An stained glass window portraying Petroc from Truro Cathedral. The window was donated to the cathedral by a benefactor around 1907.
Saint Petrock (Perreux)
Abbé en
Cornouailles (+ v. 594)
Originaire du Pays-de-Galles, études en Irlande, fondateur des monastères de Petrocson et de Bodmin en Cornouailles où il exerça un apostolat actif.
Il y rencontra saint Goran.
Petroc a probablement aussi annoncé l'Évangile en Bretagne, où plus de 30 églises lui sont dédiées sous le nom de Perreux. Il est aussi le saint titulaire d'une église dans le Nivernais.
En Cornouailles, au VIe siècle, saint Pétroc, abbé, qui vint du pays de Galles
et fonda plusieurs monastères.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/10095/Saint-Petrock-%28Perreux%29.html
Saint Pétroc, Évangéliste
Celte, Higoumène, (564)
Saint Petroc (parfois
orthographié Petrock en anglais, Pedrog en gallois et Perreux en français)
(natalice en 564) est un chrétien celte du 6ème siècle. Il est né au Pays de
Galles, mais il exerça surtout son ministère pour les Britons de Domnonée qui
comprenait les comtés modernes du Devon (Dewnans), de la Cornouailles (Kernow),
et des parties du Somerset (Gwlas an Hav) et du Dorset. Il est également connu
pour avoir exercé son ministère pour la population de Bretagne.
Les anciennes généalogies
galloises rapportent qu'il était fils cadet du roi Glywys Cernyw de Glywysing
(maintenant Glamorgan), et il y a des lieux qui lui sont consacrés à St Petrox
près de Pembroke et à Ferwig près de Cardigan. Il a également donné son nom à
Llanbedrog, un village situé sur la péninsule de Lleyn. Il étudia en Irlande
(où il fut le maître de Saint Kevin).
Après ses études, il
commença sa mission en Cornouailles, où il fonda des monastères à Padstow et
Bodmin. Padstow, qui porte son nom ("Pedroc-Stowe", ou "le lieu
de Petrock"), semble avoir été sa base pendant un certain temps. Il existe
de nombreux autres lieux qui lui sont dédiés tout au long de la Cornouailles et
on dit même qu'il convertit son roi, Constantin de Domnonée, au christianisme.
Après trente ans, la légende dit qu'il était allé en pèlerinage à Rome en
passant par la Bretagne.
À son retour, Petroc
traversa le Devon, où les lieux anciens à lui dédiés, sont encore plus
nombreux: probablement dix-sept d'entre eux (plus Timberscombe un peu plus
au-delà de la frontière du Somerset), comparativement à la Cornouailles où il y
en a cinq. La position des églises qui portent son nom, presque toujours près
de la côte, nous rappelle qu'en ce temps-là les voyages se faisaient principalement
par voie maritime. Les villes du Nord du Devon Petrockstow et Newton Saint
Petroc sont aussi nommées ainsi d'après saint Petroc et le drapeau officieux du
Devon adopté par le peuple lui est dédié.
Les récits légendaires
autour de saint Petroc sont exceptionnellement vivants et imaginatifs (lui
attribuant un second pèlerinage, des voyages en Inde, le don d'apprivoiser les
loups) et ils peuvent représenter une interpolation à partir de contes païens.
En iconographie, saint
Petroc est généralement représenté avec un cerf. Son grand sanctuaire était
toujours en l'église Saint Petroc, à Bodmin. En 1177, un Breton vola ses
reliques de Bodmin et les donna à l'abbaye de Saint-Méen. Cependant, Henri II
les rendit et, bien que les reliques aient été jetées au cours de la Réforme
anglaise, leur beau coffret-reliquaire en ivoire est toujours exposé au public
dans l'église. Avec saint Piran et saint Michel, il est le saint patron de
Cornouailles.
Sa fête est au 4 juin.
Version française Claude
Lopez-Ginisty d'après
http://www.oodegr.com/english/biographies/arxaioi/Petroc_Cornwall.htm
SOURCE : http://orthodoxologie.blogspot.ca/2010/04/saint-petroc-evangeliste-celte.html
Victorian
glasswork with Saint Petroc of Cornwall, at Bodmin church.
Also
known as
Petrock
Pedrog
Perreuse
Perreux
Petrocus
Petrox
Profile
Younger son of King Glywys.
On his father‘s death,
the people of Glywysing called for Petroc to take the crown of
one the country’s sub-divisions, but Petroc wanted a religious
life, and went to study in Ireland.
Several years later he
returned to Britain, landing on the River Camel in Cornwall.
Directed by Saint Samson
to the hermitage of Saint Wethnoc.
Wethnoc agreed to give his cell to Petroc in
order that he could found a monastery on
the site.
After 30 years as abbot, Petroc made
a pilgrimage to Rome, Italy. On
his return, just as he reached Newton Saint Petroc, it began to rain. Petroc
predicted it would soon stop, but it rained for three days. In penance for
presuming to predict God‘s
weather, Petroc returned to Rome,
then to Jerusalem,
then to India where
he lived seven years on an island in the Indian Ocean.
Petroc returned to
Britain with a wolf companion
he had met in India.
Founded churches at Saint Petrox and Llanbedrog. In Cornwall,
with the help of Saint Wethnoc
and Saint Samson,
he defeated a mighty serpent that King Teudar
of Penwith had used to devour his enemies. He then left his monastery at
Llanwethinoc to live as a hermit in
the woods at Nanceventon, some fellow monks following
his example at Vallis Fontis. While in the wilderness, a hunted deer sought
shelter in Saint Petroc’s cell. Petroc protected
it from the hunter, King Constantine
of Dumnonia, and converted the king to Christianity in
the bargain.
Petroc later moved deep
into the Cornish countryside,
encountering the hermit Saint Guron.
Guron moved south allowing Petroc, with the backing of King Constantine,
to establish a monastery called Bothmena (the
Abode of Monks) at the site of the hermitage.
c.594 at
Treravel, Padstow, Cornwall (in
modern England)
of natural causes while on the road
buried at
Padstow
relics stolen
in 1177 and
given to the Abbey of Saint Meen
relics later
returned to the Bothmena monastery
relics destroyed
during the English Reformation
Hollacombe, Devonshire, England
Newton
Saint Petrock, Devonshire, England
South
Brent, Devonshire, England
West
Anstey, Devonshire, England
bishop holding
a church
Additional
Information
Book of
Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Dictionary
of National Biography
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
images
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Saint Petroc“. CatholicSaints.Info.
20 June 2020. Web. 2 February 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-petroc/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-petroc/
Article
(Petroc, Perreux) (June 4) (Saint) Abbot (6th
century) One of the most illustrious of the old British Saints. He
was the son of a Welsh chieftain;
and, after studying in Ireland,
founded a monastery in Cornwall at
a place called after him, Petrockstowe (Padstow), and another at Bodmin, where
he closed his holy life (A.D. 564).
In Brittany, where are some of his relics, he
is venerated under the name of Saint Perreux.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Petrock”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
20 October 2016. Web. 2 February 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-petrock/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-petrock/
St. Petroc
St. Petroc was the
younger son of the King Glywys. On his father’s death, the people of Glywysing
called for Petroc to take the crown of one the country’s sub-divisions, but
Petroc wanted a religious life, and went to study in Ireland.
Several years later he
returned to Britain, landing on the River Camel in Cornwall. Directed by Saint
Samson to the hermitage of Saint Wethnoc. Wethnoc agreed to give his cell to
Petroc in order that he could found a monastery on the site.
After 30 years as abbot,
Petroc made a pilgrimage to Rome, Italy. On his return, just as he reached
Newton Saint Petroc, it began to rain. Petroc predicted it would soon stop, but
it rained for three days. In penance for presuming to predict God’s weather,
Petroc returned to Rome, then to Jerusalem, then to India where he lived seven
years on an island in the Indian Ocean.
Petroc returned to Britain
with a wolf companion he had met in India. Founded churches at Saint Petrox and
Llanbedrog. In Cornwall, with the help of Saint Wethnoc and Saint Samson, he
defeated a mighty serpent that King Teudar of Penwith had used to devour his
enemies. He then left his monastery at Llanwethinoc to live as a hermit in the
woods at Nanceventon, some fellow monks following his example at Vallis Fontis.
While in the wilderness,
a hunted deer sought shelter in Saint Petroc’s cell. Petroc protected it from
the hunter, King Constantine of Dumnonia, and converted the king to
Christianity in the bargain.
St. Petroc later moved
deep into the Cornish countryside, encountering the hermit Saint Guron. Guron
moved south allowing Petroc, with the backing of King Constantine, to establish
a monastery called Bothmena (the Abode of Monks) at the site of the hermitage.
Source : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-petroc/
St. Petroc
Feastday: June 4
Patron: of Cornwall
Death: 564
Petroc was born in Wales,
possibly the son of a Welsh king. He became a monk and
with some of his friends, went to Ireland to
study. They immigrated to Cornwall in England and settled at Lanwethinoc
(Padstow). After thirty years there, he made a pilgrimage to Rome and
Jerusalem, at which time he
is also reputed to have reached the Indian ocean where he lived for some time as
a hermit on an island. He then returned to Cornwall, built a chapel at
Little Petherick near Padstow, established a community of his followers, and
then became a hermit at Bodmir Moor, where he again attracted followers and was
known for his miracles. He died between Nanceventon and Lanwethinoc while
visiting some of his disciples there. His feast day is June 4th.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=774
New Catholic
Dictionary – Saint Petroc
Article
Confessor; abbot;
“captain of the Cornish saints.” Born c.504; died 594. He was the son of a
Welsh chieftain and studied in Ireland, then returned to Cornwall, where he
reintroduced Christianity to a population which had lapsed into paganism. He
founded a monastery at a place called Petrocstow (Padstow) , and another at
Bodmin, where he died. Today his name is revered in Cornwall and Devonshire.
Patron of Bodmin, Little Petherick, Saint Petrock’s, Exeter, and Newton Saint
Petrock in Devonshire. He is also honored as Saint Perreux in Brittany. His
relics were preserved at Bodmin. Feast, 4
June.
MLA
Citation
“Saint Petroc”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info.
12 August 2017. Web. 2 February 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-petroc/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-petroc/
Petroc of Cornwall, Abbot (AC)
(also known as Petrock, Pedrog, Perreux)
Died at Treravel, Wales, c. 594. Cornwall's most famous saint was the son of a
prince from southern Wales. Petroc studied theology in Ireland. He settled at
Haylesmouth in Cornwall, had an active apostolate, and founded a monastery at
Lanwethinoc (later called Petrocston, now Padstow). After 30 years there,
Petroc made a pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem, at which time he is also
reputed to have reached the Indian Ocean and lived for a time on an island as a
hermit. Returning to Cornwall, he founded another monastery at Little Petherick
(Nanceventon) with a mill and chapel, and a hermitage at Bodmin, where Saint
Goran met him. After meeting the hermit, Petroc travelled south. He built a
cell for himself by the river and a monastery on the hilltop for his twelve
disciples, among which were Saints Croidan, Medan, and Degan. Like several
other hermit saints, Petroc had a special affinity with wild animals.
Petroc was buried at Padstow, which became the center of his cultus. There are
18 churches dedicated to him in Devon, plus others in Cornwall and south Wales.
About 1000, his shrine and relics, including his staff and bell, were
translated to Bodmin. In 1178, his relics were stolen by a disgruntled priest
named Martin and given to Saint-Méen's Abbey near Rennes, Brittany, but were
returned to Bodmin the next year at the request of its Prior Roger after the
intervention of Bishop Bartholomew of Exeter and King Henry II. A rib was left
at Saint-Méen's. During the reign of Henry VIII, his shrine and tomb were in
the church of Bodmin on the eastern side of the high altar. During the
Reformation the fine Sicilian-Islamic reliquary containing Petroc's head was
hidden. It was rediscovered in the 19th century and remains in the parish
church at Bodmin.
Petroc may also have evangelized in Brittany, where more than 30 churches are
dedicated to him under the name Perreux. His is also the titular saint of a
church in the Nivernais. It is possible, however, that his many disciples
carried his cultus across the Channel. The extant vita of Saint Petroc are
unreliable (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Farmer, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
In art, Petroc is
generally portrayed with a stag--a reminder of one he sheltered from
hunters.
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0604.shtml
Saint Petroc
Feast Day: June 4
Patronage: Cornwall
St. Petroc was a British
prince and Christian saint, believed to have been born around 468 CE in South
Wales. According to early hagiographical sources, he was the son of a Welsh
chieftain or king, though the exact details of his royal lineage remain unclear
in historical records.
Following the Celtic
Christian tradition of seeking education abroad, Petroc traveled to Ireland
where he studied in the monastic schools. The Irish experience was formative
for many British saints of this period, providing rigorous theological
education and ascetic training that would shape their later missionary work.
After completing his
studies, Petroc embarked on his mission to Cornwall around the early 6th
century. He established his first monastery at what is now Padstow, originally
called Lanwethinoc ("church in the wood"). The modern name Padstow
derives from "Petroc's Place" (Pedroc-stow), reflecting his lasting
association with the settlement.
From this base, Petroc's
influence spread throughout Devon and Cornwall. He founded numerous churches
and monastic communities, becoming one of the most significant figures in the
Christianization of southwestern Britain. His ministry focused particularly on
coastal areas, where he established religious foundations that would endure for
centuries.
Later in his life, Petroc
moved to Bodmin, where he served as the first Prior of the monastery there.
When his relics were transferred to Bodmin in the 9th century, it became the
primary center of his veneration, eventually growing into one of the wealthiest
religious foundations in Cornwall by the 11th century.
St. Petroc's influence
extended far beyond Cornwall. Churches dedicated to him can be found throughout
Devon, Wales, and Brittany, where his veneration became established by the 10th
century. In Wales, his memory is preserved at locations including St. Petroc
near Pembroke, Fewig near Cardigan, and Llanbedrog on the Lleyn Peninsula.
He is recognized as one
of the three patron saints of Cornwall, alongside St. Piran and St. Michael,
and is often called the "Chief of Cornish Saints." His widespread
veneration reflects both his historical importance and the enduring power of
his religious legacy.
The earliest written life
of St. Petroc dates from the 12th century, though it likely preserves much
older oral traditions. These sources must be read carefully, as they blend
historical facts with legendary elements typical of medieval hagiography.
St. Petroc died in
Trereval around 594 CE, likely en route to Padstow during his later years of
ministry. His relics remained at Bodmin until the English Reformation, when
they were dispersed, though the beautiful medieval ivory casket that once
contained them survives and is displayed at St. Petroc's Church in Bodmin.
SOURCE : https://connection.newmanministry.com/saint/saint-petroc/
June 4
St. Petroc, in French
Perreuse, Abbot and Confessor
HAVING laid
the foundation of a virtuous education in Wales, his native country, he passed
into Ireland, and there spent twenty years in sacred studies, and in the most
fervent exercises of devotion and penance. For his further improvement he made
a pilgrimage to Rome, and returning to Cornwall, shut himself up in a monastery
of which he was himself the founder, at a place since called from him
Petrocs-Stow, now Padstow, which stands at the mouth of the river Alan or Camel
on the Bristol Channel: it is a good sea-port, much frequented by Irish, who
make up a considerable part of the inhabitants.
Bodmin,
a flourishing town almost in the centre of Cornwall, about twelve miles from
each of the two seas, was also illustrious for having been some time the
dwelling-place of St. Petroc, whom some distinguish from St. Petroc of Padstow,
because Dugdale calls him a bishop. But it was not uncommon in Ireland at that
time, for eminent abbots to be raised to the episcopal dignity in their own
monasteries by the neighbouring bishops. And Sir James Ware and Mr. Harris
find, in some Irish legends, the title of bishop promiscuously used for that of
abbot. At least, neither in the registers or archives of Exeter, nor in Godwin,
Le Neve, or any others is his name found in the lists of the bishops of
Cornwall. 1 And
all accounts in Leland and others suppose the same St. Petroc to have retired
from Padstow to Bodmin, and there founded a second monastery and a great church
which king Athelstan afterwards favoured with great benefactions and singular
privileges. In this place, St. Petroc ended his mortal course about the year
564, on the 4th of June. His shrine and tomb in Leland’s time, in the reign of
Henry VIII. remained in the eastern part of the church of Bodmin, not far from
the high altar. At Padstow he had, among others, three eminent holy disciples,
Credan, Medan, and Dachan. From his numerous monastery at Bodmin, that place
was anciently called Bosmana, or Bodmanachie, that is, the mansion of monks.
This great church was originally served by monks: after king Athelstan’s
munificent benefactions by secular clergy, and in the reign of Henry I., it
became a flourishing monastery of regular canons of St. Austin. The relics of
St. Petroc were carried privately to St. Meen’s monastery in Brittany in 1178;
but upon the complaint of Roger, prior of the regular canons at Bodmin, the
king of England procured them to be brought back and restored to the great
church of Bodmin the year following, where it was still standing in Leland’s
time.
St.
Petroc is titular saint of a church in Nivernois in France, Bodmin, and several
other churches and chapels in Cornwall, Devonshire, &c. In the calendars of
some churches and monasteries of Brittany the feast of St. Petroc is ordered to
be kept of the first class with an octave. See Lobineau, p. 1, &c. On St.
Petroc, see Leland in his Itinerary, second edition, vol. 8, p. 52; vol. 3, p.
2; vol. 2, p. 84; in his Collectanea, vol. 1, p. 75; vol. 3, p. 188, and 209;
Capgrave, Chatelain, Colgan in MSS. ad 4 Junii, and Borlase, Antiquities of
Cornwall.
Note
1. Devonshire and Cornwall, being part of
Wessex, were long subject to the bishop of that kingdom, who resided first at
Dorchester, and after 600 at Winchester. A bishopric being erected at Shirburne
in 705, (which was removed to Sarum in the eleventh century,) these counties
belonged to it, till at the request of King Ina, a bishop was placed at Bodmin
for Cornwall, about the year 720, whose name was Conan, whose ten successors
are enumerated by Godwin and Le Neve. In 905, Werstan, called also Adulphe, was
consecrated bishop for Devonshire, and resided at Bishop’s Tawton in that
county: but Eadulph, the third from him, removed his see to Crediton or Kirton,
seven miles from Exeter. His eleventh successor Leofric was also bishop of
Cornwall, and in 1050 removed both these sees to Exeter.
That of Cornwall had been translated in the reign of King Athelstan
by Bishop Sydenham, the seventh from Werstan, from Bodmin to the town of St.
German’s, the cathedral of St. Petroc’s and the bishop’s palace, with the
greater part of the town, having been burnt down by the Danes when they
plundered the countries of Devonshire and Cornwall. Three bishops of Cornwall
resided at St. German’s till the union of these sees at Exeter. See Leland’s
Collectanea, t. 1, p. 75; Le Neve, Fusti, &c. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler
(1711–73). Volume VI: June. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
Dictionary
of National Biography – Pedrog
Article
(fl.550?) British saint,
commemorated on 4 June, was the founder of the ancient church of Bodmin, where
his relics were long preserved. The life in Acta Sanctorum is meagre
and of no authority. We only learn from it that Pedrog was natione Cumber (i.e.,
a Welshman), and of royal birth. On the death of his father he declined the
succession to the crown, and, with sixty companions, retired to a monastery.
After studying in Ireland for twenty years, he spent another thirty in monastic
seclusion in Britain. Then he visited Rome, Jerusalem, and India, living for
seven years on a desert island in the Indian Ocean. He returned to Western
Britain, and ultimately died there on 4 June. The Life of Saint Cadoc in Cambro-British Saints, which was apparently
written about 1070, so far confirms this account as to make Pedrog a son of
King Glywys of of what is now Glamorgan, who did not take his share of the
royal inheritance with his brothers, but served God at “Botmenei” in Cornwall,
where a great monastery was afterwards founded in his honour. Other manuscripts
call Pedrog the son of “Clemens tywysog o Gernyw” (i.e., a prince
from Cornwall).
Pedrog is called by
Fuller, “the captain of the Cornish saints,” and the number of dedications to
him in Devonshire and Cornwall show that his name was widely revered in the
district. He is the patron saint of Bodmin, Padstow, Trevalga and Little
Petherick in Cornwall, and of West Anstey, South Brent, Clannaborough, Saint
Petrock’s, Exeter, Hollacombe, Lidford and Newton Saint Petrock in Devonshire.
Llanbedrog, Carnarvonshire and Saint Petrox, Pembrokeshire, are also dedicated
to him. He was, moreover, honoured as Saint Perreux in the monastery of Saint
Meen in Brittany, and in 1177 the monks of Saint Meen made an unsuccessful
attempt to obtain possession of his relics.
– Sidney Lee, Dictionary
of National Biography, 1895
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/dictionary-of-national-biography-pedrog/
Saint Petroc
Saint Petroc (sometimes
spelt Petrock in English, Pedrog in Welsh and Perreux in French) (d. 564) is a
6th century Celtic Christian saint. He was born in Wales but primarily
ministered to the Britons of Dumnonia which included the modern counties of
Devon (Dewnans), Cornwall (Kernow), and parts of Somerset (Gwlas an Hav) and
Dorset. He is also known to have ministered to the people of Brittany.
Old Welsh genealogies
record that he was a younger son of King Glywys Cernyw of Glywysing (now
Glamorgan), and there are local dedications to him at St Petrox near Pembroke
and Ferwig near Cardigan. He has also given his name to Llanbedrog, a village
on the Lleyn peninsula. He studied in Ireland (where he was the teacher of
Saint Kevin).
After studying, he began
his mission to Cornwall, where he founded monasteries at Padstow and Bodmin.
Padstow, which is named after him (Pedroc-stowe, or 'Petrock's Place'), appears
to have been his base for some time. There are numerous other dedications to
him throughout Cornwall and he is even said to have converted its king,
Constantine of Dumnonia, to Christianity. After thirty years, legend says that
he went on the pilgrimage to Rome by way of Brittany.
Upon his return, Petroc
passed through Devon, where ancient dedications to him are even more numerous:
a probable seventeen (plus Timberscombe just over the border in Somerset),
compared to Cornwall's five. The position of churches bearing his name, nearly
always near the coast, reminds us that in those days travelling was done mainly
by sea. The North Devon towns of Petrockstow and Newton St Petroc are also
named after Saint Petroc and the popularly-adopted unofficial flag of Devon is
dedicated to him.
The legendary tales
surrounding Petroc are exceptionally vivid and imaginative (giving him a second
pilgrimage, travels to India, taming wolves) and may represent interpolation
from pagan tales.
In iconography, Petroc is
usually shown with a stag. His major shrine was always at St Petroc's Church,
Bodmin. In 1177, a Breton stole his relics from Bodmin and gave to the Abbey of
St Meen. However, Henry II restored them and, though the relics were thrown out
during the English Reformation, their beautiful ivory casket is still on public
display in the church. With Saint Piran and Saint Michael, he is patron saint
of Cornwall.
His feast day is June 4.
SOURCE : http://www.oodegr.com/english/biographies/arxaioi/Petroc_Cornwall.htm
St. Pedrog,
Abbot of Lanwethinoc
(c.468-564)
(Latin: Petrocus;
English: Petrock)
The name Pedrog is
probably a variant of modern Patrick. Petroc, as he is generally known in
Cornwall where he was patron saint, was a younger son of King Glywys Cernyw of
Glywysing. (He may be identical to, or confused with, the legendary King Petroc
Baladrddellt (Splintered Spear) of Cerniw). Upon his father's death, the people
of Glywysing called for Pedrog to take on the crown of one the country's
sub-divisions like his brothers. Petroc, however wished to pursue a religious
life and left, with several followers, to study in Ireland.
Some years later, Petroc
and his band returned to Britain, landing on the shores of the River Camel in
Cerniw (Cornwall). They were directed, by St. Samson, to the hermitage of St.
Wethnoc who, seeing Petroc's superior piety agreed to give him his cell in
return for Petroc naming the place Llanwethinoc (now Padstow - Petroc's Stow)
in his honour. Petroc founded a monastery on the site but, after thirty years
there, he decided to go on a pilgrimage to Rome, via Brittany. On his return
journey, just as he reached Newton St. Petrock (Devon), it began to rain.
Petroc predicted that this would soon stop, but it continued to rain for three
days. In penance for such presumption, Petroc returned to Rome, travelled on to
Jerusalem and finally settled in India where he lived for seven years on an
island in the Indian Ocean.
Petroc eventually
returned to Britain (with a wolf companion he had met in India), but may have
gone on a further pilgrimage to Ynys Enlli (Bardsey), founding churches at St.
Petrox (Dyfed) and Llanbedrog (Lleyn) on the way. Back in Cerniw, with the help
of Saints Wethnoc and Samson, he defeated a mighty serpent which the late King
Teudar of Penwith had used to devour his enemies. This done, he departed from
his monastery at Llanwethinoc (Padstow) to live as a hermit in the woods at
Nanceventon (Little Petherick). Some of his fellow monks followed his example
at Vallis Fontis (St. Petroc Minor). It was while in the wilderness that a
hunted deer saught shelter in St. Petroc's cell. Petroc protected it from the
hungry grasp of King Constantine of Dumnonia and managed to convert him to
Christianity into the bargain.
Petroc later moved still
deeper into the Cornish countryside, where he discovered St. Guron living in a
humble cell. Guron gave up his hermitage and moved south, allowing Petroc, with
the backing of King Constantine, to establish a second monastery called
Bothmena (Bodmin - the Abode of Monks) after the monks who lived there. Petroc
eventually died at Treravel, while travelling between Nanceventon (Little
Petherick) and Llanwethinoc (Padstow), and was buried at Padstow. The monks
there later removed themselves, along with Petroc's body, to Bodmin where his
beautiful Norman casket reliquary can still be seen today.
SOURCE : http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/pedrogg.html
Icon
of St. Petroc by Jivko Donkov
San Petroc Abate
Festa: 4 giugno
VI sec.
Probabile principe
gallese, si stabilì nel monastero di Lanwethinoc (Padstow), conducendo vita
austera e compiendo pellegrinaggi. Leggende narrano viaggi in India e miracoli.
Dedicatosi alla preghiera e carità, divenne santo leggendario. La sua
"Vita di Ghota" menziona la costruzione di una cappella e un mulino a
Little Petherick e il suo ritiro sul Bodmin Moor. Morì lungo il cammino verso
Lanwethinoc e le sue reliquie, oggetto di venerazione, furono trafugate in
Bretagna ma poi restituite e custodite a Winchester. Oggi, il reliquiario di
San Petroc si trova al British Museum.
Emblema: Bastone
Martirologio
Romano: In Cornovaglia, san Petroc di Galles, abate.
Parecchie chiese del Devon ed in Cornovaglia portano il nome di San Petroc (o Pedrog), il cui culto è assai antico e ben radicato, nonostante scarseggino fonti scritte sul suo conto, ritenute tardive ed assai leggendarie.
Probabilmente Petroc era un principe gallese, figlio di un re o di un capo tribù, e William Worcestre ne parlò come di un sovrano della Cumbria, visitando il suo sepolcro nel XV secolo. Petroc si trasferì nel sud dell’isola britannica con alcuni compagni e si stabilì nel monastero di Lanwethinoc, così denominato dal nome del fondatore Wethinoc, ed in seguito conosciuto come Petrocstowe, l’odierno Padstow, con il diffondersi del santo oggi festeggiato. Altri due luoghi, Little Petheric e Trebetheric, portano questo nome. La “Vita” medioevale, redatta nell’abbazia di Saint-Méen e forse copiata da una più antica del priorato di Bodmin, racconta che Petroc ed i suoi compagni studiarono per vent’anni in Irlanda, come asserito anche dalla “Vita” di San Kevin. Terminato il periodo di formazione, s’imbarcarono all’estuario del fiume Camel, giungendo a stabilirsi a Lanwethinoc. Qui Petroc condusse per trent’anni una vita molto austera, interrotta solamente da un pellegrinaggio a Roma ed a Gerusalemme.
Di ritorno dal lungo pellegrinaggio, disse ai suoi monaci che la tormenta che colpiva la regione sarebbe terminata il giorno seguente, ma poiché il vento e la pioggia non cessarono, pensò di essere stato troppo presuntuoso nel credere che lo Spirito Santo l’avesse ispirato. Riprese allora la strada per Gerusalemme, in segno di penitenza, ed in questo secondo viaggio raggiunse secondo Nicholas Roscarrock “l’Oceano orientale”, forse il golfo di Aqaba.
Una “Vita” più antica, scritta da Giovanni di Tynmouth, che gli Acta Sanctorum classificano quale “vita suspecta”, narra che arrivò sino in India, ove in riva la mare vide volteggiare sopra di lui un globo splendente che lo trasportò in un’isola ove trascorse ben sette anni. Trascorso tale periodo il medesimo globo lo riportò dove lo aveva prelevato e sulla spiaggia trovò un lupo a custodire il bastone e la pelle di pecora che aveva lasciato lì. Non si possono però non notare molti parallelismi tra questa storia e parecchi racconti mitologici classici.
Ritornato infine in Cornovaglia, Petroc occupò il suo tempo con la preghiera e compiendo opere di carità. Crebbe così la sua fama di santità e molte leggende folcloristiche della Cornovaglia sorsero sul suo conto: guarì parecchi ammalati, salvò la vita ad un cervo durante una caccia e convertì il cacciatore ed i suoi assistenti, ammansì un mostro locale ed ordinò un medicamento per un drago presentatosi a lui con una scheggia in un occhio.
Particolari più convincenti sono contenti in un’altra versione della sua vita, proveniente dall’abbazia di Saint-Méen e scritta da un canonico di Bodmin: essa è inclusa in un manoscritto del XIV secolo scoperto a Ghota in Germania nel 1937 e conosciuto come “Vita di Ghota”. Da essa si apprende che Petroc fece edificare una cappella ed un mulino presso Little Petherick, ove aveva stabilito una seconda comunità monastica. In seguito si ritirò in un luogo remoto sul Bodmin Moor, ma nuovamente alcuni fratelli non resistettero ad unirsi a lui.
Rendendosi conto dell’approssimarsi della fine della sua vita, decise di visitare per un’ultima volta Little Petherick e Lanwethenoc. Lungo il cammino, verso metà strada gli mancarono le forze e morì nella casa di un certo Rovel, forse nel luogo su cui oggi sorge la fattoria di Treravel.
La festa di San Petroc, ancora oggi citata in data odierna dal Martyrologium Romanu, ricorreva sin dai più antichi calendari delle contee occidentali, così come nel Salterio di Bosworth e nel Messale di Roberto di Jumièges, essendo infatti anche ricordato nel calendario di Sarum. Le città di Exeter e Glastonbury rivendicano le sue reliquie.
Alla fine del X secolo i monaci si trasferirono a Bodmin, ormai divenuto il centro del culto del santo, ma le sue reliquie vennero trafugate da un certo Martino, canonico del priorato di Bodmin che, nascosto il bottino sotto l’abito, lo portò all’abbazia di Saint-Méen in Bretagna. Il priore di Bodmin fece allora appello al re Enrico II, che ordinò immediatamente la restituzione del maltolto.
Secondo Roger de Hoveden “il sopraccitato priore di Bodmin, ritornando in Inghilterra con gioia, riportò il corpo del beato Petroc in uno scrigno d’avorio”. Le reliquie furono allora prese in custodia a Winchester da Walter di Coutances, custode del sigillo reale, ed il re stesso insieme con tutta la corte si prostrarono dinnanzi ad esse. Il reliquiario suddetto, dopo vari trasferimenti, trovò infine collocazione dal 1970 nel British Museum.
Autore: Fabio Arduino
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92830
Venerable Petroc of
Cornwall. Commemorated June 4/17 : https://orthochristian.com/71371.html
