Of the early life of Erkembode, who lived in the late 7th and first half of the 8th centuries, nothing is known. It has been surmised that he was an Irish

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

who travelled with several companions to Sithiu, now

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...

in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

where he lived in the monastery. He was a disciple of the abbot at Sithiu, saint

Bertin Bertin ( la, Bertinus; 615 – ''c''. 709 AD), also known as Saint Bertin the Great, was the Franks, Frankish abbot of a monastery in Saint-Omer later named the Abbey of Saint Bertin after him. He is venerated as a saint by the Catholic and Ort ...

(† c.709), himself a disciple of saint

Columban Columbanus ( ga, Columbán; 543 – 21 November 615) was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey in pr ...

us of

Luxeuil Luxeuil-les-Bains () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. History Luxeuil (sometimes rendered Luxeu in older texts) was the Roman Luxovium and contained many fine buildings at ...

, the Celtic abbey in the French Vosges mountains. Later Erkembode was elected by the clergy and people as

bishop of Thérouanne 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 ...

, while remaining

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

of his abbey. In later times that abbey of Sithiu became part of the

Order of Saint Benedict The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...

after the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

reforms of

Benedict of Aniane Benedict of Aniane ( la, Benedictus Anianensis; german: Benedikt von Aniane; 747 – 12 February 821 AD), born Witiza and called the Second Benedict, was a Benedictine monk and monastic reformer, who left a large imprint on the religious prac ...

. ''Erkembode'', means "recognised envoy" The region is now called

French Flanders French Flanders (french: La Flandre française) is a part of the historical County of Flanders in present-day France where a dialect of Dutch was or still is traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day region of Hauts-de-France and r ...

. The name of the see of Erkembode, Thérouanne, was already quoted as the capital of the

Morini The Morini (Gaulish: "sea folk, sailors") were a Belgic coastal tribe dwelling in the modern Pas de Calais region, around present-day Boulogne-sur-Mer, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Morini'' by Caesar ( ...

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

in his ''

Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homela ...

''. After 26 years of episcopacy, in a diocese that extended far into the mainland, Erkembode died on 12 April, though the exact year is unknown. and was buried in

Saint-Omer Cathedral Saint-Omer Cathedral (''Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Saint-Omer'') is a Roman Catholic former cathedral, a minor basilica, and a national monument of France, located in Saint-Omer. It was formerly the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Omer, but the see w ...

, where his tomb remains.

Veneration

The diocese of Therouanne was immense: it went from the current Belgium (Ypres) to the Valley of the Somme. Consequently, Erkembode traveled widely. Initially, pilgrims to his tomb left their shoes as ''ex votos'' in testament to their own travels. In modern times visitors to his shrine include the parents of crippled children, who leave pairs of children's shoes on the saint's tomb, invoking Erkembode's intercessions for the healing of their children. The older shoes are periodically cleared away by the cathedral authorities. Erkembode's liturgical feast day is 12 April. An early ''

vita Vita or VITA (plural vitae) is Latin for "life", and may refer to: * ''Vita'', the usual start to the title of a biography in Latin, by which (in a known context) the work is often referred to; frequently of a saint, then called hagiography * Vit ...

'' by Jean Lelong, called Joannes Iperius, a 14th-century Abbot of St-Bertin, is published in ''

Acta Sanctorum ''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, which is organised according to each saint's feast day. The project w ...

''. perius"The life of St Erkembode, fourth abbot of Saint-Bertin", ''Acta Sanctorum'', (1863), 12 April, 93–5; it is the source for

Paul Guérin Paul Guérin (8 March 1830 – 23 June 1908) was a French priest, professor of philosophy, writer and encyclopedist. He was gifted as a compiler, and is best known for being the author of the series '' Les Petits Bollandistes: vie des saints'', w ...

ed,, "Saint Erkembode, Evėque de Thérouanne (742)" in ''Les petits bollandistes: vies des saints, d'après le père Giry..'' volume 4, ''s.v.'' 12 April.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erkembode Bishops of Thérouanne 8th-century Frankish saints Medieval Irish saints on the Continent 8th-century Irish priests 734 deaths Irish expatriates in France Year of birth unknown 8th-century Frankish bishops