December 14
Fortunatus (530–600)
confessor of faith
He was born in Venice, Italy, and upon finishing his literary studies in Ravenna, he traveled as a troubadour throughout Italy, composing verses regardless of subject or recipient.
Biography
Cured of a serious ophthalmia by Saint Martin, he decided to go on a pilgrimage to Tours as a sign of gratitude to his benefactor. From there he continued to Poitiers to venerate the relics of Saint Hilary, where he suffered a spiritual crisis that put an end to his itinerant career. He became friends with the former queen Radegunda and became the almoner of her monastery for thirty years. His enduring writings date from this time: lives of saints and poems. There are at least ten thousand hexameters of it left. He composed some of the most beautiful hymns of the liturgy such as the Vexilla regis and the Pangue lingua. Death surprised him when he had been bishop of Poitiers for three or four years.
Practical advice
With simplicity and joy, exercise authority as a service and not as a privilege as one who works and prays under the loving gaze of God.