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Saint Eusebius of Vercelli

Bishop

Feast Day
August 2
Life
283–371
Born
Sardinia, Roman Empire

Saint Eusebius was born in Sardinia about 283 of a Christian family. After his father's martyrdom the family settled at Rome, where Eusebius received Christian formation and was ordained lector by Pope Saint Sylvester I. About 340 he was sent to Vercelli, the leading city of the Roman province of Liguria, and was elected its first bishop, presumably by acclamation, about 345.

At Vercelli, Eusebius was the first Western bishop to require his clergy to live in common with him under a quasi-monastic rule, anticipating the cathedral chapters of medieval Europe and earning him recognition as one of the founders of canonical life in the West, alongside Saint Augustine. From this common-life community came many of the bishops of northern Italy in the second half of the fourth century. Saint Ambrose of Milan, in his sermon for Eusebius's anniversary, praises him as the first to unite the active life of the bishop with the contemplative life of the monk.

Eusebius's chief historical importance is his unbending defense of the Nicene faith against Arianism. Sent by Pope Liberius to the Council of Milan (355) summoned by the Emperor Constantius II to condemn Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, Eusebius refused to sign the condemnation, demanding that the assembled bishops first subscribe to the Creed of Nicaea. The emperor, enraged, exiled him first to Scythopolis in Palestine, where he was kept under house arrest by the Arian bishop and tortured for his refusal to abandon communion with the Catholic clergy of Vercelli, then to Cappadocia and finally to the Thebaid in Upper Egypt.

The death of Constantius and the accession of Julian the Apostate (361) permitted his return; he made his way back to Italy via Alexandria (where he visited Saint Athanasius), Antioch, and Illyricum, restoring catholic communion as he went. Back at Vercelli he resumed his episcopate and worked closely with Saint Hilary of Poitiers and Saint Ambrose for the consolidation of the Nicene faith in the West. He died at Vercelli on August 1, 371. Saint Jerome (De viris illustribus 96) and Saint Ambrose (Letter 63) name him among the most distinguished Latin bishops of the fourth century.

Pope Benedict XVI, in his General Audience of October 17, 2007, called Saint Eusebius of Vercelli a model of episcopal pastoral charity, who united in his own life the apostolic ministry of the bishop with the consecrated, common, and ascetic life of the monk. The Optional Memorial on August 2 (the date of the patriarchal funeral, his death falling on August 1, the feast of Saint Alphonsus) honors a witness who, like Saint Athanasius, suffered exile rather than betray the truth of the Catholic faith.

Patronages

Vercelli · the Diocese of Vercelli

Catholic Churches Named After Saint Eusebius of Vercelli

4 parishes on Catholic Church Times share Saint Eusebius of Vercelli's name. Find their Mass times, confession schedules, and adoration hours:

Sources