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Bust of Peter Damian
(Credit : Srnec at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

St Peter Damian is a reformer and Doctor of the Church, he fought the simony and corruption that was spreading among the clergy of his time. His feast-day is celebrated on February 21st.

A difficult childhood

Peter was born in Ravenna around 1007, the youngest of a large but poor noble family. Orphaned early, he was at first adopted by an elder brother who ill-treated and under-fed him while employing him as a swineherd. After some years, another brother, Damiano, who was the archpriest at Ravenna, had pity on him and took him away to be educated. As a sign of gratitude, Peter added the name Damian to his own.

Peter made such rapid progress in his studies of theology and canon law, first at Ravenna, then at Faenza, and finally at the University of Parma, that, around the age of 25, he was already a famous teacher at Parma and Ravenna.

Some significant episodes of Peter Damian's youth convinced him to consecrate himself to God alone, and to embrace the monastic life.

The Monastery of Fonte Avellana

Driven by a need for solitude, meditation and prayer, Peter Damian retired to the Camaldolese monastery of Fonte Avellana, in the year 1035. He quickly became the spiritual guide of the monks and his fame spread so rapidly that he was invited to teach in other monasteries as well. Returning to Fonte Avellana, he was elected Prior. He reorganized the hermitage and inspired the establishment of new houses in neighboring regions. His fervent activity was noticed by the Bishop of Ravenna who asked for his assistance, obliging him to leave the quiet and recollection of his monastery.

The evils of the Church

The Church at this time was afflicted by two evils: Simony, the buying and selling of ecclesiastical offices; and Nicolaism, or the non-fulfillment of celibacy. Pope Stephen IX called Peter Damian to Rome in 1057 to help him reform the clergy. The Pope quickly made him a Cardinal and Bishop of Ostia. Over the next six years he was sent on missions to Milan to quell an uprising, and later to Cluny, to defend the rights of the Benedictine abbots against the Archbishop of Macon. He worked with Pope Gregory VII in fighting against investiture, after the Emperor, Henry IV, abrogated the right to appoint bishops and abbots, incurring excommunication by the Pope. A few years after the death of Peter Damian, the Emperor begged for pardon and, dressed as a penitent, threw himself at the feet of the Pope at the Castle of Canossa, in 1077.

Saint and Doctor of the Church
Returning to his monastery from a peace mission in his hometown of Ravenna, Peter Damian was overtaken by death while visiting the Benedictine monastery in Faenza. He was immediately acclaimed as a saint by the people, and Pope Leo XII proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church in 1828.

- Article by Catholic Time Staff

Related video : February 21: St. Peter Damian, Bishop & Doctor