Saint Who?
Saints Who Wrote Hymns
Saint Venantius Fortunatus
Bishop († c. 600) Feast: December 14
Venantius was born in northern Italy. He received a classical education, learning to appreciate the greatest of the Latin poets, both pagan and Christian. As a young man, he traveled to France to pray at Christian shrines. Soon afterward, he decided to remain in France and make his living in the French court.
Venantius had a gift for words. He became famous for writing eloquent panegyrics (a kind of eulogy) about important figures of the day. While many of the men and women he profiled deserved his glowing praise, others did not, which earned him a reputation as a flatterer. Others criticized him for enjoying the pleasures of life a bit too much, particularly good food, and he had a sensitive temperament and was not always tactful or gentle with critics.
However, worldly success was not enough for Venantius, and he decided to leave everything behind to become a priest when he was in his forties. He was named Bishop of Poitiers a few decades later. Venantius’ prose and liturgical poems, such as Vexilla regis prodeunt (“The Royal Banners Forward Go”), inspired Christian hymnographers to a high standard of literary quality for centuries afterward. But more importantly, his beautiful hymns have continued to inspire ordinary Catholics to a greater love of God as they celebrate liturgical seasons and feasts.
Mighty Trinity, one God, let every creature praise you!
