Beatus of Lungern

Infobox Saint
name=Beatus of Lungern
birth_date=unknown
death_date=c. 112
feast_day=9 May
venerated_in=Roman Catholic Church


imagesize=170px
caption=The coat of arms of Beatenberg, depicting Saint Beatus' fight with the dragon
birth_place=Ireland or Scotland
death_place=Mount Beatenberg, Switzerland
titles=Monk and Hermit
"Apostle of Switzerland"
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date=
canonized_place=
canonized_by=
attributes=As an old man reading in a mountain cave; a monk fighting a dragon
patronage=
major_shrine=
suppressed_date=
issues=

Beatus of Lungern, known also by the Apostle of Switzerland or as Beatus of Beatenberg or of Thun, was a probably legendary monk and hermit of early Christianity, and is revered as a saint. Though his legend states that he died in the second century, it is likely that his story has been with other saints of the same name, especially Beatus of Vendôme, and an Abbot Beatus who received a charter in 810 from Charlemagne to confirm that Honau Abbey would be administered by Irish monks.cite web | last =Rabenstein | first =Katherine | title =Beatus of Beatenberg (RM) | work =Saints O' the Day for July 16 | date =August 1999 | url =http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0509.htm | accessdate =2007-05-07]

Life

While legend claims that he was the son of a Scottish king, other legends place his birth in Ireland. Beatus was a convert, baptized in England by Saint Barnabas. He was allegedly ordained a priest in Rome by Saint Peter the Apostle,cite web | last = Jones | first = Terry | title = Beatus of Lungern| work = Patron Saints Index | url=http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintb2x.htm | accessdate = 2007-05-07] whereupon he was sent with a companion named Achates to evangelize the tribe of the Helvetii. The two set up a camp in Argovia near the Jura Mountains, where they converted many of the locals.cite web | last =Lopez-Ginisty | first =Claude | title =Saint Beatus | work =Orthodoxy’s Western Heritage - Mission in the Alps | publisher =Orthodox America | url =http://www.roca.org/OA/63/63f.htm | accessdate =2007-05-07]

Beatus then ventured south to the mountains above Lake Thun, taking up a hermitage in a cave, where he spent the rest of his life. Tradition states that this cave is where he fought a dragon. He died at an old age in 112.

Veneration

Beatus is primarily remembered as the first apostle to Switzerland. The cultus of Beatus was widespread in the Middle Ages and survived even the hostility of the Reformation period when pilgrims were driven back from his cave at spear-point by Zwinglian Protestants. After this period of turmoil, Beatus' relics, and the focus of his cultus, were transferred to the chapel at Lungern, Obwalden. The mountain where he resided until his death is still a place of pilgrimage, and bears his name: Beatenberg.

Historicity

The earliest recorded accounts of St. Beatus' life date no earlier than the 10th and mid-11th centuries and have not been historically authenticated. So, some would hesitate to endorse the tradition that calls St. Beatus the "Apostle of Switzerland". Indeed, Saint Gall probably more justly deserves this honor.

References

External links

* [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/ncd01085.htm New Catholic Dictionary: St. Beatus]
* [http://www.interlaken.ch/index.php?id=264&L=3 The St. Beatus Caves]
* [http://www.beatushoehlen.ch/e/hoehlenwelt/ Another website about the caves of St. Beatus]
* [http://www.kathpedia.com/index.php?title=Beatus Beatus at the Kathpedia]