Roland of Salsomaggiore

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Roland von Salsomaggiore (* around 1330 as Orlando de 'Medici ; † September 15, 1386 in Bargone , Italy ) also known as Blessed Roland von Medici , was a hermit belonging to the Florentine aristocratic Medici family .

Roland von Salsomaggiore was born in Milan around 1330 , according to other sources in Florence . There is no information about his childhood and youth. It was first mentioned in 1360, when he retired to the forest between Tabiano and Salsomaggiore (near Bargone ) and lived there as a hermit for the remaining 26 years of his life.

In 1386, possibly weakened by the hardship of life in the forest, he was found on a path near the castle of Niccolò Pallavicino , lord of Bargone, by servants of Antonia Casati, wife of Pallavicino, while she was hunting was. Although he declined to help, Casati ordered him to be taken to a church near the castle. There he accepted the visit of Casati's confessor, the Carmelite Domenico di Domenicis. In relation to him he finally broke the silence he had practiced for the last 26 years and told di Domenicis about his life and received the sacraments . A few weeks later he died on September 15, 1386.

His body was brought to Busseto with great sympathy and buried there in the Oratorio della Santissima Trinità next to the Church of San Bartolomeo . In the following period, miracles were reported near the tomb and a cult around Roland of Salsomaggiore quickly developed. In 1563, at the request of the Medicis, Pius IV began the canonization process. With the death of Pius IV, however, this process came to a standstill and was only resumed in the 19th century. In 1839 the trial of Gregory XVI. interrupted, as this had concerns about the long time in which Roland of Salsomaggiore had not received the sacraments. After this point had been clarified, he was finally beatified by Pius IX on September 23, 1853 .

His feast day is September 15th. His festival is celebrated especially in the diocese of Fidenza .

literature

Remarks

  1. Due to the uncertain sources, it cannot be said with 100% certainty that Roland von Salsomaggiore was actually a descendant of the Medici.
  2. The oldest account of the life of Roland von Salsomaggiore dates back to 1386 and was written by the Carmelite Domenico di Domenicis.