 |
| St. Remigius of Rheims (Feast Day - October 1) |
Remigius was born in 437, traditionally at Cerny-en-Laonnois, near Laon, Picardy, in northern Gaul, into the highest levels of Gallo-Roman society. He is said to have been the son of Emilius, count of Laon (who is not otherwise attested) and of Celina, daughter of the Bishop of Soissons, which Clovis had conquered in 486.
The birth of Saint Remigius was foretold to his aged parents by a holy hermit called Montanus. From childhood the noble youth devoted himself to the acquisition of secular and sacred learning and then withdrew to a little house near Laon, where he led an exemplary and virtuous life of holy solitude. When the see of Rheims became vacant, the clergy and people resorted to his retreat and carried him off as their bishop-elect in spite of his being only twenty-two years of age and a layman. At the time of his consecration in 459, his brow shone with light and was scented with a heavenly fragrance.
