Bénézet (also Benedict, Benezet, Benet, Benoît; c. 1163 – 1184) is a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Biography

Christian tradition states that he was a

shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

boy who had a

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

during an

eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

in 1177, which led him to build a bridge over the

Rhône River The Rhône ( , ; Occitan: ''Ròse''; Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea (Gulf ...

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

. He was told that

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

s would watch over his flocks in his absence. He built the bridge single-handedly, as ecclesiastical and civil authorities refused to help him. Bénézet, it is said, lifted a huge stone into place, and announced it would be the start of the foundation. This would become the

Pont Saint-Bénézet The Pont Saint-Bénézet (; Provençal: ), also known as the Pont d'Avignon (), was a medieval bridge across the Rhône in the town of Avignon, in southern France. Only four arches survive. An early wooden bridge spanning the Rhône betwee ...

. According to the legend, there were shouts of "Miracle! Miracle!" when Bénézet had laid the first stone. Eighteen miracles occurred during this incident, including the blind having their sight restored, the deaf hearing again, cripples walking, and hunchbacks had their backs straightened. Bénézet thus won support for his project from wealthy sponsors who, it is claimed, formed themselves into the Bridge-Building Brotherhood to fund the bridge’s construction.

Veneration

After his death, Bénézet was interred on the bridge itself, in a small chapel dedicated to

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of mariners, standing on one of the bridge's surviving piers on the Avignon side. His

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

were enshrined there until 1669, when a flood washed away part of the bridge. His coffin, recovered, was opened and the body of Bénézet was found to be

incorrupt Incorruptibility is a Catholic and Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness. I ...

. The relics were translated to

Avignon Cathedral Avignon Cathedral ( French: ''Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms d'Avignon'') is a Roman Catholic church located next to the Palais des Papes in Avignon, France. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Avignon. The cathedral is a Romanesq ...

and thence to the Celestine church of Saint Didier. The remains of the bridge are still a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

site.*Gross, Ernie. ''This Day in Religion''. New York: Neil-Schuman Publishers, 1990. .

References

External links

Saints of April 14: Bénézet

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benezet Medieval French saints 1163 1184 deaths 12th-century Christian saints Incorrupt saints

Biography

Veneration

See also

References

External links