Saint Romaric (died 653) was a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

nobleman who lived in

Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...

from the late 6th century until the middle of the 7th century. He and Amatus of Grenoble founded Remiremont Abbey.

Biography

He was a former

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

in the court of the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

king,

Theodebert II Theudebert II () (c.585-612), King of Austrasia (595–612 AD), was the son and heir of Childebert II. He received the kingdom of Austrasia plus the cities (''civitates'') of Poitiers, Tours, Le Puy-en-Velay, Bordeaux, and Châteaudun, as well as ...

. His parents were killed by Queen

Brunhilda Brunhilda may refer to: * Brunhild, a figure in Germanic heroic legend * Brunhilda of Austrasia (c. 543–613), Frankish queen * ''Brunhilda'' (bird), a genus of birds See also * * * Broom-Hilda, an American newspaper comic strip * Broomhild ...

, and because of the enmity of his family with this queen, he wandered without a home. However, with the fall of the Queen, he was received at the court of

Chlothar II Chlothar II, sometime called "the Young" (French language, French: le Jeune), (May/June 584 – 18 October 629), was king of Neustria and king of the Franks, and the son of Chilperic I and his third wife, Fredegund. He started his reign as an in ...

and his lands restored."Saint Romaric", Nominis
/ref> Disenchanted with life as a courtier, Romaric experienced a religious conversion through the missionary efforts of Amatus of Grenoble, a monk 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 ...

. Romaric entered Luxeuil and trained to be a monk. With the approval of Abbot Eustace, Romaric and Amatus founded a

double monastery A double monastery (also dual monastery or double house) is a monastery combining separate communities of monks and of nuns, joined in one institution to share one church and other facilities. The practice is believed to have started in the East a ...

for men and women, later given the name of

Remiremont Remiremont (; german: Romberg or ) is a town and commune in the Vosges department, northeastern France, situated in southern Grand Est. The town has been an abbatial centre since the 7th century, is an economic crossroads of the Moselle and Mosel ...

(''Romariki Mons''). The monastery was built on land belonging to St. Romaric, when he was a count palatine. One of the earlier monks in Remiremont was St. Romaric's friend St. Arnulf. Around 625 Romaric succeeded Amatus as abbot. He directed several members of his family who embraced religious life there: two of his daughters, Ozeltruda and Zeberga, his granddaughter Gebetruda, and his grandson Adelphus. Romaric died in 653.Martyrologium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2001 ) Romaric is recognized as a

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 ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

, with a feast day on December 10 or December 8. He was canonized on 3 December 1049 by

Pope Leo IX Pope Leo IX (21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historically ...

References

Sources

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer. Biography Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. His father died when ...

's lives of the saints, edited, revised and supplemented by Thurston and Attwater. Christian Classics, Westminster, Maryland. {{authority control 6th-century births 7th-century deaths 7th-century Frankish saints Colombanian saints