St.
Peter Orseolo’s is an unusual life. He was born in 928 of a prominent
Venetian family. At twenty he was appointed to the command of the city’s
fleet and defeated the Dalmatian pirates who infested the Adriatic Sea.
In
976 there was a revolution in Venice that ended with the violent death
of Doge Peter Candiani IV and the partial burning of the city. Although
there are allegations that Orseolo was involved in the popular outbreak,
the testimonies are inconclusive.
Peter Orseolo was elected doge
in place of Candiani and, reputedly, ruled with energy and tact. Still,
one night in 978, he secretly left Venice and sought admittance to the
Benedictine Abbey of Cuxa, in Rousillon, on the border of France and
Spain. Though married for thirty-two years and having an only son who
was destined to become one of the greatest Venetian doges, there is
early evidence that Peter and his wife had lived as brother and sister
since their son’s birth. As early as 968 there is also evidence that he
wished to become a monk.
At Cuxa, Peter Orseolo led a life of
the strictest asceticism, and then wishing for an even greater solitude,
built a hermitage for himself. He died in 987 and many miracles were
said to have taken place at his tomb.
Sunday, January 10, 2021
St. Peter Orseolo
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