Saint Friard

However, his fellow workers, who had little piety, mocked his devotion and made fun of it among themselves. One day, when a swarm of wasps rose up in the field and forced them to flee without being able to continue the harvest, because of the stings and bloody wounds they received from them, they said to him mockingly: "Well! Friard, you who make so many signs of the cross on your eyes, your ears, and your mouth, and who even imprint it on the paths where you must pass, why do you not drive away with this sign these troublesome insects that prevent us from harvesting?" Friard, judging that it was a matter of the glory of God and the honor of the Cross, which he saw being despised, to do something extraordinary on this occasion, knelt down and earnestly prayed to Our Lord to ensure that these flies would no longer bother them. He immediately felt that his prayer was answered, and said to his companions: "Come, let us return to work; these insects will no longer harm us." They followed him, and he had barely made the sign of the cross and said: *Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini*, when the wasps retreated into a hole in the ground, from which they did not emerge again. This miracle began to make him esteemed, and made such an impression on his companions that they no longer dared to mock him, but on the contrary admired his virtue and spoke well of it to everyone.

Another day, he fell from the top of a tall tree; this fall, during which he repeated his habitual prayer: Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini, did him no harm. Full of gratitude towards God, who protected him so visibly, he resolved to serve Him in solitude. He communicated this design to Saint Felix, Bishop of Nantes, who approved it and associated two companions with him: the Abbot Sabaudus, who had formerly held positions at the court of Clotaire, King of France, and a deacon named Secondel. Fr iard ret Secondel Deacon and hermit companion of Saint Friard. ired with them to an island in the Loire named Vindunet, whe re he be Vindunet Island in the Loire where Friard established his hermitage. gan the arduous exercises of a true hermit. Sabaudus did not persevere with him; for, becoming bored with no longer being an abbot, and no longer having the satisfactions that his prelacy had previously given him, he returned to his cloister; but shortly after, he was assassinated: Saint Grego ry of Tours says that t saint Grégoire de Tours Bishop and historian who mentions the martyrdom of Antolian. he cause could not be known. Secondel had more constancy, and Friard led with him a life so pure and so perfect that they appeared more like angels than men. Their cells, nevertheless, were little separated, and they spoke to each other only rarely, for fear that mutual conversation might diminish their application to God, and the fervor with which they continually raised themselves to heaven.

However, the demon found a way to deceive Secondel; for, having appeared to him in the guise of Jesus Christ, he managed to persuade him that he had already reached a state of perfection, and that he should leave his hermitage to go and work for the salvation of souls, assuring him that he would authorize his words with great miracles. Secondel left without communicating anything to Saint Friard, and went off to preach the word of God throughout the neighborhood. At the same time, he performed several healings that appeared miraculous and which drew to him the esteem and admiration of everyone, so that he was proclaimed everywhere as a great Saint. This success swelling his heart more and more, he returned to the island to share these good tidings with our Saint. But Friard, who was enlightened from above, and who, moreover, perceived in him entirely secular manners that he had already contracted through his relations with men, immediately recognized the artifice of the demon. He said to him, therefore, sighing and weeping: "Woe to you, my brother; for assuredly the tempter has deceived you. Go, return to your cell, humble yourself before God, and do penance for this fault." These words dissipated all the cloud with which Secondel's spirit had been covered; he himself perceived the illusion to which he had deferred, and, feeling within him that his evangelical labors had only resulted in movements of vainglory, he groaned for it from the depths of his heart, threw himself at the feet of Friard, and begged him to intercede with Our Lord, so that this levity might be forgiven him. "Let us pray together," Friard said to him, "and God, who is infinitely merciful, will not fail to be propitious to you." They therefore began to pray; the demon, having again taken the appearance of Our Lord, appeared once more to Secondel and gave him a severe reprimand for having, against his order, left the assistance of so many souls who were being lost, to return to his hermitage. But this holy deacon did not let himself be seduced a second time. "I know," he said to the demon, "that you are not Jesus Christ, my Savior, but a seducer who wants to make me lose the crown of perseverance; if you want me to change my mind, imprint on your forehead the salutary sign of the cross, which Jesus Christ has always loved, and you will give me reason to believe you." The demon did nothing of the sort, and Secondel having made the sign of the cross upon himself, he vanished. But he did not delay in returning: for, having had himself accompanied by a troop of evil spirits as wicked as himself, he came to find him and beat him so cruelly that he left him half-dead. This was the last effort of this enemy of men against the blessed deacon: for, from that time on, he troubled him no more and left him in peace. Secondel therefore persevered for several years in his profession, and after having long wept for his levity, he died holily, full of years and good works. His body was buried in the church of Besné, where he has performed several miracles. He is its second patron.

As for Saint Friard, who survived him, after he had rendered him the duties of burial, he returned to his hermitage and shut himself in. One day, while walking on the island, he found a tree branch that the wind had blown down. He picked it up, and it served him as a staff for several years. But when it was completely dry, he replanted it and watered it with care. Finally, it took root, bore flowers and fruit, and became such a beautiful tree that people came to see it out of curiosity. He noticed this, and, fearing vainglory, he had it pulled up: in this he was no less admirable than by the miracle he had performed in restoring its life, dry as it was. Another time, having encountered another tree laden with flowers that the wind had uprooted, he took pity on it and prayed to God that so many beautiful flowers should not be lost. Then he cut off all its roots with his billhook and, having made the base pointed, he stuck it into the ground. His trust in God was not in vain: at that very hour the tree cast new roots, and, drawing sap from the earth, it kept its flowers as long as was necessary, and bore very beautiful fruit that same year. These wonders and many others attracted a great number of people to his cell to commend themselves to his prayers, and he did not fail to give them salutary instructions to set them on the path to eternal happiness.

Finally, the time of his reward arrived; he was attacked by a violent fever and knew that he was going to die. He warned those who were assisting him, and, marking for them the day when this happiness was to come to him, he begged the m to announ saint Félix Bishop of Nantes in the 6th century, protector of Friard. ce it to Saint Felix, his bishop, so that he might be willing to assist him in this final hour. Saint Felix was so occupied at that time that, unable to go, he sent word to the Saint that he begged him to wait a little, and that as soon as his affairs were dispatched he would not fail to go to his cell. It is thus that these friends of God disposed of the time of life and death, as if they had been their absolute masters. The messengers having returned to Saint Friard, who seemed to be near expiring, reported to him the response of Saint Felix. "Let us rise, then," he said, "and wait for our brother"; and at the same time the fever left him, and he rose as if he had no more pain. When Saint Felix was free, he came to find him, following his promise. Then this heavenly man, who was groaning within himself at the delay of his happiness, made an affectionate complaint to him, and said: "O holy Priest, you make me wait a long time, and you greatly delay the journey that I must make to eternity." The fever took him again immediately, he lay down, received from the blessed bishop the kiss of peace and all the help that the Church gives to the dying, and, the following morning, being provided with the Sacraments, the episcopal blessing, and prayer, he rendered his soul into the hands of his Creator. This was on August 1, 577. At that very instant his cell trembled, and it was filled with a very pleasant odor. Saint Felix and his clerics celebrated his funeral, and had his body carried to the church of Besné, the place of his birth, where God has honored him with several miracles.

Saint Friard is the patron of plowmen, just as Saint Isido re is, whose saint Isidore Patron saint of farmers, cited by comparison. life we provided on May 4th. He is depicted watering a shrub. This shrub was, as we have seen, a staff used by the Saint. This staff, planted by him and watered, produced fruit. This miracle having attracted a great crowd, the Saint feared the esteem that would come to him from it and cut down the shrub.

## CULT AND RELICS.

His relics, having since been exhumed, were partially taken to the cathedral of Nantes; the rest remained in this church of Besné, of which he is the principal patron.

There is still preserved today, in the church of Besné, in the diocese of Nantes, a portion of the relics of Saint Friard and Saint Secondel, his friend and saint Secondel Deacon and hermit companion of Saint Friard. companion in his solitude. These relics, which are not very considerable, are enclosed in two gilded wooden reliquaries.

One can also see there the tombs of the two Saints, which are in the shape of coffins, made of a single stone. About one kilometer from the parish church exists a small oratory, which is said to have been built on the site occupied by the cell of Saint Secondel. Very close to this oratory, local tradition indicated a portion of moorland that would have formed the small garden that the pious companion of Saint Friard cultivated with his own hands. The Bishop of Nantes, during his last pastoral visit, purchased this land, which he donated to the parish council, and today, a stone statue of Saint Secondel stands in the middle of the garden, a few steps from the oratory of which we have just spoken.

In the Proper of the diocese, approved in Rome in 1857, authorization was obtained to observe the memorial of Saint Secondel on April 29, and the feast of Saint Friard, of the double-minor rite, on August 2. These are the two days assigned to the feast of the holy Confessors by the immemorial tradition of the parish of Besné, where their cult has remained very popular.

The relics of Saint Friard, which were held at the cathedral of Nantes before the Revolution, have been lost.

We have drawn this life from Sa int Gregory of Tours an saint Grégoire de Tours Bishop and historian who mentions the martyrdom of Antolian. d from what Father Alexandre, of Morlaix, wrote in his History of the Saints of Brittany, based on the old manuscripts of the same church of Besné. We have completed it with local notes thanks to the kindness of Abbé F. Richard, Vicar General of Nantes, now Bishop of Belley. — Cf. Lives of the Saints of Brittany, by Dom Lubineau.