Landry, Landric, Landericus, or Landry of Soignies, commonly known as Saint Landry of Metz (died 17 April 692–700 AD) was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Metz,

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of Haumont and Soignies, and a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

saint. He was the son of Saint Waltrude and

Madelgaire Vincent Madelgarius, aka ''Maelceadar'', Benedictine monk, died 677. His feast day is September 20. Belgian accounts Belgian sources state that Madelgarus was born about 615 in Strépy, Belgium. The young nobleman married around 635 the dist ...

Biography

Landry was born in the

7th century The 7th century is the period from 601 through 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. The spread of Islam and the Muslim conquests began with the unification of Arabia by the Islamic prophet Muhammad starting in 622 ...

in the

pagus In ancient Rome, the Latin word (plural ) was an administrative term designating a rural subdivision of a tribal territory, which included individual farms, villages (), and strongholds () serving as refuges, as well as an early medieval geograp ...

Hainoensis, Kingdom of Austrasia,

Francia The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingi ...

(now

Hainaut Province Hainaut ( , also , ; ; ; ; ), historically also known as Heynault in English, is the westernmost province of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium. To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

).Lalieu, L. (1886). Vie de S. Vincent Madelgaire et de saint Wandru, son épouse, princes et partrons du Hainaut. (n.p.): Decallonne-Liagre. Landry was born to Saint Waltrude and

Vincent Madelgarius Vincent Madelgarius, aka ''Maelceadar'', Benedictine monk, died 677. His feast day is September 20. Belgian accounts Belgian sources state that Madelgarus was born about 615 in Strépy, Belgium. The young nobleman married around 635 the dist ...

. He had three siblings which included Aldetrude of Maubeuge,

Madelberte of Maubeuge Saint Madelberte of Maubeuge (or Machtelberthe; died c. 705) was a 7th-century nun related to the Merovingian dynasty. She became abbess of Maubeuge Abbey in the County of Hainaut, now in northern France near the Belgian border. She died in 705 or ...

, and

Dentelin of Mons Dentelin, Dentelinus, or Saint Dentelin of Soignies (died 16 March 656 AD) was a Frankish saint. He was the son of Saint Waltrude and Madelgaire. Biography Dentelin was born around 649 AD in the pagus Hainoensis, Kingdom of Austrasia, Franc ...

. He was the grandson of Saint Walbert IV and Saint Bertille, and had an aunt, Saint Aldegund, who was the first abbess of Maubeuge. Saint Landry maintained great regularity at the Abbey of Haumont founded by his father

who later established another monastery in the forest of

Soignies Soignies (; , ; ; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It consists of the following districts: Casteau, Chaussée-Notre-Dame-Louvignies, Horrues, Naast, Neufvilles, Soignies and Thieusies. Casteau is k ...

(now Collegiate Church of Saint-Vincent).Gossart, D. (1860). Précis de l'histoire des principaux Etablissements religieux de l'arrondissement d'Avesnes. France: Prignet. When his parents entered separate monasteries, Landry was already occupying the

episcopal seat A cathedral is a church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations with an episcop ...

Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...

. With Saint Vincent's health declining, Landry was summoned from Meaux, who left his post to succeed his father in the religious role. He took over as abbot of his father's monasteries in 660 AD, followed by Halidulphe in 675, who then received the monastery. He was appointed as the 34th

Bishop of Metz This is a list of bishops of the Roman Catholic diocese of Metz, which now lies in eastern France. To 500 * Clement of Metz (c. 280–300) * Celestius * Felix I * Patient * Victor I 344–346 * Victor II * Simeon * Sambace * Rufus of Metz * Ad ...

in France and known as Saint Landry of Metz.

Death

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 ...

Landry died on 17 April 692–700 AD in

Hainoensis, Kingdom of Austrasia,

(now

). On 1 October 1864, the shrine of Saint Landry, intricately carved and gilded in Renaissance style, was opened by

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

Charles-Joseph Voisin. The relics had been venerated in Soignies, which recorded three visits in 1269, 1406, and 1595.Marsoux, L. (1894). Chapelle et pèlerinage des Saintes Hosties a Marseille-le-Petit (Oise).. France: D. Dumoulin et Cie..

Gallery

Waltraud Waudru.jpg, Madelgaire, Waudru, and their four children (Landry is the second left). Drawing of the Seal of the Chapter of Soignies.png, Seal of the Chapter of Soignies depicting Saint Vincent and his two sons: Landry and Dentelin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:of Soignies, Landry 622 births 700 deaths Merovingian dynasty Frankish people 7th-century Frankish Christian clergy 7th-century Frankish saints Merovingian saints