Saint Wulfstan
Évêque de Worcester et
archevêque d'York (+ 1095)
ou Vulstan.
Évêque de Worcester, les
historiens anglais le tiennent pour une des grandes figures de son époque. Par
son amour de la justice, par ses vertus et son courage, il s'était acquis
l'admiration de tous. Il fonda beaucoup d'écoles, releva le niveau moral du clergé,
contribua à l'abolition de l'esclavage. Il avait un certain goût de la liberté.
Alors qu'il était abbé de son monastère, il autorisait les moines qui
craignaient de s'enrhumer à garder les cheveux longs et non pas la tonsure. En
hiver, lui-même portait un gilet en peau d'agneau, alors que les moines
l'avaient en peau de chat. A un moine qui lui demandait pourquoi il se
singularisait, il répondit: "On dit bien : agneau de Dieu, aie pitié de
moi... et non pas chat de Dieu..."
À Worcester en
Angleterre, l’an 1095, saint Wulstan, évêque. Prieur du monastère de la
cathédrale, il fut élevé sur le siège épiscopal et joignit les habitudes de vie
monastique au zèle du pasteur: il mit le plus grand soin à visiter les
paroisses, à inciter à la construction d’églises, à favoriser les lettres,
ainsi qu’à condamner les marchands d’esclaves.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/466/Saint-Wulfstan.html
Stained
glass depicting Wulfstan in the Church of St John in Bedwardine, St John's, Worcester
Also
known as
Vulstano
Wolstan
Wulfstan
Profile
Son of Athelstan and
Wulfgeva, he was known as a pious youth. Studied at
the monasteries of Evesham and
Petersborough. When Wulstan was grown, but still a young man, his parents
joined separate monasteries in Worcester, England. Priest who
led his parish by
good example. Monk in Worcester. Taught catechism to children,
and served as church treasurer. Bishop of Worcester in 1062.
Known for inspirational preaching,
great humility, and asceticism.
One of the first bishops in England to
make pastoral visits to the parishes of
his diocese.
Influential in ending the sale of Irish prisoners as slaves in England.
Born
c.1009 at
Icentum, Warwickshire, England
1095 of
natural causes
14
May 1203 by Pope Innocent
III
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Roman
Martyrology, 1914 edition
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
Saints
of the Order of Saint Benedict, by Father Aegedius
Ranbeck, O.S.B.
books
Our
Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
sitios
en español
Martirologio
Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Saint Wulstan of
Worcester“. CatholicSaints.Info. 13 November 2020. Web. 18 December
2020. <https://catholicsaints.info/tag/name-wulstan/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/tag/name-wulstan/
Stained
glass depicting Wulfstan at the church of the Holy Trinity, Long
Itchington
St. Wulfstan
Feastday: January 19
Patron: of vegetarians and dieters
Death: 1095
Wulfstan (1008-1095)
+ Bishop and
reformer, also called Wulstan and Wolstan. Born at Long-Itch ington,
Warwickshire, England, he studied at the abbeys of Evesham and Peterborough,
received ordination, and joined the Benedictines at Worcester. Wulfstan served
as treasurer of the church at Worcester, was prior of
the monastery, and finally was named bishop of
Worcester in 1062. After overcoming initial doubts about his ability to hold
the office of bishop, he demonstrated such skill after the Norman Conquest that
he was the lone bishop to
be kept in his post by William the
Conqueror (r. l066-l087). For the next three decades, Wulfstan rebuilt
his cathedral, cared for the poor, and struggled to alleviate the harsh decrees
of the Normans upon the vanquished Saxons. He was canonized in 1203. Feast day:
January 19.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2043
Wulfstan of Worcester,
OSB B (AC)
(also known as Wulstan,
Ulfstan)
Born at Long Itchington
(Icentum), Warwickshire, England, c. 1008; died in Worcester, England, 1095;
canonized in 1203 by Pope Innocent III; feast of his translation June 7.
In his youth, Wulfstan is
said to have perceived himself so besieged by lust upon seeing a woman dance
that he threw himself into a thicket and beseeched God with contrition. From
that time he was gifted with constant watchfulness over his senses, which
prevented him from being similarly tempted thereafter.
Wulstan of Worcester,
last of the Anglo-Saxon bishops, was educated at the monastic schools of
Evesham and Peterborough, where he excelled in piety and sports. His parents,
Athelstan and Wulfgeva, are said to have taken monastic habits at Worcester by
mutual consent. Wulfstan was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Brihtheah of
Worcester, in whose household he lived prior to his ordination. He was offered
a richly endowed parish, but refused it. He served for a time as vicar of a
parish near Chipping Sodbury.
He is said to have
practiced greater austerities in the world than most monks in their
monasteries. At first he permitted meat in his diet. But when he was one day
distracted from saying Mass by the smell of roasting meat in the kitchen, he
forsook eating any flesh in the future. Soon thereafter he entered the
monastery of Worcester cathedral, where he was remarkable for the innocence and
sanctity of his life. Wulfstan served the community as schoolmaster, and then,
in turn, held the offices of precentor, sacristan, and prior of this small
community of 12 monks. As precentor and sacristan he devoted himself totally to
prayer and watched whole nights in the church.
As prior of the house, he
restored its fortunes, religious and temporal. He regained lands which had been
alienated, reformed its finances, and improved the monastic observance. He was
not renowned as a scholar and wrote no theology, but was a great evangelist who
drew crowds and moved them to tears by his preaching. He also had great
pastoral qualities, which so impressed his superiors that when the bishopric of
Worcester fell vacant in 1062 (because of Aldred's promotion to the diocese of
York), he was nominated by the papal legates and approved by King Saint Edward
and his council.
With characteristic
humility, Wulfstan initially shrank from such high preferment, but finally
accepted it under obedience. Upon his consecration by Aldred of York just four
years before the Normans conquered England, he rejoiced in the fuller opportunities
it offered for the exercise of his pastoral gifts. His unique talents allowed
him effectively to combine governance of the monastery and his diocese. The
monk Coleman, Wulfstan's biographer, described the bishop as "of middle
height . . . always in good health . . . neither lavish nor niggardly in the
choice of clothes and in his general standard of living."
Beloved by all, in the
midst of a busy life he preserved the simple habits of a monk and the zeal of
an evangelist, nor were any who sought his help turned from his door.
"Troubled by people!" he exclaimed to those who remonstrated with him
because he was always so accessible. "Why, that is what I am here
for." Yet for all his humility he found it difficult to suffer fools
gladly, and on one occasion when pestered by a titled woman who wasted his time
with her pious chatter, he rounded on her and boxed her ears. Not even the
saints are perfect.
He was an able
administrator and a great church builder. He encouraged the building of
churches on his own manors and on those of lay lords, and also rebuilt part of
Worcester Cathedral (c. 1086). He said, "The men of old, if they had not
stately buildings were themselves a sacrifice to God, whereas we pile up
stones, and neglect souls." To rectify this, his days were primarily
occupied in extensive visitation throughout his wide diocese and in crowded
confirmation services which would last throughout the whole of a summer's day.
He was the first English bishop to regularly visit all portions of his diocese,
which he did in the company of two clerks--one carrying alms and the other the
oil of confirmation.
As he travelled from
place to place, he recited his psalter, and he never passed a church or chapel
without stopping to pour out his soul before the altar with tears, which seemed
to be always ready in his eyes for prayer. He has been called the Bishop of the
Market-Place because of his plain and homely speech. He loved nothing better
than to sit in the porches of the churches he visited and to talk kindly to the
village people and gather the children round him.
Always outspoken, he
rebuked the headstrong King Harold, who once walked 30 miles out of his way to
make confession and receive Wulfstan's blessing. Wulfstan also withstood
Blessed Lanfranc, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who at first tried to remove
him.
In 1066, King Harold sent
Wulfstan as his representative to Northumbria to ensure their loyal support.
Wulfstan, obviously, was unsuccessful, but not blameworthy. After the Battle of
Hastings, which he recognized as decisive, he was one of the first bishops to
acknowledge William the Conqueror.
As the Normans spread
across the country, appropriating property, despising the Anglo-Saxons as
inferior, and taking over bishoprics and abbeys, Wulfstan preserved a rugged
independence. He called the Normans 'the Scourge of God' and refused to
surrender his cathedral. The Normans downplayed the cults of the Saxon saints.
Wulfstan, therefore, in order to prevent the faith and culture of the poor from
being eroded, showed heightened devotion to indigenous saints, such as King
Saint Oswald, Venerable Saint Bede (to whom he dedicated a church), Dunstan,
and a predecessor in the see of Worcester, Bishop Saint Oswald, whose
abstinence and generosity to the poor Wulfstan imitated and surpassed.
A man of simplicity, he
was accused of being unfit to be a bishop at the synod at Westminster but
eventually, though speaking no French, he convinced all of his ability, and
succeeded in being left in possession. Apparently, he convinced them by a
miracle. When ordered to give up his crozier, he sunk it into the stone tomb of
King Edward, who had insisted upon his consecration, and no one could remove it
except Wulfstan.
He was one of the few
Anglo-Saxon bishops allowed to retain his see, perhaps because he tried to
alleviate public unrest over the oppression of the Normans. He gained the
respect of William the Conqueror and helped him against the barons during an
uprising in 1074. (Later, in 1088, he supported William II against the barons
and Welsh, providing for the defense of Worcester Castle.) They considered him
simple and old-fashioned, but he was more than a match for them. Eventually, he
was so trusted that Lanfranc commissioned him to make the visitation of the
diocese of Chester as his deputy.
Among his greatest
achievements was his successful crusade against the Irish slave trade, the
profits from which helped to swell the royal exchequer. Slaves in large numbers
were brought from Ireland and sold in Bristol and elsewhere. Stirred by its
inhumanity and encouraged by Lanfranc, who also worked toward this end, he
opposed it on Christian grounds and, after bold and fierce denunciation,
secured its abolition. For months on end he preached at the slave market in
Bristol against the inhumanity of selling the poor into slavery to repay a
debt. He was the first Englishman who helped to free the slave.
Wulfstan supported
Lanfranc's policy of reform. Worcester became a suffragan see to Canterbury,
ending its earlier ambivalent relation to York (often the bishop of York
retained the see of Worcester). He also zealously enforced the discipline of
priestly celibacy (a thankless task in those days), refounded the monastery at
Westbury-on-Trym, and insisted upon the use of stone, not wood, for altars. He
was scandalized to learn that priests required a fee to baptize children, and
stopped this simonous practice.
Although Wulfstan was not
an especially educated man himself, he encouraged learning among his clergy.
(It should be noted, however, that a late legend implying that he was poorly
educated is false. Contemporary evidence suggests he had an average education
for an Anglo-Saxon bishop of his day.) Wulfstan sent his favorite disciple to
Canterbury for further education and contact between the two communities was
fostered by Eadmer. It is interesting to note that in his cathedral he would
comment in English on the Latin reading. During his episcopate, Worcester
became one of the most important centers of Old English literature and culture.
He showed the most tender
care for penitents, and often wept over them while they confessed their sins to
him. On Holy Thursday he would distribute food and clothing to the poor, hear
public confessions, and then share a meal with the shriven penitents--a sign of
the heavenly banquet.
Wulstan had a great love
of the poor. Each Sunday in Lent he washed, fed, and clothed them. One year he
ordered each estate to contribute clothing for one, shoes for ten, and food for
100. He remained humble and taught others the same. Noblemen sent them their
sons to him to be educated and one of their greatest lessons was in humility.
He always invited the poor to dine with them and insisted the young men in his
charge personally serve the poor at table as honored guests.
Professor David Knowles
writes of Saint Wulfstan, "He is, indeed, a most attractive figure, too
little known to his countrymen . . .; the last, and certainly one of the
greatest, of the [early] bishops of pure English blood and culture."
He lived to the great age
of 87 and served as bishop for 32 years, seeking neither rest nor retirement,
loved to the end by his own people, and respected by their Norman conquerors.
In 1095, Wulfstan appeared in a vision to his friend Robert, bishop of
Hereford, bidding him to come to Worcester where he would die. He died while
engaged in his daily practice of washing the feet of twelve poor men.
Miracles were reported at
his tomb almost at once. From 1200, full and detailed records of the cures were
kept in preparation for his canonization, which was granted by Pope Innocent
III. William Rufus had Wulfstan's tomb covered with gold and silver. King John
asked to be buried near him. His relics were translated in 1198. In 1216, the
precious metals of his tomb were removed to pay a levy of 300 marks to Prince
Louis of France. His relics were translated to a more magnificent shrine in
1218. At that time, Abbot William of Saint Albans removed one of the saint's
ribs, took it back to the abbey, and built a shrine over it. In 1273, Edward I
made a thanksgiving at Wulfstan's shrine after the conquest of Wales. Although
only one church dedication honors his memory, his feast day is widely
celebrated on monastic and diocesan calendars (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley,
Delaney, Farmer, Gill, Husenbeth, Knowles, Lamb, Markus, Walsh, White).
In art Saint Wulstan is a
bishop fixing his crozier in the tomb of Saint Edward the Confessor with the
devil behind him. He may also be shown (1) appearing to the king for judgment
at the tomb of Saint Edward; (2) offering up Worcester Cathedral at the altar;
or (3) in episcopal vestments, a monk presents charter and seal to him
(Roeder).
Venerated at Long Itchington, Evesham, and Peterborough. Wulstan is the patron of peasants (Roeder).
St
Wulstan, Fleetwood, near to Fleetwood, Lancashire, Great Britain.
St. Wolstan
Benedictine, and Bishop of Worcester,
b. at Long Itchington, Warwickshire, England,
about 1008; d. at Worcester,
19 January, 1095. Educated at
the great monastic schools of Evesham and Peterborough,
he resolutely combated and overcame the temptations of
his youth, and entered the service of Brithege, Bishop of Worcester,
who ordained him priest about
1038. Refusing all ecclesiastical preferment,
he became a novice in
the great priory of Worcester,
and after holding various offices in the monastery became cathedral prior there.
He held this position, edifying all by his charity, holiness of life,
and strict observance of the rule, until 1062, when the See
of Worcester fell vacant by the translation
of Bishop Aldred to the Archbishopric of York.
Two Roman
cardinals, who had been Wolstan's guests at Worcester during Lent,
recommended the holy prior to King Edward for
the vacant see, to which he was consecrated on
8 September, 1062. Not a man of special learning or commanding intellect,
he devoted his whole life to the care of his diocese,
visiting, preaching, and confirming without intermission, rebuilding
his cathedral in
the simple Saxon style, planting new churches everywhere,
and retaining the ascetic personal habits which he had
acquired in the cloister.
His life, notwithstanding his assiduous labours, was one of continuous prayer and recollection;
the Psalms were always on his lips, and he recited the Divine
Office aloud with his attendants as he rode through the country in
discharge of his episcopal duties.
Wolstan was the last English bishop appointed
under a Saxon king, the last episcopal representative of
the Church of Bede and
of Cuthbert, and the link between it and the Church of Lanfranc and Anselm.
After the Conquest, when nearly all the Saxon nobles and clergy were
deprived of their offices and honours in favour of the Normans,
Wolstan retained his see,
and gradually won the esteem and confidence both of Lanfranc and
of the Conqueror himself. Ælred of Rievaulx tells
the legend of his being called upon to resign his bishopric,
and of his laying his crozier on
the tomb of Edward
the Confessor at Westminster.
The crozier remained
immoveable — a sign from heaven,
as was believed, that the holy bishop was
to retain his see.
He survived both William the Conqueror and Lanfranc,
and was one of the consecrators of St.
Anselm.
Hunter-Blair, Oswald. "St. Wolstan." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1912. 19 Jan. 2017 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15687a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Charlie Martin.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1912. 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.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15687a.htm
St. Wulfstan of Worcester
(Feast: January 19)
Wulfstan (Wulstan) was a
native of Warwickshire, England.
After his priestly
ordination, he became a novice at the monastery of Worcester where he edified
all by the innocence and sanctity of his life. He was assiduous at prayer,
often watching all night in church.
The first task assigned
to him at the monastery was the instruction of children, then treasurer and
eventually - though against his fierce resistance - he was made prior. In 1062,
he was elected Bishop of Worcester.
Wulfstan was a powerful
preacher, often moving his audience to tears.
To his vigorous action is
particularly attributed the suppression of the heinous practice among the
citizens of Bristol of kidnapping men into slavery and shipping them over to
Ireland. St. Patrick who became the great apostle and patron of the Irish was
such a slave in his youth.
After the Norman conquest
of England, William the Conqueror was initially uncertain about Wulfstan. But
acknowledging his capacity and uprightness, Wulfstan was the only bishop
William retained at his post under the new rule.
For the next thirty years
Wulfstan rebuilt his cathedral, cared for the poor and put forth great effort
in alleviating the harsh decrees of the Normans upon the vanquished Saxons.
Whenever the English complained of the oppression of the Normans, Wulfstan told
them: “This is a scourge of God for our sins, which we must bear with
patience.”
The saintly bishop died
on January 19 at eighty-seven years of age after washing the feet of a dozen
poor men, a humble ritual he performed daily. He was canonized in 1203.
SOURCE : https://www.americaneedsfatima.org/Saints-Heroes/st-wulfstan-of-worcester.html
Irish pilgrims and the
medieval shrine of St Wulstan at Worcester
Jan21by pilgrimagemedievalireland
St Wulfstan of Worcester
The 19th of January is
the feast day of St Wulfstan (also known as Wulstan or Wolstan) an 11th
century Anglo-Saxon saint associated with Worcester. This post sets out to
explore the saint’s connections with Ireland.
St Wulfstan (Image
taken http://www.dioceseofshrewsbury.org/weekly_digests/st-wulfstan-19th-january)
Wulfstan was born in the
year 1008 at Long Itchington, Warwickshire. As a young man he entered the
priory of Worcester as a novice, he went on to become the cathedral prior
before becoming the Bishop of Worcester in 1062. He had a reputation as a pious
man.
He devoted his whole life
to the care of his diocese, visiting, preaching, and confirming without
intermission, rebuilding his cathedral in the simple Saxon style,
planting new churches everywhere, and retaining the ascetic personal habits
which he had acquired in the cloister. His life, notwithstanding his assiduous
labours, was one of continuous prayer and recollection; the Psalms were always
on his lips, and he recited the Divine Office aloud with his attendants as he
rode through the country in discharge of his episcopal duties
(Hunter-Blair, 1912).
Wulfstan was also a vegetarian.
It was said that once while preaching he became distracted by the smell of
cooking meat and from that day forth abstained from eating meat. He was
an outspoken opponent of the slave trade between Ireland and Bristol and played
a large part in the ending of the practice between the two countries.
Following the Norman
Conquest of England, Wulstan submitted to King William I and was permitted to
retain his position as bishop. By 1075 he was the only Saxon prelate left in
England. Wulfstan died at the age of 87 in the year 1095 during his daily
service of washing the feet of twelve of the poor of Worcester and he was
buried at the cathedral. A rash of miracles were recorded at Wulfstan’s
tomb in the year following his death. His cult seems to have remained
local until the early 1200’s.
Shortly after his
death, Wulfstan’s Life was composed by his former chancellor
Colman. The text which was written in English has not survived but it was
translated into Latin by the medieval chronicler and historian William of
Malmesbury in the late twelfth century, prior Wulfstan’s canonisation in
1203 . This text records many miracle by the saint performed during his
lifetime and in the years following his death. Fires at the cathedral and
priory in the years 1113, 1147, 1189 and 1202 left Wulfstan’s
tomb intact and without damage. This was seen by some as further evidence
of his sanctity and fanned the flames of his cult. Wulfstan was canonized
in 1203 by Pope Innocent III following a papal commission into the authenticity
of his cult and miracles at his shrine.
By 1218 the earnings from
offerings of pilgrims to Worcester was sufficient to have contributed to the
rebuilding of the church and a new shrine for the saint (Spencer 1988,
40). King John (1166-1216) who had a great devotion to Wulfstan was one
of the most high status pilgrims to visit Worcester. Such was his devotion to
the saint he went on pilgrimage several times and requested to be buried in
front of the high altar between St Oswald and St Wulfstan.
So what are St Wulfstan’s
connections with Ireland?
The cult of Wulfstan
would have arrived in Ireland through the long-established the trade links with
Bristol and Dublin and through settlers from Bristol (Spencer 1988, 38).
Bristol was located at the edge of the diocese of Worcester the heartland
of Wulfstan’s cult.
John Comyn archbishop of
Dublin, was on the panel religious appointed by the Pope Innocent III to
verify the authenticity of miracles attributed to the saint prior to
canonisation (Darlington 1928, 141-3). Given his testament to Wulfstan’s
sanctity perhaps he also had a role in promoting the saints cult in Dublin.
Devotion to the saint is
represented by the dedication of the Abbey of St Wolstan’s (a
variant of Wulfstan), established near Celbridge Co. Kildare by Adam de
Hereford, as a monastery in the Order of St Victor circa 1202. This was around
the time Wulfstan was canonised by Pope Innocent III (Kildare
Historical Website). According to Cane (1918, 55) this abbey was also
known as ” Scala Coeli” or ” the Ladder of Heavan” and it grew to become one of
the largest monasteries in Ireland with extensive lands in Kildare and Dublin,
its buildings covering an estimated 20 acres. It was the first Irish monastery
to be dissolved on the orders of Henry VIII. No physical trace of the
monastery remains today but Crane states in the early 1900’s
The remains of the priory
buildings consist of two large archaways which I imagine formed the north and
south gates of the main enclosure, 200 yards apart, a tall square tower or keep
50 yards further.
We know of two Irish
people went on pilgrimage to Worcester. The first pilgrim was
mentioned in the Vita Wulfstani/Life of Wulfstan.
The Vita records a miracle bestowed on an Irish pilgrim to Worcester.
This miracle refers to
the healing of an Irishman named Pippard, whose tongue had been cut out by Hugh
de Laci, Earl of Ulster from 1205 until his expulsion from Ireland in 1210. The
Annals of Worcester record that Pippard built a church in Ireland in honour of
St Wulfstan and gave it to the church of Worcester together, with 30 carucates
of land (a carucate being the amount of land that could be tilled by a team of
eight oxen in a ploughing season) (Roswell 2012; Darlington 1928, 141).
This passage implies
Irish pilgrims were visiting St Wulfstan’s shrine in the late 12th/early 13th
century prior to and following the canonisation although it is difficult to
quantify in what numbers. To reach the shrine pilgrims would have
travelled by ship to Bristol and then on to Worcester.
Evidence of a second
Irish pilgrimage and devotion to the saint was discovered during
excavations of medieval Dublin, when a pilgrim ampulla (tiny flask) from the
shrine at Worcester, was found at High Street. The ampulla is now
on display at the National Museum of Ireland at Kildare street.
The flask is decorated on
two sides, on one side there is an image of St Wulfstan dressed as bishop, the
Virgin Mary appears on the other side. Worcester cathedral was dedicated
to St Mary and from the 12th century it was in possession of a
statue of St Mary which attracted great devotion and pilgrims. By the 15th
century devotion to this statue suppressed that of Wulfstan and Oswald.
From the 12th century
many pilgrim shrines sold specially designed souvenirs such as badges and
ampullae, that depicted imagery specific to the shrine to pilgrims.
Ampullae were especially popular in England. The Dublin ampulla which dates to
the 13th century was purchased by an Irish pilgrim at Worcester and would have
contained holy water obtained at the shrine (Spenser 1988, 40). The Dublin find
is very unique as it is the only known pilgrim souvenir from Worcester to have
survived.
It’s very likely that
these two pilgrims represent only a fraction of Irish pilgrims to
who travelled Worcester.
References
Darlington, R.
1928. (ed.), The Vita Wulfstani of William of Malmesbury, London:
Royal Historical Society.
Flower, R. 1940. ‘A
Metrical Life of St Wulfstan of Worcester’, National Library of Wales
Journal, i/3, 119-130.
Hunter-Blair,
O. 1912. St. Wolstan. In The Catholic Encyclopaedia. New
York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved January 14, 2014 from New
Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15687a.htm
Kildare Local History.
‘History of Celbridge’, http://kildarelocalhistory.ie/celbridge/history-of-celbridge/churches-monasteries/
Roswell, R. 2012.
‘Medieval Painted and Stain Glass at Worcester Cathedral Priory, Part II: The
Priory Cloisters’ Vidimus Journal Vol. 58, http://vidimus.org/issues/issue-58/feature/
Spencer, B 1988. ‘Pilgrim
Souvenirs’, In Wallace, P (ed.) Miscellanea 1. Medieval Dublin Excavations
1962-81 (Series B) Vol.2 Fascicules 1-5. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy,
33-48.
This entry was posted
in Medieval
Pilgrimage, Uncategorized and
tagged Irish
medieval pilgrimage, Irish
Pilgrimage to medieval Worcester, Pilgrim
ampulla from Worcester, St
Wulfstan of Worcester.
Worcester
Cathedral, Worcestershire
Worcester
Cathedral, Worcestershire
San Vulstano di Worcester Vescovo
Long Itchington, Inghilterra,
1012 – Worcester, Inghilterra, 20 gennaio 1095
San Vulfstano, vescovo
della città inglese di Worcester, in Inghilterra, seppe far convivere i costumi
monastici che lo avevano distinto da monaco con lo zelo pastorale, impegnandosi
a visitare le parrocchie, a costruire chiese, a favorire la cultura e a
contrastare il mercato degli schiavi.
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale, Mitra
Martirologio
Romano: A Worcester in Inghilterra, san Vulfstano, vescovo, che elevato
dal chiostro a questa sede episcopale, unì i costumi monastici allo zelo
pastorale, dedicandosi con impegno a visitare le parrocchie, promuovere la
costruzione di chiese, favorire le lettere e condannare la venalità.
Vulfstano nacque nel 1012
a Long Itchington, nella contea inglese di Warwich, da una famiglia molto
religiosa. Dopo una prima educazione per potersi perfezionare nello studio,
nella preghiera e nel lavoro fu inviato presso le abbazie di Evesham e di
Peterborouch. Questi luoghi fecero sorgere il lui il desiderio di santità.
Ritornato in famiglia, comprese presto con quale facilità un giovane potesse
perdere l'innocenza battesimale abbandonandosi alle continue seduzioni del
mondo. Un giorno, infatti, una giovane e graziosa donna danzò alla sua presenza
per celebrare un successo da lui riportato in un torneo. A cotanto spettacolo
per un istante Vulfstano sentì la fiamma della passione sconvolgergli l'anima,
ma non volendo restarne vittima prese l'eroica decisione di nascondersi in uno
spinoso cespuglio per martoriare il suo corpo, versando copiose lacrime e preso
dal timore di aver sottostato alla tentazione.
Qualche anno dopo i
genitori del santo decisero di comune accordo di abbracciare la vita religiosa.
Al figlio non restò dunque che affidarsi al vescovo di Worcester, che
fornitagli la dovuta formazione lo ordinò sacerdote. Vulfstano non acconsentì
però ad applicarsi al ministero pastorale e preferì seguire la via indicatagli
dalla madre, che gli aveva trasmesso un particolare amore per la vita
monastica. Entrò allora nel monastero accanto alla cattedrale e per più di
venticinque anni fu professore, cantore, sacrestano ed infine priore. Il santo
monaco serviva Dio notte e giorno, predicando al popolo, consigliando i
sacerdote e praticando austere penitenze ed una filiale sottomissione ai superiori.
Verso il 1062 giunsero a
Worcester due cardinali per trascorrere la quaresima nell'abbazia di cui
Vulfstano era priore. I due porporati ne rimasero talmente ammirati che,
rientrati alla corte del re Sant'Edoardo III, lo segnalarono quale migliore
candidato per la sede di Worcester divenuta nel frattempo
vacante. Vulfstano cedette alle pressioni reali e l'8 settembre 1062
Aldredo, arcivescovo di York ed amministratore ad interim, lo consacrò
vescovo. Il novello pastore seppe assolvere scrupolosamente tutti i suoi
doveri. La sua esposizione della parola di Dio era solita intenerire gli
uditori sino alle lacrime. Memorabili si rivelarono i successi che ottenne il
suo talento oratorio tra gli abitanti di Bristol riuscendo a distoglierli
dall'abominevole traffico di schiavi indigeni.
Frequenti furono le
visite pastorali ala sua diocesi, durante le quali la sua borsa piena di denaro
era sempre pronta ad aprirsi per tutti i bisognosi. Lungo il percorso numerose
erano le sue stazioni, finalizzate a riprendere i peccatori, ordinare
sacerdoti, consacrare altari, confessare ed amministrare le cresime. popolo
nutriva una grande fiducia in questo vescovo paterno e giusto.
Vulfstano fece
ricostruire l'antica cattedrale di Worcester, che era stata edificata nel VII
secolo da Sant'Osvaldo, re di Northumbria, e non mancò di dotare di chiese
tutti i paesi ancora sprovvisti.
Malgrado i suoi numerosi
rimproveri e la sua severità, fu unanimemente amato ed ammiravano. Fu l'ultimo
vescovo a ricevere il bastone pastorale per mano di un re sassone. Alla morte
di Sant'Edoardo III infatti, succedette forzatamente al trono il celebre
Guglielmo I il Conquistatore, di origini normanne.
Vulfstano fu uno dei pochi vescovi che non rinunziarono alla loro sede fra le
varie peripezie che sconvolsero la Chiesa inglese in tale frangente storico:
pur ammettendo durante un sinodo di ritenersi indegno del ministero che Edoardo
III e la Santa Sede lo avevano costretto ad accettare, soggiunse solo al re
medesimo avrebbe restituito il bastone pastorale. Si recò dunque alla tomba del
santo monarca nell'abbazia di Westminster e conficcò con estrema facilità il
bastone nella pietra sepolcrale. Solo il santo, una volta ricusata la sua
deposizione, riuscì ad estrarre nuovamente il suo pastorale con estrema facilità.
Vulfstano fu poi
rivalutato dal re Guglielmo e dal primate Lanfranco, ai quali sopravvisse sino
ad assistere alla consacrazione di Sant'Anselmo di Aosta, eletto nel 1093 nuovo
arcivescovo di Canterbury. A coloro che si lamentavano dell'oppressione
normanna, egli rispondeva che si trattasse di un castigo da sopportare con
pazienza, in quanto permesso da Dio per i loro peccati. La cura che il vescovo
aveva per la salute delle anime a lui affidate, non gli faceva tuttavia
dimenticare la propria, celebrando sovente la Messa contrariamente all'uso del
tempo, pregando con assiduità, elargendo abbondantemente ai poveri e con
frequenti digiuni, tanto da arrivare a rinunciare alla carne di oca, suo piatto
preferito.
Nella festa di Pentecoste
del 1094 Vulfstano fu assalito da una febbre continua che progressivamente lo
indebolì. Capendo che la morte si avvicinava, si preparò all'evento
moltiplicando preghiere ed austerità. Nel capodanno successivo si mise
definitivamente a letto e, con gli occhi rivolti all'altare della sua stanza,
continuò a seguire mentalmente la recita dei salmi, unendo talvolta la sua voce
a quella dei salmodianti. Morì il 20 gennaio 1095, dopo ben trentatrè anni di
episcopato. Alla sua sepoltura, avvenuta nella cattedrale, come egli aveva
predetto nessuno riuscì a sfilargli l'anello episcopale. La sua tomba divenne
presto sorgente di numerosi miracoli. Nel centesimo anniversario della morte
avvenne un'esumazione ed il corpo del vescovo fu trovato incorrotto. Non tardò
allora a giungere la canonizzazione ufficiale, avvenuta nel 1203 da parte del
pontefice Innocenzo III. Il Martyrologium Romanum commemora ancora oggi San
Vulfstano al 20 gennaio. L'iconografia cristiana è solita raffigurarlo
nell'atto di rendere la vista ad una religiosa cieca con un segno di croce, ma
principalmente nel celebre episodio di conficcare il bastone pastorale nella
tomba del santo re Edoardo III il Confessore.
Autore: Fabio
Arduino
.jpg?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=original){kind=link}
