Saint Eric de Suède
Roi de Suède (+ 1160)
ou Henri. Martyr d'origine anglaise.
Éric IX, gendre du Roi de Suède Smercher, élu pour lui succéder en 1141. Il montra grand soin pour l'administration de la justice. Il usa de toute son influence pour évangéliser ses sujets par la codification des lois de son royaume qu'il rédigea dans un esprit chrétien, sans vouloir les forcer à la conversion. Il travailla à la conversion des Finlandais et les ayant subjugués, décida de conquérir la Finlande, autant pour l'expansion de son domaine que pour y porter l'Évangile.
Il fut assassiné en haine de la Foi, à sa sortie d'une messe, le 18 mai 1160, à Turku, port situé au sud-ouest de la Finlande.
À Upsala en Suède, l’an 1160, saint Éric IX, roi et martyr. Il s’employa à gouverner le peuple dans son royaume avec sagesse et à protéger les droits des femmes, il envoya saint Henri comme évêque en Finlande pour y propager la foi du Christ et enfin, attaqué par les Danois alors qu’il assistait à la messe, il tomba sous les coups de ses ennemis.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1177/Saint-Eric-de-Suede.html
Chasse de saint Éric à la cathédrale d'Uppsala
Eric était roi de Suède au milieu du XIIe siècle. Fondateur d'une dynastie suédoise rivale de celle des Sverker, le prince Éric succède à son père le roi Jedward en 1156. Il se montre vaillant défenseur de l'Église, menant une croisade pour la conversion de la Finlande restée païenne. Il veille à améliorer la condition des femmes et des épouses, souvent traitées en esclaves. Cependant, la Suède est attaquée par Magnus Henriksson, roi du Danemark, lequel prétend avoir des droits sur le royaume d'Erik. Le roi assistait à la Messe en la cathédrale d'Upsal. On vient l'avertir que son ennemi approche pour l'attaquer. Il ne bouge pas et continue à suivre l'Office jusqu'au bout. Il tombera sous les coups de son adversaire le 18 mai 1161.
Rédacteur: Frère Bernard Pineau, OP
SOURCE : http://www.lejourduseigneur.com/Web-TV/Saints/Eric
Éric IX, roi de Suède, appartenait à une famille de
riches paysans. Il épousa Christine, fille du roi Ingon IV. La
dignité royale étant élective, ses vertus le firent choisir pour succéder
à son beau-père (1150).
Quoiqu’il détestât la guerre, il fut néanmoins obligé
de marcher contre les Finnois, qui venaient ravager la Suède. Il remporta
sur eux une victoire complète, et soumit à ses armes tout leur pays. Ce fut
alors qu’il chargea saint Henri, évêque d’Upsala, d’aller évangéliser la
Finlande, encore plongée dans l’idolâtrie. Une partie des Suédois, encore
païens, fomentaient une révolte contre Éric. Magnus, roi de Danemark, qui avait
des vues ambitieuses sur la couronne de Suède, se mit à la tête des
mécontents, et la mort du saint roi fut décidée.
Il assistait à la Messe lorsqu’on vint lui annoncer l’approche de Magnus. Après avoir entendu paisiblement l’office jusqu’au bout, il sortit et s’avança seul au devant des rebelles, qui le saisirent et lui tranchèrent la tête. C’était le 18 mai 1162, Alexandre III étant pape, Frédéric Barberousse empereur et Louis VII roi de France. On rapporte qu’une fontaine miraculeuse jaillit de l’endroit où le sang du martyr avait été répandu.
Éléments de la bannière de saint Éric
La bannière de saint Éric a joué un grand rôle dans
l’histoire de Suède, comme en France l’oriflamme de saint Denis. Saint
Éric est titulaire de l’église cathédrale de la capitale et patron
de la ville de Stockholm.
Le blason de saint Éric IX a trois couronnes d’or
qu’on retrouve encore sur les « petites armoiries » de la Suède
placées par exemple sur les avions de l’armée de l’air et bien sûr dans
les « grandes armoiries » dont elles sont un des éléments
constitutifs.
Posted by catholic_saints
Also known as
§ Henry of Sweden
§ Eric The Lawgiver
§ Eric IX
§ Erico IX, King of Sweden
§ 18 May
Profile
King of Sweden. Defended his country from Finnish invasions. Codified Swedish law under Gospel principles. Used his throne to spread the Gospel through his kingdom. Built the first large church in Sweden at Old Uppsala. Murdered by conspiratorial, anti–Christian Swedish nobles; martyr. Never formally canonized, his cultus developed almost immediately upon his death. Due to his zeal in the defense of his country and his faith, his banner has been carried by Swedes, including non-Catholics, for centuries.
§ beheaded on 18 May 1161 as he left Mass
§ farmers
§ Sweden
SOURCE : http://catholicsaints.info/saint-eric-of-sweden/
St. Eric, King of Sweden, Martyr
See Israelis Erlandi liber de vitâ et miraculis S.
Erici Regis, ex editione et cum notis Joan. Schefferi,
in 8vo. Holmiæ, 1675; and Henschenius, t. 4, Maij, p.
186.
A.D. 1151.
ERIC 1 was
descended of a most illustrious Swedish family: in his youth he laid a solid
foundation
of virtue and learning, and took to wife Christina,
daughter of Ingo IV. king of Sweden. Upon the death of King Smercher in 1141,
he was, purely for his extraordinary virtues and qualifications, placed on the
throne by the election of the states, according to the ancient laws of that
kingdom. His first care in that exalted and dangerous station was to watch over
his own soul. He treated his body with great severity, fasting and watching
much, in order to keep his domestic enemy in due subjection to the spirit, and
to fit himself for the holy exercises of heavenly contemplation and prayer,
which were his chief delight. He was truly the father and the servant of all his
people. With indefatigable application he himself administered to them justice,
especially to the poor, to whose complaints his ears were always open, and
whose grievances and oppressions he took care himself to redress. He often
visited in person the poor who were sick, and relieved them with bountiful
alms. Content with his own patrimony, he levied no taxes. He built churches,
and by wholesome laws restrained the brutish and savage vices of his subjects.
The frequent inroads of the idolatrous Finlanders upon his territories obliged
him to take the field against them. He vanquished them in a great battle; but
after his victory he wept bitterly at the sight of the dead bodies of his
enemies which covered the field, because they had been slain unbaptized. When
he had subdued Finland, he sent St. Henry, bishop of Upsal, to preach the faith
of Christ to that savage infidel nation, of which he may be styled the apostle.
Among the subjects of this good king were certain sons of Belial, who made his
piety the subject of their ridicule, being mostly obstinate idolaters. Magnus,
son of the king of Denmark, blinded by ambitious views to the crown of Sweden,
put himself at the head of these impious malecontents, and engaged them in a
conspiracy to take away the life of their sovereign. The holy king was hearing
mass on the day after the feast of the ascension, when news was brought him
that the rebels were in arms, and on the march against him. He calmly answered:
“Let us at least finish the sacrifice; the remainder of the festival I shall
keep elsewhere.” After mass he recommended his soul to God, made the sign of
the cross, and, to spare the blood of the citizens, who were ready to defend
his life at the expense of their own, marched out alone before his guards. The
conspirators rushed upon him, beat him down from his horse, and struck off his
head with a thousand indignities in derision of his religion. His death
happened on the 18th of May, 1151. God honoured his tomb with many miracles. It
remains to this day at Upsal undefaced. St. Eric was honoured as chief patron
of the kingdom of Sweden till the change of religion in the sixteenth century.
He ordered the ancient laws and constitutions of the kingdom to be collected
into one volume, which bears the title of King Eric’s Law, or the Code of
Uppland, highly respected in Sweden: it was confirmed in the thirteenth century
by the learned king Magnus Ladulas, who compiled and published in 1285 another
code under the title of Gardsrætte.
All power and authority among men is derived from God,
as Christ declared to Pilate, 2 and
as the wise man often repeats. Whence St. Paul teaches us, that “he who
resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God.” 3 On
no men doth he confer the least degree of jurisdiction but with the most severe
injunction and obligation, that they employ it according to his will, and in
the first place for the advancement of his divine honour. Hence every father,
master of a family, magistrate, or king, is accountable to God for those under
his charge, and will be condemned as a traitor on the last day, if he employ
not all the means in his power that God may be known, praised, and faithfully
served by them. This is the primary obligation of those whom God hath vested
with authority. In the faithful discharge of this trust the glorious St. Eric
laid down his life.
Note 1. Eric, Erric, and Henry, are in the
northern nations the same name, which in the Teutonic language
signifies rich lord. St. Eric was the ninth of that name among the
kings of Sweden. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume V:
May. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/5/181.html
Erik IX Jedvardsson was ruler of much of Sweden from 1150 to 1160. He was the head of a Christian kingdom with nearby pagan kingdoms, all sharing an old tradition of fighting. Around 1155, he headed an expedition into Finland, then loosely under Swedish rule, to consolidate Swedish authority there and to establish a protected Christian mission, headed by Henry of Uppsala, now considered the founder of the Church in Finland (see 19 Jan). Erik is also known for undertaking to provide Sweden with fair laws and fair courts, and for measures designed to assist the poor and the infirm. As he was in church on 18 May 1160, the day after Ascension Day, he was told that a pagan Danish army was approaching to kill him. He replied, "Let us at least finish the sacrifice. The rest of the feast I shall keep elsewhere." As he was leaving the church, the pagans rushed upon him and killed him.
Erik was honored both as an upholder of the Christian
faith and as a national hero, the ancestor of a long line of Swedish kings.
Within thirty years after his death his name appeared on the Swedish Calendar,
and he is accounted the principal patron of Sweden, as (for example) Patrick is
of Irelend. The silver casket with his remains still rests in the cathedral at
Uppsala.
PRAYER (traditional language)
O God, who didst call thy servant Erik of Sweden to an
earthly Throne that he might advance thy heavenly kingdom, and didst give him
zeal for thy Church and love for thy people: Mercifully grant that we who
commemorate him this day may be fruitful in good works, and attain to the
glorious crown of thy saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and
reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
PRAYER (contemporary language)
O God, who called your servant Erik of Sweden to an
earthly Throne that he might advance your heavenly kingdom, and gave him zeal
for your Church and love for your people: Mercifully grant that we who
commemorate him this day may be fruitful in good works, and attain to the
glorious crown of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
SOURCE : http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/159.html
Sant' Erik IX Re di Svezia
Svezia, XII sec. – Ostra Aros (Uppsala), 18 maggio
1161
Erik era figlio di Jedward (Edward) da cui il
patronimico Jedvardsson e fu nominato re dai popoli dello Svealand nel 1150.
Cristiano animato da grande zelo, organizzò una spedizione nella vicina
Finlandia pagana, lasciandovi Enrico, vescovo della vecchia Uppsala (Gamla
Uppsala) per continuarvi l'evangelizzazione. La tradizione presenta Erik IX
come il fondatore del dominio svedese sulla Finlandia, che portò all'unione dei
due Stati per quasi 650 anni fino al 1809. Durante una guerra che coinvolgeva i
Paesi Scandinavi e la Danimarca, il 18 maggio 1161, re Erik IX «il Santo», in
lotta contro il principe danese Magnus Henriksson, mentre partecipava alla
Messa nella chiesa della Trinità di Ostra Aros (Uppsala di oggi), fu attaccato
dai nemici. Il re volle continuare ad assistere alla celebrazione della Messa
fino alla fine e solo dopo si volse contro gli assalitori. Morì per un colpo
alla gola durante la battaglia. Fu sepolto nel duomo di Gamla Uppsala e il
popolo cominciò da subito a venerarne le reliquie. (Avvenire)
Martirologio Romano: A Uppsala in Svezia,
sant’Eric IX, re e martire, che durante il suo regno si prodigò nel governare
con saggezza il popolo e nel tutelare i diritti delle donne; mandò in Finlandia
il vescovo sant’Enrico per diffondervi la fede di Cristo e, infine, aggredito
mentre partecipava alla celebrazione della Messa, cadde pugnalato per mano dei
suoi nemici.
Nel 1526, quando il luteranesimo si stabilì in Svezia,
tutte le manifestazioni in onore di sant’Erik furono soppresse, come del resto
per tutte le manifestazioni, culto delle reliquie, immagini, processioni, ecc.
inerenti i santi venerati fino allora dalla Svezia cattolica.
Quindi tutte le notizie che lo riguardano, compreso
quelle per le reliquie, sono antecedenti a tale periodo.
Erik era figlio di Jedward (Edward) da cui il
patronimico Jedvardsson (bisogna aggiungere che il nome Jedward, secondo alcuni
storici, sarebbe la testimonianza dell’attività missionaria, svolta
dall’Inghilterra in Svezia) e fu nominato re dai popoli dello Svealand nel
1150.
Cristiano tutto d’un pezzo e spinto da grande zelo,
organizzò una crociata nella vicina Finlandia pagana, lasciandovi Enrico,
vescovo della vecchia Uppsala (Gamla Uppsala) per continuare come missionario,
l’evangelizzazione dei popoli finni occidentali.
La tradizione presenta Erik IX come il fondatore del
dominio svedese sulla Finlandia, che ebbe un benefico risultato sull’unione dei
due Stati e popoli; unione durata per quasi 650 anni e che in certo modo è
continuata anche dopo il distacco nel 1809, della Finlandia dalla Svezia.
Altro Stato vicino alla Svezia e nei tempi lontani in
continua lotta con la stessa Svezia, era la Danimarca, i cui principi avevano
mire espansionistiche (nel secolo XI i Danesi avevano conquistato anche
l’Inghilterra e la Norvegia).
E fu durante una di queste guerre che coinvolgeva i
Paesi Scandinavi e la Danimarca, che il 18 maggio 1161, re Erik IX il Santo, in
lotta contro il principe danese Magnus Henriksson, mentre ascoltava la Messa
nella chiesa della Trinità di Ostra Aros (Uppsala di oggi), fu attaccato dai
nemici.
Il re volle continuare ad assistere alla celebrazione
della Messa fino alla fine e solo dopo, si volse contro gli assalitori più
numerosi e forti; nella mischia che ne seguì, fu ucciso con un colpo di spada
alla gola (come risulta dalle ricognizioni delle reliquie).
Fu sepolto nel Duomo di Gamla Uppsala e il popolo
cominciò da subito a venerarne le reliquie, considerandolo la figura più
rappresentativa del Cristianesimo in Svezia.
Trentotto anni dopo la sua morte, era citato come
santo, nel famoso diario della chiesa di Vallentuna; tre anni dopo l’uccisione,
il papa Alessandro III unì le quattro diocesi svedesi in una sola archidiocesi
(Uppsala), nominando come primo arcivescovo il monaco cistercense Stefano del
monastero di Alvastra, consacrato in Francia.
Verso il 1245 la cattedrale di Gamla Uppsala fu in
gran parte distrutta da un incendio; inoltre la vecchia Uppsala si trovò a
perdere d’importanza, in quanto il delta del fiume Fyris si spostò verso Ostra
Aros, perdendo così il porto fluviale; per queste ragioni la sede arcivescovile
fu spostata ad Ostra Aros (Uppsala di oggi) e nel 1271 si iniziò la costruzione
della magnifica cattedrale, cui parteciparono maestranze francesi.
Il 24 gennaio 1273, le reliquie di s. Erik IX,
poterono essere traslate nella nuova cattedrale, partendo in processione da
Gamla Uppsala; ogni anno il 18 maggio, si teneva una solenne processione delle
reliquie attraverso i campi, unendo i due centri di Uppsala; la tradizionale
cerimonia si tenne per circa tre secoli, fino al 1526, quando subentrò in
Svezia il luteranesimo.
Le reliquie hanno avuto una storia a parte nelle
vicende reali svedesi e nonostante la Riforma Protestante, il culto per il
santo re continuò in varie forme.
Nel Medioevo era talmente importante per gli svedesi,
che ogni nuovo re pronunciava il suo giuramento, poggiando le mani sulle sue
reliquie.
È considerato da secoli l’eroe e santo nazionale
svedese; la città di Stoccolma porta nello stemma la sua immagine. La festa si
celebra il 18 maggio e il 24 gennaio si ricorda la traslazione delle reliquie.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
