:''Saint Maternus of Milan was bishop of Milan''. Maternus (c. 285–September 14, 315 AD), also known as Maternus II, was the first known

bishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...

, reportedly also the third bishop of Trier, and founder of the diocese of Tongeren. He is venerated as a saint in the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

churches. The

Basilica of Saint Maternus The Basilica of Saint Maternus (french: Basilique Saint-Materne), also known as the basilica of Our Lady (''basilique Notre-Dame'') is a minor basilica in Walcourt, in the Namur Province of Belgium. According to legend, an oratory was founded her ...

Walcourt Walcourt (; wa, Walcoû) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 17,516 inhabitants. The total area is 123.18 km2, giving a population density of 142 inhabitan ...

, Belgium was allegedly founded by him.

Life

According to

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

, Bishop Maternus was active during the period of the

Donatist Donatism was a Christian sect leading to a schism in the Church, in the region of the Church of Carthage, from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and the ...

controversy. In May 313, Maternus and other bishops were summoned to Rome by Emperor Constantine to consult regarding the status of Bishop Caecilianus of Carthage. He also took part in the

Synod of Arles Arles (ancient Arelate) in the south of Roman Gaul (modern France) hosted several councils or synods referred to as ''Concilium Arelatense'' in the history of the early Christian church. Council of Arles in 314 The first council of Arles"Arles, S ...

in 314. While a legend grew in Trier concerning Maternus, a popular cult developed in Cologne. The

Bollandists The Bollandist Society ( la, Societas Bollandistarum french: Société des Bollandistes) are an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century ...

and others date his Episcopate to the fourth century. He was the first Apostle of Alsace, and successfully promoted the spread of Christianity in that Province and in Western Germany.Monks of Ramsgate. “Maternus”. ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 7 December 2014
/ref>

Legend

According to legend, he was a follower of Saint Eucharius, the first bishop of

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

. Eucharius was sent to

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

as bishop, together with the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

Valerius The gens Valeria was a patrician family at ancient Rome, prominent from the very beginning of the Republic to the latest period of the Empire. Publius Valerius Poplicola was one of the consuls in 509 BC, the year that saw the overthrow of th ...

and the subdeacon Maternus, to preach the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

. They came to the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and to Ellelum in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, where Maternus died. His two companions hastened back to St. Peter and begged him to restore the dead man to life. St. Peter gave his pastoral staff to Eucharius, and, upon being touched with it, Maternus, who had been in his grave for forty days, returned to life. The Gentiles were then converted in large numbers. After founding many churches the three companions went to Trier where the work of evangelization progressed so rapidly that Eucharius chose that city for his episcopal residence.Meier, Gabriel. "St. Eucharius." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 10 February 2019 Maternus assisted Valerius for fifteen years and then succeeded him as bishop of Trier for the next forty years. While assisting Valerius, he had already founded the dioceses of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

and

Tongeren Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the onl ...

. He also founded a church on the site of a

Roman temple Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain "the most obvious symbol of ...

which later became

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese o ...

. The staff of Saint Peter, with which he had been raised to life, was preserved in Cologne till the end of the tenth century when the upper half was presented to Trier, and was afterwards taken to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Emperor Charles IV Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...

. The legend is from the ninth century and appears to have been intended to attest to the ancient establishment of the see of Trier, and therefore seniority over other dioceses in Germany.Agasso, Domenico. "Saint Maternus of Cologne", Santi e Beati, September 3, 2001
/ref>

References

Saints of Germania Roman Catholic bishops of Cologne 4th-century bishops in Germania 4th-century Christian saints 280s births Year of birth uncertain 315 deaths Legendary Romans {{Germany-saint-stub