Boniface of Valperga

Last updated

Boniface of Valperga (French: Boniface Ier de Valperga, Italian: Bonifacio di Valperga) (died 25 April 1243), venerated as a blessed in the Catholic Church, was a thirteenth-century Bishop of Aosta. [1]

Boniface was born in the second half of the twelfth century into a noble family of the Canavese which claimed descent from Arduino d’Ivrea. He was educated at home and subsequently by his uncle Arduino, Bishop of Turin. He entered the religious life as a monk at the Benedictine abbey of Fruttuaria, about twenty kilometres north of Turin. Subsequently, he entered the Augustinian Collegiate church of Saint Ursus in Aosta where, having been made Prior in 1210, he exerted a vigorous leadership in both the spiritual and temporal realms. On 17 July 1219 Boniface was made Bishop of Aosta, an office which he retained until his death nearly 24 years later on 25 April 1243.

He was entombed first in the Collegiate church of Saint Ursus; then his remains were translated to the cathedral of Aosta. His cultus developed rapidly, and his veneration as a “blessed” remained steady over the centuries, with various monuments being dedicated to him in the cathedral. It was ratified as ab immemorabili by Pope Leo XIII on 28 April 1890.

Related Research Articles

Pope Boniface IV, OSB was the bishop of Rome from 608 to his death. Boniface had served as a deacon under Pope Gregory I, and like his mentor, he ran the Lateran Palace as a monastery. As pope, he encouraged monasticism. With imperial permission, he converted the Pantheon into a church. In 610, he conferred with Bishop Mellitus of London regarding the needs of the English Church. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church with a universal feast day on 8 May.

Humbert III, surnamed the Blessed, was Count of Savoy from 1148 to 1189. His parents were Amadeus III of Savoy and Mahaut of Albon. He ceded rights and benefits to monasteries and played a decisive role in the organisation of Hautecombe Abbey. It is said that he would rather have been a monk than a sovereign. On the death of his third wife, he retired to Hautecombe, but then changed his mind and, by his fourth wife finally had a son, Thomas. He sided with the Guelph party of Pope Alexander III against the Ghibelline emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The result was an invasion of his states twice: in 1174 Susa was set on fire, and in 1187 Henry VI banished him from the Holy Roman Empire and wrested away most of his domains. He was left with only the valleys of Susa and Aosta. He died at Chambéry in 1189. He was the first prince buried at Hautecombe. His memorial day is 4 March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aosta</span> Comune in Aosta Valley, Italy

Aosta is the principal city of the Aosta Valley, a bilingual region in the Italian Alps, 110 km (68 mi) north-northwest of Turin. It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel and the Great St Bernard Tunnel, at the confluence of the Buthier and the Dora Baltea, and at the junction of the Great and Little St Bernard Pass routes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivrea</span> Town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy

Ivrea is a town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley, it straddles the Dora Baltea and is regarded as the centre of the Canavese area. Ivrea lies in a basin that in prehistoric times formed a large lake. Today, five smaller lakes—Sirio, San Michele, Pistono, Nero and Campagna—are found in the area around the town.

Boniface is a given name and a surname of Latin origin, meaning "fortunate, auspicious". The best known of those who bear the name is Saint Boniface, an important leader in early Christianity and the "Apostle of the Germans". Others named Boniface include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canavese</span> Traditional region in Italy

Canavese is a subalpine geographical and historical area of North-West Italy which lies today within the Metropolitan City of Turin in Piedmont. Its main town is Ivrea and it is famous for its castles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Turin</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in Italy

The Archdiocese of Turin is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gratus of Aosta</span> Italian bishop and saint

Gratus of Aosta was a bishop of Aosta and is the city's patron saint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collegiate church of Saint Ursus</span> Church in Aosta, Italy

The Collegiate church of Saint Ursus is a collegiate church in Aosta, northern Italy, dedicated to Saint Ursus of Aosta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ursus of Aosta</span> Italian saint

Ursus of Aosta was an Italian evangelist, today venerated as a saint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pancras of Taormina</span>

Pancras or Pancratius is an Italian saint associated with Taormina and venerated as a Christian martyr. His surviving hagiography is purely legendary. He is, however, recorded in some early martyrologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catellus of Castellammare</span> 9th century Italian bishop

Saint Catellus of Castellamare was a bishop of Castellamare di Stabia. He was a close friend of Saint Antoninus of Sorrento. Tradition states that Antoninus, fleeing the Lombard invasions, headed for Campania where he ended up at Castellammare di Stabia. Here Catellus was bishop but wishing to become a hermit, gave up his office as bishop and entrusted Antoninus with the task of serving as the town's bishop. Catellus withdrew to Monte Aureo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Aosta</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Italy

The Diocese of Aosta is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church. It has existed in its modern form since 1817. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Turin in Itlay.

Émeric de Quart, born in the latter part of the 13th century at the castle of Quart in the Aosta Valley, was Bishop of Aosta from 1302 until his death on 1 September 1313. He is more frequently named in ancient documents as Eymericus than Emericus or even Aimericus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Ivrea</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Italy

The Diocese of Ivrea is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Piedmont. For a time the diocese included the territory which had once been the diocese of Aosta, suppressed in 1803 but restored in 1817. Up until 1517 Ivrea was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Milan; it is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Turin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Acqui</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Italy

The Diocese of Acqui is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church that straddles the (civil) regions of Piedmont and Liguria, in northwest Italy. The ancient Roman name of the place was Aquae Statiellae, which was sometimes confused with Aquae Sentiae (Aix-en-Provence), and Aquae Augustae (Dax), where there were also bishops. Acqui had always been subordinate to the Province of Milan, down until 1817, when Pope Pius VII assigned it to the Province of Turin. As a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Turin, it falls within the ecclesiastical region of Piedmont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnus of Anagni</span> 2nd century bishop and saint

Saint Magnus of Anagni, also known as Magnus of Trani or Magnus of Fabrateria Vetus, is venerated as the patron saint of Anagni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Bessus</span>

Bessus, sometimes Besse, is venerated as a member of the legendary Theban Legion, whose members were led by Maurice and were martyred for their Christian faith in the 3rd century. Except for the cult of Saint Maurice, veneration for Bessus enjoyed a wider popularity than those associated with other saints of the Theban Legion and remains popular today. According to tradition, Constantius survived the decimation of his legion and fled to valleys of Aosta and Cogne. He then dedicated himself to converting the people in this area to Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franco Lovignana</span>

Franco Lovignana is the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aosta. He is the first native-bishop of Aosta since 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collegiate Church of Santa Maria della Scala, Chieri</span> Roman Catholic church in Chieri, Italy

The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria della Scala in Chieri is a late-Gothic Roman Catholic collegiate church, and the principal church or duomo, in the town of Chieri, Province of Turin, region of Piedmont, Italy.

References

  1. Arduino, Fabio (2005), "Beato Bonifacio di Valperga", Santi beati e testimoni (in Italian).