Saint Raven
MARTYRED NEAR SÉEZ (circa 470).
A priest originally from Great Britain, Saint Raven went into exile with the deacon Rasiphe near Séez to flee persecution. Leading lives as hermits, they were eventually put to death around 470 by the envoys of the governor of Némétrie. Their relics, long honored in Bayeux, were largely destroyed by the Calvinists in the 16th century.
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SAINT RAVEN, PRIEST, AND SAINT RASIPHE, DEACON,
MARTYRED NEAR SÉEZ (circa 470).
Exile and martyrdom in Normandy
Driven from Great Britain for their apostolic zeal, Raven and Rasiphe retired as hermits near Séez before being put to death by the governor of Némétrie.
Raven and Rasiph e, born in Gre at Britain, wer e driven from their homeland by the governor of the province because of the zeal they showed in instructing the inhabitants of the region. They crossed the sea and came to take refuge in a deserted place known today as Macé ( Orne ), near the city of Séez. The y li ved there, covered in animal skins and feeding only on roots; but, by a disposition of God, their holiness was manifested to the eyes of men, and a great concourse of people took place at their hermitage. Upon this news, the governor of Némétrie sent henchmen to kill the two Saints.
Invention and protection of the relics
After the miraculous discovery of their bodies at Macé, the relics were transferred to Saint-Vaust to escape the Norman raids, then identified by Bishop Hagnès II.
Buried in this deserted place by the Christians, their bodies remained hidden for a long time; finally, they were discovered miraculously and a church was built on the site of their burial. These holy relics, after having rested for a long time in the church of Macé, were transported to Saint-Vaust, near Bayeux, and placed in safety from the sacrilegious devastations that the Normans were accustomed to inflicting upon churches. Later, under the epi scopate o f Hagnès II, Bishop of Bayeux, a nun having learned, through a revelation, the place where the bodies of the two Saints rested, informed this prelate.
Calvinist destruction and the fate of the remains
Transferred to Bayeux, the relics were burned by the Calvinists in 1562; some bones remain at Grancey but lost their official recognition during the Revolution.
He went in procession, with his clergy and his people, walking barefoot like everyone else, despite his advanced age, to the church of Saint-Vaust; at a depth of twenty feet in the ground, a stone sarcophagus was found which, when opened, released a pleasant odor; it contained the bones of the Martyrs, wrapped in a deerskin bag. These precious relics were carried to Bayeux. The Lord performed many miracles to glo rify h is servants. Endes, successor to Hagnès, had them placed in a new reli quary more beautiful than the one in which they had been; they remained there until 1562, the time at which they were burned by the Calvinists. Some bones were collected, and they are today in the cha pel of the castle of Grancey in Champagne. But as it was necessary to hide them at the time of the Rev olution, the authentication was lost, and these relics could no longer be exposed to the veneration of the faithful.
Documentary Sources
The information is derived from the Proper of Bayeux and the works of Abbé Blin on the diocese of Séez.
Proper of Bayeux; Lives of the Saints of the diocese of Sée z, by Abbé Bli n.
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Who was Saint Raven?
A priest originally from Great Britain, Saint Raven went into exile with the deacon Rasiphe near Séez to flee persecution. Leading lives as hermits, they were eventually put to death around 470 by the envoys of the governor of Némétrie. Their relics, long honored in Bayeux, were largely destroyed by the Calvinists in the 16th century.