by Fr. John Procter, O.P. (1901)
The body
of the holy Patriarch, Saint Dominic, had been laid to rest, according to his
own desire, in the Church of Saint Nicholas at Bologna, beneath the feet of his
Brethren, and, in spite of continual prodigies and Divine favours granted to
the faithful who prayed day and night at his tomb, his children allowed the
sacred deposit to remain under the plain flagstone originally laid over it and
took no steps for obtaining his canonization. Lest they should be thought to be
seeking their own emolument under the appearance of piety, the Friars even
broke and threw away the votive offerings brought by the people, and would not
permit any exterior marks of devotion to be exhibited. It was necessity which
at length compelled them to undertake the first translation of the sacred
relics. The ever-increasing numbers of the Community obliged them to enlarge
the Convent, and to pull down the old church and build a new and more spacious
one. To do this the tomb of Saint Dominic would have to be disturbed. They
accordingly applied for the requisite permission to Pope Gregory IX., who was
no other than the Saint's old friend, Cardinal Ugolino. He joyfully granted the
petition, at the same time administering a sharp rebuke to the Friars for their
long negligence.
The solemn
translation accordingly took place on Whit-Tuesday, May 24, A.D. 1233, during
the General Chapter, which was held that year at Bologna. The Pope wished to
have attended in person, but, being prevented from doing so, he deputed the
Archbishop of Ravenna to represent him, in company with a number of other
distinguished prelates. Three hundred Friars Preachers from all countries
assembled to assist at this function, not without a secret fear on the part of
some as to the state in which the sacred remains might be found, as they had
long been exposed to rain and heat, owing to the dilapidated condition of the
church. The opening of the tomb took place before daybreak, in the presence of
Blessed Jordan, then Master-General of the Order, and the Fathers of the Chapter,
together with the Bishops, Prelates, and Magistrates who were to assist at the
ceremony. All stood round in silence whilst the Procurator, Father Rodolph of
Faenza, raised the stone. Hardly had he begun to remove the earth and mortar
that lay beneath than an extraordinary odour became perceptible, which
increased in power and sweetness as they dug deeper, until at length, when the
coffin appeared and was lifted out of the grave, the whole church was filled
with the perfume as though from the burning of some rich and precious gums. The
bystanders knelt on the pavement, shedding tears of emotion as the lid was
raised, and the sacred remains, now reduced to bones, were exposed to their
eyes.
It was the
Master-General who raised the body of his beloved father and reverently laid it
in a new coffin. The faithful were then admitted, and the Archbishop of Ravenna
sang the Mass of the day, whilst the fragrance diffused from the open coffin
flooded the whole of the sacred edifice. Blessed Jordan in his circular letter
to the Order thus describes the solemn function: “As the choir entoned
the Introit, ‘Receive the joy of your glory, giving thanks to God, who has
called you to the celestial kingdom,’ the Brethren in their gladness of heart
took the words as if spoken from heaven. The trumpets sounded, the people
displayed a countless multitude of tapers; and, as the procession moved along,
there everywhere resounded the words, ‘Blessed be Jesus Christ!’” He goes on to speak of the vast number
of miraculous graces which were poured forth both before and after the
ceremony. “Sight,” he says, “was granted to the
blind, power of walking to the lame, soundness to the paralyzed, speech to the
dumb. ... I myself saw Nicholas, an Englishman, who had long been paralyzed, leaping
at this solemnity.”
The coffin
was then laid in the marble tomb prepared for it. But eight days later, to
satisfy the devotion of some distinguished persons who had not been present on
the previous occasion, the holy remains were again exposed to view. Then it was
that Blessed Jordan, taking the sacred head between his hands, kissed it,
whilst tears of tenderness flowed from his eyes; and, so holding it, he desired
all the Fathers of the Chapter to approach and gaze at it for the last time.
One by one they came and kissed the venerable relics. All were conscious of the
same extraordinary fragrance; it remained on the hands and clothes of those who
touched or came near the body. Nor was this the case merely when the grave was
first opened. The tomb remained unclosed for fifteen days, during which
interval it was guarded by officers appointed by the city magistrates; and all
this time the same exquisite odour was sensible to all who visited the spot;
and Flaminius, who lived three hundred years later, thus writes (A.D. 1527): “This divine odour
adheres to the relics even to the present day.”
A second
translation of Saint Dominic's relics took place in the year 1267, when the
holy body was removed to a more richly ornamented tomb. This translation, like
the first, was made at the time of the General Chapter; and the head of the
Saint, after being devoutly kissed by the Brethren and several Bishops who were
present, was exposed to the veneration of the people from a lofty stage erected
outside the Church of Saint Nicholas. The tomb was again opened A.D. 1383, when
a portion of the head was placed in a silver reliquary, in order the more
easily to satisfy the devotion of the faithful. Finally, A.D. 1469, the remains
of the Saint were deposited in the magnificently sculptured shrine in which
they now rest, which is regarded as the masterpiece of Nicholas Pisano.
PRAYER
O God, who
hast vouchsafed to enlighten Thy Church by the merits and teachings of Thy
blessed Confessor, our holy Father, Saint Dominic, grant at his intercession
that it may never be destitute of temporal help, and may always increase in
spiritual growth. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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