Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 13.djvu/436

 SAINT-VICTOR

SAINT-VICTOR

colonic de la Nouvelle-Francc" (Paris, 1687), he pub- lished a glowing account of the piety and devotedness of the clergy, and of the morality of the people. The contra^it between Laval's paternal rule, and St-Val- Uer's often untimely zeal and anxiety to reform caused apprehension. His consecration (16SS) pro- moted the king's hberahty in behalf of the incipient Church and the propagation of the Faith. The young pastor's activity spent itself in creating par- ishes, building churches, and founding homes for the poor, begimiing ^\^th "La Providence" (16S9), which was to develop into the general hospital (1692). In 16S9 he ^^sited Xe\\'f oundland and founded at Placentia a Franciscan convent. When Phipps (1690) besieged Quebec, the bishop hastened back from Montreal to comfort liis flock, and published for the occasion a mandemcnt full of faith and patriotism. In 1692, to Laval's displeasure, he altered the system of joint ad- ministration of the diocese by bishop and seminar^'.

In 1694 8t-Vallier went to France for the third time to exonerate himself from the charges brought against him. In spite of the king's desire to retain him, he returned to Quebec (1697), and finished con- structing his spacious palace, destined to give hos- pitality to all the clergy. That same year, he founded at Three Rivers a monaster}^ of L'rsulines, who com- bined hospital work with teaching. He likemse ap- proved the charitable foundation of the Charron Brothers, which lasted till 1745. In 16S9, he had summoned to Quebec the Sisters of Marguerite Bour- geoys, who still teach there. He encouraged the exten- sion of the Faith bj- confiding to the Jesuits the lUinois, Miami, Sioux, and Ottawa missions; He Royale to the Recollects, and the Tamarois mission, on the left bank of the Mississippi, to the Quebec seminary (1698), one of whose missionaries represented Mgr Saint- Vallier as vicar-general for the Louisiana region, then comprised, as well as all the vast territorj' included in the future "Louisiana Purchase", within the jurisdic- tion of the Bishop of Quebec. He visited Rome (1701), and on his return voyage was captured by the English. During his five years of captivity he ex- erted his zeal in behalf of the Catholics of his neigh- bourhood. Although released in 1709, his departure from France, where he again refused to rehnquish Quebec for a richer see, was delayed till 1713. His venerable predecessor had died in 1708. St-Vallier was firm in doctrine and in perfect union with Rome. The results of his zeal for ecclesiastical discipline still abide. He published a "Rituel du diocdse de Que- bec" (Paris, 1703); " Cat6chisme de Quebec " (Paris, 1702), presided at four synods (1690, 1694, 1698, 1700), and issued a great number of mayuiements, let- ters, and other episcopal documents, over one hun- dred of which have been published in the collection of "Les mandements des dvecjucs de Qu6bec". He died after forty years' episcopate, nearly half of which he was forced to spend far from his diocese. Though his overbearing zeal and excessive desire to perform all the good that he had in view occasionally elicited measures that were displeasing and even offensive, these were fully outbalanced by his generosity tow- ards the poor, and his genuine disinterestedness.

MandemenlH lien Mguef de QuSbec (Quebec, 1887); Tferu, Les eUguet de Qu/hec (Quelx-c. 1889;; Mgr de Sl-Vallier el I'Hdpilal- GirUral de Quihcc (Quebec, 1882); Gosselin. Mf/r de St-Vallier el ton Umpt (Evreux, 1898); Howlet, Ecclesiastical History of Newfoundland (Boston, 1888).

Lionel Lindsay.

Saint-Victor, Abbey of.— In the year 1108, the famous Willi.'uri of Cliampf-aux, archdeacon of Notro- Darne in Paris, wlio IkuI been lecturing to crowds of students, relinquishing his chair, retired to a small her- mitage dedicatcfl to St. Victor, the martyr soldier, near the city. Here he was followed by many of his disci- ples, Abelard among them, and induced again to take up hifl lectures. Hence the origin of the Royal

Abbey and School of St-Victor. With some of his followers, William had become a canon regular, but, at the request of St. Bernard he was made Bishop of Chalons in 1113, and was succeeded at St-Victor's by Gildwin, a man, as the " Necrologium " records, of piety and learning, and zealous in promoting the canonical order. The abbey, by the generosity of popes, kings, queens, and noblemen, was soon richly endowed. Numerous religious houses of canons reg- ular were reformed by its canons. Ste- Genevieve (Paris), Wigmore in Wales, St. Augustine's (Bristol, 1148), St. Catherine's (Waterford), St. Thomas's (Dublin), St. Peter's (Aram, Naples) were of the num- ber. No less than forty abbeys of the Order of St. Victor are mentioned in his last will by King Louis VIII, who left all his jewels for the erection of the abbey church and 4000 pounds to be equally divi(lcd among them. At the general chapter which was con- vened every year, there were present some 100 abbots and priors. Before the abbey was 160 A'cars old, sev- eral cardinals and at least eight abbots, all sons of St- Victor's, were at the head of as many abbeys, among them John, Abbot of Ste-Genevicve (Paris), and An- drew, an Englishman, Abbot of ^^'igmore.

The traditions of \Mlliam of Chamjieaux were handed on, and St-Victor's became a centre of piety and learning. The school, with those of Ste-Gene- vieve and Notre-Dame, was the cradle of the LTni- versity of Paris. To that celebrated school flocked crowds of students from all countries. Among them were men like Hugh of Blankenburg, better known as Hugh of St-Victor, called the St. Augustine of his time; Richard, a Scotchman, the mystic doctor; Adam, the greatest poet of the Middle Ages; Peter Comestor, the historian; Peter Lombard, the ynagister sententiarum; Thomas, Abbot of St. Andrew's (Ver- ccil), to whom St. Francis sent St. Anthony of Padua for his theological studies; another Thomas, prior at the abbey wiio, nearly fifty years before his name- sake of Canterburj', gave his life for justice sake. To St-Victor's came, onty four months before his mar- tyrdom, the same St. Thomas a Bccket and addressed his brother canons on the words: "In pace f actus est locus ejus". The " Scotichronicon " records that in 1221 a canon of St-Victor's, in his capacity of papal legate, visited Ireland and Scotland, where at Perth he convoked all the ecclesiastical dignitaries to a gen- eral convention which lasted four days.

The time came when abbots in commcndam were introduced and signs of decay were manifested. To- wards the end of the fifteenth century some efforts were made to reform the abbey with canons brought from the newly-established Windesheim congrc^gation. A few years later Cardinal de Larochefoucauld again attempted to reform it, but in vain. Tlic canons, moreover, were iiii])licated in the Jansenist movement, only one, the Vencraljlc Jourdan, rcnuiining faithful to the old spirit and Iniditions. At tliat time there lived at St-Victor Santcul, the great classic^al poet, whose Latin proses w(>re adoijtcd by the dalHcan Liturgy. The end of the abbey came with the French Revolu- tion. In 1800 the church and the other buildings were sold, the famous library was disi)ersed, and a few years later everything had disai)peared. There are still a few convents of canonesses, at Bruges, Ypres, and Neuilly, who keep the rule and spirit which they originally receive<l from the Abbey of St-Victor's.

noNNARi), Hint, dr I'fihhaue royale de St-Victor de Paris (1907); Gautier, /I '/am de Sl-Virlor (Paris, 1858); Bonneau, Notice dca chanoincs de I'calise (Puria, 1908).

A. Allaria.

Saint-Victor, Achakd de, canon regular, Abbot of St-Victor, Paris, and Bishop of Avranches, b. about 1100; d. 1 172. By some authorities he is said to have been of English extraction, by others to be of the noble Norman family of de Pertins, of Domfront. He com- pleted his Btud-ies at the school of St-Victor's and en-