Saint Clair of Dauphiné, also known as St. Clair of Vienne, was a Catholic abbot who "bequeathed to monasticism an example of religious excellence". He was born about 590 in Saint-Clair-du-Rhône and died in 660 in

Vienne Vienne may refer to: Places *Vienne (department), a department of France named after the river Vienne *Vienne, Isère, a city in the French department of Isère * Vienne-en-Arthies, a village in the French department of Val-d'Oise * Vienne-en-Bessi ...

, France. His liturgical memorial is celebrated on January 1 in the

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' () is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved appendices to it. It provid ...

Biography

St. Clair was born around 590 in the village of Beauchamp (later renamed Saint-Clair-du-Rhône in his memory). He was raised first by his widowed mother and then by the monks of Saint-Ferréol when his mother decided to retire to the cloistered convent of Sainte-Blandine. St. Clair decided to enter the monastery of

Saint-Ferréol-Trente-Pas Saint-Ferréol-Trente-Pas (Vivaro-Alpine: ''Sant Ferriòu'') is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Drôme department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. ...

, one of the most important monasteries of the time (it had four hundred monks at that time), to dedicate himself to God. He was considered outstanding, so much so that Bishop Caldéolde decided to appoint him

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of the Saint-Marcel monastery (which had thirty monks at the time) and

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

of the Saint-Blandine monastery (where his mother had retired). According to Christian tradition, he was noted for his prophetic gifts and miraculous healing abilities. He died around 660 and was buried in the church of Sainte-Blandine, next to the martyrs of Lyon. Most of his relics were destroyed during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

(1562–1598).

Devotion and patronage

Saint Clair is the patron saint of woodworkers, glassmakers, and spectacle makers. He is invoked as a healing saint for the eyes, in particular, to "protect the eyes and cure eye diseases". From this reputation derives the punning French expression "Saint Clair qui fait voir clair" ("Saint Clair who makes you see clearly") According to

Arnold van Gennep Arnold van Gennep, full name Charles-Arnold Kurr van Gennep (23 April 1873 – 7 May 1957), was a Dutch– German- French ethnographer and folklorist. Biography He was born in Ludwigsburg, in the Kingdom of Württemberg (since 1871, part of t ...

, Saint Clair is also the patron saint of

stonemasons Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

("who are in constant danger of being blinded by splinters and dust"). His relics were kept and venerated mainly in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, but also in the Savoyard parishes of

Dingy-Saint-Clair Dingy-Saint-Clair () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Geography The commune is around east of Annecy. The Fier forms the commune's south-western border. See also *Commune ...

, Cons-Sainte-Colombe,

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; ; ), known locally and simply as Aix, is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern French Departments of France, department of Savoie. Saint-Simon,

Les Échelles Les Échelles (; ) is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas r ...

of Saint-Alban,

Bramans Bramans is a former commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Val-Cenis.Yvoire Yvoire () is a small medieval town in the department of Haute-Savoie, in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located northeast of Geneva. Geography Located at the tip of the Leman peninsula (''presqu'île de Léman'') ...

, until their destruction during the

. In the commune of Dingy-Saint-Clair, where a relic of Saint Clair was kept, a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

for eye diseases was held until the destruction of the

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

(partly during the French Revolution when the buildings were confiscated and sold as national property and burned). The

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

celebrates Saint Clair on 1 January. Locally, he is celebrated in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

on 2 January. The

diocese of Grenoble The Diocese of Grenoble–Vienne-les-Allobroges (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in south-eastern France. The diocese, erected in the 4th century as the Diocese of Grenoble, comprises the Departments of France, department of ...

(formerly

Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...

) celebrates him on 3 January.

Biography

Devotion and patronage

References

See also

Bibliography

External links