99. SAINT WULSIN, BISHOP OF SHERBORNE

Our holy Father Wulsin was a native of London. In 959, he was appointed by King Edgar and St. Dunstan as superior of St. Peter's, Westminster, and in 980 – as abbot. In 992, he was consecrated bishop of Sherborne while remaining abbot of Westminster; and there he lived a life of great holiness and abstinence until his repose in 1002.

He rebuilt the church at Sherborne and improved its endowment.

As Christmas of the year 1001 was approaching, he fell ill in the monastery called Begás. «There had also fallen ill with him,» wrote his biographer Goscelin, «a certain very faithful and obedient monk of his named Aethelwine, who, having heard of Wulsin's illness, was stricken with grief for his beloved lord, and sent to inquire solicitously what hope there was for his recovery. When the bishop saw the messenger of his most compassionate servant, he said:

««Go back, brother, to your lord who has so warmly greeted me, and tell him from me, his master, that he should arrange everything and prepare himself with all care, for tomorrow he will go with me to the court of the Supreme King, where he will receive the reward of his faithful service which has been laid up for him by the Lord of all.»

«But when he was departing, the bishop besought his brethren in the following words:

««Dearly beloved, I beseech you in my paternal love that you arrange that my faithful servant who is very well-known to you and who is about to go with me to the mercy of the Lord as I await my own death, should be taken with me to Sherborne and buried with me in the same monastery, so that he who was always devoted to me in this present life should also be with me in death and eternal peace. How blessed is the faith of the righteous! How true the word of the Lord: «He that heareth you,» He says, «heareth Me, and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.» If we may draw parallels between great things and small ones, then it was thus that the evangelical forerunner sent a messenger to the Lord to ask whether they were waiting for Him or for another. Which is why he was counted worthy to be taught that the Lord would Himself follow His forerunner in death.»

«Now it seems that St. Wulsin was inspired by a prophetic spirit, since he foretold with such certainty the deaths both of himself and of the other man. All were amazed at this prophecy, and they were still more amazed at its fulfilment. And the hearts of all were overwhelmed by the setting of so great a light. However, just as once the disciples did not understand the word of the Lord concerning His Passion, and it was hidden from their stupefied senses, so these men did not grasp what they

openly heard. Thus are we accustomed tardily to believe that which we do not wish to happen. At length, however, convinced by this assertion, they asked him with deep groaning where he wished to be buried after his death. He indicated a very definite place in Sherborne which had just been prepared and in which his coffin was to be laid without fail.

«More than the others there mourned a certain priest by the name of Wulfric, who was counted worthy through his virtue of being very close to the holy bishop and who was specially informed of his secrets in God. This man was comforted by the paternal compassion of the saint, who, speaking with assurance in the Holy Spirit as if he had been already loosed from the bonds of the flesh and was already in heaven, said:

««Weep not, dearest brother, for I go to the joy of my Lord Who calls me. Trust, moreover, and be sure that, twelve years after my death, the Lord in His goodness will recall His mercies with me, and cause men to wonder by the witness of miracles, and will visit His people in me through the revelation of His grace, so that, just as you now weep for me, so then you will rejoice, looking up on high.»

«This prophecy was fulfilled in its time.

«When, therefore, his last hour had come, the sick man was placed in a chair, as was the custom, and the athlete, being about to triumph over the powers of the air, was signed with the potent mystery of Holy Unction. And when the hand of the priest had touched his breast with the holy oil, he lifted up his eyes to the Lord, his Helper, and broke into the wonderful cry of the blessed Stephen:

««Behold,» he said, »I see the heavens opened and Jesus standing on the right hand of God."

«And with these words, he breathed out his spirit into the hands of the Lord...

«When, therefore, the bier for the venerable body had been constructed, it was borne by the orphaned flock to the diocese of Sherborne to the accompaniment of hymns mixed with groans. Almost an hour before, the above-mentioned monk Aethelwine had preceded his master in death... Thus when the funeral rites had been performed by the bishop in the presence of abbots, clergy and a multitude of people, the saint was buried together with his companion, as he had commanded, in the narthex of the church...

«But when the saint's body was being placed in that very grave which he had commissioned, it was found to be too long. His head and shoulders stuck out, and it was found to be impossible to compress the whole body into the confined space of the grave. Everyone was perturbed and at a loss what to do. For although this grave was the wrong size, they did not dare to place the saint in another one which he had not commissioned. But then Divine grace counted his family worthy to behold a new and mighty miracle which was performed in the presence of the people and which men of good repute have confirmed. While everyone was hesitating, two bishops from neighbouring dioceses approached the tomb. Suddenly a noise was heard and the living earth moved of itself, and whatever was found outside the short cavity was found within it. It was as if the hard stone moved like sand or the dead man himself awoke from sleep on his bed and stretched his whole body out within the tomb. And the tomb was now too long to the same extent that it had been too short before. Then the crowd standing round shouted praises to heaven, and wept from joy and sorrow combined. But when the lid had been placed on the coffin with pious care, the heavenly treasure was hidden until the time of the Divine visitation by the saint himself... »

St. Wulsin reposed on January 8, a Sunday. Then, in the twelfth year after his repose, miracles began to take place at his tomb, as he had prophesied. We shall describe a few of the very many.

Bishop Wulfstan of Worcester fell ill with a lingering disease. He was told in a vision to go to the tomb of St. Wulsin and there receive healing. And when he had been brought to the saint's monastery in a carriage like the paralytic on a pallet, after staying the night there he was so completely healed that he who had been brought in a carriage returned on a horse. The day before the healing the bishops had been consulting with the king about appointing a successor to Wulfstan on account of his long illness. When they were unable to reach agreement about this, he suddenly entered the king's court to the amazement of all. On hearing his story, the bishops praised God and recognized in Wulsin a saint of God.

His fame spread far and wide, many people came to his tomb and a variety of illnesses were cured. On one occasion, during the vigil of Candlemas (The Presentation of the Lord to the Temple, February 2), a festive procession with burning candles was made to the tomb of the saint. Five sick people were laid on it by the multitude, and they were all immediately restored to health.

A certain woman from the saint's home city of London was in great pain from her back. She had gone round all the tombs of the saints, but without success. Having lost hope of a cure, she was returning home when the holy father appeared to her in her sleep and said:

«Go to Sherborne, to the place of my rest, and tell the brethren of the monastery from me that they must ask to have the pontifical chair which I commended to the abbess of Shaftesbury returned, and bring it back to my place with them. And let them know that you are to be healed by this sign and message in memory of me.»

Wonderful revelation! Until the woman told it them, the brethren knew nothing about this relic of the bishop. They asked the abbess, who had forgotten all about it. But then they found it and brought it back with them. The woman received the reward of her journey and labour and obedience at the tomb of the saint: she returned home with her health restored.

The saint's body was translated from the narthex of the church by his successor in the see of Sherborne, Ethelric, and St. Aelfheah, archbishop of Canterbury, with the authorization of the king. It was decreed that the saint's feast should be celebrated in his province every year. And when Bishop Ethelric and his fellow bishops, clergy, abbots and a multitude of the people opened the lid of the coffin, a wonderful fragrance as if from Paradise filled the senses and gladdened the hearts of all.

The holy body was laid on the right side of the altar. And then the fame of the saint's miracles drew so many sufferers to Sherborne that you would have thought that the whole of England's sick population had come there. The whole church and narthex was filled to overflowing, and most of those who sought healing received it.

St. Wulsin was succeeded in his see by the above-mentioned Ethelric, who was followed by Ethelsin and Brihtwine. But Brihtwine was ejected from the see and a Canterbury monk name Elfmar introduced in his place. He proceeded to tyrannize the saint's flock, and seized one of the brethren's possessions. Thereupon he lost his sight, and only received it back again when he returned to his own monastery, that he might realize that he had lost his sight by St. Wulsin's judgement lest he should tyrannize his flock, and received it back only when he had given up the bishopric he did not deserve. Then Brihtwine was restored to his see.

In about the year 1050, Bishop Aelfwold of Sherborne ordered the sarcophagus of St. Wulsin to be translated into the church. While he and the prior of St. Wulsin's monastery, Aethelweard, had been debating whether to take this step, they had both separately had a revelation at the same time and during the same night. In the prior's vision, he had been admitted into the narthex where the saint's sarcophagus lay and had seen himself collecting golden honeycombs from the sarcophagus as if it had been a beehive. The smell of the honey filled the whole monastery with an incomparable fragrance. Waking up, he cried:

«Truly, O honey-flowing father, we have found that you are here and you have given these signs of your presence.»

Immediately, he rushed to the bishop, who was just about to tell him about his own vision. he had found himself in a delightful flowering orchard, where he saw the holy father shining in glorious light and washing his head in a fountain. Struck with terror and joy, he went up to him and said:

«What are you doing, O fairest father?»

«What you should have done long ago,» replied the saint.

When the bishop and prior had told each other of their vision, they were more than ever convinced of what they should do; and without procrastinating any longer, they called the people and brethren and performed the service.

When the tomb was opened a wonderful fragrance filled the whole church, so that what the prior had sensed in his sleep he was now able to experience in reality. Nor did the fragrance fail throughout the service. When the holy bones had been brought into the church and placed on the south side of the main altar, they were reverently washed and then deposited in a casket in a specially prepared shrine, with an altar being situated at the saint's head, where Mattins and the Divine Liturgy were celebrated every day. In the washing of the bones Bishop Aelfwold saw the fulfilment of his vision. Then he built a new monastery adjoining the old, and once again transferred the relics of their sacred patron into it. He also, in response to many signs and revelations, translated the relics of St. Juthwara from Halstock to Sherborne; and there, through the intercession of the two saints, many miracles took place.

During the episcopate of Bishop Hermann, Aelfwold's successor, one of the church's golden shrines was stolen. Tired after a long search, the brethren were depressed, and especially the brother who had been appointed to guard the church. Then one night, when he was going into the altar at the end of Mattins, he suddenly heard a clear voice coming from the relics of St. Wulsin, which was audible to all the brethren in the choir as well:

«"Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,» saith the Lord.»

Stunned, they all felt renewed hope in the intercession of the saint. For none doubted that this voice had been from heaven. That same day, the stolen object was recovered, and the thief was caught and punished.

Once an attempt was made to take away from the rights of the bishopric, and to remove a convent from Bishop Hermann's jurisdiction. But then by his command the relics of St. Wulsin were brought in. Immediately, as if in the presence of their leader and judge, the opponents ceased to put forward their claim, and the ancient rights of the bishopric were confirmed.

One of the brothers of the monastery had been violently shaken for nearly half a year by bouts of fever, which came, first every two days, and then daily. He hated all food, and had to be dragged to meals as if to torture. On the day of the solemn translation of the relics of St. Juthwara, he wanted to sing in the choir behind the procession, but was suddenly seized with trembling and pallor. Reluctantly, he began to move back as if to captivity. But the other brothers, mindful of the grace of the saints, gave him to drink from the water which had washed their bones. He was completely healed. Others suffering from fevers were also healed by drinking the holy water.

A married woman lay as if dead for three days. She was deaf and dumb, immobile as a stone, her eyes staring blankly in front of her, pupils and eyelids motionless. She gave no sign to those who called to her, and if carried her head and other limbs would fall if not supported. Everyone was expecting her death, and the only talk was of her burial. On the third day her son, who was a monk brought up in the piety of the saints, came to see his parents, wishing to comfort the one and cure the other. But human wisdom saw no hope of a cure. Mindful, however, of the virtues of his native saints, he returned to the monastery and sent her some of the above-mentioned water. Immediately some of it was poured down her throat, she came to as if from sleep, moved her eyes, sat up, and eagerly drank the rest of the draught. Soon she was on her feet. Then all their friends who had been mourning the woman without hope rejoiced with her husband as if she had come back from the dead.

St. Wulsin is commemorated on January 8.

Holy Father Wulsin, pray to God for us!

(Sources: C.H. Talbot, «The Life of St. Wulsin of Sherborne by Goscelin», Revue Benedictine, LXIX, pp. 69–85; Frank Barlow, The English Church 1000–1066, Longmans, 1979, p. 68, note 2; David Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Clarendon Press, 1978, p. 415)