Saint Amatus

After the death of Saint Ultan, the king changed the place of his exile, order ing Saint Mau saint Mauront Son of Saint Adalbald, he welcomed Amatus to Flanders and founded the Abbey of Breuil. ront, son of Saint Adalbaud and Saint Rictrude, to take him with him to Flanders, to place him in his monastery of Breuil. A great miracle, which God performed at Camb Cambrai Principal episcopal see of Saint Aubert. rai in his favor, made known to Saint Mauront the excellence of his merit and his holiness: as our Saint wished to remove, in the church of the Blessed Virgin, the monastic habit he wore over his ordinary clothes, having placed it on a sunbeam passing through a window, thinking it was a bar capable of supporting it, the habit remained suspended in the air with no other support than this ray. Saint Mauront, seeing this prodigy, similar to the one we reported in the life of Saint Goar, threw himself at his feet and begged him to forgive him for having taken him under his guard. Then, after having kept him with him at the monastery of Hamage, near Marchiennes, he begged him to be willing to take charge of the abbey of Breuil, on the banks of the Lys, which he had founded on his lands. The holy bishop did not refuse him this favor, but, as his soul lived only by the contemplation of heavenly things, he made for himself near the church of this abbey a small cell, where he spent the greater part of his time in prayer. He was so dead to the world that he was on earth as if he were no longer there; his spirit and his heart were perpetually in heaven.

Finally, it pleased God to reward him for his labors and his sufferings, and He sent him a peaceful death, which was for him the passage to blessed eternity (circa 690). After his death, they found upon him that ho rrible chain wi chaîne horrible Instrument of penance worn by the saint, a source of miracles after his death. th which he had tormented himself during his life, and it served to perform a multitude of miracles. The Roman Martyrology and the Tables of the Church of Sens speak honorably of this excellent Prelate, who teaches us to receive patiently the afflictions that God sends us, and to prefer the cross of a long exile to the glory of the highest prelacies.

He is depicted hanging his cloak on a sunbeam.

Saint Amatus was buried in the church of Saint-Pierre, in Merville, under the care of Saint Mauront, who built, a few years later, with the pious liberality of King Theuderic, a more spacious church, the one at the monastery of Brenil having been found too small. It was Saint Bain, then Bishop of Thérouanne, who raised the body of Saint Amatus from the ground and deposited it with solemnity in this new church dedicated to Our Lady. This translation took place on April 28 of the year 697.

The cult of Saint Amatus therefore dates back, as we can see, to the time of his death, and his body remained in the church of Saint-Pierre, then in that of Our Lady, at the monastery of Brenil, until 870. That year, the invasions of the Normans forced the religious to take refuge with their precious de posit Douai Original seigneury of Gertrude's family. in the castrum of Douai, equipped with strong walls. A few years later, the religious, to save the relics from the fury of the Normans, were obliged to take refuge in Soissons, where they remained until 896. It was then that they returned to their church in Douai, where the precious remains of Saint Amatus were welcomed with the liveliest joy.

In 1078, Gerard I, Bishop of Cambrai and Arras, placed them in a new reliquary which was deposited in a crypt under the high altar and remained there until 1206, the time at which they were placed in another reliquary. The anniversary of this translation was subsequently celebrated with solemnity, not only in Douai, but also in many churches to which portions of the body of Saint Amatus had been granted. Besides that of Arras, which obtained one of his arms, we also cite the churches of Château, Tournai, Cambrai, Saint-Pierre of Douai, Lens, Lille, Harelbeke, Soignies, Marchiennes, Anchin, Saint-Amand, Cyning, Saint-Martin near Tournai, and Hénin-Liétard.

In the Proper of the distinguished collegiate church of Saint Amatus, in Douai, there are three feasts dedicated to this holy bishop: the first, on April 28, commemorates the day his body was raised from the earth by Saint Bain, Bishop of Thérouanne; the second, on September 13, the anniversary of his blessed passing; and the third, on October 19, the translation of his relics from Merville to Douai. Although this famous collegiate church was demolished during the Revolution, its memory is nonetheless dear to the inhabitants of Douai, who still maintain their religious veneration for the name of Saint Amatus. The inhabitants of Merville and neighboring places have also kept in their hearts the memory of the virtues, preachings, and works of this illustrious protector. Each year his feast is celebrated there with solemnity. A chapel is erected under his patronage and that of Saint Mauront, at some distance from the town, on the road to Vieux-Berquin. On September 13, the day of the patron saint's feast, a novena begins during which Mass is said in this small oratory, in the presence of a multitude of the faithful. There is also, in the hamlet of Le Sars, near Merville, a small chapel that possesses a relic of Saint Amatus. This Saint is also honored in a special way in Herlies, a parish in the canton of La Bassée, of which he is the patron.

Acta Sanctorum; Surina; Vies des Saints des diocèses de Cambrai et d'Arras, by Abbé Doutombes.