Peter Igneus, Bl.
PETER IGNEUS, BL.
Cardinal bishop of Albano; b. Florence, Italy, c. early 11th century; d. Jan. 8, 1089. He entered the vallombrosan Order in the lifetime of its founder, and he was given the name of "Igneus" because in 1068, by order of his abbot, he passed through fire unharmed to prove the guilt of Pietro di Pavia, bishop of florence, who was accused of simony. He was prior at Passignano and abbot at Fucecchio, and he was made cardinal bishop of Albano, one of the suburbicarian dioceses of Rome, in 1074 by Pope gregory vii, who made frequent use of him as legate in Italy, France, and Germany. He showed great zeal for the reform of the clergy, and soon after his death he was venerated as a saint in Vallombrosa Abbey, where he was buried. His cult was not officially approved until 1673, and his name was then inserted in the Roman Martyrology.
Feast: Feb. 8.
Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum July 3 (1863) 297, 298, 330, 331. g. m. brocchi, Vite de' santi e beati fiorentini, v. 1 (Florence 1742) 143–158. a. salvini, Vita di s. Pietro Igneo (Alba 1928). a. m. zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedictinum: Die Heiligen und Seligen des Benediktinerorderns und seiner Zweige, 4 v. (Metten 1933–38) 1:185–187. j. l. baudot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienheureux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes, 12 v. (Paris 1935–56) 2: 185–186.
[s. oliveri]