Saint Eparchius

It was indeed happiness that Cybard had found under the roof of a humble monastery; and the harsh prescriptions of the Rule became sweet and easy for him from the very first days, because he always observed them with love and fidelity. He was then thirty-three years old, and as the strength of his body seconded the ardor of his spirit, he accepted with a glad heart and valiantly fulfilled the hard labors to which he was subjected. But if he was in this the edification of the religious, he was no less so for the seculars who came to the monastery, for they saw in him a man raised in the pomp and softness of great houses, covering himself with a poor habit, attending to the labors of agriculture, contenting himself, towards the end of the day, with a little bread and vegetables, and after the fatigues of the day, still giving the best part of the night to prayer. Such a spectacle has always been powerful over souls; and even today, this poverty and voluntary work which are united in the Trappists with the greatest austerity of monastic penance, win them our respect and our sympathies. As for our Saint, entirely devoted to his duties, he studied only to make himself unknown to men, and groaned before God at the high renown that his eminent virtue was beginning to attract to him. It was said, indeed, that animals showed themselves docile to his voice, and that this privilege was the reward of his gentleness and innocence. Thus, he had been seen stopping at the edge of a wood a young doe that had come to kiss his hands and had only fled after receiving his blessing. Another time, it was a bird, a mother perched on her tender brood, and which, frightened at his approach, was about to fly away, when he asked her to wait for him. The bird did not move, and Cybard was able to caress the mother and the little ones at his leisure, but, as one may well presume, without infringing upon their freedom.

On the other hand, the sick who came to the monastery seeking care did not only praise those that his charity lavished upon them; they proclaimed the healings they attributed to his merits, which he himself strove in vain to hide. But it was precisely this reputation for holiness that soon became unbearable to him and which, after a stay of five years, decided him to leave his monastery. At that time, the monastic profession did not entail the vow of stability. Saint Benedict had only just introduced it into his Rule, and it was still unknown in the monasteries of Gaul. Thus, a monk, provided he remained faithful to the common laws of his profession, could move from one house to another, and even abandon the cenobitic life to embrace that of recluses or anchorites. It was therefore through a prudent use of this freedom that our Saint, having secretly left the monastery of Sessac, set out in search of a solitude that could suit his designs, that is to say, to hide him entirely from the eyes of men. He first traveled through part of the current diocese of Bordeaux, and finding nothing there that he sought, he made his way toward Angoulême. The see of this city was then o ccupied b Angoulême City where Astier received his monastic training. y Saint Aphtone or Aptone, who had just succeeded Lupicin; the latter, ch saint Aphtone ou Aptone Bishop of Angoulême in the 6th century, successor to Lupicinus. aplain to King Clovis, had been placed by him at the head of this unfortunate Church to repair the immense evils that the domination of the Arian heresy had accumulated over half a century.

Saints discern Saints and know how to attach them to themselves. This is what was seen in this circumstance; for, as soon as Aptone had learned of the presence of our Saint in his episcopal city from some inhabitants who recognized him, he had him asked to come and see him. Perhaps he had known him formerly in the house of the Count of Périgueux, or at least he had heard of him. He was therefore delighted to see him; but when a conversation with the young solitary on the things of God, the vanity of the world, and the charms of solitude allowed him to appreciate more completely all the treasures of wisdom and piety that this elite soul contained, he resolved to do everything to settle him near his episcopal city. This is why he chose and showed him, on the slope of the mountain where it is built, a place of retreat which, inaccessible from the side of the city and closed at the bottom by the Charente, presented every facility for living there separated from the world, as if in the midst of the most remote desert. Let us add that a fountain, which seeped from the rock, provided the water necessary for the hermit and completed the charm of this solitude. Thus, says his historian, the holy man had no sooner seen it than he was captivated by it, and could not sufficiently express the joy of his soul. Doubtless it would have been sweet for him to settle there immediately, but, out of a sense of delicacy and religious subordination, he did not wish to do so before having obtained the approval of his bishop and his former abbot. Saint Aptone took charge of this negotiation, and sent toward Sébauris, Bishop of Périgueux, and toward Martin, Abbot of Sessac (today Issigeac), the first priests of his diocese: these were the archpriest Fronton, who later deserved to be raised to the episcopate; the archdeacon Arthémius, who is called a perfect servant of Jesus Christ; and another Arthémius, who held the title of defender, that is to say, who was charged with supporting the civil rights of the Church of Angoulême.

The choice of Aptone's envoys sufficiently shows the value he placed on the successful outcome of their mission: thus, he welcomed their return and the favorable response they brought him with great joy. The whole city, now certain of possessing Saint Cybard and appreciating this rich treasure, showed the man of God the keenest interest, and they busied themselves with preparing the cave where he was to enclose himself; it was necessary, indeed, to close it on the north side and make a few other indispensable adjustments. In the meantime, Cybard remained in the city, no doubt with Saint Aptone, sighing for the day when it would be granted to him to bury himself in this tomb of his choosing. The night that preceded this long-desired day, he felt compelled to visit his dear solitude; leaving his bed at the hour of midnight, he went there alone and secretly; and, after having prayed there for a long time, because he felt weighed down by sleep, he took, like a new Jacob, a stone for a pillow, and had, like the patriarch, a heavenly vision. An angel appeared to him and said: 'Cybard, remain here, and seek no other solitude': a divine command which, while strengthening him in his pious designs, made him keenly desire their prompt realization. He therefore hastened to return to Aptone to tell him of this vision, and passed near the prison where a large number of prisoners of war were groaning, who, not having yet been ransomed, had no other prospect than to be held captive or sold as slaves. It is known that the deliverance or ransom of these unfortunates was, in those times, one of the principal works of the Saints, and that the Church liberally employed its treasures and even the vessels of the altar for this purpose; through this noble use, these vessels became redemptive like the divine blood that was consecrated in their vermilion cups; and more than once, too, God authorized the compassionate zeal of His servants through miracles. This is what happened in this circumstance; for our Saint felt inspired to pray for these captives, and he had barely finished his fervent prayer before the prison door, when suddenly, before the very eyes of the jailer, this door opened, and the iron bar that closed it broke and was thrown outside. The prisoners then rushed toward the church to seek refuge there and thank God for their deliverance. For his part, the people ran up, and in their acclamations, united with the name of the Lord, who had broken the chains of the captives, that of Cybard who, on the point of becoming the voluntary prisoner of penance, had wished to restore to liberty the victims of war and misfortune.

It is easy to understand that after such a miracle, this same people accompanied our Saint in crowds when the bishop, followed by his clergy, led him to the cave that was henceforth to be his dwelling, and enclosed him there with all the pomp of sacred ceremonies. And now some may perhaps ask what the holy recluse could do in his narrow and silent cell: he did there what Saint Paul, the hermit, did from the age of fifteen to one hundred and thirteen in the depths of the deserts, and what so many eminent men have done in all centuries who have spent either their entire lives or long years in the deepest retreat, and who were never more eloquent than when they spoke of their dear solitude. It is that they occupied themselves with God, that they conversed with Him, that they meditated on His word, and that they found there an inexhaustible source of pure and holy joys. Let us add also that, thanks to the abundance of penances, prayers, expiations, and sufferings that Saint Cybard multiplied each day, he had more real favors to distribute and more benefits to spread than the most opulent monarch. Saint Aptone understood this at once, and to further extend this salutary i nfluence thr Saint Aptone Bishop of Angoulême in the 6th century, successor to Lupicinus. ough preaching and the direction of souls, he raised Cybard to the priesthood and permitted several of his clerics to place themselves under his guidance. He himself often came to visit him, and between these two saints the hours flowed sweet and rapid in their suave conversations on spiritual things. Moreover, at fixed days and hours, the faithful gathered before his cave, either to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion, which he gave them through a small grated window, or to listen to his instructions, or to gather his advice, and especially his consolations, for he possessed in a special way the gift of relieving the affliction of souls, even more so than that of healing the ailments of the body, although the miracle was, however, familiar to him. His historian tells us, in fact, that he healed several lepers, that he delivered the possessed, that he restored sight to three blind men, and performed many other healings through the anointing of blessed oil that he kept in his cell. Among these miraculous facts, we choose the following two, which seemed to us particularly remarkable.

A lady of noble birth, named Clara, or Arania, had her limbs all contracted by a horrible disease. Upon the reputation of Saint Cybard, she had herself brought Clara, ou Arania Noble lady miraculously healed by the saint. to him and begged him with loud cries to have pity on her; he kept her near his cave for a whole week, recommending her fervently to God, and then sent her back perfectly healed. If her gratitude was great, her confidence in the intercession of our Saint was no less: one can judge by the following trait: returned to her country and her house, which was situated on the seashore, she saw one day a ship ready to perish in the midst of the waves; she immediately invoked the help of God and the prayers of Saint Cybard; then, remembering that she possessed a letter from him, she ran to fetch it, and extending it toward the shore, she cried out: "Cybard, servant of God, this letter is a pledge of your charity; deign, in the name of Jesus Christ, to make it serve for the salvation of these unfortunates." Her hope was not deceived, for suddenly the ship, despite the violence of the waves, came to land happily, far from all ports, at the very place where she stood in prayer.

The second miracle took place on the person of a young man named Artemius, and it shows us the simple and modest virtue of the true solitary in opposition to the proud fanaticism of a false religious. Artemius, on his own, without listening to any advice, and outside the authority of his bishop, had become a recluse in the country of Saintonge; but neither his virtue nor his head were solid enough for such a way of life. Thus, after a few years of an imprudent reclusion, he was suddenly seen to fall into dementia and ask to be led to King Childebert, because he had to, he said, take his orders in order to then visit and inspect the kingdom. His desolate parents, feigning to enter into his views, set out with him, and, half by ruse, half by force, brought him to the cave of Saint Cybard. But, in the presence of the Saint, Artemius fell into a sudden fit of fury; his hair, which he wore very long, shook in disorder, his arms twisted violently, and his fingers clenched convulsively; he cried out at the same time that he recognized no one who was his equal in holiness, and that thus it was an outrage to him to bring him to another solitary; he mixed in addition to these ineptitudes a thousand other follies, and even words of blasphemy. However, our Saint, touched with compassion, extended his hand through the window of his cell and made the sign of the cross over him. Instantly all these cries and furies ceased; the following day he ordered his hair to be cut, which could only be executed with difficulty, because Artemius offered strong resistance, and the day after that Saint Cybard declared that he could be admitted among the clerics and receive the tonsure. This done, the poor young man remained perfectly calm, and after a few days, which the Saint used to console and instruct him, he returned to his family completely sound in mind and body. His healing did not falter until his death, and it was even judged so solid that Artemius was later raised to the diaconate.

The tender compassion that Saint Cybard had always felt for prisoners and captives followed him into his retreat: their deliverance remained his favorite work, and he employed for it the gold and silver that the alms of the faithful poured at his feet. The number of those he thus restored to liberty is estimated at no less than two thousand. His charity extended equally to criminals themselves; and Saint Cybard often happily used the influence granted to him by his virtue and holiness with judges, either to moderate a sentence or to obtain a full pardon. However, one day he saw himself refused by the Count, or governor of Angoulême, the commutation of the death penalty he had pronounced against a thief whom public outcry accused with more violence than justice. The sentence was therefore carried out in the presence of the governor and a large crowd. Informed of the time of this execution, Saint Cybard sent one of his monks there, saying to him: "Know, my brother, that what man has refused us, God by His grace will grant us." He then began to pray, and when the monk arrived at the place of execution, everything was finished, the thief had been hanged, and the crowd was withdrawing, satisfied and indifferent. However, the monk, his eyes fixed on the gallows, waited with confidence for the effect of his holy abbot's words: and suddenly the rope broke by itself, as did the chains that bound the hanged man, and he fell to the ground, free in all his limbs. The monk immediately ran to him, hastened to tell him to whom he owed his deliverance, and led him safe and sound before his liberator. The latter, after thanking God, had the Count asked to come to his cave, and presented to him, alive, this man whom he recognized perfectly as the same one he had left for dead a few moments earlier. Struck with stupor, he then threw himself at the feet of the holy abbot, promising to be more docile to his requests in the future, and not to be so prodigal with the death penalty.

Extraordinary as this miracle may seem to us, its authenticity cannot be revoked, for Saint Gregory of Tours, who reports it in the sixth book of his *History of the Franks*, declare saint Grégoire de Tours Bishop of Tours, contemporary historian, and friend of Palladius. s that he heard this account from the mouth of the Count himse Histoire des Francs Major work by Gregory of Tours. lf. Furthermore, unless one wishes, out of bias, to believe in no supernatural fact, nor in any intervention of God in human events, one cannot say that such a miracle was unworthy of His power, His wisdom, and His goodness, for it was a great lesson given to judges who, in those times, condemned a man to death so lightly, and to the people who, often out of caprice or blind prejudice, demanded the execution of an innocent person. Nothing was therefore more worthy of God than to protect, by a striking sign, human life against such frightful excesses.

However, as some disciples came to place themselves under the direction of Saint Cybard, he first assigned them the four or five caves near his own as a dwelling, and then, as their number increased, he had a monastery built for them at the bott monastère Monastery founded by the saint in Angoulême. om of the hill. Although enclosed in his cell, he governed this community with his words with as much gentleness as strength, for he knew how to sternly rebuke the religious who strayed from the Rule when necessary. Moreover, they came frequently, either all together or each individually, to receive his instructions; and no one left without having warmed their piety or revived their languor with the celestial fire of his soul. One of the prescriptions of the Rule ordered that the monks would live only on the voluntary alms of the faithful; and one can easily presume that more than once this Rule reduced them to harsh deprivations. It even happened one day that they were completely out of bread; then they came, sad and dejected, to cry famine at the cave of Saint Cybard. But he, welcoming them with an amiable cheerfulness, said to them: "Come, my children, faith does not fear hunger"; and then, to revive their courage and perhaps also to charm their appetite, he began to tell them certain marvelous traits from the lives of the Desert Fathers. Now, while he was speaking to them, provisions so abundant were brought to the monastery that there was enough to restore not only the whole community but also a great number of the poor.

If we now enter into the intimate life of Saint Cybard, we will say that the austerity of his fasts and vigils seems hardly credible, that he never drank wine, that his meals were so short and light that one could not understand how he could sustain himself, that his bed was only a mat placed on the bare rock, and that his poor and coarse clothing was of a roughness that made it a true hairshirt. His austerities increased even more frighteningly during Lent and at certain other times of the year. Moreover, constantly applied to prayer, giving the best part of the nights to psalmody and the recitation of the divine office, he only interrupted his conversations with God to instruct the religious of his monastery and the seculars who came to ask him for advice or counsel in the things of the spiritual life. But, whoever they were, he delighted them all with his humility and his unalterable gentleness. Finally, after having spent thirty-nine years in this severe seclusion, without ever having shown the slightest fatigue or the slightest boredom, he was seized by a small fever and peacefully rendered his soul to God, on July 4, 581, and at the same hour that he had heard the celestial voice which said to him: "Cybard, remain here and seek no other dwelling." As soon as he had expired, his holy body was removed from his cell and taken down to the monastery to be buried in the church. At his funeral, which God honored with several miracles, a great crowd of people gathered. But what was most touching was the multitude of captives he had delivered, who all rushed there to offer their benefactor this last tribute of gratitude.

He is found represented: 1° pouring a bag of silver onto a stone before one of his disciples, to teach him the contempt of riches; 2° placed in the middle of a glory from which rays depart where the names of the virtues that most honored his life and contributed to his canonization are written; 3° having near him a chain, or better, prisoners whose chains are breaking: this is the ordinary characteristic of saints who, especially in the Merovingian era, interposed a protection often blessed by God between the conquered race and the invaders who mistreated it; 4° a stained-glass window in the church of La Rochefoucauld (Charente) retraces the vision he had in his cave.

Saint Cybard is, with Saint Peter, the patron of Angoulême.

## CULT AND RELICS.

Shortly after his death, a public cult began to be rendered to him, and the bishop of Angoulême, Nicasien, who had occupied this see for only a year, associating himself with the enthusiasm of the populations, was the first to set the example of building a church under the name of Saint Cybard. Following his imitation, a large number of parishes in the dioceses of Angoulême, Périgueux, Saintes, Poitiers, and Limoges chose him as their patron; and the monastery he had founded became the goal of a pilgrimage, where people came from very far away to venerate the body of the Saint that the piety of his children had religiously deposited under the high altar of the church. But, in 1568, the Protestants, having seized the monastery, massacred the religious, violated the tombs of several counts and bishops of Angoulême who had chosen their burial place there, and burned the relics of Saint Cybard. Only a few small fragments are preserved today in the cathedral church. As for the monastery, it rose from its ruins and subsisted until 1791, the time at which it was sold and largely demolished. However, some portions still remain, among others the chapter house and half of the cloisters; and they are part of factories, workshops, and private houses. There remains, to console piety for so many losses, only the cave of the Saint.

This cave, piously frequented by the devotion of the faithful, was, in 1673, and through the care of Henri de Reffuge, commendatory abbot of Saint-Cybard, slightly enlarged towards the back, so as to leave in relief the place where the Saint usually stood. It is at this spot that an altar was erected which François de Péricard, one of the greatest bishops of Angoulême, consecrated on August 21 of the same year. He also had the bas-relief that one still sees today, and which represents the vision of Saint Cybard, sculpted into the living rock. But, in the middle of the last century, a path, which climbed from the Saint-Cybard bridge to the Place du Palet, having separated the top of the hillside from the abbey enclosure, the cave was too neglected by the religious, and they ceased to celebrate mass there even on the day of the Saint's feast. Then came the Revolution of 1793 which sold the abbey and the land where the holy cave was located. The new owner used it to store gardening tools, and things remained in this state until the year 1851, the time at which Mgr Couss eau, bishop Mgr Cousseau 19th-century Bishop of Angoulême who restored the grotto and wrote a life of the saint. of Angoulême, had the good inspiration to acquire this cave so full of religious memories and to return it to the cult of the pious solitary. This took place on July 1st of that year 1851, and the twelve hundred and seventieth anniversary of the death of Saint Cybard. Since then, His Grace never fails to come there every year to celebrate the holy sacrifice, and nothing is more touching than this mass said in this elevated and at the same time underground place, which recalls at once the catacombs of Rome and the cells of the Thebaid. Another project of His Lordship is to re-establish the ancient monastery of Saint-Cybard by placing it in the middle of the suburb that bears his name; already an elegant chapel has been built which, later, will become the abbey church, and every Sunday mass is said there. May this holy work, which will cast a new glory on the episcopate of Mgr Cousseau, be realized soon! and may we thus see the great monastic memories of Saint Cybard flourish again among us!

We owe this biography to the kindness of Mr. J. Duchassaing, honorary canon of Angoulême, who extracted it from the life of the saint published in 1851 by Bishop Cousseau.