Today January 8

Today is the feast of St. Peter Orseolo (928 - 987). What an interesting guy! He was a distinguished Venetian, born to command, it seemed. His power and enthusiasm may have gotten the better of him because he was personally involved in the violent overthrow of the government and may even have killed the doge (governor), whom he succeeded. He governed well, first putting out the fires and repairing all the fire damage. Then he settled with the doge's widow, Gualdrada. Then he began the building of a new palace and church.

Then in the dead of night on September 1, 978, he fled to the Benedictine monastery at Cuxa in the Pyrenees. He'd abandoned his wife and son and took orders as a monk.

I've written about this case before and it's not as odd and off-putting as it first appears. I think it's actually MORE likely that Peter was guilty of murder or at least manslaughter and he was attempting to do penance rather than just running away from his marital and family obligations. After all, if he were convicted in a court, he'd have had to leave his wife and son anyway -- and perhaps leave them permanently in death, as capital punishment was in effect then. And he'd lived in a continent marriage with his wife since the birth of their son, who was already an adult by this time. They were both financially well cared-for and the son later went on to become doge in his own right. Peter on his part lived the life of a humble self-effacing monk and then as a hermit. He died in 987 and many miracles took place at his tomb. St. Peter Orseolo, pray for us.