Alferius, St.
ALFERIUS, ST.
Cluniac abbot; b. Salerno; d. La Cava, April 12, 1050. Alferius (Adalfericus, Alpherius) was a member of the Pappacarbone family and received an excellent education. Introduced to the court of Prince Waimar III of Salerno, he was sent on diplomatic missions to France and Germany, c. 1002–03. While traveling, he fell ill and stopped at the monastery of S. Michele della Chiusa (Piedmont), where he met odilo of cluny. To fulfill a vow, Alferius became a monk at Cluny in 1003. He was recalled to Salerno by Waimar III and charged with the reform of the monasteries in this area. His hermitage became the Abbey of La Cava (SS. Trinità) when he was joined by a number of disciples. His cult was approved by Leo XIII in 1893, and confirmed again in 1928.
Feast: April 12.
Bibliography: hugh of venosa, Vitae quatuor priorum abbatum Cavensium, ed. l. mattei cerasoli in Rerum italicarum scriptores, 500–1500 (Città di Castello 1900) 6.5:3–12. Acta Sanctorum April 2:96–101. p. f. kehr, Regesta Pontificum Romanorum. Italia Pontificum. (Berlin 1906–35) 8:311. f. m. mezza, L'ambasciatore che fondò un monastero (Cava, Italy 1952), popularization. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, ed. h. thurston and d. attwater (New York 1956) 2:80.
[r. grÉgoire]