(1) BLESSED MANNES GUZMÁN
None of the early historical writers of the Order fail to mention Blessed Mannes[1].
His stock was not the least noble among the grandees of Catholic Spain. His
parents were Felix de Guzmán and Juana de Aza, in whose veins also ran some of
the best blood of Old Castile. On both sides Mannes could count brave defenders
of his country; but what was of infinitely greater importance to him were the
holy lives of his own immediate family. His father was a splendid type of the
Christian gentleman. His mother has been raised to the honors of the altar
under the name of Blessed Juana. His eldest brother, Antonio, was a model
priest, who devoted his life to the care of souls, the welfare of the poor, and
the aid of the sick, and died with a great reputation for sanctity. Dominic,
the youngest and perhaps the only other child, became the founder of the Order
of Friars Preacher. Surely this is a record of which any one might well be
proud.[2]
Mannes first saw the light of day in the ancestral castle, Caleruega, Old Castile. The date of his birth can only be estimated from that of Saint Dominic (1170), than
whom, we are told, he was a number of years older. Like Antonio, he chose the
ecclesiastical state at an early age. Of his ordination to the priesthood and
where he made his studies we know nothing. However, Spain was most likely the
theater of both. The earlier writers of the Order, while reticent about these
things, all tell us that he was of a retiring disposition, and much given to
prayer and contemplation.
Yet an apostolic zeal evidently burned in his breast. Almost immediately after the
return to Spain of Bishop Diego de Acebedo, whom Saint Dominic had accompanied
to Rome, Mannes set out for France. From the bishop he learned the need of
preachers in Languedoc, where Dominic had been left to combat the errors of the
Albigensians. Possibly Bishop Diego de Acebedo himself suggested that Mannes
should also take up this work. At any rate, we find him with his younger
brother before the close of 1207. From this time the two men, for they were
cast in the same spiritual mold, toiled hand in hand for nearly ten years that
they might free the Church of southern France from the poison and turmoil of
heresy, and restore it to its former peace and beauty.
Not once in all this time did Mannes take a vacation, or pay a visit to his native land,
which he loved none the less because he had dedicated himself to the service of
God. He felt that his place was where religion needed his attention so sadly.
His zeal was tireless; his efforts unceasing. Perhaps on no other did Dominic
depend so much. Doubtless, if the full truth were known, history would have to
associate Mannes more closely with the saint's success, as well as give him
more credit for the part he played in the conversion of the Albigensians. No
danger or hardship could cause him to falter in his labors. He was a splendid
preacher. Like Dominic, he intermingled prayer with his sermons and
instructions. By his shining virtues and mortified life he wielded a stronger
influence for good, whether among the faithful or those who had wandered from
the path of truth, than by his eloquence.
One of Blessed Mannes' most striking traits seems to have been his humility. He knew not the meaning of the word pride or jealousy. The one thing he sought was the
glory of God and the salvation of souls. Although older in years, he obeyed his
brother as a dutiful son does the will of his Brother. When Saint Dominic
established his Order, Brother Mannes was among the first to place himself
under his standard, and to receive the habit. Thus we find him among the
"sixteen" zealous men whom God selected as the foundation stones on
which to build the Order of Friars Preacher. One would be perfectly safe in the
assertion that, when (August 15, 1217) the chosen little band took their
religious vows on bended knees before the patriarch, not one of them entered
into the ceremony with a better heart, or in more of a spirit of self-sacrifice,
than Blessed Mannes.
This event took place in the Conventual Church of Sainte Marie’s of Prouilhe, southern France. The annals of Prouilhe are very explicit in the matter. From their
statement and that of Brother Juan of Navarra about the time of his entrance
into the Order, which he made in his testimony to the holy life of Dominic to
the papal commission appointed to examine the saint's cause for canonization,
it would seem that the sixteen brethren had taken their vows at Saint Romain of
Toulouse, after Innocent III sanctioned the foundation of the Order. However,
after its confirmation by Honorius III, Dominic had them renew their
profession. Such was his love for Prouilhe, around which so much of his work
centered, that he chose this place for the ceremony, and as the point of their
departure for the various countries to which he sent them.[3]
Blessed Mannes was chosen as one of those who were to start a house of the new Order in Paris. He had six companions – Brother Matthew of France, who was the superior; Brother Bertrand of Garrigue, Brother Lawrence of England; the two Spaniards, Brother Juan of Navarra and Brother Miguel de Fabra; and Brother Oderic of Normandy. They travelled in two parties. That composed of Brothers Mannes,
Miguel and Oderic reached their destination first, September 12, 1217, being
the day of their arrival in the great French capital.
For a while the Brethren were obliged to live in a house near Notre Dame Hospital, in the center of the city. But their zeal, eloquence, and model lives soon won them
many friends. Among these was Jean de Barastre, a celebrated master of the
University of Paris, dean of Saint Quentin, and a royal chaplain. The noted
ecclesiastic had established a hospice for strangers near the City Gate called
"Porte d'Orleans." The hospice bore the name of “Saint Jacques”. This
he now conferred on the homeless Friars Preacher, and they took possession of
it August 6, 1218[4]. It became the famed Saint Jacques Priory and Studium, than which none is more celebrated in the Order.
Blessed Mannes was one of the founders of this well-known institution, which played a conspicuous part in the history of the University of Paris. His sermons are
said to have borne rich fruit in the French capital, for he had a splendid gift
of oratory. Besides, he was endowed with an extraordinary personal magnetism;
while his kindly, open, and friendly disposition exercised a strong influence
over souls. Few could resist his appeals for a better life.
Just when the subject of this sketch left Paris, where he was much beloved, the writers donot tell us. But it is known that Saint Dominic himself sent him from there to
Madrid, Spain; and from this we can form a most reasonable conjecture as to the
time when Blessed Mannes returned to his native land, which he does not appear
to have seen since 1207. While in Spain in connection with affairs of his
Order, Dominic found Brother Pedro de Madrid organizing some pious ladies for a
religious community in that city. The saint gave them the habit, admitted them
to their vows, and started the construction of a Priory for them. This was
early in 1219. From Spain he made his way to Paris. While in this city, which
he reached before the middle of the same year, he evidently appointed Blessed
Mannes to take charge of the Nuns in Madrid, and sent him to the Spanish
capital; for we find him there shortly afterwards[5].
Several things, no doubt, conspired to bring about the choice of Mannes for this
position. He was growing old, and long years of hard missionary labor must have
begun to tell upon his strength. He was a most spiritual, devout, and prudent
man, which recommended him for such a charge. His disposition led him to prefer
a quiet, retired life, in which he could give himself more to prayer and contemplation,
to one of activity among the people. Besides, his practical turn of mind
rendered him a suitable person to supervise the temporal affairs of the Nuns,
whose cloistered state made this difficult for themselves. The holy man called
their Monastery “Saint Dominic of Silos”, which he doubtless did because his
own brother was named after the Benedictine Abbot.
From Madrid Blessed Mannes attended the second general chapter of the Order, which was held at Bologna in 1221. Through him, on his return, Saint Dominic sent a letter to the youthful community of Spanish Nuns, which is of no little interest because
it is the only authentic writing of the saint which has survived the ravages of
time. In it he tells them, briefly, of the joy it gave him to hear, through his
brother Mannes, of their piety and of the completion of their Priory. Both the
one and the other are largely due to Brother Mannes' exertions. He is,
therefore, constituted their ecclesiastical superior, with almost plenary
powers[6]
Very probably the holy man held this position the rest of his days, for we find no record of him elsewhere. With this work, we doubt not, he combined no little preaching in and around Madrid. At times perhaps his confrères took his place at the Nuns' convent, while he labored in more distant localities. His life as a religious
is said ever to have been edifying to his brethren and useful to his fellow
man. Some place his death in 1230. Others say that he died about this time ("circiter
1230").
But the Année Dominicaine informs us that Rodrigo de Cerrato, a Spanish Dominican of the thirteenth century, in his Vitae Sanctorum states that, after Saint Dominic's
canonization, Brother Mannes went to Caleruega and persuaded the people to
erect a church in honor of his brother; that he told them a modest edifice
would do for the time being, for Dominic would see that a larger one should be
built later; and that this prophecy was fulfilled some thirty years later.[7]
This would make the holy friar die, at the earliest, in 1234 or 1235. It would
also explain how he came to be buried in the Church of San Pedro attached to
the Cistercian monastery near Gumiel de Izán. The monastery is not far from
Caleruega, the birthplace of Dominic and Mannes, whose ancestors were laid to rest
in its Conventual Church. Most probably, therefore, Mannes became sick while engaged in this work of piety, died with the Cistercians, and was buried in their church, for the simple reason that his own Order had no house in that part of Spain then[8].
In his lifetime, he had been considered a saintly man and a perfect imitator of the
virtues of his brother, Saint Dominic. Not long after his death, miracles began
to be wrought at his tomb in such numbers that it became a place of pilgrimage.
Because of this his relics were transferred to a more honorable place.
Reports of the cures obtained through intercession to the man of God soon became
widespread. Devotion towards him grew particularly pronounced throughout Spain.
In the Diocese of Osma, and especially around Caleruega, he was considered one
of the popular saints. More than once petitions for at least his beatification
were forwarded to Rome. Although these were not acted upon, the veneration in
which Mannes was held rather waxed stronger than decreased with the course of
time.
For this reason, some six hundred years after his death, Gregory XVI, beatified him, and granted his office and mass to the Order of Preachers. July 30 was set apart as
his feast day. During the liturgical reform after the Council, his present liturgical memory is celebrated on August 18.
None of the early historical writers of the Order fail to mention Blessed Mannes[1].
His stock was not the least noble among the grandees of Catholic Spain. His
parents were Felix de Guzmán and Juana de Aza, in whose veins also ran some of
the best blood of Old Castile. On both sides Mannes could count brave defenders
of his country; but what was of infinitely greater importance to him were the
holy lives of his own immediate family. His father was a splendid type of the
Christian gentleman. His mother has been raised to the honors of the altar
under the name of Blessed Juana. His eldest brother, Antonio, was a model
priest, who devoted his life to the care of souls, the welfare of the poor, and
the aid of the sick, and died with a great reputation for sanctity. Dominic,
the youngest and perhaps the only other child, became the founder of the Order
of Friars Preacher. Surely this is a record of which any one might well be
proud.[2]
Mannes first saw the light of day in the ancestral castle, Caleruega, Old Castile. The date of his birth can only be estimated from that of Saint Dominic (1170), than
whom, we are told, he was a number of years older. Like Antonio, he chose the
ecclesiastical state at an early age. Of his ordination to the priesthood and
where he made his studies we know nothing. However, Spain was most likely the
theater of both. The earlier writers of the Order, while reticent about these
things, all tell us that he was of a retiring disposition, and much given to
prayer and contemplation.
Yet an apostolic zeal evidently burned in his breast. Almost immediately after the
return to Spain of Bishop Diego de Acebedo, whom Saint Dominic had accompanied
to Rome, Mannes set out for France. From the bishop he learned the need of
preachers in Languedoc, where Dominic had been left to combat the errors of the
Albigensians. Possibly Bishop Diego de Acebedo himself suggested that Mannes
should also take up this work. At any rate, we find him with his younger
brother before the close of 1207. From this time the two men, for they were
cast in the same spiritual mold, toiled hand in hand for nearly ten years that
they might free the Church of southern France from the poison and turmoil of
heresy, and restore it to its former peace and beauty.
Not once in all this time did Mannes take a vacation, or pay a visit to his native land,
which he loved none the less because he had dedicated himself to the service of
God. He felt that his place was where religion needed his attention so sadly.
His zeal was tireless; his efforts unceasing. Perhaps on no other did Dominic
depend so much. Doubtless, if the full truth were known, history would have to
associate Mannes more closely with the saint's success, as well as give him
more credit for the part he played in the conversion of the Albigensians. No
danger or hardship could cause him to falter in his labors. He was a splendid
preacher. Like Dominic, he intermingled prayer with his sermons and
instructions. By his shining virtues and mortified life he wielded a stronger
influence for good, whether among the faithful or those who had wandered from
the path of truth, than by his eloquence.
One of Blessed Mannes' most striking traits seems to have been his humility. He knew not the meaning of the word pride or jealousy. The one thing he sought was the
glory of God and the salvation of souls. Although older in years, he obeyed his
brother as a dutiful son does the will of his Brother. When Saint Dominic
established his Order, Brother Mannes was among the first to place himself
under his standard, and to receive the habit. Thus we find him among the
"sixteen" zealous men whom God selected as the foundation stones on
which to build the Order of Friars Preacher. One would be perfectly safe in the
assertion that, when (August 15, 1217) the chosen little band took their
religious vows on bended knees before the patriarch, not one of them entered
into the ceremony with a better heart, or in more of a spirit of self-sacrifice,
than Blessed Mannes.
This event took place in the Conventual Church of Sainte Marie’s of Prouilhe, southern France. The annals of Prouilhe are very explicit in the matter. From their
statement and that of Brother Juan of Navarra about the time of his entrance
into the Order, which he made in his testimony to the holy life of Dominic to
the papal commission appointed to examine the saint's cause for canonization,
it would seem that the sixteen brethren had taken their vows at Saint Romain of
Toulouse, after Innocent III sanctioned the foundation of the Order. However,
after its confirmation by Honorius III, Dominic had them renew their
profession. Such was his love for Prouilhe, around which so much of his work
centered, that he chose this place for the ceremony, and as the point of their
departure for the various countries to which he sent them.[3]
Blessed Mannes was chosen as one of those who were to start a house of the new Order in Paris. He had six companions – Brother Matthew of France, who was the superior; Brother Bertrand of Garrigue, Brother Lawrence of England; the two Spaniards, Brother Juan of Navarra and Brother Miguel de Fabra; and Brother Oderic of Normandy. They travelled in two parties. That composed of Brothers Mannes,
Miguel and Oderic reached their destination first, September 12, 1217, being
the day of their arrival in the great French capital.
For a while the Brethren were obliged to live in a house near Notre Dame Hospital, in the center of the city. But their zeal, eloquence, and model lives soon won them
many friends. Among these was Jean de Barastre, a celebrated master of the
University of Paris, dean of Saint Quentin, and a royal chaplain. The noted
ecclesiastic had established a hospice for strangers near the City Gate called
"Porte d'Orleans." The hospice bore the name of “Saint Jacques”. This
he now conferred on the homeless Friars Preacher, and they took possession of
it August 6, 1218[4]. It became the famed Saint Jacques Priory and Studium, than which none is more celebrated in the Order.
Blessed Mannes was one of the founders of this well-known institution, which played a conspicuous part in the history of the University of Paris. His sermons are
said to have borne rich fruit in the French capital, for he had a splendid gift
of oratory. Besides, he was endowed with an extraordinary personal magnetism;
while his kindly, open, and friendly disposition exercised a strong influence
over souls. Few could resist his appeals for a better life.
Just when the subject of this sketch left Paris, where he was much beloved, the writers donot tell us. But it is known that Saint Dominic himself sent him from there to
Madrid, Spain; and from this we can form a most reasonable conjecture as to the
time when Blessed Mannes returned to his native land, which he does not appear
to have seen since 1207. While in Spain in connection with affairs of his
Order, Dominic found Brother Pedro de Madrid organizing some pious ladies for a
religious community in that city. The saint gave them the habit, admitted them
to their vows, and started the construction of a Priory for them. This was
early in 1219. From Spain he made his way to Paris. While in this city, which
he reached before the middle of the same year, he evidently appointed Blessed
Mannes to take charge of the Nuns in Madrid, and sent him to the Spanish
capital; for we find him there shortly afterwards[5].
Several things, no doubt, conspired to bring about the choice of Mannes for this
position. He was growing old, and long years of hard missionary labor must have
begun to tell upon his strength. He was a most spiritual, devout, and prudent
man, which recommended him for such a charge. His disposition led him to prefer
a quiet, retired life, in which he could give himself more to prayer and contemplation,
to one of activity among the people. Besides, his practical turn of mind
rendered him a suitable person to supervise the temporal affairs of the Nuns,
whose cloistered state made this difficult for themselves. The holy man called
their Monastery “Saint Dominic of Silos”, which he doubtless did because his
own brother was named after the Benedictine Abbot.
From Madrid Blessed Mannes attended the second general chapter of the Order, which was held at Bologna in 1221. Through him, on his return, Saint Dominic sent a letter to the youthful community of Spanish Nuns, which is of no little interest because
it is the only authentic writing of the saint which has survived the ravages of
time. In it he tells them, briefly, of the joy it gave him to hear, through his
brother Mannes, of their piety and of the completion of their Priory. Both the
one and the other are largely due to Brother Mannes' exertions. He is,
therefore, constituted their ecclesiastical superior, with almost plenary
powers[6]
Very probably the holy man held this position the rest of his days, for we find no record of him elsewhere. With this work, we doubt not, he combined no little preaching in and around Madrid. At times perhaps his confrères took his place at the Nuns' convent, while he labored in more distant localities. His life as a religious
is said ever to have been edifying to his brethren and useful to his fellow
man. Some place his death in 1230. Others say that he died about this time ("circiter
1230").
But the Année Dominicaine informs us that Rodrigo de Cerrato, a Spanish Dominican of the thirteenth century, in his Vitae Sanctorum states that, after Saint Dominic's
canonization, Brother Mannes went to Caleruega and persuaded the people to
erect a church in honor of his brother; that he told them a modest edifice
would do for the time being, for Dominic would see that a larger one should be
built later; and that this prophecy was fulfilled some thirty years later.[7]
This would make the holy friar die, at the earliest, in 1234 or 1235. It would
also explain how he came to be buried in the Church of San Pedro attached to
the Cistercian monastery near Gumiel de Izán. The monastery is not far from
Caleruega, the birthplace of Dominic and Mannes, whose ancestors were laid to rest
in its Conventual Church. Most probably, therefore, Mannes became sick while engaged in this work of piety, died with the Cistercians, and was buried in their church, for the simple reason that his own Order had no house in that part of Spain then[8].
In his lifetime, he had been considered a saintly man and a perfect imitator of the
virtues of his brother, Saint Dominic. Not long after his death, miracles began
to be wrought at his tomb in such numbers that it became a place of pilgrimage.
Because of this his relics were transferred to a more honorable place.
Reports of the cures obtained through intercession to the man of God soon became
widespread. Devotion towards him grew particularly pronounced throughout Spain.
In the Diocese of Osma, and especially around Caleruega, he was considered one
of the popular saints. More than once petitions for at least his beatification
were forwarded to Rome. Although these were not acted upon, the veneration in
which Mannes was held rather waxed stronger than decreased with the course of
time.
For this reason, some six hundred years after his death, Gregory XVI, beatified him, and granted his office and mass to the Order of Preachers. July 30 was set apart as
his feast day. During the liturgical reform after the Council, his present liturgical memory is celebrated on August 18.
[1] MAMACHI, p. 373. The blessed's name is spelled in various ways by the different writers. Mames, Mannes, Manes, and Mamertus are all found. Mamertus is certainly a latinization of it. If it were Manes, most likely the Spanish tilde should be used over the n. Castillo, always spells it Mannes; and this we have adopted, for it seems to be the correct name.
[2] Acta Sanctorum,
XXXV (first vol. for August), 383, Nos. 128 ff; 383384; 440, No. 429; 547, No.
39; ALBERTI, fol. 179; Année Dominicaine,
VII (July 30), 819 ff; BALME (Francis.) -- LELAIDIER (Paul,), Cartulaire de Saint Dominique, 11, 379,
and 111, 79 ff; BZOVIUS, XIII, col. 306; CASTILLO, p. 54; FRACHET, de, p. 67;
GUIDONIS (Gui), Bernard, O. P., Historia Fundationis Monasterii Pruliani (in Edmond Martène's Collectio Amplissima); MALVENDA, pp. 176 ff; MAMACHI, pp. 373, 494, and appendix, col. 365; MORTIER, op. cit., I, 29, 90, 104; PIO,
col. 14; QUETIF-ECHARD, I, 16, 37.
It must have been through some oversight, or mishap, that Marchese failed to mention Blessed Mannes in his Sagro Diario Domenicano. The early
writers, as a rule, believed that Saint Dominic had only two brothers, and that
he had no sisters. Yet the Vitae Fratrum -- Reichert ed., p. 67 tell us that two of his nephews entered the Order and led holy lives. Similarly, Fr. Giovanni Antonio Flaminio (in his Vita Sancti Dominici -- quoted by Acta Sanctorum, XXXV, 384, N. 134), and Galvanus della Fiamma in his Chronica Ordinis Praedicatorum --
quoted by Mortier, op. cit.,
I, 2 tell us that Saint Dominic had a sister, and perhaps another brother.
[3] There was formerly no little discussion about where the first sixteen disciples of Saint Dominic made their religious profession. Touron says they made it at Saint Romain of Toulouse, in 1216; and the testimony of Juan of Navarra leaves no doubt but that he made his first profession there. Mortier (op. cit., I, 90) says they renewed their vows at Prouille. This was on August 15, 1217, after the Order's confirmation by Honorius III. Mamachi (page 409) speaks of the difficulty caused by the apparent contradiction between the testimony of Juan of Navarra and the Annals of Prouille, in de Percin's Monumenta Conventus Tolosani.
[4] MORTIER, op. cit.,I, 91; FLEURY, op. cit., XVI, 436 ff.
[5]BALME-LELAIDIER, op. cit., II, 240, 379.
[6] Ibid.,III, 79. The original of even this letter can no longer be found. Fr. Fernando
del Castillo, who discovered it, translated it into Spanish. From this language
it has been translated back into Latin. See page 78 of the volume noted at the
beginning of this note. The editors of the Cartulaire de Saint Dominique think this letter was written at the general chapter of 1220.
[7] Année Dominicaine, VII (July 30), 822. See also MAMACHI, p. 14.
[8] This perhaps led to a mistaken notion that Bl. Mannes was a Cistercian monk. in fact Dom Crisóstomo Enriquez, a Cistercian writer, (in his Menologium Cisterciense) included him as a Cistercian. However, this author has been criticized more than once for inaccuracies and carelessness. Eminent Cistercian scholar Abbot Claud Chalemot’s written entry on him in the Catholic Encyclopedia (VII, 219-220) reproaches Enriquez for omitting the names of a number of Cistercians and for putting others in his Menology who never belonged to the Order. Not only did Dominican writers correct him in this instance; for Mamachi, who says that Enriquez could not have read the epitaph on Blessed Mannes' tomb, informs us that another Cistercian author, Dom Angelo Manrique, states most positively (in his Annales
Cistercienses) that he was a Dominican and a brother of Saint Dominic de Guzman.
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