Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
ID
ER 784
Presbyter Saturninus, a monk in Bierzo (Iberian Peninsula), harms himself during work and is miraculously healed while celebrating the Eucharist. Valerius of Bierzo, "Replicatio sermonum", 2nd half of the 7th century.
The monks Valerius and Saturninus build a church in honour of the Holy Cross, St. Pantaleon and other holy martyrs near their hermitage in the region of Bierzo. Saturninus is there ordained a presbyter [783].
 
10. Dum quadam die lapides desuper imminente rupe abscideret subito erupta desuper ingens acutissima lapis praecipitata deorsum, ejus percutiens pedem illius usque ad ossa penetrans, nervos et venas incidit. Dum esset formidis ne debilis factus gressum amitteret, aut mortem incurreret, mox siccato sanguine se decubans, in lectulo continere non potuit, sed solita consuetudine se ad sacrificium Domino offerendum, licet debilis, cum nimio labore necessitatis semipes attraxit. Statimque ut sacrificium coram Domino immolavit, ita egressus est sanus, ut videretur illi nec spinae aculeus eum vel leviter pupunxisset.
 
(ed. C.M. Aherne 1949: 137, 139)
The monks Valerius and Saturninus build a church in honour of the Holy Cross, St. Pantaleon and other holy martyrs near their hermitage in the region of Bierzo. Saturninus is there ordained a presbyter [783].
 
10. While on a certain day he was cutting away the rocks where the cliff overhung, suddenly a huge and very sharp stone, breaking off from above, fell down, striking his foot; penetrating even to the bone it severed sinews and veins. Though there was fear lest, weakened, he should lose the use of his foot or even incur death, as soon as the blood had dried after he lay down, he could not stay in bed, but in accordance with his usual custom, weak as he was, he dragged himself with the greatest difficulty on one foot to offer the Sacrifice to the Lord. No sooner had he offered the Sacrifice before the Lord than he came out healed, so that it did not seem that the point of a thorn had pricked him even slightly.
 
(ed. C.M. Aherne 1949: 136, 138)

Place of event:

Region
  • Iberian Peninsula
City
  • Bierzo

About the source:

Author: Valerius of Bierzo
Title: Replicatio sermonum, Further account
Origin: Bierzo (Iberian Peninsula)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
"Replicatio sermonum" is the second part of the autobiographical trilogy written by the eremitical monk from the region of Bierzo (Iberian Peninsula) Valerius. He relates the sufferings, attacks of the devil and conflicts he was involved during his monastic life. The exact dates of Valerius life, as well as the dates of the composition of his works cannot be established; it can only be said that he lived and worked in roughly the second half of the seventh century. Apart from the autobiographical writings he composed six short works: De vana saeculi sapientia, Vita et epistola beatissimae Egeriae, De genere monachorum, Dicta beatum Valeri ad beatum Donadeum scripta, De Bonello monacho, and De caeleste revelatione. On Valerius of Bierzo see Aherne 1949, Collins 1986, Díaz y Díaz 2006, Martín 2011.
Edition:
Edition and translation:
Valerius of Bierzo, Ordo querimoniae, [in:]  C.M. Aherne, Valerio of Bierzo, an Ascetic of the Late Visigothic Period. A Dissertation, Washington D.C. 1949, 68-109
Bibliography:
J.L. Avello Álvarez, "Los suevos y visigodos en la provincia de León", Memorias de historia antigua 11-12 (1990), 295-316.
R. Collins, "The Autobiographical Works of Valerius of Bierzo their structure and purpose”, [in :] Antigüedad y cristianismo: Monografías históricas sobre la Antigüedad tardía, 1986, 425-442.
M.C. Díaz y Díaz, Valerio Del Bierzo: su persona, su obra, León 2006.
M. Gómez Moreno, Catálogo monumental de España. Provincia de León (1906-1908), v. 1, Madrid 1925.
J.C. Martín, "¿Valerio en Compludo? Examen crítico de los opúsculos autobiográficos (CPL 1282-1284) y las Visiones del más allá (CPL 1277-1279) de Valerio del Bierzo”, Veleia 23 (2006), 327-338.

Categories:

Ritual activity - Eucharist
    Ecclesiastical administration - Construction/Renovation
      Economic status and activity
        Ritual activity - Daily mass
          Devotion - Supernatural experience
            Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER784, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=784