medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Yesterday (12. June) may also have seen this year's annual celebration
of:
Maximus of Rome (??). In February of 1825 Leo XII's Cardinal Vicar
General of Rome consigned to don Giovanni Juva, a canon of Turin
cathedral, the holy body ("corpo santo"), taken from the Catacomb of
Cyriaca, of a martyr named Maximus with the instruction that these were
to be displayed for veneration by the faithful at the parish church of
Cravagliana in the diocese of Novara in memory of the recipient's uncle
don Spirito Antonio Juva, who in 1788 as pastor of Cravagliana had been
the first priest in the diocese to bear the title "pievano". The
people of Cravagliana were delighted at this news and promptly
undertook a subscription to secure funding for the dismantling of their
church's recently decorated altar of St. Joseph and to replace it with
a new chapel honoring the supposedly martyred M. On 19. May 1825 don
Giovanni brought M.'s relics to Turin (a customs document survives to
prove this) and at some point on or shortly after 25. April 1830 these
underwent a recognition at Cravagliana and were placed in a wax effigy
suitable for display, which latter, housed in the open coffin shown here
http://www.claudiobossi.it/ilmioportale/immagini/cravag/san%
20massimo.jpg
TinyURL for this: http://tinyurl.com/bvbxf
, was then solemnly installed in the newly completed chapel.
25. April is the date of the bishop of Novara's authorization for these
proceedings; a century later, in 1930, it was held to be the date of
M.'s arrival in Cravagliana.
Without knowing the details of his discovery, I would guess that M. --
who appears in no liturgical calendars -- is no more certainly a saint
than is the better known Philomena of Rome, venerated at Mugnano (AV)
and at other spots around the world. According to a recent entry (26.
May 2004) on the "Santi beati..." website, he is commemorated at
Cravagliana (VC) on a Sunday in early June. As that commemoration
(which takes the form of a mass celebrated at M.'s altar) occurred last
year on 13. June, I'm guessing that this year it took place on the
twelfth.
After Maximus of Aveia / L'Aquila (10. June) and Maximus of Naples (11.
June), it proved difficult not to max out on Maximi this month.
Best,
John Dillon
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