Thirteenth bishop of Soissons in the 6th century, Saint Loup was trained in Reims by Saint Remi. He participated in the first Council of Orléans in 541 and distinguished himself by his charity towards the poor and the reconstruction of the basilica of Bazeches. He died around 540 after forty years of devoted episcopate.
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SAINT LOUP, THIRTEENTH BISHOP OF SOISSONS (540).
Origins and clerical formation
Son or nephew of Saint Prince, Loup was trained at the clerical school of Reims under the direction of Saint Remi before becoming bishop of Soissons.
Saint Loup Saint Loup Thirteenth bishop of Soissons in the 6th century. was the son of Saint Prince or Principe, who had been married before being raised to the episcopate. According to some authors, Loup was only his nephew. After the death of Saint Prince, the archbishop o f Reims, S saint Remi Bishop of Reims who baptized Clovis. aint Remi, ordained hi m bishop Soissons Birthplace and place of death of Geoffrey. of Soissons, with all the more confidence as he had had him under his eyes for a long time in the clerical school of Reims. There, he had been a witness to his aptitude for the sacred sciences and his advancement in piety. Loup walked in the footsteps of his father and his uncle and applied himself to governing his church with great prudence. The poor had only to praise his charity, being assisted by him in all their needs.
Participation in the Council of Orléans
In 541, Loup participated in the first Council of Orléans convened by Clovis, contributing to the establishment of canons regarding the right of asylum and ecclesiastical discipline.
Clovis Clovis First king of the Franks to convert to Catholicism. , by the counsel of Saint Remi of Reims and Saint Melaine of Rennes, having convened in 541 a counci l at Or Orléans The first diocese of which Roger was bishop. léans which was the first held in that city, Saint Loup was present there with five metropolitans and twenty-five bishops. Thirty-one very important canons were made there, concerning the right of asylum, the last refuge of the weak against the strong and of innocence against crime; the power of the bishops; the submission of abbots to the ordinary; and the administration of ecclesiastical property. The twenty-fifth canon declares that no one, unless due to grave infirmity, shall be permitted to celebrate the feasts of Easter, Christmas, and Pentecost in the countryside. The thirty-first requires that the bishop attend, on Sunday, the office of the church nearest to the place where he happens to be, if he is not prevented by some infirmity.
Reconstruction and foundation at Bazoches
At Bazoches, he rebuilt the basilica of Saints Rufinus and Valerius and established there a chapter of seventy-two clerics.
Upon returning to his diocese, Saint Loup applied himself to ensuring the observance of the regulations of the Council of Orleans concerning the p eople an Bazeches Village where Lupus rebuilt a basilica and founded a chapter. d the clergy. At Bazoches, a village six and a half leagues from Soissons, on the banks of the Vesle, Saint Loup rebuilt and enlarged the basi lica raised saint Rufin Saint whose basilica was rebuilt by Lupus. over t he tomb of S saint Valère Saint whose basilica was rebuilt by Lupus. aint Rufinus and Saint Valerius; then, around this new church, he gathered seventy-two clerics under his direction, in memory of the seventy-two disciples of Our Lord, to celebrate the divine office there with pomp. This chapter existed for more than four centuries after the death of the holy prelate.
Executor of Saint Remi
After the death of Saint Remi, Loup oversaw the execution of his will, securing revenues and lands for the church of Soissons.
After the death o f Saint Re saint Remi Bishop of Reims who baptized Clovis. mi, his nephew, Loup, bishop of Soissons, worked with the priest Agricole to execute the last wishes of the holy archbishop, and to put the church of Soissons in possession of the annuity of ten gold sous as well as the land of Sablonnière-sur-Morin (Seine-et-Marne), near Coulommiers, bequeathed to it in the testament of Saint Remi.
End of life and fate of the relics
Dying around 510 after forty years of episcopate, his remains were transferred to the cathedral of Soissons before being burned by the Calvinists in the 17th century.
Saint Loup, having reached an extreme old age, after having occupied the see of Soissons for about forty years, died full of merits around the year 510. He was buried next to Saint Prince, in the chapel of Saint Thecla. In the 9th century, his precious remains were transported to the cathedral where they were long venerated. In the 17th century, th e Calvinist Calvinistes Religious group that destroyed the saint's relics in 1567. s consigned them to the flames.
The feast of Saint Loup was formerly celebrated in Soissons on October 19. Since the return to the Roman liturgy, it is marked on the calendar on the 22nd of that month.
Notice by M. Henri Conguet, canon of Soissons. — Cf. Fiodourd; Gallia Christiana; Abbé Pâcheur, Annales; Father Richard, Acts of the province of Reims.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Training at the Reims clerical school under Saint Remigius
- Ordination as Bishop of Soissons by Saint Remigius
- Participation in the First Council of Orléans in 541
- Reconstruction of the basilica of Saint Rufinus and Saint Valerius in Bazeches
- Execution of the will of Saint Remigius
- Died at an extreme old age after 40 years of episcopate