Saint Germanus of Besançon

Valerian Valérien Roman emperor under whom the martyrdom took place. had just attained the empire. This prince, at the beginning of his reign, had shown Christians particular marks of kindness and clemency; but Macrianus, in whom he had placed all his trust, knew how to gradually inspire in him the hatred with which he himself was animated against the religion, and changed this beneficent master into a formidable tyrant. It is commonly bad ministers who make bad princes. Saint Germain could not escape, in these stormy days, the searches of the persecutors. He appeared up to seven times before the prefect of the province and heroically confessed the name of Jesus Christ. God, who wished to preserve him still for the good of his flock, took away from the pagans sometimes the will, sometimes the means to destroy him. Whatever desire he had to die in torments, he believed, however, that after having borne witness to the divinity of Christianity, it was his duty not to expose himself of his own accord to martyrdom. Such were the rules of the Church, which recommends prudence to its children at the same time that it inspires them with courage. Saint Germain therefore moved away from Besançon and sought asylum in Grandfontaine. This village, located two leagues from the episcopal city, was then a fortified town. The bishop remained hidden there for some time, at the beginning of the persecution s tirred u Aurélien Gallo-Roman nobleman and ambassador of Clovis. p by Aurelian.

The cruelty of this new emperor exceeded even that of his predecessor. The Gauls, whom he had governed as prefect under the previous reign, had felt above all the effects of his fierce hatred against the Christians. Having become master of the world, he only became more cruel and presided himself, in the city of Troyes, over the interrogation and martyrdom of Saint Patroclus. It was likely in the same year that Saint Germain died for the faith (259). Pursued in his retreat by the prefect of the province, he finally obtained the grace to sign with his blood his belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ. The village of Grandfontaine, which had served as his asylum, was the theater of his martyrdom. He had been surprised in the midst of his prayer, and the heavenly voice with which he was conversing was heard even by his enemies. Some, touched by this miracle, converted to Jesus Christ; others, seeing in it only a magical conjuration, showed themselves even more furious than before. The Saint was on his knees; despite the clamor of the pagans, he remained in the same attitude, was pierced with arrows, and then beheaded.

Some authors set the date of this event to the year 396. Others have easily demonstrated that, according to the very content of the legend, the holy Martyr occupied the see of Besançon before the reign of Constantine, during the persecutions of the primitive Church. This point of history is now settled. Saint Germain lived at the end of the 3rd century, and he must be given the third rank among the bishops of Besançon.

## CULT AND RELICS.

The body of Saint Germain is preciously preserved at Baum e-les-Dames. It Baume-les-Bames Monastery in Burgundy where Odile was raised. is believed that the Abbey of Baume was established by Guntra Guntrau King of Burgundy who welcomed Columbanus upon his arrival in Gaul. m, King of Burgundy, or by his minister Garnier, in fulfillment of a sacred promise. It was then that it received the body of Saint Germain as an endowment, at the solicitation of the founder. Indeed, few churches or cloisters were built without endowing these new sanctuaries with some distinguished relics. By placing them under the protection of a great servant of God, they secured the respect of the people, and the pious liberalities with which they were showered soon made them very flourishing. The founder of the Abbey of Baume had no difficulty in obtaining the body of Saint Germain from the Bishop of Besançon for the monastery he had just built. The nuns, saintly jealous of the sacred deposit that had been entrusted to them, showed great zeal in honoring the relics of the illustrious bishop and in propagating his cult throughout the extent of their lands. His feast, which is celebrated on October 11, attracted a large gathering of people from all the surrounding villages to the abbey. But Saint Germain was invoked nowhere with more devotion than by the inhabitants of Baume. As soon as a rumor of war or a contagious disease began to spread terror in the city, the entire population would crowd to the gates of the cloister to invoke the protection of the holy Martyr at the foot of the altars. When the harvests were in danger of being lost, the faithful would entrust their alarms to him and implore his intercession once more. In 1629, a fever, whose ravages were spreading every day, ceased suddenly in the midst of public prayers. In recognition of this favor, which was attributed to Saint Germain, the inhabitants promised to solemnize his feast every year in the parish church. This vow was pronounced on October 11 by the mayor, assisted by the municipal officers and the notables.

The spirit of incredulity that dominated at the end of the following century did not alter this pious confidence.

When the abbey had been closed during the revolutionary troubles, the relics of Saint Germain, protector of the city, were transported to the parish church on October 11, 1794, at the request of the general council of the commune and with the assistance of all the authorities of the time. The inhabitants of Baume had solicited this translation with the most urgent requests. It is thus that the venerated remains of Saint Germain survived the storm s of the French Revo Révolution française Period during which the saint's relics were hidden and lost. lution, protected by the faith and gratitude of the city. They are still today the object of public veneration, and the inhabitants of Baume rightly regard them as their richest treasure and their best safeguard.

The name of Saint Germain is found in all the martyrologies of our diocese; his office is still part of our breviary, and several parishes of Franche-Comté have chosen this holy Martyr as their patron.

Taken from the Saints of Franche-Comté. — Cf. Acta Sanctorum: the Bollandists place Saint Germain in the 5th century. We have not followed them, because modern hagiographers, among others Ferron (Unpublished Documents, volume II, page 112), have demonstrated the falsity of this date.