Saint of the Day – 6 August – Saint Glisente (Died 796) Hermit, Soldier known in the region as “The Warrior on the Mountain.” Died on 7 August 796 on Mount Berzo near Berzo Inferiore, Italy of natural causes. Also known as – Glisente of Brescia, Glisento of Berzo, … of Valcamonica, … of Valle Comonica. Additional Memorial – 26 July (commemorates the theft and return of his Relics).
Glisente was a valiant Commander of Charlemagne’s Army, until, after the defeat of the Lombards in Val Camonica on the slopes of Mortirolo, he asked his Sovereign to be released from his military duties in order to dedicate himself to the service of the Almighty in a life of prayer, penance and solitude.
He settled in a underground cave dug in the hillside above Berzo Inferiore where he died on 7 August 796.
The next day some shepherds following a dove which was carrying twigs and leaves presumed to be building a nest, found the body of the holy Hermit. They then took some Relics and brought them to the Church of San Lorenzo in the Village of Berzo below.
But the inhabitants of Collio, led by the Knight of Christ, D Ardemagni (a well-known Templar of the time, as well as a Court musician of undoubted prestige), envious of the sacred remains, attempted to steal the body of Glisente and transfer it to their Town. But God punished them with blindness and only when they brought the body of the Saint back to his Tomb did they regain their sight.
Today, above the cave in lower Berzo, stands the Church of the St Glisente and the Hermit’s Cave can still be visited below the Church through a tunnel. St Charles Borromeo visited both during his pastoral visit to Valle Camonica in 1580.
The cult of Glisente has been attested since at least the 13th Century. In 1200, in fact, there was an Altar dedicated to him in the Church of Bovegno and a small Church was consecrated to him to the north-west of the same location.
Episodes from Glisente’s life are depicted in the frescoes of the Parish Church of San Lorenzo (16th Century), in the Parish Church of San Maria in Berzo and in the one dedicated to him on the mountain hich divides the territory of Berzo from Bovegno and Collio in Valle Trompia (15th Century).
In the current Parish Church of Berzo (17th Century) another Altar is dedicated to him. In the 17th Century St Gl;isente was included in the Calendar of Brescian Saints and his Feast day was established on 25 July because the inhabitants of Collio returned the Relics of the Saint which they had previously stolen, on that day. Today, however, they have disappeared again and it is not known where they are.
AnaStpaul 