August 1
St. Peter of Anagni (c. 1105)
a Benedictine, bishop, and papal legate.
A native of Salerno, Italy, he entered the Benedictines and so distinguished himself as a monk that Pope St. Gregory VII appointed him bishop of Anagni. As bishop, he improved the spiritual welfare of the city, built a new cathedral, and promoted the First Crusade to the Holy Land, a venture in which he participated. Pope Urban II sent him to Constantinople as papal legate to the Byzantine Empire.
He was canonized in 1109 by Pope Paschal II, a mere four years after his death.
