Saint Lupus (Leu) of Sens

Saint Loup then conceived such a great desire for perfection that, wishing to renounce the world absolutely, he sold the greater part of his goods, distributed the money to the poor, and retired to the island of Lérins. He spent some time there in the rigor of fasts and other austerities of the Rule, in visiting the tombs of the Martyrs, and in a continual application to God. But Saint Artemius, Archbishop of Sens, having died Sens Archiepiscopal see occupied by Saint Aldric. , he was elected in his place, with the consent of the king and of all the people.

The new prelate soon gave more tangible signs of what he already was and more certain omens of what he was to be in the future. He added all the episcopal virtues to those of a religious or a solitary. His vigilance for the souls committed to him was admirable. The luxury of the rich was soon curtailed by his care, and the misery of the poor was immediately relieved by his charity. His palace was open to all the faithful, because the house of a bishop, he said, must be like a public inn, where the poor are received out of mercy and the rich out of courtesy. The multitude of the unfortunate whom he assisted never troubled him. One day he had distributed all the wine from his cellar to them; his servants warned him of it, because several people of high rank were to dine at his home. He implored the help of Providence, and, a few moments later, twenty carts of wine were seen arriving at his door, which the princess his mother had sent him.

It is noted that he took singular pleasure in doing good to his enemies. His innocence was not at all surprised by the slanders made against him, because he had learned from the Apostle that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution; and it was those very people who had blackened and torn him with their calumnies who were the principal objects of his benevolence.

France was then the theater of war, and the diversity of sovereigns, whom the people were obliged to recognize, always ignited its fire in some place. After the death of Theuderic, King of Burgundy, Clotaire, King of Fran ce, cast his eyes upon Clotaire, roi de France King of Neustria and later sole King of the Franks, protector of Columbanus after his exile. this country to seize it. He sent Blidenaud, an army general, with troops and war machines to capture the city of Sens, which was the first to oppose his passage. Blidenaud pressed it so closely that, having overturned a part of its walls, he was about to take it by assault. But the holy Prelate, seeing that his city would be exposed, by this means, to the pillage and brutality of the soldiers, had recourse to prayer. He entered the chapel of the prince of martyrs, Saint Stephen, raised his hands to heaven, like another Moses, represented to God the desolation of his people, and, moved by the Spirit that once animated Gideon, he rang the church bell, which struck such terror into the besiegers that they were obliged to lift the siege and withdraw. This bell was the one that was later transported to Paris by order of King Clotaire, because of an extraordinarily harmonious sound it produced. Saint Loup had not consented to this transport: thus it immediately lost its pleasantness; and Clotaire, who understood the secret, was obliged to send it back to Sens. The people, having heard its sound from more than three and a half leagues away, came to receive it with joy, and it was returned to its place. This marvel occurred only after the troubles of the two kingdoms of France and Burgundy were pacified, and after Saint Loup had returned from the exile of which we are about to speak.

Burgundy having fallen into the hands of King Clotaire, he sent a certain Farulph to Sens as governor. The latter, upon entering the city, was extremely indignant against the holy Archbishop because, instead of coming to meet him as far as the suburbs, he had contented himself with waiting for him at the door of the church to receive him there. Farulph resolved to take revenge for this alleged affront, and he was seconded in his evil design by an abbot from the suburbs of Sens, who flattered himself with the hope of becoming archbishop in place of his Prelate. The governor and the abbot therefore charged the Saint with so many slanders before the king that he relegated him to Neustria, since called Normandy. Boson, still a pagan, commanded there on behalf of the king, and, to follow His Majesty's orders, he sent the bishop to Ausène, a small village in the Vimeu, on the Bresle ville d'Eu Norman town where the saint died and where his relics rest. , near the city of Eu. Our blessed one did not appear as an exile, but as an apostle. He instructed the peoples he found in the errors of idolatry, drew them to the fold of Jesus Christ, and tore out, by the power of his preaching and the virtue of his miracles, all the remnants of paganism that he found there. Prince Boson, being informed of his merit, greatly desired to see and hear him. He had him come, spoke with him several times, and was so convinced by his arguments that, after having seen him restore sight to a blind man in his presence, he had himself baptized by his hand, along with the greater part of his army.

However, the people of Sens, animated by an extraordinary zeal, put to death the abbot of Saint-Béni, Madegisilus, the usurper of the metropolitan see of Sens and persecutor of Saint Loup. After this tragic death, which was an effect of the just judgment of God, the archdeacon of Sens, fearing the dire consequences of a popular outburst, implored the assista nce of the holy abb saint abbé Winebaud Abbot of Troyes who secured the return of Saint Lupus from exile. ot Winebaud, who was flourishing in Troyes at that time, to obtain the return of his prelate. He represented to him the misfortune in which the people of Sens found themselves by the deprivation of this holy bishop, and made known to him the falsity of the calumnies with which he had been charged. Winebaud, touched by his speech and his sighs, came generously to the court, presented himself before the king, and asked him, on behalf of God and his people of Sens, for the restoration of such a great man. He obtained all that he desired and was even charged to go himself to the Saint to draw him from exile. The meeting of these two servants of God was so touching that, as they embraced and shed tears of joy, those present could not help but weep. They took the road to the court, where the king, seeing the Saint so disfigured, was touched by a deep regret for having persecuted him; he threw himself at his feet, asked his forgiveness, and paid him every possible honor; he even served him at the table with great respect; after which, prostrating himself a second time at his knees, he begged him to give him the kiss of peace as a sign of reconciliation. Finally, having showered him with honors and gifts, he returned him to his Church. The inhabitants of the village where the Saint had been in exile truly lost his physical presence, but they were not deprived of his assistance; God granted them all that they asked of Him in the name of His servant: which caused this place to change into a town that now bears the name of Saint-Leu. Upon his return from this exile, he passed through Melun, where he stopped a fire that threatened to reduce the whole city to ashes. The people of Sens came in crowds to meet him and the abbot Winebaud, his liberator, who accompanied him. They were led to the church and the episcopal palace with acclamations, hymns, canticles, and tears of joy.

Hardships and labors had not diminished the zeal of Saint Loup; they had only increased his love for God and his ardor for the salvation of his neighbor. He was always seen continuing his holy practices and generous undertakings. He uprooted from the field of his Church the tares of vice that had grown during his absence. He provided spiritual nourishment to his flock through his instructions, his example, and his miracles. It was his custom to visit the churches of the city each night, and when he arrived at the cathedral, he would be the first to ring the bell to call the faithful, and especially the clergy, to divine service. One night, this sound had the power to convert two priests who were wallowing in crime. Another night, as he was going to the church of Saint-Agnan to offer his prayers, the doors, which were locked, were opened for him by angels.

The blessed spirits often favored him with their visits and even gladdened him with their melody. His power over demons was sovereign and absolute. One day, the evil spirit caused him excessive thirst while he was in prayer; he sent for water, had it poured into a vessel, and, in a manner similar to that of the Archangel Saint Raphael, far from drinking it, he enclosed the demon within it, which let out frightful howls until the next day. He also possessed the gift of prophecy, which he manifested one day by suddenly leaving an assembly to go and meet Saint Winebaud, whose arrival could only have been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. Heaven even wished to bear witness to his merit; for one day, as he was celebrating the holy Mysteries, a precious stone descended and fell into his chalice. It was kept for some time in the sacristy of his cathedral; but the king wished to have it in the chapel of his palace, and he could not tire of looking at it, because of the great brilliance it cast.

This most illustrious prelate, after having worthily fulfilled all the years of his pontificate, died in 623, on the 1st of September, in the village of Brinon, which belonged to him by inheritance and which he had ceded to his cathedral church. He was buried, according to his will, under the eaves of the abbey church of Sainte-Col église abbatiale de Sainte-Colombe Burial place of Saint Lupus. ombe. It was the final testimony he could give of his humility and of the particular devotion he had held for this glorious martyr of Jesus Christ. His body, after his death, exhaled a pleasant odor, and many miracles occurred at his tomb. A woman blind for thirty years recovered her sight there; another paralyzed woman was healed there; a priest, who had broken his body by falling from a ladder on which he was working for the ornamentation of the church, was restored to perfect health.

He is sometimes seen, from the altar, extending his hand toward the king, to hand him a precious stone that had fallen from heaven into his chalice.

## CULT AND RELICS.

Saint Loup is invoked primarily for the healing of the falling sickness, and for the relief of intestinal pains suffered by children. In Paris, in a church dedicated to him on Rue Saint-Denis, they are made to kiss a small reliquary where a portion of his precious relics rests. King Henry IV had a solemn novena performed there in the year 1601 [sic] for the Dauphin, who later became Louis XIII, known as the Just; and this prince had the same devotion performed in the year 1638 for his son Louis XIV. All of France honors Saint Loup so universally that there are few places where one does not see marks of his memory. The principal monuments of his glory are in Sens, Orléans, Paris, and Saint-Leu in Normandy, where he manifested the greatest actions of his life. His feast is celebrated every year in Sens with extraordinary magnificence.

When Saint Loup left Sens to go into exile, he threw his pastoral ring into a ditch, saying that he would not return until that ring had been found. Indeed, shortly before his return, a barbel was caught near Melun, in the entrails of which the ring was found; it was transported to the cathedral, where it may still be seen today. Those who have eye ailments have it applied to them there and receive considerable relief and even complete healing. Near the place where this barbel was caught, Louis the Fat had the famous Abbey of Le Barbeau built, where he chose his burial place. There is no martyrology that does not speak of Saint Loup.

Saint Loup of Sens is the patron of the parish of Saint-Loup in Champagne, in the department of the Ardennes, diocese of Reims, where a relic of the Saint was possessed in a reliquary.

The Huguenots took away the reliquary containing the holy relic, but, having arrived at a short distance from the village, on the road that goes from Saint-Loup to Blanzy, they felt the reliquary become so heavy that they were forced to leave it at the place still called today the Fosse de Saint-Loup, where they buried it.

Once the Huguenots had left, the parish went to retrieve the reliquary, the repository of the holy relic, which was brought back to the church. The feast, known as the Translation of Saint Loup, has been celebrated there every year on the last Sunday of April from time immemorial.

Saint Loup is also the patron of the parish of Saint-Loup-des-Bois, in the deanery of Cesne, which possesses a fairly significant bone of this Saint. The church of Chappes, in the diocese of Troyes, possesses some of his relics.

Surine; Vincent of Beauvais; Pierre de Matalbus; Notes provided by Abbé Boutet, parish priest of Avignon. — Cf. l'Hagiologie Nivernaire, by Mgr Crounier; les Saints de Troyes, by Abbé Defer; la France l'antifinale, by Fioquet.