samedi 27 mai 2017

Saint ATHANASE (ANTANANSIO, ATHANASIUS, ATANASIO) BAZZEKUKETTA, martyr


Saint Athanase Bazzekuketta

Martyr en Ouganda ( 1886)

Il fait partie des martyrs en Ouganda.

À Nakiwubo en Ouganda, l’an 1886, saint Athanase Bazzekuketta, martyr. Il était un des pages du roi, récemment baptisé et brûlant du désir du martyre. Pendant qu’on le conduisait, avec les autres, vers le lieu du supplice, il demanda aux bourreaux de le tuer sur le champ et, percé de coups, il acheva son martyre.

Martyrologe romain

SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/11739/Saint-Athanase-Bazzekuketta.html

Saint Charles Lwanga (in the center) and his 21 followers.

Der Heilige Karl Lwanga (in der Mitte) und seine 21 Anhänger.

De Hillige Korl Lwanga (in de Merr) un siene 21 Folgers.


Saint Athanase BAZZEKUKETTA

Nom: BAZZEKUKETTA
Prénom: Athanase
Pays: Ouganda

Naissance:
Mort: 27.05.1886  à Nakiwubo
Etat: Laïc  -  Martyr du Groupe des 22 martyrs de l’Ouganda
 2
Note: Thésaurier royal. Baptisé en 1885.

Béatification: 06.06.1920  à Rome  par Benoît XV
Canonisation: 18.10.1964  à Rome  par Paul VI
Fête: 3 juin

Réf. dans l’Osservatore Romano:
Réf. dans la Documentation Catholique: 1964 col.1345-1352

Saints Martyrs de l’Ouganda

Martyrologe Romain : Mémoire des saints Charles Lwanga et ses douze compagnons : les saints Mbaga Tuzindé, Bruno Serunkerma, Jacques Buzabaliawo, Kizito, Ambroise Kibuka, Mgagga, Gyavira, Achille Kiwanuka, Adolphe Ludigo Mkasa, Mukasa Kiriwawanvu, Anatole Kiriggwajjo ; Luc Banabakintu, martyrs en Ouganda l’an 1886. Âgés de 14 à 30 ans, ils faisaient partie du groupe des pages ou de la garde du roi Mwanga. Néophytes et fermement attachés à la foi catholique, ils refusèrent de se soumettre aux désirs impurs du roi et furent soit égorgés par l’épée, soit jetés au feu sur la colline Nemugongo.

Avec eux sont commémorés neuf autres martyrs : les saints Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe, Denis Sebuggwawo, André Kaggwa, Pontien Ngondwe, Athanase Bazzekuketta, Gonzague Gonza, Matthias Kalemba, Noé Mawaggali, Jean-Marie Muzei. qui subirent le martyre dans la même persécution, à des jours différents, entre 1885 et 1889.

SOURCE : http://dioceseobala.net/

QUI SONT LES MARTYRS DE L’OUGANDA ?

Charles Lwanga et ses compagnons martyrs de l'Ouganda/ Wikipédia

Le 3 juin, l’Église catholique commémore 22 martyrs africains torturés puis tués en Ouganda entre 1885 et 1887, sous le règne du roi Mwanga. Qui sont-ils ?

De nombreuses paroisses en Afrique ont comme saints patrons les Martyrs de l’Ouganda fêtés le 3 juin.

Voici leur histoire.

L’évangélisation du Buganda (sud de l’actuel Ouganda) commence en 1879.

Deux Missionnaires d’Afrique (Pères blancs), Simon Lourdel et Léon Livinhac arrivent à Entebbé (ancienne capitale d’Ouganda) et sont pacifiquement reçus par le roi, Mutesa qui les autorise à ouvrir un catéchuménat, préparant au baptême quelques autochtones. Les pères Lourdel et Livinhac baptisent alors quelques catéchumènes mais également des enfants agonisant suite à une épidémie de variole. Ils quittent ensuite Entebbé de 1882 à 1885, pressentant déjà la persécution.

Joseph Mukasa

À la mort du roi Mutesa, son fils Mwanga est, a priori, favorable au christianisme et demande aux missionnaires de revenir après trois ans d’exil. Aidés par les nouveaux baptisés, notamment Joseph Mukasa, intendant du roi, les missionnaires continuent leur évangélisation. Mais leurs activités commencent à gêner le premier ministre ainsi que dignitaires locaux. Ils finissent par convaincre le roi que les chrétiens ourdissaient un complot dans le but de le renverser.

Joseph Mukasa est la première victime de la persécution du roi Mwanga contre les catholiques. Il est décapité et son corps, brûlé le 15 novembre 1885. Le tyran espérait décourager tous les néophytes en tuant leur chef. Mais rien n’y fait. Le lendemain du martyre de Joseph, 12 catéchumènes demandent le baptême et 500 autres sont baptisés la même semaine.

Denis Sebuggwao, André Kaggwa, Achille Kiwanuka, Pontien Ngondwe

Le 25 mai 1886, le roi Mwanga, égorge un page de 14 ans, Denis Sebuggwao, après avoir été informé qu’il apprenait la catéchèse. Le 26 mai, il déclare ouverte la persécution contre les chrétiens. André Kaggwa, un autre page est amputé puis tué.

Le même jour, le roi ordonne que tous les pages chrétiens soient brûlés vifs. En plus de Joseph, Denis et André, Achille Kiwanuka, un clerc qui servait à la cour du roi, et 14 autres pages sont condamnés à mort. Alors qu’ils marchaient, attachés les uns autres, ils rencontrèrent un jeune nommé Pontien Ngondwe. « Tu sais prier ? », lui demanda l’un des bourreaux qui lui trancha la tête à sa réponse par l’affirmative.

Charles Lwanga, Kizito

Les condamnés sont livrés au feu le 3 juin.

Charles Lwanga, un des 22 martyrs, est un grand athlète d’une vigueur peu commune. Le roi lui a confié un groupe de pages à qui il enseigne, en cachette, le catéchisme. Le roi décide de le brûler à part, d’une manière particulièrement cruelle.

Quand le bourreau alluma le feu, pour brûler les pieds de Charles, celui-ci lui dit : « tu me brûles, mais c’est comme si tu versais de l’eau pour me laver ! » Lorsque les flammes attaquèrent la région du cœur, avant d’expirer, Charles murmura : « Mon Dieu ! mon Dieu ! »

L’un des martyrs les plus connus est Kizito, 13 ans, page du roi, le plus jeune du groupe. « Donne-moi la main : j’aurai moins peur », dit-il à Charles Lwanga, dans l’attente du bûcher.

« C’est ici que nous verrons Jésus ! », s’exclamait un autre. Pendant qu’on les brûlait, les martyrs récitaient le « Notre Père ». On sut qu’ils étaient morts quand cessa leur prière.

Jean-Marie Muzei et les autres martyrs

Le dernier des martyrs est Jean-Marie Muzei. Il se livre lui-même au roi, las de se cacher pour vivre sa foi. Il est décapité le 27 janvier 1887 et son corps jeté dans un marécage.

Les autres martyrs de l’Ouganda sont : Adolphe Ludigo Mkasa, Ambroise Kibuka, Anatole Kiriggwajjo, Athanase Bazzekuketta, Bruno Seronuma, Jacques Buzabali, Gonzague Gonza, Gyavira, Luc Banabakintu, Matthias Kalemba, Mbaya Tuzinde, Mgagga, Mukasa Kiriwanwu, Noé Mawaggali.

En plus des 22 martyrs catholiques 23 chrétiens anglicans sont tués dans la même période.

Le 16 août 1912, le pape saint Pie X déclare vénérables les Charles Lwanga et ses compagnons. Ils sont béatifiés le 6 juin 1920, puis canonisés le 18 octobre 1964.

Saint Kizito et Saint Charles Lwanga sont proclamés patrons de la jeunesse africaine.

Lucie Sarr

Source: africa.la-croix

SOURCE : https://mafr.net/nouvelles-en-details/2020-11-02/ouganda_140

Les Saints Martyrs de l'Ouganda

Ces Saints habitaient une contrée au milieu de l'Afrique, appelée Ouganda. Personne n'y avait jamais prononcé le nom de Dieu et le démon y régnait par l'esclavage, la sorcellerie et le cannibalisme. Deux Pères Blancs, le P. Lourdel et le P. Livinhac débarquèrent un jour chez ces pauvres indigènes. Ils se présentèrent aussitôt au roi Mutesa qui les accueillit pacifiquement et leur accorda droit de cité.

Les dévoués missionnaires se faisaient tout à tous en rendant tous les services possibles. Sept mois à peine après l'ouverture du catéchuménat, ils désignaient quelques sujets dignes d'être préparés au baptême. Le roi Mutesa s'intéressait à ce que prêchaient les Pères, mais leur prédication alluma bientôt la colère des sorciers jaloux et des Arabes qui pratiquaient le commerce des Noirs.

Pressentant la persécution, les Pères Lourdel et Livinhac baptisèrent les indigènes déjà préparés et se retirèrent au sud du lac Victoria avec quelques jeunes Noirs qu'ils avaient rachetés. Comme la variole décimait la population de cette contrée, les missionnaires baptisèrent un grand nombre d'enfants près de mourir.

Après trois ans d'exil, le roi Mutesa vint à mourir. Son fils Mwanga, favorable à la nouvelle religion, rappela les Pères Blancs au pays. Le 12 juillet 1885, la population ougandaise qui n'avait rien oublié des multiples bienfaits des missionnaires, accueillait triomphalement les Pères Lourdel et Livinhac. Les Noirs qu'ils avaient baptisés avant de partir, en avaient baptisé d’autres ; l'apostolat s'avérait florissant. Le ministre du nouveau roi prit ombrage du succès des chrétiens, surtout du chef des pages, Joseph Mukasa, qui combattait leur immoralité.

Ami et confident du roi, supérieurement doué, Joseph aurait pu devenir le second personnage du royaume, mais sa seule ambition était de réaliser en lui et autour de lui, les enseignements du Christ. Le ministre persuada le jeune roi que les chrétiens voulaient s'emparer de son trône ; les sorciers insistaient pour que les prétendus conspirateurs soient promptement punis de mort. Mwanga céda à ces fausses accusations et fit brûler Joseph Mukasa, le 15 novembre 1885.

« Quand j'aurai tué celui-là, dit le tyran, tous les autres auront peur et abandonneront la religion des Pères ». Contrairement à ces prévisions, les conversions ne cessèrent de se multiplier. La nuit qui suivit le martyre de Joseph, douze catéchumènes sollicitèrent la grâce du baptême. Cent cinq autres catéchumènes furent baptisés dans la semaine qui suivit la mort de Joseph, parmi lesquels figuraient onze des futurs martyrs.

Le 25 mai 1886, six mois après l'odieux meurtre de Joseph, le roi revenant de chasse fit appeler un de ses pages, nommé Denis, âgé de quatorze ans. En l'interrogeant, Mwanga apprit qu'il étudiait le catéchisme avec Muwafu, un jeune baptisé. Transporté de rage, il l'égorgea avec sa lance empoisonnée. Les bourreaux l'achevèrent le lendemain matin, 26 mai, jour où le despote déclara officiellement la persécution ouverte contre les chrétiens.

Le même jour, Mwanga fit mutiler et torturer le jeune Honorat, mit la cangue au cou à un néophyte appelé Jacques qui avait essayé autrefois de le convertir à la religion chrétienne. Ensuite, il fit assembler tous les pages chrétiens et ordonna qu'on les amena pour être brûlés vifs sur le bûcher de Namugongo. Jacques périt sur ce bûcher en compagnie des autres martyrs, le 3 juin 1886, fête de l'Ascension.

« On avait lié ensemble les jeunes de 18 à 25 ans, écrira le Père Lourdel ; les enfants étaient également liés, et si étroitement serrés les uns près des autres qu'ils ne pouvaient marcher sans se heurter un peu. Je vis le petit Kizito rire de cette bousculade comme s'il eût été en train de jouer avec ses compagnons ». Ils sont en tout quinze catholiques. Trois seront graciés à la dernière minute. On compte officiellement vingt-deux martyrs catholiques canonisés dont le martyre s'échelonne de l'année 1885 à 1887.

Le groupe des condamnés marchait vers le lieu de leur supplice, lorsqu'ils rencontrèrent un Noir nommé Pontien. « Tu sais prier ? » questionna le bourreau ; sur la réponse affirmative de Pontien, le bourreau lui trancha la tête d'un coup de lance. C'était le 26 mai 1886. Le soir venu, on immobilisa les martyrs dans une cangue et on ramena de force à la maison, le fils du bourreau, au nombre des victimes. Après une longue marche exténuante, doublée de mauvais traitements, les captifs arrivèrent, le 27 mai, à Namugongo. Les bourreaux, au nombre d'une centaine, répartirent les prisonniers entre eux.

Les cruels exécuteurs travailleront jusqu'au 3 juin afin de rassembler tout le bois nécessaire au bûcher. Les prisonniers doivent donc attendre six longues journées de privations et de souffrances, nuits de froid et d'insomnie, mais plus encore d'ardentes prières, avant que la mort ne vienne couronner leur héroïque combat. Le martèlement frénétique des tam-tams qui se fit entendre toute la nuit du 2 juin indiqua aux martyrs qui languissaient, garrottés dans des huttes, que l'immense brasier de leur suprême holocauste s'allumerait très bientôt.

Charles Lwanga, magnifique athlète d'une vigueur peu commune, à qui le roi avait confié un groupe de pages auxquels il avait enseigné le catéchisme en cachette, fut séparé de ses compagnons afin d'être brûlé à part, d'une manière particulièrement atroce. Le bourreau alluma les branchages de manière à ne brûler d'abord que les pieds de sa victime. « Tu me brûles, dit Charles, mais c'est comme si tu versais de l'eau pour me laver ! » Lorsque les flammes attaquèrent la région du cœur, avant d'expirer, Charles murmura : « Mon Dieu ! Mon Dieu ! »

Comme le groupe des martyrs avançait vers le bûcher, un cri de triomphe retentit : Nwaga, le fils du chef des bourreaux, avait réussi à s'enfuir de la maison pour voler au martyre ! Il bondissait de joie en se retrouvant dans la compagnie de ses amis. On l'assomma d'abord d'un coup de massue, puis il fut roulé avec les autres dans des claies de roseaux pour devenir dans un instant la proie des flammes.

Après leur avoir brûlé les pieds, ils reçurent la promesse d'une prompte délivrance s'ils renonçaient à la prière. Mais ces héros ne craignaient pas la mort de leur corps et devant leur refus catégorique d'apostasier, on commença à incendier le bûcher. Par-dessus le crépitement du brasier et les clameurs des bourreaux sanguinaires, la prière des saints martyrs s'éleva calme, ardente et sereine : « Notre Père qui êtes aux cieux... » On sut qu'ils étaient morts lorsqu'ils cessèrent de prier.

Le dernier des martyrs s'appelait Jean-Marie. Longtemps obligé de se cacher, las de sa vie vagabonde, il désirait ardemment mourir pour sa foi. Malgré les conseils de ses amis qui essayaient de le dissuader de ce projet, Jean-Marie résolut d'aller voir le roi Mwanga. Nul ne le revit plus jamais, car le 27 janvier 1887, Mwanga le fit décapiter et jeter dans un étang.

La dévotion populaire aux martyrs de l'Ouganda prit un essor universel, après que saint Pie X les proclama Vénérables, le 16 août 1912. Leur béatification eut lieu le 6 juin 1920 et ils reçurent les honneurs de la canonisation, le 18 octobre 1964. Tiré de Marteau de Langle de Cary, 1959, tome II, p. 305-308 -- Vivante Afrique, No 234 - Bimestriel - Sept - Oct. - 1964. Ils sont fêtés le 3 juin.

Source : http://christroi.over-blog.com

Prière Litanique aux Saints Martyrs d'Ouganda

O Jésus, notre Seigneur et Rédempteur, à travers votre passion et la mort nous Vous adorons et vous louons par Votre douloureuse passion et Votre mort.

Sainte Marie, Mère et Reine des Martyrs, obtenez-nous la sanctification par l'offrande de nos souffrances.

Saints Martyrs, disciples du Christ souffrant, obtenez-nous la grâce de vous imiter.

Saint Joseph Balikuddembe, premier martyr de l'Ouganda, qui a inspiré et encouragé Nephyte, obtenez-nous l'esprit de vérité et de justice.

Saint Charles Lwanga, patron de la jeunesse et de l'Action catholique, obtenez-nous une foi ferme et zélée.

Saint Matthias Mulumba, idéal chef et disciple du Christ doux et humble de cœur, obtenez-nous une douceur chrétienne.

Saint Denis Sebuggwawo, rempli zèle pour la foi chrétienne et renommé pour votre modestie, obtenez-nous la grâce de rester modestes.

Saint André Kaggwa, modèle des catéchistes et des enseignants, obtenez-nous, un grand amour pour l'enseignement du Christ.

Saint Kizito, enfant resplendissant de la pureté et de joie chrétienne, obtenez-nous le don de la joie des enfants de Dieu.

Saint Gyaviira, brillant modèle du pardon, obtenez-nous la grâce de pardonner à ceux qui nous blessent et nous offensent.

Saint Mukasa, fervent catéchumène qui avez reçu le baptême de sang, obtenez-nous de toujours persévérer dans la Foi jusqu'à la mort.

Saint Adolphe Ludigo, remarquable par votre service envers le Seigneur et par votre esprit de service aux autres, obtenez-nous l'amour du service désintéressé.

Saint Anatole Kiriggwajjo, humble serviteur préférant une vie pieuse aux honneurs terrestres, obtenez-nous de préférer l'amour de la piété aux choses terrestres.

Saint Ambroise Kibuuka, jeune homme plein de joie et d'amour du prochain, obtenez-nous la grâce d'une charité fraternelle.

Saint Achille Kiwanuka, qui pour l'amour du Christ avez détesté les vaines pratiques superstitieuses, obtenez-nous une sainte haine de ces pratiques.

Saint Jean Muzeeyi, conseiller sage et prudent, réputé pour la pratique des œuvres de miséricorde, d'obtenir pour nous l'amour des œuvres de miséricorde.

Bienheureux Jildo Irwa et le bienheureux Daudi Okello qui avez donné vos vies pour la propagation de la foi catholique, obtenez-nous un zèle ardent pour la propagation de la foi catholique.

Saint Pontaianus Ngondwe, soldat fidèle, désirant la couronne du martyre, obtenez nous la grâce d'être toujours fidèle à notre devoir.

Saint Athanase Bazzekuketta, fidèle gardien du trésor royal, obtenez-nous l'esprit de responsabilité.

Saint Mbaaga, qui a préféré la mort aux persuasions de vos parents ; obtenez-nous de suivre généreusement la grâce divine.

Saint Gonzague Gonza, rempli de sympathie pour les prisonniers, et tous ceux qui sont en difficulté, obtenez-nous un esprit miséricordieux.

Saint Noé Mawaggali, humble travailleur et amoureux de la pauvreté évangélique, obtenez-nous un grand amour de la pauvreté évangélique.

Saint Luc Baanabakintu, qui a ardemment souhaité imiter le Christ souffrant le martyre, obtenez-nous l'amour pour notre patrie.

Saint Bruno Serunkuuma, le soldat qui a donné un exemple de repentir et de tempérance, obtenez-nous une vie de repentir et tempérance.

Saint Mugagga, jeune homme reconnu pour votre chasteté héroïque, obtenez-nous la persévérance dans la chasteté.

Saint Martyrs, fermes et courageux dans la fidélité à la véritable Église du Christ, aidez-nous à être toujours fidèles à la véritable Église du Christ.

Prions : O Seigneur Jésus-Christ, qui a merveilleusement renforcé les Saint Martyrs de l'Ouganda, Charles Lwanga, Matthias Mulumba, les Bienheureux Jildo Irwa et Daudi Okello et tous leurs compagnons, et qui nous les avez donné comme exemples de foi et de courage, de chasteté, de charité et de fidélité ; faites, nous vous en supplions, que, par leur intercession, les même vertus croissent en nous, pour que nous méritions ainsi de devenir propagateurs de la vraie foi. Vous qui vivez et régnez avec le Père, dans l'Unité du Saint Esprit, maintenant et pour les siècles et les siècles. Amen.

Source : http://imagessaintes.canalblog.com

SOURCE : http://laviedesparoisses.over-blog.com/2019/06/les-22-martyrs-de-l-ouganda.html

Saint Antanansio Bazzekuketta

Profile
Nkima clan. Convert. One of the Martyrs of Uganda who died in the Mwangan persecutions.
Born

Namugongo Martyrs’ Shrine, Uganda (1973). Architect: Justus Dahinden, Zurich

Wallfahrtskirche in Namugongo, Uganda (1973)

Eglise de pèlerinage à Namugongo, Uganda (1973)


ATHANASIUS BAZZEKUKETTA

Bazzekuketta’s early life and how he joined Christianity 

Mwanga appoints Bazzekuketta his treasurer 


The heroism and death of Bazzekuketta

Bazzekuketta’s early life and how he joined Christianity

Bazzekuketta, another page who served both Muteesa and Mwanga was the second of the eleven children of Kafeero Kabalu Sebaggala of the Monkey (Nkima) clan and Namukwaya of the Buffalo (Mbogo) clan. Bazzekuketta is first heard of as belonging to the household of Sembuzzi, the chief chosen by Stanley to command his escort on his journey through Bunyoro, the same who later deserted and ab¬sconded with one hundred and eighty pounds of beads. He was known as Sembuzzi's brother-in-law although actually a nephew-in-¬law, one of Sembuzzi's wives, Namuddu, a sister of Ddumba, being his aunt. The name Bazzekuketta, which means they-have-come-¬to-see-whether- their-brother-in -law- treats-them-well-or-ill, was given him when he first joined Sembuzzi's household; there is no informa¬tion about his original name, nor any certainty about the place of his birth. 

It was while he was still at Sembuzzi's that Bazzekuketta caught the small-pox that left its scars upon his face and, in the throes, of the sickness, was approached by Raphael Sembuya, one of his com¬panions, with the suggestion that baptism was the only remedy for his illness. He agreed to be baptized and was taught the Sign of the Cross and other prayers but not then given the sacrament, as he began to mend. This incident illustrates the charity shown by these early Baganda Christians and their zeal for sharing the good-tidings with others. It also provides an object-lesson for the complacent Christian who considers his religion to be a purely private and per¬sonal matter between himself and God. 

After his recovery, Bazzekuketta persevered with the study of the Catholic religion and, on entering the Kabaka's service, evidently in a humble capacity because he was nicknamed Bisasiro (Rubbish) by his companions, he found there able instructors in Joseph Mukasa, Jean-Marie Muzeeyi and, later, Charles Lwanga. He could also often be found sitting at the feet of Andrew Kaggwa in the latter's com¬pound at Nateete and, later, at Kigoowa. 

Bazzekuketta, who was about twenty at the time of his martyrdom, was one of Muteesa's pages re-appointed by Kabaka Mwanga. He was then put in charge of the Kabaka's ceremonial robes and ornaments, to keep them clean and polished, and also had the duty of polishing the palace mirrors.

Mwanga appoints Bazzekuketta his treasurer

Bazzekuketta was one of the pages served King Muteesa I and later reappointed by King Mwanga after the death of Muteesa. He was a clean, orderly, faithful and obedient young man of about twenty years of age. 

Because of his sleekness, he was selected to be in charge of the king's ceremonial robes and ornaments. Athanasius was chosen to be in charge of the king's treasury of money and ivory, in spite of the fact that he was still young. 

It is crystal clear that Athanasius' trustworthiness was so great that it drew the king's confidence in him to the extent of entrusting his treasury and other property with this young man.

The heroism and death of Bazzekuketta 

Immediately after his condemnation by the Kabaka, while being led to the executioners' quarters for detention, he had remarked, 'So you want us to bite through the stocks (i.e. keep us in prison)? Are you not going to kill us? We are the Kabaka's meat. Take us away and kill us at once!' 

'This fellow talks as if he longs for death,' said one of the execu¬tioners, hitting him with a stick. 

When taken out of prison at Munyonyo, Bazzekuketta again objected to the delay: 'The Kabaka ordered you to put us to death. Where are you taking us? Why don't you kill us here?' 

Perhaps the sight of Ngondwe's blood, which Denis Kamyuka says they saw on the road, encouraged the youth to hope that he could at last goad the executioners into granting him the martyr's crown, for at Ttaka Jjunge, near the residence of Kulekaana, he stopped and sat himself down on the road, exclaiming, 'I am not going to walk after death all the way to Namugongo. Kill me here!' 

The guards laid about him with sticks until he said, 'Very well! 

You can stop beating me. I will march. I was only thinking that you would kill me here.' 

The prisoners reached Mmengo late in the evening, and were lodged for the night in the executioners' encampment.

In the morning, the executioners informed them that they intended putting one of them to death at the near-by execution- site, where Joseph Mukasa had met his death some six months earlier. Immediately, Athanasius Bazzekuketta, still thirsting for martyrdom, volunteered. 'Take me!' he exclaimed. Mukaajanga, who had been informed of the youth's behaviour on the previous evening, gave his assent. 'Since he has given you trouble,' he said to his assistants, 'go and kill him at once. Later on the Kabaka might remember (i.e. pardon) him.' 

Athanasius was promptly taken to the spot at the foot of Mmengo Hill, just at the back of the present Nakivubo Stadium, and there hacked to pieces, his executioners chanting, as they went about their task, 'The gods of Kampala will rejoice'. Thus died the fifth of the Blessed Martyrs of Uganda, on the morning of 27 May 1886, aged about twenty. 

Having butchered the gallant Bazzekuketta and granted him the martyr’s crown which he had craved with such holy impatience, the group of executioners returned to their other victims and glee¬fully told them what they had done. 'The Christians,' they said, 'are getting what they deserve; they are simply asking for death.' Far from being dismayed by the gruesome recital, their prisoners said to one another, 'Our friend Athanasius has proved his courage; he did not shrink from laying down his life in God's cause. Let us be brave like him!' The cortege was then assembled and, shortly after, set out on what was to be for most of the prisoners their last journey on earth, the journey to Namugongo.

SOURCE : http://www.ugandamartyrsshrine.org.ug/martyrs.php?id=9


Sant' Atanasio Bazzekuketta Martire



Uganda, 1866 - Nakiwubo, 27 maggio 1886

Atanasio Bazzekuketta fa parte del gruppo - venerato oggi con la dizione Carlo Lwanga e compagni - di 22 martiri ugandesi. Questi furono uccisi in diverse fasi sotto il re Muanga, durante una persecuzione che costò la vita in poco più di un anno, dal novembre 1885 al febbraio 1887, a un centinaio di cristiani. Muanga e il predecessore, re Mutesa, avevano accolto favorevolmente l'annuncio del Vangelo da parte dei missionari Padri Bianchi. Ma l'erede, salito al trono, mutò tragicamente parere. Atanasio era il custode del regio tesoro e fu ucciso il 3 giugno del 1886 a soli 20 anni. Si offrì ai carnefici che durante una marcia di trasferimento dei cristiani imprigionati ne uccidevano uno a ogni crocicchio per incutere terrore agli altri. I martiri ugandesi sono stati beatificati nel 1920 da Benedetto XV e canonizzati nel 1964 da Paolo VI, che nel 1969 consacrò il santuario a loro dedicato nella località ugandese di Namugongo. (Avvenire)

Martirologio Romano: In località Nakiwubo in Uganda, sant’Atanasio Bazzekuketta, martire, che, giovane della casa reale, essendo stato da poco battezzato, mentre veniva condotto con gli altri al luogo del supplizio per aver accolto la fede di Cristo, implorò i carnefici di ucciderlo subito e, preso a bastonate, portò a compimento il suo martirio.

Fece un certo scalpore, nel 1920, la beatificazione da parte di Papa Benedetto XV di ventidue martiri di origine ugandese, forse perché allora, sicuramente più di ora, la gloria degli altari era legata a determinati canoni di razza, lingua e cultura. In effetti, si trattava dei primi sub-sahariani (dell’”Africa nera”, tanto per intenderci) ad essere riconosciuti martiri e, in quanto tali, venerati dalla Chiesa cattolica.

La loro vicenda terrena si svolge sotto il regno di Mwanga, un giovane re che, pur avendo frequentato la scuola dei missionari (i cosiddetti “Padri Bianchi” del Cardinal Lavigerie) non è riuscito ad imparare né a leggere né a scrivere perché “testardo, indocile e incapace di concentrazione”. Certi suoi atteggiamenti fanno dubitare che sia nel pieno possesso delle sue facoltà mentali ed inoltre, da mercanti bianchi venuti dal nord, ha imparato quanto di peggio questi abitualmente facevano: fumare hascisc, bere alcool in gran quantità e abbandonarsi a pratiche omosessuali. Per queste ultime, si costruisce un fornitissimo harem costituito da paggi, servi e figli dei nobili della sua corte.

Sostenuto all’inizio del suo regno dai cristiani (cattolici e anglicani) che fanno insieme a lui fronte comune contro la tirannia del re musulmano Kalema, ben presto re Mwanga vede nel cristianesimo il maggior pericolo per le tradizioni tribali ed il maggior ostacolo per le sue dissolutezze. A sobillarlo contro i cristiani sono soprattutto gli stregoni e i feticisti, che vedono compromesso il loro ruolo ed il loro potere e così, nel 1885, ha inizio un’accesa persecuzione, la cui prima illustre vittima è il vescovo anglicano Hannington, ma che annovera almeno altri 200 giovani uccisi per la fede.

Il 15 novembre 1885 Mwanga fa decapitare il maestro dei paggi e prefetto della sala reale. La sua colpa maggiore? Essere cattolico e per di più catechista, aver rimproverato al re l’uccisione del vescovo anglicano e aver difeso a più riprese i giovani paggi dalle “avances” sessuali del re. Giuseppe Mkasa Balikuddembè apparteneva al clan Kayozi ed ha appena 25 anni.

Viene sostituito nel prestigioso incarico da Carlo Lwanga, del clan Ngabi, sul quale si concentrano subito le attenzioni morbose del re. Anche Lwanga, però, ha il “difetto” di essere cattolico; per di più, in quel periodo burrascoso in cui i missionari sono messi al bando, assume una funzione di “leader” e sostiene la fede dei neoconvertiti.

Il 25 maggio 1886 viene condannato a morte insieme ad un gruppo di cristiani e quattro catecumeni, che nella notte riesce a battezzare segretamente; il più giovane, Kizito, del clan Mmamba, ha appena 14 anni. Il 26 maggio vemgono uccisi Andrea Kaggwa, capo dei suonatori del re e suo familiare, che si era dimostrato particolarmente generoso e coraggioso durante un’epidemia, e Dionigi Ssebuggwawo.

Si dispone il trasferimento degli altri da Munyonyo, dove c’era il palazzo reale in cui erano stati condannati, a Namugongo, luogo delle esecuzioni capitali: una “via crucis” di 27 miglia, percorsa in otto giorni, tra le pressioni dei parenti che li spingono ad abiurare la fede e le violenze dei soldati. Qualcuno viene ucciso lungo la strada: il 26 maggio viene trafitto da un colpo di lancia Ponziano Ngondwe, del clan Nnyonyi Nnyange, paggio reale, che aveva ricevuto il battesimo mentre già infuriava la persecuzione e per questo era stato immediatamente arrestato; il paggio reale Atanasio Bazzekuketta, del clan Nkima, viene martirizzato il 27 maggio.

Alcune ore dopo cade trafitto dalle lance dei soldati il servo del re Gonzaga Gonga del clan Mpologoma, seguito poco dopo da Mattia Mulumba del clan Lugane, elevato al rango di “giudice”, cinquantenne, da appena tre anni convertito al cattolicesimo.

Il 31 maggio viene inchiodato ad un albero con le lance dei soldati e quindi impiccato Noè Mawaggali, un altro servo del re, del clan Ngabi.

Il 3 giugno, sulla collina di Namugongo, vengono arsi vivi 31 cristiani: oltre ad alcuni anglicani, il gruppo di tredici cattolici che fa capo a Carlo Lwanga, il quale aveva promesso al giovanissimo Kizito: “Io ti prenderò per mano, se dobbiamo morire per Gesù moriremo insieme, mano nella mano”. Il gruppo di questi martiri è costituito inoltre da: Luca Baanabakintu, Gyaviira Musoke e Mbaga Tuzinde, tutti del clan Mmamba; Giacomo Buuzabalyawo, figlio del tessitore reale e appartenente al clan Ngeye; Ambrogio Kibuuka, del clan Lugane e Anatolio Kiriggwajjo, guardiano delle mandrie del re; dal cameriere del re, Mukasa Kiriwawanvu e dal guardiano delle mandrie del re, Adolofo Mukasa Ludico, del clan Ba’Toro; dal sarto reale Mugagga Lubowa, del clan Ngo, da Achilleo Kiwanuka (clan Lugave) e da Bruno Sserunkuuma (clan Ndiga).

Chi assiste all’esecuzione è impressionato dal sentirli pregare fino alla fine, senza un gemito. E’ un martirio che non spegne la fede in Uganda, anzi diventa seme di tantissime conversioni, come profeticamente aveva intuito Bruno Sserunkuuma poco prima di subire il martirio “Una fonte che ha molte sorgenti non si inaridirà mai; quando noi non ci saremo più altri verranno dopo di noi”.

La serie dei martiri cattolici elevati alla gloria degli altari si chiude il 27 gennaio 1887 con l’uccisione del servitore del re, Giovanni Maria Musei, che spontaneamente confessò la sua fede davanti al primo ministro di re Mwanga e per questo motivo venne immediatamente decapitato.

Carlo Lwanga con i suoi 21 giovani compagni è stato canonizzato da Paolo VI nel 1964 e sul luogo del suo martirio oggi è stato edificato un magnifico santuario; a poca distanza, un altro santuario protestante ricorda i cristiani dell’altra confessione, martirizzati insieme a Carlo Lwanga. Da ricordare che insieme ai cristiani furono martirizzati anche alcuni musulmani: gli uni e gli altri avevano riconosciuto e testimoniato con il sangue che “Katonda” (cioè il Dio supremo dei loro antenati) era lo stesso Dio al quale si riferiscono sia la Bibbia che il Corano.

Autore: Gianpiero Pettiti


jeudi 25 mai 2017

Saint ALDHELM (ADELME) de SHERBORNE (de MALMESBURY), évêque et abbé




Vitrail à l'effigie de Saint Aldhelm dans l'abbaye de Malmesbury

Saint Aldhelm


Évêque et abbé ( 709)

Moine bénédictin puis abbé de Malmesbury en Angleterre avant de devenir le premier évêque de Sherborne, tout en gouvernant son monastère, et mourut à Doulting, au cours d’une visite pastorale.

À Malmesbury en Angleterre, l’an 709, la mise au tombeau de saint Aldhelm, évêque et abbé. Célèbre par son érudition, il fut d’abord abbé de Malmesbury, puis devint le premier évêque de Sherborne, tout en gouvernant son monastère, et mourut à Doulting, au cours d’une visite pastorale.


Martyrologe romain



Statue de Saint Aldhelm, Catholic Church of St Aldhelm, Malmesbury.
L’inscription : 'St Aldhelm 639–709, Abbot of Malmesbury and Bishop of Sherborne, 
Latin Poet and Ecclesiastical Writer.'


Aldhelm of Sherborne, OSB B (RM)

(also known as Adhelm, Aldelmus)


Born in Wessex, England, c. 640; died at Doulting in Somerset, May 25, 709. In the 7th century an Irish monk named Maeldubh settled in the lonely forest country that in those days lay in the northeast of Wiltshire. After living for a time as a hermit, he gathered the children of the neighborhood for instruction. In the course of time his hermitage became a school and so continued after his death, acquiring fame as a community of scholars known as Malmesbury.


To this center of learning came a young and clever boy called Aldhelm, a kinsman of Ina (Ine), King of Wessex. He was to be the first English scholar of distinction. After studying under Maeldubh, he learned what he could from Saint Adrian and Saint Theodore at Canterbury, where he probably became a Benedictine monk (though he may have done so earlier at Malmesbury).

He returned to Malmesbury and under Aldhelm the school became a monastery, of which he was appointed abbot about 675. He knew Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, and attracted scholars from other lands. He was also a poet, and was so full of music that it was said that he could play every musical instrument in use. In course of time he established other smaller religious communities in the neighborhood and, thereby, advanced education in all of Wessex.

He was an advisor to Ina and held in high regard by King Alfred, who wrote down this story about him. Aldhelm was distressed because the townspeople were indifferent to the Mass, either by absenting themselves or by gossiping and remaining inattentive when they attended. He therefore stood on the town bridge and acted the part of a minstrel by singing popular ballads and reciting his verses interspersed with hymns, passages from the gospels, a bits of clowning in hopes of winning 'men's ears, and then their souls.' The result was that he soon collected a crowd of hearers and was able to impart simple religious teaching to them; 'whereas if he had proceeded with severity and excommunications, he would have made no impression whatever upon them.'

Later, at the request of Pope Sergius I, he accompanied Coedwalla, the West Saxon king, to Rome. Later still, he took an active part in disputes between the Celtic and the Anglo-Saxon Church. He addressed a famous letter to Gerent, king of Dumnonia (Devon and Cornwall), explaining the date on which Easter ought to be kept by the Celtic clergy there. At one famous synod (Whitby?) Aldhelm attempted reconciliation with what remained of the old British Church in Cornwall, which was then a kingdom with its own king.

In 705, Aldhelm became the first bishop of Sherbourne, his appointment dating from the time of the division of the old diocese of Wessex into Sherborne and Winchester. His brief episcopate was marked by energy and enterprise. He had travelled a long way from the days when he joined the school in the forest and sang as a minstrel on Malmesbury Bridge. But always he is remembered as the Saxon poet-preacher, who first translated the Psalms into the Anglo-Saxon tongue, and who sang the words of Scripture into the hearts of the common people. In King Alfred's words: 'Aldhelm won men to heed sacred things by taking his stand as a gleeman and singing English songs on a bridge."

His English writings, hymns and songs, with their music, have all perished; of his Latin works, the longest are a poem in praise of holy maidens and a treatise on virginity written for the nuns of Barking in Essex. In his lighter moments he composed Latin verse and metrical riddles. As a scholar, Saint Aldhelm has been described as 'ingenious,' and it has been well said that the Latin language went to his head. He liked to play with words and his writing was so involved and obscure as often to be unintelligible; but his reading was extensive--so extensive that he has been described as the first English librarian.

In his own day Aldhelm had a wide influence in southern England. He was buried at Malmesbury Abbey. The cape in Dorset usually called Saint Alban's Head is properly Saint Aldhelm's Head (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Duckett, Gill).

In art, Saint Aldhelm is portrayed as a bishop in a library. He is venerated at Malmesbury (Roeder).


St. Aldhelm

Abbot of Malmesbury and Bishop of Sherborne, Latin poet and ecclesiastical writer (c. 639-709). Aldhelm, also written Ealdhelm, Ældhelm, Adelelmus, Althelmus, and Adelme, was a kinsman of Ine, King of Wessex, and apparently received his early education at Malmesbury, in Wiltshire, under an Irish Christian teacher named Maildubh. It is curious that Malmesbury, in early documents, is styled both Maildulfsburgh and Ealdhelmsbyrig, so that it is disputed whether the present name is commemorative of Maildubh or Ealdhelm, or, by "contamination," possibly of both (Plummer's "Bede," II, 310). Aldhelm himself attributes his progress in letters to the famous Adrian, a native of Roman Africa, but formerly a monk of Monte Cassino, who came to England in the train of Archbishop Theodore and was made Abbot of St. Augustine's, Canterbury. Seeing, however, that Theodore came to England only in 671, Aldhelm must then have been thirty or forty years of age. The Saxon scholar's turgid style and his partiality for Greek and extravagant terms have been traced with some probability to Adrian's influence (Hahn, "Bonifaz und Lul," p. 14). On returning to settle in Malmesbury our Saint, probably already a monk, seems to have succeeded his former teacher Maildubh, both in the direction of the Malmesbury School, and also as Abbot of the Monastery; but the exact dates given by some of the Saint's biographers cannot be trusted, since they depend upon charters of very doubtful authenticity. As abbot his life was most austere, and it is particularly recorded of him that he was wont to recite the entire Psalter standing up to his neck in ice-cold water. Under his rule the Abbey of Malmesbury prospered greatly, other monasteries were founded from it, and a chapel (ecclesiola), dedicated to St. Lawrence, built by Aldhelm in the village of Bradford-on-Avon, is standing to this day. (A. Freeman, "Academy," 1886, XXX, 154.) During the pontificate of Pope Sergius (687-701), the Saint visited Rome, and is said to have brought back from the Pope a privilege of exemption for his monastery. Unfortunately, however, the document which in the twelfth century passed for the Bull of Pope Sergius is undoubtedly spurious. At the request of a synod, held in Wessex, Aldhelm wrote a letter to the Britons of Devon and Cornwall upon the Paschal question, by which many of them are said to have been brought back to unity. In the year 705 Hedda, Bishop of the West Saxons, died, and, his diocese being divided, the western portion was assigned to Aldhelm, who reluctantly became the first Bishop of Sherborne. His episcopate was short in duration. Some of the stone-work of a church he built at Sherborne still remains. He died at Doulting (Somerset), in 709. His body was conveyed to Malmesbury, a distance of fifty miles, and crosses were erected along the way at each halting place where his remains rested for the night. Many miracles were attributed to the Saint both before and after his death. His feast was on May the 25th, and in 857 King Ethelwulf erected a magnificent silver shrine at Malmesbury in his honour.

"Aldhelm was the first Englishman who cultivated classical learning with any success, and the first of whom any literary remains are preserved" (Stubbs). Both from Ireland and from the Continent men wrote to ask him questions on points of learning. His chief prose work is a treatise, "De laude virginitatis" ("In praise of virginity"), preserved to us in a large number of manuscripts, some as early as the eighth century. This treatise, in imitation of Sedulius, Aldhelm afterwards versified. The metrical version is also still extant, and Ehwald has recently shown that it forms one piece with another poem, "De octo principalibus vitiis" (On the eight deadly sins"). The prose treatise on virginity was dedicated to the Abbess and nuns of Barking, a community which seems to have included more than one of the Saint's own relatives. Besides the tractate on the Paschal controversy already mentioned, several other letters of Aldhelm are preserved. One of these, addressed to Acircius, i.e. Ealdfrith, King of Northumbria, is a work of importance on the laws of prosody. To illustrate the rules laid down, the writer incorporates in his treatise a large collection of metrical Latin riddles. A few shorter extant poems are interesting, like all Aldhelm's writings, for the light which they throw upon religious thought in England at the close of the seventh century. We are struck by the writer's earnest devotion to the Mother of God, by the veneration paid to the saints, and notably to St. Peter, "the key-bearer," by the importance attached to the holy sacrifice of the Mass, and to prayer for the dead, and by the esteem in which he held the monastic profession. Aldhelm's vocabulary is very extravagant, and his style artificial and involved. His latinity might perhaps appear to more advantage if it were critically edited. An authoritative edition of his works is much needed. To this day, on account of the misinterpretation of two lines which really refer to Our Blessed Lady, his poem on virginity is still printed as if it were dedicated to a certain Abbess Maxima. Aldhelm also composed poetry in his native tongue, but of this no specimen survives. The best edition of Aldhelm's works, though very unsatisfactory, is that of Dr. Giles (Oxford, 1844). It has been reprinted in Migne (P.L., LXXXIX, 83 sqq.). Some of his letters have been edited among those of St. Boniface in the "Monumenta Germaniae" (Epist. Aevi Merovingici, I).

Sources

ABBOT FARICIUS in an eleventh-century biography [Acta SS., May (VI)]; WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY, Gesta Pontificum, V; WILDMAN, Life of St. Ealdhelm (London, 1905); BROWNE, St. Aldhelm (London, 1903); LINGARD, Anglo-Saxon Church; MONTALEMBERT, The Monks of the West (tr.), V; HUNT in Dict. of Nat. Biog.; STUBBS in Dict. of Christ. Biog.; BIRON in Dict. de théol. cath.; BONHOFF, Aldhelm von Malmesbury (Dresden, 1894); SANDYS, A History of Classical Scholarship (Cambridge, 1903), 430; MANITIUS, Geschichte der christlich-lateinischen Poesie (Stuttgart, 1891), 489-496; Sitzungsberichte Akad. Wien. Phil. Hist. cl. CXII, 536-634; EBERT, Geschichte der Litteratur des M. A. (2d ed., Leipzig, 1889), I, 623-634; TRAUBE, Karolingischen Dichtungen (Berlin, 1888); Sitzungsberichte des Bayer. Akad. phil. philolog. cl. (Munich, 1900), 477; EHWALD, Aldhelm's Gedicht de Virginitate (Gotha, 1904); bibliography in CHEVALIER'S Répertoire, etc., Bio-Bibliogr. (2d ed., Paris, 1905), 45, 46.

Thurston, Herbert. "St. Aldhelm." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 25 May 2017 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01280b.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Laura Ouellette.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

SOURCE : http://www.knight.org/cathen/01280b.htm


IN MEMORY OF FRANCIS JOHN ERNEST RUDGE 8TH FEBUARY 1915 - 29TH AUGUST 2003 ARTIST: ANNA SKLOVSKY, MAY 2005.

Saint Aldhelm
The Aldhelm Window
Aldhelm was born in Wessex in 639. When he was a young boy, he was sent to Canterbury to be educated under Adrian, Abbot of St Augustine’s, and had soon impressed his teachers with his skill in the study of Latin and Greek literature.
Aldhelm returned to Wessex some years later and joined the community of monks in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.
He embraced the monastic life and, in 680, became the monks’ teacher. His excellent reputation spread far and wide, and scholars from France and Scotland came to learn from him. By this time, Aldhelm is said to have spoken and written fluent Latin and Greek, and was able to read the Old Testament in Hebrew. He wrote poetry, composed music and sang – King Alfred the Great placed him in the first rank of poets in the country and his ballads were popular even as late as the 12th Century. Aldhelm excelled at playing many different instruments, including the harp, fiddle and pipes.
In 683, Aldhelm was appointed Abbot of Malmesbury. Under his leadership, the Abbey continued to be a seat of learning and was given many gifts from kings and nobles. Aldhelm enlarged the monastery at Malmesbury and built the Church of St Peter and St Paul. He founded monasteries in Frome and Bradford-on-Avon, where he also built St Laurence’s Church which still stands today.
During his time as Abbot, Aldhelm noticed that instead of attending to the monks at Mass, the local people preferred to spend their time gossiping and could not be persuaded to listen to the preacher. So one day, he stationed himself on a bridge, like a minstrel, and began to sing his ballads. The beauty of his verse attracted a huge crowd and, when he had caught their attention, he began to preach the Gospel
The historian William of Malmesbury observed that if Aldhelm “had proceeded with severity … he would have made no impression whatever upon them.” But by seeking out people where they were and speaking directly to them, Aldhelm had succeeded in “impressing on their minds a truer feeling of religious devotion.”
In 705, the Bishopric of Wessex was split into two dioceses and Aldhelm was made Bishop of Sherborne. In his time as bishop, he rebuilt the church at Sherborne and helped to establish a nunnery at Wareham. He also built churches at Langton Matravers and the Royal Palace at Corfe.
On 25th May 709, just four years after his consecration, Aldhelm died at Doulting in Somerset. His funeral procession travelled 50 miles from Doulting to Malmesbury and stone crosses were planted at 7-mile intervals, to mark each place where his body rested for the night. Today we celebrate 25th May, the date of Aldhelm’s death, as a feast day to remember the first Bishop of Sherborne – a true evangelist and an inspiring Saint.
St. Aldhelm is an example to us of how to obey the directive of Christ.
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”
Matthew 28 verses 19-20.
There are 5 themes in the window which illustrate this:
Five juggling balls
King Alfred was impressed with how Aldhelm went outside the church walls to make Christ known to his people. He tells the story of how when he was an Abbott, Aldhelm left his congregation while they were busy in worship and went out the bridge, in the role of a minstrel. He used various skills to draw a crowd so he could tell them the gospel. Christians today use ‘street theatre’ in order to reach people who will not venture inside. It is not a new idea! The present church here in Upper Edmonton has links with amateur dramatic societies. Laughter and fun are also part of the Christian life and Aldhelm wrote riddles about ordinary things of life too. some of those which he wrote in Latin are still in print. He used his many skills to gather an audience.
Aldhelm the Bishop
At the age of 65 Aldhelm was made the first Bishop of Sherborne in A.D 705. He had a passion to convert his people to Christ. Congregations were formed and churches were built in various places throughout the Anglo Saxon kingdom of wessex. These include places such as Langton Matravers, Frome, Bradford on Avon, sherborne, Wareham, Malmesbury, and the Royal court of Corfe Castle. He was one of the most successful missionary bishops in the South of England for several centuries.
Manuscript
In his hand is a manuscript. Aldhelm went to canterbury to study Latin, Greek and Hebrew. He returned to Malmesbury where he gathered around him people who were themselves keen to learn. Some of his writings in Latin are still in print today. For several centuries after his death he was known as the first and indeed one of the finest anglo Latin scholars and poets. Although he was keen to teach, it did not stop Aldhelm from being able to teach the gospel in his native tongue.
Harp
Aldhelm was a gifted musician. He played various instruments of the day not just the harp, and composed his own songs that helped people relate to him as an ordinary person rather than an intellectual. Some four centuries later a biographer of Aldhelm was able to report that some of his songs were still being sung by the Anglo Saxon peasantry. Unfortunately, they were never written down, and also we do not know whether he wrote music for worship. Many Christians down the centuries have heard God’s call to write or sing or play music that is not for worship. Through music Aldhelm touched the lives of the ordinary people.
Malmesbury Abbey
Aldhelm lived most of his life in Malmesbury, and formed the tiny church there into a Christian community. After a visit to Rome, he returned with the Pope’s blessing that he should form his community around the rule of Benedict. He became Abbott in 675 at the age of 35, and remained so up to his death in AD 709. The Benedictines were not only strong on daily prayer and worship, but also simple living and strict morals. There was an abbey on the same site until Henry VIII th’s time. The present ‘Malmesbury Abbey’ is now the Parish Church and is built around the ruins of the old abbey. There is a Chapel there dedicated to St. Aldhelm. The Abbey may have been his home and his base, but he went outside of the walls to evangelise, and chose to baptise the converts in the river rather than inside the Church.

Saint Aldhelm of Sherborne

Also known as
  • Adhelm
  • Aldelmus
Profile

Son of Centa, he was a Saxon and related to the King of Wessex. Lived for a while as a hermit near Wiltshire, England. Monk at Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire. Spiritual student of Saint Maeldulph and Saint Adrian of Canterbury. Teacher and spiritual director.

Abbot at Malmesbury c.685. Instituted Benedictine reforms, and the house became a model for those around it. Founded monasteries at Frome and Brandford-on-Avon, and built three churches in Malmesbury, one of which survives today. During one of the church constructions, a roof beam was cut too short; Aldhelm prayed over it, and it lengthened. Around the year 700 Aldhelm installed the first church organ in England.

He was a tireless preacher – legend says that one sermon lasted so long that his staff took root and became a tree again. Spiritual writer known internationally in his day. One of the founders of Anglo-Latin poetry. A musician, he was skilled in the harp, fiddle and pipes, and known as a skilled and popular singer. He travelled to Rome to meet with Pope Saint Sergius I and helped settle disputes on matters of theology and practice between the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon churches. Bishop of Sherborne from 705 until his death.

Born

May 25

St. Adhelm, or Aldhelm, Bishop

HE 1 was born among the West-Saxons, and a near relation of king Ina, but had his education under St. Adrian at Canterbury. Maidulf, a pious Irish monk, founded a small poor monastery, called from him Maidulfsbury, corruptly Malmesbury. In this place Aldhelm took the monastic habit, and Maidulf seeing his great virtue and capacity, resigned to him the abbacy in 675. The saint exceedingly raised its reputation and increased its building and revenues. The church he dedicated in honour of St. Peter, and added to it two others, the one in honour of the Mother of God, the other of St. Michael. This abbey was rendered by him the most glorious pile of building at that time in the whole island, as Malmesbury testifies, who fills almost the whole second part of the life of this saint with extracts or copies of the donations, charters, and privileges of many kings and princes granted to this house, with an ample indult of Pope Sergius, which the saint made a journey to Rome to obtain. He was an enemy to gluttony, avarice, vain-glory, and all idle amusements, and watched assiduously in divine reading and holy prayer. He was the first among our English ancestors who cultivated the Latin and English or Saxon poesy, as he says of himself. His principal work is a treatise On the praises of Virginity. 2 He inserts at length the high commendations which St. Austin, St. Jerom, and other fathers bestow on that state, and gives abridged examples of many holy virgins. Among other mortifications it was the custom of this saint to recite the psalter in the night, plunged up to the shoulders in water in a neighbouring pond. When Hedda, bishop of the West-Saxons, or of Winchester, died, that diocess was divided into two, that of Winchester and that of Sherburn. St. Aldhelm who had been abbot thirty years, was taken out of his cell by force, and consecrated the first bishop of Sherburn, which see was afterwards removed to Salisbury. His behaviour in this laborious charge was that of a true successor of the apostles. He died in the visitation of his diocess at Dullinge in Somersetshire, on the 25th of May, in the year 709, the fifth of his episcopal dignity. William of Malmesbury relates several miracles wrought by him, both while he was living and after his death. His psalter, vestment, and several other memorials were kept in his monastery till the dissolution. This abbey, the glory of Wiltshire, then fell, and in it was defaced the sepulchral monument of our great king Athelstan. See William of Malmesbury, in Wharton’s Anglia Sacra, t. 2, p. 1, and L. de Pontif. published by Gale. This latter work contains the history of this abbey. See also Mabillon, Sæc. 3, Ben. part. 1, et Append, in Sæc. 4, part. 1, and Papebroke ad 25 Maij.

Note 1. Aldhelm, signifies Old helmet. [back]

Note 2. Henry Wharton has given us a far more correct edition than any former, at London, in 1663, together with certain treatises of St. Bede, and the Dialogue of Egbert, archbishop of York. On his Saxon pious verses in which he excelled to a miracle, as Ealfrid testifies, and his other works, see Cave and Fabricius, Bibl. Med. Latinit. l. 1, p. 142; Tanner, de Script. Britan, &c. The first book which St. Aldhelm wrote was a confutation of the erroneous computation of the North Britons in the celebration of Easter, De Erroribus Britannorum, sive De Circulo Paschali, which Malmesbury says was lost in his time; whence Fabricius tells us it is not now extant. Yet Mabillon and others doubt not but it is the forty-fourth epistle among those of St. Boniface, which treats on this subject, and is addressed to Geruntius, king of Damnonia among the West-Saxons; for the author styles himself Althelm, abbot. [back]

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


ALDHELM (c. 640-709), bishop of Sherborne, English scholar, was born before the middle of the 7th century. He is said to have been the son of Kenten, who was of the royal house of Wessex, but who was certainly not, as Aldhelm's early biographer Faritius asserts, the brother of King Ine. He received his first education in the school of an Irish scholar and monk, Maildulf, Mældubh or Meldun (d. c. 675), who had settled in the British stronghold of Bladon or Bladow on the site of the town called Mailduberi, Maldubesburg, Meldunesburg, &c., and finally Malmesbury,[1] after him. In 668 Pope Vitalian sent Theodore of Tarsus to be archbishop of Canterbury, and about the same time came the African scholar Hadrian, who became abbot of St Augustine's at Canterbury. Aldhelm was one of his disciples, for he addresses him as the "venerable preceptor of my rude childhood." He must, nevertheless, have been thirty years of age when he began to study with Hadrian. His studies included Roman law, astronomy, astrology, the art of reckoning and the difficulties of the calendar. He learned, according to the doubtful statements of the early lives, both Greek and Hebrew. He certainly introduces many Latinized Greek words into his works. Ill-health compelled him to leave Canterbury, and he returned to Malmesbury, where he was a monk under Maildulf for fourteen years, dating probably from 661, and including the period of his studies with Hadrian. When Maildulf died, Aldhelm was appointed in 675, according to a charter of doubtful authenticity cited by William of Malmesbury, by Leutherius, bishop of Dorchester from 671 to 676, to succeed to the direction of the monastery, of which he became the first abbot. He introduced the Benedictine rule, and secured the right of the election of the abbot to the monks themselves. The community at Malmesbury increased, and Aldhelm was able to found two other monasteries to be centres of learning at Frome and at Bradford on Avon. The little church of St Lawrence at Bradford dates back to his time and may safely be regarded as his. At Malmesbury he built a new church to replace Maildulf's modest building, and obtained considerable grants of land for the monastery. His fame as a scholar rapidly spread into other countries. Artwil, the son of an Irish king, submitted his writings for Aldhelm's approval, and Cellanus, an Irish monk from Peronne, was one of his correspondents. Aldhelm was the first Englishman, so far as we know, to write in Latin verse, and his letter to Acircius (Aldfrith or Eadfrith, king of Northumbria) is a treatise on Latin prosody for the use of his countrymen. In this work he included his most famous productions, 101 riddles in Latin hexameters. Each of them is a complete picture, and one of them runs to 83 lines. That his merits as a scholar were early recognized in his own country is shown by the encomium of Bede (Eccl. Hist. v. 18), who speaks of him as a wonder of erudition. His fame reached Italy, and at the request of Pope Sergius I. (687-701) he paid a visit to Rome, of which, however, there is no notice in his extant writings. On his return, bringing with him privileges for his monastery and a magnificent altar, he received a popular ovation. He was deputed by a synod of the church in Wessex to remonstrate with the Britons of Domnonia (Devon and Cornwall) on their differences from the Roman practice in the shape of the tonsure and the date of Easter. This he did in a long and rather acrimonious letter to their king Geraint (Geruntius), and their ultimate agreement with Rome is referred by William of Malmesbury to his efforts. In 705, or perhaps earlier, Hæddi, bishop of Winchester, died, and the diocese was divided into two parts. Sherborne was the new see, of which Aldhelm reluctantly became the first bishop. He wished to resign the abbey of Malmesbury which he had governed for thirty years, but yielding to the remonstrances of the monks he continued to direct it until his death. He was now an old man, but he showed great activity in his new functions. The cathedral church which he built at Sherborne, though replaced later by a Norman church, is desribed by William of Malmesbury. He was on his rounds in his diocese when he died in the church of Doulting on the 25th of May 709. The body was taken to Malmesbury, and crosses were set up by the pious care of his friend, Bishop Ecgwine of Worcester, at the various halting-places. He was buried in the church of St Michael. His biographers relate miracles due to his sanctity worked during his lifetime and at his shrine.

Aldhelm wrote poetry in Anglo-Saxon also, and set his own compositions to music, but none of his songs, which were still popular at the time of Alfred, have come down to us. Finding his people slow to come to church, he is said to have stood at the end of a bridge singing songs in the vernacular, thus collecting a crowd to listen to exhortations on sacred subjects. Aldhelm wrote in elaborate and grandiloquent Latin, which soon came to be regarded as barbarous. Much admired as he was by his contemporaries, his fame as a scholar therefore soon declined, but his reputation as a pioneer in Latin scholarship in England as a teacher remains.

Aldhelm's works were collected in J. A. Giles's Patres ecc. Angl. (Oxford, 1844), and reprinted by J. P. Migne in his Patrologiae Cursus, vol. 89 (1850). The letter to Geraint, king of Domnonia, was supposed to have been destroyed by the Britons (W. of Malmesbury, Gesta Pontificum, p. 361), but was discovered with others of Aldhelm's in the correspondence of St Boniface, archbishop of Mainz. A long letter to Eahfrid, a scholar just returned from Ireland (first printed in Usserii Veterum Epistt. Hiber. Sylloge, 1632), is of interest as casting light on the relations between English and Irish scholars. Next to the riddles, Aldhelm's best-known work is De Laude Virginitatis sive de Virgintate Sanctorum, a Latin treatise addressed about 705 to the nuns of Barking,[2] in which he commemorates a great number of saints. This was afterwards turned by Aldhelm into Latin verse (printed by Delrio, Mainz, 1601). The chief source of his Epistola ad Acircium sive liber de septenario, et de metris, aenigmatibus ac pedum regulis (ed. A. Mai, Class. Auct. vol. v.) is Priscian. For the riddles included in it, his model was the collection known as Symposii aenigmata. The acrostic introduction gives the sentence, "Aldhelmus cecinit millenis versibus odas," whether read from the initial or final letters of the lines. His Latin poems include one on the dedication of a basilica built by Bugge (or Eadburga), a royal lady of the house of Wessex.

Authorities.—Faritius (d. 1117), an Italian monk of Malmesbury, afterwards abbot of Abingdon, wrote a Vita S. Aldhelmi (MS. Cotton, Faustina, B. 4), printed by Giles and Migne, also in Original Lives of Anglo-Saxons (Caxton Soc., 1854); but the best authority is William of Malmesbury, who in the fifth book, devoted to St Aldhelm, of the Gesta Pontificum proposes to fill up the outline of Fauritius, using the church records, the traditions of Aldhelm's miracles preserved by the monks of Malmesbury, and the lost "Handboc" or commonplace book of King Alfred. His narrative is divided into four parts: the birth and attainments of Aldhelm, the religious houses he had established and endowed, the miracles recorded of him, and the history of the abbey down to the writer's own time (see De Gestis Pontificum, ed. N. E. S. A. Hamilton, 1870, for the Rolls Series, pp. 330-443). The life by John Capgrave in his Legenda Nova (1516) L. Bönhoff, Aldhelm von Malmesbury (Dresden, 1894); T. D. Hardy, Descripitive Catalogue (1862), vol. i. pp. 389-396; T. Wright, Biog. Brit. Lit. (A.-S. Period, 1842); G. F. Browne, bishop of Bristol, St Aldhelm; his Life and Times (1903); and W. B. Wildman, Life of S. Ealdhelm, first Bishop of Sherborne (1905), containing many interesting local details. For some poems attributed to Aldhelm, and printed in Dümmler's edition of the letters of St Boniface and Lul in Monumenta Germaniae Historica (epistt. tom. iii.), see H. Bradley in Eng. Hist. Review, xv. p. 291 (1900), where they are attributed to Aldhelm's disciple Æthilwald. The very varied sources and the chronology of Aldhelm's work are discussed in "Zu Aldhelm und Baeda," by Max Manitius, in Sitzungsberichte der kaiserlichen Akad. der Wissenschaften (Vienna, 1886).

An excellent account of his ecclesiastical importance is given by W. Bright in Chapters on Early English Church History (Oxford, 1878). For his position as a writer of Latin verse consult A. Ebert, Allgemein Geschichte d. Literatur des Mittelalters im Abendlande, vol. i. new edition (1889); M. Manitius, Geschichte der christlich-lateinischen Poesie &c. (Stuttgart, 1891), pp. 487-496; also H. Hahn, Bonifaz und Lul ihre angelsächsischen Korrespondenten, chap. i. (Leipzig, 1883). The two last-named works contain many further bibliographical references.
  1. Jump up For the disputed etymology of Malmesbury, which some connect with Aldhelm's name, see Bishop Browne, St Aldhelm: his Life and Times, p. 73.
  2. Jump up Cuthburga, sister of King Ine of Wessex, and therefore related to Aldhelm, left her husband Aldfrith, king of Northumbria, to enter the nunnery at Barking. She afterwards founded the nunnery of Wimborne, of which she became abbess.


Sant' Aldelmo (Adelmo) Abate e vescovo


Etimologia: Aldelmo = Adelmo, nobile protettore, dall'antico tedesco

Emblema: Bastone pastorale

Martirologio Romano: In Inghilterra, sant’Aldelmo, vescovo, che, celebre per la dottrina e gli scritti, già abate di Malmesbury, fu poi ordinato primo vescovo di Sherborne tra i Sassoni occidentali.


ALDELMO (Adelmo), abate di MALMESBURY, vescovo di SHERBORNE, santo. 

Aldelmo è nome anglosassone: Ealdhelm (= vetus galea, “antico elmo”, in senso di ottima “protezione”), latinizzato in Aldhelmus o Althelmus e Adelelmus. Ma l'esatta grafia ci è data da Aldelmo stesso nella prefazione ai suoi Enigmi con l'acrostico “Aldhelmus”. Di questa etimologia tratta espressamente Guglielmo di Malmesbury all'inizio della vita di Aldelmo; se ne occupa pure, criticamente, Rudolf Ehwald. Lo stesso Guglielmo di Malmesbury considera anche la forma derivata Adelmus (donde il francese Adelme e l'italiano Adelmo), avvertendo che questo modo di scrivere il nome del santo deriva dai distici, che s. Dunstano fece scolpire nella restaurata chiesa del monastero, eliminando la prima "l" per “licenza poetica”, ut versus staret (PL, CLXXIX, col. 1660: vi sono riportati due distici con il nome di Aldelmo). Tuttavia questa forma del nome così abbreviato (Adelmus) ha dato luogo ad una diversa etimologia, cioè, come scrive Carlo Hegger, “a verbis Germanicis adal, quod idem valet ac nobilis, et helm, cuius vis est galea, praesidium, tutamen” . 


Aldelmo proveniva da nobilissima famiglia sassone: si è soliti dire da famiglia “reale”. Suo padre, infatti, di nome Kenten, era stretto parente (non “ fratello ” come si è affermato) del re Ina, come chiarisce Guglielmo di Malmesbury: “Beati Aldhelmi patrem non fuisse regis Inae germanum, sed arctissima necessitudine consanguineum”. Probabilmente quindi Aldelmo, notevolmente più anziano, ed il re Ina (cui è dovuto il primo codice di leggi sassoni) erano cugini. 


Aldelmo nacque nel Wessex (non si conosce con precisione la località) verso il 640, forse nel 639, e morì settantenne, il 25 maggio 709. Ebbe come primo istitutore il monaco irlandese Maildulfo “natione Scotus, eruditione philosophus, professione monacus”, fondatore del monastero che da lui prende il nome di Malmesbury (in Beda: Maildulfi urbs; in Guglielmo di Malmesbury: Meldunum, Meldunense coenobium). Intorno al 670, già religioso, e probabilmente già sacerdote, si recò alla scuola di Canterbury per perfezionarsi negli studi. Qui ebbe maestri l'arcivescovo s. Teodoro di Tarso, greco di origine, e soprattutto l'abate s. Adriano, africano di nascita, che vi erano giunti da poco, e che assai influirono sulla sua formazione spirituale e culturale, tanto che Aldelmo chiama Adriano “venerando maestro della sua rude infanzia”. 


Tornato a Malmesbury, vi esercitò con ardore l'insegnamento. Alla morte di Maildulfo (verso il 675), il vescovo di Winchester, Leuterio, lo volle abate del monastero e gli donò il terreno necessario per lo sviluppo del cenobio. Aldelmo ingrandì la chiesa primitiva consacrata al S.mo Salvatore e ai santi Apostoli Pietro e Paolo, e ne edificò altre due, una in onore della S.ma Vergine e l'altra in onore di s. Michele Arcangelo. Sotto il pontificato di Sergio I (687-701) intraprese un viaggio a Roma, tornando in patria con l'insigne privilegium di esenzione del suo monastero, posto alla diretta dipendenza della Santa Sede . 


Aldelmo diede impulso agli studi e all'arte e in un trentennio di governo portò il suo monastero a grande splendore. Si prodigò per l'evangelizzazione del paese anche con canti popolari in volgare. Nelle controversie disciplinari con i Brettoni (Celti) fu vindice della causa romana e apostolo di pace. 

Divisa in due la vasta diocesi di Winchester, unica allora per i Sassoni occidentali (Wessex), Aldelmo fu eletto, nel 705, vescovo della nuova diocesi di Sherborne, pur rimanendo, per volontà dei monaci, superiore del monastero. Il suo episcopato fu breve, perché egli morì il 25 maggio 709, durante una visita pastorale, nel villaggio di Dulting (Somersetshire). Fu riportato trionfalmente a Malmesbury ed ivi sepolto nella chiesa di S. Michele, “ubi sibi vir sanctissimus olim sepulturam providerat”. A lungo furono conservate le “lapideae cruces” che furono erette “ad septem milliaria” per segnare le tappe del suo glorioso passaggio.


Autore: Igino Cecchetti