Saint of the Day – 5 March – St Eusebius of Cremona (died 423) Abbot
Born in Cremona, Italy; died c. 423. Eusebius first met Saint Jerome in Rome
when Jerome was acting as secretary to Pope Saint Damasus and preaching a
strict asceticism to all who would listen. Eusebius was so much attracted to
the stern Biblical scholar that when Jerome decided to leave for the Holy
Land, he begged to accompany him. At Antioch they were joined by Jerome’s
other two great friends, the widow Saint Paula and her daughter Saint
Eustochium. The four of them made a pilgrimage to all the places connected
with the earthly life of Jesus, before deciding to make Bethlehem their
home.
Jerome was much touched by the hundreds of pilgrims to Bethlehem, many of
whom were extremely poor. Resolving to build a hostel for them, he sent
Eusebius to Dalmatia and Italy to raise money for the project. Saint Paula
sold her Roman estate through him for this purpose and Eusebius also sold
his own property at Cremona and gave the proceeds for the building of the
hostel.
Eusebius succeeded the holy Doctor of the Church as abbot of Bethlehem and
was involved, like his friend, in bitter disputes with the followers of
Origen. As a loyal friend of Jerome’s Eusebius became involved in Jerome’s disputes over Origen and he seems to have been responsible for Pope Anastasius’ condemnation of Origen’s writings. There is an unsubstantiated tradition that Eusebius founded the
abbey of Guadalupe in Spain.
In 400 AD, Eusebius returned to his native Cremona, where some sources
indicate that he stayed until his death. Others suggest that he returned to
Bethlehem to become spiritual director of one of the religious communities
there. He may well be buried alongside Jerome in Bethlehem, where-in the
crypt of the church of the Nativity-an altar is dedicated in his name
(Benedictines, Bentley).
Painted for the chapel founded by Domenico Gavari in the Church of Santo Domenico, in Città di Castello (Umbria, Italy), this work illustrates a miracle of St. Eusebius, the bringing back to life of three young men, in keeping with a literary source that became very popular in Italy in the 15th century. Two other paintings from the same altarpiece have also survived and are housed at the National Gallery (London) and the North Carolina Museum of Art (USA).
The narrative subtlety of the three resuscitated figures, depicting different moments in their return to life – ranging from the still prostrate body on the right to the young man on the left who is already seen in prayer – reveals Raphael’s remarkable capacity for invention.
AnaStpaul 