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He was the youngest of a
large family; his parents
were noble, but poor. At his
birth an elder brother
protested against this new
charge on the resources of
the family with such effect
that his mother refused to
suckle him and the babe
nearly died. A family
retainer, however, fed the
starving child and by
example and reproaches
recalled his mother to her
duty. Left an orphan in
early years, he was at first
adopted by an elder brother,
who ill-treated and
under-fed him while
employing him as a
swineherd. The child showed
signs of great piety and of
remarkable intellectual
gifts, and after some years
of this servitude another
brother, who was archpriest
at Ravenna, had pity on him
and took him away to be
educated. this brother was
called Damian and it was
generally accepted that St.
Peter added this name to his
own in grateful recognition
of his brother's kindness.
He made rapid progress in
his studies, first at
Ravenna, then at Faenza,
finally at the University of
Parma, and when about
twenty-five years old was
already a famous teacher at
Parma and Ravenna. But,
though even then much given
to fasting and to other
mortifications, he could not
endure the
scandals and
distractions of university
life and decided (about
1035) to retire from the
world. While meditating on
his resolution he
encountered two hermits of
Fonte-Avellana, was charmed
with their spirituality and
detachment, and desired to
join them. Encouraged by
them Peter, after a forty
days' retreat in a small
cell, left his friends
secretly and made his way to
the hermitage of
Fonte-Avellana (q.v.). Here
he was received, and , to
his surprise, clothed at
once with the monastic
habit.
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Early in 1072 he was
sent to Ravenna to
reconcile its
inhabitants to the
Holy See, they
having been
excommunicated
for supporting their
archbishop in
his adhesion to the
schism of Cadalous.
On his return thence
he was seized with
fever near Faenza.
He lay ill for a
week at the
monastery of Santa
Maria degl'Angeli,
now Santa Maria
Vecchia. On the
night preceding the
feast of the Chair
of St. Peter at
Antioch, he ordered
the office of the
feast to be recited
and at the end of
the Lauds he died.
He was at once
buried in the
monastery church,
lest others should
claim his
relics. Six
times has his body
been translated,
each time to a more
splendid
resting-place. It
now lies in a chapel
dedicated to the
saint in the
cathedral of Faenza
in 1898. No formal
canonization ever
took place, but his
cultas has existed
since his death at
Faenza, at
Fonte-Avellana, at
Monte Cassino,
and at Cluny. In
1823
Leo XII extended
his feast (23 Feb.)
to the whole Church
and pronounced him a
Doctor of the
Church. The saint is
represented in art
as a
cardinal bearing
a discipline in his
hand; also sometimes
he is depicted as a
pilgrim holding a
papal Bull, to
signify his many
legations. |
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