Saint Emmeran of Poitiers

Be that as it may, Emmeran preached the Gospel with tireless zeal in all parts of his diocese, instructing in public and in private; he would seek out hardened sinners even in their own homes; and, through an eloquence as touching as it was persuasive, he drew them away from their disorders and made them true penitents. His charity for the poor was also boundless.

After having worked in this manner for several years, he resolved to instruct a great number of infidels and idolaters who were in Bavaria. It had been seventy years since the Bavarians had embraced Christianity; but many of them were still given over to the superstitions of idolatry; others were infected with capital errors against the faith. Duke Theodo IV, who commanded in th e country under th Le duc Théodore IV Duke of Bavaria who welcomed and subsequently had the saint's remains transferred. e authority of King Sigebert III, had long kept the holy missionary in Regensburg and made every effort to settle hi m there. E Ratisbonne Episcopal see occupied by Albert. mmeran refused all the Duke's offers, saying that he should preach only Jesus crucified. It has been believed that he was Bishop of Regensburg, or at least associated with the government of that diocese. His apostolic labors were followed by innumerable conversions. Three years having passed in this way, he left for Rome, with the intention of venerating the relics of the Apostles and Martyrs, and of consulting the Pope on certain difficulties.

However, a daughter of Duke Theodo, having allowed herself to be corrupted by Sigebaud, a young man belonging to the highest nobility of the land, confessed her crime to the holy bishop, asking him for advice on how she and her lover might escape her father's vengeance. The Saint advised her to flee to Italy to wait for the duke's anger to subside with the passage of time; stopped in her flight, she revealed the counsel the man of God had given her, and, seeing him absent, in order to shield her lover from Theodo's wrath, she accused Emmeran of having seduced h er. Laut Lautbert Brother of the duke's daughter and executioner of Saint Emmeran. bert, the young woman's brother, flew into a great rage; he took soldiers with him, set out on the Saint's trail, and, after three days, surprised him at Heldendorf while he Heldendorf Place of the saint's martyrdom. was praying with his companions. Lautbert had Emmeran tied to a ladder and ordered his feet, hands, and ears to be cut off, and his eyes to be gouged out. The holy martyr suffered this cruel torture with admirable patience, and soon breathed his last. His soul was seen ascending to heaven amidst a bright light (September 22, 652).

Seven days after this horrible assassination, the executioners were possessed by the devil; they ran like madmen into the woods and died miserably. Lautbert was banished and never held the principality of the land. The body of the Saint was buried a t Ascha Aschaim The saint's first burial place. im, a little below Munich, on the Isar. Duke Theodo later had it solemnly transported to Regensburg and deposited in the church of Saint George, today Saint Emmeran.

He is represented: 1° tied to a ladder where his limbs are cut off one after the other; 2° holding a bed in his hand, to testify that he was a victim of the unchastity of others, and a spear, to indicate the manner in which he was finished off after his limbs had been cut off. — Sometimes he is not seen stretched out on the ladder, but only with his arms and legs cut off.

Taken from the Proper of Mainz; from Godescard, and from the Saints of Poitiers, by Abbé Auber.