Sylvester
was born in 1177 to a noble and prestigious Italian family. When he was
of age, he was sent to Bologna and then Padua to study law, but feeling
within himself a call to the ecclesiastical state, he left off the
study of jurisprudence to pursue that of theology and the Sacred
Scriptures. This course of action so angered his father upon Sylvester’s
return to his native city of Osimo, that it is said his father refused
to speak to him for ten years on that account.
Sylvester accepted
a canonry at Osimo and zealously dedicated himself to his pastoral
duties. He spent long hours in prayer, pious reading, and the
instruction of others. However, his efforts to rid his diocese of
corruption were not always well received and he made enemies, among
them, his own bishop. He had respectfully admonished his superior for
neglecting the duties of his office and causing scandal and, in
retaliation, the hostile prelate threatened to relieve him of his
benefice.
It was not merely the threat from his bishop, however,
that decided him to abandon the world. In 1227, while assisting at the
funeral of a nobleman, his relative, who had been remarkably handsome in
life and who had formerly been much admired for his worldly
accomplishments, he looked into the open coffin. The sight of the
decaying corpse brought his own certain end vividly to mind and placing
before himself the thought that what this man had once been, he now was,
and that likewise what his relative had become, he himself should one
day be, he resolved to act in response of this spiritual awakening.
Renouncing
the world entirely and deploring its scandals and blindness, the canon
left the city quietly and retired to a secluded locale about thirty
miles from Osimo. In this deserted place Sylvester lived in total
solitude and utmost poverty until the owner of the property, recognizing
his resident hermit, offered him a better site for his hermitage. His
bodily mortification was most severe and yet many flocked to him for
guidance and direction. Their numbers grew to such an extent that he
eventually built a monastery to house them and when it became necessary
to adopt a rule of life for the growing congregation, Sylvester chose
that of St. Benedict.
Sylvester’s order was confirmed by Pope
Innocent IV in 1247. By the time of his death twenty years later, the
saint had founded eleven monasteries and had guided the congregation for
thirty-six years.
Thursday, November 26, 2020
St. Sylvester Guzzolini
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