BIENHEUREUX PIERRE de LUXEMBOURG
Cardinal
(1369-1387)
Ce bienheureux vint au monde le 20 juillet 1369, d'une famille illustre parmi les plus illustres de l'Europe entière. Sa mère ne voulut jamais permettre qu'il fût nourri d'un autre lait que du sien, afin de l'éloigner de toute influence perverse, et de répandre en son coeur, avec le lait, les premiers germes de la vertu. Ses moeurs intègres, son humilité, sa modestie, attirèrent sur lui l'admiration de tout le monde; sa dévotion savait s'allier avec les exigences extérieures, et il se faisait remarquer, en même temps que par sa gravité, par une aisance et une amabilité charmante.
A six ans, il voua à Dieu sa virginité, et poussa au même voeu sa soeur Jeanne, âgée de douze ans. Ayant appris que la charité était une vertu traditionnelle dans sa famille, il l'exerça dès son enfance avec le plus grand soin.
Chanoine à quinze ans, il dut, à seize ans, accepter l'évêché de Metz, sans toutefois avoir reçu encore les ordres sacrés, et il gouverna ce diocèse, ayant pour coadjuteur un évêque choisi dans l'Ordre de Saint-Dominique. L'épiscopat était au-dessus de l'âge de Pierre, mais non au-dessus de ses mérites. Il fit son entrée à Metz pieds nus et monté sur un âne: il bannit de son palais et de son entourage tout luxe et tout éclat; il ne fut magnifique qu'à l'égard des pauvres et pour la construction de nouveaux temples au Seigneur.
Il avait une extrême délicatesse de conscience et tenait son corps dans une grande servitude. Il vécut dans une telle pureté de coeur, que, de l'aveu de ceux qui dirigeaient son âme, il ne commit jamais un péché mortel, ce qui ne l'empêchait pas de se regarder comme le plus grand des pécheurs. Il s'exhalait de sa personne une odeur si suave, qu'on eût cru qu'il se parfumait; mais ce n'était que la bonne odeur de Jésus-Christ.
Plein de Dieu, il ne Le perdait jamais de vue, et sa vie fut une oraison continuelle; la prière, l'étude, le soin de son diocèse, occupaient tout son temps: "Puisqu'on a voulu me faire évêque, disait-il, il n'est plus de saison d'être un jeune homme." Plus d'une fois on le vit tomber en extase, environné de lumière.
Le Pape, frappé de sa sainteté, le créa cardinal; mais, dix mois après, Pierre tomba malade; sentant venir sa fin, il obligea ses domestiques à le flageller, pour expier les scandales qu'il disait leur avoir donnés. Il mourut à l'âge de dix-huit ans.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950.
SOURCE :
Bienheureux Pierre de Luxembourg
Cardinal évêque de Metz (✝ 1387)
Pierre est le fils du comte de Ligny (Meuse) et de la comtesse de saint Pol, puissante famille qui donne des rois à la Bohême et des empereurs au Saint Empire.
Né en 1369, orphelin à 10 ans, il est élevé par sa tante, la comtesse d'Ossièges, qui l'envoie étudier à Paris.
Évêque de Metz en 1384, cardinal en 1387, il meurt la même année.
Pierre de Ligny-Luxembourg, cardinal (1384-1387)
- Pierre, issu de la famille des comtes de Luxembourg, naquit à Ligny-en-Barrois le 20 juillet 1369. Évêque de Metz et cardinal, il mourut le 2 juillet 1387 et fut béatifié en 1527. Il se fit remarquer, très jeune, par son humilité, ses pénitences et son culte envers la Vierge Marie. Son tombeau est vénéré à Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. (Diocèse de Metz)
- Pierre, fils du comte Guy de Luxembourg et de la comtesse Mahaut de Châtillon, naquit au château de Ligny-en-Barrois, en Lorraine, le 20 juillet 1369. Orphelin très jeune, il fut envoyé dés l’âge de 8 ans à Paris pour étudier. Ce fut un élève précoce et brillant, aimant chanter et danser, mais aussi pieux et mystique, se confessant tous les jours, charitable envers les pauvres et pacificateur dans une université turbulente. (Pierre de Luxemburg - diocèse d'Avignon)
- Pierre de Luxembourg, de la famille des comtes de Luxembourg, naquit le 19 juillet 1369. Tout jeune, il fut livré aux Anglais comme otage en remplacement de son frère, qui était libéré pour pourvoir à sa rançon. Il fit preuve d'une éminente sainteté. Nommé évêque de Metz, malgré ses 15 ans, et, peu après, cardinal, il vint en Avignon sur l'ordre du pape. Il mourut à Villeneuve lès Avignon, âgé de 18 ans. Son tombeau devint un lieu de miracles: deux ans après sa mort, on en comptait plus de deux mille. Clément VII le mit au rang des bienheureux en 1527. Ses reliques, conservées dans l'église des Célestins d'Avignon, furent dispersées pendant la Révolution. (Les Saints du diocèse de Nîmes)
À Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, en 1387, le trépas du bienheureux Pierre de Luxembourg, évêque de Metz. Apparenté à l’empereur et aux rois, ordonné évêque et promu cardinal par Clément VII, alors qu’il n’avait pas encore quinze ans, il ne put résider en paix dans son diocèse. Sans cesse désireux avant tout d’austérités et de prière, il quitta ce monde quelques jours avant ses dix-huit ans, en demandant à être enterré dans le cimetière des pauvres.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1429/Bienheureux-Pierre-de-Luxembourg.html
Bienheureux Pierre de Luxembourg
Évêque - 2 juillet
Article publié le jeudi 24 avril 2008
Pierre, fils du comte Guy de Luxembourg et de la comtesse Mahaut de Châtillon, naquit au château de Ligny-en-Barrois, en Lorraine, le 20 juillet 1369. Orphelin très jeune, il fut envoyé dés l’âge de 8 ans à Paris pour étudier. Ce fut un élève précoce et brillant, aimant chanter et danser, mais aussi pieux et mystique, se confessant tous les jours, charitable envers les pauvres et pacificateur dans une université turbulente.
En 1380, pendant plusieurs mois, il fut livré en otage aux Anglais à Calais pour la libération de son frère aîné. Il avait à peine 15 ans quand il fut nommé évêque de Metz par l’entremise de son frère et il accepta par obéissance et à regret. Mais des situations conflictuelles le contraignirent bientôt à abandonner son diocèse et à revenir dans sa ville natale. Créé cardinal-diacre par le pape d’Avignon Clément VII, il reçut l’ordination diaconale à Pâques 1384 en la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris dont il était chanoine.
Selon le désir du pape, il se rendit à Avignon pour résider à la cour pontificale. Depuis six ans déjà, le grand schisme d’Occident divisait l’Église et le jeune cardinal, qui souffrait beaucoup de cette déchirure, fut tout ce qui était en son pouvoir pour y mettre un terme. Il s’imposait à cette fin des nuits en prière, des jeûnes et de très grandes mortifications en affirmant : "L’Église de Dieu n’a rien à attendre des hommes, de la science ni de la force armée, c’est par la piété, la pénitence et les bonnes œuvres qu’elle doit être relevée et elle le sera. Vivons de manière à attirer la miséricorde divine".
Déjà marqué par la souffrance et par une santé chétive, il avait une grande dévotion pour la passion et la croix du Christ, qui lui valut la grâce d ’une vision extatique de Jésus Crucifié au cours d’une visite à Châteauneuf-du-Pape. En 1386, sa santé donna de très sérieuses inquiétudes et il dut résider à Villeneuve, de l’autre côté du Rhône. Déchargé désormais de toute obligation, il allait prier longuement à la Chartreuse proche de sa demeure. Mais ses forces déclinèrent rapidement car le mal s’aggravait ; il restait cependant calme, patient, peu exigeant et toujours souriant. Alors qu’il n’avait pas encore tout à fait 18 ans, il mourut le 2 juillet 1387 en murmurant : "C’est en Jésus Christ mon Sauveur et la Vierge Marie que j’ai remis toutes mes espérances". A sa demande, il fut enterré à Avignon dans le cimetière Saint-Michel des pauvres. Aussitôt les miracles se multiplièrent sur sa tombe et sa réputation de sainteté ne cessa pas de grandir, entraînant l’ouverture de son procès de canonisation. Néanmoins, par suite de diverses vicissitudes historiques, il ne fut béatifié que le 9 avril 1527 par le pape Clément VII. Ses reliques, conservées jusqu’à la Révolution dans l’église du Couvent des Célestins édifié pour les garder, sont vénérées depuis 1854 dans l’église Saint-Didier d’Avignon, à Châteauneuf-du-Pape et à Ligny-en-Barrois. Son chapeau cardinalice, sa dalmatique et son étole diaconale sont encore visibles en l’église Saint-Pierre d’Avignon.
Saint françois de Sales, qui avait pour lui une profonde dévotion depuis son enfance, voulut venir prier sur son tombeau en novembre 1622, un mois juste avant sa mort, et il déclara alors : "Je n’ai jamais rien lu qui m’eût donné autant de confusion sur ma vocation ecclésiastique que la vie de ce jeune cardinal".
SOURCE : http://diocese-avignon.fr/spip/Bienheureux-Pierre-de-Luxemburg
Blessed Peter of
Luxembourg
Era il sesto figlio di Guido di Lussemburgo, conte di Ligny e di Mahaut di Châtillon e nacque il 20 luglio 1359 a Ligny-en-Barrois vicino Nancy in Francia. A due anni divenne orfano del padre ed a quattro anni della madre, per cui venne educato dalla zia Giovanna di Châtillon, a Saint-Pol.
Nel 1377 a soli otto anni si trasferì a Parigi, dove divenne allievo ed amico del famoso Pietro d’Ailly, suo insegnante al Collegio di Navarra.
A questo punto tocchiamo l’argomento, che la nostra mentalità moderna non può comprendere, ma che a quell’epoca era cosa abbastanza usuale; Pietro di Lussemburgo a soli nove anni nel 1378, venne nominato canonico di Parigi dall’antipapa Clemente VII (cardinale Roberto di Ginevra, che fu eletto papa dal 1378 al 1394, dai cardinali francesi riuniti a Fondi) e che iniziò lo Scisma d’Occidente, contrapponendosi al papa Urbano VI (1378-1389), che aveva definitivamente spostato la sede pontificia da Avignone a Roma.
Lo stesso Clemente VII lo nominò nel 1382 canonico di Cambrai e arcidiacono di Dreux e di Bruxelles e appena quattordicenne lo nominò vescovo di Metz il 10 febbraio 1384, e il successivo 15 aprile lo promosse cardinale.
Ma nella lotta fra il papa Urbano VI e l’antipapa Clemente VII, la città di Metz era una sede ambita da ambo le parti, per cui il re Venceslao IV di Boemia (1361-1419) che appoggiava il papa, aveva nominato vescovo Thilmann Vuss.
Pietro aiutato dall’intervento dei soldati del proprio fratello Valeran, prese possesso della sede episcopale, ma nel settembre del 1384, si dovette allontanare per andare a Ligny, ad assistere il fratello Roberto morente, e il nemico ne approfittò avanzando fino a Metz; di nuovo fu necessario l’intervento del fratello Valerian; ma costui pur non volendo, produsse devastazioni nel territorio attorno a Metz, così Pietro non ritenne più opportuno rimanere come vescovo, rinunciando alla carica nel 1385 e si ritirò a Ligny e poi a Parigi.
Ma l’antipapa Clemente VII, il 23 settembre 1386 lo chiamò alla sua corte di Avignone; qui il giovane nobile
non poté sottrarsi alle responsabilità politiche, che l’appartenenza alla sua aristocratica famiglia comportava, nonostante la giovane età.
Pietro, più che nei suoi scritti ascetici, si dimostrò austero nel proprio modo di vivere, anche alla corte papale. In questo periodo avignonese, si adoperò con successo per la divulgazione in tutto il mondo, della festa della Presentazione di Maria Vergine; essendosi ammalato fu impedito nel realizzare il suo progetto di recarsi dai re d’Inghilterra e di Francia, per indurli a stendere un trattato di pace.
A causa della grave malattia che lo colpì, nel marzo del 1387 si trasferì a Villeneuve-les-Avignon, dove morì il 2 luglio 1387 a diciotto anni e secondo il suo desiderio fu sepolto nel cimitero dei poveri di S. Michele di Avignone. Subito dopo la sua prematura morte, il popolo lo venerò come santo e taumaturgo, moltiplicando le sue raffigurazioni in miniature, dipinti, affreschi; con i segni che lo distinsero: tratti di adolescente, abito vescovile a volte cardinalizio, in atteggiamento di profonda preghiera.
Avignone nel 1432, lo dichiarò suo patrono, nonostante che il processo di beatificazione fosse interrotto per quattro volte (1389, 1390, 1433, 1435) e concluso solo nel 1527. Le diocesi di Avignone, Metz, Parigi, Verdun e Lussemburgo lo celebrano il 2 luglio.
L’antipapa Clemente VII, che tanto l’aveva apprezzato e protetto in vita, nel 1395 fondò sulla sua tomba un convento per i Celestini. Quasi tutte le sue reliquie furono disperse durante la Rivoluzione Francese (1792), i resti si venerano a St-Didier in Avignone.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
Voir aussi : http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1384a.htm
Hanno Wijsman « Les manuscrits de Pierre de Luxembourg (ca 1440-1482) et les bibliothèques nobiliaires dans les Pays-Bas bourguignons de la deuxième moitié du XVe siècle », Le Moyen Age 3/2007 (Tome CXIII), p. 613-637.
URL : www.cairn.info/revue-le-moyen-age-2007-3-page-613.htm.
SOURCE :
Cardinal évêque de Metz (✝ 1387)
Pierre est le fils du comte de Ligny (Meuse) et de la comtesse de saint Pol, puissante famille qui donne des rois à la Bohême et des empereurs au Saint Empire.
Né en 1369, orphelin à 10 ans, il est élevé par sa tante, la comtesse d'Ossièges, qui l'envoie étudier à Paris.
Évêque de Metz en 1384, cardinal en 1387, il meurt la même année.
Pierre de Ligny-Luxembourg, cardinal (1384-1387)
- Pierre, issu de la famille des comtes de Luxembourg, naquit à Ligny-en-Barrois le 20 juillet 1369. Évêque de Metz et cardinal, il mourut le 2 juillet 1387 et fut béatifié en 1527. Il se fit remarquer, très jeune, par son humilité, ses pénitences et son culte envers la Vierge Marie. Son tombeau est vénéré à Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. (Diocèse de Metz)
- Pierre, fils du comte Guy de Luxembourg et de la comtesse Mahaut de Châtillon, naquit au château de Ligny-en-Barrois, en Lorraine, le 20 juillet 1369. Orphelin très jeune, il fut envoyé dés l’âge de 8 ans à Paris pour étudier. Ce fut un élève précoce et brillant, aimant chanter et danser, mais aussi pieux et mystique, se confessant tous les jours, charitable envers les pauvres et pacificateur dans une université turbulente. (Pierre de Luxemburg - diocèse d'Avignon)
- Pierre de Luxembourg, de la famille des comtes de Luxembourg, naquit le 19 juillet 1369. Tout jeune, il fut livré aux Anglais comme otage en remplacement de son frère, qui était libéré pour pourvoir à sa rançon. Il fit preuve d'une éminente sainteté. Nommé évêque de Metz, malgré ses 15 ans, et, peu après, cardinal, il vint en Avignon sur l'ordre du pape. Il mourut à Villeneuve lès Avignon, âgé de 18 ans. Son tombeau devint un lieu de miracles: deux ans après sa mort, on en comptait plus de deux mille. Clément VII le mit au rang des bienheureux en 1527. Ses reliques, conservées dans l'église des Célestins d'Avignon, furent dispersées pendant la Révolution. (Les Saints du diocèse de Nîmes)
À Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, en 1387, le trépas du bienheureux Pierre de Luxembourg, évêque de Metz. Apparenté à l’empereur et aux rois, ordonné évêque et promu cardinal par Clément VII, alors qu’il n’avait pas encore quinze ans, il ne put résider en paix dans son diocèse. Sans cesse désireux avant tout d’austérités et de prière, il quitta ce monde quelques jours avant ses dix-huit ans, en demandant à être enterré dans le cimetière des pauvres.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1429/Bienheureux-Pierre-de-Luxembourg.html
Bienheureux Pierre de Luxembourg
Évêque - 2 juillet
Article publié le jeudi 24 avril 2008
Pierre, fils du comte Guy de Luxembourg et de la comtesse Mahaut de Châtillon, naquit au château de Ligny-en-Barrois, en Lorraine, le 20 juillet 1369. Orphelin très jeune, il fut envoyé dés l’âge de 8 ans à Paris pour étudier. Ce fut un élève précoce et brillant, aimant chanter et danser, mais aussi pieux et mystique, se confessant tous les jours, charitable envers les pauvres et pacificateur dans une université turbulente.
En 1380, pendant plusieurs mois, il fut livré en otage aux Anglais à Calais pour la libération de son frère aîné. Il avait à peine 15 ans quand il fut nommé évêque de Metz par l’entremise de son frère et il accepta par obéissance et à regret. Mais des situations conflictuelles le contraignirent bientôt à abandonner son diocèse et à revenir dans sa ville natale. Créé cardinal-diacre par le pape d’Avignon Clément VII, il reçut l’ordination diaconale à Pâques 1384 en la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris dont il était chanoine.
Selon le désir du pape, il se rendit à Avignon pour résider à la cour pontificale. Depuis six ans déjà, le grand schisme d’Occident divisait l’Église et le jeune cardinal, qui souffrait beaucoup de cette déchirure, fut tout ce qui était en son pouvoir pour y mettre un terme. Il s’imposait à cette fin des nuits en prière, des jeûnes et de très grandes mortifications en affirmant : "L’Église de Dieu n’a rien à attendre des hommes, de la science ni de la force armée, c’est par la piété, la pénitence et les bonnes œuvres qu’elle doit être relevée et elle le sera. Vivons de manière à attirer la miséricorde divine".
Déjà marqué par la souffrance et par une santé chétive, il avait une grande dévotion pour la passion et la croix du Christ, qui lui valut la grâce d ’une vision extatique de Jésus Crucifié au cours d’une visite à Châteauneuf-du-Pape. En 1386, sa santé donna de très sérieuses inquiétudes et il dut résider à Villeneuve, de l’autre côté du Rhône. Déchargé désormais de toute obligation, il allait prier longuement à la Chartreuse proche de sa demeure. Mais ses forces déclinèrent rapidement car le mal s’aggravait ; il restait cependant calme, patient, peu exigeant et toujours souriant. Alors qu’il n’avait pas encore tout à fait 18 ans, il mourut le 2 juillet 1387 en murmurant : "C’est en Jésus Christ mon Sauveur et la Vierge Marie que j’ai remis toutes mes espérances". A sa demande, il fut enterré à Avignon dans le cimetière Saint-Michel des pauvres. Aussitôt les miracles se multiplièrent sur sa tombe et sa réputation de sainteté ne cessa pas de grandir, entraînant l’ouverture de son procès de canonisation. Néanmoins, par suite de diverses vicissitudes historiques, il ne fut béatifié que le 9 avril 1527 par le pape Clément VII. Ses reliques, conservées jusqu’à la Révolution dans l’église du Couvent des Célestins édifié pour les garder, sont vénérées depuis 1854 dans l’église Saint-Didier d’Avignon, à Châteauneuf-du-Pape et à Ligny-en-Barrois. Son chapeau cardinalice, sa dalmatique et son étole diaconale sont encore visibles en l’église Saint-Pierre d’Avignon.
Saint françois de Sales, qui avait pour lui une profonde dévotion depuis son enfance, voulut venir prier sur son tombeau en novembre 1622, un mois juste avant sa mort, et il déclara alors : "Je n’ai jamais rien lu qui m’eût donné autant de confusion sur ma vocation ecclésiastique que la vie de ce jeune cardinal".
SOURCE : http://diocese-avignon.fr/spip/Bienheureux-Pierre-de-Luxemburg
July 5
St. Peter of Luxemburgh, Cardinal, Bishop of
Metz, Confessor
From his life, written by John de la Marche,
his professor in laws, the year after his death, with the notes of Pinius the
Bollandist, Julij, t. 1, p. 486. See also the bull of his beatification in
Miræus, and a history of a great number of miracles wrought by his intercession
and relics in Pinius, ib. His life is compiled by a Celestine monk from
original authentic MSS. kept in the houses of the Celestines at Avignon, Paris,
Nantes, &c. printed at Paris in 1681
A.D. 1387
THE MOST illustrious houses of the Dukes and
Counts of Luxemburg and St. Pol, not only have held for several centuries the
first rank among the nobility of the Low Countries, but vie with most royal
families in Europe; the former having given five emperors to the Germans,
several kings to Hungary and Bohemia, a queen to France, and innumerable
renowned heroes, whose great actions are famous in the histories of Europe and
the East. But none of their exploits have reflected so great a lustre on these
families as the humility of our St. Peter. He was son to Guy of Luxemburgh,
Count of Ligny, and to Maud, countess of St. Pol; and was born at Ligny, a
small town in Lorrain, in the Diocess of Toul, in 1369. He was nearly related
to the Emperor Wenceslas, Sigismund, king of Hungary, and Charles VI. king of
France. He lost his pious father at three years of age, and his most virtuous
mother a year after; but his devout aunt, the Countess of Orgieres and Countess
Dowager of St. Pol, 1 took care of his education, and made a prudent
choice of most virtuous persons whom she placed about him. By the excellent
example and precepts of his masters, and the strong impressions of an early
grace, he seemed formed by nature to perfect virtue. In his tender age the
least sallies of the passions seemed rather prevented than subdued; and his
ardour in the pursuit of virtue so far surpassed the ordinary capacity of
children of his tender age, that it was a matter of astonishment to all who knew
him. His assiduity and fervour in prayer, his secret self-denials, great
abstemiousness, and, above all, his love of humility in an age when others are
usually governed only by the senses, seemed a miracle of divine grace. He made
a private vow of perpetual chastity before he was seven years of age, and he
contrived by a hundred little artifices that no poor person should ever be
dismissed wherever he was without an alms. At ten years of age he was sent to
Paris, where he studied Latin, philosophy, and the canon law. In the mean time
his eldest brother Valeran, Count of St. Pol, was taken prisoner by the English
in a battle in which they defeated the French and Flemings in Flanders. Upon
the news that his brother was made prisoner and sent to Calais, Peter, in 1381,
interrupted his studies, went over to London, and delivered himself up a
hostage for his brother till his ransom should be paid. The English were
charmed with his extraordinary virtue, and after he had stayed a year in
London, generously gave him his liberty, saying his word was a sufficient
pledge and security for the ransom stipulated. King Richard II. invited him to
his court; but Peter excused himself, and hastened back to Paris to his
studies. His watchings and fasts were very austere, and he made no visits but
such as were indispensable, or to persons of extraordinary virtue, from whose
conversation and example he might draw great spiritual advantage for the
benefit of his own soul. With this view he often resorted to Philip of
Maisiers, a person eminently endowed with the double spirit of penance and
prayer, who having been formerly chancellor of the kingdoms of Jerusalem and
Cyprus, led for twenty-five years a retired life in the convent of the
Celestines in Paris, without taking any vows, or professing that Order. From
this devout servant of God our saint received important instructions and
advice, which gave him great light in the exercises of prayer, and in the paths
of interior spiritual perfection.
In 1383 his brother, the Count of St. Pol,
obtained for him a canonry in our Lady’s at Paris; which ecclesiastical
preferment was to him a new motive to increase his fervour in the divine
service. His devotion and assiduity in choir, his charity towards all, his
innocence, his perfect spirit of mortification, and his meekness, edified
exceedingly the whole city; and the modesty with which he endeavoured to
conceal his virtues was like a fine transparent veil through which they shone
with redoubled lustre. His humility was most conspicuous, of which the
following instance, among others, is recorded: When a young clerk refused to
carry the cross at a solemn procession, the new canon took it up and carried it
with so much devotion, that the whole city was struck with admiration to see
him. Peter strove only to advance in humility and Christian perfection: this
was the sole point which he had in view in all his actions and undertakings;
and he was very far from aspiring to the least ecclesiastical dignity. But the
reputation of his extraordinary sanctity reaching Avignon, Clement VII. who, in
the great schism, was acknowledged by France for true pope, nominated him
archdeacon of Dreux, in the diocess of Chartres, and soon after, in 1384,
bishop of Metz, his great sanctity and prudence seeming to many a sufficient
reason for dispensing with his want of age. But Peter’s reluctance and
remonstrances could only be overcome by a scruple which was much exaggerated to
him, that by too obstinate a disobedience he would offend God. He made his
public entry at Metz barefoot, and riding on an ass, to imitate the humility of
our divine Redeemer. He would suffer no other magnificence on that occasion
than the distribution of great alms and largesses among the poor; nor would he
admit any attendants but what might inspire modesty and piety.
He had no sooner taken possession of his church
than with the suffragan, Bertrand, a Dominican, who was given him for his
assistant, and consecrated bishop of Thessaly, he performed the visitation of
his diocess, in which he every where corrected abuses, and gave astonishing
proofs of his zeal, activity, and prudence. He divided his revenues into three
parts, allotting one to his church, a second to the poor, and reserving a third
for himself and family, though the greater share of this he added to the portion
of the poor. On fast-days commanded by the church he took no other sustenance
than bread and water; and he fasted in the same austere manner all Advent, and
all Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays throughout the year. When several towns had
revolted from him and created for themselves new magistrates, his brother, the
Count of St. Pol, reduced them to their duty by force of arms. The holy bishop
was exceedingly mortified at this accident, and out of his own patrimony made
amends to every one even among the rebels for all losses they had sustained,
which unparalleled charity gained him all their hearts. Though he was judged,
by those who were best acquainted with his interior, during his whole life
never to have stained his baptismal innocence by any mortal sin, he had so high
an idea of the purity in which a soul ought always to appear in the divine
presence, especially when she approaches the holy mysteries, that he went every
day to confession with extraordinary compunction, and bewailed the least imperfections
with many tears. The very shadow of the least sloth or failing in any action
affrighted him. In the year 1384, Clement VII. soon after he had nominated him
bishop, created him cardinal, under the title of St. George, and in 1386 called
him to Avignon, and obliged him to reside there near his person. Peter
continued all his former austerities in the midst of a court, till Clement
commanded him to mitigate them for the sake of his health, which seemed to be
in a declining condition. His answer was: “Holy Father, I shall always be an
unprofitable servant, but I can at least obey.” He desired to compensate for
what he lost in the practices of penance by redoubling his alms-deeds. By his
excessive charities his purse was always empty; his table was most frugal, his
family very small, his furniture mean, and his clothes poor, and these he never
changed till they were worn out. It seemed that he could not increase his alms,
yet he found means to do it by distributing his little furniture and his
equipage among the indigent, and selling for them the episcopal ring which he
wore on his finger. Everything about him breathed an extraordinary spirit of
poverty, and published his affection for the poor. At his death his whole
treasure amounted only to twenty pence. In all his actions he seemed attentive
only to God; and he fell into raptures sometimes in the street, or whilst he
waited on the pope at court. An ancient picture of the saint is kept in the
collegiate church of our Lady at Autun, in which he is painted in an ecstacy,
and in which are written these words which he was accustomed frequently to
repeat: “Contempt of the world, contempt of thyself: rejoice in thy own
contempt, but despise no other person.”
Ten months after his promotion to the dignity
of cardinal, the saint was seized with a sharp fever, which so much undermined
his constitution that his imperfect recovery was succeeded by a dangerous slow
fever. For his health he was advised to retire to Villeneuve, an agreeable town
situate opposite to Avignon, on the other side of the Rhone. He was glad by
this opportunity to see himself removed from the noise and hurry of the court.
During his last illness he went to confession twice every day, never passed a
day without receiving the holy communion; and the constant union of his soul
with God, and the tenderness of his devotion seemed continually to increase as
he drew near his end. His brother Andrew coming to see him, the saint spoke to
him with such energy on the vanity of the world, and on the advantages of
piety, that his words left a deep impression on his heart during his whole
life. This brother afterwards taking holy orders was made bishop of Cambray,
and became one of the most holy prelates of that age. Our saint recommended to
him in particular his sister Jane of Luxemburg, whom he had induced to make a
vow of perpetual chastity, and whose whole life was a perfect pattern of
Christian perfection. St. Peter sent her by this brother a small treatise
containing certain rules of perfection, which he had drawn up for her. Finding
his strength quite exhausted, he desired and received the last sacraments;
after which he called all his servants, and as they stood weeping round his
bed, he begged their pardon for not having edified them by his example as he
ought to have done. He then conjured them all to promise to do for his sake one
thing which he was going to ask of them. To this they most readily engaged
themselves. But they were much surprised when he ordered them to take a
discipline which lay under his pillow, and every one to give him many stripes
on his back, in punishment for the faults he had committed in regard to them,
who were, as he said, his brethren in Christ and his masters. Notwithstanding
their extreme unwillingness, they were obliged to comply with his request in
order to satisfy him. After this act of penance and humiliation, he conversed
with God in silent prayer till he gave up his innocent soul into his hands, on
the 2nd of July, 1387, being eighteen years old, wanting eighteen days. Though
he had the administration of a diocess, he had not received priestly orders,
but seems to have been deacon, and his dalmatic is shown at Avignon. He was
buried without pomp, according to his orders, in the church-yard of St.
Michael.
On account of many miracles that were wrought
both before and after his interment, the citizens of Avignon built a rich
chapel over his grave. The convent and church of the Celestines have been since
built over that very spot, and in this church is the saint’s body, at present
enshrined under a stately mausoleum. The history of the miracles which have
been wrought at his tomb fills whole volumes. A famous one in 1432, moved the
city of Avignon to choose him for its patron. It is related as follows: A child
about twelve years old fell from a high tower in the palace of Avignon upon a
sharp rock, by which fall his skull was split, his brains dashed out, and his
body terribly bruised. The father of the child, almost distracted at this
accident, ran to the place, and falling on his knees, with many tears implored
the intercession of St. Peter. Then gathering up the scattered bloody pieces of
the child’s skull, he carried them with the body in a sack, and laid them on
the saint’s tomb. The people and the Celestine monks joined their earnest
prayers: and after some time the child returned to life, and was placed upon
the altar that all might see him thus wonderfully raised from the dead. This
miracle happened on the 5th of July, on which day the festival of the saint has
ever since been celebrated at Avignon. After juridical informations on his life
and miracles, the bull of his beatification was published by the true pope
Clement VII., of the family of Medicis, in 1527.
St. Peter was a saint from the cradle, because
he always strove to live only for God, and his divine honour. If one spark of
that ardent love of God which inflamed the saints in their actions animated our
breasts, it would give wings to our souls in all we do. We should devote
ourselves every moment to God with our whole strength; and by our fidelity, and
by the purity and fervour of our intention, we should with the saints make all
our actions perfect sacrifices of our hearts to him. “God considers not how
much, but with how ardent an affection the thing is given,” says St. Cyprian. 2 And, as St. Ambrose writes, 3 “Thy affection stamps the name and value on
thy action. It is just rated at so much as is the ardour from which it
proceeds. See how just is this judge—He asks thy own soul what value he is to
set on thy work.”
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume
VII: July. The Lives of the Saints. 1866
Blessed Peter of
Luxembourg
Profile
Son of Guy of Luxembourg, count of Ligny, Belgium. Orphaned at age four. Raised in Paris, France. Canon
at Notre Dame, Chartres, and Cambrai. Arch-deacon of Dreux, France. Held for a while in his early teens by the English as hostage for the return of his brother. Bishop of Metz, France in 1384 at age fourteen. Created cardinal
of San Georgio, Velabro in 1386 at age sixteen by decree of anti-pope
Clement VII, he used armed troops to take possession of his see,
fighting against the forces of Pope Urban VI.
A noted reformer of
his diocese, known for his personal austerity and penance, his prayer
life, and genuine piety. He was driven from Metz and joined Clement in Avignon where he died, still in his teens. Thrown into the politics of the state and
of the Church during a period of schism;
Peter was wholly unequipped for it, being a child, and a simple one at that. He chose the wrong side in the
dispute over the papacy, but was immediately recognized for his personal holiness.
Born
- 1387 at the Carthusian monastery, Villeneuve, France of a fever
- 1527 by Pope Clement VII
- presenting a donor to the Virgin
- before the crucifix
- young cardinal with a shield bearing a rampant lion nearby
Beato Pietro di Lussemburgo Vescovo di Metz
Ligny-en-Barrois (Nancy) Francia, 20 luglio 1369 -
Villeneuve-les-Avignon, 2 luglio 1387
Martirologio
Romano: A Villeneuve presso Avignone in Francia, transito del beato Pietro di
Lussemburgo, vescovo di Metz, sempre dedito alle penitenze e alla preghiera.
La
vicenda terrena del giovane Pietro (visse solo 18 anni), s’inserisce nel
contesto religioso, politico, morale, che distinse il potere pontificio nella
fine del XIV secolo.
Era il sesto figlio di Guido di Lussemburgo, conte di Ligny e di Mahaut di Châtillon e nacque il 20 luglio 1359 a Ligny-en-Barrois vicino Nancy in Francia. A due anni divenne orfano del padre ed a quattro anni della madre, per cui venne educato dalla zia Giovanna di Châtillon, a Saint-Pol.
Nel 1377 a soli otto anni si trasferì a Parigi, dove divenne allievo ed amico del famoso Pietro d’Ailly, suo insegnante al Collegio di Navarra.
A questo punto tocchiamo l’argomento, che la nostra mentalità moderna non può comprendere, ma che a quell’epoca era cosa abbastanza usuale; Pietro di Lussemburgo a soli nove anni nel 1378, venne nominato canonico di Parigi dall’antipapa Clemente VII (cardinale Roberto di Ginevra, che fu eletto papa dal 1378 al 1394, dai cardinali francesi riuniti a Fondi) e che iniziò lo Scisma d’Occidente, contrapponendosi al papa Urbano VI (1378-1389), che aveva definitivamente spostato la sede pontificia da Avignone a Roma.
Lo stesso Clemente VII lo nominò nel 1382 canonico di Cambrai e arcidiacono di Dreux e di Bruxelles e appena quattordicenne lo nominò vescovo di Metz il 10 febbraio 1384, e il successivo 15 aprile lo promosse cardinale.
Ma nella lotta fra il papa Urbano VI e l’antipapa Clemente VII, la città di Metz era una sede ambita da ambo le parti, per cui il re Venceslao IV di Boemia (1361-1419) che appoggiava il papa, aveva nominato vescovo Thilmann Vuss.
Pietro aiutato dall’intervento dei soldati del proprio fratello Valeran, prese possesso della sede episcopale, ma nel settembre del 1384, si dovette allontanare per andare a Ligny, ad assistere il fratello Roberto morente, e il nemico ne approfittò avanzando fino a Metz; di nuovo fu necessario l’intervento del fratello Valerian; ma costui pur non volendo, produsse devastazioni nel territorio attorno a Metz, così Pietro non ritenne più opportuno rimanere come vescovo, rinunciando alla carica nel 1385 e si ritirò a Ligny e poi a Parigi.
Ma l’antipapa Clemente VII, il 23 settembre 1386 lo chiamò alla sua corte di Avignone; qui il giovane nobile
non poté sottrarsi alle responsabilità politiche, che l’appartenenza alla sua aristocratica famiglia comportava, nonostante la giovane età.
Pietro, più che nei suoi scritti ascetici, si dimostrò austero nel proprio modo di vivere, anche alla corte papale. In questo periodo avignonese, si adoperò con successo per la divulgazione in tutto il mondo, della festa della Presentazione di Maria Vergine; essendosi ammalato fu impedito nel realizzare il suo progetto di recarsi dai re d’Inghilterra e di Francia, per indurli a stendere un trattato di pace.
A causa della grave malattia che lo colpì, nel marzo del 1387 si trasferì a Villeneuve-les-Avignon, dove morì il 2 luglio 1387 a diciotto anni e secondo il suo desiderio fu sepolto nel cimitero dei poveri di S. Michele di Avignone. Subito dopo la sua prematura morte, il popolo lo venerò come santo e taumaturgo, moltiplicando le sue raffigurazioni in miniature, dipinti, affreschi; con i segni che lo distinsero: tratti di adolescente, abito vescovile a volte cardinalizio, in atteggiamento di profonda preghiera.
Avignone nel 1432, lo dichiarò suo patrono, nonostante che il processo di beatificazione fosse interrotto per quattro volte (1389, 1390, 1433, 1435) e concluso solo nel 1527. Le diocesi di Avignone, Metz, Parigi, Verdun e Lussemburgo lo celebrano il 2 luglio.
L’antipapa Clemente VII, che tanto l’aveva apprezzato e protetto in vita, nel 1395 fondò sulla sua tomba un convento per i Celestini. Quasi tutte le sue reliquie furono disperse durante la Rivoluzione Francese (1792), i resti si venerano a St-Didier in Avignone.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
Voir aussi : http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1384a.htm
Hanno Wijsman « Les manuscrits de Pierre de Luxembourg (ca 1440-1482) et les bibliothèques nobiliaires dans les Pays-Bas bourguignons de la deuxième moitié du XVe siècle », Le Moyen Age 3/2007 (Tome CXIII), p. 613-637.
URL : www.cairn.info/revue-le-moyen-age-2007-3-page-613.htm.
