Germanus,
one of the glories of the Church in France, was born near Autun, about
496. From his early youth he was exceedingly pious, never missing
midnight vespers at a church a mile from his home, regardless of the
weather.
Carefully trained for the priesthood, Germanus was
ordained by St. Agrippinus, Bishop of Autun, and was made Abbot of St.
Symphorian on the outskirts of the town. A contemporary of his tells us
that at that time he was already favored with the gifts of prophecy and
miracles.
One night in a dream he saw an elderly man who
presented him with the keys of the city of Paris, telling him to look
after the Parisians and to save them from perishing.
In 554,
happening to be in the capital when the bishop died, he was elevated to
the see although he tried to refuse the honor with many tears.
Though
a bishop, Germanus continued to lead a life of austerity and assiduous
prayer, receiving the poor continuously at his residence, and having
them at his own table where he not only nourished their bodies but also
their souls with holy exhortations.
God granted to the holy
prelate’s sermons a great power to move the hearts of peoples of every
rank. Under his influence, the spiritual life of the city changed:
frivolous dances and profane amusements were abolished, enmities were
extinguished and sinners reconciled to the Church. Even the king,
Childebert, son of Clovis and St. Clothilde, until then a worldly,
ambitious prince, converted to a life of piety, building religious
houses, and placing his coffers in the hands of the holy bishop for the
aid of the poor. One of the churches he built became St. Germain des
Prés, for generations the burial place of French royalty.
Throughout
his episcopate, Germanus strove to reprove the behavior of wayward
nobles, and even excommunicated King Charibert, nephew of Childebert,
for his wicked, immoral life. During the fratricidal wars that followed
by the nephews, he made every effort to reconcile them, but was
unsuccessful.
The holy prelate died at the age of eighty, mourned by all his people.
Friday, May 28, 2021
St. Germanus of Paris
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