Saint Wasnulphe or Wasnon of Scotland

Saints, he arrived in the northern provinces which he was to begin to edify by the example of all virtues. According to the account of certain authors, Saint Wasnul saint Wasonn Missionary monk of Scottish origin, apostle of Condé. phe is said to have accompanied Mauger, better known as Saint Vincent, on his return from Ireland, where, it is said, he had been sent by Dagobert, and he is said to have followed him, as well as Saints Fursy, Uitan, Foillan, Adalgise, Ettou, and others still, into these regions. Whatever the circumstances preceding his arrival among us, it is indeed towards the middle of the 7th century that one encounters him at the monastery of La Celle (Belgium), which had been built by the venerable Saint Ghislain, who had also come from Athens to Hainaut at the voice of God. Previously, Saint Wasnulphe appears to have lived for some time in the forest of Thiérache, in Picardy, but it would be difficult to say if he evangelized the peoples of that country. Likewise, the reasons that determined his appearance at the abbey of La Celle, which served him as a retreat at the time he began his first preachings in the country of Condé, remain unknown. Sticking to the vague and indecisive terms of the oldest hagiographers, it is visible that Saint Wasnulphe was the apostle of this part of Hainaut which he must have often traver sed, and th saint Amand Spiritual advisor to Gertrude. at later Saint Amand, who was like the father and master of these courageous missionaries, entrusted to him, in a special w ay, the direction of the monastery monastère de Sainte-Marie de Condé Religious establishment directed by the saint. of Sainte-Marie de Condé, founded by his care.

Saint Wasnulphe is cited among the bishops, missionaries, and abbots who gathered at various times in the monastery of Hautmont (Nord), with the blessed Vince nt, to piously disc bienheureux Vincent Missionary companion and founder of the monastery of Hautmont. uss the truths of religion and the means of winning souls for Jesus Christ. He worked ardently at this holy task until the final days of his life, preaching the Gospel with zeal, striving to uproot the ancient customs and practices of paganism, and guiding in the ways of perfection the holy women who had consecrated themselves to God in the abbey of Sainte-Marie, in Condé. It was there that he peacefully surrendered his soul to God, around the year 700.

The feast of Saint Wasnulphe dates back to the highest antiquity, and it is seen celebrated not only in the church of Cambrai, but also in those of Arras, Liège, Utrecht, and Leuze. We do not speak of that of Condé, which has always honored him as its special patron and the defender of the city. His relics, enclosed in a silver reliquary, rested there in the sanctuary: they must have been exhumed at least before the 9th century, since we see them transported to Saint-Omer, along with those of many other Saints, to protect them from the fury of the Normans (881). They remai ned there for forty years fureur des Normands (881) Event causing the transfer of relics to Saint-Omer. , and were then brought back to the church and the monastery that had been rebuilt from their ruins.

According to the custom of the Middle Ages, the body of Saint Wasnulphe was present at several church consecrations; among others, that of the abbey of Saint-André, in Le Cateau, performed in 1021 by Gerard I of Florines, Bishop of Cambrai, and in 1070, that of a church in the Ostrevent region, performed by the bishops Saint Liebert of Cambrai and Radbode of Tournai. D'Outremans also reports, in his History of Valenciennes, that these relics attended, along with many others, the procession established in honor of Our Lady of the Holy Gordon. Hugues Doignies, suffragan of John of Burgundy, Bishop of Cambrai, visited them on July 23, 1431: Louis de Burlaymont, archbishop of the same diocese, did the same on March 27, 1586, eight years after they had been profaned by the Calvinists. The acts that recall these two ceremonies give Saint Wasnulphe the title of bishop. If some expressions of the ancient hagiographers express a doubt in this regard, it can be said, it seems, that the tradition of all the churches that have celebrated his feast or still do so, settles the controversy and allows us to consider this Saint as one of the missionary bishops, so numerous at that time in the provinces of northern France.

Saint Wasnulphe is generally invoked for the healing of illnesses; but he is more specifically turned to against lightning, storms, and fires. This devotion, already ancient in the 15th century, spread especially among the people after October 15, 1430, the day when the collegiate church of Condé having been consumed by a fire, the relics of the Saint were found near the overturned hi gh altar, intact and well reliques du Saint intactes Sacred remains of the saint preserved in Condé. preserved. Today still, in moments of danger, the people of Condé and neighboring lands turn with confidence to Saint Wasnulphe. One finds in this city a company of crossbowmen who have chosen him as their compagnie d'arbalétriers Local organization that chose the saint as its patron. patron. His feast, formerly fixed on October 1st, is now celebrated in the diocese of Cambrai on the 11th of the same month.

Acta Sanctorum Belgii, translation by Abbé Destembes.