::''This article is not about St. Aimé, who is also called ''Saint Amatus'' and has the same memorial day'' Saint Amatus, (c.560-c.627)) also called Amatus of Grenoble or Saint Ame or Aimee, was a Colombanian

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 hermit. Together with St. Romaric, he founded

Remiremont Abbey Remiremont Abbey was an abbey that was founded as a house of nuns near Remiremont, Vosges, France. It later became a community of secular canonesses. History It was founded about 620 by Romaric (580–653), a lord at the court of Chlothar II, wh ...

Biography

Amatus was born about the year 560 to a noble family at

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

. Around 581, he entered the

Abbey of St. Maurice, Agaunum The Abbey of Saint Maurice, Agaunum (french: Abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune or ''Saint-Maurice-en-Valais'') is a Swiss monastery of canons regular in Saint-Maurice, Canton of Valais, which dates from the 6th century. It is situated against a c ...

, and at the age of thirty retired into a hermitage, where his reputation for a life of penance and prayer, privileged with the grace of miracle working, drew the attention of

Eustace of Luxeuil Eustace of Luxeuil (c. 560 – c. 626), also known as Eustasius, was the second abbot of Luxeuil from 611. He succeeded his teacher Columbanus, to whom he had been a favorite disciple and monk. He had been the head of the monastic school. Life ...

, who persuaded Amatus to join his community.Monks of Ramsgate. “Amatus”. ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 1 June 2012
/ref> One of his missionary journeys brought him to the court at Metz, and there he converted 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 ...

of King Theodebert II, the

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 ...

noble St. Romaric. St. Romaric founded with Amatus 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 ...

for men and women at

on land that had been in Romaric's possession since his days as a count palatine. Amatus was its first abbot. He ruled this Abbey for many years, and established there the difficult pious practice of the “Laus perennis” or Perpetual Praise, which consisted in the maintaining in the Church an uninterrupted service of Psalmody and Prayer, day and night. Saint Amatus died in the year 627, and at his own request was buried just outside the church door. Later, his remains were suitably enshrined under one of the altars of the same church.

Veneration

Saint Amatus 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 ...

and his memorial day is 13 September. He is particularly honored in Grenoble.Codaghengo, Alfonso. "Sant' Amato di Remiremont", Santi e Beati, February 1, 2001
/ref>

References

7th-century Frankish saints 630 deaths Year of birth missing Colombanian saints {{RC-bio-stub

Biography

Veneration

See also

References