ST MANSUETUS, ARCHBISHOP OF MILAN - 19 FEBRUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN FEBRUARY

 Saints celebrated on the 19th of February

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.

ST MANSUETUS, ARCHBISHOP OF MILAN 

Saint Mansuetus, commemorated on February 19, lived in the second half of the 7th century. He was Archbishop of Milan. All we know about him is that he declared himself against the Monothelites at the synods held there in Milan and Rome. 

HIS ROMAN ROOTS

The writer Ferrarius calls him a Roman by birth and puts the period of his episcopal office at nine years. Ughellus also mentions his Roman descent and says that St Ampelius was his successor. 

THE SYNODS

Two years later he held the above-mentioned synod at Milan against the Monothelites. It was followed in 679 by the Lateran Synod in Rome under Pope Agathon. 

HIS GRAVE

St Mansuetus died of the plague on February 19, 681. According to Ferrarius, his body was buried near St Stephen, but according to Ughellus he is buried in the Basilica of St Ambrose. 

INFORMATION IN THE ROMAN MARTYROLOGY

He is also mentioned in the Roman Martyrology. In the notes of the same Baronius reports that a letter from the saint, which he wrote to the Emperor Constantine in Constantinople, is still in existence.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858)