A lord in the region of Troyes during the 6th century, Pouange converted after a grave sin. Following an expiatory pilgrimage to Rome, he lived as a solitary in great austerity near Troyes. His relics were preserved until the 18th century before being burned by heretics.
Guided reading
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SAINT POUANGE, SOLITARY IN TROYES (late 6th century).
Nobility and conversion
A noble lord devoted to hunting, Pouange turned away from God before experiencing a profound conversion and undertaking a pilgrimage of penance to Rome.
It was the duty of the Christian religion to make sisters of innocence and penance. If one is to believe the coat of arms that surmounts the statue of the Blessed one in the church that bears his name near Troye s, Pouange (Potami Pouange (Potamius) A noble lord who became a hermit and penitent in the 6th century. us) was a lord whose fortune allowed him the pleasures of the hunt. By all appearances, he lived in or near Troyes: Pouange forgot his God for some time and fell into a great fault. The grace of God soon touched his heart, and far from resisting its salutary inspirations, he generously embraced the rigors of an austere penance. He did not believe it was too much to go as far as Rome to implore his pardon, at Rome Birthplace of Maximian. the very tomb of the holy Apostles.
Eremitic Life
Upon returning from Rome, he established himself as a hermit near Troyes, practicing a rigorous asceticism consisting of work, prayer, and privations.
Upon his return from Rome, he resolved to spend the rest of his days in complete solitude. He withdrew to about six kilometers from Troyes and took shelter under a humble and poor hut. He divided his time between work and prayer, and, to make his body atone for the sin whose memory filled his soul with sharp bitterness, he wore a rough hair shirt against his skin, which he hid from view with a light tunic: his food consisted of water and bread, to which he added a few raw herbs.
Cult and relics
His remains, kept in an oratory dedicated to Saint Mark, were destroyed by heretics in the 18th century.
His body was removed to a nearby oratory, placed under the patronage of Saint Mar saint Marc Priest and companion of the martyrs who ensured their burial. k, which has since taken the name of Saint-Pou Saint-Pouange Parish and village bearing the name of the saint. ange. It was kept there religiously until the 18th century, but then, the heretics did not shrink from a horrible sacrilege; they burned it and scattered its ashes to the wi cendres Remains of the saint burned by heretics in the 18th century. nd.
Iconography and patronage
A statue preserved in his church bears witness to his rank and his pilgrimage; he remains the patron of the eponymous parish.
The only monument remaining today of Saint Pouange is a very beautiful statue, preserved in the church dedicated to him. It is adorned at its base with a shield... *bearing in chief two hunting horns*, an emblem of his noble status, *and in base a seashell*, a memento of his pilgrimage to Rome. Saint Pouange is the secondary patron of the parish that bears his name; his feast day is celebrated there on January 31.
Source
The hagiography is attributed to M. Defer.
*Hagiography by M . Defer. M. Defer Author of a work on the saints of Troyes. *
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