Vincent of Saragossa | |
|---|---|
 15th-century painting of Vincent by Tomás Giner. | |
| Protomartyr of Spain | |
| Born | 3rd century Osca,Hispania Tarraconensis (nowHuesca,Aragon, Spain) |
| Died | c. 304 Valentia,Hispania Tarraconensis (nowValencia, Spain) |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Anglican Communion Eastern Orthodox Church[1] |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
| Feast | 22 January (Catholic, Eastern Orthodox & Anglican Churches) 11 November (Eastern Orthodox Church additional feast day) |
| Attributes | Vested as a deacon,[2] tools of martyrdom and so forth |
| Patronage | São Vicente,Lisbon;Algarve;Valencia;Vicenza, Italy,vignerons (wine-makers),vintners (wine-merchants),vinegar-makers; Order of Deacons of the Catholic Diocese ofBergamo (Italy). |
Vincent of Saragossa (also known asVincent Martyr,Vincent of Huesca orVincent the Deacon), the Protomartyr ofSpain, was a deacon of theChurch of Saragossa. He is thepatron saint ofLisbon,Algarve, andValencia. His feast day is 22 January in theCatholic Church,Anglican Communion, and theEastern Orthodox Church, with an additional commemoration on 11 November in the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was born atHuesca and martyred under the EmperorDiocletian around the year 304.
The earliest account of Vincent's martyrdom is in acarmen (lyricpoem) written by the poetPrudentius,[2] who wrote a series of lyric poems,Peristephanon ("Crowns of Martyrdom"), onHispanic andRoman martyrs.
He was born atHuesca, nearSaragossa, in Spain sometime during the latter part of the 3rd century. It is believed his father was Eutricius (Euthicius), and his mother was Enola, a native of Osca (Huesca).[3]
Vincent spent most of his life in the city of Saragossa, where he was educated and ordained to the diaconate by BishopValerius of Saragossa, who commissioned Vincent to preach throughout the diocese.[3] Because Valerius suffered from a speech impediment, Vincent acted as his spokesman.
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When the Roman Emperor Diocletian began persecuting Christians in Spain, both were brought before the Roman governor,Dacian, inValencia. Vincent and his bishop Valerius were confined to the prison of Valencia. Though he was finally offered release if he would consign Scriptureto the fire, Vincent refused. Speaking on behalf of his bishop, he informed the judge that they were ready to suffer everything for their faith, and that they could pay no heed either to threats or promises.[4]
His outspoken manner so angered the governor that he had every sort of torture inflicted on Vincent. He was stretched on the rack and his flesh torn with iron hooks. Then his wounds were rubbed with salt and he was burned alive upon a red-hot gridiron. Finally, he was cast into prison and laid on a floor scattered with broken pottery, where he died. During his martyrdom he preserved such peace and tranquillity that it astonished his jailer, who repented from his sins and was converted. Vincent's dead body was thrown into the sea in a sack, but was later recovered by the Christians and his veneration immediately spread throughout the church.[4] The aged bishop Valerius was exiled.
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The story that Vincent was tortured on a gridiron is perhaps adapted from themartyrdom of another son of Huesca,Lawrence— Vincent, like many early martyrs in the earlyhagiographic literature, succeeded in converting his jailer.
According to legend, after being martyred,ravens protected Vincent's body from being devoured by vultures, until his followers could recover the body. His body was taken to what is now known asCape St. Vincent where a shrine was erected over his grave, guarded by flocks of ravens. In the time ofMuslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula, the ArabgeographerAl-Idrisi noted this constant guard by ravens, for which the place was named by him كنيسة الغراب "Kanīsah al-Ghurāb" (Church of the Raven). KingAfonso I of Portugal (1139–1185) had Vincent's body exhumed in 1173 and brought it by ship to theLisbon Cathedral. This transfer of the relics is depicted on thecoat of arms of Lisbon.[5]
Three elaborated hagiographies, all based ultimately on a lost 5th-centuryPassion, circulated in theMiddle Ages. His "Acts" have been "rather freely colored by the imagination of their compiler".[6]
Though Vincent's tomb in Valencia became the earliest center of hiscult, he was also honoured at his birthplace and his reputation spread from Saragossa. The city ofOviedo inAsturias grew about the church dedicated to Vincent. Beyond thePyrenees, he was venerated first in the vicinity ofBéziers, and atNarbonne.Castres became an important stop on the international pilgrimage routes toSantiago de Compostela when the relics of Vincent were transferred to its new abbey-church dedicated toSaint Benedict from Saragossa in 863, under the patronage of Salomon, count ofCerdanya.
A church was built in honour of Vincent, by the Catholic bishops of Visigothic Iberia, when they succeeded in converting KingReccared and his nobles to Trinitarian Christianity. When theMoors came in 711, the church was razed, and its materials incorporated in theMezquita de Córdoba, the "GreatMosque" of Cordova.[7]
TheCape Verde island ofSão Vicente, a formerPortuguese colony, was named in his honour because it was discovered on 22 January, Saint Vincent's feast day, in 1462.[8]
The island ofSt. Vincent in the Caribbean, now a part ofSaint Vincent and the Grenadines, was named byChristopher Columbus after Vincent of Saragossa, as the island was discovered by Europeans on 22 January, Saint Vincent's feast day.
The 15th century Portuguese artistNuno Gonçalves depicted him in hisSaint Vincent Panels. A small fresco cycle of stories of Vincent is in the apse of theBasilica di San Vincenzo nearCantù, in northernItaly.
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Vincent's left arm is on display as arelic inValencia Cathedral,[9] located near the extensive Carrer de Sant Vicent Mártir (Saint Vincent the Martyr Street).
There is also the small town ofSão Vicente on the Portuguese island ofMadeira, and the city ofSão Vicente, São Paulo inBrazil named after this saint.
Vincent isremembered in theAnglican Communion with acommemoration on22 January.[10][11][12] TheAnglicanSt. Vincent's Cathedral inBedford, Texas, is dedicated in his honor.
The young men ofManganeses de la Polvorosa,province of Zamora, Spain, celebrated Vincent's day bydropping a live goat from the belfry of the St. Vincent church.[13]
Saint Vincent is the patron of the Order of the Deacons of the Catholic Diocese ofBergamo. He is honoured as patron in Valencia, Saragossa, and Portugal, and is invoked byvignerons (wine-makers),vintners (wine-merchants),vinegar-makers, brickmakers, and sailors.[2]
Vincent of Saragossa is portrayed as a deacon; in theWestern church, wearing thedalmatic of a deacon.[2]
