SAINT VERANUS OF VENCE - 11 NOVEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN NOVEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 11th of November 

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

SAINT VERANUS OF VENCE, BISHOP

This holy Bishop of Vence (Vencia), Dep. Alpes-Maritimes, now located in the diocese of Grasse, lived during the 5th century. He is also variously called Veranius, Verannius and Uranius. The Paris Martyrology claims him to be a son of St Eucherius and his wife Galla (Eucherius later became Bishop of Lyon). 

AT FIRST HE WAS A MONK AT LERINS

He is one of the disciples of St Hilarius of Arles, and just like him he was first a monk in the monastery of Lerins. Here he gathered the rich treasures of science and piety, which he needed to exercise the episcopal office. 

UNWAVERING LOYALTY TO THE CHURCH

Little is known of his life in particular. His devotion to the apostolic see and his unwavering loyalty to the Church deserve  particular mention, since they are authenticated by the still existing letters of Popes Leo I and Hilary. 

The dating of those letters shed some light on the year that he ascended the episcopal chair - it must have been around the year 441. But the year of his death is quite uncertain; but it can be said with some confidence that he lived beyond the year 464, perhaps beyond the year 475. 

For a long time, his grave shone with numerous miracles, so that the cathedral church of Vence was placed under his as well as St Lambertus' protection. 

On October 10, 1495 an elevation of his relics is said to have taken place. 

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 5, Augsburg, 1882)

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Veranus may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.