Bienheureuse Eustochium de Padoue
Religieuse bénédictine (+ 1468)
Elle était fille d'une religieuse de Padoue qui avait eu un moment d'égarement dans sa vie monastique. Eustochium reçut le nom de Lucrèce Bellini et devint à son tour religieuse à 17 ans. Fille du péché, elle se sentait possédée du démon et souffrit les mauvais traitements infligés à cette époque aux possédés: emprisonnée, nourrie de pain et d'eau seulement, humiliations et brutalités. Elle vécut tout cela avec patience et humilité. Elle put faire malgré tout sa profession religieuse et lorsqu'elle mourut à vingt-quatre ans, on découvrit sur sa poitrine le nom de Jésus qui s'y était gravé. Elle est toujours vénérée à Padoue.
À Padoue en Vénétie, l'an 1469, la bienheureuse Eustochium (Lucrèce Bellini),
vierge de l'Ordre de Saint Benoît.
Martyrologe romain
EUSTOCHIUM DE PADOUE
(Lucrèce Bellini)
Religieuse, Bienheureuse
+ 1468
Il y a des vies de saints qui semblent irréelles, voire appartenir à la
“Légende dorée”. Celle-ci en est une. Non point qu’elle soit remplie
d’invraisemblables descriptions et miracles, mais parce que la vie de cette
bienheureuse est elle-même une succession de choses si extraordinaires que l’on
aurait presque envie de ne pas y croire. Et pourtant, c’est une réalité :
elle bel et bien existé et vécut dans notre monde, dans une période certes
particulière, mais aussi remplie d’autres saints et saintes de Dieu qui ne
doivent rien au hasard ni à la bienveillance des historiens.
Lisons plutôt :
Elle était fille d'une religieuse de Padoue qui avait
eu un moment d'égarement dans sa vie monastique.
Devant la femme adultère que les juifs voulaient
lapider, Jésus ne dit rien, mais écrivit par terre, sur le sable de l’endroit
où Il se trouvait alors, quelques mots et, un à un “en commençant par les plus
âges”, tous ceux qui voulaient lapider la femme, s’en sont allés. Faisons-en
autant envers cette religieuse qui, malgré son péché, fut l’instrument qui
donna à l’Église une nouvelle bienheureuse.
Le fruit de son péché reçut le nom de Lucrèce Bellini.
Était-ce le nom du père ? Nul ne le sait, mais ce qui est vrai, c’est que
cette fillette, dont nul ne voulait prendre soin, finit, avec le temps, par
devenir à son tour religieuse : elle n’avait alors que 17 ans.
Consciente de son état de “fille du
péché”, Eustochium de Padoue — c’est sous ce nom qu’elle est
passée à la postérité — se sentait possédée du démon et souffrit les
mauvais traitements infligés à cette époque aux possédés : emprisonnée,
nourrie de pain et d'eau seulement, humiliations et brutalités, que
malheureusement l’Église d’alors cautionnait. Elle vécut tout cela avec
patience et humilité.
Peut-être, grâce à cette “patience et humilité”, la
“malheureuse” enfant put faire sa profession religieuse et être par la même
occasion considérée comme une sœur parmi d’autres sœurs, ce qui ne semble pas
avoir été le cas, car elle continua enfermée dans le “secret”, comme une
possédée qu’elle était, mais, comme toujours le Seigneur veille et, ô surprise
inouïe : lorsqu'elle mourut à vingt-quatre ans, on découvrit sur sa
poitrine le nom de Jésus qui s'y était gravé.
Elle fut béatifiée longtemps après sa mort, par le
Pape Clément XIII, le 22 mars 1760.
Elle est toujours vénérée à Padoue.
SOURCE : http://alexandrina.balasar.free.fr/eustochium_de_padoue.htm
Le nom de Jésus imprimé sur le coeur
L’incroyable destinée de la bienheureuse Eustochium de
Padoue
FÉVRIER 13, 2013 00:00ANITA BOURDINSPIRITUALITÉ
Le martyrologe romain fait aujourd’hui mémoire, entre
autres, de la bienheureuse Eustochium de Padoue, vierge (1433-1459), qui eut le
nom de Jésus imprimé sur le cœur.
L’histoire d’Eustochium Bellini est aussi incroyable
que documentée et riche d’enseignements à chaque moment : un appel à la
conversion du regard sur autrui. Heureuse conïncidence avec le début du
carême….
Une moniale avait peut-être rompu son vœu de chasteté
ou avait subi un viol: l’enfant naquit et fut baptisée au monastère, sous le
nom de Lucrèce.
L’évêque apprit la naissance, dipersa la communauté,
et éloigna l’enfant de sa mère. Cependant Lucrèce put aller à l’école au
monastère et demanda à y devenir moniale. L’évêque approuva. Elle prit le nom
d’Eustochium en l’honneur de la disciple de saint Jérôme.
Mais un trouble psychologique faisait alterner en elle
moments de douceur et crises de violence contre elle-même. On crut à une
possession: elle fut attachée, privée de nourriture et de boisson. L’abbesse
tomba malade: on l’accusa. La population voulait brûler la “sorcière”.
L’évêque la mit à l’abri d’une cellule, au pain et à
l’eau, pendant trois mois. L’abbesse guérit. Eustochium survécut, en pleine possession
de ses facultés mentales. On voulut alors la persuader de se marier. Mais elle
choisit de rester au couvent, et elle y édifia ses compagnes par sa patience et
sa dévotion.
Epuisée, elle s’endormit en Dieu à l’âge de 26 ans: le
nom de Jésus était imprimé comme par le feu sur son cœur. Apparitions et
miracles eurent lieu sur sa tombe et son corps exhumé fut retrouvé intact.
FÉVRIER 13, 2013 00:00SPIRITUALITÉ
Anita Bourdin
Journaliste française accréditée près le Saint-Siège
depuis 1995. Rédactrice en chef de fr.zenit.org. Elle a lancé le service
français Zenit en janvier 1999. Master en journalisme (Bruxelles). Maîtrise en
lettres classiques (Paris). Habilitation au doctorat en théologie biblique
(Rome). Correspondante à Rome de Radio Espérance.
SOURCE : https://fr.zenit.org/2013/02/13/le-nom-de-jesus-imprime-sur-le-coeur/
Born in Padua, Italy, 1444; died 1469. Baptized Lucrezia Bellini, Saint Eustochium was the daughter of a nun of Padua who had been seduced. The gentle, pious 'Cinderella of the Cloister' became a nun in 1461 and for four years was subject to violent hysteria for which she was treated as one diabolically possessed: exorcised, kept in prison, fed on bread and water or even deprived of food. When in her right mind she bore her treatment with heroic patience and humility. She died after profession, aged 25, and the name of Jesus was found cauterized on her breast. Eustochium is venerated in Padua (Benedictines).
Also known as
Lucrezia Bellini
Cinderella of the Cloister
Profile
Daughter of a Paduan nun who
had been seduced into ignoring her vow of chastity; Lucrezia grew up in
the convent.
She felt a call to the religious
life, which many of the sisters of
opposed due to the scandal of her birth. The bishop approved
of her vocation, however, and she entered her novitiate as
a Benedictine nun in 1461,
taking the name Eustochium.
For four years she suffered from violent, hysterical
fits. She was considered to be possessed, imprisoned,
fed on bread and water, periodically starved and repeatedly exorcised.
When her abbess fell ill,
she was accused of poisoning the woman,
and had to be saved from a mob of townspeople who wanted to burn her as a demon.
Between these bouts, she was gentle, pious, patient and humble, apparently
seeing it all as a form of penance. Her confessor and
spiritual director insisted that she be allowed to continue with her vocation,
and her sanctity won over many of the sisters who
had opposed her.
She died very
soon after her formal vows. The name of Jesus was found cauterized on her
breast. She is venerated in Padua.
Born
1444 at
San Prosdocimo convent, Padua, Italy as Lucrezia
Bellini
13
February 1469 at
San Prosdocimo convent, Padua, Italy of
natural causes
children
whose parents are not married
Additional Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other sites in english
sitios en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti in italiano
MLA Citation
“Blessed Eustochium of Padua“. CatholicSaints.Info.
28 January 2019. Web. 5 April 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-eustochium-of-padua/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-eustochium-of-padua/
Blessed Eustochium of Padua
Blessed Eustochium
is a somewhat tragic figure, whose life was marked with suffering, but who
seems to have borne all of her mental and physical distress with great love for
Christ.
Eustochium was born in the year 1433 in Padua, Italy.
She was the illegitimate daughter of a nun who had broken her vows. The sister
bore Eustochium in her convent, where Eustochium could have lived her days in
peace in a supportive environment.
The bishop, however, caught wind of the scandal, and
reorganized the convent, presumably separating Eustochium's mother from her.
Eustochium, whose baptismal name was Lucrezia, remained at the convent and
attended the school for girls there.
Eventually, Lucrezia desired to enter the convent and
join the order of sisters. Many of the sisters objected, out of distaste for
her origins, but the bishop was on Lucrezia's side and she entered the convent
a few years after her twentieth birthday. She took the name Eustochium, which
was the name of an early Church Father, one of the disciples of St. Jerome.
During her short time as a sister, Eustochium
experienced grave mental distress and the sisters were afraid of her wild
outbursts of temper, mixed with her periods of melancholy. Eustochium cut
herself with knives, which frightened the sisters, and they believed that she
was possessed by a demon. They punished her in a manner which only hurt her
more, and the bishop imprisoned her in a dungeon for three months. The townspeople wanted
to burn her as a witch. Eustochium, however, clung to her desire to be a
sister. She did not abandon her vocation. After four grueling years, she
received her final vows. But the intense mental and physical distress
weakened her health a great deal and she died on February 13, 1459.
Three years after her burial, her body was discovered
to be incorrupt, and the bishop of Padua ordered a biography written and her
body moved to a place of greater honor. Blessed Eustochium has been honored in
Padua ever since. Let us pray to her to intercede particularly for those who
are unwanted and for those who feel the afflictions of mental illness,
depression, and loneliness.
Blessed Eustochium of Padua, young nun who bore
terrible mental illness—pray for us!
Blessed Eustochium
of Padua
Saint of the Day
: February 13
Other Names :
• Lucrezia Bellini
• Cinderella of the Cloister
Born :
1444 at San Prosdocimo convent, Padua,
Italy as Lucrezia Bellini
Died :
13 February 1469 at San Prosdocimo convent,
Padua, Italy
Patronage :
• Against insanity
• Against mental illness
• Against temptations
• Children whose parents are not married
• Illegitimacy
• Mentally ill people
Blessed Eustochium was born in the year 1430 at Messina, Sicily, and received in baptism the name Smaragda, which means "the emerald." Following the example of her devout mother Mathilda, of the princely family of the Colonna, she shunned intercourse with the world even while still very young. She wore a coarse penitential garb under her outer clothing and strove zealously to cultivate all the virtues, but especially purity of heart, which she resolved to preserve throughout life.
Several times her hand was asked in marriage by young men of distinguished birth, even such who came from princely families, and her relatives, especially her own father, urged her to give her consent. But Smaragda steadfastly declined all the offers of her suitors, and redoubled her fasts, vigils, and prayers, so as not to swerve in her fidelity to her Divine Bridegroom.
Her father died while she was still quite young. Then Blessed Eustochium entered the convent of the Poor Clares which was located near her home town. At her reception she received the name of Eustochium.
In the convent she lived completely absorbed in God, devoted to prayer, work, and ministering to her sick sisters. Her spare time she devoted to the contemplation of the life and sufferings of Jesus and Mary. She fostered special devotion to our Blessed Lady. Her favorite prayer was the Hail Mary, which she was wont to recite as often as a thousand times on our Lady’s feastdays. One time when the plague ravaged Messina, Sister Eustochium volunteered to take care of her fellow sisters who had been stricken, and regardless of any danger to her own life, she nursed them with tender charity and patience, and prepared them for a happy end.
Blessed Eustochium had spent eleven years in the convent when she was seized with a strong impulse to lead a stricter and still more secluded life. She sought permission of Pope Callistus III to found another convent in Messina where, with several other sisters who were of the same mind, she could observe the original rule of St Clare without any mitigations, under the guidance of the Friars Minor. The permission was granted, and her mother and sisters built a modest convent for her on a height known as Virgin Mount. There Eustochium with several companions and a few relatives entered in the year 1457, when she was but twenty-seven years old.
Like all the works of God, this new foundation was severely persecuted. But Eustochium overcame all hardships with confidence in God, steadfast patience, and the miraculous assistance that was frequently granted by God Himself.
At the age of thirty years, which was the age prescribed by the Church for those who hold the office of abbess, Eustochium was elected to that position. As time went on, a select band of spiritual daughters developed about her, who, guided by her equally loving and enlightened direction, became a delight to God as well as an object of admiration and edification to the people.
After about twenty years spent in working for God and her fellow sisters, while she received much evil from the world, but also much consolation from God, her pure soul took its flight to the eternal mansions.
A star was seen to rise aloft from her cell at the moment of her death. Her body, which is still incorrupt, is preserved in the convent church at Messina. Many miracles have occurred through her frequently experienced the effects of her powerful protection in the time of earthquakes.
In the year 1615 there were many earthquakes in Sicily, and it seemed the earth was constantly trembling. The senate, as well as all the people, asked the sisters to pray to Blessed Eustochium for relief.
The sisters removed the body of the beata, and sat her in her old choir stall. They asked Eustochium to pray for them, at which time her mouth opened and her voice could be clearly heard chanting the first verse of the psalm from the night office. The sisters joined with her, bowing their heads with their holy foundress at the Gloria. The earthquakes ceased at that moment.
Pope Pius VI approved the public veneration that has been accorded her.
*from: The Franciscan Book of Saints, ed. by Marion
Habig, ofm
SOURCE : https://saintscatholic.blogspot.com/2018/02/blessed-eustochium-of-padua.html
EUSTOCHIA OF PADUA, BL.
Benedictine nun; b. Lucrezia, in Padua, Italy, 1444;d.
there, February 13, 1469. She was the daughter of a nun and was born and
educated in the convent of San Prosdocimo. After a more observant group
replaced the old community there, she sought admission, which was granted
reluctantly. Her profession was long delayed because, while she was sometimes
obedient, gentle, and charitable, she was often stubborn and ill-tempered, and
showed signs of diabolical possession. When suspected of being the cause of the
abbess's mysterious illness, she was even in danger of being burned as a witch.
Finally a wise and patient confessor intervened, and she took vows and won the
respect and even the reverence of the community. Miracles were attributed to
her, and her body was found incorrupt when it was transferred several years
after her death to a more honorable place. Her cult, confirmed in 1760, is
liturgically celebrated at Padua. She is sometimes referred to as Eustochius
(or Eustochium), which was her religious name.
Feast: Feb. 13.
Bibliography: G. C. Cordara, Vita
virtù e miracoli della B. Eustochio vergine padovana (Venice 1768). A. M. Zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedictinum: Die Heiligen und Seligen des
Benediktinerorderns und seiner Zweige, 4 v. (Metten 1933–38) 1:207–209. A. Butler, The Lives of the Saints, ed. H. Thurston and D. Attwater, 4
v. (New
York 1956) 1:325–327.
SOURCE : https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/eustochia-padua-bl
Beata Eustochio (Lucrezia) Bellini di Padova Vergine
Nata a Padova nel 1444, la madre era una monaca del
monastero di San Prodoscimo e proprio alle religiose di questo luogo Lucrezia
venne affidata a sette anni. La comunità non brillava per esemplarità di
condotta e il vescovo tentò di imporre un maggiore rigore ma a quel punto le
monache abbandonarono il monastero. Arrivarono allora le benedettine da Santa
Maria della Misericordia e a loro Lucrezia chiese di poter vestire l'abito da
monaca: emise la professione solenne nel 1465 e prese il nome di Eustochio.
Tormentata dalla sua nascita "irregolare" e dagli attacchi del
maligno visse nella penitenza. Morì giovanissima nel 1469.
Martirologio Romano: A Padova, beata Eustochio
(Lucrezia) Bellini, vergine dell’Ordine di San Benedetto.
La sua nascita non fu proprio legittima, Lucrezia Bellini nacque a Padova nel 1444, da una monaca del monastero benedettino di S. Prosdocimo e da Bartolomeo Bellini; a quattro anni il demonio s’impadronì del suo corpo, senza toglierle l’uso della ragione, tormentandola praticamente per tutta la vita.
A sette anni fu affidata alle monache di San Prosdocimo che gestivano nel monastero una forma di educandato; la condotta della comunità non era proprio esemplare, ma Lucrezia agli svaghi mondani, preferiva il ritiro, il lavoro e la preghiera, era molto devota alla Madonna, a s. Girolamo e a s. Luca.
Nel 1460 il vescovo Jacopo Zeno, alla morte della badessa, tentò d’imporre al monastero una maggiore disciplina, ma sia le monache, sia le educande, se ne ritornarono alle proprie case, rimase solo Lucrezia Bellini.
Giunsero allora in sostituzione nel monastero, le Benedettine provenienti dal convento di S. Maria della Misericordia, sotto la guida della badessa Giustina da Lazzara. Lucrezia ormai diciottenne, chiese di entrare nel loro Ordine e il 15 gennaio 1461, ebbe il nero abito benedettino, prendendo il nome di Eustochio; il demonio che da qualche tempo la lasciava in pace, si riaffacciò nel suo corpo, costringendola a fare atti contrari alla Regola, facendola addirittura esplodere in atti così chiassosi e violenti, che le consorelle ne furono terrorizzate e dovettero legarla per molti giorni ad una colonna.
Ma la quiete durò poco, dopo che Eustochio fu liberata, la badessa si ammalò di una strana malattia, fu incolpata lei, quasi considerandola un’ipocrita strega; fu chiusa in una prigione per tre mesi a pane ed acqua.
Ma tutte queste prove non avvilirono la novizia e a chi gli diceva di ritornare nel mondo o cambiare monastero, rispose che tutte quelle tribolazioni erano bene accette e che intendeva espiare la colpa da cui era nata, proprio là dov’era stata commessa; nella sua solitudine si confortava con la recita di un rosario o corona di salmi e preghiere, da lei stessa composte.
Una volta liberata, tornò ad essere tormentata dal demonio, con flagellazioni sanguinose, incontrollabili vomiti e altri strani patimenti che lei sopportava con inossidabile pazienza, ciò convinse le consorelle delle sue virtù e finalmente il 25 marzo 1465 fu ammessa alla professione solenne e come era usanza dell’epoca, due anni dopo gli fu imposto il velo nero delle benedettine.
La sua vita non fu lunga, era stata di grande bellezza ma le possessioni diaboliche, le malattie e le penitenze, l’avevano ormai ridotta ad uno scheletro vivente; gli ultimi anni di vita li trascorse quasi sempre a letto ammalata, assorta nella preghiera e nella meditazione della Passione di Gesù.
Morì il 13 febbraio 1469 a soli 25 anni, la sua fine fu così serena che il suo volto poté riacquistare l’antica bellezza; il demonio poche ore prima l’aveva lasciata finalmente in pace.
Eustochio è l’unico esempio che si conosca di una fedele arrivata alla santità, anche se per tutta la vita fu posseduta dal demonio.
Quattro anni dopo la sua morte, il corpo fu riesumato dal primitivo sepolcro, il quale cominciò a riempirsi d’acqua purissima e miracolosa, che cessò di sorgere solo quando fu soppresso il monastero.
Nel 1475 il corpo fu portato nella chiesa e dal 1720 fu collocato, visibile in un’arca di cristallo. Il monastero di S. Prosdocimo fu soppresso nel 1806 e il corpo della beata benedettina fu traslato nella chiesa di San Pietro sempre in Padova; sopra il marmoreo altare che contiene il suo corpo, sovrasta la pala dipinta del Guglielmi che rappresenta la beata, mentre calpesta il demonio.
Papa Clemente XIII, già vescovo di Padova, confermò il suo culto nel 1760, prima alla città patavina e poi esteso nel 1767 a tutti gli Stati della Repubblica Veneta.
La sua festa religiosa, ancora oggi officiata in tutta la diocesi di Padova, è al 13 febbraio.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/91210
Voir aussi : https://gloria.tv/post/CvsZkAV9Ho3v1jAmkfh3vGxQn
