St. Fergal of Salzburg (his Latin name = “Virgilius”)
He was an eighth-century Irishman, an accomplished learner who rocked the boat, particularly with his contemporary, Saint Boniface. Both of these saints evangelised the Germanic people. St Fergal (or Virgil, or Feargal) moved from Ireland to France and then onto Bavaria in Germany. Fergal was abbot of Aghaboe, in Co. Laoise, Ireland. He was a descendant of Niall of the Nine Hostages. He had mastered mathematics to the point of being considered a Geometer.
“Peregrini pro Christo“
In 743 he sojourned the Continent and became a voluntary exile for love of Jesus. In France met Prince Pippin the Short. The prince took to the learned monk and kept him in his palace for two years. Virgil had companions; Dobda, an Irish Bishop, and Sidonius. In Bavaria, Virgil founded the monastery of Chiemsee at the invitation of Duke Odilo. Virgil (Fergal) became abbot of St. Peter’s at Salzburg.
The Sparring match with St. Boniface
St. Boniface had already organized the Bavarian Church. He had created four dioceses in Bavaria. A synod at Ratisbon in 740, made official such reform. Boniface was a perfectionist, and took no prisoners if the clergy were seen to be of disedification to the faithful. For example, one unlettered priest under Virgil’s care, (out of ignorance) baptised in a Latin formula mixing up the words, translated from ‘’in the name of the Father, and of the Son…’’, to ‘’in the name of the Fatherland, and of the daughter’’. In Latin, the error is not extremely obvious, but Boniface, was scrupulous, declared the baptism invalid, and sought a rebaptism. From this incident, a sparring match began between the two saints. For the Germans, there is no plan B… for the Irish, there no Big Deal!
Virgil was more down to earth and understanding of the human error. He saw that the unlearned priest pronounced the baptism formula in Latin incorrectly, but without bad intentions. Virgil then sought a verdict on the matter from the Pontiff, who ruled in Virgil’s favour. Pope Zachary saw that there was no intention to deform the formula, but was due to a human pronunciation error. The pope wrote to Boniface explaining his decision on I July, 746. No error nor heresy was behind the words pronounced but it being the result of difficulty of proper pronunciation. Boniface submitted, but a frothy relationship developed between him and Virgil. It’s all good, as iron sharpens iron.
When a Bishop of Salzburg in Bavaria died, Duke Odilo self appointed Virgil to succeed him without recourse to the pope, nor Boniface. Virgil deferred his episcopal consecration, and his friend Dobdagrec looked after the administration for the time being. Boniface however, contested Virgil’s position, but Virgil replied that he held it with the sanction of Pope Zachary. The pontiff denied doing this… It seems that Vigil was misled by Duke Odilo, into believing that the matter had been arranged with the Holy See.
Boniface lodged a complaint against Virgil in Rome because of his uncanonical position in Salzburg. He lodge another complaint as he felt Virgil was turning Duke Odilo against him. Boniface complained also that Virgil was a teacher of heresy in cosmology.
To understand the context, the earth, anciently believed to be a flat surface. but it was to become known as a globe. This was already known to the educated Greeks and Romans. In the eighth century many analphabetic people believed the earth was flat. Being a great scholar, Virgil, believe the earth to be a globe. In his lectures to the monks of St. Peter’s, in his conversations with his friends, he spoke of things that in no way be a matter of faith. But Virgil may have theorised on another separate human race, and this caused him problems. Pope Zachary wrote to Duke Odilo, requesting him to send Virgil to Rome to be examined. A war that broke out between the Franks and the Bavarians after the death of Duke Odilo in the summer of 748 and ended in the defeat of the latter. This probably made the holding of a synod impossible. At any event, Virgil’s subsequent career precludes the possibility of his having been deposed from his office or subjected to any ecclesiastical penalty.
Episcopy
At Salzburg, Virgil received episcopal consecration on 15 June, 767. He ruled his diocese with wisdom and energy. He began the erection of a cathedral church, completed in 774 and dedicated to St. Rupert, the Apostle of Bavaria, Virgil took an active part in the ecclesiastical life of Bavaria. In 774 he was present at a synod at Dingolfing in Bavaria. The acts of the synod show how zealously the bishops insisted on strict observance of Sunday, on discipline in the monasteries, for example. It was at this synod, that the bishops and abbots of Bavaria formed a confraternity, of prayer.
Apostle of the Slavs
Virgil turned his attention to the pagan nations settled on the borders of his territory. These people were the Slavs, and with difficulty, Virgil with help from his missionaries won them over to Christianity.
Virgil’s book of life.
Virgil gave up his speculations in cosmography. Instead, he took a lively interest in the preservation of the historical traditions of the Bavarian Church. He gathered the materials for a life of St. Rupert, patron of the diocese of Salzburg. Another important historical document is the Salzburg Liber Vitae (Book of Life). This work began after the death of Virgil, and It contains the names of all persons, clerical and lay, living and dead, who were in spiritual communion with the monks of St. Peter’s monastery in Salzburg.
Among the thousand names entered on the lists are those of all the Abbots of Iona (Hy) from 597, the year of the death of St. Columkille, to 767. Among the living potentates we find the name of the Pictish King Cinadhon.
On 5 April, 1167, the Cathedral of St. Rupert in Salzburg was destroyed by fire. In 1181 some restoration workmen, discovered Virgil’s tomb with an image of the saint bearing the inscription:
‘’Virgilius templum construxit scemate pulchro’’.
He was canonized by Gregory IX in 1233. His feast is celebrated on the 27th of November.
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