Saint Florence of Poitiers

We do not know what became of this interesting conquest of an entire household, where "the saint had entered" through the ministry of a Saint and the touching example of the innocent virgin. For her, a miraculous path was laid out; she followed it. A few months later, towards the spring of the year 360, Saint Hilary, conqueror of the enemies of Jesus Christ, and formidable enough to their cause that they recognized the necessity of ridding themselves of him in the East, returned by order of Constantius to the West, where the faith had no less need of his presence. Florence learns of this, she obtains from her parents the freedom to follow him, attaches herself to his footsteps, crosses after him the seas that separate Greece from Italy; from there she crosses the Alps, travels through the various provinces of

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Gaul, still stirred by the rapid passag e of the Poitiers City where the saint settled and lived as a recluse. great doctor, and arrives in Poitiers when all mouths there are celebrating his return.

The fervent traveler was received with all her heart by the Saint whom she called her father with much more justification, she said, than the one from whom she had received life, since she owed to the latter a life a thousand times more precious. The lessons she received from him, the model of holiness she had before her eyes, soon led to a high piety a heart so docile to the grace that had so admirably prepared it. The knowledge of God and of his divine Son, the meditation of revealed truths, produced in her a deep love for the things of heaven and a proportionate disgust for the earth. This feeling only grew; she requested to flee the world in an absolute retreat, and the holy bishop, yielding to her prayers after having tested their perseverance, gave her at Comblé, n ear hi Comblé Site of the eremitic retreat and the first burial place of Florence. s estate of Celle-l'Évêcant, a narrow cell and a small garden where she enclosed herself to attend more continually to the pious exercises of the solitary life. It was at the same time that Saint Triaise h ad embraced th sainte Triaise Recluse virgin of the 4th century in Poitiers. e same kind of perfection in Poitiers. Happy the great man to place thus near all his gifts visible angels whose virtues consoled him for the impieties of his enemies!

The excellent Father did not abandon to herself in her solitude this daughter begotten by him to grace. He visited her, spoke to her of God, directed her soul, and returned thus, at each of his trips to the countryside, to edify himself by the progress that the Holy Spirit was making there. This progress was soon brought to the point that this great master had marked in his providential wisdom. The continuous prayer of the pious virgin, her frequent vigils, her fasts, and her other austerities hastened the moment when heaven was to open to this angelic life. She lived hardly more than six or seven years after her voluntary seclusion, and her soul was reunited with the Lord on December 1, 367.

The holy Pontiff, whom she preceded by barely a year, gave her a burial worthy of her and of himself in that same place she had sanctified by such an admirable sacrifice. Her body was honored there for a long time, and miraculous graces drew the faithful to it. A church was built there shortly after and became a priory of the neighboring abbey of Nouaillé. When the centuries brought successive wars to Poitou, with all the calamities that accompany them, the small edifice followed the destiny of a multitude of others much more important, and through so many unhappy years, the relics of the humble and glorious virgin were lost, then completely forgotten. As the domain of Celle-l'Évécant had not ceased to belong to the bishops of Poitiers, from whom it drew its name, it happened that in the 11th century Isambert I, one of h is successor Isambert Ier Bishop of Poitiers in the 11th century who rediscovered the relics. s (1028-1047), discovered them at Comblé and solemnly transported them to Poitiers. Deposited in the cathedral, under the pavement, between the altar of the Blessed Virgin and that of Saint Mary Magdalene, a chaplaincy was annexed to the latter, under the title of Saint Florence.

However, these remains, which had become precious to the people of Poitiers, were not left buried for long. A magnificent silver reliquary was given to them. Each year, during the Rogation processions, which were long so famous, this beautiful reliquary was carried alongside the one containing the remains of Saint Peter. People also turned to the good Saint during droughts and other public calamities, "to have," as an old historian says, "rain or fair weather from the day of or the day after the procession, as I have seen happen in many regions." But then came May 27, 1 562. On tha 27 mai 1562 Destruction of relics by Protestant troops. t day, the barbaric hordes who protested against the faith and its temples looted all the churches of Poitiers. Saint Florence did not find grace before those who burned all the relics, and hers became prey to the flames like the others. Fortunately, in 1698, a discovery came to compensate the Mother Church for this loss that had been thought irreparable. A portion of the holy body had been left in its second burial place, behind the choir of the cathedral, and their recognized authenticity could be verified. At that time, the church lacked sufficient resources to commission a suitable reliquary. It was decided to deposit the holy bones under the high altar, where they still remain: this is the reason why the chapter celebrates the feast of Saint Florence every year on December 1st under the double rite.

Vies des Saints de Poitiers, by M. Labbé Anber.