Saint Samson
Évêque de Dol (+ v. 565)
Gallois, il devint disciple de saint Iltut dans le Glamorgan. Ensuite il se fit moine puis devint abbé dans l'île de Caldey; après un séjour en Irlande il se fixe en Cornouilles où il est sacré évêque par saint Dubrice; il se rend alors en Armorique pour évangéliser la Bretagne où il établit sa résidence dans un monastère, à Dol, bien des siècles avant qu'il y eût un siège officiel; il est toujours vénéré en Bretagne et dans le pays de Galles. (Diocèse de Beauvais)
"Saint Samson est l'un des évêques fondateurs de l'Église de Bretagne. Dol sera plus tard l'une des étapes du pèlerinage des Sept-Saints, le Tro-Breiz." (diocèse de Quimper et Léon - Saint Samson)
À Dol de Bretagne, vers 565, saint Samson, abbé et
évêque. Il propagea dans la Domnonée l'Évangile et la discipline monastique que
l'abbé saint Iltud lui avait enseignés au
pays de Galles.
Martyrologe romain
"Mes frères bien-aimés et chers enfants, je vous
donne avis que je meurs et quitte volontiers cette vallée de misère pour aller
jouir de Dieu dans le ciel... Lorsque je serai devant Dieu, je prierai pour
vous..."
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1584/Saint-Samson.html
_Banni%C3%A8re.JPG)
Bannière dans l'église d'Helléan (Morbihan)
Saint Samson
Gallois, il devint disciple de saint Iltut dans le
Glamorgan. Ensuite il se fit moine puis devint abbé dans l'île de Caldey ;
après un séjour en Irlande il se fixe en Cornouilles où il est sacré évêque par
saint Dubrice ; il se rend alors en Armorique pour évangéliser la Bretagne où
il établit sa résidence dans un monastère, à Dol, bien des siècles avant qu'il
y eut un siège officiel ; il est toujours vénéré en Bretagne et dans le pays de
Galles.
Saint Samson est fêté le 28 juillet
Il a dit :
- "Mes frères bien-aimés et chers enfants, je vous donne avis que je meurs et quitte volontiers cette vallée de misère pour aller jouir de Dieu dans le ciel…. Lorsque je serai devant Dieu, je prierai pour vous….. "
Ils ont dit de lui :
Le fait d'avoir servi de modèle aux hagiographes
postérieurs confèrent à la vie de saint Samson un rang unique dans les sources
de l'histoire de Bretagne.
- Sa vie ne fut qu'un exercice continuel de charité et
de pénitence.
1-Sa biographie
Il est admis à l'école du monastère voisin de Llantwit
Major dont l'abbé est saint Iltut, moine de grand renom pour sa sainteté et son
savoir. Il y apprend l'Ecriture Sainte, la philosophie, la géométrie, la
science des nombres, la nature, la grammaire et la rhétorique. Samson y fait
preuve de beaucoup de travail et de vertu. Son caractère humble, modeste, doux,
affable plait à ses condisciples, de même que son désir de toujours servir les
autres.
Promu au diaconat, il est ordonné prêtre deux ans plus
tard par l'évêque Dubric.
Il quitte alors le monastère et gagne l'île de Caldey
où il devient économe puis abbé du monastère.
Durant quelques années il pratique la vie érémitique
vivant de prières, de méditations et de contemplation divine. Il fait des
miracles.
Il passe dans la Cornouaille britannique, s'attarde
dans les monastères, prêche et convertit. Saint Dubric qui reconnaît ses
talents l'ordonne évêque.
Il s'embarque ensuite avec ses disciples dont saint
Magloire et arrive en Armorique. Privatus, un gallo-romain lui cède un terrain.
Samson y bâtit un monastère. Plus tard à l'entour de ce monastère naîtra la
petite ville de Dol, qui devait tenir dans l'histoire religieuse de la Bretagne
un rôle de premier plan.
A peine installé, il commence à rayonner dans toute la
région, semant partout la parole évangélique. Se posant protecteur des faibles.
Connu, reconnu, aimé, de nobles âmes lui concèdent des terres pour qu'il puisse
édifier des monastères chargés de desservir spirituellement les populations
d'alentour. A la demande unanime du clergé et du peuple il devient rapidement
évêque de Dol. D'après la légende il aurait été consacré évêque par le roi
Childebert 1er.
Il figure parmi les évêques qui assistèrent au second
Concile de Paris (561-567) au temps du roi Caribert.
2- Les reliques
Enterré dans le monastère de Dol, il y demeure
jusqu'en 966 où devant l'invasion des Danois, sa dépouille est conduite à
Paris. Placé sous la protection du roi Hugues Capet, celui-ci la dépose dans
l'église de saint-Barthélémy. La paix revenu, les Bretons réclament le corps
mais Hugues Capet "ne leur accorda qu'une partie avec la tête et retint le
reste." Avant de regagner la Bretagne, ceux-ci s'arrêtent à Orléans et
laissent leurs reliques. Elles y restent jusqu'en 1562, date à laquelle les
Huguenots dispersent les restes.
Quant à Hugues Capet il transforme en abbaye cette
église Saint-Barthélémy. Puis en 1138, cette abbaye se déplace rue saint Denis
emportant avec elle les reliques. Sous Catherine de Médicis, les moines,
quittant le monastère, mettent les reliques dans l'église de saint Jacques du
haut pas.
Enfin, lorsque le cardinal de Gondi fait de cette
abbaye, sise faubourg saint Jacques, un séminaire, les Prêtres de l'Oratoire
qui en prennent la direction enferment les restes de saint Samson dans une
châsse.
Trente ans plus tard, en 1652, Nicolas Choart de
Buzenval, évêque de Beauvais, obtient un os du bras du saint pour l'église
paroissiale de Clermont, en Beauvaisis, dont ce saint est le patron.
A Dol on se souvient de saint Samson comme
évangélisateur de Cornouilles, des îles anglo-normandes et de Bretagne.
La diffusion de son culte en Angleterre s'accrut
considéra-blement lorsque Athelstan, roi de Wessex de 924 à 939, obtient à
titre de reliques l'un de ses bras.
Il est habituellement représenté avec une croix,
souvent aussi un bâton ou encore avec une colombe et un livre.
"Dieu, le voulant il meurt le 28 juillet vers
564/565 âgé de 84 ans environ."
3-
Origine de la ville de Dol
Un monastère fondé par saint Samson est à l'origine de
la ville de Dol. Nominoë, roi des Bretons, donne au IX° siècle une place
primordiale dans la vie religieuse de la province en attribuant à cette ville
le titre de métropole que les évêques de Dol disputent à ceux de Tours jusqu'en
1199. Le siège épiscopal de Dol sera supprimé en 1790 au moment de sa réunion à
l'évêché de Rennes.
Un seul village du diocèse porte son nom:
- Saint-Samson-La-Poterie
4 églises du diocèse sont dédiées à St Samson:
- Campeaux
- Clermont
- Quincampoix-Fleuzy
- Saint-Samson-La-Poterie
Sources:
- Vie des Saints par les RR. PP. bénédictins de Paris
- De Blancy et Daras: Grande vie des saints
- Dix mille saints
- Dr René Parmentier: Clermont en Beauvais monographies des villes et villages de France
- Graves: canton de Clermont
SAINT SAMSON DE DOL (480-565)
Il est l’un des sept saints fondateurs de Bretagne.
Né vers 480 dans le Clamorgan, à Dyved (sud du Pays de
Galles) d’Ammon et d’Anna. À l’âge de 5 ans, il entre à l’école
monastique de Llantwit-Major sous la direction de saint Iltud. La réputation
précoce de sa sainteté provoque la jalousie de deux de ses neveux qui
cherchèrent à l’assassiner. La perspicacité et la charité de Samson
convertirent les coupables. Il opère de nombreuses guérisons par un simple
signe de croix, notamment les morsures de serpent. Quand saint Iltud lui
confère le diaconat « une blanche colombe vint se poser sur les épaules du
bienheureux. » Vers 510, il se retire sur l’île de Caldey, au sud du comté de
Pembroke (Pays de Galles).
Apprenant que son père est gravement malade, il
obtient de se rendre auprès de lui. Il le guérit et le persuade ainsi que ses
cinq frères et sa sœur de quitter le monde pour la vie monastique. À son retour
à Caldey, l’abbé étant mort, il est élu nouvel abbé. Puis il se rend en Irlande
en mission pour plusieurs années. De retour, il abandonne la responsabilité de
son monastère et vit en ermite sur les rives de la Severn avec son père et deux
autres compagnons. Mais Samson est convoqué au synode et choisi comme évêque. «
L’antique usage de l’Église bretonne, quand il y avait un évêque à ordonner,
était d’en ordonner deux autres avec lui, de façon qu’il sortit toujours de
cette cérémonie trois nouveaux évêques. Cette fois, les prélats avaient à
consacrer deux sujets. Il leur fallait faire choix d’un troisième. » (La
Borderie). Inspiré par Dieu, l’évêque Dubric consacre donc Samson qui quitte
son ermitage et continue ses voyages missionnaires en Cornouailles (Sud-Ouest
de l’actuelle Angleterre) où il fonde plusieurs monastères. Vers 548, il gagne
la Bretagne, où il fonde le monastère de Dol. En Normandie, il fonde celui de
Pental. En 555, grâce à l’intervention de Samson le chef breton Judwal (qui
devint saint Judicael) est rétabli dans ses droits sur la Domnonée, et il signe
les actes du Concile de Paris en 560.
Il meurt à Dol le 28 juillet 565, après avoir désigné
saint Magloire comme son successeur. Saint Samson est invoqué pour guérir la
folie.
Saint Samson est fêté le 28 juillet
SOURCE : http://www.eoc-coc.org/accueil/saints-du-mois/juillet/saint-samson-de-dol/
Also known as
Samson of Dol
Samson of Brittany
Sampson…
Sansone…
Profile
Born to the Welsh nobility;
brother of Saint Gwenyth
of Cornwall and Saint Veep. At
age seven, Samson was sent to the abbey of
Llanwit Major in South Glamorgan for instruction by the abbot, Saint Illtud. Ordained in 512.
Retired to a small monastery on
Caldey Island to deepen his prayer life;
later chosen its abbot.
Around 516,
Samson travelled to Ireland with
some Irish monks,
hoping to learn from them. However, Samson soon gained a reputation for holiness,
and many came to him for prayers on
their behalf. Uncomfortable with fame, Samson returned to the anonymity
of Cornwall.
Bishop in 520,
ordained by Saint Dubricius.
Soon after, Samson received a vision from God telling
him to evangelize Brittany.
He and some monks there
established a monastery at
Dol that later became the center of a new diocese.
Samson spent the rest of his life in Brittany,
gaining renown for wisdom, holiness and dedication, and is regarded by many as
one of the greatest Welsh saints.
Born
565 at
Dol-de-Bre-ta-paign, Brittany of
natural causes
Additional Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other sites in english
images
webseiten auf deutsch
sitios en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
sites en français
MLA Citation
“Saint Samson of York“. CatholicSaints.Info. 21
July 2020. Web. 28 July 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-samson-of-york/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-samson-of-york/
_Vitrail_11.jpg)
Book of Saints – Sampson – 28 July
Article
(Saint) Bishop (July
28) (6th
century) A Welsh Saint,
disciple of Saint Illtyd.
He was a monk of
Caldey, but afterwards became Abbot of
Llantwit. Thence he crossed over to Brittany and, as Bishop of
Dole, did great work for Almighty God and for his people. He assisted at the
Council of Paris (A.D. 557).
He died,
and was buried in
his monastery at
Dole; but his Relics were
afterwards translated to Paris.
MLA Citation
Monks of Ramsgate. “Sampson”. Book
of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
28 July 2016. Web. 28 July 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-sampson-28-july/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-sampson-28-july/
_%C3%89glise_Saint-Pierre_Vitrail_03.JPG)
Intronisation de l'abbé de la Vieuville par saint
Samson. Église Saint-Pierre d'Épiniac (35). Vitrail, baie 09. Datation :
1904. Maître verrier : Charles
Lorin (1866-1940).
St. Samson
Bishop and confessor, born in South Wales; died 28 July, 565 (?). The date of his birth is unknown. His parents whose names are given as Amon of Dyfed and Anna of Gwynedd, were of noble, but not royal, birth. While still an infant he was dedicated to God and entrusted to the care of St. Illtyd, by whom he was brought up in the monastery of Llantwit Major. He showed exceptional talents in his studies, and was eventually ordained deacon and priest by St. Dubric. After this he retired to another monastery, possibly after that on Caldy Island, to practise greater austerities, and some years later became it abbot. About this time some Irish monks who were returning from Rome happened to visit Samson's monastery. So struck was the abbot by their learning and sanctity that he accompanied them to Ireland, and there remained some time. During h is visit he received the submission of an Irish monastery, and, on his return to Wales, sent one of his uncles to act as its superior. His fame as a worker of miracles now attracted so much attention that he resolved to found a new monastery or cell "far from the haunts of men", and accordingly retired with a few companions to a lonely spot on the banks of the Severn. He was soon discovered, however, and forced by his fellow-countrymen to become abbot of the monastery formerly ruled by St. Germanus; here St. Dubric consecrated him bishop but without appointment to any particular see. Now, being warned by an angel, he determined to leave England and, after some delay, set sail for Brittany. He landed near Dol, and there built a monastery which became the centre of his episcopal work in the district. Business taking him to Paris, he visited King Childebert there, and was nominated by him as Bishop of Dol; Dol, however, did not become a regular episcopal see till about the middle of the ninth century. Samson attained the age of 85 years, and was buried at Dol. Several early lives of Samson exist. The oldest, printed by Mabillon in his "Acta Sanctorum" from a manuscript at Cîteaux, and again by the Bollandists, claims to be compiled from information derived from Samson's contemporaries, which would refer it to about 600. Dom Plaine in the "Analecta Bollandiana" has edited another and fuller life (from manuscript Andeg., 719), which he regards as earlier than Mabillon's. Later lives are numerous.
Huddleston, Gilbert. "St. Samson." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 28 Jul. 2021 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13422c.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Christine J. Murray.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13422c.htm
_Cath%C3%A9drale_Ma%C3%AEtresse-vitre_11.jpg)
Deux quadrilobes supérieurs des lancettes 5 et 6 de la maîtresse-vitre de la cathédrale Saint-Samson de Dol-de-Bretagne (35).
Saints of the Day – Samson (Sampson)
of Brittany
Article
Born in Glamorgan, Wales, c.485; died at Dol,
Brittany, France, July 28, c.565. The existing vita of Saint Samson may be the
earliest biography of a British Celtic saint, but scholarly opinion is divided
on whether it was written in the 7th century (within 50 years of his death) or
the 9th. The earliest manuscripts date only from the 11th century.
He was one of the greatest missionaries ever to come
from Britain. His parents – Ammon, a lord of Glamorgan, and Anna of Gwent –
dedicated him to the service of God because he was a “child of promise” after
his parents prolonged period of childlessness. According to his biography he
was raised in the abbey of Llanwit Major in Glamorgan, which at that time was
ruled by Saint Illtyd, who ordained him deacon and priest.
After Samson’s ordination an attempt was made on his
life by two nephews of Saint Illtyd, who were jealous of his ordination. So
Samson left the community and lived for a time under Piro on the island of
Caldey (Ynys Byr) off the coast of Pembrokeshire, where he served as cellarer.
His father and his uncle, Umbrafel, joined him there after his father had
recovered from a serious illness during which he received the last rites from
his son. When Piro died, Samson succeeded him as abbot of Caldey Abbey, but he
resigned after a preaching tour to Ireland.
He returned to Wales, where he lived as a hermit with
his father and two others in a retreat near the mouth of the Severn River. Then
he sojourned to Cornwall, where he was consecrated bishop of Saint Dyfrig
(Dubricius), bishop of Caerleon, and appointed abbot of its monastery. Samson
travelled throughout Cornwall where he worked as a missionary, founded
monasteries and churches at Padstow, Saint Kew, Southill, and Golant, probably visited
the Scilly Islands, and gathered to himself disciples, such as Saints Austell,
Mewan, and Winnoc (which doesn’t make sense because Winnoc died in 717).
Finally, Samson crossed the Channel to Armorica, where
he landed at the mouth of the Guyoult, to continue his missionary activities in
Brittany. Privatus, a Gallo-Roman, gave him a stretch of land nearby on which
to build a monastery c.525, and this became the site of the future town of Dol.
Under his leadership, Dol became the spiritual center
of Brittany. A vigorous organizer and a zealous preacher, Saint Samson
established numerous other abbeys, including Pental in Normandy, and spread the
word of God far and wide. It appears that he exercised episcopal jurisdiction
at Dol, although it was not a regular see until much later. He is probably the
‘Samson peccator episcopus’ who signed the acts of the Council of Paris (557).
His concern for justice, as well as the temporal
importance of his position as bishop and abbot, often involved him in political
affairs. When Conomor (Conmor) murdered the king of Domnonia and usurped the
throne that rightly belonged to the Breton ruler Judwal (Judual), Saint Samson
journeyed to Paris where, with the support of Saint Germain the bishop of
Paris, he enlisted the help of the Frankish King Childebert. On his return he
travelled down the Seine and founded an establishment for penitents at Vernier.
On a second visit to Paris he was granted lands in the
region of Rennes and was also given jurisdiction over the Channel Islands – and
indeed it was from the Isle of Guernsey, where one town bears his name, that he
and Judwal embarked on their campaign to depose the usurper Conomor. After
three battles, Judwal won back his kingdom and Samson returned to his bishopric
and monastery at Dol.
Towards the end of his life, when he felt that his end
was near, he undertook an extensive journey throughout the whole of Neustria, a
journey of which the Breton bards have left us a moving account. Accompanied by
seven monks, seven disciples and seven escorts, he travelled slowly from parish
to parish, often stopping to preach or to celebrate the Divine Office, bringing
his mission to an end only with his death.
Many miraculous deed were attributed to Saint Samson,
to which his anonymous biographer gives ample space. Recent research seems to
demonstrate that Samson was the leading churchman of the colonists from Britain
who founded Brittany, and a primary figure in the history of the evangelization
of Cornwall and the Channel Islands.
Some of his relics, including an arm and a crozier,
were acquired by King Athelstan of Wessex (924-939), for his monastery at
Milton Abbas in Dorset, which is why Samson’s feast is kept in many places in
England. In addition, there are six ancient dedications there to him, as well
as others in Cornwall and Brittany. Samson’s name is still revered throughout
Brittany and Wales. Usuard entered his name into the Roman Martyrology
(Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Taylor).
In art, Samson is depicted with a cross or staff
together with a dove and book (Farmer).
MLA Citation
Katherine I Rabenstein. Saints
of the Day, 1998. CatholicSaints.Info.
21 July 2020. Web. 28 July 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-samson-sampson-of-brittany/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-samson-sampson-of-brittany/
_Cath%C3%A9drale_Ma%C3%AEtresse-vitre_07.jpg)
Trois quadrilobes médians des lancettes 5 et 6 de la
maîtresse-vitre de la cathédrale Saint-Samson de Dol-de-Bretagne (35).
Saint Samson of Dol, Bishop
by Editor Staff
July 28
Today is the feast day of Saint Samson of Dol.
Ora pro nobis.
Saint Samson was born in South Wales. The date of his
birth is unknown. He died 28 July, 565 (?). His parents whose names
are given as Prince Amon the Black of Dyfed and Anna of Gwynedd, were of noble,
but not royal, birth. While still an infant he was dedicated to God and
entrusted to the care of St. Illtyd, by whom he was brought up in the monastery
of Llantwit Major.
He showed exceptional talents in his studies, and was
eventually ordained deacon and priest by St. Dubritius. Samson retired
first to the island monastery of Caldey off the coast of Dyfed (Pembrokeshire),
and became abbot there. But it was not a happy move as his predecessor, Pyr,
had left Caldey in such a lax state that he was unable to control the monks and
re-establish discipline. Samson left there and went to Ireland, where he
reformed a monastery, thought to be a religious house at Howth.
In 516 he made a voyage into Ireland, to animate
himself to fervour by the example and instructions of many illustrious saints
who flourished there, and after his return shut himself up in a cave in a
wilderness. In 520 St. Dubritius called him to a synod at Caërleon, and in it
ordained him bishop without being fixed in any particular see
Samson then joined a party of Welsh churchmen
including Paulinus, Austell and Mean who were going to Cornwall on their way to
Brittany. Because of his reputation as a monastic reformer, a monk named
Winniavus was dispatched to tell him tactfully that they would prefer that he
went somewhere else. Samson took the hint, and moved on to spend some
time in the Scilly Isles, where an island now uninhabited – Samson – is
named after him, and in Guernsey, where St Samson is the second port of the
island. He then moved on to found his main monastery near Dol in Brittany.
St. Sampson continued his former austere manner of
life, abstaining wholly from flesh, sometimes eating only once in two or three
days, and often passing the whole night in prayer standing, though sometimes
when he watched the night he took a little rest, leaning his head against a
wall.
Dol was then an island on flat marshlands, though the
coastline has changed, and it is now about eight kilometres inland. Mont Dol, a
large flat-topped rock, had been the site of druidic sacrifices, and Samson
made that his hermitage.
Samson is revered as one of the seven founding saints
of Brittany, along with Saint Pol Aurelian, Saint Tugdual (Tudwal), Saint
Brieuc, Saint Malo, Saint Patern, and Saint Corentin. Dol was overwhelmed
by a catastrophic tidal wave in 709, and there is now no trace of the
monastery. Samson’s relics were taken to Canterbury and Ely in the time of King
Athelstan of Wessex (895 –939).
The primary source for his biography is the Vita
Sancti Samsonis, written sometime between 610 and 820 and clearly based on
earlier materials.
Image: L’icône de St. Samson de Dol peinte pour
l’Association orthodoxe sainte Anne (Bretagne). Photo by Massalim. (4)
http://www.nobility.org/2014/07/28/st-samson/
http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/samson.html
http://www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/st-samson-of-dol-d-565/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Samson.jpg
http://www.bartleby.com/210/7/284.html
SOURCE : https://www.reginamag.com/saint-samson-of-dol/
A Patron for
Codependents: St. Samson of Dol
“We can live without drugs and alcohol, but…people are
more complicated than substances.”
St. Samson was a big deal. Born in Wales,
educated by monks, and seemingly destined for leadership, Samson was “perhaps
the most important British missionary of the 6th century,” according
to David
Farmer, and “an excellent example of the wandering Celtic monk-bishop.” He
established new abbeys, reformed older ones, preached the Gospel boldly, and
ably led the flocks entrusted to him.
Although he pined for a hermit’s life in the wilderness, Samson ended his days in Dol, Brittany, where he established a monastic missionary outpost and served as an irregular episcopal ordinary. We might not be very familiar with St. Samson in the States, but his feast (July 28) is celebrated throughout the British Isles and beyond, and there are numerous European parishes named for him. A stellar saint, to be sure!
But I’m guessing there’s a shadow side to his story
that’s easy to overlook.
After his initial formation and ordination in the
abbey of Llanwit, Samson transferred to the community on Caldey Island where he
took up duties as cellarer — a kind of steward of the monastery’s foodstuffs
and drink. This is significant, because Caldey’s Abbot, St. Pyr, seems to have had a
bit of a drinking problem — and the cellarer would’ve been the first to know
about it. The annals tell of Pyr getting so snockered one night that he
stumbled into a well and died as a result of the fall. And since such spectacular
episodes of intoxication are highly unlikely to be isolated events, Abbot Pyr
probably had been battling the bottle long before his mortal mishap.
Now, Pyr’s lack of temperance and unseemly end might cast some doubt on the suitability of his saintly designation — a title ascribed to him by tradition, rather than formal canonization. We have to remember, though, that those who struggle with substance abuse and addiction are still called to become saints and, what’s more, can become saints. Truly, everyone can become a saint — even me, even you — and God gives us the grace to do so.
But besides questions related to Pyr’s habits and
holiness, what fascinates me about his story is that the abbot’s propensity to
over imbibe must’ve been an open secret in the cloister. Sure, Samson the
cellarer knew, but so did everybody else — how could they not? A monastery is
an intimate family, after all, and the abbot is the dad — in Pyr’s case, a dad
crippled by addiction. How did Samson and his confreres deal with that?
It seems to me that it could very well have been a
classic case of codependency.
Codependency is a controversial term these days, but it was all the rage not that long ago. It can apply to almost any flavor of dysfunctional family system, but it’s especially associated with alcoholic homes.
I know of it firsthand because my dad was an
alcoholic. Like so many in that situation, I was clueless about the chaos
at home and its connections to the booze. The family strife, the erratic
behaviors, the cover-ups and pain — I naturally assumed that it was all normal.
That it was what all families experienced. Why would I think otherwise?
Then my mom talked to me one night about something
called Al-Anon — an organization
that provides support for folks who live with alcoholics. She’d been in touch
with them and was getting involved, looking for help. “There’s also a group for
teenagers,” she told me. “Maybe you should consider going.”
I never did. Somehow, I still managed to get through high school and college, and then launched into the adventure of my own adulthood. I moved here and there, became a Catholic, dated off and on, and tried my hand at various pursuits. But there was definitely a gnawing void within – I was hurting, in agony.
At some point, somebody (my mom? a co-worker?) got me
to read Janet Woititz’s 1983 book, Adult Children
of Alcoholics, and it was a game changer. What she described — the
enabling, the duplicity, the stress, the craziness — really resonated. It
prompted me to finally reach out for help — like my mother did so many years
before — and I was able to separate my problems from my dad’s. He continued to
struggle with his addiction, alternating between sobriety and drinking the rest
of his life (rest
in peace, dad), but I got to the place where I could see it as his struggle,
not mine.
I loved my father, although sometimes I regret not
loving him better — not to mention plenty of other regrets. Most of the time,
however, thanks to writers like Woititz and a host of counselors, I can focus
on the present and today’s challenges – the ones associated with being a
husband, father, worker, and would-be saint. That’s plenty to deal with, and
I’d like to think that my efforts honor my dad and the best parts of his legacy
that live on in me.
St. Samson seems to have gone through a similar
transformation.Whatever brand of codependent exigencies that preceded Pyr’s
tragic demise, Samson stepped up and set a new course afterwards. He took up
the abbot’s crozier and attempted to clean house at Caldey, but the community’s
dysfunctional patterns were too entrenched and, in the words of Farmer, Samson
“accordingly resigned the abbacy in disgust.” That action freed him up to seek
out new opportunities to exercise his gifts, which led to the many foundations
and apostolates he became associated with.
Clearly Samson strived to become the spiritual father
that the impaired Pyr couldn’t quite manage. He left the brokenness of his past
behind and forged a new path, striving to draw everyone he encountered closer
to Christ. It seems that wherever he went, flourishing followed, and the honor
in which his name is held to this day is testimony to how God worked in and
through him.
“Ask and you will receive,” Jesus assures us in
the Gospel today,
“seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Those are
precisely the promises that enabled St. Samson to move on from his unhealthy
roots to a more glorious future.
They’re the same promises that we broken folk can rely
on today.
✠
Tagged as: addiction, alcoholism, Best of Week, saints, St. Samson
Rick Becker is a husband, father of seven, nursing
instructor, and religious educator. He serves on the nursing faculty at Bethel
College in Mishawaka, Indiana. You can find more of Rick’s writing on his
blog, God-Haunted
Lunatic, and his Facebook
page.
SOURCE : https://catholicexchange.com/a-patron-for-codependents-st-samson-of-dol
Eglise Saint-Samson, Saint-Samson sur Rance, Côtes d'Armor, France, baie 4, Saint-Samson
St. Sampson, Bishop and Confessor
HE was a child of prayer, and
was born about the year 496, of noble parentage, in that part of South Wales
which is now called Glamorganshire, then in the country of the Demetes, upon
the borders of the Wenetes, who inhabited the province called by the Britons
Guent, now Monmouthshire. At seven years of age he was put under the care of
St. Iltutus, a very learned abbot in Glamorganshire, and having made great
progress in learning and virtue, was ordained priest by St. Dubritius, bishop
of Caërleon. In 512 he passed into a
neighbouring island, where he led an eremitical life, as did several others, under the direction of St. Piro, a holy priest. By an order of SS. Dubritius and Iltutus he paid a visit to his aged father who lay dangerously ill. The saint restored him by his prayers to his health, and converted him and his whole numerous family, including his uncles, cousins, and brothers, whom he placed in several monasteries, but his father and an uncle of his own community of hermits. In 516 he made a voyage into Ireland, to animate himself to fervour by the example and instructions of many illustrious saints who flourished there, and after his return shut himself up in a cave in a wilderness. In 520 St. Dubritius called him to a synod at Caërleon, and in it ordained him bishop without being fixed in any particular see. St. Sampson continued his former austere manner of life, abstaining wholly from flesh, sometimes eating only once in two or three days, and often passing the whole night in prayer standing, though sometimes when he watched the night he took a little rest, leaning his head against a wall. To gain souls to God by the exercise of the ministry with which he saw himself intrusted, he passed over into Brittany in France, with his father and his cousin St. Magloire, and was followed by St. Maclou or Malo, another cousin. St. Sampson there converted many idolaters, raised a dead man to life, and wrought many other miracles. He founded a great abbey, which he called Dole, 1 and fixed there the episcopal see which was before subject to Quidalet, now St. Malo’s. This see of Dole long enjoyed a metropolitical jurisdiction over all the bishops of Brittany. 2 He subscribed to the second council of Paris, held in 557, in the manner following: “I Sampson, a sinner, bishop, have consented and subscribed.” He used to have a cross carried before him, as is the custom of archbishops at present. He died about the year 564. A considerable part of his relics was translated to Paris, with those of St. Magloire and St. Maclou, in the tenth century, for fear of the inroads of the Normans. See his life in Mabillon, Act Bened. t. 1, p. 176, and Solier the Bollandist, t. 6, Jul. p. 568.
Note 1. Dole in the old British language signifies a low fruitful plain. [back]
Note 2. Tours, which was the metropolis of the province of Armorica under the Romans, enjoyed, from the time of St. Martin, the metropolitical jurisdiction over Mans, Angers, and the nine bishoprics of Brittany. Sampson the Elder, bishop of York, being expelled by the Saxons, came into Armorica, and founded the see of Dole, in which he exercised a metropolitical jurisdiction, which King Howel or Rioval obliged him to assert, because these Britons were an independent people, separate from the Gauls. Sampson’s two successors, St. Turiave and St. Sampson, enjoyed the same. The contest between Tours and Dole was not finished till Innocent III. in 1199, declared Dole and all the other bishoprics of Brittany subject to the Archbishop of Tours. See D. Morice, Hist. de Bretagne, p. 17, &c. [back]
SOURCE : https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/284.html
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San Sansone Abate e vescovo di Dol
Galles, 485 ca. – Dol, Bretagna, Francia, 565
Sansone nacque verso il 485 nel Galles. Il santo abate
Iltud († 540) lo accolse nella sua scuola di Llanilltud Fawr in Galles, insieme
a Gildas il Saggio. Fu ordinato prete dal vescovo Dubricio; desideroso di
maggiore nascondimento, lasciò il monastero di sant'Iltud e si ritirò in quello
dell'abate Pirone nell'isola di Caldey nella Manica, qui rivestì la carica di
economo e poi di abate, ma non per molto; degli irlandesi di passaggio lo
convinsero a tornare nella sua terra, il Galles. Venne ordinato vescovo nel 522
da Dubricio. Passando poi in vari monasteri operò miracoli e convertì dei
pagani ancora legati all'idolatria, sulla costa del Galles. Imbarcatosi per una
nuova fondazione sull'attuale costa francese, approdò all'imboccatura del
Guyoult, dove guarì la moglie e la figlia di un possidente di nome Privatus,
che gli donò un terreno per la fondazione di un monastero a Dol. Da qui i
monaci si diffusero in tutti i territori della costa dell'antica Armorica.
Evangelizzò anche la Normandia, fondandovi il monastero di Pental. Partecipò al
II Concilio di Parigi, tenuto sotto Cariberto I (562-567); il re di Cornovaglia
Juwal gli concesse per il suo monastero di Dol le Isole Normanne. Si spense a
Dol nel 565. (Avvenire)
Martirologio Romano: A Dol in Bretagna, san Sansone,
abate e vescovo, che propagò in questa regione il Vangelo e la disciplina
monastica, che aveva appreso in Galles dall’abate sant’Iltudo.
La vita di questo antico santo vescovo celtico, s’intreccia in modo rilevante con la storia della Britannia (nome latino della Gran Bretagna) e della Bretagna francese; visse nei primi tempi della diffusione del cristianesimo e fu l’evangelizzatore degli idolatri Bretoni.
La sua ‘Vita’ fu scritta, caso eccezionale per quei lontani e oscuri tempi, 50 o 60 anni dopo la sua morte, quindi molto vicino alla conoscenza reale dei fatti.
Sansone nacque verso il 485 nel Galles e lo scrittore sconosciuto della sua ‘Vita’, lo accosta da subito al suo celebre omonimo, il Sansone biblico, raccontando episodi comuni.
Un angelo e un dotto chierico intervengono a svelare il prodigioso avvenire di questo fanciullo, nato da genitori di età avanzata e sterili, ma che dopo di lui avranno altri sei figli.
Il santo abate Iltud († 540) lo accolse nella sua scuola di Llanilltud Fawr in Galles (l’antica Cambria), insieme a Gildas il Saggio e vedendo il fanciullo esclamò: “Ecco colui che diventerà vescovo, per il bene di molti uomini della sua terra e che abitano al di là del mare; ecco il grande vescovo dei Bretoni; ecco il più grande fondatore di chiese dopo gli Apostoli”.
Episodi leggendari accompagnarono il suo vivere, la sua capacità di apprendere era stupefacente, in un giorno imparò l’alfabeto e un mese bastò per il latino; innamorato dello spirito di penitenza, per riposare gli bastava appoggiare la testa al muro, bevve un potente veleno senza riceverne danni.
Fu ordinato prete dal vescovo Dubricio e come quando fu ordinato diacono, anche questa volta una colomba si poggiò sulla sua spalla; desideroso di maggiore nascondimento, lasciò il monastero di s. Iltud, dov’era troppo stimato e si ritirò in quello dell’abate Pirone nell’isola di Caldey nella Manica, qui rivestì la carica di economo e poi di abate, ma non per molto; degli irlandesi di passaggio lo convinsero a tornare nella sua terra, il Galles.
Nel suo paese natale, fece visita al padre gravemente ammalato e l’occasione gli diede la possibilità di convertire tutta la famiglia ad una vita più perfetta, mentre lui si fermò nella solitudine della zona del fiume Severn.
Un’apparizione dei ss. Pietro, Giovanni e Giacomo, gli preannunciò che sarebbe diventato vescovo, la consacrazione avvenne nel 522 da parte di Dubricio e questa volta oltre la colomba poggiatosi sulla spalla, si aggiunse un alone di fuoco intorno al suo capo.
In seguito, molto spesso il vescovo Sansone, avrà la visione di angeli che attorniavano l’altare dove stava celebrando la Messa; e ancora un angelo l’avverte che deve prepararsi ad attraversare il mare. Sansone si recò a salutare i monaci nei vari monasteri, operando nel contempo alcuni miracoli e convertendo dei pagani ancora legati all’idolatria, sulla costa del Galles.
Imbarcatosi con tutto il materiale necessario compreso dei cavalli, per una nuova fondazione sull’attuale costa francese, approdò all’imboccatura del Guyoult, appena arrivato guarì prodigiosamente la moglie e la figlia di un possidente di nome Privatus, il quale gli donò un terreno per la fondazione di un monastero a Dol, futura città bretone.
Dal monastero-vescovsdo di Dol, i monaci si diffusero sotto la guida di Sansone in tutti i territori della costa dell’antica Armorica, chiamata Britannia, dai britanni scappati dalla costa opposta; la vita religiosa di questa popolazione dipese unicamente da Dol, anche quando si crearono nuove diocesi, fino alla Rivoluzione Francese.
Sansone suo malgrado, venne coinvolto nelle vicende politiche della Cornovaglia, governata dal tiranno Commore che aveva ucciso Giona, il re legittimo, il vescovo si schierò dalla parte del figlio di questi, Juwal rifugiato a Parigi, chiedendo per lui l’appoggio di Chilberto I re merovingio.
Con l’aiuto di s. Germano di Parigi (496-576), Sansone riuscì nello scopo e il re legittimo Juwal gli concesse un vasto territorio in Normandia, che egli evangelizzò facendovi sorgere il monastero di Pental, attualmente nel Comune di Saint-Samson-sur-Risle.
La ‘Vita’ racconta che in questo monastero, il vescovo Sansone era importunato dall’assordante starnazzare di molte oche selvatiche, che si erano posate nei dintorni, allora egli le obbligò ad entrare nel monastero a fare una penitenza per una notte, l’indomani le lasciò libere, comandando loro di starsene buone e silenziose per il futuro, cosa che avvenne puntualmente.
Ancora si racconta che nella Gallia del VI secolo, vi erano tre dragoni che furono uccisi o messi in fuga in tre scontri, da un leone che obbediva al vescovo Sansone.
Partecipò al II Concilio di Parigi, tenuto sotto
Cariberto I (562-567); il re di Cornovaglia Juwal gli concesse per il suo
monastero di Dol le Isole Normanne, ch’egli al suo ritorno cercò di
evangelizzare.
Si spense nel suo monastero di Dol nel 565 ad 80 anni; il santo vescovo ha sempre goduto di un intenso culto sulle due sponde della Manica, la Gran Bretagna lo ricordò sempre con venerazione, la Bretagna francese gli eresse ben 26 parrocchie, cappelle, località.
Le sue reliquie a Dol furono risparmiate dalle
distruzioni della Rivoluzione Francese. La sua festa si celebra il 28 luglio.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/91716
_%C3%89glise_Vitrail_02.JPG)
Samson von Dol
auch: Sampson
Name bedeutet: die kleine Sonne (hebr.
- latein.)
modernes Kirchenfenster
Samsons Geschichte ist nur bekannt aus seiner Vita,
deren Datierung ist umstritten zwischen Anfang des 7. und Anfang des 9.
Jahrhunderts. Demnach stammte er aus einer hohen Adelsfamilie in Wales und war
einer der 17 Söhne von == Caw de Cawlwyd / Caw y Coed Aur, der ein Nachfahre
des legendären Königs Arthur war. Samson wurde in der berühmten Schule
von Iltut in Llantwit ausgebildet
und von Dubritius
von Llandaff zum Diakon, zum Priester und schließlich zum Abt und
Klosterbischof im Kloster Pirus in Llantwit in Wales geweiht. Nach einer Reise
nach Irland wirkte er möglicherweise zusammen mit Branwalader
von Jersey in Cornwall als
Glaubensbote, ging dann in die Bretagne und
errichtete um 525 die Kirchen von Dol-de-Bretagne und
Pental - das heutige St-Samson-de-la-Roque -
und das Kloster in Dol-de-Bretagne. Auf der Synode von Paris um
560 wurde er zum Bischof von Dol ernannt.
Samsons Lebensgeschichte ist beeinflusst von der,
die Sulpicius
„Severus” über Martin
von Tours verfasste. Eine Umarbeitung aus der Mitte des 9.
Jahrhunderts hatte offensichtlich den Zweck, einen eigenen Metropolitananspruch
von Dol-de-Bretagne gegenüber Tours zu
begründen. Um 920/930 wurden Samsons Reliquien wegen
der Normanneninvasion nach Orléans übertragen.
Eine Handschrift des Martyrologium
des Hieronymus aus Fontenelle - dem heutigen St-Wandrille -
von 772 kennt ihn nur als Abt, nicht als Bischof.
Stadlers Vollständiges
Heiligenlexikon
SOURCE : http://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienS/Samson.htm
_%C3%89glise_Saint-Samson_04.JPG)
San SANSÓN DE DOL. (c.485 - c.565).
Martirologio Romano: En Dol, ciudad de la Bretaña Menor, san Sansón, abad y obispo, que propagó en Domnonia el Evangelio y la disciplina monástica, que había aprendido en Gales del abad san Iltudo.
Nació en Gales. Su padre, Amón, era originario de la
provincia de Dyfed y su madre, Ana, de Gante. El nacimiento del niño fue la
respuesta del cielo a las incesantes oraciones de sus padres. Por ello, cuando
Sansón tenía apenas cinco años, sus padres le consagraron a Dios en el
monasterio fundado por san Iltuto en Llantwit de Glamorgan, que fue un
verdadero almacigo de santos. Sansón fue desde el primer momento muy virtuoso,
de inteligencia despejada y de gran austeridad de vida. San Dubricio le ordenó
primero diácono y después sacerdote. Como Sansón era todavía muy joven, ello
despertó la envidia de dos monjes que eran hermanos entre sí y sobrinos de san
Iltuto, ya que uno de ellos aspiraba a suceder a su tío en el gobierno del
monasterio. Dichos monjes trataron de envenenar a Sansón, pero el veneno no le
produjo efecto alguno. Entonces, uno de los dos hermanos se arrepintió. El otro
fue víctima de un ataque en el momento en que recibía la comunión de manos de
su victima, pero las oraciones del santo le restituyeron la salud. Sansón
obtuvo permiso de trasladarse a una isla en la que había un monasterio
gobernado por un tal Piro. Se cree que se trataba de la isla de Caldey, frente
a la costa de Pembrokeshire. Ahí, el santo "pasaba día y noche en oración
y comunión con Dios y llevaba una vida de admirable paciencia y recogimiento y,
sobre todo, de gran amor de Dios. Empleaba el día entero en el trabajo manual,
con la mente puesta en Dios." Como el padre de Sansón sintiese que se
acercaba la hora de su muerte, mandó llamar a su hijo. Este se resistió al
principio a volver al mundo, pero Piro le reprendió y le dio a un diácono por
compañero. Cuando Sansón administró los sacramentos a su padre, éste recobró la
salud. Entonces el padre y la madre del santo determinaron abandonar el mundo.
Después de encontrar acomodo a su madre en un convento, Sansón regresó a la
isla con su padre, su tío Umbrafel y el diácono que le había acompañado. San
Dubricio había ido a la isla a pasar la cuaresma, según la costumbre de la
época y, cuando se enteró de las maravillas que había obrado Sansón durante el
viaje, decidió llevarle consigo a su monasterio. Poco después falleció Piro y
Sansón fue elegido abad. Viviendo casi en completa clausura, Sansón consiguió
restablecer poco a poco la disciplina en el monasterio. También hizo un viaje a
Irlanda y dejó a cargo de Umbrafel un monasterio que se le confió en aquel
país. A su vuelta a la isla, renunció al cargo de abad y se retiró con su padre
y otros dos monjes a una ermita de las cercanías del río Severn.
Pero la paz se vio pronto turbada en aquella
soledad, ya que Sansón fue nombrado abad del monasterio que, "según se
dice, había fundado san Germán." Poco después, san Dubricio le confirió la
consagración episcopal. La víspera de la Pascua, Sansón tuvo una visión en la
que se le ordenó que partiese al otro lado del mar. Así pues, se trasladó a
Cornwall con sus compañeros; al cabo de un "viaje feliz, con viento
favorable", desembarcó en los alrededores de Padstow. Inmediatamente, se
dirigió al monasterio de Docco (actualmente de San Kew). En cuanto los monjes
supieron que se hallaba en las cercanías, enviaron al hombre más prudente del
monasterio, Winiaw, quien poseía el don de profecía, para que saliese a su
encuentro. Ello no significa que le hayan recibido particularmente bien, ya
que, cuando Sansón decidió quedarse en el monasterio, Winiaw le indicó con gran
tacto que no lo hiciese, "pues nuestra observancia ya no es la que solía
ser. Prosigue tu camino en paz..."
Sansón interpretó esas palabras como una señal
de Dios y atravesó todo Cornwall en una carreta que había llevado de Irlanda.
En el distrito de Trigg convirtió a muchos idólatras al resucitar un niño que
se había caído del caballo. Fundó una iglesia en Southill y otra en Golant,
siguió el río Fowey hasta la desembocadura y ahí se embarcó con rumbo a la
Bretaña, dejando al cuidado de su padre el monasterio de Southill. No es
imposible que durante su larga estancia en Cornwall haya visitado las Islas
Scilly, ya que una de ellas tomó el nombre del santo.
Los biógrafos de Sansón hablan, sobre todo, de
los milagros que realizó en la Bretaña. Viajó por toda la región predicando el
Evangelio y llegó hasta las Islas del Canal; uno de los pueblecitos de Guernsey
lleva su nombre. Igualmente fundó dos monasterios: uno en Dol y otro en Pental,
en la Normandía. El santo fue uno de los que ayudaron al legítimo príncipe
Judual a recobrar el trono que le había arrebatado su rival, Conmor, el año
555. En una visita que hizo a París, Sansón atrajo sobre sí las miradas del rey
Childeberto; según se cuenta, el monarca le nombró obispo de Dol. Probablemente
nuestro santo fue el "Sansón, Pecador, Obispo" que firmó las actas
del Concilio de París el año 557. Pero es cierto que Dol no constituyó una sede
episcopal regular sino hasta el siglo IX. San Sansón murió apaciblemente entre
sus monjes.
SOURCE : http://hagiopedia.blogspot.com/2013/07/san-sanson-de-dol-c485-c565.html
.jpg)
F. Duine. « La vie de saint Samson, à propos d'un ouvrage récent », Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l'Ouest Année 1912 28-3 pp. 332-356 : https://www.persee.fr/doc/abpo_0003-391x_1912_num_28_3_1394
R. Fawtier. « Saint Samson, abbé de Dol. Réponse à quelques objections ». Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l'Ouest Année 1921 35-2 pp. 137-170
Voir aussi : https://www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/st-samson-of-dol-d-565/
