Bishop and Doctor of the Church · Remembered on February 21
St. Peter Damian
St. Peter Damian is remembered on February 21 in Bless’s calendar of saints. Below: a short life and 2 sourced quotations in their own words.
| Remembered on | February 21 |
|---|---|
| Title | Bishop and Doctor of the Church |
| Died | c. 1072 |
| In their own words | 2 sourced quotations |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | None left in the published calendar (through December 31, 2028) |
Life
A Ravenna orphan who herded swine, gained an education, and fled a brilliant career for the hermitage of Fonte Avellana, where he became the conscience of a corrupt century.
Dragged out to be cardinal, he scoured simony and scandal from the Church with letters that spared no one, then begged leave to return to his cell and weave baskets. Dante placed him among the contemplatives in Paradise.
In their own words
Each quotation names the work it comes from. Bless quotes these in the comments beside the verses listed under In Scripture.
Fasting is the guardian of chastity, the mother of purity, the teacher of virtue.
To know God, we must ourselves become good.
In Scripture
In Bless, St. Peter Damian’s words appear in the comments beside these verses. This page’s labels say how each is linked: “on this verse” means the saint wrote about that very verse; “on this theme” means the quotation shares its theme. Scripture is quoted from the Catholic Public Domain Version.
On this theme
And when he had fasted for forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry.
Matthew 4:2 · CPDV Beside their words: “Fasting is the guardian of chastity, the mother of purity, the teacher of virtue.”
On this theme
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8 · CPDV Beside their words: “To know God, we must ourselves become good.”
On this theme
Instead, I chastise my body, so as to redirect it into servitude. Otherwise, I might preach to others, but become myself an outcast.
1 Corinthians 9:27 · CPDV Beside their words: “Fasting is the guardian of chastity, the mother of purity, the teacher of virtue.”
On this theme
Most beloved, we are now the sons of God. But what we shall be then has not yet appeared. We know that when he does appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
1 John 3:2 · CPDV Beside their words: “To know God, we must ourselves become good.”
In the calendar
The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Peter Damian. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.
Readings
No dates are left in Bless’s published calendar, which runs through December 31, 2028. St. Peter Damian keeps February 21 in Bless’s calendar of saints: see the saints of February.
All the saints of February Born on February 21? A saint for every day
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