A shepherd in Picardy in the 4th century, Gratien was martyred in 303 during the persecution of Rictiovare for refusing to renounce his faith. A famous miracle reports that his hazelwood staff, when planted in the ground, produced leaves and fruit in a single day. His relics, long kept at Coulombs, were partially returned to Amiens in the 18th century.
Guided reading
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SAINT GRATIEN, MARTYR IN PICARDY (303).
The life of a shepherd
Gratien worked as a shepherd in his village; tradition reports that he would entrust his flock to his dogs to attend services without any damage being caused.
Saint Gratien Saint Gratien Picard martyr of the 4th century, a shepherd by profession. , whose acts have not come down to us, exercised, according to popular tradition, the duties of a shepherd in the village where he lived and which, later, bore his name: it is located in the canton of Villers-Bocage, and formerly belonged to the deanery of Mailly. When he went to Sunday services, he would plant his crook near his flock, entrusted to the sole guard of his dogs, and his sheep never caused the slightest damage during his absence.
Persecution and martyrdom
Under the persecution of Rictiovarus, Gratian refuses to abjure his faith and dies by beheading on October 23, 303.
At that time, Ri ctiovarus, Rictiovare Roman prefect and persecutor of Christians in Gaul. a worthy emulator of the fur ies of Maximian Maximien-Hercule Roman co-emperor, instigator of the persecution. Herculius against Christianity, was staining the dioceses of Reims, Soissons, and Noyon with blood through his persecutions. His emissaries traveled through towns and the countryside, publishing edicts that ordered the arrest of Christians and their delivery to Roman tribunals. Saint Gratian could not long escape the searches of the persecutors; summoned before the tribunal of Rictiovarus, he refused to renounce the faith and was condemned to be put to the sword. His martyrdom took place in the village where he lived, on October 23, 303.
The miracle of the hazel tree
At the moment of his death, his hazelwood staff planted in the ground instantly flowered and bore fruit, giving rise to a lineage of shrubs with characteristic nuts.
A miraculous circumstance that manifested on the day of his death, and which was to be renewed for a long time on each anniversary of his feast, made the name of Saint Gratien famous. An ancient tradition teaches us that at the moment he was about to be struck by the executioner, the Saint planted in the ground his bâton de noisetier Miraculous staff that blossomed at the moment of the martyrdom. hazelwood staff that he always held in his hand, and that within twenty-four hours it produced leaves and fruit. According to local tradition, it was the Christians of the region who planted his staff and his crook on the tomb of the martyr shepherd. It adds that the meadows of the commune, blessed by the protection of the patron, heal sick livestock that come to graze there. Since long ago the hazel tree of Saint-Gratien has no longer existed; but its offshoots have produced numerous shrubs, whose fruits, known by the name of *Saint Gratien hazelnuts*, are larger and more elongated than the others, "red on the inside (it is the skin of the hazelnut that is red) and as if crimsoned by the blood of Saint Gratien," says Father Ignace.
Representations and iconography
The saint is traditionally depicted in shepherd's attire with a satchel, a crook, and a lamb, notably in the churches of the Somme and Normandy.
The Saint is depicted in shepherd's attire. His statue can be se en in Saint-Gratien ( Saint-Gratien (Somme) Village in Picardy, site of the saint's martyrdom. Somme) and in the church of Etalleville (Yvetot arrondissement). In the latter locality, he is depicted in a shepherd's costume, with a satchel, holding a book in his right hand and, in his left hand, a crook from which a gourd hangs. He has a lamb at his feet. — The modern stained glass windows of the new Saint-Gratien church feature four medallions: 1st, the patron saint disguised as a shepherd to announce the Gospel; 2nd, his martyrdom; 3rd, the miracle of the hazel tree, and 4th, the translation of his relics.
Translation and fate of the relics
His relics, transferred to Coulombs in the 11th century, underwent various translations and desecrations before largely disappearing during the unrest of 1830.
Saint Gratien was buried at the very place where he suffered martyrdom, and soon an oratory was erected over his tomb. His body was transported to Notre-Dame de Coulo Notre-Dame de Coulombs Monastery that housed the saint's relics from the 11th to the 18th century. mbs (diocese of Chartres) at the end of the 11th century, according to the current Proper of the diocese. In 1682, it was transferred into a new silver reliquary, the old one having been destroyed by the Calvinists in 1567. In 1769, the church of Saint-Gratien obtained from the Benedictines of the abbey of Coulombs, through the m ediati Amiens Episcopal see of Geoffrey. on of Mgr de la Motte, bishop of Amiens, a part of the skull of Saint Gratien, which was brought to Amiens on Christmas Eve by the prior of Corbie. On January 9, 1770, the bishop of Amiens authenticated this relic, and on the following September 25, brought it to Saint-Gratien in a gilded bust, granting indulgences to those who would go to venerate the head of the patron saint in that church. Every year, on the Sunday within the octave of the Ascension, a procession is held in memory of this translation.
The reliquary of Coulombs was sent to the Paris Mint in 1793. An employee of that establishment saved the relics and handed them over to the archbishopric. They remained there until July 25, 1830; on that day, they disappeared during the sacking of the palace and were probably thrown into the Seine.
Cult and historical sources
The name of Gratien appears in ancient martyrologies, notably that of Corbie, and his cult is documented by Abbé Corblet.
The cult of Saint Gratien gave rise to two pilgrimages, one in the land that witnessed his martyrdom, the other at the monastery that inherited his relics. His name is inscribed in the 6th-century martyrology of Corbie, attributed to Saint Jerome, as well as in several other ancient martyrologies of Amiens, Corbie, and Saint-Riquier.
Excerpt from the Hagiography of the Diocese of Amiens, by Abbé Corblet.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.