Halfway to this research, I sincerely asked St. William of
Gellone and St. William of Maleval and all Saints and Angels, including Mama
Mary, our Dear Sto. Nino, and of course Jesus to grant me the wisdom, guidance,
and the courage to impart my piece to the parishioners. All entries are from
many reliable sources which are mentioned in the last part of this
presentation. I DO NOT WISH YOU TO BELIEVE EVERYTHING, BUT I DO PRAY FOR YOU TO FIND INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT MATTER AND DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH TO DISCOVER YOUR FAITH.
The folktale about our Patron Saint William that was passed
down through the generations by the words of mouth wasn’t put into writing
until 1985, during the celebration of the 150th Year of the founding
of Catmon, please correct me if I am wrong. Souvenir Program called the Jubilee
Year Book was designed to compensate the expenses of the celebration through
paid advertisement, the program featured numerous varieties of traditional
narrative from the founding of our parish to 1985. Some are based on facts and
some are mythical in nature, such as The Legend of Budbud Kabog.
The life story of our Patron Saint is not a myth or a fairy
tale, but an oral tradition of a true life story that was well lived,
characterized by sinful errors, sacrifices, and penitence that made him a
Saint. It is his story that inspires the parishioners and strengthens their
faith for centuries.
Who in his right mind would write a true life story capped
with his wild imagination, altered and mangled it to make it sound like the
real deal? The sad thing is, the story has been published in every year’s
fiesta celebration souvenir program. Nobody dares to question it; nobody cares,
because nobody knows.
This gives us the notion not to rely on stories and accept
it as true without doing our homework and find out the truth ourselves. We
should burn our candle, dig a little deeper, and widen our understanding. To
embrace Him wholeheartedly first, we have to know Him truthfully and
intimately.
To write a fabricated story misled the believers, will
create confusion, and will perhaps question their faith. How can we honor a
Saint, not knowing who He really was? How can we idolize Him? Believing the
false story and idolizing and praising Him for what He is not, is somewhat idiotic…
BLIND FAITH.
The substance of the story behind the Saint is the
foundation of our faith towards Him. The same as the story of Jesus Christ is
the core of our faith as Christians. Without the benefit of understanding and
embracing the story, what kind of a Christian would we be?
I thought my research would be meaningless, nobody told me
to do so, it just happened one day without reason. The first time I read the
story intimately; my interest grew and made me dig even more. I don’t know, I
just felt that there is something to be straightened, something to be
discovered, and something to be changed… I just didn’t realize it was in fact
the beginning of something full of twists and turns, a very intricate adventure
for me but worth every penny.
This presentation is mainly for the purpose of appreciating
the life of St. William of Catmon and is based on facts and writings by
reputable historians, from catholic encyclopedias, dictionaries of saints, and
books on the lives of the saints, and reliable websites, including our very own
book Balaanong Bahandi an update to the 1886 publication Breve Reseña.
I neither added nor deleted anything to mangle the stories
to serve my fancies; I only did retouching on some parts of the stories to make
it more readable and understandable. I did not twist facts; I merely presented
the stories as written by their authors.
Comments from my own perspective are mine alone; it does not
reflect anybody else’s. If I have offended someone in the course of my
presentation, I am very sorry; I am responsible and will accept whatever the
consequence. But please, STOP deceiving the Parishioners.
Let’s take a look at the story of St. William of Gellone as
characterized by the writer in our fiesta souvenir program, please refer to
Case #1.
In Case #1: (Souvenir Program Story)
"St. William of Gellone is said to have gone to pilgrimage in 1130 AD per advised of Pope Eugenius III. A friend Bernard of Clairvaux helped Him reconcile with the Church after He was excommunicated for supporting Anti Pope Anacletus against the rightful authority of Pope Innocent II in the same year 1130 AD."
CONTRADICTION based on the dates of their Birth and Death:
Dates of their Birth and Death
Facts:
St. William of Gellone: ___________(8th-9th Centuries)
Born: 755 AD
Died: May 28, 812 AD
Antipope Anacletus: _____________(11th-12th Centuries)
Born: 1090 AD
Died: January 25, 1138 AD
Pope Innocent II: ________________(11th-12th
Century)
Born: ---
Died: September 23, 1143 AD
Pope Eugenius III: _______________(11th-12th
Centuries)
Born: 1080 AD
Died: July 8, 1153 AD
St. Bernard of Clairvaux: __________(11th-12th
Centuries)
Born: 1090 AD
Died: August 20, 1153 AD
SPECIFICS on Contradiction:
St. William of Gellone could not have defended the antipope
Anacletus against the rightful authority of Pope Innocent II in 1130. St.
Bernard of Clairvaux could not have helped St. William of Gellone to reunite
himself with the Church, much more; Pope Eugenius III could not have convinced
St. William of Gellone to do pilgrimage in Jerusalem for the forgiveness of his sins.
The two Popes, Bernard of Clairvaux who later became a Saint
mentioned in the story including the Antipope Anacletus are more than three (3)
centuries younger than St. William of Gellone, meaning more than three hundred
(300) years younger. They were not born yet during the time of St. William of
Gellone. How can they commune with William?
William of Gellone Duke of Aquitaine was Canonized a Saint
by Pope Alexander II in 1066 and therefore was already a Saint during the era
of Antipope Anacletus, Pope Innocent II, Pope Eugenius III, Bernard of
Clairvaux, William of Maleval, and William X, also Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of
Gascony, and Count of Poitou from 1126 to 1137.
Saint William of Gellone who was born in 755 AD (8th
Century) was 325 years older than Pope Eugenius III who was born in 1080 AD
(11th Century). Pope Eugenius III was the youngest among the individuals
mentioned in the story. All others were living during the time period, except
for William of Gellone who was already with our Almighty God and a Saint.
THEN WHO IS THIS WILLIAM Duke of Aquitaine who went to pilgrimage in 1130’s?
Citing from one of the many references, below quotation and
profile are taken from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_X,_Duke_of_Aquitaine, as follows:
“William X, Duke of Aquitaine, initially supported antipope Anacletus II in the papal schism of 1130, opposite to Pope Innocent II, against the will of his own bishops. In 1134 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux convinced William to drop his support to Anacletus and join Innocent. In 1137 William joined the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, but died during the trip.”
William X, called the Saint: ---------- (11th-12th Centuries)
Born: 1099
Died: 9 April 1137
Profession: Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, and Count of Poitou from 1126 to 1137.
THREE different LIVES rolled into one:
It is very clear that the writer of the story in the fiesta
souvenir program was misguided, confused, and followed his instinct, as a result
compounded the life of William X to William of Gellone both were Duke of
Aquitaine in a different time period.
Not only the writer compounded the life of William X to
William of Gellone, but also interpolated the life of William the Hermit to
William of Gellone. Three very distinct lives rolled into one, this is the
story featured in the souvenir program, a hoax. Please see Case # 2.
In Case # 2, as quoted (Souvenir Program Story):
“He was later received
back into the church and begged the pardon of the newly elected Pope Eugenius
III who sent him to Patriarch of Jerusalem
for counseling and guidance. There in a nearby
cave, he began his life of penance and atonement for sins. He ate sparingly of
the course black bread of the region and drank nothing but water. He slept on
the bare ground and used a stone for a pillow. He underwent the severest of
fastings considering himself as the worst of criminals.”
The above is very similar to the life of William the Hermit
who implored the Holy Father for pardon and prescriptive penance for his
sinfulness. Pope Eugenius III encouraged William to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1145.
Please read the
context below taken from one of the many very reliable sources.
From the book “The Lives of the Saints, 1866” by Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume II: February.
February 10
St. William of Maleval, Hermit, and Institutor of the Order
of Gulielmites
“He is thought to have
passed his youth in the army, and to have given into a licentious manner of
living, too common among persons of that profession. The first accounts we have
of him represent him as a holy penitent, filled with the greatest sentiments of
compunction and fervour, and making a pilgrimage to the tombs of the apostles
at Rome. Here
he begged Pope Eugenius III to put him into a course of penance, who enjoined
him a pilgrimage to Jerusalem
in the year 1145.
In performing this,
with great devotion, the saint spent eight years. Returning into Tuscany in 1153, he
retired into a desert. He was prevailed upon to undertake the government of a
monastery in the Isle of Lupocavio, in the territory of Pisa: but not being
able to bear with the tepidity and irregularity of his monks, he withdrew and
settled on Mount Pruno, till finding disciples there no less indocile to the
severity of his discipline than the former, he was determined to pursue himself
that rigorous plan of life which he had hitherto unsuccessfully proposed to
others.
He pitched upon a
desolate valley for this purpose, the very sight of which was sufficient to
strike the most resolute with horror. It was then called the Stable of Rhodes,
but since, Maleval; and is situated in the territory
of Sienna, in the diocess of Grosseto. He entered this
frightful solitude in September, 1155, and had no other lodging than a cave in
the ground, till being discovered some months after, the lord of Buriano built
him a cell. During the first four months, he had no other company but that of
wild beasts, eating only the herbs on which they fed.”
“The saint in his
discourses with others, always treated himself as the most infamous of
criminals, and deserving the worst of deaths; and that these were his real
sentiments, appeared from that extreme severity which he exercised upon
himself. He lay on the bare ground: though he fed on the coarsest fare and
drank nothing but water, he was very sparing in the use of each; saying,
sensuality was to be feared even in the most ordinary food. Prayer, divine
contemplation, and manual labour, employed his whole time.”
From the book:
WRITER’S acknowledgement:
The (fiesta souvenir program) writer of the life story of
St. William of Catmon mentioned that our Patron Saint embraced a hermitical
life in a cave and subjected himself with great sacrifices as a form of penance
for his sins. He later founded a Monastery.
The writer acknowledges that our Patron Saint is a Hermit
not a Monk. This expressly substantiated
the story handed down from generation to generation, the very same story I’ve
heard from my elders when I was a kid… that our Patron Saint is a Hermit.
In the course to support his claim that our Patron Saint is
William of Gellone Duke of Aquitaine,
the writer made it appear that St. William of Gellone was a Hermit in some
point in his life after his pilgrimage. The writer did not disclose any
statistics as to when the events transpired not even his death and where he
died. William of Gellone died in the Benedictine Monastery he founded as a Monk
in May 28, 812 AD. St. William of Gellone Duke of Aquitaine is a Benedictine Monk NOT an
Augustinian Hermit. His life is celebrated every 28th of May the day
he died NOT February 10.
From the Book BALAANONG BAHANDI:
"The book
Balaanong Bahandi: Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu is a beautiful
tome that celebrates the religious architecture, treasures, cultural heritage
and faith of the Cebuanos on the occassion of the diamond jubilee of the
Archdiocese of Cebu.
The book is an update to the 1886 publication Breve Reseña
de lo que fue y de lo que es la Diocesis de Cebu en las Islas Filipinas (A
Brief Account of What is and What was the Diocese of Cebu in the Philippine
Islands) by Felipe Redondo, secretary to the Bishop Benito Romero de
Madridejos. Redondo’s work is the most important source for those studying the
history of the Diocese of Cebu during the
Spanish Colonial period."
From these books, Catmon's Patron Saint is named St. William
the Hermit. Saint William the Hermit is one of the three Saints named William
venerated by the Augustinians who built the Church of Catmon
in 1835.
From the conception, our Patron Saint was Saint William the
Hermit and this was authenticated by the publication of the book BREVE RESENA
in 1886, some 51 years after the start of the construction of the Catmon Church.
Saint William the Hermit was the Patron Saint of Catmon from
1835, (fortified by the publication of the book Breve Resena in 1886, and again
by the recent publication of the Balaanong Bahandi,) until local historian of
Catmon replaced St. William the Hermit with St. William of Gellone Duke of
Aquitaine in 1985 assuming both Saints are one and the same person "out of confusion".
Saints FEAST Day:
“The word
"feast" in this context does not mean "a large meal, typically a
celebratory one", but instead "an annual religious celebration, a day
dedicated to a particular saint".
“The system arose from
the early Christian custom of commemorating each martyr annually on the DATE OF
HIS OR HER DEATH, or birth into heaven, a date therefore referred to in Latin
as the martyr's dies natalis ("day of birth")…”
“The Orthodox Church
commemorates certain saints or sacred events in its history every day of the
year. The FEAST DAY of a SAINT is GENERALLY the DATE OF HIS OR HER DEATH.”
From http://www.catholic.org/saints/faq.php:
February 10 May 28
Bl. Alexander of Lugo St. Accidia
St. Andrew St. Bernard of Montjoux
St. Aponius St. Caraunus
St. Austreberta St. Emilius
St. Baldegundis St. Heliconis
St. Erluph BI. John Shert
Bl. Louise Bessay de la Voute St. Justus of Urgel
Bl. Louise Poirier Barre BI. Margaret Pole
St. Paganus St. Paul Hann
St. Paul and Ninety Companions St. Podius
Bl. Pierre Fremond BI. Robert Johnson
St. Scholastica St. Senator
St. Trumwin BI. Thomas Ford
St. William of Maleval St. William of Gellone
From the Book BUTLER’S LIVES OF THE SAINTS:
AUGUSTIANIAN Friars:
The Church
of Catmon was built by
the Augustinian Missionaries in 1835. Do you agree that Augustinian Friars espoused Augustinian
Saints? They built Churches in honor of their Saints. The Augustinian Saint
William of Catmon was chosen by the Augustinian Friars from among their many
Saints as Patron Saint of our Parish, He was a Hermit and Died on February 10,
1157 AD. His Feast Day is on the Day of His Death.
Is it possible that St. William of Gellone NOT the Patron
Saint of Catmon?
St. William of Gellone Duke of Aquitaine is a Monk NOT a
Hermit, He is a Saint of the Benedictine Order NOT of the Augustinian, His
Feast Day is May 28 NOT February 10, these facts tells us that He is NOT Saint
William assigned by the Augustinian Friars to guard and protect the parish of
Catmon, therefore NOT the Saint the Church was named after.
If we base our understanding on facts, no doubt the Saint given
the responsibilities to protect, guard, guide, and or help the parishioners of
Catmon is Saint William of Maleval otherwise known as Saint William the Hermit
and also Saint William the Great. He died a Hermit on February 10, 1157 AD, and
His Order, the Hermits of Saint William known as the “Bare-Footed Friars”
eventually, was incorporated into the Hermits of Saint Augustine. He is an
Augustinian Saint.
CATMONANON as we are:
I chatted with some Catmonanons and some open the possibility
that St. William of Gellone and ST. William of
Maleval is one and the same person. Point blank, I told them that it is not
possible; they walked on earth in different time period more than 300 years
apart. By the time William of Maleval did his penitence William of Gellone was
already a Saint.
Another possibility was in correlation with the Patron Saint
of Dalaguete. Dalaguete’s Patron Saint is St. William of Aquitaine which was also subject to several disagreements
among some of the parishioners. The possibility is that the writer of the story
of St. William of Catmon might have entertained the idea that Dalaguete and
Catmon has the same Patron Saint since they both are named William or
Guillermo.
The writer should have done his research before winding up
his story. He should have known that there are many Saints by the name William
or Guillermo and dig up a little bit more. The writer should have considered
the day of their death since traditionally Saints Feast Day is held on that
day. He should have also considered the group who revered the Saint and the
group of friars who built the Parish Church of Catmon. The Parish Church of
Catmon was built by the Augustinian Missionaries and therefore should have
named their Church after their venerated Saints.
Why would the writer made a presumption and emulate other
parish’s Faith? Catmon is not Dalaguete, we have our own identity and it must
be respected not to be subjugated by one’s ignorance and ineptness. Why run to
Dalaguete, don’t we have our own resources?
For all we know our talents are much better than those of
the writer’s out-of-town thinker. Besides, we need no thinker to know our
Patron Saint, numerous reliable references from world acclaimed historians is
more than enough coupled with interest and dedication.
Research is CONTEMPLATION:
Misapplying a few facts to support a traditional myth and ignoring the reams of facts is not a research but a total sham. It’s always nonsensical to manipulate facts to promote own point of view. Whether or not we realize it, we all have certain presuppositions and biases that affect the way we view all of life and reality. To make the long story short, if you’re interested in any topic, read objective histories about it, then bring in as many primary sources as you can to test those histories, and then make a decision about what really happened based on facts.
References:
BOOKS
1. The Lives of the Saints, 1866” by Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume II: February.
3.
Balaanong
Bahandi: Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu
4. Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
5. Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
7. BIBLIOTHECA
SANCTORUM WAYS
(GIUST-LHUIL) PUBLISHING
NEW CITY,
ROME ITALY,
1966 PP.479-480
8. The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages
WEBSITES
9. http://www.catholic.org/saints/faq.php
10. http://www.philstar.com/cebu-lifestyle/419255/catmon-revisited
11. http://www.britannica.com/biography/William-X
17.
http://newadvent.org/cathen/15633a.htm
18. Catholic Online
22.
https://sites.google.com/…/dioceseofpasigd…/list-of-parishes
