ST GERMANUS KNEW A HOLY SOUL WHO WAS IN PURGATORY FOR BACKING THE ANTI-POPE

A little over 500 years after the Resurrection of Christ, there was an extreme crisis of leadership in His Church. Half a millennium in, the Catholics of Italy were in conflict as to who really was their Pope. Two men asserted they were Christ's Vicar: Pope Symmachus and "Pope" Laurentius who had been installed as "pope" by Symmachus's enemies because he had promised to see to their vested interests. There was a propaganda campaign waged that sought to make ordinary clerics and lay-people revere Laurentius as their supreme shepherd. 

Factions broke out among the faithful, the zealous supporters of Laurentius protested that he was Peter's true successor and won many to their ranks.  St Gregory the Great was still a very young man at the time. Gregory, who would become one of the best Popes to ever have lived, was formed in this time of great trouble. He watched the internecine fighting among his fellow Italians and the life-long rifts among the clergy that ensued. 

Gregory recorded this imbroglio in his Dialogues, and he chronicled the curious case of Deacon Paschasius who was such an avowedly staunch supporter of Laurentius that he broke ties with his bishops and scorned their leadership. Paschasius had been born in Rome and throughout his life he earned a reputation for extraordinary holiness and was the author of sublime books on how to honor the Holy Ghost. Furthermore, St Gregory the Great praised Deacon Paschasius as a fantastic friend of the poor. But Paschasius remained doggedly devoted to Laurentius to his last breath. 

Yet such was Paschasius's sanctity that immediately after his death, his wide-sleeved vestment that had hung on his body when he performed his functions as a deacon was shown to have miraculous qualities. The vestment was placed on the body of a possessed person and instantaneously this person was liberated from the demon who occupied them because the demon could not bear so holy a relic to be on the body he held hostage. 

The original owner of the vestment, however, was detained in Purgatory for his mistake in stubbornly buttressing Laurentius. Paschasius appeared to Bishop Germanus of Capua (the classic painting above is of Germanus whose feast is October 30th) and made known that he languished in Purgatory for his error of judgment in following Laurentius.  

It happened when Bishop Germanus fell ill and was sent to the baths of St Angelo for rest and convalescence. One day when Germanus was enjoying the restful waters, he saw Paschasius doing the most menial tasks at the baths, and Germanus cast about in himself as to why the dead Paschasius was a servant at a spa. This was still early in the history of the Church and Germanus would not have had many accounts of apparition of holy souls. Germanus approached Paschasius who gave this explanation, "I here expiate the wrong I did by adhering to the wrong party." Then he begged prayer, "I beseech of you, pray to the Lord for me: you will know that you have been heard when you shall no longer see me in these places." Germanus gave himself to praying for the deceased and only a few days later, he looked for Paschasius among the steamy pools, but could not find him. The condign punishment was for Paschasius to serve Bishop Germanus, which was fitting because he had failed to serve his bishops during his life. 

There is something about Paschasius that speaks to us particularly in this time, when someone may make an error by supporting a leader, perhaps even a member of the Church hierarchy who turns out to be the opposite of what they wanted their followers to believe. Certainly, I have known a few people who were fooled by the sham-sanctity of religious leaders who turned out to be charlatans at best, and callous monsters at worst. For years, I was close to someone who gave generous support to a prince of the Church who was later revealed to be a very evil man.

You and I may wonder as to why a holy person (who may be more in tune with the Holy Spirit because of their many prayers) can support a leader who is in reality foul, but feigns fealty to Christ.  Going back to Paschasius, it is ironic that he wrote books on the Holy Spirit, but that he made a mistake of judgement.  Perhaps we could all do with the prayers of St Germanus, who prayed for Paschasius's error to be forgiven, that our errors may be corrected and forgiven in this life. 

A very happy feast of St Germanus of Capua to you and yours. 

*  *  *

This post was informed by St Gregory the Great's Dialogues. I, however, first heard of the holy soul Paschasius appearing to St Germanus in the baths of St Angelo during a lecture given by my former colleague Dr John Newton.