Saint Remigius, Bishop & Confessor
S. Remigii Episcopi et Confessoris
Saint Remigius, Bishop of Reims, was the apostle of the Franks, who baptised their king Clovis and laboured for the conversion of his people to the faith of Christ.
Saint Remigius was born in Gaul about the middle of the fifth century, and while still a young man, renowned for his learning and holiness, he was chosen Bishop of Reims. He governed that see for many years — an episcopate of remarkable length — and laboured untiringly for the spread and the strengthening of the Christian faith among the peoples of his land in an age of great upheaval, as the old order of the Roman world gave way and new nations rose in its place.
Apostle of the Franks
The name of Saint Remigius is forever joined to the conversion of the Franks. By the grace of God and the prayers of his Christian queen, Clovis, the king of the Franks, was moved to embrace the faith; and it was Saint Remigius who instructed him and who solemnly baptised him at Reims, together with a great number of his people, on a Christmas Day. The words traditionally ascribed to the bishop on that day — bidding the proud warrior to bow his head, to adore what he had burned, and to burn what he had adored — have long been remembered as marking the turn of a whole nation toward Christ.
This baptism was an event of lasting consequence, for through it the Frankish people were brought into the Church, and a Christian kingdom arose in the heart of Europe. Saint Remigius continued to labour for the faith of his flock, founding churches, ordaining bishops, and confirming his people in Christian life and doctrine, so that he is justly honoured as one of the great apostles of the Franks and a father of the Church in Gaul.
His veneration
Saint Remigius died at Reims early in the sixth century, full of years and of merits, and was venerated as a saint from the time of his death. His memory was held in special honour at Reims, where in after ages the kings of France were anointed and crowned, in remembrance of the baptism of Clovis at his hands.
His feast is kept on the first of October. In Saint Remigius the Church honours a bishop of long and faithful service who became the instrument, under God, of the conversion of a people, and who showed in his own life the zeal, the learning, and the holiness that befit a shepherd of souls.
The Collect
Patronage
He is venerated as the apostle of the Franks and a patron of the city and Church of Reims.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar he is no longer kept on the universal calendar; on 1 October the modern calendar keeps the memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Remigius?
His feast is kept on 1 October in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Fourth Class feast.
Who was Saint Remigius?
He was Bishop of Reims in the fifth and sixth centuries and is honoured as the apostle of the Franks. He instructed and baptised Clovis, king of the Franks, together with many of his people, and laboured for the conversion of his nation to the faith of Christ.
Why is Saint Remigius important to the history of France?
Because the baptism of Clovis at his hands brought the Frankish people into the Church and gave rise to a Christian kingdom in the heart of Europe. In memory of this event the kings of France were in later ages anointed and crowned at Reims, the city of Saint Remigius.
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