Saint Aldric (c. 800 – 7 January 856) was

Bishop of Le Mans The Catholic Diocese of Le Mans (Latin: ''Dioecesis Cenomanensis''; French: ''Diocèse du Mans'') is a Catholic diocese of France. The diocese is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo but had previously been suffraga ...

in the time of

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

Life

Aldric was born of a noble family, of partly Saxon and partly Bavarian extraction, about the year 800. At the age of twelve he was placed by his father in the court of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

, in the household of his son

at Aix la Chapelle. Aldric was highly esteemed by both monarchs, but at the age of twenty-one he withdrew to

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

and became a priest. He was then recalled to the court by Louis, who took him as his chaplain and the guide of his conscience.Campbell, Thomas. "St. Aldric." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 12 April 2020 Nine years after his ordination, Aldric was made Bishop of Le Mans. He was consecrated on the 22nd of December. The emperor arrived at Mans three days after, and kept the Christmas holy-days with him.Butler, Alban. "Saint Aldric, Bishop of Mans, Confessor". ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints'', 1866. CatholicSaints.Info. 6 January 2013
/ref> He was a learned and pious prelate, devoted to the poor and to the religious interests of his Diocese. Apart from being conspicuously virtuous, he showed a practical turn in building aqueducts and ransoming captives, as well as building new churches and restoring monasteries. In the civil wars which followed the death of Louis, Aldric's loyalty to

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...

resulted in his expulsion from his see, and he withdrew to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Sabine Baring-Gould. "Saint Aldric, Bishop of Mans". ''Lives of the Saints'', 1897. CatholicSaints.Info. 6 January 2014
/ref> Gregory IV reinstated him. In 836, as an emissary of the Council of Aix la Chapelle Aldric visited

Pepin I Pepin I (also Peppin, Pipin, or Pippin) of Landen (c. 580 – 27 February 640), also called the Elder or the Old, was the Mayor of the palace of Austrasia under the Merovingians, Merovingian King Dagobert I from 623 to 629. He was also the ...

, who was then

King of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine ( oc, Ducat d'Aquitània, ; french: Duché d'Aquitaine, ) was a historical fiefdom in western, central, and southern areas of present-day France to the south of the river Loire, although its extent, as well as its name, fluc ...

, with Erchenrad,

Bishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France ...

, and persuaded Pepin to order that all the possessions of the Church which had been seized by his followers should be restored. Aldric took part in the Councils of Paris in 846 and Tours in 849. The two last years of his life he was confined to his bed by a palsy. He died at Le Mans on 7 January 856 and was buried in the church of Saint Vincent, having been bishop for twenty-four years. He was succeeded by

Robert (bishop of Le Mans) Robert (died 883/85) was the bishop of Le Mans from 857. Robert had a long-running dispute with the monastery of Saint-Calais. He even produced several forged documents—the famous "Le Mans forgeries"—to support his claim to oversight of the abb ...

References

Relevant works

*'' Actus Pontificum Cenomannis (in urbe degentium)'', compiled during Aldric's episcopate. **ed. Margarete Weidemann, ''Geschichte des Bistums Le Mans von der Spätantike bis zur Karolingerzeit: Actus Pontificum Cenomannis in urbe degentium und Gesta Aldrici''. 3 vols. Mainz, 2000. *''Gesta (Domni) Aldrici'', which relates how Aldric translated the bodies of the saints and former

bishops of Le Mans A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

: Julianus, Turibius, Pavatius,

Romanus Romanus (Latin for "Roman"), hellenized as Romanos (Ῥωμανός) was a Roman cognomen and may refer to: People * Adrianus Romanus, Flemish mathematician (1561–1615) *Aquila Romanus, Latin grammarian *Giles of Rome, Aegidius Romanus, medieva ...

Liborius Liborius of Le Mans (c. 348–397) was the second Bishop of Le Mans. He is the patron saint of the cathedral and archdiocese of Paderborn in Germany. The year of his birth is unknown; he died in 397, reputedly on 23 July. Le Mans and Paderborn As ...

and Hadoindus to his cathedral. **ed. Margarete Weidemann, ''Geschichte des Bistums Le Mans von der Spätantike bis zur Karolingerzeit: Actus Pontificum Cenomannis in urbe degentium und Gesta Aldrici''. 3 vols. Mainz, 2000.

Life

References

Relevant works

Further reading