Saint of the Day – 6 September – Saint Eleutherius the Abbot at Spoleto (Died c 585).

Saint of the Day – 6 September – Saint Eleutherius the Abbot at Spoleto (Died c 585). He died in c 585 at the Monastery of Saint Andrew in Rome, Italy.

A wonderful simplicity and spirit of compunction were the distinguishing virtues of this holy sixth century Abbot. He was elected to preside at Saint Mark’s Monastery near Spoleto, under the direction of Saint Pope Gregory the Great and favoured by God with the gift of miracles and exorcism.

A child who was confided to the Monastery, to be educated there after having been delivered by the Abbot from a diabolical possession, appeared to everyone to be entirely exempt from further molestations. And Saint Eleutherius chanced to say one day: “Since the child is among the servants of God, the devil dares not approach him.” These words seemed to savour of vanity and, thereupon, the devil again entered into and tormented the child. The Abbot humbly confessed his fault and undertook a fast, in which the entire community joined, until the child was again freed from the tyranny of the fiend.

Saint Gregory the Great, finding himself unable to fast on Holy Saturday on account of extreme weakness, called for this Saint, who was in Rome at the time, to offer up prayers to God for hi, that he might join the faithful in the solemn practice of that day’s penances. Saint Eleutherius prayed with many tears and the Pope, when they came out of the church, felt suddenly strengthened and able to accomplish the fast as he desired.

The same Pope, remarking that the Abbot was said to have raised a dead man to life, added: “He was so simple a man, one of such great penance, that we must not doubt that Almighty God granted much to his tears and his humility!” After resigning his Abbacy, Saint Eleutherius died in Rome in Saint Andrew’s monastery, about the year 585. His relics were later translated to Spoleto, Italy.