Saint Genesius (died circa 662) is a French

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

. He was the twenty-first

Bishop of Clermont The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Clermont (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Claromontana''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Clermont'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman ...

and his

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

is celebrated on June 3.

Narrative

A legend, which is of a rather late date (Acta SS., June, I, 315), says that he was descended from a

senatorial A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

family of

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

."Genesius (6) St.", ''A Dictionary of Christian Biography'', (William Smith, Henry Wace, eds.) J. Murray, 1880, p. 627
/ref> Having received a liberal education he renounced his worldly prospects for the service of the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, became

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

of Clermont under Bishop Proculus. The parents of Saint Prix entrusted his education to Bishop Genesius. Despite his protests, Genesius succeeded Proculus in the

episcopacy 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 ...

in 656.Goyau, Georges. "Diocese of Clermont." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 2 December 2022 Genesius (locally known as Saint Genes) was a prelate of austere piety and wholly devoted to his flock. He laboured earnestly for the maintenance of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

morality, and founded a hospital at Clermont and also the Abbey of Manlieu. After serving as bishop for five years, fearing for his own soul, he left Clermont secretly and went 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 ...

in the

garb Garb may refer to: * Clothing * Garb, a wheat sheaf (agriculture) A sheaf (/ʃiːf/) is a bunch of cereal-crop stems bound together after reaping, traditionally by sickle, later by scythe or, after its introduction in 1872, by a mechanical r ...

of a

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

. The bereaved flock sent a deputation to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

. Genesius was found and induced to return. Genesius then proceeded to build a convent at Chantoin,"Saint Genesius of Clermont". ''New Catholic Dictionary''
CatholicSaints.Info. 21 May 2013 a church and a

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...

. He was buried in the church which he had built at Clermont in honour of St. Symphorian, and which later took his own name. In the life of

Praejectus Saint Praejectus, Prejectus or Projectus (french: Saint Pry, Prie, Prix, Priest, Prest, Preils; it, Preietto (Proietto)) (625–676) was a bishop of Clermont, who was killed together with the abbot Amarinus as a result of political struggles of ...

(Prix), Genesius is mentioned as one of the protectors of his childhood. Genesius died about 662 in the seventh year of his Episcopate.

References

Sources

*Dictionary of Saints, John J. Delaney, 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Genesius, Bishop Of Clermont 662 deaths Bishops of Clermont 7th-century Frankish bishops 7th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown