Saint Pavace of Le Mans

A wealthy Christian woman named Casta, burd Casta A wealthy woman healed by the saint who donated her possessions to the Church. ened by several illnesses at once, had spent her fortune seeking relief for her ailments, and had finally lost all hope in human remedies. In this desperate state, she heard of the miraculous healings that the holy bishop had provided to several sick people, and she desired to experience for herself the charity of the servant of God. She had herself carried by her relatives and friends to the place where Pavace was, and as soon as she was in his presence, she felt her hope redouble; she explained to him what she expected from his piety; he prayed for her, also addressed some holy instructions to her, and she was cured of her ailment. In gratitude for this benefit, she gave to the Church what remained of her fortune, and resolved to lead a more Christian life from then on.

This healing had great renown, and it attracted to the holy bishop a multitude of sick people who also came to ask him for relief from their pains. Among this number was a paralytic, crippled in all his limbs, who had vainly tried all the help that medicine offered him. He came to find Pavace with great confidence in obtaining his healing; he remained several days near him, without, however, yet feeling the power of the holy bishop; nevertheless, the latter prayed constantly for this intention; he even offered the holy sacrifice to obtain the grace he requested; finally, God granted the prayers of his servant and the confidence of the sick man, who was entirely healed.

After restoring health to this paralytic, Pavace encouraged him to dedicate himself to the service of God for the rest of his days. This man responded to this vocation, and Pavace had him instructed in Christian doctrine more extensively than the common faithful; he spared nothing on his part to lead him into the knowledge of the sacred dogmas; for it is in this way that, for several centuries, the first bishops themselves presided over the catechetical school, and that the doctrine which Saint Julian had received from the Apostles, and taught first, was preserved alive there.

He obtained through his prayers a grace even more remarkable. A plague, caused by the corruption of the air, was decimating the population throughout the territory of the C territoire des Cénomans Episcopal see and primary place of activity of the saint. enomani; the holy bishop was deeply moved by this misfortune, and he resorted to prayer to appease the wrath of God; he joined fasting to orison and was finally heard. The plague ceased, and not only the faithful, but the entire population of the country, owed him their salvation.

Shortly after this event, a serpent of p rodigious size and ferocity appeared in the region. serpent d'une grandeur et d'une férocité prodigieuse Monstrous creature defeated by the saint, a central element of his iconography. Such was the terror that this terrible animal spread that all the villages near its lair saw their inhabitants flee and seek a less dangerous refuge further away. This monster spared neither men nor animals; the very air was infected by its pestilential breath. The ever-increasing terror stopped even the most courageous men, and no one dared to approach the place that served as its retreat. Pavace alone showed no fear: he went to the dragon's cave, struck it down by the power of the sign of the cross, bound it in the folds of his stole, and then had the faithful who had followed him, but who had stopped at a distance, held back by dread, approach. The mere sight of the serpent, vanquished though it was, still froze them with terror: the Saint forced them to approach, wanting them to be witnesses to the miracle. But the wonder did not end there: Pavace began to pray, the earth opened, and the monster disappeared forever.

Pavace performed another notable miracle in favor of two young men, sons of a powerful man among the Cenomani named Be nedictus a Benedictus A powerful man whose sons were healed by Pavace. nd his wife Lopa. These young men were reduced to the extremity of a violent fever, and their parents were in despair: they had recourse to the holy bishop whose miraculous power they knew, for they had already embraced the Christian faith, and they begged him to come and visit their dying children. The Saint acceded to their wishes: as soon as he arrived, he made the sign of the cross over the two young sick men and rubbed their heads with blessed oil; at that very instant they were healed. These happy parents, not knowing how to show all their gratitude to God and His minister, offered their children themselves to Pavace, so that he might raise them in the clergy. They added their goods, which they wished to give to the Church to provide for the needs of worship, and for the maintenance of its ministers, of the brothers who were in need, and of all the sick and all the poor whom the Church took charge of from its origin.

Benedictus and Lopa added to all these gifts a greater sacrifice, for they consecrated themselves to the service of the Church, into the hands of the bishop. This type of devotion, which became so common later on, was not unknown in the first centuries of Christianity.

Providence seemed to take pleasure in spreading the reputation of Pavace well beyond the limits of the land of the Cenomani, the Diablintes, and the Arvii. An inhabitant of the land of the Andecavi was working at the harvest in the middle of the pays des Andegaves Neighboring region from which a man healed by the saint originated. countryside, and having lain down on the ground to rest for some time, a reptile subtly introduced itself into his body: immediately this unfortunate man experienced frightful pains, and although doctors were called, they could not relieve him. This man was a Christian; he placed all his hope in the God he adored and had himself taken to the oratory that the first apostles of the Andecavi had consecrated to God, in honor of Saint John the Baptist, under the walls of the city. He remained there for some time, hoping for his healing. One night while he was there in prayer, sleep overcame him, and during his rest, he received an order from heaven to go and find Pavace, the bishop of the Cenomani, who was to restore his health. This unfortunate man hastened to come and throw himself at the feet of the holy prelate, who healed him in the presence of many people, having made the sign of the cross over him.

Pavace, laden with years and labors, ceased to live on the ninth day before the Kalends of August, July 24. His body was buried by the disciples he had trained, in the basilica of the holy Apostles, in the cemetery of the Christians, near the tombs of his two predecessors, to the left of Saint Julia n. The power saint Julien First bishop of Le Mans, whose burial place was honored by Innocent. of the miracles with which God had honored the entire course of his episcopate did not extinguish with his life; after he had descended into the tomb, the people continued to come to implore him, and felt the happy effects of his intercession. In the 9th century, his body was transferred to the cathedral by Saint Aldr ic. Four yea saint Aldric Ninth-century bishop who oversaw the translation of the relics of Pavace. rs later, he enclosed his relics, along with an arm of Saint Liborius, in a precious urn which was placed in the church of Saint-Sauveur, not far from the city, a church which became a parish under the name of Saint-Pavace. Several centuries after the episcopate of Saint Pavace, one could still see a figure of this monster, and the representation of everything we have just recounted, in the palace of the bishops of Le Mans; the dragon was represented there with gigantic proportions. From this came the custom of painting our holy bishop holding a cha ined dragon. Ta dragon enchaîné Monstrous creature defeated by the saint, a central element of his iconography. ken from the Prayez du Mans, and the H istoire de l'Église du Mans, Histoire de l'Église du Mans Historical work by Dom Piotin serving as a source for the biography. by Dom Piotin.