ST MANSUETUS, BISHOP OF TOUL

ST MANSUETUS, BISHOP OF TOUL - 3 SEPTEMBER

SAINT MANSUETUS, BISHOP OF TOUL

Saint Mansuetus

Saint Mansuetus, Bishop of Toul, is variously commemorated on September 3, June 14, April 25, September 2. The older Bollandists* state that Saint Mansuetus flourished in the fourth century, a date found in agreement with more recent research. According to According to Butler*, he lived during the reign of Emperor Constans, who held court in Trier and greatly favoured the spread of the Gospel in those regions. The Gallia Christiana* (121, 958) mentions his arrival in Toul in January 335; some other sources claim this event to have taken place in January 360. There exists an older legend (penned by Adson, who lived c. 990), which claims that Mansuetus was a native Scot, exiled from there to Rome, where he was converted by the Apostle Saint Peter, who subsequently commissioned him to preach the Gospel in Gaul and, for this purpose, conferred episcopal consecration upon him. Upon arriving in Toul, Mansuetus resurrected the king's son, who had drowned in the Moselle, and through this and other miracles gained many disciples for the Gospel. However, Rettberg's conjecture (K.-G. Deutschl. I. 93) that this alleged version of events is a mix up with the tradition associated with Saint Maternus cannot be dismissed.

The more recent version of the Bollandists'* hagiographical work, however, without providing any evidence for their opinion, do not agree with their predecessors in this regard (Oct. VIII. 821) and are inclined to place him not only as the first bishop of Toul, but also as a disciple of Saint Peter in the first century. In any case, the saint must have rendered great services to the church and the diocese of Toul. One is certainly not mistaken in agreeing, at least, with the tradition that glorifies his name in every way, that he built several churches and rendered very significant services to Christianity in these regions. In particular, the oldest church in the city, Saint Peter's, where he found his final resting place, likely owes its initial foundation to him and may have given rise to the legend of the saint's mission by the Prince of the Apostles.

After his death, he continued to work beneficially through his intercession. Early on, his tomb was the destination of pious pilgrimages; even kings came to pray there.

Saint Martin of Tours did the same when he travelled to Trier around the year 384 or 386. Therefore, Saint Mansuetus may well have died around the year 375.

For several centuries, the stone on which Saint Martin had knelt was displayed in Toul. (Friedrich, l. c. I. 264 and II. 260.) Later bishops were buried there. According to the custom of the time, his grave was not located in the city, but outside it, in the suburb of Toul that bears his name. While later generations believed he was buried in what later became Saint Aper's Monastery, the sources suggest that the saint had built an oratory, perhaps a church, on this site.

Mansuetus' mortal remains were solemnly elevated on several occasions. These dates are mentioned in the martyrologies on June 14, September 2, and April 25. Saint Gerard, Bishop of Toul, particularly honoured him, attributing the internal and external prosperity of the diocese to his intercession. During a terrible plague, this bishop had the relics of Saint Mansuetus and Saint Aper enthroned, and public processions were held. Before the procession even arrived at the Basilica of Saint Mansuetus, sixteen people died. The following morning, three more people collapsed and died in the church of Saint Aper. But then God let the plague cease; no one else died of this disease that same year (Pertz, mon. VI. 499).

The Church of Trier also counts this bishop among its own. He is also highly venerated in Mainz, Besançon, Laon, Verdun, Remiremont, and elsewhere. This veneration, already customary, was confirmed (Pertz, mon. VI. 507) at the Synod of Toul in 1050 by Pope Leo IX. The Roman Martyrology* also mentions him. The French usually call the saint Mansuy, Mansuy, or Mausu. Church art depicts the raising of the deceased by Mansuetus (see above) and other events from his life.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 4, Augsburg, 1875)

*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 Saint Mansuetus 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.

Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org

BL. LUKE KIRBY, PRIEST AND MARTYR - 30 MAY

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MAY Saints celebrated on the 30th of May WELCOME! BLESSED LUKE KIRBY, PRIEST AND MARTYR 16th century houses, painted by Auguste Mayer He was born in the bishopric of Durham, according to Raissius ; others say at Richmond, in Yorkshire. He was master of arts in one of our universities; but going abroad to Douay, in Flanders, was received into the English college there, 1576, and made priest in 1577; and the year following sent upon the mission. Where he had not been long before he again went abroad, and travelled to Rome, partly for devotion, and partly for further improvement in learning. Here he remained in the English college till 1580, when he returned into England, and was not long after apprehended: for I find by a printed diary of things transacted in the Tower of London from 1580 till 1585, that on the 5th of December, 1580, Luke Kirby, Thomas Cottam , and other priests, were brought to the Tower from other prisons; and that these two, on the 10th...

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