracle, gave glory to God in transports of gratitude, and exalted the virtues and merits of the Saint.

Mondane had resolved to walk in the footsteps of her son, but the bonds that united her to Laban could not be broken. As faithful a wife as she was a Christian mother, her happiness would have been imperfect if, in committing herself to the path of perfection, to the path of heaven, she had left behind her husband, engaged in the path of the world. One day, therefore, Mondane, having thrown herself at the knees of Laban, with hands joined and eyes bathed in tears, said to him: "I implore you, let us both seek to purchase heaven through the sacrifice of earthly goods," and Laban, whose heart had been vividly penetrated by grace, acquiesced to Mondane's desires. Soon they stripped themselves of all their goods, of which they made two parts, one for the Church of Jesus Christ and the other for the poor and strangers. It is probable that Laban retired to the same monastery of Calviac, with Sacerdos his son. As for Mondane, she retired to the left bank of the Dordogne, opposite the monastery, and fixed her dwelling in a cave.

God was preparing for his servant Sacerdos a trial suitable both to increase his merits and to bring his virtue in to gr Laban Father of Saint Sacerdos, briefly resurrected by his son. eater evidence. Laban had completed the years of his life, he had arrived at the end of his pilgrimage, and God owed him the reward promised to those who have left everything to follow Him. One day, as the Saint was occupied in prayer with his religious, at the second hour of the day, someone came to tell him that his father was dying. But he was so deeply enraptured in God that he did not see the messenger nor hear what he was saying to him. It was necessary to wait until he had returned from his ecstasy. He then ran, in all haste, to his father, who had already, for some moments, breathed his last. Sacerdos felt a sharp pain, which was increased when he learned that the illness had made such rapid progress that the dying man had not been able to receive the viaticum for the passage from the present life to the future life, from time to eternity. But, if his pain was great, his faith was lively enough to move mountains. In the presence of the religious and the inhabitants of the place, who had rushed at the first news of Laban's death, he prostrated himself, face to the ground, and remained there for a long time praying. Finally, he rose full of confidence and his face seemed radiant with a celestial light. Then he approached the very dear deceased and, taking his hand, called him twice by his name. And, at the voice of his son, the old Laban raised his head and appeared as if coming out of a deep sleep: and, casting his astonished gaze upon the assistants who surrounded him, he said to them: "I had left this world at the second hour of this day, but I owe it to the merits of my son to have been returned to life." And all the assistants, astonished and seized with a holy enthusiasm at the sight of this miracle, raised cries of joy toward heaven, and gave thanks to God. And the Saint hastened to give the viaticum to his father; then, prostrating himself, following the example of the patriarch Jacob, "My father," he said, "give me your blessing." And the old Laban blessed his son, and again he rendered his soul to God. A touching example of the priestly zeal that should surround the Christian at his last hour! A touching example also of the price that was once attached to the paternal blessing! It was understood that "the father's blessing strengthens the house of the children." One seems to have forgotten this today.

In the meantime, the city of Limo ges saw Limoges Possible birthplace of the saint and origin of the woman who received the miracle. itself deprived of its first pastor by the death of Agericus, and such was the reputation of Sacerdos, such the influence of his virtues, that, by common accord, the clergy and the people designated him to occupy the vacant see. We do not know the acts of his episcopate, which must have been fruitful in good works. Our Saint

had nobly fulfilled the task that God had imposed upon him and filled the measure of his merits. Exhausted by the austerities of penance and the fatigues of a laborious episcopate more than by years, he sensed that his end was near. Raised to the episcopal chair, he had not forgotten, in the midst of the splendors of his dignity, the dear solitude of Calviac, and he had promised himself to return to that fortunate asylum, to breathe his last in the place where he had been born to monastic life: his death being destined to be sweeter there, more pleasing to God. He made all his arrangements, settled all his affairs, bade farewell to his clergy and his people, and went to lay his shepherd's staff upon the tomb of Saint Martial. Then, he took the pilgrim's staff and left his episcopal city, leaving behind the deepest regrets. It was a very touching spectacle that this venerable and holy bishop offered, making his way toward the place where he was to finish his course, after having fought the good fight of the Lord; bringing his own mortal remains to the places that were his cradle, and going to entrust their care to those monks who were his brothers, whom he had so long edified, with whom he had walked with such unanimity in the house of God! Angels of heaven, guardians of travelers, watch over the holy bishop and direct his faltering steps on his long journey! The Saint had arrived at a small town in Lower Limousin, situated on the bank of the Dordogne, today the small town of Argentat. And it was there that God had fixed the en d of his Argentat Place of death of Saint Sacerdos. servant's pilgrimage. He was soon struck by a violent fever, the repeated attacks of which made him understand that his end was approaching. He asked to be given the Viaticum of the elect and to have his body anointed with the holy oil of the dying, and, recommending to those who accompanied him to carry his body to the monastery of Calviac, he gently rendered his soul to God, on the 5th of the month of May in the year 720 of Our Lord. The memory of this death has been preserved in the small town of Argentat, and the place where the holy bishop retired and where he breathed his last is still shown. A pious and naive legend accompanies the account of this illness and death. We cannot refuse it a benevolent hospitality in these pages. We tell it as all the historians of the life of the holy bishop tell it. "Overwhelmed by the bitterness of the fever and exhausted of strength, the Saint asked for eggs to refresh and relieve himself. His disciples having run throughout the village, did not find a single one, because kites and other birds of prey were so common in this place and the surroundings, that they devoured all the hens that one tried to raise there. Having learned this, the holy bishop wished to be, before dying, the benefactor of the village that gave him hospitality at the end of his course, and he pronounced this decree: that in the future no bird of prey dare disturb the hens of this village and the surroundings. And, adds the legend, this decree has been inviolable to this day."

Scarcely had Saint Sacerdos breathed his last, when his disciples prepared to carry out the final wish of their master. After having honorably buried his body, they placed it in a boat to transport it along the waters of the Dordogne to the monastery of Calviac, where, the news of his death having already arrived, preparations were being made to give the holy bishop a worthy funeral. Mondane, the mother of the blessed Sacerdos, was still living, remaining retired in the cave she had chosen for her dwelling. For some years, God, who delights in testing the saints, had permitted her to become blind. Learning that her son's body was approaching the shore, Mondane had herself led there, sorrowful, but trusting in God. There her trial was to end, for God wished to glorify the body of His faithful servant at that moment by restoring sight to His faithful handmaid. On earth, the Saint had obtained the resurrection of his father; in heaven, he obtained that sight be restored to his mother. Happy the father, happy the mother of such a son! Meanwhile, the monks of Calviac had descended with a great gathering of the faithful to the riverbank to receive the body of him who had been their brother and their father, and who had only departed from them to return seven years later with the halo of the holy pontiffs. They removed the holy relic from the boat, placed it upon their shoulders, and carried it thus to their church. The humble Mondane had again retired to her cave, wh ere she Mondane Mother of Saint Sacerdos, recluse and martyr. meditated on the eternal years in silence and recollection. Her consolation was to go and pray at the tomb of her son. God reserved for Mondane the most beautiful crown: that of martyrdom. Two years after the death of Saint Sacerdos, Aquitaine was ravaged by the army of the barbarians, known by the name of Saracens, who had come from the depths of Spain under the leadership of Zama, their chief. Before besieging Toulouse, wher Zama Leader of the Saracens who invaded Aquitaine. e they were defeated by Eudes, Duke of Aquitaine, they spread through the Périgord, ravaging and pillaging everything they found in their path. They arrived on the banks of the Dordogne, and it was then that Mondane, who reproached them for their barbaric excesses and their impieties, was massacred at the tomb of her son while confessing the faith of Jesus Christ. After the departure of these barbarians, the faithful gathered the body of the Saint and gave her burial near the tomb of Saint Sacerdos; and God deigned to glorify the tomb of the mother as He had glorified the tomb of the son. Several miracles occurred there in favor of the unfortunate who came to commend themselves to the illustrious servant of the Lord. The memory of the Saint has remained precious in this pious region. A church was dedicated to her toward the end of the 13th century, not far from the cave that served as her asylum during the time of her widowhood and penance. One can still see in this cave, which the pilgrim enjoys visiting, the pile of pebbles taken from the bed of the Dordogne, upon which the Saint rested her body weakened by fasts and macerations; and, at the foot of the rock, still flows the spring where she went to quench her thirst, whose living waters, sanctified by the contact of her hand and lips, were long loved by the sick, especially those afflicted by violent headaches. Happy land of ancient Calabre, truly loved by God and privileged above all. Happy are those who dwell in your homes! Traveler, who follow the majestic course of the Dordogne, stop here; you are on the land of the Saints. To your right, you have Calviac with some traces of its monastery; Calviac where were the cradle and the tomb of Saint Sacerdos; to your left, the church, the cave, and the fountain of Saint Mondane, which recall such pious memories. And, up there on the mountain, salute the ancient castle, well placed in the neighborhood of the Saints. It bears a name sweet to pronounce in our language, the name of Fénelon, and recalls one of the most amiable geniuses of whom France boasts, and whom the Périgord is proud to call its child.

[APPENDIX: CULT AND RELICS OF SAINT SACERDOS.]

The cult of Saint Sacerdos began on the day of his funeral, at his tomb, which became the destination of pious pilgrimages for all the inhabitants of the region. These pilgrimages became more frequent and numerous from the day that the body of Saint Mondane rested beside the body of her son: holy relics, which the monks of Calviac kept as a precious treasure, upon which the virtue of God rested, until the day when their monastery having become a solitude, the religious of Saint-Sauveur of Sarlat appropriated them and transported them to their church.

This took place under the reign of Charlemagne, that is to say before Charlemagne Emperor of the Franks and uncle of Saint Folquin. the year 814. The church of Sarlat celebrated the feast of this translation on the 3rd of July. From that moment, Saint Sacerdos was the Patron of the abbey and the city of Sarlat, and when, in 1317, this Abbey was erected into a bishopric by Pope John XXII, Saint Sacerdos was the Patron of the new diocese.

We cannot adopt the opinion of Canon Tarde, who fixes the translation of the body of Saint Sacerdos to the year 1140; for the monastery of Calviac was destroyed by the Normans, around the year 848, and it never rose from its ruins.

The body of Saint Sacerdos was kept intact in the church of the monastery of Sarlat until 1574. But, at that time of disastrous memory, mourning fell upon these holy relics; they were desecrated, like all those possessed by the church of Sarlat. On February 22 of this year 1574, the Protestants seized the city, led by Captain Vivans. "They pillaged the churches," says Canon Tarde; "the relics with which Charlemagne had honored the cathedral church of this city, and which had been religiously preserved there since that emperor, were burned and thrown to the wind, as well as the body of the great and venerable Saint Sacerdos."

However, God did not permit the body of Saint Sacerdos to become entirely the prey of the flames. The faithful were able to preserve some parts (the tibia among others), which are mentioned in documents from the years 1695 and 1719.

At the disastrous time of our Revolution of 1793, the relic of Saint Sacerdos was saved by Mr. Gamat, parish priest of Sarlat, and entrusted to a Madame Faujanet, who, unfortunately, after the return of calm, denied the deposit she had received.

It was only after her death that the family returned it to Mr. de Larouverade, parish priest of Sarlat.

But it was necessary to establish that these relics returned by the Faujanet family were indeed the same as those that were found before 1793 in the reliquary of Saint Sacerdos, and were attributed to this Saint and honored as such. This is what the parish priest of Sarlat did, after having received the official commission from His Lordship the Bishop of Angoulême, who had the diocese of Périgueux and Sarlat under his jurisdiction. The verification took place in Sarlat on September 16, 1819.

A portion of this relic is honored in the cathedral of Périgueux. It was deposited there in 1826 by His Lordship de Lostanges, after having assured himself of its authenticity by the examination he made of the investigation report, approved by His Lordship the Bishop of Angoulême. This is all that remains of the body of Saint Sacerdos.

The abbey of Sarlat, whose relics of Saint Sacerdos made its fame, was, as we have said, erected into a bishopric on January 13, 1317. This see, suppressed in 1790 by the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, was not re-established by the Concordat of 1801. And the church, first abbatial, then cathedral, was no longer anything but the church of a first-class parish, governed by a parish priest having the title of archpriest.

In 1854, the church of Sarlat recovered its title of CATHEDRAL CHURCH. His Holiness Pius IX recognized the canonical existence of the diocese of Sarlat, under the jurisdiction and authority of the bishops of Périgueux, and authorized Mgr George and his successors to add to the title of Bishop of Périgueux that of BISHOP OF SARLAT.

SAINT FLORIAN SAINT FLORIAN Soldier and martyr in Austria, patron saint of Poland. , SOLDIER AND MARTYR (204 or 297).

Just as Jerusalem has its Stephen and Rome its Lawrence, so Poland has its Florian.

*Polish Proverb*

Florian was born and lived in the town of Zeiselmaur, in Lower Austria. Nothing is known of his life except its end, that is to say, his martyrdom. He served in the imperial armies and was a Christian in secret: he held the rank of chief of employments, which is probably equivalent to an administrative officer, when the edict of persecution was published. A great number of Christians fled. God then raised up his servant Florian to revive, through his heroism, courage in the souls of the faithful. Having learned that the governor of the country, Aquilinus, had just shed the blood of forty confessors of the faith at Lorch, where the seat of government was located, he arose and went there of his own accord. On the way, he met soldiers sent in search of Christians. "Do not go to so much trouble," he said to them, "here is a Christian: take me and leave others in peace."

Brought to the tribunal of Aquilinus, the latter said to him: "Is what is reported of you true? Sacrifice and you shall be one of us." — "I will not do it."

The governor flew into a great rage and threatened to force him by torments. The Saint did not answer, but, lifting his eyes to heaven, he prayed to his Lord and his God to strengthen him in the combat.

"What does this attitude mean," the governor resumed, "do you have the pretension of insulting the emperors?" — The martyr answered only with silence.

Unable to obtain anything, the governor had him bastinadoed twice and the flesh torn from his shoulders, then condemned him to be drowned in the Eos, a river that flows near Lorch.

The soldiers led him onto the bridge; they had the humanity to give him time to commend his soul to God; after which, they threw him into the waves, head first: a heavy stone had been tied to his neck.

A pious woman, named Valeria, buried the body of Saint Florian on her estate. Later, a church was erected over his tomb to which a Benedictine convent was added. The latter having been destroyed by the incursions of the barbarians, Angelbert, Bishop of Passau, had it rebuilt and gave it to the Canons of Saint Augustine who still possess it. This beautiful abbey is located in Lower Austria, near Ens and not far from Linz.

Later, it is not known at what time, his relics were transported to Rome. The Tartars and Prussians having ravaged Poland in the 11th century, King Casimir and Gideon, Bishop of Krakow, asked Pope Lucius III for some relics of holy martyrs and obtained, among others, those of Saint Florian (1183). Since that time, he has been the patron of Poland. His cult is also very widespread in Austria. He has a proper office in Passau, which replaced in importance, from a civil and ecclesiastical point of view, the ancient city of Lorch, which became a village. He is invoked especially against fire: this dates back to a charcoal burner who, having fallen into the midst of an embarrassment, was saved by invoking Saint Florian. This fact and the other circumstances of his life are represented in a series of fifteen paintings that decorate the church of his name, located between Linz and Steyr. Another of these paintings recalls the miracle of the eagle that God sent to defend the body of the Martyr, washed up on the shore, against the attacks of birds of prey. A third shows the team of oxen pulling the body, exhausted from fatigue and thirst and unable to go any further. At the feet of the oxen a fountain gushed forth in which they quenched their thirst and whose waters became famous for their effectiveness in various illnesses. — Further on, one sees soldiers invoking Saint Florian. This patronage is justified as well as can be. His principal attribute is a kind of mountain bucket with which he pours water on burning houses.

AA. SS., vol. 227 of May.