Saint of the Day: St. Eusebius of Vercelli

Bishop (d. 371)

His life

+ Eusebius was born at the beginning of the fourth century. A member of the clergy of Rome, he was elected bishop of Vercelli, in 345.

+ Known for his preaching and charity, he established the first monastic foundations in his diocese, and became the first bishop of the Western Church to introduce the monastic ideal to his diocesan clergy.

+ In 355, Eusebius attended the Synod of Milan but, because he refused to condemn Saint Athanasius and upheld the Church’s teachings on the divinity of Jesus, he was exiled to Palestine, Asia Minor, and Egypt.

+ Eusebius eventually returned to Italy and worked tirelessly against the Arian heresy and accompanied Saint Athanasius to the Council of Alexandria in 362.

+ Saint Eusebius died at Vercelli in 371.

For prayer and reflection

“Dearly beloved, I rejoice in your faith, in the salvation that comes from faith, in your good works, which are not confined to your own surroundings but spread far and wide.”—Saint Eusebius of Vercelli

Spiritual bonus

On this day, and under her title “Our Lady of the Angels,” the Blessed Virgin Mary is honored as the patroness of Costa Rica. There, in the Basilica of Our Lady of Angels in Cartago, is enshrined a small statue of the Virgin Mary cradling the Child Jesus. The statue was discovered by a girl who had gone out to collect firewood. The child took the statue home, but the next day she found the statue was not there and she found it back on the stone where she had found it. In time, a shrine was built on the site where the statue was found. Because of the dark color of the stone, the image is sometimes known as La Negrita.

Prayer

Lead us, Lord God, to imitate the constancy of Saint Eusebius

in affirming the divinity of your Son,

so that, by preserving the faith he taught as your Bishop,

we may merit a share int eh very life of your Son.

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.