EUSEBIUS of Vercelli, St. — Born in Sardinia. In the Church of Rome he held the office of lector and was later, about 345, appointed bishop of Vercelli. He is regarded as the apostle of the [V. PIETRO]; he was the first in the West to introduce the regular life among the diocesan clergy.
Against Arianism, which was spreading ever more widely and was fostered by the emperor Constantius—who, after defeating Magnentius at Mursa in 351, had extended his authority over the western territories—he courageously and steadfastly defended the orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, finding a valuable ally in Hilary of Poitiers. In the year 354, Pope Liberius sent him, together with Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari, to Arles to the emperor Constantius, since Athanasius had been condemned by prelates obedient to imperial wishes and supported by the papal legate Vincent of Capua, assembled in synod at the emperor’s winter residence in Arles rather than at Aquileia, as the Pope desired, to urge Constantius to convoke a new synod. Since the emperor was interested in propagating Arianism in the western territories, he acceded to the embassy’s request, and in the early months of 355 a council was held at Milan. Eusebius took an active part in it and demanded that, since a large part of the assembly was heretical, it should subscribe to the Nicene Creed. The assembly did not comply with his request, and Eusebius openly rebelled against the will of the emperor and his faction; rather than subscribe to the deposition of Athanasius, he preferred exile. He was sent to Scythopolis, in Cappadocia, and finally to Egypt, from where “a tertio exilio” he was recalled by the edict of Julian the Apostate.
EUSEBIUS, POPE, St. — He was elected to succeed Marcellus (309–102) after the latter was driven from Rome by order of Maxentius for responsibility in the disorders caused by the lapsi, who wished to be readmitted to the community without submitting to canonical penance.
From the inscription that Pope Damasus dedicated to Eusebius, it is known that the conflicts arising under Marcellus continued under Eusebius, especially when the party opposed to penance opposed him with a certain Heraclides. The disorder was complete, aggravated as it was by schism. After four months of this intolerable situation, civil authority intervened again: the two leaders were arrested and sent into exile. Eusebius was sent to Sicily, where he soon died. His body, however, was brought back to Rome and buried in the cemetery of Callistus. Feast: September 26.