BL. GRIMO, PROVOST - 2 MARCH

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH 

Saints celebrated on the 2nd of March

BLESSED GRIMO, PROVOST

Blessed Grimo, the second provost of the Premonstratensian monastery Ursberg in the bishopric of Augsburg, is first mentioned in a bull of April 12, 1139, in which Pope Innocent II granted this institute the special protection of the Apostolic See.

Grimo is praised for his piety, moral purity and wisdom. His management helped the new monastery to flourish exceedingly and earned him respect even from afar. The pope and bishops, as well as the emperors Conrad III and Frederick I, held Grimo in great esteem; he was honoured by them on several occasions. 

As the Ursberg monastery's register of the dead states, Grimo went to his eternal reward on March 2, 1173. The Bollandists* list Grimo on March 4 (I. 299), stating that he is mentioned in a register of the "blessed" of his Order, and (Jun. I. 901) that the Premonstratensians at Antwerp received a part of Grimo's relics from the later Abbot Vitus, which were reverently transferred to that city. Khamm*, too, lists him as "Blessed Grimo."

Khamm* and Steichele* relate the following legend: "Grimo, a special admirer of the Passion of Jesus Christ, fasted strictly on Good Friday, eating nothing at all, drinking only plain water. He sent the servant to the well with a pitcher to draw water; the servant came back and poured out of the jar before his master, but not water, as he had wished and expected, but wine. Grimo good-naturedly saw in this process a well-intentioned deceit on the part of the servant, who wants to strengthen the master with wine instead of giving him water, and so he sent him again to the well, and yet another time - but every time the jug came back filled with wine, and Grimo, amazed, recognised the miracle that the Lord produced for the faithful servant on His day of suffering. The brethren respectfully preserved this glass drinking vessel, and called it 'Grimo's venerable cup.'"

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 2, Augsburg, 1861, pp. 528-29)

*A hagiography source used by the authors 

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of the blessed Grimo 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.