Donatus of Münstereifel

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St. Donatus, engraving around 1780
Donatus sculpture in Bornheim

Donatus (von Münstereifel) (* around 140 AD in Rome ; † before 180 ) was a Roman military leader and is venerated as a Catholic saint .

Vita

In a serious illness of the father Faustus, the mother Flaminia is supposed to address St. Gervasius in Milan for help. Gervasius promised her the recovery of her husband and the birth of a son. Faustus recovered and Flaminia gave birth to a son whom she named Donatus ("the one given"). He was raised in the faith by his mother, who had become a Christian.

At the age of 17, Donatus became a soldier. As a commander of the 12th Legion ("Legio Fulminata") he was deployed around 166 in the Marcomanni incursions on the Danube. In hopeless encirclement and dying of thirst, Donatus and other Christian soldiers of the Melite Legion prayed for rain. A heavy thunderstorm approached and abundant rain refreshed people and animals. But the lightning destroyed the camp of the Marcomanni . Impressed by the miracle, Donatus vowed God celibacy . The emperor Marc Aurel made him colonel of the bodyguard. But when Donatus refused to marry Alexandra, the granddaughter of the emperor, this meant his death sentence, "because he despised the gods". Flaminia, the mother of the martyr, buried him in the catacomb of St. Agnes in Rome.

The events during the Marcomann Wars for the so-called rain miracle are historically guaranteed. The Christians claimed the miracle for their God. The following events, such as B. the planned marriage with the granddaughter of the emperor, but belong exclusively to the legend of the saints.

Adoration

In 1646 the grave was opened at the behest of Pope Innocent X and the relics were given to the Jesuit Church in Münstereifel . On June 30, 1652 , the relics were to be transferred from Euskirchen to Münstereifel. The Jesuit Father Heerde read Holy Mass in the morning in the Martinskirche in Euskirchen. Lightning struck at the final blessing. The altar and the priest were on fire. The priest called for the help of St. Donatus. His pain subsided and the priest was able to follow the relics that were already on the way to Münstereifel. This miracle led the great devotion to St. Donatus a. Since then , June 30th has been the day of remembrance and worship .

Donatus is often depicted as a Roman soldier with a palm, lightning, a sheaf of grain or a vine. Its attributes often include a knife and a cup-like vessel. In the Eifel , in the Archdiocese of Cologne and in Lower Austria, he is the patron saint against storms, lightning strikes, hail and conflagration. In particular, shooting brotherhoods have him in their name. As late as 1949, "Donatus masses" were celebrated in some Eifel towns in the summer - perhaps as a replacement for earlier hail processions : Since 1729, the Jesuits had demonized the (Johannes) hail celebration in popular missions and recommended their saint Donatus as the unsurpassable weather patron.

Places of worship

Churches → Donatuskirche

Statues are in:

Relics are venerated in:

See also

literature

  • Feldmann, Achim: thunderbolt, fire, and a terrible hail…. Saint Donatus of Münstereifel. in: Brand Heimatkundliche Blätter 13, 2002, pp. 56–91 ( abridged version at www.st-donatus.de, accessed October 22, 2017 ).
  • Moll, Hubert: From Rome to Münstereifel. The veneration of the catacomb saint Donatus. in: Yearbook of the Euskirchen District 1992, pp. 14-19.
  • Plück, Beate: The cult of the catacomb saint Donatus of Münstereifel. in: Yearbook for Folklore NF 4, 1981, pp. 112–126.
  • Schüller, Andreas: Donatus as a Rhenish thunderstorm and fire patron. in: Pastor Bonus 39, 1928, pp. 435-446.
  • Müller, Wolfgang: Saint Donatus in history, legend and cult , Trier (WA seminary), 1956.
  • Ekkart Sauser:  Donatus of Münstereifel. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 21, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-110-3 , Sp. 342-343.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  • Paul W. Roth: Soldiers Saints , Verlag Styria, Graz Vienna Cologne, 1993, ISBN 3-222-12185-0 .
  • Life of H. Donatus, glorious martyr and special protector in terrible weather conditions. Translated from French into German, and drawn briefly by an admirer of the same ... 1764 , Munich: Thuille, 1767 urn : nbn: de: bvb: 12-bsb10787984-4

Web links

Commons : Saint Donatus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Herbert Wagner: Hail processions from earlier times in today's dean's office in Hillesheim (Yearbook Daun 1974, archive link ( memento of the original from March 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ), citing: Nikolaus Kyll: The hail celebration in the old Archdiocese of Trier and its peripheral areas. In: Rheinisches Jahrbuch für Volkskunde, 13./14. Year Bonn 1962/1963, pp. 113-171. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jahrbuch-daun.de
  2. ^ Felix Bornemann: Arts and Crafts in South Moravia (1990), Probitz p. 31f, ISBN 3-927498-13-0
  3. ^ Pintsch, Kiischpelt, parish church St. Maximin
personal data
SURNAME Donatus of Münstereifel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION catholic saint
DATE OF BIRTH at 140
PLACE OF BIRTH Rome
DATE OF DEATH before 180