Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - St Eusebius of Vercelli, the first Bishop of northern Italy of whom we have reliable information, was the theme of the catechesis given by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI during his Wednesday Audience in St Peter's Square on 17 October. “Born in Sardinia at the beginning of the 4th century, while still a boy he moved with his family to Rome- the Pope recalled -. Later he was instituted lector: and became part of the clergy of the City at a time in which the Church was sorely tried by the Arian heresy. The great esteem which grew up around Eusebius explains his election in 345 as Bishop of Vercelli. The new Bishop began immediately intense work of evangelisation in an area still mostly pagan, especially in the rural districts…he founded in Vercelli a community of priests, similar to a monastic community. This cenoby gave the clergy of northern Italy an important trait of apostolic holiness and gave rise to famous bishops … Well formed in the Nicean faith, Eusebius tirelessly defended the full divinity of Jesus Christ, defined in the Nicean Creed ‘of the same being with the Father'. For this he joined forces with the great Fathers of the 4th century - above all St Athanasius, the standard bearer of Nicean orthodoxy- against pro-Arian policies of the emperor”.
Condemned to exile by the emperor Constance II, who wanted to use religion for political ends, he was confined in Scythopolis in Palestine from 355 to 360, where he founded a cenoby with a small group of disciples, and from there corresponded with his faithful in Piedmont. After 360 he was exiled to Cappadocia and in Tebaide where he suffered grave physical maltreatment. In 361 the new emperor Julian the apostate, put an end to the exile of Eusebius and numerous other bishops, allowing them to resume possession of their sees. In 362 Eusebius participated at the Council of Alexandria, and for ten more years he exercised his ministry as a bishop, building with his city an exemplary relationship.
“The relationship between the Bishop of Vercelli and his city is illuminated above all by testimony in two letters” the Holy Father recalled. In his second Letter written in exile, Eusebius reveals “sentiments of a good shepherd towards his flock…with expressions overflowing with affection and love. To be noted first of all the explicit bond which binds the Bishop to the…Christian communities which, in the same diocese, had reached a certain degree of consistence and autonomy”. Another interesting element highlighted by the Holy Father regarded the Bishop's relationship with his city which “was not limited to the Christians, it extended to those who - although not members of the Church - recognised in some way his spiritual authority and loved this exemplary man.” In a Letter written by St Ambrose of Milan to the people of Vercelli in about 394, more than twenty years after the death of Eusebius, the Bishop of Milan “clearly affirms his esteem for Eusebius” which was “based above all on the fact that the Bishop of Vercelli governed the diocese with the testimony of his life… First of all - Ambrose writes - the Bishop of Vercelli gathered his clergy in vita communis educating them to observe monastic rules, although they lived in the city. The Bishop and his clergy shared the difficulties of their co-citizens and they did this in their own credible manner cultivating at the same time, a different city, the heavenly City ”.
Eusebius then, “lived at the centre of the city as a monk, opening the city to God. This trait took nothing from his exemplary pastoral dynamism. It would appear that he instituted parish priests in Vercelli to ensure ordered and stable ecclesial service, and that he promoted Marian shrines for the conversion of the pagan rural people”. Citing the example of Eusebius in guiding the faithful “not to consider the earthly city their stable home, but to strive towards the future City, the heavenly Jerusalem”, therefore not bending to the modes of the times, or unjust claims of political power, the Holy Father concluded: “The whole life of Eusebius seems to say, the authentic scale of values comes not from the emperors of yesterday or today, it comes from Jesus Christ, perfect Man, equal to the Father in divinity and yet a human person like us ”.
At the end of the audience the Pope recalled International Day to Eradicate Poverty: “Today we mark the World Day to reject poverty recognised by the United Nations with the title International Day to Eradicate Poverty. How many people still live in conditions of extreme poverty! The disparity between rich and poor, even in more economically advanced countries, has become more evident and concerning. This worrying situation challenges the conscience of humanity, because the living conditions of a great number of people are such that they offend the dignity of the human person and consequently undermine, authentic and harmonious progress in the world community. I therefore encourage everyone to increase efforts to eliminate the causes of poverty and its tragic consequences.” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 18/10/2007 - righe 58, parole 839)
