ABOUT BLESSED JOHN XIII,OFM__Bl John XIII was also involved in the development of ecclesiastical structures across Europe. In 968, John appointed the first Bishop of Poland, Jordan. In 973, John appointed a sister of Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia, Mlada, as an abbess of the Benedictine Order. He gave her a papal bull which authorised the foundation of the bishopric of Prague in accordance with the wishes of Boleslaus, which had been made through Mlada. John decreed that the church of SS. Vitus and Wenceslaus should be the new cathedral church. At the church of St. George, a convent of nuns was to be established, over which the dukes sister was to preside. Finally, the Latin rite and not the Byzantine rite was to be followed, and someone who was well instructed in Latin literature had to be chosen as the first bishop. In 971, John XIII published a bull supporting the action of the English king Edgar and Archbishop Dunstan against the canons of Winchester Cathedral, who refused to give up their wives and concubines. In that same year, John confirmed the privileges which King Edgar had granted the monks of Glastonbury Abbey, and declared that it was under papal protection. Further, John sent a letter to an Ealdorman named Aelfric, commanding him to cease taking money from Glastonbury. In Germany, John appointed the Archbishop of Trier as the Papal vicar, responsible for promoting the decrees of any synods held in Germany or West Francia. He also granted numerous privileges across Europe. In one case, dated September 29, 970, for the monastery of St. Vincent of Metz, we find the first recorded grant of the Pontificals. Its abbot was granted the use, under certain conditions, of the Dalmatic and Episcopal sandals. John was also the recipient of many requests for help. In one case, the monks of the monastery of St. Peter at Novalisa, asked for the pope to intervene to help protect them against a local Count named Ardoin. In another case, in November 971, Adalberon, the Archbishop of Reims went to Rome to ask the pope to confirm the archbishop’s decision to leave some property to the monks of Mouzon Abbey, thereby protecting his donation from King Louis IV of France. Finally, in 970, John bestowed the town of Praeneste as a hereditary lease to his probable sister, the Senatrix Stephania. Praeneste was to belong to her, her children and grandchildren, for a yearly rent of ten gold solidi, but it was afterwards to return to the Church. It is one of the first examples of the introduction of the system of Feudalism into Roman territory. John XIII died on September 6, 972, and was buried in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. He was succeeded by Pope Benedict VI. It was during John’s reign that earliest surviving written mention of the ancient practice of the blessing of church bells comes from.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 10:51:20 +0000
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