Saint of the day July 18: Saint Arnulf. Catholic Saints

Every July 18, the Catholic Church celebrates Saint Arnulf of Metz, bishop, saint of Frankish origin, known as the ‘patron saint of beer’.

Arnulf lived between the end of the 6th century and the first part of the 7th century and served as advisor and mayor of the Merovingian palace of ancient Austrasia (the name given to the northeastern part of the Frankish kingdom) until he abandoned secular life to embrace religious life.

Virtue and beer

Saint Arnulf or Arnold (both names are used interchangeably in Spanish) is the patron saint of beer and brewers.

However, as Father José de Jesús Aguilar, deputy director of Radio and Television of the Archdiocese of Mexico, pointed out a few years ago, the aforementioned patronage should not be understood as “of drunkenness or drunks, because that has nothing to do with it.” holiness”. “Drunkenness is part of the sin of gluttony,” added Father Aguilar.

Regarding the reasons for this patronage, Father Aguilar explained that “during a certain time, people used rivers as garbage dumps and people even threw corpses of people and animals (into the waters), so drinking water from the rivers amounted to cause death.”

For this reason and “to prevent diseases and plague,” the saint, as part of his ministry, “preached about the danger of drinking water in such circumstances. Arnulfo recommended drinking beer because in that region it was made very easily,” concludes Father Aguilar.

The virtue of beer

It is interesting that the beer preparation process – which includes the fermentation of barley and cooking in water – was identified as “healthy” in ancient times, as opposed to the direct consumption of water that could be contaminated.

In other words, the intuition of Saint Arnulf and the brewers of his time could have saved many lives.

Nothing human is foreign to the Church

Saint Arnulf was a deeply human saint, concerned about the spiritual health of the faithful, as well as their physical health. His life, in many ways, had little that was “extraordinary” by the standards of the time. In another sense, his life is exemplary and unique.

He was born in the year 580 into a wealthy family in Moselle, a territory that belonged to the ancient Merovingians and is today part of Austria.

In his youth he entered the service of the court under Brunegilda, Visigoth princess, and King Theodobert II, Frankish king of Austrasia, who included him in the regular list of royal officers: he was a military commander and had six provinces under his responsibility.

In the year 612 he renounced all his positions and, despite being married and having two children, was authorized to enter religious life. He was ordained a priest and then bishop of Metz, a see he occupied by an agreement between the civil and ecclesiastical powers. In the year 627 he retired to the monastery of Remiremont (France), where he died on July 19, 640, at the age of 57.

The miracle of beer

A year after his death, the people around the monastery asked that his body be exhumed and taken to his city of Metz to be buried in the local church, where he preached Christ with all his might, and where he also spoke of the virtues of beer.

According to tradition, during the journey to transport the saint’s remains – which was long and exhausting – the faithful who were entrusted with the task, dying of thirst, stopped to buy beer from a local merchant, next to the road. Unfortunately they discovered that there was very little left, less than a barrel to share, and yet the beer was enough to satisfy everyone’s thirst.

“This is known as the miracle of beer and is the reason why Saint Arnulf is considered the Patron Saint of brewers and beer,” said Father Aguilar, who encourages the faithful to ask the saint that this drink “never be consumed by children and always be drunk in moderation.”

…

If you want to know more about Saint Arnulf of Metz, we recommend the following link: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/San_Arnulfo_de_Metz.