Last 1 February, in the church of St Fortunatus’ convent, in Montefalco (Italy),the postulate house of the Custody of the Holy Land, the ostension of the relics of St Severus, joint patron saint of the city.
The relics, preserved in a sarcophagus in the church’s chapel, were recovered and displayed for the first time for the veneration of the faithful.
The ceremony – presided over by Mons. Renato Boccardo, archbishop of Spoleto-Norcia – was also attended by the Custos of the Holy Land, fra Francesco Patton, who was visiting the Franciscan community; the vicar of the Seraphic Province, Fra Danilo Tremolada,the mayor of Montefalco, Alfredo Gentili, the mayor of Massa Martana (the home town of the saint), Francesco Federici, together with other civic and military authorities and numerous faithful.
The Convent of St Fortunatus stands in the heart of the Umbrian town of Montefalco. Its foundation is linked to the figures of St Fortunatus and St Severus: according to the legend, the magister militum Severus, the victim of an unjust accusation, prayed for his release on the tomb of St Fortunatus. Following the grace received, he had a basilica built in honour of Fortunatus. After that, the citizens of Montefalco wanted to keep the mortal remains of Severus in the church he himself had built.
In the middle of the 15th century, the convent of Friars Minor of the Franciscan Observance was built here. The Friars Minor have looked after this spot since 2009. Since 2009, the convent of St Fortunatus is in the hands of the Custody of the Holy Land, which welcomes here the young postulants during their year of initial formation. Fra Marco Antonio Maria Uras, guardian of the community, and Fra Antonino Milazzo, Master of the Postulants, look after the convent and its aspirants.
Mons. Renato Boccardo, Archbishop of Spoleto-Norcia, who presided over the Eucharistic celebration, thanked Fra Marco Antonio who, “after having received all the authorizations necessary and after attentive recognition, succeeded in recovering the relics.”
The story of St Severus and St Fortunatus, though far away in time (4th-5th centuries), “continues to be told because they left a fertile sign: their ability to approach God brings them close to men. They lived full lives: looking at their story, today, means remembering to live seriously,” the bishop added.
Some pieces of the relics were donated to the city of Terzo San Severo, a hamlet of Spoleto, and to the parish church of St John in which the body of the saint was buried before being moved to Montefalco.
One relic went to the parish of Massa Martana, the town where St Severus was born and one each to the two monasteries of Montefalco, that of the Augustinians of Santa Chiara of Montefalco and to the Poor Clares of St Leonard
Editorial Board of the Seraphic Province of St Francis of the Friars Minor
