Saint Beuvon

God provided him with various opportunities to exercise his zeal for the honor and interests of religion. The Saracens , declared enemies of the name of Jesus Christ, were extremely troubling to the coasts of Provence, both at sea through their piracy and on land through their brigandage. Having made themselv es masters of the castle of La Garde-Fresnet, which was a peninsula in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, in the diocese of Fréjus, they had made it the lair of their crimes and violence. They slaughtered with impunity, out of hatred for the religion, the Christians who fell into their power. The entire region was their prey: there was no longer any safety for the lives, property, and honor of individuals. The inhabitants of the country, knowing the courage of Beuvon, had recourse to him to deliver them from such a cruel vexation: he embraced with ardor this opportunity to expose his life for his brothers. At the head of a troop of armed men, he seized the mountain of Pierre-Impie, which was opposite the Fresnet. Aided by the caretaker of this castle, he took possession of it, defeated the Saracens, and took their leader and his children prisoner. He granted him mercy, as well as to all those who wished to embrace Christianity.

After having restored security and peace to this coast, he renounced arms entirely to devote himself to the exercises of penance in retirement. He lived ever after in great mortification, and made a devotional pilgrimage to Rome every year, in very poor attire, leading with him only a mule which he used only to carry a few belongings and to assist passersby who were in need. He made this long journey on foot, seeking to carry his cross in every way to try to follow Jesus Christ. In one of these pilgrimages, in the year 986, having arrived after Ascension Sunday at Voghera in Lombardy, near Pavia, on the other side of the Po, he was stopped there by an illness from which he judged immediately that he would not recover. He prepared himself to receive death in a Christian manner, for which he had long been preparing; and, having distributed to the poor all that he had, he died on Saturday, the eve of Pentecost, which was May 22. The inhabitants of Voghera did not know the treasure they possessed; but the brilliance of the miracles soon taught them that a Saint had died among them.

The body of the Saint was exhumed a few years after his first burial: it was placed in a new coffin, and an altar was erected in his name in a church that was built at the same time. This body was found again in the year 1469, and exposed to public view from February 22 until May 21 of the following year; then, it was enclosed in a marble tomb, at the first Vespers of his feast, which was to be celebrated very solemnly the next day. In the year 1522, it was transported to the sacristy of the same church because of the war that was then being waged in Lombardy between Charles V and Fr ancis I. This is what the inh abitants of Voghera say, who produce titles in charters and engraved stones to authorize their claims.

Some of these precious relics were transported to Pavia. The cult of Saint Beuvon became very famous throughout Lombardy, because of the heavenly favors that the people obtained from God through his intercession. His feast is celebrated there on May 22 in most cities, such as in Voghera, Pavia, Lodi, Milan, Padua, and Vicenza; but it is only celebrated on the 25th in Verona. That of his invention and translation is celebrated with great solemnity in Voghera on the second Sunday of Lent, because the body had been found on the Tuesday after the first Sunday, which fell on February 22, in the year 1469.

Saint Beuvon is invoked in Italy against diseases of the herds because, it is said, his tomb having been neglected, the animals that trampled upon it were struck by a deadly disease. He is represented in the costume of a knight or as a pilgrim.

Cf. Acta S anctorum, Ball ett and most modern bibliographies.