Bible Flares › Saints › Leodegar and Gerinus
Feast day · October 2
Around 615 in Gaul – 677 and 679 in Gaul
An army surrounded Autun, and its people were starving. Their bishop, Leodegar, knew the soldiers had come for him alone. So he walked out of the gate to meet them.
Leodegar and Gerinus were brothers born into a noble family in seventh-century Gaul. It was a violent time of warring kings and ruthless officials. Leodegar became a monk and later an abbot, seeking a quiet life of prayer. But the Church needed strong leaders. Around the year 659, he was made the Bishop of Autun. The city was broken by political fighting. Leodegar worked quickly to rebuild the ruined churches, care for the poor, and bring discipline back to the local monasteries. He wanted Autun to be a place of peace.
The peace did not last. A powerful and cruel official named Ebroin wanted control of the kingdom. Ebroin saw the bishop as a threat to his power. He marched his army to Autun and surrounded the city walls. The people of Autun tried to defend their home, but Ebroin's forces were too strong. Food began to run out. The city was on the edge of starvation and total destruction. Leodegar knew that Ebroin only wanted him.
Leodegar made a choice that echoed the Gospel. He gathered his people, gave them his blessing, and walked out of the city gates alone. He surrendered himself to Ebroin so the city would be spared. Ebroin showed no mercy. He had Leodegar blinded and his lips and tongue mutilated. Ebroin also captured Leodegar's brother, Gerinus. Gerinus was stoned to death for his loyalty to his brother and his faith. Leodegar was sent away to a monastery in exile, left in darkness and pain.
Even in his suffering, Leodegar did not despair. Tradition records that he miraculously regained the ability to speak. He spent his days in exile praying and comforting the monks who cared for him. Ebroin was still not satisfied. Two years after Gerinus was killed, Ebroin ordered Leodegar to be dragged before a council, stripped of his priesthood, and taken into a forest to be executed. Leodegar knelt in the woods and was beheaded. He died as he had lived, giving everything for the love of Christ and his Church.
The blind, People with eye diseases, The city of Autun, The canton of Lucerne
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