Saint Remigius of Rouen introduced Gregorian chant into northern France.
Newsdesk (20/01/2023 18:28, Gaudium Press) Saint Remigius of Rouen is different from that Saint Remigius of Reims, who baptised Clovis, the first Frankish Christian king. But this Saint Remigius was also a great personage, the son of Charles Martel, Charles ‘the Hammer’ who defeated the forces of the Umayyad caliphate at the Battle of Poitiers, thus breaking the Muslim momentum that threatened nascent Christianity. Charles Martel, father of Pepin ‘The Short’, grandfather of the giant Charlemagne. In other words, our saint is also the uncle of the father of Europe.
It is not certain whether he was the illegitimate son of Charles Martel, as there are historians who claim that Swanachild of Bavaria was Charles’ legitimate wife.
He was chosen by his brother, King Pepin the Short, as bishop for the See of Rouen in 755, a See that was not easy to govern. Among the many amazing stories about Saint Remigius, it is told that one day his brother sent him to Fleury sur Loire to collect the relics of Saint Benedict, which were to be returned to Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by the great patriarch monk of the West. But when he opened the box containing these remains, he was blinded by the glow they emitted, and it was only by the prayers of the Abbot of Fleury that the Saint regained his sight.
Saint Remigius introduced Gregorian chant into northern France. When he was in Rome, he had brought back a monk, Simon, who taught him. He then sent for other monks to continue instruction in this type of chant, eventually establishing it in France. He had gone to the Eternal City to mediate between the Pope and the King of the Lombards, Desiderius, who had taken the Pope’s land. For his handling of it, the Pope praised Bishop Remigius before King Pepin as “a person lovable to God”.
In the year 762, he attended a local council at Attigny. He probably died in 772. His fame of sanctity led him to be revered soon after his death.
In the 9th century, his body was transferred to Soissons, but in 1090 it was returned to Rouen.
In 1520, some of his remains were transferred to the imperial palace in Austria. In 1562, the Huguenots took Rouen, desecrating and burning the Saint’s relics.
With information from El Testigo Fiel.
Compiled by Roberta MacEwan
