Saint Corentin

The lords of the land, charmed by the prudence and holiness of Core ntin, be Corentin First bishop of Quimper and hermit in Cornouaille. gged Prince Gr allon to estab prince Grallon Prince of Cornouaille and protector of Saint Corentin. lish a bishopric in his county and to have Corentin named as its first bishop. Grallon consented; and, having summoned this holy abbot, he sent him to Saint Marti n, Archbisho saint Martin Spiritual model for Aquilin. p of Tours, whose jurisdiction extended over all of Brittany, in order to receive episcopal consecration from him. Corentin took with him to Tours two excellent religious men, Vennolé and Tugdin, to be blessed as abbots of two new monasteries that the prince wished to found; but Saint Martin, having consecrated him, told him that, for the blessing of the abbots of his diocese, it was for him to do it, and thus sent him to govern the people that Divine Providence had committed to him. A very magnificent entry was made for hi m into Quimper City where King Grallon resided and where the relics were transferred. Quimper and he was given the means to found a Chapter of canons for his new cathedral.

Just as he did not forget in the episcopate that he was a religious, so the exercises of the solitary life, which he always continued to practice, did not make him forget that he was a bishop. He visited his entire diocese, and ordained good ecclesiastics to distribute them in the parishes; he corrected the abuses that had crept in among the faithful, he fought against the remnants of paganism and discharged all the other obligations of a good pastor. Finally, God withdrew him from this world to give him the crown of immortality.

His body was buried with great honor in his cathedral church, before the high altar, and his funeral procession was illustrated by several notable miracles. Many have occurred since at his tomb. A woman had promised to present wax to his church, in recognition of a distinguished favor she had received through his intercession: she did indeed bring some, but as she was ready to offer it, she withdrew her hand out of avarice and did not offer it at all. Then this same hand closed so tightly that it was impossible for her to open it, until the Saint, having regard for her tears, appeared to her twice and healed her of this affliction which she had brought upon herself by her greed. He also appeared to a poor man whom evildoers had locked in a chest to starve him to death, and delivered him from this horrible prison by lifting the lock that kept it closed.

His episcopal city has taken his name and is cal led Quimper-Core Quimper-Corentin City where King Grallon resided and where the relics were transferred. ntin.

He is represented: 1° causing a spring to gush forth; 2° lying in a solitude, and discovered by a prince while hunting.

## CULT AND RELICS. The relics of Saint Corentin were kept with respect in his cathedral until the time of the Normans. The fear that they might be profaned by these barbarians led the clergy of Quimper, in 878, to remove them from the place where they were enclosed. Later, they were entrusted to Salvator, Bishop of Aleth, who, because of the war with which the province was threatened, took refuge in France, carrying with him the bodies of the principal Saints of Brittany. The prelate arrived in Paris in 903, and placed his deposit in the hands of Hugh Capet, then Count of Paris, who received them with respect and had them deposited in the church of Saint-Barthélemy in the city. These holy relics having been subsequently divided among various churches, those of Saint Corentin were given to the famous abbey of Marmoutier; but some portion remaine abbaye de Marmoutier Abbey near Tours upon which the priory of Arcis depended. d in Paris, for the abbey of Saint-Victor possessed one until the Revolution. It was from Marmoutier t hat the Ch Révolution Period during which the saint's relics were hidden and lost. urch of Quimper obtained, in 1643, an arm of its patron saint, which was honorably placed in the cathedral, and became the object of the particular veneration of the faithful of the region. The Revolution caused the loss of this precious deposit, as well as the rest of the body of Saint Corentin. In 1809, only a small bone was still possessed in Tours, which was given at that time to M. de Bombidau de Crouseilhes, then Bishop of Quimper; and this prelate had it deposited in his cathedral church, where this relic is now kept.

The name of Saint Corentin is found in the English litanies of the 7th century that Father Mabillon brought to light. Besides the cathedral church of Quimper which has him as its patron, and where his memory is held in very great veneration, the Churches of Léon and Saint-Brieuc have always rendered to this holy bishop a religious cult with an office of nine lessons, on December 12. The Church of Nantes, in its ancient breviary, had the feast of Saint Corentin on the 11th, also with an office of nine lessons. An ancient manuscript breviary of the Church of Le Mans marks it on December 12, with nine proper lessons. It now has only a simple commemoration in the current breviary of that Church; but he is honored with an office in the dioceses of Rennes and Nantes. In the ancient diocese of Chartres, near Nantes, there was an abbey of Benedictine nuns, founded a round the year 1 Philippe-Auguste King of France, founder of an abbey dedicated to the saint. 201 by Philip Augustus, which bore the name of Saint-Corentin. Queen Blanche, mother of Saint Louis, was fond of this house, and her heart was preserved there. We have completed and corrected this biography with the Vies des Saints de Bretagne, by Dom Lobineau.