Peter the Hermit

Peter the Hermit (Pietro l'eremita, Peter of Trevi) was a young wandering hermit of the 11th century, born at the beginning of the century at Rocca di Botte and died at Trevi nel Lazio on 30 August 1052. He was proclaimed a saint by Pope Innocent III on 1 October 1215. He is remembered on 30 August.

He refused the marriage arranged by his parents and chose to live in charity and a measured life, at Tivoli, and was called the wandering knight. He could neither read nor write, but in solitude he followed the wisdom of the Gospel. After a couple of years of study at Tivoli he was presented to the bishop, who sent him to teach the Christian faith in his native village and the neighboring ones, on the border of the Papal State. He began his mission, overcame the people's mistrust and settled at Subiaco, beside the Benedictine monks of the Sacro Speco monastery.

Old texts tell of the appearance of Jesus and the Mother of God, who urged him to spread the Word of God beyond the places of his youth. At Subiaco two miracles are attributed to him: in the monastery of Santa Scolastica the poor pantry was suddenly filled with loaves, so that the monks and the poor could be fed; and in the church of Sant'Abbondio a young man sent to beg wine broke a jar, and Peter, moved with pity, gathered the shards and prayed, then brought back the jar whole and full of wine.

In the last twenty days of his life he was at Trevi nel Lazio, where several miracles took place: bread baked cold in the oven, the healing of a blind man, the freeing of people from evil spirits through his prayer.

He is a saint of the West, who died before 1054; the canonization of 1215 was made in the West. No Orthodox synodal canonization is known.