Sidonius (french: Saëns; ga, Sídann) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born French

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 ...

and

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 spiritual

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

Leutfridus LeutfridusAlso rendered Leutfrid, Leufroi, or Leufroy. was a French monk and saint of the eighth century. Life Leutfridus studied at Condat Abbey and at Chartres, and was for a time a teacher at Evreux. A Benedictine, he was also a spiritual st ...

. He is venerated in 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 ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

. Sidonus was born sometime in the seventh century AD, and was a monk at

Jumièges Abbey Jumièges Abbey () was a Benedictine monastery, situated in the commune of Jumièges in the Seine-Maritime ''département'', in Normandy, France. History Around 654 the abbey was founded on a gift of forested land belonging to the royal fisc pr ...

in 664; he then spent several years travelling between

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

. For ten years he served in

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 ...

as a companion to

Ouen Audoin (AD 609 – on 24 August 684; also spelled ''Audoen'', ''Ouen'', ''Owen''; la, Audoenus; known as Dado to contemporaries) was a Frankish bishop, courtier, hagiographer and saint. Life Audoin came from a wealthy aristocratic Frankish fami ...

, eventually being sent to lead a monastery near

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

. This monastery, known in his honour as Saint-Saëns,Bunson, Matthew and Bunson, Stephen. "Sidonius", ''Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints'', Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 2003
survived until the ninth century. Sidonius founded several other monasteries in the area before retiring to live as a monk. Sidonius died around 690; his feast day is November 14.

References

7th-century births 7th-century deaths 7th-century Frankish saints 7th-century Irish priests Medieval Irish saints on the Continent {{France-saint-stub