 |
Sant'Audeno, ora pro nobis |
August 24th is the Feast of Sant'Audeno (St. Ouen), Vescovo di Rouen. Patron saint of Serra di Pratola in Avellino, the cult of Sant'Audeno was introduced to Southern Italy by the Normans, who founded several churches in his honor, including the small sanctuary in Montaperto, Avellino; the Chiesa di Sant’Audeno in Aversa, Caserta; and the Apulian-Romanesque Church of Sant’Audeno in Bisceglie, Puglia. Built in 1074, the Church in Bisceglie is one of the oldest consecrated to the Frankish Bishop in Southern Italy. An architectural treasure, the church houses a small relic translated from Normandy.
Southern Italian devotion to Sant'Audeno was immortalized in the Miracula Sancti Audoeni, a collection of Saint Ouen’s miracles written after 1047 in Normandy. Included are stories of pilgrims from Andria and Monte Gargano in Apulia who visited the Saint’s shrine in Rouen and were miraculously cured of their ailments. He is the patron saint of the deaf and invoked against hearing loss.
In celebration, I'm posting a Prayer to Sant'Audeno. The accompanying photo was taken at Our Lady of Good Council Church in Inwood, Long Island. Evviva Sant'Audeno!
Prayer to Sant'Audeno
God our Father, enable us who honor the memory of Sant'Audeno, bishop and confessor, to share with him in the joy of eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen
