vendredi 23 janvier 2015

Saint ILDEFONSE de TOLÈDE (ou ILDEPHONSUS, ALPHONSE), évêque et confesseur


Saint Ildefonse (ou Alphonse) de Tolède, évêque

Fils d’un couple de nobles espagnols, il est le neveu de Saint-Eugène de Tolède. Contrairement au souhait de ses parents, il s’engage dans la vie religieuse et prend l’habit au monastère d’Agli. Ordonné en 637, il prend la direction de son monastère en 650 et est finalement choisi pour succéder à son oncle comme archevêque de Tolède en 657. Il est également l'auteur de nombreux écrits. Il meurt en 669.

SOURCE : http://www.paroisse-saint-aygulf.fr/index.php/prieres-et-liturgie/saints-par-mois/icalrepeat.detail/2015/01/23/1785/-/saint-ildefonse-ou-alphonse-de-tolede-eveque


Juan Pantoja de la Cruz . Imposición de la casulla a San Ildefonso, 1603, 224 X 140, Museo del Prado

Saint Ildefonse de Tolède

Évêque de Tolède ( 669)

Ildefonse ou Alphonse.  

Neveu de saint Eugène de Tolède, il étudia à Séville ayant pour maître saint Isidore. Moine, il devint abbé de Tagli, sur le Tage. Archevêque de Tolède en 657, il uniformisa les liturgies espagnoles. Pami les nombreux ouvrages qu'il écrivit, il composa un traité pour défendre la virginité perpétuelle de la Très sainte Mère de Dieu.

À Tolède en Espagne, vers 607, saint Ildefonse, évêque. Moine et supérieur de son couvent, il fut élu évêque et écrivit de nombreux ouvrages dans un style très élégant et honora la bienheureuse Marie Mère de Dieu et toujours Vierge avec un admirable zèle de dévotion.

Martyrologe romain

SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/489/Saint-Ildefonse-de-Tolede.html


Imposición de la Casulla a San Ildefonso, unknown artist, 1507 AD - Museo de San Clemente, Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, Spain


SAINT ILDEFONSE, ÉVÊQUE ET CONFESSEUR.

L’Église Gothique d'Espagne députe aujourd'hui un de ses plus grands Prélats au berceau du divin Enfant, avec la charge de célébrer sa naissance inénarrable. La louange que fait entendre Ildefonse semble au premier abord n'avoir pour objet que l'honneur de Marie; mais peut-on honorer la Mère sans proclamer la gloire du Fils, à l'enfantement duquel elle doit toutes ses grandeurs?

Au milieu du chœur de ces grands Pontifes qui ont illustré le brillant épiscopat de l'Espagne au VII° et au VIII° siècle, entre les Léandre, les Isidore, les Fulgence, les Braulion, les Eugène, les Julien, les Helladius, paraît au premier rang Ildefonse, avec la gloire d'avoir été le Docteur de la Virginité de Marie : comme Athanase est le Docteur de la Divinité du Verbe ; Basile, le Docteur de la Divinité du Saint-Esprit ; Augustin, le Docteur de la Grâce. Le saint Evêque de Tolède a exposé son dogme tout entier, avec une profonde doctrine et une éloquence du cœur : prouvant à la fois contre les Juifs, que Marie a conçu sans perdre la virginité ; contre les adeptes de Jovinien, qu'elle est demeurée Vierge dans son enfantement ; contre les sectateurs d'Helvidius, qu'elle est restée Vierge après avoir mis le Christ au monde. D'autres

Docteurs, avant lui, avaient traité séparément ces questions sublimes ; Ildefonse a réuni toutes leurs lumières comme dans un faisceau, et il a mérité qu'une Vierge Martyre sortît de son sépulcre pour le féliciter d'avoir protégé l'honneur de la Souveraine des Cieux. Enfin, Marie elle-même, de ses mains virginales, l'a revêtu de cette merveilleuse chasuble qui présageait l'éclat du vêtement de lumière sous lequel Ildefonse brille à jamais, au pied du trône de la Mère de Dieu.

Nous emprunterons au Bréviaire Monastique les Leçons de l'Office de notre saint Evêque :

Ildefonse , Espagnol d e nation, né à Tolède, d'Etienne et Lucie, ses parents très nobles, fut élevé avec grand soin, et instruit dans les arts libéraux. Il eut pour premier maître Eugène, Evêque de Tolède, qui, frappé de ses heureuses dispositions, l'envoya à Séville, auprès de saint Isidore, dont la vaste érudition était alors en honneur. 11 demeura douze ans auprès du saint Prélat, jusqu'à ce que, formé dans les bonnes mœurs, et rempli de la saine doctrine, il revînt à Tolède, auprès d'Eugène, qui le fit Archidiacre de cette Eglise, à cause de ses excellentes vertus et de sa science remarquable. Ildefonse, voulant éviter les pièges du monde, embrassa l'institut monastique de l'Ordre de saint Benoît, dans le monastère d'Agalie, malgré l'opposition de ses parents, qui employèrent les prières et les menaces pour le détourner de son pieux dessein.

Peu de temps après, les moines l'élurent à la place de leur Abbé qui venait de mourir; car ils admiraient en lui, outre les autres vertus, son équité, son caractère aimable, sa prudence, et une admirable sainteté. Un si grand éclat, une si vive lumière de vraie piété, ne purent longtemps demeurer cachés ; et c'était ce qu'avait craint Ildefonse. Car, Eugène étant mort, il fut élu Archevêque de Tolède, par le consentement du clergé, des grands et de tout le peuple. Il serait impossible d'expliquer en peu de mots combien, dans cette dignité, il fut utile par ses paroles et ses exemples au peuple confié à ses soins, quels miracles il fit, à combien de titres il mérita de la Vierge-Mère. Il bâtit un monastère de Vierges, dans le lieu appelé Deilfa, et l'enrichit de revenus abondants. Il réfuta savamment et chassa d'Espagne certains hérétiques, qui répandaient dans ce pays l'hérésie d'Helvidius, qui niait la perpétuelle virginité de Marie, Mère de Dieu. La discussion sur ce sujet est contenue dans le livre qu'il a écrit de la Virginité de là bienheureuse Marie. Cette puissante Reine récompensa par un miracle le zèle de son serviteur. Ildefonse étant descendu de nuit pour l'Office des Matines de l'Expectation de la sainte Vierge, ceux qui l'accompagnaient, étant arrivés au seuil de l'Eglise, aperçurent tout à coup dans l'intérieur une splendeur qui les effraya, et les fit revenir sur leurs pas. Le saint avança intrépidement jusqu'à l'autel; il vit la sainte Vierge elle-même , il la vénéra , et reçut d'elle un vêtement pour l'usage du Sacrifice.

Une autre fois, on célébrait la Fête de sainte Léocadie; le Clergé et un peuple nombreux étaient rassemblés dans l'Eglise ; Ildefonse, s'étant approché du tombeau de cette Vierge, priait à genoux, lorsque tout à coup la très sainte Léocadie sort de son sépulcre qui s'entr'ouvre, et, en présence de tous les assistants, elle célèbre les mérites d'Ildefonse envers la Vierge Marie, par ces paroles : « O Ildefonse ! par toi triomphe ma souveraine Maîtresse, qui habite les hauteurs du ciel. » Au moment où elle disparaissait , Ildefonse, saisissant l'épée de Recesvinthe, qui était présent à cette apparition, coupa une partie du voile dont la tête de Léocadie était couverte, et la renferma, avec une grande pompe, ainsi que l'épée du Roi, dans le trésor de l'Eglise, où on la garde encore aujourd'hui.

Il écrivit beaucoup de livres d'un style rempli de clarté ; mais il en a laissé quelques-uns imparfaits, à cause de ses grandes occupations. Enfin, il termina sa vie par une heureuse mort, ayant siégé, comme Evêque, neuf ans et deux mois. Il fut enseveli dans la Basilique de Sainte-Léocadie, vers l'an du Seigneur six cent soixante-sept, Recesvinthe régnant en Espagne. Durant l'occupation générale de ce pays par les Sarrasins, son corps fut transféré dans la ville de Zamora. Il y repose avec honneur, dans l'Eglise de Saint-Pierre, entouré des marques de la vénération du peuple.

Honneur à vous, saint Pontife, qui vous élevez, avec tant de gloire, de cette terre d'Espagne si féconde en vaillants chevaliers de Marie ! Allez prendre place auprès du berceau ou cette Mère incomparable veille avec amour sur l'Enfant, qui, étant à la fois son Dieu et son fils, a consacré sa virginité, loin de l'altérer. Recommandez-nous à sa tendresse ; rappelez-lui qu'elle est aussi notre Mère. Priez-la d'entendre les hymnes que nous chantons à sa gloire, et de faire agréer à son Emmanuel l'hommage de nos cœurs. Pour être accueillis par cette auguste Souveraine, nous oserons, ô Docteur de la Virginité de Marie, emprunter votre organe, et lui dire avec vous :

« Je viens à vous maintenant, ô vous, seule Vierge Mère de Dieu; je me prosterne à vos pieds, seule coopératrice de l'incarnation de mon Dieu ; je m'humilie devant vous, seule Mère de mon Seigneur. Je vous supplie, unique servante de votre Fils, d'obtenir que mon péché soit effacé, d'ordonner que je sois purifié de l'iniquité de mes œuvres. Faites-moi aimer la gloire de votre virginité ; révélez-moi la douceur de votre Fils ; donnez-moi de parler, selon la sincérité, de la foi de votre Fils, et de la défendre. Accordez-moi de m'attacher à Dieu et à vous, de servir votre Fils et vous : lui, comme mon Créateur ; vous, comme la Mère de mon Créateur; lui, comme le Seigneur des armées; vous, comme la servante du Maître de toutes choses ; lui, comme un Dieu; vous, comme la Mère d'un Dieu ; lui, comme mon Rédempteur ; vous, comme l'instrument de ma rédemption.

« S'il a été le prix de mon rachat, sa chair a été formée de votre chair; c'est de votre substance mortelle qu'il a pris le corps mortel par lequel il a effacé mes péchés ; ma nature qu'il a emportée, au-dessus des Anges, jusque dans la gloire du trône de son Père, il a daigné l'emprunter à votre substance.

« Donc, je suis votre esclave, car votre Fils est mon Seigneur. Vous êtes ma Dame, car vous êtes la servante de mon Seigneur. Je suis l'esclave de la servante de mon Seigneur, car vous, qui êtes ma Dame, vous êtes la Mère de mon Seigneur. Faites, je vous en supplie, Vierge sainte, que je possède Jésus, par ce même Esprit dont la vertu vous a fait enfanter Jésus ; que je connaisse Jésus, par le même Esprit qui vous a fait connaître et concevoir Jésus ; que je parle de Jésus, par le même Esprit dans lequel vous vous êtes dite la servante du Seigneur ; que j'aime Jésus, par le même Esprit dans lequel vous l'adorez, comme votre Seigneur, et le considérez amoureusement comme votre Fils; que j'obéisse enfin à Jésus, aussi sincèrement que lui-même, étant Dieu, vous était soumis et à Joseph. »

Dom Guéranger. L'ANNÉE LITURGIQUE.




Saint Ildefonse ou en espagnol Ildefonso ou Alonzo ou Alfonso, né vers 606, a été archevêque de Tolède en Espagne depuis 657 jusqu'à sa mort, le 23 janvier 667.
 
Neveu de saint Eugène de Tolède, il a étudié avec saint Isidore de Séville. Il a d'abord été moine de l'abbaye Saint-Cosme-et-Saint-Damien d'Agali à Tolède avant d'en devenir abbé. Il a, à ce titre, participé aux VIIIe et IXe conciles de Tolède en 653 et 655.
 
Ildefonse fait partie, comme saint Isidore ou Braulio, de ces abbés-évêques encore très attachés au savoir classique, dont il disait qu'il était « un don commun, non privé ». Son ouvrage le plus célèbre est le De Viris illustribus (Les Vies illustres), inspiré des œuvres homonymes de saint Jérôme et de saint Isidore, dont saint Julien, qui lui succéda à l'évêché de Tolède, dit le plus grand bien dans son Elogium, qui est la première source d'informations sur la vie d'Ildefonse.
 
Parmi ses œuvres on peut aussi citer : De cognitione baptismi (La connaissance du baptême), le  Libellum de Virginitate Sanctae Mariae contra tres infideles  (Livre sur la virginité de sainte Marie contre trois incroyants), un traité en deux livres : Annotationes de cognitione baptismi (Notes sur la connaissance du baptême) et Liber de itineris desertis, quo itur post baptismum (Livre des chemins du dessert par où l’on avance après le baptême). Le De Virginitate a été copié à la demande de l'évêque du Puy Godescalc en 950/951 au cours de son pèlerinage à Saint-Jacques de Compostelle.
 
Il a aussi écrit des œuvres qui ont permis de forger la liturgie tolédane : des messes, des hymnes, des sermons, des antiphonaires, des répons, etc..
 
Par ailleurs, Ildefonse, en ce temps de paganisme et d'hérésies, insistait beaucoup sur la formation catéchétique de ses pasteurs, moines ou non.
 
Les apparitions de la vierge Marie à saint Ildefonse ont inspiré la majeure partie de son iconographie : ainsi « L'imposition de la chasuble à Saint Ildefonse » a été représentée par de nombreux peintres, Vélasquez, Murillo, Rubens...
 
Lectures :
 
Colossiens 1, 12-18
 
Luc 21, 9-19

Prière de saint Ildefonse :
 
« Je viens à toi maintenant, ô toi, seule Vierge Mère de Dieu ; je me prosterne à tes pieds, seule coopératrice de l'incarnation de mon Dieu ; je m'humilie devant toi, seule Mère de mon Seigneur. Je te supplie, unique servante de ton Fils, d'obtenir que mon péché soit effacé, d'ordonner que je sois purifié de l'iniquité de mes œuvres. Fais-moi aimer la gloire de ta virginité ; révèle-moi la douceur de ton Fils ; donne-moi de parler, selon la sincérité, de la foi de ton Fils, et de la défendre. Accorde-moi de m'attacher à Dieu et à toi, de servir ton Fils et toi : Lui, comme mon Créateur ; toi, comme la Mère de mon Créateur ; Lui, comme le Seigneur des armées ; toi, comme la servante du Maître de toutes choses ; Lui, comme un Dieu ; toi, comme la Mère d'un Dieu ; Lui, comme mon Rédempteur ; toi, comme l'instrument de ma rédemption.
 
 S'il a été le prix de mon rachat, sa chair a été formée de ta chair; c'est de ta substance mortelle qu'il a pris le corps mortel par lequel il a effacé mes péchés ; ma nature qu'il a emportée au-dessus des anges jusque dans la gloire du trône de son Père, il a daigné l'emprunter à ta substance.
 
 Donc, je suis ton esclave, car ton Fils est mon Seigneur. Tu es ma Dame, car tu es la servante de mon Seigneur. Je suis l'esclave de la servante de mon Seigneur, car toi, qui es ma Dame, tu es la Mère de mon Seigneur. Fais, je t en supplie, Vierge sainte, que je possède Jésus, par ce même Esprit dont la vertu t’ a fait enfanter Jésus ; que je connaisse Jésus, par le même Esprit qui t’ a fait connaître et concevoir Jésus ; que je parle de Jésus, par le même Esprit dans lequel tu t’es dite la servante du Seigneur ; que j'aime Jésus, par le même Esprit dans lequel tu l'adore comme ton Seigneur, et le considère amoureusement comme ton Fils ; que j'obéisse enfin à Jésus aussi sincèrement que lui-même, étant Dieu, était soumis et à Joseph.

SOURCE : http://www.religion-orthodoxe.eu/article-saint-ildefonse-alphonse-de-tolede-65566238.html

A de vestir or clothed statue of Ildephonsus in his shrine in San Ildefonso, BulacanPhilippines



Saint Ildephonsus of Toledo

Also known as

Idelfonso

Ildefonso

Ildefonsus

Memorial

23 January

Profile

Born to the Spanish nobility. Nephew of Saint Eugene of ToledoStudied at SevilleSpain under Saint Isidore of SevilleMonk at Agli (Agalia) on the River Tagus near ToledoSpain while still a young manAbbot at Agli. Attended the Council of Toledo in 653 and 655Archbishop of Toledo in 657. Responsible for the unification of the Spanish liturgy. Noted writer, especially on Our Lady; only four of his works have survived. Reported to have received an apparition of the Virgin Mary during which she presented him with a chalice.

Born

607 at ToledoSpain

Died

667 of natural causes

Canonized

Pre-Congregation

Patronage

San Ildefonso Indian Pueblo

ToledoSpain

Additional Information

A Garner of Saints, by Allen Banks Hinds, M.A.

Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate

Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler

Saints of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein

Saints of the Order of Saint Benedict, by Father Aegedius Ranbeck, O.S.B.

The Fairest Flower of Paradise, by Cardinal Alexis-Henri-Marie LépicierO.S.M.

books

Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints

Sacred and Legendary Art, by Anna Jameson

other sites in english

Catholic Ireland

Catholic News Agency

Catholic Online

John Dillon

Saints Stories for All Ages

uCatholic

images

Santi e Beati

sitios en español

Martirologio Romano2001 edición

fonti in italiano

Cathopedia

Santi e Beati

spletne strani v slovenšcini

Svetniki

MLA Citation

“Saint Ildephonsus of Toledo“. CatholicSaints.Info. 28 September 2021. Web. 23 January 2022. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ildephonsus/>

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ildephonsus/

Santo Ildefonso. Realizado por Manuel Francisco Álvarez de la Peña


St. Ildephonsus

Archbishop of Toledo; died 23 January, 667. He was born of a distinguished family and was a nephew of St. Eugenius, his predecessor in the See of Toledo. At an early age, despite the determined opposition of his father, he embraced the monastic life in the monastery of Agli, near Toledo. While he was still a simple monk, he founded and endowed a monastery of nuns in Deibiensi villula. We learn from his writings that he was ordained a deacon (about 630) by Helladius, who had been his abbot and was afterwards elected Archbishop of Toledo. Ildephonsus himself became Abbot of Agli, and in this capacity was one of the signatories, in 653 and 655, at the Eighth and Ninth Councils of Toledo. Called by King Reccesvinth, towards the end of 657, to fill the archiepiscopal throne, he governed the Church of Toledo for a little more than nine years and was buried in the Basilica of Saint Leocadia. To these scanty but authentic details of his life (they are attested by Ildephonsus himself, or by his immediate successor, Archbishop Julianus, in a short biographical notice which he added to the "De viris illustribus" of Ildephonsus) some doubtful or even legendary anecdotes were added later. At the end of the eighth century Cixila, Archbishop of Toledo, embellished the biography of his predecessor. He relates that Ildephonsus was the disciple of Isidore of Seville, and recalls in particular two marvellous stories, of which the second, a favourite theme of hagiographers, poets, and artists, has been for ages entwined with the memory of the saint. Ildephonsus, it is said, was one day praying before the relics of Saint Leocadia, when the martyr arose from her tomb and thanked the saint for the devotion he showed towards the Mother of God. It was related, further, that on another occasion the Blessed Virgin appeared to him in person and presented him with a priestly vestment, to reward him for his zeal in honouring her.

The literary work of Ildephonsus is better known than the details of his life, and merits for him a distinguished place in the roll of Spanish writers. His successor, Julianus of Toledo, in the notice already referred to, informs us that the saint himself divided his works into four parts. The first and principal division contained six treatises, of which two only have been preserved: "De virginitate perpetuâ sanctae Mariae adversus tres infideles" (these three unbelievers are Jovinianus, Helvidius, and "a Jew"), a bombastic work which displays however a spirit of ardent piety, and assures Ildephonsus a place of honour among the devoted servants of the Blessed Virgin; also a treatise in two books: (1) "Annotationes de cognitione baptismi", and (2) "Liber de itinere deserti, quo itur post baptismum". Recent researches have proved that the first book is only a new edition of a very important treatise compiled, at the latest, in the sixth century, Ildephonsus having contributed to it only a few additions (Helfferich, "Der westgothische Arianismus", 1860, 41-49). The second part of his works contained the saint's correspondence; of this portion, there are still preserved two letters of Quiricus, Bishop of Barcelona, with the replies of Ildephonsus. The third part comprised masses, hymns, and sermons; and the fourth, opuscula in prose and verse, especially epitaphs. The editions of the complete works of Ildephonsus contain a certain number of writings, several of which may be placed in either of the last two divisions; but some of them are of doubtful authenticity, while the remainder are certainly the work of another author. Moreover, Julianus states that Ildephonsus began a good number of other works, but his many cares would not permit of his finishing them. On the other hand, he makes no mention of a little work which is certainly authentic, the "De viris illustribus". It may be considered as a supplement to the "De viris illustribus" of Isidore of Seville, and is not so much a literary historical work as a writing intended to glorify the Church of Toledo and defend the rights of the metropolitan see.

Sources

ANTONIUS, Bibliotheca Hispana vetus, I (1696), 286-302; FLOREZ, Espana sagrada, V (1750), 275-91; 470-525; cf. XXIX (1775), 439-43; GAMS, Kirchengeschichte Spaniens, II (1874), i, 135-38; VON DZIALOWSKI, Isidor und Ildefons als Litterarhistoriker (Munster, 1898), 125-60; — for ancient biographies, see Bibl. Hagiogr. Lat., nos. 3917-26; — for modern works, see CHEVALIER, Répertoire des sources historiques du moyen age: Bio-Bibl. (Paris, 1905), s.v. Ildephonse. The principal edition of the saint's works is that of LORENZANA, SS. PP. Toletanorum opera, I (1782), 94-451, reprinted in P.L., XCVI, 1-330.

Poncelet, Albert. "St. Ildephonsus." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 23 Jan. 2016 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07649b.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Herman F. Holbrook. Sancte Ildephonse, ora Dei Genitricem pro nobis.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.





Ildephonsus of Toledo B (RM)

(also known as Alphonso, Ildefonsus, Ildephonse)


Born in Toledo, Spain, in 607; died there on January 23, 667; Doctor of the Church.


"Virgin Mother of God: may I bind myself to God and to you, serve your own Lord and serve you too, obey your own Son and so obey you. May I worship Him as my Maker and you as the mother of my Maker. May I venerate Him as the Lord of Hosts and you as the handmaid of the Lord. May I adore Him as my God and you as the mother of my God." --Saint Ildefonsus.

Ildefonsus, born of a noble Spanish family, was the nephew of Saint Eugene of Toledo and may have studied under Saint Isidore of Seville. He longed to become a monk. His family opposed his wishes. Nevertheless, the saint professed himself in his youth as a member of the monastery at Agli (Agalia) near his hometown of Toledo and was ordained about 637. The other monks recognized his deep spirituality and wisdom by making him their abbot about 650. Ildephonsus attended the council of Toledo in 653 and 655. About 657, he was consecrated archbishop of Toledo to succeed his uncle Eugenius.

Saint Ildefonsus was sitting on the bishop's throne in his cathedral when he was granted a vision in which the Blessed Virgin presented him with a chasuble of heavenly tissue. The gift was a fitting one, for Ildefonsus adored the Virgin and wrote a defense of her perpetual virginity. He saw worship of Jesus as the supreme duty of a Christian; and he believed that one could do so by meditating on Jesus through the eyes of His virgin mother. He also had a special devotion to Saint Leocadia, patroness of Toledo.

For nine years he governed the church wisely, until his peaceable death. His successor to the see of Toledo gave high praise to Ildefonsus's virtues and abilities. The Ramsgate Benedictines say that he was responsible for the unification of the Spanish liturgy. He was also a musician. The grateful Spaniards dubbed him a Doctor of the Church and his memory is still revered.

Ildephonsus was an outstanding writer as well as a devoted pastor. His treatise on Baptism was followed by one of the spiritual journey of the soul after receiving the Sacrament. In De viris illustribus he compiled short biographies of notables in the 7th-century Church in Spain. He devotion to Mary led him to write several theological treatises, including De virginitate perpetua sactae Mariae, a work of exuberant enthusiasm, rather than of sober thought. This work was written as a defense of the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Mother against the heresy of Helvidius, Jovinian, and a Jew. His fervor had a marked effect on Spanish piety.

A short vita of Saint Ildephonsus was written by his successor, Bishop Saint Julian, 23 years after his death (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Bentley, Braegelmann, Coulson, Delaney, Farmer, Husenbeth, Tabor).

The investiture of Saint Ildephonsus is a favorite subject of Spanish artists, who depict him as a cardinal archbishop receiving a chasuble from the Blessed Virgin. His hat is near him. He may also be shown mitred with his abbot's crozier, chasuble, pallium, book, and cardinal's hat, or writing before an image of the Blessed Virgin (Roeder, Tabor). He is venerated throughout Spain but especially in Toledo and Seville (Roeder).

SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0123.shtml

Juan de Valdés Leal  (1622–1690). Miracle of St Ildefonsus, 1661, 270 x 250




St. Ildefonsus, Archbishop

HE was a learned Benedictin abbot of a monastery called Agaliense, in a suburb of Toledo, promoted to the archbishopric of that city after the death of Eugenius, in December, 657, according to F. Flores; sat nine years and two months, and died on the 23rd of January, 667, according to the same learned author, in the eighteenth year of king Rescisvintho. His most celebrated work is a book on the Spotless Virginity of the Virgin Mary, against Helvidius, Jovinian, and a certain Jew: he breathes in it the most tender devotion to her, and confidence in her intercession with her Son. He had a singular devotion to St. Leocadia, patroness of Toledo. Certain sermons of St. Ildefonsus on the B. Virgin Mary, and some letters, are published by F. Flores. 1 Some of his letters, which were first given us by D’Achery, were reprinted by cardinal D’Aguirre. 2 In Spanish this saint is called Ildefonso, and by the common people Alanso, for Alphonsus, which is an abbreviation of Ildefonsus. See his short life by St. Julian, bishop of Toledo, twenty-three years after his death. In Mabillon, sæc. 2. Fleury, b. 39. n. 40. That by Cixila is not authentic. See especially the remarks of the learned F. Flores on these two lives, &c. in his Spana Sagrada, t. 5. tr. 5. c. 3. n. 31. p. 275. & app. 9. ib. p. 522. F. Flores reckons St. Ildefonsus the thirty-first bishop of Toledo, from St. Eugenius, the disciple of St. Dionysius of Paris, whom, with the writers of his country, he counts the first in the year 112.

Note 1. F. Flores. Spana Sagrada, T. 5. append. 7. p. 490. 

Note 2. Card. D’Aguirre, Conc. Hispan. T. 2. p. 534. 

Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73).  Volume I: January. The Lives of the Saints.  1866.


Puente de Alcántara (Toledo)

Los Reyes Católicos, que celebraron Cortes en Toledo (1480), reedificaron el torreón del puente, próximo a la ciudad, siendo corregidor y alcalde don Gómez Manrique (1484). Bóveda del torreón que da entrada a la ciudad.


Saints of the Order of Saint Benedict – Saint Ildephonsus, Archbishop

This Saint was born in Spain, of an illustrious race. From his childhood he led so pure and humble a life, that it showed his fitness for the monastic state. His mother who, before his birth, had been warned of the future greatness of her offspring, encouraged his religious fervour, and when he was old enough, she placed him under the care of Saint Isidore, and he afterwards entered the Monastery of Agalia. Here Ildephonsus made so great progress in virtue that when the Archiepiscopal See of Toledo became vacant, he was promoted to it. At this time a fearful heresy was beginning to creep in, which assailed the virginity of the Blessed Mother of God; Ildephonsus, because of the devotion to the Virgin of Virgins, which filled his breast, wrote a book in which he emphatically denounced this error; and he was rewarded by a vision of the Virgin Mother, who took in her hand the work in which he had defended her virginity against Helvidius, and deigned to commend it. In this work the Saint speaks of the Blessed Virgin with the most tender devotion. Ildephonsus was praying one day at the tomb of Saint Leocadia, the King and a great crowd of people being present at the time, when the holy Martyr appeared to him, and said these words: “Through thee, O Ildephonsus, doth our Lady reign, who is enthroned in the highest heavens.”

The Feast of the Assumption of our Lady was one especially dear to the Saint, and when it occurred he always took special pains to promote the honour that is due to the Mother of God. He arranged for the performance, with due solemnity, of the office which had lately been ordered for the celebration of the festival, he caused hymns to be sung, and he exhorted the people to pay as much honour as they could to the Holy Virgin. On one of the feast days of the Blessed Virgin, the Saint rose early, as usual, for the office of Matins, and hastened to the Church; but at the threshold his attendants were so struck with terror at a glorious light which filled the Basilica, that they drew back, and Ildephonsus entered alone. When he approached the altar he was favoured by a vision of the Mother of God, surrounded by a resplendent band of Saints and Virgins, and our Lady addressed to him the following words:

“O most beloved Servant of God! receive the gift which I bestow upon thee from the treasures of my Son.” When she had so spoken, she placed a vestment on his shoulders and disappeared. Soon after this memorable vision, Saint Ildephonsus – having presided over the Church at Toledo for nine years – died on January 23rd, 667.

– text and illustration taken from Saints of the Order of Saint Benedict by Father Aegedius Ranbeck, O.S.B.

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-order-of-saint-benedict-saint-ildephonsus-archbishop/

Plaque de Calle de San Ildefonso (rue, (district du Centre) de Madrid (España).

Sign of Calle de San Ildefonso (street, Centro district) in Madrid (Spain).

Placa de la Calle de San Ildefonso (distrito de Centro) de Madrid (España).


Mother Inviolate – Gift of Fear in Mary

“If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please thee, give me my life for which I ask, and my people, for which I request.” – Esther 7:3

The Holy Ghost teaches us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” This fear is not that servile movement which has for its object the chastisement due to sin; it is a sentiment of filial piety, grounded on the one hand on the greatness and majesty of God, and on the other on the deformity of sin.

Servile fear may be found even among those who do not love God, whom the dread of punishment alone keeps back from offending their Lord and Master. Speaking of this fear Saint John says that perfect charity casts it out.

On the other hand, filial fear belongs to God’s children. These recognize the Most High for their Sovereign Lord, and love Him as their tender Father; hence they have for Him a profound esteem and veneration. Knowing that they are exposed in this life to a thousand occasions of offending Him, by reason of the temptations they must undergo through the frailty of the flesh, the malice of the demon, and the allurements of the world, they fear sin above every other evil.

Lord, give me, I beseech Thee, an ample share of this salutary fear, according as Thou hast said: “I will give my fear in their heart.”

* * *

Mary, at the moment of her Immaculate Conception, received, together with the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, that of the fear of God. This fear in her was in no sort servile. Pilled as she was with divine grace, altogether pure and holy, what chastisement could she apprehend?

Neither was there in Mary, properly speaking, that fear which theologians call “chaste fear,” which has for its object the possible danger of falling away from God by sin; for she well knew that by an especial assistance of the Holy Ghost, she would never lose divine grace.

The fear of God was, therefore, in Mary a reverential fear, caused by a keen and lively sense of the awful majesty of the Most High and His limitless power. It was this very sentiment which impelled this glorious Virgin to believe with all her heart the truths revealed by God: to consecrate to the Lord all the affections of her soul: to shelter herself and rest, like a white dove, under the fatherly wings of Divine Providence: “I sat down under His shadow, whom I desired.”

* * *

The chief effect of the gift of fear in Mary was to inspire her, in her adorations and supplications, with so great a sense of respect and veneration for the Divine Majesty, that all her petitions merited to be heard: even as we read of Jesus, that He “was heard for His reverence.” a Mary might, therefore, like another Esther, present herself without fear before the throne of the King of kings, and lay her request at His feet, with a certain confidence of being fully heard, whatever the object of her petition might be.

Oh, that we would imitate Mary in the acquisition and exercise of this precious gift of the fear of God! That our prayers might be animated with this reverential and wholesome fear, which is the pledge of divine favors, for it is written that God “will do the will of them that fear Him: and He will hear their prayer.” Would that we dreaded above all things to commit sin, the greatest of evils, and that we might courageously shun all the occasions of offending our Heavenly Father and losing His grace!

Happy the soul that possesses this salutary fear, the beneficial effect of which is felt especially at the moment of death. For such a soul does not dread the passage from life to eternity: on the contrary, it looks upon that moment as the beginning of all real blessings. “With him that feareth the Lord, it shall go well in the latter end, and in the day of his death he shall be blessed.”

Example – Saint Ildephonsus

One of the most strenuous champions of the perpetual virginity of the most holy Mother of God was Saint Ildephonsus, Archbishop of Toledo, in Spain. His birth, which took place in the year 606, was the effect of a special grace of Mary. He came to this world on the eighth of December, which is the day that was afterward consecrated to the Immaculate Conception of our blessed Lady. When but ten years old, he was placed under the direction of Saint Isidore of Seville, that he might learn, besides human science, the virtues necessary in a minister of the Lord.

After ten years he returned to his country, where, following the impulse of the Holy Spirit, notwithstanding the opposition of his parents, he withdrew into solitude, entering the monastery of Saints Cosmas and Damian. A short time after, the splendor of his religious virtues moved his brethren to elect him Superior. Later, he was raised to the dignity of Archbishop, succeeding Eugenius in the See of Toledo.

Spain at that time was infested by a crowd of Arian heretics, who taught that Jesus Christ was not equal to His Father but only an adopted Son, and that therefore Mary was not the Mother of God but an ordinary woman. These men, following the false teaching of Elvidius, strove to deprive the Queen of Heaven of the halo of perpetual virginity. Ildephonsus directed all his pastoral care against this nefarious doctrine, and proved both by writing and preaching that Jesus Christ is truly God, equal to the Father, and that Mary is the most holy Mother of God, and yet always a Virgin.

Such zeal, if it excited the wrath of Ildephonsus’ enemies, was however not unrewarded by God. One day as Ildephonsus was praying at the tomb of Saint Leocadia in the presence of a large multitude of the faithful, among whom was the King Recesvintus, the stone which covered the sacred remains of this virgin, was suddenly lifted and the Saint coming forth from the tomb addressed the holy Bishop, exclaiming: “O Ildephonsus, through thee is my Mistress living.” By that, Saint Leocadia wished to show how efficacious was the preaching of Ildephonsus for preserving faith and devotion to Mary in the hearts of the people, despite the calumny of the heretics. As witness of this wonderful apparition and to confirm the truth which Ildephonsus had defended, Saint Leocadia invited him to detach a small piece of the white veil which covered her head, and this is preserved to the present day as a precious relic in the cathedral of Toledo. Saint Ildephonsus died on the twenty-third of January, 667.

Prayer

O Mary, it was by a special grace of the Holy Ghost that thou wast made sinless during thy mortal life, and that thou wert animated with such a veneration for the Divine Majesty, that thou didst merit to be heard in all thy prayers. Present, I beseech thee, special petitions to the Most High, that I may ever keep alive in me this gift of salutary fear, in order that I may avoid sin, and come to eternal blessedness. Amen.

– text taken from the book The Fairest Flower of Paradise: Considerations on the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, Enriched with Examples Drawn from the Lives of the Saints, by Cardinal Alexis-Henri-Marie LépicierO.S.M.1922; it has the Imprimatur of Cardinal Patrick Joseph HayesArchdiocese of New YorkNew York30 June 1922

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/mother-inviolate-gift-of-fear-in-mary/


San Ildefonso Parish Church (Pio del Pilar, Arnaiz Avenue, Makati City) M. Reyes Street corner Aranaiz Avenue and P. Binay Street, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila Vicariate of Saint Joseph the Worker (Makati City) Vicar Forane Rev. Msgr. Roberto A. Espenilla, PC Founded 1761, built in 1870 and Renovated Decreed as Parish Church in 1951 and 50th Anniversary Marker in August 11, 2001, in Legislative districts of Makati, Barangay Pio del Pilar, Makati City along Arnaiz Avenue.


Sant' Ildefonso (Idelfonso) da Toledo Vescovo


Toledo (Spagna), 607 - Toledo, 23 gennaio 667

Molto devoto a Maria, su cui scrisse un celebre trattato, e significativo esponente della Spagna del suo tempo, Ildefonso era discendente di una potente famiglia romana. Anche sotto i Visigoti avrebbe potuto far carriera, ma si fece monaco e divenne diacono. Fu eletto abate del monastero dei Santi Cosma e Damiano, nei pressi di Toledo. Quando il vescovo morì, nel 657, l'uomo di lettere e preghiera, cinquantenne, divenne anche uomo di governo ecclesiale nella diocesi della capitale del regno visigoto. Si districò tra difficili questioni interne e tenne testa alle pretese del re Recesvinto, che si era mosso personalmente per convincerlo a lasciare il cenobio e accettare l'elezione. Ha lasciato libri di liturgia e l'opera «De viris illustribus», una sorta di continuazione dell'enciclopedia di sant'Isidoro di Siviglia (di cui secondo la tradizione sarebbe stato allievo). Il 15 agosto del 660 la vergine gli apparve nel presbiterio della cattedrale, lodandolo e consegnandogli una preziosa veste. Morì a Toledo, di cui è patrono, nel 667.(Avvenire)

Etimologia: Ildefonso = pronto alla battaglia, dal tedesco

Emblema: Bastone pastorale

Martirologio Romano: A Toledo in Spagna, sant’Ildefonso, vescovo, che, monaco e priore di un cenobio, fu eletto all’episcopato, scrisse numerosi libri con stile assai raffinato, compose celebri preghiere liturgiche e venerò con mirabile zelo e devozione la beata e sempre Vergine Maria Madre di Dio. 

La sua famiglia, già potente sotto i Romani, lo rimane anche sotto i Visigoti, e gli prepara una carriera adeguata. Ma Ildefonso scappa di casa, rifugiandosi nel monastero dei santi Cosma e Damiano, vicino a Toledo. Non ha in mente la carriera. Si fa monaco, arriva al diaconato e qui si ferma. Gli va bene così. Ma i confratelli lo eleggono ugualmente abate nella loro comunità, perché ha tutto: pietà, cultura, energia, un parlare attraente. Ed è anche uno scrittore di grande efficacia.

Ma sui cinquant’anni deve lasciare il monastero: è morto Eugenio II, il vescovo di Toledo, e al suo posto si vuole lui, Ildefonso. Per convincerlo si muove il re visigoto in persona, Recesvinto. Così, nel 657, eccolo vescovo di quella che al tempo è la capitale del regno. Ora non ha più molto tempo da dedicare ai libri, impegnato com’è a scrivere tante lettere, e non proprio allegre. Abbiamo di lui pagine angosciate sugli scandali ad opera di certi cristiani influenti e falsi, sui conflitti duri con il re, che pure lo stima; e su tanti ecclesiastici che troppo s’immischiano negli affari di Stato.

Era davvero meglio il monastero: pregare con gli altri, studiare, scrivere... Ildefonso ci ha lasciato opere di dottrina e di morale, trattati sulla Madre di Gesù, inni liturgici. E anche l’opera divulgativa De viris illustribus (“Degli uomini illustri”) che è una continuazione dell'opera omonima di Isidoro di Siviglia (ca. 570-636). Ildefonso non può vivere senza insegnare, convinto anche lui (come san Braulio, vescovo di Saragozza) che il sapere "è un dono comune, non privato", e che perciò deve essere distribuito a tutti.

Colpisce i fedeli la sua devozione mariana, suscitando anche racconti di fatti prodigiosi. Come quando, al momento di una celebrazione solenne, apparve in chiesa la Madonna, porgendo a Ildefonso l’abito liturgico (la pianeta) per il rito.

Dopo la morte, il suo corpo fu sepolto a Toledo; poi, con l’invasione araba, venne trasferito a Zamora, in Castiglia. I fedeli lo hanno “gridato santo” da subito, collegando sempre il suo nome a quello della Beata Vergine Maria. E dieci secoli dopo la sua morte sarà ancora così, nei dipinti dei maestri del siglo de oro (il “secolo d’oro” dell’arte spagnola): El Greco, Velázquez, Murillo, Zurbarán (suo il particolare del dipinto riprodotto qui accanto), con molti altri in tutta Europa, continueranno a raffigurare il vescovo di Toledo accanto alla Madre di Gesù. Come anche Guido Reni nello stesso periodo, con l’affresco conservato nella basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Roma. La grande arte rifletteva così gli stati d’animo popolari, espressi nel culto spontaneamente tributato a Ildefonso, dai fedeli e dal suo successore Giuliano, che ne scrisse la vita.

Autore: 
Domenico Agasso