He preached in Catalonia, and visited every
province
of Spain, except Galicia, in prosecuting the work of his mission.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v4
fol.
'In"HommeslUustre*deI'ordredeSt.
Dominique," tome iii.
' See tome iv. , Avril 5, pp. 215 to 243.
'•See"LesPetitsBollandistes, tomeiv,
5 Avril, p. 215.
' See M. L'Abb^ Rohrbacher's "Viesdes
Saints pour tous les jours de I'annee," tome
ii. , Avril 5, pp. 309, 310.
"See his Life in Surius, "De Probatis
Sanctorum Vitis," tomus ii. , Aprilis v. , lib. i. , cap. iv. , p. 66.
"See L'Abbe Rohrbacher's "Vies des Saints," Avril S, p. 310.
" See "Nouvelle BibliothequedesAuteurs "
Ecclesiastiques, 86, 87.
&c. , tomexii. , cap. iv. ,pp.
" See "Les Vies des Saints," tome i. , pp. 68 to 78, or tome iv. , Avril v. , pp. 134 to 153. Paris edition of 1701, 8vo.
"In " Vies des Saints de Bretagne," at
the 5th of April.
" See " Lives ofthe Fathers, Martyrs, and
3>5-
'' See "Lives of the Saints," vol. iv. , April
5, pp. 87, 88.
" . See " Kalendars of the Scottish Saints,"
38 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIMTS. [April 5. markable difference, between both his sermons. The saint immediately
" It was
replied,
preached yesterday,
•"See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of theSaints,"vol. iv. Aprilv. ,p. 87.
°3 See Sir Harris Nicolas' "Chronology of
202.
History," p.
"* He died at
444.
=5 See anaccount of him, in Alfonsus Cia-
conius' "Vitoe et Gesta Summorum Pontiti- cum a Christo Domino usque ad Clementem vill. necnon S. R. E. Cardinaliura cum eorundem Insignibus," lib. ii. , pp. 664 to 679. Romse, 1601, fol.
"* He reigned, from August 7th, 1316, to
702.
=' His term lasted, from December 20th,
1334, to April 25th, 1342. According to Ciaconius,heis noticedas"Benedictusxi.
*> He sat, from 1362 to 19th of December, 1370. See Sir Harris Nicolas' "Chrono-
logy of History," p. 203.
Perugia, July See Matthew of Westminster,
"
Flores Historiarum," at Anno Gratije MCCCllli. , p.
December 4th, 1334.
34 gee Dean Milman's " of Latin
to Cia- conius, he is called "Joannes xxi. dictus XXII. P. cxcvill. " See iiui. , pp. 6S0 to
dictus XII. P. cic. " See ibiJ. , pp. 703 to 709.
" He ruled, from May 7th, 1342, to De- cember 6th, 1352. See L'Abbe Fleury's "Histoire Ecclesiastique," tome xx. , liv. xcvi. , sec. xiii. , pp. 125, 126.
"9 He from to presided, 1352 1362.
Vincent Ferrier that
but it to-day
only
wasJesusChrist,speakingthroughhim. """ Atthistime,thePopesliadleft Rome, and they resided at Avignon, in France ; as dreadful schisms had greatly distracted the peace of the Church. After the death of Pope Boniface
VIII. , October nth, a. d. i303,"3 and of his successor. Pope Benedict XI. ,"* who was obliged to quit Rome, owing to dissensions then prevailing, espe- cially the quarrels of the Guelfs and Giiibellines disturbing Italy ; Bertrand de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux, was elected to the dignity, and taking the name of Pope Clement V. , established himself at Avignon, in France. 's French influence now prevailed, and a Cardinal-Bishop of Porto was elected tothePapacy,insuccession,hetakingfortitleJohnXXII. "* PopesBene- dict XII. ,"? Clement VI. ,"^ Innocent VI. ,"9 Urban V. ,3» and Gregory XI. ,3' allresidedatAvignon. 3" OnthedeathofthislatterPontiff,theelectionof Urban VI. ,33 as Pope, ensued at Rome,3« while the French Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert, Count of Geneva, who took the tide of Clement VII. ,35and hechosetoremainatAvignoas* HispapalLegate,thenreceivedinSpain, wasPeterdeLuna. TorewardVincent'slearningandtalents,thedegreeof
Doctor \vas conferred, by the Pope's representative in 1384, while he was at
Lerida,themostcelebratedUniversityintheprovinceofCatalonia. Atthis
time, our saint was in his twenty-eighth year. 37 Afterwards, he was recalled to
Valencia, and there, with extraordinary zeal, Vincent preached God's word
to the people. \Vhile here, he was obliged to sustain and overcome danger-
ous temptations of the devil ; and even his virtue was exposed to various
external assaults, which were ineffectual, however, but which taught him still
more the necessity for prayer, penance and vigilance, to avoid all occasions
of sin. He lived for six years, at Valencia ; and, in 1390, the Cardinal Legate
induced him to visit France, as he had a mission to the Court of its King,
Charles VI. While the Legate was chiefly engaged on political affairs, St. Vincent occupied himself with the work of God, at Paris. In 1394, refusing
7th, a. d. 1304.
According
History Christianity, vol. v. , book xiii. , chap. i. ii. ,
-s' He from ruled,
3" For
foregoii^ Sovereign Pontiffs, who were French, the reader is referred to L'Abbe Rohrbacher's "Histoire Universelle de I'Eglise Catholi-
que," tome xx. , liv. Ixiix. , Ixxx. , pp. 65 to 493.
33 His reign dates, from 1378 to 13S9. See Rev. Joseph Reeve's "Short View of the
History of the Christian Church," vol. ii. , cent, xiv. , sec. vi. , pp. 402 to 409. Exeter, 1S02, 1S03, i2mo.
pp. 396 to 423.
^3 He ruled, from 137S to 1394. See
L'Abbe Fleury's "Histoire Ecclesiastique," tomexx. , liv. xcvii. , sec. xlvii. toIxiii. ,and liv. xcviii. , sec. i. to Ixvi. , and liv. xcix. , sec. i. , ii. , pp. 271 to 40S.
36 See Albertus Cmntzius, "Saxonia," lib. x. , cap. iiii. , pp. 711, 712.
37 See the X-iev. Alban Butler's "Lives of
the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. iv. , April v.
1370 very complete
1378.
"
to
Acts of Uie
April 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 39
to accompany the Cardinal to the court of Clement VII. , at Avignon, our saint returned to Valencia. Meanwhile, Pope Urban had died at Rome, on
the 15th of October, 1389 ; and, immediately, the Roman Cardinak elected Boniface IX. ,5* as his successor. Each of the rival pontiffs anathematized the other,tothegreatscandalofChristendom; but,whiletheDoctorsofthe University of Paris laboured to close the schism, Clement VII. died, Septem- ber 1 6th, i394. » Again, owing to a promise made to restore peace to the Church, but which was afterwards as craftily evaded, the Conclave, at . \vignon, elected the friend of our saint, Peter de Luna. <° There, he bore the title of
Benedict XIII. ; and, having been elevated, chiefly through the influence of the French and Spaniards, he resided at Avignon, during that great schism, whichsogreatlydisturbedtheChurch,inthefaurteenthcentury. *' Asare- sult of diis election, St. Vincent was appointed chamberlain by that Pope, and he resided for some time in the Court, at Avignon. Vincent chose to con- tinue his evangelical labours, in the pulpit, while he had charge of household affairs, and he was confessor to Benedict XIII. *" He laboured most zealously toreconcileordissipatethefactionsandbroilsoftheunhappyperiod; but, wearied with ineffectiial exertions to promote peace and concord, he deter-
minedtoleavethePapalCourt,atAvignon. Oursaintwasgrieved,atthe sUteofecclesiasticalandcivilanarchywhichreigned; and,headvisedBene- dict to resign his position, in order that peace might prevail in the Church. This monition had been assented to, as he thought, but soon was Vmcentun-
. deceived, by the action of the Pontiff^ Then, he expressed his intention, to withdrawfromthecourt. ThePoperemonstrated,asbeingmiwilhngtolose his society and services ; but, Vincent retired to a convent of his order, at Avignon, where he was seized with a fever, from which he recovered, how- ever,inatrulymiraculousmanner. « StVincentchoseamissionarycareer among the poor, and afterwards devoted himself with extraordinary labour,
to announce the Gospel, in different parts of Europe. At the age of forty- two, he set out from Avignon towards Valentia, and he preached everywhere, through the towns, to large crowds, who were attracted by his fervent dis- courses, while these produced very wonderful fruits. Numbers of public sinners were converted, even many among the Jews and Mahommedans, Heretics and Schismatics abandorwd their errors.
He preached in Catalonia, and visited every province of Spain, except Galicia, in prosecuting the work of his mission. From Spain, he went into France, and there he uavelled throughLanguedoc,Provence,andDauphiny. FromFrance,hejourneyed toItaly,preachingalongtiiccoastofGenoa. HevisitedSavoy,Piedmont, andLombardy. Anothercourseofinstructionsandofmissionarylabourshe undertook, about the Upper Rhine, in parts of Germany, and in Flanders. The usual subjects of his discourse were on the exciting and senous topics of
God's judgments, on sin and on sinners, on death, on hell, and on eternity. Extraordinary manifesutions of feeling took place, among the congregations
* He was the generaDy recognised Vofc, and he ruled from 1389 to 1404.
"See Rer. limes Ciaigie Robertson's " HistofT <* the Christian Chtirch," »oL iv, book TO. , chap, t. , p. 173.
-SnriossUtes, "anno iw* 4 Kal. Octob. " See " De Prob«U Sanctotmn Vitis," &c. , Life of St. Vmeent Fenw, Ub. u. , cap. ii. ,
Epoch, p«t second, chap. i. to ir. , pp. l to l8a Dnblin edition, Trafldation. ^
1
«> See " L'H. ,toire de t-gliic, par Jie-
ranlt-Bercastel, noavelle edition corngee et angmentee de $a continnation depm$ 1720 ja«iu' aLeon Xll, par M. Pcher deLacroix, Chanoine de Chartres et Aumonier de -S. A. K. Le Prince de Conde, tome vu. , Uv. ilvii. P- 4«3- Edit«». A Pans, A. D. 1829 et
p. ;o.
«« Foranaccoontoftheselamentabledis- seq.
„ . t. n j- . >> . . Petits BoIUndistes, tome
" Unirersal Church History," vol. iii. Second
"
iv. , 5 Ami, pp. 220, 221.
ofdeo, see Rev. John Aliog-s
Manual of
4'
See
Les
•
40 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 5.
he addressed, and great conversions were a usual result. He appealed, how- ever, as well to the understanding, as to the feelings, of vast crowds, who were convinced and moved, by his eloquent exhortations. While St. Vincent was
engaged preaching the Gospel, in France, Henry IV. ,<'» King of England, sent him a pressing invitation by messengers, to visit his realm, and the holy
mancompliedwithhisrequest. Then,hepredictedmanythings,thatshould happen in the future, and his prophecies were exactly fulfilled. He spread the word of God with great fruit. Afterwards, leaving England, he directed his course, by sea, to Scotland. s From the latter country, he passed over to Ireland ; and, most probably, he landed somewhere, in the province of Ulster. However, he did not remain for any considerable time, in Ireland, when he deemed it necessary to revisit Gaul. *^ His own manner of life was known to
be most austere, self-sacrificing, and abstemious. He fasted every day, except on Sundays,andhenevereatflesh-meat; onWednesdayandonFridays,helived
on bread and water, for a great number of years. After returning from the
British Islands, he gave missions, in Gascony and Picardy. This remarkable man preached, also, in the Island of Majorca. St. Vincent had a wonderful
aptitude, for the acquisition of languages, and after a little study, he was en- abled to preach, in the various foreign countries. He possessed, in a remark-
able degree, gifts of prophecy, and the performance of miracles, very many of which are recorded by his biographers. Notwithstanding his unremitting occupations, in the work of the ministry, our saint found time to compose the following valuable works : A Treatise on a Spiritual I>ife, or on the Interior
Man ; a Treatise on the Lord's Prayer ; a Consolation under Temptations
against Faith ; besides seven Epistles. Having spent some time, in the pro- vince of Burgundy, he went from Dijon to Bourges. There, his labours in
the ministry were exercised, with great unction. While here, pressing letters were received from John V. , Duke of Brittany, who asked him to come, for
the purpose of preaching in his own province. St. Vincent readily complied withhisrequest,andtravelledbywayofTours,Angers,andNantz. Along the route, miracles were wrought by him, and many sinners were converted. The chief city of the duke was Vannes, and preparations were made there, to receive the saint, with the highest honours. The sovereign, clergy, nobles, and people, vied with each other, in the welcome accorded to him. From the fourth Sunday of Lent, until Easter Tuesday, of the year 141 7, he preached in the city of Vannes, with remarkable effect ; for, he produced a thorough change, in the morals of the people. While he remained in this place, Vincent received a message, from Pope Martin V. He had been elected Pope, by the Council assembled at Constance, in the November of that year. This indult confirmed all his missionary faculties and authority. King Henry V. , who ruled over England and Normandy, at the time, happened to be at Caen, andheentreatedSt. Vincent,tovisithisFrenchdominions. Theholyman complied, and thenceforward, for the remainder of his life, his labours were confined to the provinces of Brittany and Normandy. At length, worn out, with incessant labours and advancing years, he sought the city of Vannes, for the purpose of finding there his grave. A fever had already seized upon him. In this extremity, he received the sacraments of the Church, with most edify-
« His reign lasted, from A. D. 139910 A. D.
1413.
<5 As connected with this country, in
Ad. im King's Kalendar, he is thus noticed,
p. 148.
<' See Vita, auctore Petro Ranzano Ordi-
nis Praedicatorum, dienEpisc. Luceiino. Ex Codice MS. Ultrajectino, lib. ii. , cap. ii. , sec. 8, in "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , ApriUs v. , p. 493.
"
S. Vincentius confess,—of ye Bis-
at this day.
ordre of blakfreiris vendr frederic 2. "
hop Forbes' "Kalendar of Scottish Saints,"
April 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
41
ingpiety. Withpatience,resignation,andcontinuousprayer,hepassedaway from life, on the 5th April, which happened to fall on Wednesday in Passion week. He died, in the year 1419, having lived exactly sixty-two years, two months,andthirteendays. Hisremainswere^religiouslydeposited,inthechoir of the cathedral church, at Vannes, and a great number of miracles having been wrought there, through his intercession, Pope Calixius III. , in 1455, drew up the Bull for his canonization. This, however, was only published, on the 7th October, 1458, by his successor, Pope Pius II. , after the saint's remains had been taken from the tomb, and deposited in a rich shrine. An unsuc- cessful application of the Spaniards, to have his body removed to Spain, was madein1599. Then,theshrinewasactuallyburiedintheearth,fromwhich it was recovered, on the 6th of September, i637. 't7 Great honours were paid the saint, on the recurrence of this festival ; and, during the revolutionary period, in France, the relics of St. Vincent were concealed, until the times allowed their restoration. The shrine is yet borne in procession, through Vannes, on the occasion of great solemnities. His feast, at this day, occurs in various calendars. Thus, in the Manuscript Martyrologies of Bruxelles' andofFlorarius; intheMartyrologyofCologneandofLubeck,printeda. d. 1490; in Greuen and in Molanus; in Bellinus, Maurolycus, Felicius, Galesinusj and in Canisius ; we find his festival cast, for the 5th day of April. At the same date, the Roman Martyrology records him. 'ts This holy man is men-
tioned, with special encomiums, in the Martyrologies of Saussay, and of the
Spaniard, Tamaius Salazar. In the Martyrology of the Dominican Order of
Preachers, the octave for his feast is set down, at the 12th of April. « The
feast of St. Vincent Ferrer is to be found, Avril 5, in the succinct calendar,
"
prefixed to the
Heures de Nostre-Dame a I'usage du Mans. " The Missal
of the Order of Preachers, and which was printed at Venice, a. d. the " 1504,
Circle of the Seasons," 5° and various other authorities, chronicle our saint, at the 5th day of April. His was a life of extraordinary activity and labour- although his constitution was naturally weak, yet this was never an excuse' with him for rest, and his ardour seemed unconquerable, when God's work and the salvation of souls required his attention.
Article III. —Feast of St. Tigernach, Bishop of Clogher and
lished by " Les Petits Bollandistes,"' at the same date.
According to several respectable authorities, the death St. Tigernach
Bishop over Clogher, took place, on the sth of April. His Acts have been given,atthedaypreceding,asthereadermayhavealreadyperceived Henry Fitzsimon, on his list and at this date, has Thigernogus, Epis. ; while as he states, Molanus calls him Thigernachus. 3 In the Anonymous Catalogue pub- lished by O'Sulhvan Beare. a St. Thibernogus is mentioned, at this day'. * St.
Abbot of Clones.
[_Sixih Century? ^ In Rev. Alban Butler we find an account, at the 5 th of April, of St. Tigernach, who is styled Bishop and Con- fessor. A short notice is given of him, among the Lives of the Saints, as pub-
« Afterwards, a chapel was buih, in the cathedral, and over its altar, the shnne was placed. There his remains are still exposed for venerat. on to the faithful. See Godes- card s" Vies des Samts de
S'h°fApnI
mentarius PrKvius, sec. i. , num. 5. p 470 5° At p. 96.
Article 'in. —' See "Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs, Saints ' andotherprincipal -^o"'",
vol. iv April v
, . X, . , „ Martyrologium Romanum, &c. ,
Baron. us, p. 153. Ld. tio
f""Acta Sanctorum. " tomus i.
rnill. is! v. , De S. Vmcentio Ferreno, &c. Com-
'See'vol. 3 He also
iv. ,'ApriI v. , p. 203.
quotes Floratius, as an autho-
^^^\.
,
by Cardinal
rity. See "Catalogus Sanctorum aliquorum
Iberniae. "
« See " Historian Catholics Ibemiae Com-
pendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 50,
C^sar Koma:, 1580, tol.
Bretagne," at the
Ap-
42
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 5.
Ti-emach's festival is noted, at this same date, in the Roman Martyrology as "also by Father White, who styles this saint a distinguished preacher of ? he Gospels John Molanus, the Circle of the Seasons,^ with Adam King s Kalendar,7 Dempster,^ and David Camerarius,^ agree, as likewise the Bollan- Sts, in assigning his feast to this day- Bishop Forbes has some notices of
this saint. "
Article IV. —Feast of Saint Patrick's First Baptism, in Ireland.
Dominique," tome iii.
' See tome iv. , Avril 5, pp. 215 to 243.
'•See"LesPetitsBollandistes, tomeiv,
5 Avril, p. 215.
' See M. L'Abb^ Rohrbacher's "Viesdes
Saints pour tous les jours de I'annee," tome
ii. , Avril 5, pp. 309, 310.
"See his Life in Surius, "De Probatis
Sanctorum Vitis," tomus ii. , Aprilis v. , lib. i. , cap. iv. , p. 66.
"See L'Abbe Rohrbacher's "Vies des Saints," Avril S, p. 310.
" See "Nouvelle BibliothequedesAuteurs "
Ecclesiastiques, 86, 87.
&c. , tomexii. , cap. iv. ,pp.
" See "Les Vies des Saints," tome i. , pp. 68 to 78, or tome iv. , Avril v. , pp. 134 to 153. Paris edition of 1701, 8vo.
"In " Vies des Saints de Bretagne," at
the 5th of April.
" See " Lives ofthe Fathers, Martyrs, and
3>5-
'' See "Lives of the Saints," vol. iv. , April
5, pp. 87, 88.
" . See " Kalendars of the Scottish Saints,"
38 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIMTS. [April 5. markable difference, between both his sermons. The saint immediately
" It was
replied,
preached yesterday,
•"See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of theSaints,"vol. iv. Aprilv. ,p. 87.
°3 See Sir Harris Nicolas' "Chronology of
202.
History," p.
"* He died at
444.
=5 See anaccount of him, in Alfonsus Cia-
conius' "Vitoe et Gesta Summorum Pontiti- cum a Christo Domino usque ad Clementem vill. necnon S. R. E. Cardinaliura cum eorundem Insignibus," lib. ii. , pp. 664 to 679. Romse, 1601, fol.
"* He reigned, from August 7th, 1316, to
702.
=' His term lasted, from December 20th,
1334, to April 25th, 1342. According to Ciaconius,heis noticedas"Benedictusxi.
*> He sat, from 1362 to 19th of December, 1370. See Sir Harris Nicolas' "Chrono-
logy of History," p. 203.
Perugia, July See Matthew of Westminster,
"
Flores Historiarum," at Anno Gratije MCCCllli. , p.
December 4th, 1334.
34 gee Dean Milman's " of Latin
to Cia- conius, he is called "Joannes xxi. dictus XXII. P. cxcvill. " See iiui. , pp. 6S0 to
dictus XII. P. cic. " See ibiJ. , pp. 703 to 709.
" He ruled, from May 7th, 1342, to De- cember 6th, 1352. See L'Abbe Fleury's "Histoire Ecclesiastique," tome xx. , liv. xcvi. , sec. xiii. , pp. 125, 126.
"9 He from to presided, 1352 1362.
Vincent Ferrier that
but it to-day
only
wasJesusChrist,speakingthroughhim. """ Atthistime,thePopesliadleft Rome, and they resided at Avignon, in France ; as dreadful schisms had greatly distracted the peace of the Church. After the death of Pope Boniface
VIII. , October nth, a. d. i303,"3 and of his successor. Pope Benedict XI. ,"* who was obliged to quit Rome, owing to dissensions then prevailing, espe- cially the quarrels of the Guelfs and Giiibellines disturbing Italy ; Bertrand de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux, was elected to the dignity, and taking the name of Pope Clement V. , established himself at Avignon, in France. 's French influence now prevailed, and a Cardinal-Bishop of Porto was elected tothePapacy,insuccession,hetakingfortitleJohnXXII. "* PopesBene- dict XII. ,"? Clement VI. ,"^ Innocent VI. ,"9 Urban V. ,3» and Gregory XI. ,3' allresidedatAvignon. 3" OnthedeathofthislatterPontiff,theelectionof Urban VI. ,33 as Pope, ensued at Rome,3« while the French Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert, Count of Geneva, who took the tide of Clement VII. ,35and hechosetoremainatAvignoas* HispapalLegate,thenreceivedinSpain, wasPeterdeLuna. TorewardVincent'slearningandtalents,thedegreeof
Doctor \vas conferred, by the Pope's representative in 1384, while he was at
Lerida,themostcelebratedUniversityintheprovinceofCatalonia. Atthis
time, our saint was in his twenty-eighth year. 37 Afterwards, he was recalled to
Valencia, and there, with extraordinary zeal, Vincent preached God's word
to the people. \Vhile here, he was obliged to sustain and overcome danger-
ous temptations of the devil ; and even his virtue was exposed to various
external assaults, which were ineffectual, however, but which taught him still
more the necessity for prayer, penance and vigilance, to avoid all occasions
of sin. He lived for six years, at Valencia ; and, in 1390, the Cardinal Legate
induced him to visit France, as he had a mission to the Court of its King,
Charles VI. While the Legate was chiefly engaged on political affairs, St. Vincent occupied himself with the work of God, at Paris. In 1394, refusing
7th, a. d. 1304.
According
History Christianity, vol. v. , book xiii. , chap. i. ii. ,
-s' He from ruled,
3" For
foregoii^ Sovereign Pontiffs, who were French, the reader is referred to L'Abbe Rohrbacher's "Histoire Universelle de I'Eglise Catholi-
que," tome xx. , liv. Ixiix. , Ixxx. , pp. 65 to 493.
33 His reign dates, from 1378 to 13S9. See Rev. Joseph Reeve's "Short View of the
History of the Christian Church," vol. ii. , cent, xiv. , sec. vi. , pp. 402 to 409. Exeter, 1S02, 1S03, i2mo.
pp. 396 to 423.
^3 He ruled, from 137S to 1394. See
L'Abbe Fleury's "Histoire Ecclesiastique," tomexx. , liv. xcvii. , sec. xlvii. toIxiii. ,and liv. xcviii. , sec. i. to Ixvi. , and liv. xcix. , sec. i. , ii. , pp. 271 to 40S.
36 See Albertus Cmntzius, "Saxonia," lib. x. , cap. iiii. , pp. 711, 712.
37 See the X-iev. Alban Butler's "Lives of
the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. iv. , April v.
1370 very complete
1378.
"
to
Acts of Uie
April 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 39
to accompany the Cardinal to the court of Clement VII. , at Avignon, our saint returned to Valencia. Meanwhile, Pope Urban had died at Rome, on
the 15th of October, 1389 ; and, immediately, the Roman Cardinak elected Boniface IX. ,5* as his successor. Each of the rival pontiffs anathematized the other,tothegreatscandalofChristendom; but,whiletheDoctorsofthe University of Paris laboured to close the schism, Clement VII. died, Septem- ber 1 6th, i394. » Again, owing to a promise made to restore peace to the Church, but which was afterwards as craftily evaded, the Conclave, at . \vignon, elected the friend of our saint, Peter de Luna. <° There, he bore the title of
Benedict XIII. ; and, having been elevated, chiefly through the influence of the French and Spaniards, he resided at Avignon, during that great schism, whichsogreatlydisturbedtheChurch,inthefaurteenthcentury. *' Asare- sult of diis election, St. Vincent was appointed chamberlain by that Pope, and he resided for some time in the Court, at Avignon. Vincent chose to con- tinue his evangelical labours, in the pulpit, while he had charge of household affairs, and he was confessor to Benedict XIII. *" He laboured most zealously toreconcileordissipatethefactionsandbroilsoftheunhappyperiod; but, wearied with ineffectiial exertions to promote peace and concord, he deter-
minedtoleavethePapalCourt,atAvignon. Oursaintwasgrieved,atthe sUteofecclesiasticalandcivilanarchywhichreigned; and,headvisedBene- dict to resign his position, in order that peace might prevail in the Church. This monition had been assented to, as he thought, but soon was Vmcentun-
. deceived, by the action of the Pontiff^ Then, he expressed his intention, to withdrawfromthecourt. ThePoperemonstrated,asbeingmiwilhngtolose his society and services ; but, Vincent retired to a convent of his order, at Avignon, where he was seized with a fever, from which he recovered, how- ever,inatrulymiraculousmanner. « StVincentchoseamissionarycareer among the poor, and afterwards devoted himself with extraordinary labour,
to announce the Gospel, in different parts of Europe. At the age of forty- two, he set out from Avignon towards Valentia, and he preached everywhere, through the towns, to large crowds, who were attracted by his fervent dis- courses, while these produced very wonderful fruits. Numbers of public sinners were converted, even many among the Jews and Mahommedans, Heretics and Schismatics abandorwd their errors.
He preached in Catalonia, and visited every province of Spain, except Galicia, in prosecuting the work of his mission. From Spain, he went into France, and there he uavelled throughLanguedoc,Provence,andDauphiny. FromFrance,hejourneyed toItaly,preachingalongtiiccoastofGenoa. HevisitedSavoy,Piedmont, andLombardy. Anothercourseofinstructionsandofmissionarylabourshe undertook, about the Upper Rhine, in parts of Germany, and in Flanders. The usual subjects of his discourse were on the exciting and senous topics of
God's judgments, on sin and on sinners, on death, on hell, and on eternity. Extraordinary manifesutions of feeling took place, among the congregations
* He was the generaDy recognised Vofc, and he ruled from 1389 to 1404.
"See Rer. limes Ciaigie Robertson's " HistofT <* the Christian Chtirch," »oL iv, book TO. , chap, t. , p. 173.
-SnriossUtes, "anno iw* 4 Kal. Octob. " See " De Prob«U Sanctotmn Vitis," &c. , Life of St. Vmeent Fenw, Ub. u. , cap. ii. ,
Epoch, p«t second, chap. i. to ir. , pp. l to l8a Dnblin edition, Trafldation. ^
1
«> See " L'H. ,toire de t-gliic, par Jie-
ranlt-Bercastel, noavelle edition corngee et angmentee de $a continnation depm$ 1720 ja«iu' aLeon Xll, par M. Pcher deLacroix, Chanoine de Chartres et Aumonier de -S. A. K. Le Prince de Conde, tome vu. , Uv. ilvii. P- 4«3- Edit«». A Pans, A. D. 1829 et
p. ;o.
«« Foranaccoontoftheselamentabledis- seq.
„ . t. n j- . >> . . Petits BoIUndistes, tome
" Unirersal Church History," vol. iii. Second
"
iv. , 5 Ami, pp. 220, 221.
ofdeo, see Rev. John Aliog-s
Manual of
4'
See
Les
•
40 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 5.
he addressed, and great conversions were a usual result. He appealed, how- ever, as well to the understanding, as to the feelings, of vast crowds, who were convinced and moved, by his eloquent exhortations. While St. Vincent was
engaged preaching the Gospel, in France, Henry IV. ,<'» King of England, sent him a pressing invitation by messengers, to visit his realm, and the holy
mancompliedwithhisrequest. Then,hepredictedmanythings,thatshould happen in the future, and his prophecies were exactly fulfilled. He spread the word of God with great fruit. Afterwards, leaving England, he directed his course, by sea, to Scotland. s From the latter country, he passed over to Ireland ; and, most probably, he landed somewhere, in the province of Ulster. However, he did not remain for any considerable time, in Ireland, when he deemed it necessary to revisit Gaul. *^ His own manner of life was known to
be most austere, self-sacrificing, and abstemious. He fasted every day, except on Sundays,andhenevereatflesh-meat; onWednesdayandonFridays,helived
on bread and water, for a great number of years. After returning from the
British Islands, he gave missions, in Gascony and Picardy. This remarkable man preached, also, in the Island of Majorca. St. Vincent had a wonderful
aptitude, for the acquisition of languages, and after a little study, he was en- abled to preach, in the various foreign countries. He possessed, in a remark-
able degree, gifts of prophecy, and the performance of miracles, very many of which are recorded by his biographers. Notwithstanding his unremitting occupations, in the work of the ministry, our saint found time to compose the following valuable works : A Treatise on a Spiritual I>ife, or on the Interior
Man ; a Treatise on the Lord's Prayer ; a Consolation under Temptations
against Faith ; besides seven Epistles. Having spent some time, in the pro- vince of Burgundy, he went from Dijon to Bourges. There, his labours in
the ministry were exercised, with great unction. While here, pressing letters were received from John V. , Duke of Brittany, who asked him to come, for
the purpose of preaching in his own province. St. Vincent readily complied withhisrequest,andtravelledbywayofTours,Angers,andNantz. Along the route, miracles were wrought by him, and many sinners were converted. The chief city of the duke was Vannes, and preparations were made there, to receive the saint, with the highest honours. The sovereign, clergy, nobles, and people, vied with each other, in the welcome accorded to him. From the fourth Sunday of Lent, until Easter Tuesday, of the year 141 7, he preached in the city of Vannes, with remarkable effect ; for, he produced a thorough change, in the morals of the people. While he remained in this place, Vincent received a message, from Pope Martin V. He had been elected Pope, by the Council assembled at Constance, in the November of that year. This indult confirmed all his missionary faculties and authority. King Henry V. , who ruled over England and Normandy, at the time, happened to be at Caen, andheentreatedSt. Vincent,tovisithisFrenchdominions. Theholyman complied, and thenceforward, for the remainder of his life, his labours were confined to the provinces of Brittany and Normandy. At length, worn out, with incessant labours and advancing years, he sought the city of Vannes, for the purpose of finding there his grave. A fever had already seized upon him. In this extremity, he received the sacraments of the Church, with most edify-
« His reign lasted, from A. D. 139910 A. D.
1413.
<5 As connected with this country, in
Ad. im King's Kalendar, he is thus noticed,
p. 148.
<' See Vita, auctore Petro Ranzano Ordi-
nis Praedicatorum, dienEpisc. Luceiino. Ex Codice MS. Ultrajectino, lib. ii. , cap. ii. , sec. 8, in "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , ApriUs v. , p. 493.
"
S. Vincentius confess,—of ye Bis-
at this day.
ordre of blakfreiris vendr frederic 2. "
hop Forbes' "Kalendar of Scottish Saints,"
April 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
41
ingpiety. Withpatience,resignation,andcontinuousprayer,hepassedaway from life, on the 5th April, which happened to fall on Wednesday in Passion week. He died, in the year 1419, having lived exactly sixty-two years, two months,andthirteendays. Hisremainswere^religiouslydeposited,inthechoir of the cathedral church, at Vannes, and a great number of miracles having been wrought there, through his intercession, Pope Calixius III. , in 1455, drew up the Bull for his canonization. This, however, was only published, on the 7th October, 1458, by his successor, Pope Pius II. , after the saint's remains had been taken from the tomb, and deposited in a rich shrine. An unsuc- cessful application of the Spaniards, to have his body removed to Spain, was madein1599. Then,theshrinewasactuallyburiedintheearth,fromwhich it was recovered, on the 6th of September, i637. 't7 Great honours were paid the saint, on the recurrence of this festival ; and, during the revolutionary period, in France, the relics of St. Vincent were concealed, until the times allowed their restoration. The shrine is yet borne in procession, through Vannes, on the occasion of great solemnities. His feast, at this day, occurs in various calendars. Thus, in the Manuscript Martyrologies of Bruxelles' andofFlorarius; intheMartyrologyofCologneandofLubeck,printeda. d. 1490; in Greuen and in Molanus; in Bellinus, Maurolycus, Felicius, Galesinusj and in Canisius ; we find his festival cast, for the 5th day of April. At the same date, the Roman Martyrology records him. 'ts This holy man is men-
tioned, with special encomiums, in the Martyrologies of Saussay, and of the
Spaniard, Tamaius Salazar. In the Martyrology of the Dominican Order of
Preachers, the octave for his feast is set down, at the 12th of April. « The
feast of St. Vincent Ferrer is to be found, Avril 5, in the succinct calendar,
"
prefixed to the
Heures de Nostre-Dame a I'usage du Mans. " The Missal
of the Order of Preachers, and which was printed at Venice, a. d. the " 1504,
Circle of the Seasons," 5° and various other authorities, chronicle our saint, at the 5th day of April. His was a life of extraordinary activity and labour- although his constitution was naturally weak, yet this was never an excuse' with him for rest, and his ardour seemed unconquerable, when God's work and the salvation of souls required his attention.
Article III. —Feast of St. Tigernach, Bishop of Clogher and
lished by " Les Petits Bollandistes,"' at the same date.
According to several respectable authorities, the death St. Tigernach
Bishop over Clogher, took place, on the sth of April. His Acts have been given,atthedaypreceding,asthereadermayhavealreadyperceived Henry Fitzsimon, on his list and at this date, has Thigernogus, Epis. ; while as he states, Molanus calls him Thigernachus. 3 In the Anonymous Catalogue pub- lished by O'Sulhvan Beare. a St. Thibernogus is mentioned, at this day'. * St.
Abbot of Clones.
[_Sixih Century? ^ In Rev. Alban Butler we find an account, at the 5 th of April, of St. Tigernach, who is styled Bishop and Con- fessor. A short notice is given of him, among the Lives of the Saints, as pub-
« Afterwards, a chapel was buih, in the cathedral, and over its altar, the shnne was placed. There his remains are still exposed for venerat. on to the faithful. See Godes- card s" Vies des Samts de
S'h°fApnI
mentarius PrKvius, sec. i. , num. 5. p 470 5° At p. 96.
Article 'in. —' See "Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs, Saints ' andotherprincipal -^o"'",
vol. iv April v
, . X, . , „ Martyrologium Romanum, &c. ,
Baron. us, p. 153. Ld. tio
f""Acta Sanctorum. " tomus i.
rnill. is! v. , De S. Vmcentio Ferreno, &c. Com-
'See'vol. 3 He also
iv. ,'ApriI v. , p. 203.
quotes Floratius, as an autho-
^^^\.
,
by Cardinal
rity. See "Catalogus Sanctorum aliquorum
Iberniae. "
« See " Historian Catholics Ibemiae Com-
pendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 50,
C^sar Koma:, 1580, tol.
Bretagne," at the
Ap-
42
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 5.
Ti-emach's festival is noted, at this same date, in the Roman Martyrology as "also by Father White, who styles this saint a distinguished preacher of ? he Gospels John Molanus, the Circle of the Seasons,^ with Adam King s Kalendar,7 Dempster,^ and David Camerarius,^ agree, as likewise the Bollan- Sts, in assigning his feast to this day- Bishop Forbes has some notices of
this saint. "
Article IV. —Feast of Saint Patrick's First Baptism, in Ireland.
