Today we are celebrating the memorial of Saint Peter Damian, Patron Saint of Traceurs, Freerunners.

He was born in Ravenna; he was orphaned at a young age and raised by a brother who treated him more as a slave than as kin. The archpriest saw and pitied him, had taken him under his wing, and had had him educated. Peter saw the archpriest as a father to him and took his surname, Damian. The archpriest would send him to school, where he showed an aptitude for learning, becoming a professor of great skill. Peter had started fasting, observing, and praying early on.  He would wear a hairshirt to protect himself from the devil and the temptations of the flesh.

After a time, Peter prepared to depart to live a monastic life. Just as he was about to leave, two Benedictine monks from Fonte Avellana of the Order of St. Romuald just happened to drop by his home. He could gleam more about how they lived, the rules they followed, and their way of life, and he had joined them.

He had devoted time to learning the Holy Scriptures and became well versed. Because of this, Peter was to assume control of the Community in the event of the superior’s passing by the unanimous decision of the hermits, which he reluctantly accepted. When the superior died in 1043, Peter assumed control of the hermitage, governing it with wisdom and holiness; he created five other monasteries in which he had Priors to lead in his stead.

Over the years, Peter Damian became heavily involved in the Church’s work, and in 1057, Stephen IX convinced him to leave his desert and appointed him Cardinal-bishop of Ostia. Peter had repeatedly pleaded with Nicholas II to permit him to abandon his bishopric and retire to the wilderness, but the Pope had continuously declined. Pope Alexander II had given him permission to leave his post as long as he helps the church with matters of great import.

With his humility, penance, and compunction after his retirement, he enlightened the Church. He also worked to enforce morals and discipline through his writings. He is strident and stern in his writings, mainly when he discusses the responsibilities of the clergy and monks.

As he was travelling back to Rome, he suffered an extreme fever and died on February 22, 1072. Although St. Peter Damian was never formally canonized, many of the locations where he lived and died continued to honor him as a saint.

One of the main architects of the Hildebrandine reform in the Church was St. Peter. As a result of his impressive preaching and extensive literature, he was named a doctor of the Church in 1828.

Source: catholic.org