Virgin and Martyr in Sens (circa 273).
Celebrated on December 31.
Of Spanish origin, the holy martyr, whose life we will summarize based on Acts written in the 8th century, should not be confused with another saint of the same name. This other saint, also a virgin and martyr, is highly venerated in Cordoba, especially, and died in 853, nearly six centuries later. The account of the passion of the Senonian martyr has not reached us in its entirety, especially not in its original text, which provided more accuracy in its details. Added to the ancient version are episodes that seem inspired by other martyr passions. Here again, we recount the tradition without being able to affirm the historical truth of each detail.
Saint Colombe, instructed by the Holy Spirit.
Colombe was born in the 6th century, under the sky of Spain, to a noble but pagan family. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit chose the child as a chosen bride.
From her birth, he filled her with his light and love. By divine instinct, Colombe, still in the cradle, knew the vanity of idols. When they tried to make her worship them, she expressed her repugnance with such cries and moans that they dared not force her. "It's just a passing whim," they said, and willingly forgave her.
However, the horror that the young virgin felt for idols grew within her with age. She even shared her feelings with her playmates: Augustin, Sanctien, Béate, all of whom were to be placed on the altars and venerated by the Church of Sens on September 7.
One day, they learned that the worship of the true God was growing in Gaul, amidst bloody persecutions. Urged by grace, they secretly fled, leaving behind their wealth, homeland, and parents forever.
Two thirsts quenched.
During this long journey, exhausted and thirsty, they stopped when they could no longer go on. Colombe, kneeling, prayed to the Master of the earth and waters. She had not yet risen when a clear spring gushed at her feet.
But the devout travelers still craved the living waters that spring forth to eternal life. It was in Vienne, in Dauphiné, that they could quench their thirst. There, they were instructed in the mysteries of the faith, then baptized, becoming the children of Christ and the Church.
How one sanctifies oneself and becomes an apostle.
The neophytes, to better understand the sacred truth, subjected their bodies to fasting and disciplines. Their souls, liberated from the yoke and obscurities of the flesh, persevered in contemplation long into the night. Thus, their prayers and examples had strengthened the Viennese Christianity when God called them to other labors.
Colombe, increasingly enamored of the truth, learned that it had further developed in the Senonian region, and she led her companions there.
In Sens, the young travelers were again an edification for the faithful. They devoted themselves to penance and prayer day and night. They went on pilgrimages to seek virtue at the tombs of martyrs.
The crown of martyrdom is denied to Saint Colombe.
At that time, Emperor Aurelian visited Gaul, and he stopped in Sens. To earn his favor, the magistrates denounced Colombe and her companions as the most fervent proselytes of Christianity. The tyrant summoned the audacious ones to his court and condemned them all to the ultimate punishment. However, out of respect for her birth and nobility, he wanted to save Colombe. Led with her companions outside the city walls, the virgin saw them all die, joy on their faces, hope in their hearts. But when it was her turn to present her head to the executioners, she was chained and taken to a dungeon located, according to tradition, at the site of the Sainte-Colombe-la-Petite church, at the corner of Grande-Rue and Rue de l'Ecrivain.
Thus, the crown of martyrdom escaped her just when she thought she could feel it on her forehead. At this thought, torrents of tears flowed from the eyes of the young girl. Aurelian believed she was shaken in her faith, and he convinced himself that a little anger would be enough to overcome her. Therefore, he had the virgin brought back before him.
Saint Colombe appears before the emperor.
The dialogue that unfolds between the tyrant and the young Christian resembles several others found in the Acts of the Martyrs. It is always, on one side, the initially insinuating tone that will be followed by violence; on the other side, firmness, both gentle and unyielding, resisting with serenity both flattery and threats.
- What is your name? the emperor said, casting an irritated look at Colombe.
And she replied calmly:
- My name is Colombe. Your anger does not frighten me, for the love of Christ strengthens me.
- This love for Christ is your condemnation, Aurelian retorted. But why let yourself be deceived by false beliefs?
- It is your religion that is false, while my faith rests on the truth. I worship the one God who created us in His image. I worship and confess Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of the Father, who became man to save us...
- And thus, you defy our decrees that order the worship of only the gods of the empire?
- These gods are the work of your hands. They will perish, and their worshippers with them. Burn these vain images, inventions of the demon, who, through this senseless worship, wants to attach your hearts. As for me, I give all honor and glory to the God of truth, to Jesus Christ, who gives eternal life.
- But, unfortunate child! Will you prefer these illusions to the sweet joys that your youth and illustrious birth can provide? Become faithful to our gods, and you will see the highest dignitaries of my court vie for your hand.
The prudent virgin did not want to listen further to the seductive serpent.
- The examples of my Jesus teach me to scorn your dangerous offers, she said to the emperor. Could I leave a divine spouse to take a mortal one? No, I will not be foolish enough to exchange the joys of eternity for a day's pleasure. You who want to seduce me will suffer endlessly with Satan, your master, if, before you die, you do not bear witness to the truth.
- That's too many words! Sacrifice to the gods, or I will have you dishonored and perish in the flames.
- God is good and powerful; He will grant me to go to martyrdom still a virgin.
An ironic laughter greeted these words, and Colombe was immediately locked in one of the cages of the amphitheater. This spectacle place, elliptically shaped, was located at the site later called "le Clos des Arènes."
A bear serves God against the impious.
Meanwhile, Aurelian had left the captive to the violence of a young debaucher. Colombe was in prayer when he entered the prison. The virgin stopped him with just one of her looks, where a ray of the divine greatness and majesty, drawn from prayer, still shone.
Recovered from his stupor, the guilty one advanced, but Colombe recoiled invoking the name of Jesus. Immediately, a bear appeared between the victim and her persecutor; the animal overcame the latter and lifted its gaze toward the prisoner, as if to ask her to decide the fate of her tormentor.
- In the name of Him who sent you to save my virginity, said the servant of Christ, spare this guilty one for a moment.
Then, addressing the young man:
- Understand the power and goodness of Jesus Christ, who sends me this animal to rescue me from your outrages. Open your eyes to the truth, say sincerely: "I am a Christian," or else you will become the prey of this ferocious beast.
Fear, the miracle, and undoubtedly the secret wishes of the virgin had changed the soul of the criminal.
- I am a Christian! he said, imploring Colombe's forgiveness; I am a Christian!
Hardly liberated, he proclaimed in the city what had happened to him, repeating endlessly:
- The God of the Christians is the only true God.
The miracle, far from appeasing Aurelian, only enraged him further.
- Let this sorceress be put to death in the flames! he exclaimed in fury.
So, they came to fetch Colombe to lead her to the stake. But the bear was there, lying in front of the door, ready to pounce on the first who entered the cell.
Moreover, the executors of the imperial order rejoiced at this obstacle. The face of Colombe, so gentle, so calm, so full of majesty, had touched them, and the visible protection she had received so far made them fear drawing down the wrath of the Almighty God, who put wild beasts in the service of His own.
Saint Colombe and the Bear in the Flames.
It was reported to the emperor that the bear was defending the condemned, and it was impossible to approach her. Aurelian refused to listen.
- Let her die, he said, or I will make sure all of you perish with her.
The executioners were frightened by the threat of a powerful man. They surrounded the cage where Colombe, kneeling, continued to pray, and soon set it on fire.
As the flames approached and grew, the bear, frightened, licked Colombe's hands and seemed, through cries, to ask her to save him from death. With a sign of the cross, the virgin opened a passage for him in the midst of the bonfire: the animal rushed in, joyful. The frightened crowd let him pass and saw him disappear into the nearby forests.
Soon, from a clear and serene sky, torrents of rain descended, and, like Daniel and his companions of old, Colombe, more beautiful than ever, reappeared, triumphant and unharmed, in the extinguished furnace.
How to describe the joy and enthusiasm of the people at this happy moment? "I am a Christian!" they shouted from all sides. "Let's break our false gods! And let's die for Christ with the blessed Colombe!"
Aurelian condemns Saint Colombe to death.
Those who knew Aurelian knew that, despite everything, Christians could not find favor with him. Indeed, as soon as he learned that Colombe had escaped the fire, he had her brought back to him.
- What tricks do you use, he cried, to escape all the punishments that are prepared for you?
- The victorious arm of Jesus Christ alone protected me from your outrages and cruelty.
- And you push insolence to the point of insulting the emperor! But this time, nothing can take you from my hands. Lictors, untie your bundles. Flog this impious one, tear her with iron nails, and when her body is nothing but a wound, go behead her.
A celestial joy shone in the eyes of the virgin, but out of pity for her persecutor, she left him with these last words:
- I do not fear death. But I tremble at the thought of the sentence that will strike the damned on the last day. You will be among the damned if you do not expiate your crimes in penance.
But Aurelian remained unmoved. Many martyrs had already uttered similar threats in his ears, and he had come to despise them. Thus, the sentence was not changed; Colombe was led to the scaffold.
The Joys of Martyrdom.
She was laid on the rack: her flesh was torn with iron nails, she was flogged to the point of blood, but the generous martyr was not on earth; her spirit was fixed in heaven. Not a complaint came from her lips, not a tear flowed from her eyes.
However, tired of striking, the executioners dragged their victim outside the walls of Sens, north of the village of Saint-Clément, to the fountain of Azon. The virgin's prayer still lasted when they arrived there. Colombe asked for a few moments to finish it. The executioners refused her at first. They were eager to finish their hideous mission as murderers of an innocent. But greed made them overcome this reluctance. The virgin stripped herself of the rich cloak with which she had adorned herself to go to Jesus Christ, her Spouse.
- Take it, she said to them, it is all that remains to me, but at least let me finish my prayer.
And, prostrate on the ground, she invoked for the last time Him for whom she was about to shed her blood, then, rising, she ran to present her head to the soldiers' sword herself, saying:
- My God, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
The sound of the fatal blow mixed with these last words. It was December 31, 273 or 274.
Brutes restore to Saints the honor denied them by men.
Not content with slaughtering the faithful servants of Christ, Aurelian also attacked their corpses. He wanted Colombe's body to be abandoned to the wild beasts. The land on which the virgin had been sacrificed was the property of the noble Aubertus, chief of the legion of Sens. The eyes of his soul and those of his body were closed to the light, as he was blind and a pagan.
One day, while grazing his herds near the fountain of Azon, the slaves saw an ox kneeling beside a bush; from its horns emanated a dazzling light. Surprised, they ran and found Colombe's remains. They prostrated themselves before this chaste body, then hurriedly went to tell their master about the miracle.
As they speak, divine grace descends into Aubertus' heart. The spirit of light reveals to him the futility of idols and inspires in him a burning love for the Church of Christ. The new convert also conceives hope of regaining his sight through the merits of generous Colombe. Led to the sacred remains of the virgin, he bends down to touch them, and immediately, his eyes open and are healed.
In gratitude, he had the body of the Saint honorably buried in his own palace. At the very place where the remains of the martyr had been abandoned, he built a church adjacent to the fountain of Azon and gave for its maintenance a vast meadow designated in ancient documents as "Pré-Aubert."
Popularity of the cult of Saint Colombe in the Middle Ages.
The influx of pilgrims to the tomb of Saint Colombe had become too strong for the secular priests, attached to the church founded by Aubertus, to be able to receive them all. Clotaire II, king of the Franks, erected a monastery there in 620, endowing it with a piece of land from his estate called Cuy. Saint Didier, bishop of Auxerre, and especially Saint Loup, bishop of Troyes, increased the income of the abbey with their generosity. Their example was followed by King Dagobert, who entrusted Saint Eloi with the administration of the monastery's possessions.
Around the middle of the 9th century, the monks, wanting to use part of the wealth of the abbey for the glory of God, replaced the ancient church of Aubertus with a spacious basilica consecrated in 853 by Wénilon, archbishop of Sens, and placed under the common patronage of Saint Colombe, Saint Loup buried nearby, and Sainte Croix. The next day, the bodies of Saint Colombe and Saint Loup were brought out of the crypt where they were enclosed, to be placed in a more accessible location. It is in this abbey that the last competitor of Charles the Simple, Raoul, duke of Burgundy, who died in Auxerre in 936, received burial. He had given it his own crown and enriched it with lands and all kinds of gifts.
During his stay in the province of Sens, Saint Peter Damian († 1072) came on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Colombe, and his works contain the eulogy of the Saint that he delivered, undoubtedly, on this occasion.
In the 12th century, the basilica of Sainte-Colombe was rebuilt for the third time and consecrated by Pope Alexander III on April 26, 1164. The influx of pilgrims was such that thirty thousand were counted that day. Arriving in Sens at the end of September 1163, the Pope extended his stay there until April 1165. It was around the same time that the famous archbishop of Canterbury, Saint Thomas Becket, forced to seek refuge in France to escape the blows of the king of England, Henry II, visited this place.
Like so many other revered relics of our medieval ancestors, those of Saint Colombe were scattered in the 16th century by the Protestant upheaval. Nevertheless, the memory of the glorious victim of Aurelian is still alive not only in Sens but also in more than thirty parishes in France that have chosen her as their patron saint. The feast is celebrated on July 28 in Sens, under the double rite of the second class, and on December 31 in Meaux and Lyon.
In popular art, Saint Colombe is often depicted with attributes such as an angel, a bonfire, a dove, a crown, and a bear.
A. L.
Consulted sources: Mgr Paul Guérin, Les Petits Bollandistes (Paris, 1897). Canon Blondel, Vie des Saints du diocèse de Sens et Auxerre (Sens and Auxerre, 1885). (V. S. B. P., n° 203.)
Source: https://laportelatine.org/spiritualite/vies-de-saints/sainte-colombe
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