Saint Donatus of Muenstereifel (Svatý Donát ) - Podkost, Czech Republic - Statues of Religious Figures on Waymarking.com

The Baroque sandstone statue of Saint Donatus of Muenstereifel is placed at the road near eastern edge of village Podkost near Sobotka. From badly readable sign engraved on front part of its pedestal one can find that the statue was made in 1740. Across the Bohemia was during 17th century placed a lot of St Donatus statues to protect against lightning. Although the statue depicts correctly St Donatus holding a lightning in one of his hand, the creator of the statue mistakenly depicts St Donatus as a bishop or priest. It is a quite frequent mistake as another of St Donatus, i.e. St Donatus of Arezzo who was actually a bishop. But he has never been the Patron Saint of protection against lightning. It was just St Donatus of Muenstereifel who was a Roman soldier and just like this is frequently depicted accross the country.

Saint Donatus of Muenstereifel is a saint whose relics are found in the Jesuit church in Bad Muenstereifel. He is widely venerated in the Rhine valley region of Germany and the Low Countries, and he is a patron saint of Buda and of protection against lightning. His relics were translated to Muenster Eifel in the 17th century from the Catacombs of Rome, where he had been originally buried.

Legend

Saint Donatus is said to be a 2nd century Roman soldier and martyr. His parents were named Faustus and Flaminia. When Faustus was deathly ill, his wife Flaminia sought the intercession of Saint Gervasius, who assured her that her husband would recover and beget a son. This came to pass, and Flaminia named the boy Donatus, which means "gift". She educated him in the Christian faith. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the famed 12th Legion "Fulminatrix", i.e., the "Thundering Legion". He rapidly rose through the ranks and soon became a personal bodyguard to the emperor, Marcus Aurelius.

In the year 173 the 12th Legion was engaged in the Marcomannic Wars in Moravia along the Danube frontier. According to the contemporary writer Dio Cassius, part of the legion was surrounded and nearly overwhelmed when it was miraculously saved by a divine thunderstorm. Cassius attributed the thunderstorm to the invocation of Mercurius by Aurelius' Egyptian sorcerer, Arnuphis, but Tertullian and other Christian writers ascribed the miracle to the prayers of the many Christians in that Legion. Later legend credited Donatus as the leader of the Christians' prayers. After the miracle, Donatus gave thanks to God, and he was martyred by the emperor.

He was buried by his mother in the Catacombs of Saint Agnes. Over the centuries, access to the catacombs was lost. In 1646, the catacombs were re-opened, and the relics of Donatus and many other saints were re-discovered. Pope Innocent X bequeathed Donatus's relics to the Jesuit church in Muenster Eifel, and they were carried in procession from Rome to the Rhineland. On June 30, 1652 the relics were at St. Martin's church in Euskirchen as a Jesuit priest, Fr. Heerde, was saying mass in the morning. With the conclusion of benediction, lightning struck the church and lit the altar and the priest on fire. He immediately invoked the aid of Saint Donatus and was miraculously restored unharmed. This miracle spread the fame of the Roman martyr throughout the region.

Some writers comment on the alliteration between the Latin name Donatus and the German title Donner, which means "Thunderer".

Cited from (visit link)

Associated Religion(s): Roman Catholic Church Statue Location: at easter borders of village Podkost, at the road to Sobotka Entrance Fee: free Artist: Not listed Website: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the statue. A waymarker and/or GPSr is not required to be in the image but it doesn't hurt.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   03/16/2017 Norbert_G visited it