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Bust of Peter Damian
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St Peter Damian is a reformer and Doctor of the Church, he fought the simony and corruption that was spreading among the clergy of his time. His feast-day is celebrated on February 21st.

Difficult childhood leading to spiritual life

Peter was born in Ravenna around 1007, the youngest of a large but poor noble family. Orphaned early, he was at first adopted by an elder brother who ill-treated and under-fed him while employing him as a swineherd. After some years, another brother, Damiano, who was the archpriest at Ravenna, had pity on him and took him away to be educated. As a sign of gratitude, Peter added the name Damian to his own.

Peter made such rapid progress in his studies of theology and canon law, first at Ravenna, then at Faenza, and finally at the University of Parma, that, around the age of 25, he was already a famous teacher at Parma and Ravenna.

Some significant episodes of Peter Damian's youth convinced him to consecrate himself to God alone, and to embrace the monastic life.

Religious life

Driven by a need for solitude, meditation and prayer, Peter Damian retired to the Camaldolese monastery of Fonte Avellana, in the year 1035. He quickly became the spiritual guide of the monks and his fame spread so rapidly that he was invited to teach in other monasteries as well. Returning to Fonte Avellana, he was elected Prior. He reorganized the hermitage and inspired the establishment of new houses in neighboring regions. His fervent activity was noticed by the Bishop of Ravenna who asked for his assistance, obliging him to leave the quiet and recollection of his monastery.

Graceful reformer

The Church at this time was afflicted by two evils: Simony, the buying and selling of ecclesiastical offices; and Nicolaism, or the non-fulfillment of celibacy. Pope Stephen IX called Peter Damian to Rome in 1057 to help him reform the clergy. The Pope quickly made him a Cardinal and Bishop of Ostia. Over the next six years he was sent on missions to Milan to quell an uprising, and later to Cluny, to defend the rights of the Benedictine abbots against the Archbishop of Macon.

Peter Damian asked often to be allowed to retire as cardinal-bishop of Ostia, and finally Pope Alexander II consented. Peter Damian was happy to become once again just a monk, but he was still called to serve as a papal legate. When returning from such an assignment in Ravenna, he was overcome by a fever. With the monks gathered around him saying the Divine Office, he died on February 22, 1072.

Peter Damian worked with Pope Gregory VII in fighting against investiture, after the Emperor, Henry IV, abrogated the right to appoint bishops and abbots, incurring excommunication by the Pope. A few years after the death of Peter Damian, the Emperor begged for pardon and, dressed as a penitent, threw himself at the feet of the Pope at the Castle of Canossa, in 1077.

Prominent Works

Peter Damian wrote many letters. Some 170 are extant. We also have 53 of his sermons and seven lives, or biographies, that he wrote. He preferred examples and stories rather than theory in his writings. The liturgical offices he wrote are evidence of his talent as a stylist in Latin.

Veneration

Upon his death, Peter Damian was immediately acclaimed as a saint by the people, and Pope Leo XII proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church in 1828.

His body has been moved six times. Since 1898, Peter Damian has rested in a chapel dedicated to the saint in the cathedral of Faenza, Italy.

- Article by Catholic Time Staff
(This article was first published on Feb. 21, 2025 and has been updated).