Saint Privat
Évêque de Mende et
martyr (+ 257)
Évêque de Mende et martyr.
Nous connaissons sa vie par les lectures de l'office liturgique composé en son honneur au XIIe siècle. C'est pourquoi nous retrouvons un récit très semblable à d'autres: tortures, flagellation, torches ardentes sur le corps. Ce dont nous sommes sûrs historiquement c'est qu'il y eut un saint Privat dont grande fut la sainteté pour que 11 localités en France se soient placées sous son patronage et sa protection. Saint-Privat-19220.
Les saints du diocèse de Mende, document pdf:
"Saint-Privat - Evêque, martyr, patron de la ville et du diocèse de Mende:
De temps immémorial, l'Église de Mende est sous le patronage de S. Privat. Dans son histoire des Francs, Grégoire de Tours relate les circonstances de sa mort et le range parmi les saints illustres des Gaules...
Saint Privat aurait été envoyé en Gévaudan par Saint Austremoine. Il serait né à Coudes, non loin de Clermont.
La date du 21 août serait celle de son martyre. Grégoire de Tours le situe au temps de Valérien et Gallien (253-260). Dans son ouvrage sur Saint Privat le chanoine Remize dit qu'il fut martyrisé par les bandes de Chrocus aux vers l'an 258. A cette époque, des Alamans dévastèrent le Gévaudan après avoir ruiné Javols. La défense se concentra sur la forteresse de Grèzes qui tint en échec les envahisseurs. Ceux-ci mirent la main sur Privat réfugié dans la grotte du Mont Mimat. Il refusa d'ordonner la capitulation de son peuple. Maltraité et poussé à coups de bâtons jusqu'à Mende, on lui demanda de sacrifier aux idoles. Sur un nouveau refus, les bourreaux continuèrent à le supplicier et se retirèrent, croyant leur victime morte. N'ayant pu obtenir la réalisation de leur projet, les Alamans traitèrent avec les assiégés et quittèrent le pays. St Privat ne tarda pas à succomber et fut enseveli dans une crypte de la cathédrale de Mende.
Vers 631, son corps fut transporté à S. Denis près de Paris. Vers 776, il fut transféré à Salone en Lorraine. Plusieurs localités du nom de St. Privat, font état de ce séjour. Plus tard, un moine du nom de Clocbert le ramena en Gévaudan; sur le chemin du retour des églises furent bâties sous son vocable dans les environs d'Orléans et de Bourges.
Les Mendois dissimulèrent les restes de S. Privat dans les sous-sols de l'église Ste Thècle à l'ouest du grand clocher actuel de la cathédrale jusqu'en 1170, où l'évêque Aldebert III du Tournel le ramena dans la crypte primitive. En 1579, les guerres de religion et plus tard la Révolution firent disparaître en partie les reliques de St. Privat. Ce qui en subsiste est conservé en l'église de l'Ermitage.
Le culte de St. Privat s'est toujours maintenu dans le diocèse de Mende. Le livre des 'Miracles de St. Privat' relate un certain nombre de faits extraordinaires qui lui sont attribués.
La grotte du Mont Mimat, n'a jamais cessé d'être un lieu de pèlerinage fréquenté. Dès le Xlle siècle, l'évêque y installe un chapelain à demeure. Les divers édifices qui l'avoisinent de nos jours, constituent un site propice au recueillement et à la prière.
Une quinzaine de paroisses lozériennes s'honorent du patronage de S. Privat. L'aire de son rayonnement s'étend bien au delà du diocèse. Tout cela marque le crédit dont jouit encore le Saint que le Gévaudan a eu pour apôtre. Il l'a marqué pour les siècles de sa foi chrétienne et de son élan missionnaire."
Dans le Gévaudan, vers 407, saint Privat, évêque et martyr. Quand les Vandales
envahirent la Gaule, il fut découvert dans une caverne du mont Mimmat, où il s'était
retiré pour prier et jeûner et, comme il refusait de livrer son troupeau
assiégé et de sacrifier aux idoles, il fut criblé de coups et en mourut.
Martyrologe romain
Autel de la chapelle Saint-Privat dans la Cathédrale Notre-Dame et Saint-Privat de Mende (Lozère, France)
Saint Privat
évangélisateur du Gévaudan
Le martyr
L’évêque historien
Grégoire de Tours mentionne dans son Histoire des Francs (VIe siècle)
l’existence de saint Privat martyrisé par les Alamans venus des frontières de
l’est. Vers 254, ils franchissent le limes rhénan en envahisseurs et traversent
la Gaule jusqu’aux Pyrénées par l’Auvergne et le Gévaudan.
« Pendant
l’irruption des Alamans dans les Gaules, saint Privat, évêque de la cité des
Gabales, fut trouvé dans une grotte du mont Memmat, où il se livrait aux jeûnes
et aux prières, tandis que le peuple était enfermé dans les retranchements du
camp de Grèzes. Le bon pasteur refusa de livrer ses brebis aux loups, et on
voulut le contraindre de sacrifier aux démons. Comme il détestait et repoussait
cette souillure, on le frappa de verges jusqu’à ce qu’on le crût mort. Peu de
jours après cette torture il rendit l’âme. Chrocus ayant été pris, près
d’Arles, ville des Gaules, subit divers tourments, et fut frappé du glaive,
livré avec justice au supplice qu’il avait infligé aux saints de Dieu. ».
Histoire des Francs,
livre I, chapitre 32.
Des reliques convoitées
Après sa mort, saint
Privat, enseveli à Mende, un petit bourg (viculus) fait l’objet d’un culte.
L’essor de la ville va en profiter. Son corps est pieusement enseveli à
proximité du lieu du martyr. Ses reliques comme pour tous les autres saints
sont vénérées par les fidèles et implorées pour leurs vertus et leur potentiel
de miracles et de guérisons. Elles sont tellement célèbres qu’elles sont volées
à l’initiative de Dagobert Ier ? (629-639) et transférées à l’abbaye de
Saint Denis (à Paris ou à Salone en Lorraine ?), puis ramenées dans la capitale
du Gévaudan. En 1170, l’évêque de Mende affirme les avoir découvertes et les
authentifie. Elles auraient été cachées au moment des raids des Hongrois
(925 ?). La découverte des reliques permet d’asseoir le pouvoir de
l’évêque tout en développant le pèlerinage en l’honneur de saint Privat, source
de revenus appréciables.
Privatus' Einsiedelei nahe
Mende, oben rechts die Höhle, in der er lebte, unten die 1873 als Kultort aus
dem Berg geschlagene Grotte
PAROISSE ST-PRIVAT /
NOTRE SAINT PATRON
La vie de l’évêque Saint
Privat inspira plusieurs auteurs. Le récit le plus sûr remonte vers 580, avec «
l’histoire religieuse des Francs » de l’évêque Grégoire de Tours. Le chanoine
Félix Remize situe son histoire entre 255 et 260.
SAINT PRIVAT : le premier
évangélisateur du Gévaudan.
D’origine auvergnate,
Privat était décrit comme étant « un homme pieux, instruit et très doux,
remarquable par sa science ». Il s’était aménagé une grotte sur le bord du Mont
Mimat et ne descendait à Mende que pour présider les réunions des premiers
chrétiens. Il distribuait des biens aux pauvres avec largesse.
Les premiers siècles de
christianisation occasionnèrent de multiples invasions en Gaule. Ainsi, le
Gévaudan (ou pays Gabale) vit déferler des hordes d’Alamans, anéantissant
Javols, la capitale, et ravageant tout sur leur passage. Les habitants de la
cité s’étant réfugiés dans la forteresse de Grèzes, Privat se rendit à Mende
pour prier. C’est là qu’il fut fait prisonnier par Chrocus, le chef des
Alamans. Ils voulurent l’obliger à demander au peuple de capituler. Privat ne
voulant pas céder, il fut battu sur la « colline du bourreau » (Saint Ilpide)
puis poussé jusqu’au Mimat (Mende) pour y être flagellé. Le martyr fut laissé
pour mort après qu’on lui eut brûlé les chairs avec des torches. Les fidèles
déposèrent son corps dans un tombeau creusé à l’emplacement de la crypte
actuelle.
Le corps de Privat,
inhumé au IIIème siècle, fut transporté à Paris par Dagobert I, Roi de France,
vers l’an 631. En 776, ses reliques furent transférées en Lorraine, au
monastère de Salone, puis en 815, elles retournèrent à Saint Denis. Enfin, vers
la fin du IXème siècle, le moine Clocbert ramena les reliques à Mende où elles
furent cachées dans les cryptes de l’église Ste Thècle. Le moine Clocbert
mourut, emportant le secret avec lui.
Vers 1170, l’évêque
Aldebert III du Tournel fit creuser un puits dans le jardin de l’évêché,
mettant au jour l’entrée de la crypte. Il fit transférer le reliquaire de Saint
Privat dans sa crypte d’origine. En 1256, l’évêque Odilon de Mercoeur plaça les
restes de Saint Privat dans le tombeau du grand autel. En 1579, Matthieu Merle,
capitaine huguenot, occupa Mende. Pour ravitailler son armée en munitions, il
fit fondre les cloches et les bénitiers pour en récupérer le bronze. En 1581,
Merle rançonna les Mendois pour réunir 4000 écus demandés par son parti, sans
quoi il détruirait la cathédrale. La population ne pouvant réunir une telle
somme, Merle mit sa menace à exécution. Il détruisit la cathédrale, et une
partie des restes de Saint Privat avec.
Les reliques qui ont pu
être sauvées sont conservées au Diocèse de Mende. Dans la cathédrale, nous
retrouvons des représentations de Saint Privat dans la chapelle qui lui est
dédiée avec une statue du XVIème siècle et un vitrail.
Saint Privat est fêté le 21 août.
L'Ermitage Saint-Privat
Chaque été, des
paroissiens vous accueillent à l'Ermitage. A cette occasion, la chapelle et les
grottes sont ouvertes et un pélerinage a lieu le premier dimanche d'août.
L'Ermitage sera l'objet d'une réhabilitation importante en 2024 - 2025.
SOURCE : https://paroissesaintprivatmende.fr/notre-saint-patron
Martyre de Saint Privat, 1er évêque de Mende en 264. Archives de la ville de Mende
Also
known as
Privado
Privato
Profile
Bishop of Mende, France. Captured by
invading barbarians, but was offered his freedom if he would reveal where his
flock was hiding or sacrifice to idols; he declined both offers. Martyr.
beaten
to death in 260 in
Mende, France
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Francis
Xavier Weninger
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
other
sites in english
images
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
MLA
Citation
“Saint Privatus of
Mende“. CatholicSaints.Info. 29 January 2024. Web. 20 August 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-privatus-of-mende/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-privatus-of-mende/
La
cathédrale Saint-Privat à Mende.
der Kathedrale in
Mende
Gotische
Kathedrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Privat in Mende
Gothic cathredal Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Privat, Mende, France.
Gotische
Kathedrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Privat in Mende, eine Stadt mit etwa 12.000
Einwohnern im Département Lozère, Frankreich.
Gothic cathredal Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Privat in Mende, a city with about 12,000 inhabitants in the Département Lozère, France.
Article
(Saint) Bishop, Martyr (August 21)
(3rd
century) A Bishop in Gaul,
whose See of Gevaudan is now that of Mende. He was a man of prayer and of very
austere life. In an irruption of Barbarians from Germany he was seized by them,
but was offered his life on condition of his revealing the hiding-place of his
flock. On his refusal, he was beaten to death (A.D. 266).
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Privatus”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
22 August 2016. Web. 20 August 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-privatus/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-privatus/
Entrée de la crypte Saint-Privat depuis l'intérieur de la cathédrale de Mende.
Le
tombeau primitif du saint dans la crypte Saint-Privat (cathédrale)
Weninger’s
Lives of the Saints – Saint Privatus, Bishop and Martyr
Article
The holy bishop Privatus,
whose festival is this day commemorated in the Roman Martyrology, was a native
of Auvergne. Desiring to labor for the salvation of men, he studied theology
and was ordained priest. The inhabitants of Mende, in the District of Gevaudan,
wished him to become their bishop, as they were acquainted with his great zeal
for the spiritual welfare of men, Privatus acceded to their wishes for the same
reason that had induced him to study theology. In his episcopal functions he
proved himself a true and indefatigable shepherd of his flock, which he guarded
both by precept and example, and defended against the heretics as against
destroying wolves. After some years, the Germans invaded France, under a duke,
who was a bitter enemy of the Christians, and who devastated the country
wherever he went. The inhabitants of Mende fled from the town and took refuge
upon a high mountain in the neighborhood, which they fortified to the best of
their ability. Saint Privatus had built a hermitage on another mountain, to
which he sometimes repaired to pray and to occupy himself with other pious
works in solitude and silence. When the Germans, who besieged the mountains to
which the inhabitants of Mende had fled, perceived that their efforts were
useless, some of them ascended the other mountain, and entering the grotto of
Saint Privatus, they seized him, and demanded that he should advise the people
of Mende to surrender themselves and sacrifice to the gods. Privatus replied
fearlessly: “Were I to give such advice, I should not be worthy to be called a
priest, much less, a bishop. Be assured that I will rather give my life than
such wicked counsel.” Enraged at this answer, the barbarians fell upon the holy
bishop, and scourged and tormented him until they were tired. After this, they
endeavored to force him to sacrifice to the gods. “How dare you ask me to
sacrifice to your gods?” said the Saint; “I will never do it; I worship daily
the true God, the Creator of Heaven and earth, and I would rather die a thousand
deaths than sacrifice to your false gods.” They then began again to whip, to
kick and to torment him in every possible manner; but their wrath only
augmented the courage of the holy bishop, who repeated his former words, and
added: “You may torture me as you like, but you will never see me become
faithless to my God, nor deliver my flock to your tyranny. Besides, be assured
that they would rather starve than surrender themselves to you.” Hardly had the
Saint uttered these words, when the barbarians attacked him in such a brutal
manner, that, when they left him, they doubted not that he was dead. Seeing
that they were unable to storm the mountain, they raised the siege and left the
country. When the besieged became aware of this, they descended the mountain
and sought their beloved bishop. They soon found him, but, alas! his whole body
was wounded and maimed, and he was more dead than alive. They kissed his wounds
amid floods of tears, and carrying him into the town, they nursed him most
tenderly. Their unwearied solicitude succeeded in prolonging his life for a
short time, which he employed in praising God and in instructing his beloved
people, until at length, God called him, through a happy death, into a better
life. This glorious martyrdom took place in the reign of the Emperor Valerian.
Practical Considerations
Saint Privatus preferred
death rather than give to the Christians in his charge a counsel which he
considered evil. He acted rightly; for, as it is a work of Christian charity to
give good counsel to others, so it is contrary to that love which, by the
divine law, we owe to our neighbors, knowingly to give them bad counsel. Hence,
be careful never to become guilty of this sin. Never advise any one to omit a
good deed, much less to commit evil; for, you must remember that those who give
bad counsel, become guilty before God of the iniquities which it causes. Nay,
even if he who has been advised to do wrong, commits not the deed, yet he, who
has given the advice, has sinned. But he who gives good counsel, partakes of
the good done by his advice. And if the good which you advised is not done, you
still have your merit with God, because you gave the advice. Take this lesson
to heart. You can advise many to do good; you can advise them frequently to be
present at holy Mass and at sermons; to go oftener to confession; to refrain
from lying, cursing and other vices; to shun this or that occasion of sin.
Improve every opportunity; for, it is conducive to your own and your neighbor’s
salvation.
MLA
Citation
Father Francis Xavier
Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Privatus, Bishop and Martyr”. Lives
of the Saints, 1876. CatholicSaints.Info.
11 April 2018. Web. 20 August 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-privatus-bishop-and-martyr/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-privatus-bishop-and-martyr/
Diocese of Mende
(MIMATENSIS)
This diocese includes the
department of Lozère, in France. Suffragan
of Bourges under
the old régime, it was re-established by the Concordat of 1801 as
a suffragan of Lyons and
united with the department of Ardèche. The See of Mende lost this second
department in 1822 by the creation of the Diocese of Viviers and
became a suffragan of Albi.
According to late legends belonging to the Limousin cycle of legends relating
to St. Martial,
he passed through the territory of the Gabali (Gévaudan) of which Mende is the
capital, and appointed as its first bishop, St. Severian his
disciple, about the beginning of the first century. (See LIMOGES.) The
first bishop known
to history is Saint Privatus, who according to Gregory of Tours, died
in a grotto of Mount Mimmat, a victim of the ill treatment he suffered at the
time of the invasion of the Alamanni under their King Chrocus. Gregory of Tours places
this event about 260; though Fredegarius puts
the invasion of Chrocus at 407. Mgr. Duchesne places the invasion of Chrocus
and the death of St. Privatus at the beginning of the reign of Constantine,
perhaps before the Council
of Arles. It is certain that
there was an organized church in the country of the Gabali from about 314,
since in that year it was represented at the Council of Arles. We do
not know the
exact date of
the episcopate of Saint Firminus whom the church of Mende honours today.
Other bishops of
the Gabali, who doubtless resided at Javoulx, near Mende, were: Saint Hilary,
present at the Council of Auvergne in 535, and founder of the monastery of
Canourgue, and whose personality has
been wrongly described in certain traditions concerning Saint Illier, and St.
Frézal of Canourgue (ninth century) assassinated, it is said, under Louis le
Débonnaire.
Towards the year 1000
Mende became the seat of the bishopric. Under
Venerable Aldebert III (1151-86), Alexander III passed
some days at Mende in 1162; Aldebert Wrote two works, on the passion and on
the miracles of
St. Privatus whose relics were
discovered at Mende in 1170. M. Leopold Delisle has shown us the historical
interest of these two works of this bishop. Mende had later
as bishops,
Guillaume Durand (1285-96), the author of "Speculum juris", and of
the "Rationale divinorum officiorum", who was secretary of the
general council of Lyons in
1270, and his nephew, Durand le Jeune (1296-1328) who by the act called
"Paringe", agreed upon with Philippe le Bel, definitively settled in
Gévaudan the respective rights of king
and bishop, and
who left a work on the general councils and
on the reform of abuses. Guillaume de Grimoard, born about 1310 at the castle
of Grisac near Mende, was sickly and deformed, but was restored at the prayer of his
godfather, St.
Elzéar de Sabran, who had come to baptise him. Elected pope in 1362 under
the name of Urban V,
he administered the Diocese of Mende himself from 1368 to 70 as it had been
left vacant by the removal of his nephew to the See of Avignon.
Among the bishops of Mende
were: Guillaume de Chanac, who occupied the see but a few
months, when he became cardinal in 1371;
Pietro Riario (1473-74), nephew of Sixtus IV and
a cardinal;
Giuliano della Rovere (1478-83) later pope under the name
of Julius II;
and his nephews, Cardinal Clement della Rovere (1483-1504) and Francesco della
Rovere (1504-24); Castellane (1768-92) massacred at Versailles, 9 Sept.,
1792.
Urban II visited
the Diocese of Mende in 1095 and had consecrated in his
presence the church of the monastery of Saint
Sauveur de Chirac or of Monastier founded in 1062 and dependent on the Abbey of
Saint Victor. Mende was captured for the first time by the Huguenots in 1562;
the celebrated adventurer Merle from 1573-81 led into the region bands of Protestants who
were masters of Mende for eighteen months, and destroyed a great part of
the cathedral that Urban V had caused
to be rebuilt. The Diocese of Mende was one of the regions where the
insurrection of the Camisards broke
out at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Cardinal Dominique de la
Rochefoucauld, Archbishop of Rouen, who presided in
1789 over the last assembly of the clergy of France, was born in 1712
at Saint Chély d'Apcher, in the diocese. The chemist Chaptal (1756-1832) was
one of the last of those who profited by the scholarships founded by Urban V for twelve
young students at Montpellier.
The following saints are
specially venerated in
the diocese: St. Ilpide, martyr (third
century); the preacher St. Veran, Bishop of
Cavaillon, a native of Gévaudan (sixth century); St. Lupentius, abbot of the
basilica of St. Privatus, beheaded by order of Brunehaut whom he reproached for
the irregularities of her life (sixth century); the nun St. Enimie,
daughter of Clotaire II and sister of Dagobert (seventh century), foundress of
a monastery of Benedictine nuns in the present
St. Enimie. The principal pilgrimages of
the diocese are:
at Mende itself, Notre Dame de Mende where the statue of the Black
Virgin was brought, perhaps in 1213, by the Crusaders of
Gévaudan, and the hermitage of Saint Privatus; Notre Dame de la Carce, the
origin of the city of Marvéjols; Notre Dame de Quézac, a pilgrimage dating from 1052
and where Urban V founded
a chapter-house of
eight canons, and Our Lady All-powerful, at Langogne. There were in the diocese, before the
application of the law of
associations of 1901, various teaching orders of brothers and several teaching
orders of nuns of
a local origin: the Sisters of Christian Unity (L'Union chrétienne), founded in
1696 (mother-house at Mende); the United Sisters of the Holy Family, founded at
Palhers in 1750, transferred to Mende in 1824; the Sisters of Christian
Doctrine (mother-house at Meyrueis) founded in 1837. The religious
congregations in 1900 directed in the diocese fifteen infant schools, one orphan asylum for
boys, four orphan
asylums for girls, nine hospitals and
almshouses, twelve religious
houses for the care of those ill at home, and one insane asylum. In
1905 at the end of the régime of the Concordat, the diocese had 128,866
inhabitants, 26 parishes,
191 succursal churches, and 135 vicarages, supported by the state.
Sources
Gallia christiana (nova
1715), I, 83-110, 295-6; instrumenta, 23-7, 202-3; DUCHESNE, Fastes
épiscopaux, II, 54-5 and 124-6; PASCAL, Gabalum christianum (Paris,
1853); CHARBONNEL, Origine et histoire abrégée de l'église de Mende (Mende,
1859); LÉOPOLD DELISLE, Un manuscrit de la cathédrale de Mende in Journal
des Savants (Oct., 1908); OLLIER, Notice historique sur le Gévaudan, ed.
REMIZE (Mende, 1908); IDEM, Histoire des guerres de religion en Gévaudan
aux 16e, 17e et 18e siècles (Tours, 1886); CHEVALIER, Topobibl., 1902-3.
Goyau,
Georges. "Diocese of Mende." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10180a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Douglas J. Potter. Dedicated to
the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10180a.htm
Saint Privatus of Mende
Saint
Martyr
Feast Day: August 21
Death: January 1,
260
Saint Privatus of Mende,
also known as Privado or Privato, was a revered Catholic Bishop of Mende,
located in present-day France. Little is known about his early life or the
exact date of his birth, but he lived during the 3rd century AD. During his
episcopacy, Mende faced a period of great turmoil as invading barbarians began
to raid the region. Unfortunately, these hostile forces captured Saint
Privatus, aiming to use him as a means of extracting information about the
hiding places of his Christian flock. The barbarians offered the bishop his
freedom in exchange for disclosing his followers' whereabouts or renouncing his
faith by sacrificing to pagan idols. However, Saint Privatus resolutely
declined both of these demands, steadfastly remaining loyal to his faith and
his people. His refusal to compromise his principles and betray those under his
spiritual care led to his martyrdom. In the year 260, Saint Privatus was
cruelly beaten to death in Mende, France, for his unwavering commitment to
Christianity. His death served as a powerful testimony to his steadfastness and
willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of his flock. Although the
details of Saint Privatus' representation and the specific symbols associated
with him are not widely known, his devotion and martyrdom have been honored
throughout history. As a pre-congregation saint, Saint Privatus' canonization
was performed before the establishment of the formal canonization process.
Therefore, the precise date of his canonization within the Pre-Congregation era
cannot be determined. While Saint Privatus does not currently hold a specific
patronage or is associated with particular causes or professions, his life
serves as an inspiration to all individuals facing challenges and persecution
for their beliefs. His steadfastness and unwavering commitment to faith are an
enduring example of the strength and courage that all Christians can seek to
emulate in their own lives. Saint Privatus of Mende is remembered and
celebrated on the 21st of August every year, as his feast day.
SOURCE : https://www.saintforaminute.com/saints/saint_privatus_of_mende
Statue
représentant saint Privat, église Saint-Privat de Saint-Privat, Corrèze,
France.
San Privato di Mende Vescovo
e martire
Festa: 21 agosto
† 407 circa
Martirologio
Romano: Nel territorio di Mende in Francia, san Privato, vescovo e
martire, che, durante l’invasione dei Vandali in Francia, fu trovato nella
cripta, dove attendeva a digiuni e preghiere, e morì battuto con le verghe per
essersi rifiutato di tradire le sue pecore immolando agli idoli.
E' a san Gregorio di Tours che si debbono i ragguagli più esatti su san Privato (lat. Privatus; fr. Privat), vescovo dei Gabali (oggi diocesi di Mende), uno dei santi più venerati dell'antica Gallia insieme con i santi Dionigi, Saturnino, Martino e Marziale.
Secondo il racconto di Gregorio, il martirio di Privato è legato all'invasione
degli Alamanni, comandati dal loro re Croco. Su consiglio di sua madre, costui
devastò la Gallia, distrusse i templi degli Alverni, giungendo così fino al
territorio dei Gabali. Qui Privato viveva in una grotta del monte Mimmat,
digiunando e pregando: subito preso si tentò di mercanteggiarlo come ostaggio
per costringere la guarnigione di Grèze ad aprire le porte. Privato rifiutò di
prestarsi a queste manovre e di sacrificare agli idoli, per cui fu
ripetutamente colpito e dopo qualche giorno morì.
Non sappiamo esattamente in quale epoca porre questa invasione di Croco, alla
quale sono collegate le passiones di un certo numero di martiri della Gallia:
alcuni, seguendo Gregorio di Tours, la mettono nel secolo III, durante l’impero
di Valeriano e Gallieno; altri l’identificano con l’invasione del 407.
Il martirio di san Privato è stato narrato da due passiones: la più breve è stata inserita da Vincenzo di Beauvais nel suo Speculum Historiale; la più lunga risale almeno al secolo X, ed anche oltre, quantunque in essa non si faccia menzione del trasporto delle reliquie di san Privato. Infatti, dopo il 632, alla morte di Cariberto, il suo corpo sarebbe stato trasferito, dal re Dagoberto, da Mende all’abbazia di san Dionigi. Da lì, nel 777, sarebbe stato portato in Lorena, nel priorato di Salonnes, fondato da Fulrado, abate di san Dionigi. Sarebbe stato in seguito riportato a Mende in tutta segretezza, ad opera di un monaco chiamato Clodberto, e sepolto in una cripta della chiesa di santa Tecla. Qui, nel 1170, il vescovo Adalberto avrebbe poi scoperto i resti racchiusi in una cassa di piombo, e in quest’occasione avrebbe scritto i suoi opuscoli De inventione et de miraculis. Questa traslazione dei resti da san Dionigi a Salonnes, comunque, non è storicamente certa.
Il culto di san Privato è stato sempre vivo sin dall’epoca in cui Gregorio notava un’assidua frequenza di popolo nella basilica edificata sulla sua tomba. Parecchi villaggi nel paese dei Gabali (Gévaudan) e in Lorena portano il suo nome. Nel Martirologio Romano è ricordato il 21 agosto, con un elogio attinto da Floro, dipendente a sua volta dal Martirologio Geronimiano.
Nell’iconografia Privato appare in abito episcopale e ha come attributo una dava, simbolo forse della sua irruente opera di evangelizzatore. La sua immagine appare nel mosaico che orna la tomba di Guillaume Duraod, vescovo di Mende, in santa Maria sopra Minerva a Roma: esso è opera pregevole di Giovanni dei Cosmati (secolo XIII).
Autore: Gérard Mathon
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/67110
Statue
de Saint Privat, intérieur de la Collégiale Saint-Médard de Saugues
Privatus von Mende
französischer Name:
Privat
Gedenktag katholisch: 21.
August
Gedenktag armenisch: 21.
August
Name bedeutet: der
Privatmann / Untertan (latein.)
erster Bischof von Javols, Märtyrer
* bei Arvernis, heute Clermont-Ferrand in Frankreich
† um 258 (?) in Mimate, heute Mende in
Frankreich
Privatus kam der
Überlieferung zufolge als Glaubensbote und Missionsbischof zu den Gabaloren,
der Bevölkerung im Gévaudan genannten Landstrich in der Gegend um Mende,
das damals nur aus einer Burg bestand. Als die Alemannen unter Chrocus I. ins
Land einfielen, wurde er verfolgt und zog sich zurück in eine Einsiedelei oberhalb
von Mende und versteckte sich in einer Höhle, wurde schließlich doch gefangen
genommen und geschlagen. Nachdem die Gabaloren den Alemannen Gehorsam gelobten,
wurde er freigelassen, starb aber an den Folgen der Folterungen.
An der Stelle der
Einsiedelei von Privatus lebte später auch Hilarius
von Mende, der dort schon vor 530 eine kleine Kirche errichtete. Gregor
von Tours berichtete davon und über den Einfall der Alemannen und das
Schicksal von Privatus. Venantius
Fortunatus berichtete, dass Privatus als Wundertäter verehrt wurde.
Die Überlieferung machte ihn zum Bischof mit Sitz in Javols,
der Hauptstadt der Gabaloren; dieses Bistum wurde im 10. Jahrhundert nach Mende verlegt.
Im 7. Jahrhundert war die
Verehrung auch in Spanien verbreitet. Reliquien kamen
632 in die Kathedrale Saint-Denis nach Paris,
777 ins dann ihm geweihte Kloster in
Salonnes bei Metz und im 10. Jahrhundert in die Kirche
St. Pantaleon nach Köln. André Duchesne datierte Privatus' Martyrium
auf die Zeit von Kaiser Konstantin.
An der Stelle des Grabes
von Privatus wurde eine kleine Kirche errichtet. Papst Urban V. ließ
dort ab 1368 eine Basilika bauen,
die 1467 Notre-Dame und
Privatus geweiht wurde, die heutige Kathedrale in
Mende.
Privatus' Einsiedelei hoch
über Mende war bis zum 20. Jahrhundert Ziel vieler Wallfahrer,
die noch bes Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts von dort lebenden Geistlichen betreut
wurden. Noch 1960 wurde eine - inzwischen geschlossene - Pilgerherberge erbaut.
Giovanni di Cosma:
Privatus (links) mit Maria und
dem Jesuskind sowie Dominikus (rechts),
Mosaik, 1296, in der Kirche Santa
Maria sopra Minerva in Rom
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Autor: Joachim
Schäfer - zuletzt aktualisiert am 06.06.2024
Quellen:
• Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, begr. von Michael Buchberger. Hrsg. von Walter Kasper, 3., völlig neu bearb. Aufl., Bd. 8. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1999
• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mende_(Loz%C3%A8re)#.C3.89poque_gallo-romaine - abgerufen am 18.07.2023
• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privat_de_Mende - abgerufen am 18.07.2023
• Matthias Untermann: Das Oratorium des hl. Privatus bei St. Pantaleon in Köln. In: Jahrbuch des Kölnischen Geschichtsvereins, Bd. 52, Köln 1981, S. 211ff
• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il%C3%A8re_de_Mende - abgerufen am 01.06.2024
korrekt zitieren: Joachim Schäfer: Artikel Privatus von Mende, aus dem Ökumenischen Heiligenlexikon - https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienP/Privatus_von_Mende.html, abgerufen am 21. 8. 2024
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet das Ökumenische
Heiligenlexikon in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte
bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über https://d-nb.info/1175439177 und https://d-nb.info/969828497 abrufbar.
SOURCE : https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienP/Privatus_von_Mende.html
Mme May Vieillard-Troïekouroff.«
Les monuments sculptés du haut Moyen Age au Musée de Mende », Bulletin de la Société nationale
des Antiquaires de France Année 1987 1985 pp.
101-108 : https://www.persee.fr/doc/bsnaf_0081-1181_1987_num_1985_1_9145
Voir aussi : https://www.christianiconography.info/privatus.html
https://www.diocese-mende.fr/lieux-daccueil-spirituel/lermitage-saint-privat/