Saint Lupien of Mende

Having become a priest, Lupien gave free rein to his oratorical talent. His instructions, as frequent as they were pathetic, made an impression on hearts, and as his word was supported by example, he brought a great number of sinners back to their duty. Soon he was invested with the dignity of abbot of the monastery of Saint-Privat de Javoux monastère de Saint-Privat de Javoux Monastery of which Lupien was the abbot. , and his virtue shone all the more brilliantly in the eyes of his fellow citizens.

However, God wished to purify him in the fire of persecution. Lupien had an ardent zeal that never compromised with vices and passions; he attacked them sharply wherever he encountered them, without showing any partiality. But, "rebuke the wicked," says the Scripture, "and he will turn against you"; this is, in fact, what happened to our Saint. Irritated by his just remonstrances, those whose disorders he condemned resolved to destroy him, and for fear that he might reach the court of Austrasia in his favor, they hastened to denounce him to Queen Brunhilda, wid ow of Sigebert reine Brunehaut Queen of Austrasia and Burgundy, principal political opponent of Columbanus. and mother of Childebert II, who was reigning at the time. At the head of the accusers was Innocent, co unt or g Innocent Count of Gévaudan and principal persecutor of Lupien. overnor of the city and the country of Gévaudan. He himself drafted a memorandum against the Saint which he had his creatures sign, and which accused Lupien of corrupting the people through excessive generosity, of speaking against the honor and reputation of the Queen, and of plotting an upheaval in the State. Immediately, Lupien was summoned to Metz where the court resided, and treated as a criminal of lèse-majesté; but the Queen did not take long to recognize the innocence of Lupien and sent him back absolved. This was not what the Count had asked for, who only became more determined in his ruin. Thus, no sooner had the Saint set out on his way to return to his monastery than Innocent posted two wretches wh o arrest Ponthion Site of the saint's first martyrdom. ed him at Ponthion, near Châlons-sur-Marne. After having made him endure various torments in this place, they appeared to want to let him leave freely; but, as if they had repented of having treated him too gently, they pursued him and attacked him on the banks of the Marne, where the holy abbot had pitched his tent to spend the night. It was easy for them to overwhelm a defenseless man, who had only prayers and blessings to oppose them. These barbaric and cowardly enemies, worthy ministers of their master, only put an end to their mistreatment by cutting off his head. To hide their crime, they put it in a sack which they filled with pebbles, and threw it into the deepest part of the river. They also rolled the body into it, after having attached it to an enormous stone. This was around the year 584.

Despite their precautions, God, who mocks the efforts of the impious, allowed the body to float on the water after a few days, and shepherds pulled it out to give it burial. As they wondered whose remains these might be, suddenly an eagle swooped down upon the water, as if to pounce on some prey. It lifted a bag from the bottom of the river and dropped it back on the bank. Immediately, the shepherds and the people gathered in that place hurried around the bag, and great was their astonishment to find therein a head that fit perfectly with the body they had retrieved. Soon the holy abbot was recognized, and he was buried as decently as possible. But God, who, to bring honor to the burial of Elisha, restored life to a dead man through the touch of the Prophet's bones, did not wish for the remains of Lupien to remain in a profane place either; He inspired a venerable priest from the neighborhood, named Hermance, to render them more pompo us honor Hermance Priest who organized the solemn translation of the body. s. Hermance therefore came with his clergy and a great number of the faithful, and transported them to his church with great solemnity.

The eagle is the characteristic of Saint Lupien; we have stated the reason for this.

## CULT AND RELICS. Later, the bones of the holy Martyr were carried to Châlons- sur-Marne and dep Châlons-sur-Marne Episcopal see occupied by Hildegrin in France. osited in the cathedral church, where only a small portion is still venerated. The city of Mende, the homeland of Saint Lupien, possessed no relics of its glorious child; it obtained a few fragments from Mgr Claude-Antains de Choiseul-Beaupré, who died in 1763. There are other Saints by the name of Lupien: the Bollandists claim that the relics which are in the village that bears this name (Aube) would rather be those of one of them than of the famous abbot of Saint-Privat. Be that as it may, the bones that are kept there with pious veneration were enclosed until 1469 in a stone tomb, raised on four pillars. At that time, they were visited by Mgr Louis Raguier, the seventy-sixth bishop of Troyes, who had them placed in a reliquary *molded from hardened wood and embellished with images*, which was still seen not long ago near the Saint's tomb, but which age has caused to disappear. Their identity was verified again in 1675 and 1757. Profaned in 1793, they were collected by a pious and trustworthy person, and, after serious inquiries, their authenticity was recognized on May 13, 1829, by Father Fournerot, vicar general of Mgr de Séguias-des-Hous. On October 10, 1838, Father Roisard, vicar general of the same prelate, performed their solemn translation and deposited them in a new reliquary of Gothic order and rich workmanship. This reliquary is due to the generosity of the inhabitants of Saint-Lupien: it is carried in procession each year on Ascension Day through the streets of the village, amidst a gathering of the faithful. The principal bone preserved therein is the femur. A forearm bone and two rib portions of Saint Lupien are also venerated in two other small reliquaries. The feast of Saint Lupien is celebrated on October 13 of each year. On this day, one can still see pilgrims crowding around the relics and the tomb, the last remains of a devotion once so flourishing.

Saint Lupien is popular in the Pert hois reg Perthois Natural region where the saint is popular. ion, where many churches have chosen him as their patron.

Excerpt from the Life of the Saints of Troyes, by Abbé Delor.