Feast of St. Peter Damian

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February 2⃣3⃣

_Feast_ 🌟

*ST. PETER DAMIAN*

Peter Onesti was born in the year 1007 at Ravenna and, having lost his parents when very young, he was left in the charge of a brother in whose house he was treated more like a slave rather than a younger brother.

As soon as Peter was old enough, his brother sent him to tend pigs, where a priest from Ravenna, had pity on the neglected lad and took the responsibility to have him educated.

Peter was sent to school, first at Faenza and then at Parma. Peter proved to be a brilliant student and by the age of 25 he was a professor of great ability. Peter adopted for himself the surname of Damian, in gratitude to Father Damian, who had educated him.

In 1034, Peter Damian joined the Benedictine monks and at the age of 36 he became abbot of Fonte Avellana & remained so until his death 29 years later.

Peter and his friend Hildebrand, the future Pope Gregory VII, strove continually by pen & word to combat the abuses then widespread in the Church. St. Peter Damian is best known for his terrible indictment of the clergy, the "Liber Gomorrhianus" published in 1051.

Pope Stephen X in 1057 insisted, under pain of excommunication that Peter Damian should accept the post of Cardinal Bishop of Ostia. Beside being the administrator of the diocese of Gubbio, he served seven successive Popes with remarkable success on various delicate missions.

St. Peter Damian died in a monastery while the monks were reciting Matins round about him, on 22nd February, 1072 A.D.

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_St. Peter Damian is one of those stern figures who seem specially raised up, like St. John Baptist, to recall men in a lax age from the error of their ways and to bring them back into the narrow path of virtue._

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