Thursday, April 29, 2010

Two Dominican Saints

Catherine Delors writes of her patroness, St. Catherine of Siena, who spoke truth to power.

And Terry reminds us that yesterday was the feast of St. Peter of Verona, who was murdered by the Cathars. According to one account:
Saint Peter Martyr was born in the year 1205 at Verona in Italy. His family belonged to a religious sect called the Cathars meaning "pure ones", which were popular in the region of Verona at that time. The Cathars were perceived as dangerous as they spread the word that Rome had betrayed and corrupted the original purity of the message of Christianity. Peter of Verona (Peter Martyr) received a good education and attended a Catholic school and went on to study at the University of Bologna where he met met Saint Dominic and then joined the Dominican Friars, forsaking the beliefs of the Cathars and adhering to the traditional Catholic Faith. His preaching was so successful that he attracted the attention of Pope Innocent III. Pope Innocent III had come to power in 1198 and had been determined to began a programme of conversion for the Cathars. By 1229 Inquisition he established an Inquisition to discover the leaders and followers of Catharism. Pope Innocent IV became Pope in 1243 and in 1252 appointed Peter Martyr the Inquisitor for Lombardy. Cathars who refused to recant were dealt with severely and punishments ranged from being sentenced to galley slaves or burned at the stake. In 1252 St. Peter Martyr was murdered by the hired Cathar assassins of two noblemen of the Venetian States whom he had handed over to the secular authorities accused of adhering to Catharism, and who, in consequence, had been imprisoned. St. Peter Martyr was attacked with an axe receiving wounds to his head and then stabbed in the heart.
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2 comments:

Terry Nelson said...

Thank you for the link.

Now I have to see Young Victoria!

elena maria vidal said...

Everyone needs to see it!