Saint Lanfranc Beccari

Lanfranc Beccari was born in Gropello, in the Pavia area, around 1134, and was consecrated bishop of Pavia by Pope Alexander III in 1181. He was caught up in the conflict that ran through all the cities of the Po Valley in those years: the communes were becoming powerful and wanted to have the say on Church matters too — appointments, property, courts. Lanfranc defended the rights of the diocese and ended up making his own life impossible. The clash with the city authorities got so bad that he had to leave. In 1181 he left Pavia for Rome, where he found refuge with the pope. Then, tired of fighting, he returned to his homeland, but did not take up his see again: he withdrew to the Vallombrosan monastery of the Holy Sepulchre, outside the city, and died there. The exact date isn’t known. It can be worked out by subtraction from a letter of August 8, 1198, in which the pope sends Bernardo Balbi, bishop of Faenza, to Pavia as his successor: by then Lanfranc was already dead. The Church celebrates him on June 23, the presumed day. Thanks to him, the work for which the town remembers him was built beside the church of Gropello. The monastery where he died is now called San Lanfranco, and it is one of the most beautiful monuments in Pavia. If your name is Lanfranco, today is your name day.