Saint Randoald (also ''Rancald'', ''Randaut'', d. 21 February 675) was

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

of the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Moutier-Grandval Abbey Moutier-Grandval Abbey was a Benedictine abbey near the villages of Moutier and Grandval in today's Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It was founded around 640, when Grandval already existed; Moutier grew ...

(in modern-day

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

) under

Germanus of Granfelden Saint Germanus of Granfelden (* ca. 612 in Trier; † 675 near Moutier (today in canton of Bern, Switzerland) was the first abbot of Moutier-Grandval Abbey. ''Vita'' The "Life" of Saint Germanus appears in the eleventh century " Codex of Saint-Gal ...

''Passio sancti Germani''

The ''Passio sancti Germani'' recounts the death of Saint Randoald and appears in the eleventh century " Codex of Saint-Gall". It was written about 695 by Bobolène, a priest of

Luxeuil Abbey Luxeuil Abbey (), the ''Abbaye Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul'', was one of the oldest and best-known monasteries in Burgundy, located in what is now the département of Haute-Saône in Franche-Comté, France. History Columbanus It was founded circa 5 ...

at the request of the religious brothers Chadoal and Aridius, contemporaries of Randoald."Nos Saint-Patrons", Paroisse catholique romaine de Moutier
/ref>

Death

He was

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

ed together with Germanus by partisans of the

Duke of Alsace The Duchy of Alsace ( la, Ducatus Alsacensi, ''Ducatum Elisatium''; german: Herzogtum Elsaß) was a large political subdivision of the Frankish Empire during the last century and a half of Merovingian rule. It corresponded to the territory of Alsac ...

Eticho Adalrich ( la, Adalricus; reconstructed Frankish: ''*Adalrik''; died after 683 AD), also known as Eticho, was the Duke of Alsace, the founder of the family of the Etichonids and of the Habsburg, and an important and influential figure in the powe ...

. The monk and his abbot stood up for the region's poor against Eticho's efforts to subdue the inhabitants of the region around

Delémont Delémont (; fc, D'lémont; german: Delsberg, ) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Jura. The city has approximately 12,000 inhabitants . History The area of the municipality was already settled in the middle Bronze Age. Fifteen urn buria ...

. Randoald had accompanied Abbot Germanus to the Church of Saint Maurice in

Courtételle Courtételle is a municipality in the district of Delémont in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. History Courtételle is first mentioned in 1178 as ''Curtetele''. Geography Courtételle has an area of . Of this area, or 55.6% is used for a ...

where the abbot remonstrated with the duke regarding his depredations in the area. The monastics had just left after negotiations with the duke and were returning to Moutier-Grandval. One of the duke's lieutenants with a few men set off in pursuit. they caught up with them and executed them, one of the soldiers cutting Randoald's head off, while Germanus was pierced with a spear.Odden, Per Einar. "De hellige Germanus og Randoald av Grandval (~610-675)", Den katolske kirke
/ref>

Veneration

The following night the religious collected the bodies and buried them first in

Saint-Ursanne Saint-Ursanne is an old town and a former municipality of the district of Porrentruy in the canton of Jura, Switzerland which has preserved much of its medieval character. The town contains many historical buildings, including a Romanesque abbey c ...

, then in Moutier-Granval. They are both venerated as saints in the Catholic Church. Miracles reportedly took place at their tomb, which became a center of pilgrimage. The remains of the martyrs were in 1477 transferred under the high altar. Their cult extended throughout the diocese of Basel and throughout the province of Besancon. The relics of the abbey were taken to the Church of Saint-Marcel in

at the Reformation;"Randoald (saint)", Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz
/ref> the church still has the bodies of Saints Germanus and Randoald, where they continue to be venerated. Their joint

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 21 February, the anniversary of their deaths.

References

External links

Germanus and Randoald story at Kirchensite.de

Germanus and Randoald story at Abbaye Saint Benoît
675 deaths Roman Catholic saints Benedictines 7th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown {{saint-stub