Petronius of Bologna

Petronius of Bologna (* in Italy; † 450 in Bologna ) was bishop of Bologna from 432 to 450. Legend has it that he built the Basilica Santo Stefano in Bologna as a replica of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and built the monastery of the same name.

Life

According to information in Elenco Renano , an ancient register of Bolognese bishops, which has only been preserved in a 13th-century copy, he was the 12th bishop of Bologna. Eucherius von Lyon writes in a letter that Petronius had given up his high social position - he probably came from a Roman senatorial family - and all prospects of a political career in favor of the clergy. Gennadius von Marseille , a biographer and writer of the 5th century, describes him as a saintly man who had led a monastic life since his youth.

Legend and cult of saints

Triptych in San Petronio. In the middle of St. Petronius, right u. left scenes from the life of St. Stephen

In 1141, during a revision and renovation of the entire church and monastery complex , Benedictines from the Basilica of Santo Stefano discovered the bishop's grave with remains of his bones, along with other relics. From 1180, monks hurriedly wrote a completely legendary vita of the deceased, which, in the absence of other sources, formed the basis for the worship and iconography of Petronios.

According to this, Petronio was of Greek origin, a relative of the Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II and was sent to Rome to see Pope Celestine I in the course of a debate about a heresy . At the same time, ambassadors from the city of Bologna were in Rome to ask the Pope to appoint a new bishop for the city. After the apostle Peter had advised him in a dream, Celestine chose Petronius. Petronius had traveled to Bologna, which he found in a dilapidated state due to the invasions in the course of the Great Migration . He vigorously campaigned for a structural renewal of the city and for the redesign of the Santo Stefano building complex based on the model of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. According to information in a second version of the vita , written in Italian towards the end of the 13th century, he is said to have taken numerous relics with him on a trip to Jerusalem to decorate and spiritually enhance the church. On the return journey via Constantinople , he is said to have met the emperor Theodosius, who gave him gifts and privileges for the city, such as a guarantee of the commune's perpetual independence, imperial protection against external attacks and the right to found a university. Petronius was therefore of eminent political importance for Bologna and for the position and rank of the city in medieval Italy, in addition to his official activities as bishop.

Patron of Bologna

San Petronio in Bologna

Petronius was chosen by the city of Bologna as city patron. In 1390 the construction of the Basilica of San Petronio began , which was then the largest church in Italy and was built on for centuries. With the consent of Pope Benedict XIV , the saint's head, preciously set in gold, was brought to San Petronio, while the remaining relics remained in Santo Stefano until 2000, when the remains of the saint were brought together in San Petronio.

Remembrance day

The feast day of the saint in the Catholic Church is October 4th.

iconography

Petronius is shown as an elderly bearded man, dressed as a bishop with miter and staff, and with a model of the city of Bologna in hand.

literature

• Gottfried Kerscher: Santo Stefano in Bologna and the legend of St. Petronius - The Reality of the Topoi. In: Gottfried Kerscher (Ed.): Hagiography and Art. The cult of saints in writing, images and architecture. Berlin 1993, p. 251.
• Petronius, p . In: Johann E. Stadler , Franz Joseph Heim, Johann N. Ginal (eds.): Complete Lexicon of Saints ... , Volume 4 (M – P), B. Schmid'sche Verlagbuchhandlung (A. Manz), Augsburg 1875, pp.  777-778 .

Web links

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