San Gerlando ING

A number of works related to the life of Saint Gerlando, some of which are relics and contact relics, have come to the Mudia.

The Urn of Saint Gerlando – an emblematic monument of the Christian faith of Agrigento – testifies not only the deep religious feeling of the people of Agrigento towards the Patron, but also the presence of a cultured and enlightened patronage, that almost always turns to known artists for their execution.

The monumental case was wanted by Bishop Francesco Trayna, head of the Diocese of Agrigento from March 2^nd 1627 to October 4^th 1651, to enrich the new chapel raised by the same for the Cathedral of Agrigento. On January 10^th 1653 Don Francesco Albamonte, procurator of the bishop, commissioned to the Palermitan silversmith Michele Ricca, the exuberant vara, on the project of the abbot Vincenzo Sitaiolo, presenting also the design executed by the great painter Pietro Novelli from Monreale. The cast parts, such as the twelve cherubs, the heads of seraphim and angels were made by the silversmith GiancolaViviano.

The urn was kept, with the reliquary of the co-patron Saint Victoria, in the sacellum of the Chapel of the saint, closed by an embossed copper door with three keys guarded by the bishop, the Chapter and the Jurors of the city. Today, the chapter and bishop's keys are a vital part of the Museum's permanent collection.

The urn was once enriched by six panels that narrated the life of the Saint, now lost after the sacrilegious thefts that have disfigured the harmony. In 2012, the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage returned six of the eight putti in the urn. One of the six putti has been included in the permanent collection, completing the section dedicated to the Patron Saint.

Another significant element kept at the Mudia is the relic of the staff of San Gerlando.We owe to Bishop John OroczoCovarruvias (1594-1606) the recovery in 1598 of the wooden urn containing the relics of the holy wooden staff, and therefore contact relics. The Baculus, emblem of the episcopal ministry of the pastor of the diocese, was embellished in 1607 by a silver foil finely embossed and chiseled by the silversmith Matteo Glimpii from Agrigento, and houses a small fragment of the bodily remains of the saint.

He was born between 1030 -1040 in Besancon, the ancient Vesontium, in France.

In his life there are two great periods: the first in his homeland where he achieved a reputation for his knowledge in theology and in scientific field.

In Besancon, he is an important member of the "chapter of San Paolo", travels a lot and his "fame" of holiness attracts the attention of the "Altavilla" engaged in the conquest of Southern Italy. His life receives a turning point, when he is called by the Normans Robero il Guiscardo and his brother Roger is involved in directing the first "Cantorum" school of theology in Mileto, Calabria. He first accepts the assignment but then he refuses it and comes back to his hometown. When Roger conquered Sicily in 1086 and freed Agrigento from Arab rule, as requested by Roger he became  again bishop of Agrigento.

Gerlando arrives in Agrigento in 1088, with a reputation for holiness, but he is consecrated in Rome as bishop in 1089  by Pope Urban II. In Agrigento, he immediately activated  and reorganized the diocese. Over the six years he grows his fame of bishop and dedicates the cathedral to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. James. In his biography it is known he dedicated himself to the poor, foreign and sick. Through his sermons, he succeeds in uniting and converting Jews and Saracens to Christianity.

He died on February 25, 1100 after 12 years of bishopric.

The beatification was made 50 years after his death and his body was transfered to the cathedral. Since then, his relics have been a destination for many devoted people.

The first devotion to San Gerlando took place in the year 1101 during the reign of Roger I until the end of 1250 during the reign of Frederick II.

During this period religious culture turns its attention towards the saints. Devotion is closely linked to the body of saints which is believed to produce miracles. Then let’s move on to the veneration of the Saint  seen as a "glorious body", because he meen as an imitation of Christ. The medieval devotion of that time  presents two stages: The first is  the translation of the body into a relic (1154-1171). The second stage refers to shifting of people’s attention from the body relic to the one depicted and described as the life of the Saint, that is legend (1240-1264).

San  Gerlando was beatified 50 years after his death.

Thanks to Bishop Gentile (1154-1171) the body of the Saint has been transferred inside the cathedral and this constitutes the first official devotion to his relics. The first reconnaissance of the Saint's remains is documented by the bishop Rainaldo of Acquaviva (1240 - 1266). The relics are placed in a wooden ark painted by the painter-master Vincenzo. Inside this urn a precious document remains kept, in March 1264.

 April 26 in the year 1376 the bishop Matteo de Fugardo (1362-1390) in the presence of jurors, judges, clergy and important people of the town, changes the place of the relics and puts them in a silver case built by the goldsmith Pietro di Bandino.

In the year 1598, Bishop Horozo de Covarruvias (1594-1606) renewed the urn and probably used the same material as the previous one and placed it at the top of the tribune. The translation is accompanied by a procession with the presence of all the dioceses, the nobility, the clergy and devout people. 

Bishop Francesco Trahina (1627-1651) commissions a new urn and  builds a new chapel with precious marbles and closed it by a door with three keys that keep the bishop, the Chapter and the Jurors of the town. The translation takes place on May 7, 1639.

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Bishop Francesco Ramirez (1697-1715) is the last great Spanish bishop in Sicily. He  gets  particular awards for San Gerlando. In 1702 Clementi XI declared the altar of San Gerlando privileged.

On April 14, 1777, Bishop Antonio Lanza (1769-1775)  made another reconnaissance of the relics of San Gerlando. As a testimony to this, a parchment made by the Agrigento painter Michele Narbone with rich friezes and his bishop's coat of arms.

July 21, 1789 Bishop Antonino Cavaleri made translation, Bishop Baldassare Leone in 1819, Bishop Pietro Maria D'Agostino on November 11, 1824, Monsignor Ignazio Montemagro on April 18, 1838, Domenico M. Lo Jacono in 1846  and  on December 28, 1872 Domenico Turano.During the restoration works in the Cathedral on the initiative of Monsignor Bartolomeo Lagumina (1899-1931, with the discovery of a clear mountain chapel, it was decided to place there the precious Baroque Ark of the Patron San Gerlando.

On May 1st 1970 the bishop Giuseppe Petralia (1963-1980) completes the last reconnaissance of the relics, of this remains a precious document, it is full of  a great hope for the future of the diocese .... "so that the sunset of the second millennial flourished with the same vigor with which its glorious dawn flourished".