Saint Austrebertha of Pavilly

From her earliest years, Austreberte began to show signs of the grace of God working within her; for she had such a great inclination toward the good that all earthly things were unbearable to her. She conceived early on a firm resolution to preserve her purity for the rest of her life; she found herself strengthened in this by the apparition of a veil that she saw descend upon her head one day when, by chance, she was looking at herself in a fountain in the middle of the garden: the Holy Spirit thus marking for her the state to which He destined her.

She had no conversation with the world, but spent her time either in the retreat of her room, or in the service of the Church, or finally in the company of the princess her mother. She was sought after by several very advantageous suitors; they would have considered themselves happy to possess a princess who had added so many acquired virtues to the illustrious qualities of her birth. Now, although Austreberte's heart was not at all inclined toward marriage, nevertheless Badefroy, who expected every kind of obedience from his daughter, promised her to a young prince. But this generous virgin, having commended herself to her heavenly Spouse, and having asked one of her brothers to keep her company, departed secretly from her father's house, which was located in Marconne, and went to Thérouanne, where she hoped to hide so well that it would be almost impossible for her father to discover her.

It seemed that the elements had conspired together to oppose her designs: the river Canche had overflowed so much that it had destroyed the bridges and ruined all the means that could facilitate its crossing; so that, if the Saint had had less confidence in the protection of her heavenly Spouse, her flight would have ended on the bank of this river. But, full of courage, she walked boldly upon the waters; and, taking her brother by the hand, she gave him the boldness to do the same and to follow her, and thus she reached the other side of the river. Saint Omer was then B Saint Omer Famous predecessor of Folquin at Thérouanne. ishop of Thérouanne; she presented herself before him, declared her resolution and the object of her coming; the holy prelate, recognizing something extraordinary in her action, did not believe he should refuse anything to a person who was favored in her design by such a visible protection from the hand of God; he gave her the veil, and authorized, by this ceremony, the vow she had already made in private to consecrate her body and soul to the service of her Spouse.

After she had received the veil, which was like the livery of the immaculate Lamb, Saint Omer returned her to the hands of her parents, whom he had appeased, and who finally granted this virtuous daughter the freedom to accomplish what she had so happily begun. There was at that time, on the Somme, a famous monastery of women, called Le Port, whic h fl Port Abbey on the Somme where the saint made her religious profession. ourished in holiness under the guidance of a very wise abbess named Burgoflede. It was in this house that Austreberte was received as a gift from heaven; she gave from then on so many testimonies of her virtue that, immediately after her profession, the abbess and the nuns elected her prioress, all considering themselves very happy to follow in her footsteps. This dignity did not make her relax any of the regular observances, but she was the first to attend to everything, however arduous and humble it might be. Once, when she was baking bread in her turn, just like the others, as she wished to remove some coals that had remained inside, the fire unfortunately caught her broom and put the nuns' provisions in danger of being lost. Saint Austreberte commanded her companion not to worry, but to stop at the door while she said her prayer. It was short, but effective: for, arming herself with the sign of the cross, she entered the blazing oven and cleaned it with the ends of her sleeves, without being harmed in her person or her clothes; and thus was fulfilled in her the promise that God makes to the righteous soul, not to abandon it either on the waves of the waters or in the heat of furnaces. Furthermore, it seems that God gave a secret property to everything that had been in the service of this virtuous virgin to resist the violence of fire, for when fire broke out in the 17th century in a quarter of the city of Montreuil-sur-Mer, where her sleeves were kept with respect in a monastery of nuns that bore the name of this Saint, there was no more powerful remedy to resist them than to present this relic to the flames, and they stopped immediately: which has also happened several other times in the same city.

Saint Austreberte having given proof of her virtue in that house, where she had served her apprenticeship in religious life, God called her to the leadership of an abbey in Normandy, through the mediation of the Abbot Philibert, who was of great reputation, and who governed the monastery of Jumièges, of which he was the first abbot. A lord of Pa villy, Pavilly Location of the main abbey governed by the saint. named Amalbert, to favor the design of one of his daughters, named Aurée, who wished to be a nun, had a monastery built on his lands; it was necessary to find an abbess to govern the new community that would be established there: he conferred about it with Saint Philibert; the latter named the prioress of Port our Saint, of whom so many wonders were told. The Saint, upon being notified, at first refused; but her bishop commanded her to follow Saint Philibert, who had come to Picardy to inform her of her election, and would lead her himself to Pavilly. She therefore went there, and was received, with all the satisfaction imaginable, by the nuns who were awaiting such a worthy superior. Her election was confirmed by the episcopal blessing, which was given to her with the title of abbess by the great Archbishop of Rouen , Saint Ou saint Ouen Author of the eulogy and life of Saint Aurea. en, formerly Chancellor of France, under King Dagobert.

But the new abbess soon had to suffer from the indiscipline of certain nuns, who were possessed by ambition or jealousy. They even pushed their malice to the point of poisoning what was to be served to her at the table. Austreberte, whom her heavenly Spouse had favored with the gift of prophecy, discovered a design so unworthy, not only of a nun, but even of a Christian soul; and, reassuring herself with the words of Jesus Christ, who promises his faithful servants that venom will not be able to harm them, she ate what had been prepared for her; then, turning toward her daughters, she said to them with a gentle word: "My daughters, what have you done? I pray God that He may forgive you for the evil you have undertaken."

This gentleness, although extreme, made no impression on these hearts, incapable of recognizing the merits of their abbess. But, passing from a mortal poison to a spiritual one, they found a way to accuse her, to the lord Amalbert, founder of the monastery, of too much rigor, and almost of cruelty against his daughter, whom he loved very tenderly: they added wickedly that this foreign superior was squandering the wealth of the abbey and making herself unbearable in her moods.

Amalbert, who was quite violent by nature, easily allowed himself to be carried away by the first movements of his anger, without taking the trouble to examine the validity and circumstances of this accusation; he came to the monastery all agitated, and with the resolution to treat Austreberte with little respect. But he went perhaps further than he had premeditated; after some discourse, he went from words to actions, and, putting his sword in his hand, he wanted to strike the Saint, who, far from withdrawing, generously presented her neck to the one who was threatening her with death, showing him thereby that she was fully ready to sacrifice her life for justice. This lord, astonished by such courage, felt his anger change into gentleness, and his fury into benevolence: then, blaming himself for having been too credulous at the report of these slanderous girls, he rendered respects to Austreberte as to a Saint whom God left in the world for the glory of religion.

However, this persecution was not the last that she suffered in this new establishment: for the enemy, seeing that he had gained nothing by his hidden artifices and by the ministry of others, resolved to attack her himself openly, and by a declared war. Indeed, it happened one night that all the nuns being at Matins, the demon excited such a great trembling throughout the monastery that it overturned a part of the dormitory. The terrified nuns wanted to leave the church, but their holy abbess prevented them by forbidding it; only one, following the movement of her own will, secretly left the choir: but she had no sooner set foot in the dormitory than the roof fell to the ground, and she was overwhelmed under its ruins. When the office was finished, the abbess, followed by all her daughters, went with the cross to see the ruin that the enemy had caused, and they had a consolation in this disaster: two young novices, who had remained asleep in the dormitory, and who were thought to be buried under the debris, were found, one on the slope of a wall, where she had been carried by her guardian angel, and the other in her bed, which had fallen straight down, without her feeling the effects of this ruin: a notable mark of God's help. As for the rebellious nun, the abbess had her body pulled from under the heaps of stones to be carried to the infirmary, while she prayed in the church; having finished her prayer, she took oil from the lamp, blessed it with the sign of the cross, and, approaching the deceased, she anointed her with this oil, and brought her back immediately to life and health.

The vigilance of this holy abbess seemed indefatigable in procuring the good of those whom God had entrusted to her care. As she was visiting, during the night, as was her custom, the cells of her sisters, to see if each was at her duty, the prioress, awakened by this noise, thought it was a simple nun, reprimanded her for failing in the rule, and, as penance, ordered her to go and pray before the cross that was planted in the cloister. The abbess received this command as if it had come immediately from God, went there joyfully, and even remained in prayer there until the next morning; the nuns found her content, and in a perfect satisfaction of soul. Finally, it pleased God to call her from this world, and to crown her labors with the reward she deserved: in the year of grace 704, on the day of the Purification of Our Lady, her heavenly Spouse sent her an angel to let her know that she would enjoy, in eight days, the happiness she had desired for so long. The next morning, she gave notice of it to her daughters, and, feeling herself troubled by the ardor of fever, she armed herself with the last sacraments of the Church. At the end of eight days, on a Saturday, seeing herself near death, she raised her eyes to heaven and perceived a beautiful company of holy angels who were coming to meet her. Then, turning toward the priests and toward some religious who were reciting the litanies, she said these words to them: "Be silent, my brothers; do you not see the procession that is entering this room? Know that all the Saints whose names you have invoked in your prayers are present in this place to assist at my passing, and then to lead me into their company in heaven."

Finally, raising her eyes a second time, she rendered her soul while uttering these words: "I come to you, my Lord whom I have loved so much." Her body was buried in the same place of Pavilly, in the church of Saint-Pierre, where God has performed numerous miracles through her intercession.

## RELICS AND CULT OF SAINT AUSTREBERTE.

The relics of Saint Austreberte were brought to Montreu il-sur-Mer during Montreuil-sur-Mer Site of the foundation of the monastery of Salve and place where its relics were preserved. the 11th century. In 1032, the monastery was erected which, because of these relics, took the name of Sainte-Austreberte. On the 29th of Vendémiaire, Year II, the Convention member André Dumont had the reliquary containing them broken: some bones were removed and are today preserved in the parish church of Montreuil, as well as her veil, her cuffs, and a part of her head. These relics were recognized and authenticated in 1803, then in 1805, by Mgr de La Tour d'Auvergne, Bishop of Arras. The church of Saint-Wandrille, in the arrondissement of Yvetot, and the chapel of the bishopric of Arras each possess relics of Saint Austreberte.

In Sainte-Austreberte, a village located near Pavilly, there exists a pilgrimage where one goes to honor the relics of Saint Austreberte.

Another locality in the canton of Hesdin bears the same name.

Besides these two parishes, those of Saint-Teneux, in the Pas-de-Calais, and of Cantiers and Pavilly, in the Seine-Inférieure, are under the patronage of Saint Austreberte.

A chapel dedicated to her in the church of Esclavelles (canton of Neufchâtel) is the destination of a very frequented pilgrimage.

Her feast was celebrated in the dioceses of Rouen, Saint-Omer, Boulogne, and Amiens, but not in that of Thérouanne. The simple feast of the ancient breviaries of Amiens was changed into a simple memorial, with a proper lesson. Saint Austreberte appears in the current Propers of Rouen and Arras.

Saint Austreberte is usually depicted in a nun's habit, and crowned by two angels. Leaning against the walls of a fortified castle, she holds a cross in her right hand and places the other on her heart. To her right, a column; to her left, a crozier and a crown on a cushion. She is also represented near a flaming oven; but it is incorrect to sometimes show her carrying burning coals in her lap, which is in no way consistent with the legend we have recounted.

There was once in the church of Port a painting depicting Saint Austreberte in the middle of a blazing oven, with this inscription:

I find the ardors of this furnace surely Less vivid than the fire of my divine love.

A painting in the parish church of Montreuil-sur-Mer shows us the consecration of the Saint.

In the Perfect Life of Saint Austreberte, by Simon Martin, one finds five engravings representing: "Saint Austreberte holding a large cross, a discipline, and a crown of thorns, between Saint Juliana and the Blessed Margaret of Arbouse; 2nd the miracle of the veil that appears to her in a fountain; 3rd the crossing of the Canche on dry foot; 4th the miracle of the furnace of Port; 5th Saint Austreberte in agony, seeing the procession of the Saints who come to seek her soul.

Abbé Cachet says, speaking of Gerponville: "We noticed there a statue of Saint Austreberte, in the habit of an abbess, at the feet of which the wolf that ate a donkey loaded with laundry serves." Father Cabier will explain this attribution to us. After seeing in the donkey a symbol of humility, he adds further on (p. 532): "This popular legend must have been grafted onto this, without finding any trace of it in the ancient biographies of the Saint or of Saint Philibert who had named her abbess. It is claimed that the monastery of Pavilly had taken on the task of washing the laundry of the sacristy of Jumièges and that a donkey was used to transport the bundle for Austreberte. The beast was so sensible and so well-trained for its office that it would go all by itself to make the delivery. But, through the forest of Jumièges, a wolf threw itself upon the docile animal. Saint Austreberte, who happened upon the scene, reduced the eater to replacing its prey. This was carried out for as long as the abbess wished, who was not satisfied with a single trip. Thus, a commemorative chapel, later replaced by the Croix-à-l'Âne, was erected in these woods as early as the 8th century, it is said; and various sculptures, more or less accurately interpreted, are considered to be its reproduction."

Mr. Ch. Henneguier writes to us that this tradition gave rise to a popular festival which, from Pavilly and Marconne, was transplanted to Montreuil. It wa s the festiv fête du Vert Popular tradition commemorating the miracle of the wolf. al of the Green (Vert). A man dressed in a wolf skin, painted green, carrying a load of laundry, would climb from the banks of the Canche to the abbey, followed by a large procession. This is the origin of the name of the Rue du Vert-Montant.

The rich, still unpublished album of the Duthoit brothers contains the drawing of the three reliquaries of Montreuil.

The monastery of Pavilly, destroyed by the Normans, was raised from its ruins in the 11th century, but consecrated as a Benedictine priory under the name of Sainte-Austreberte. It was united in 1653 to the conventual priory of Saint-Sauve, an establishment which itself disappeared in 1740.

As for the abbey of Montreuil, the chapel was burned down by accident in 1805. The other buildings, which are not very remarkable, serve today as a barracks, a supply depot, and a middle school.

The seal of this monastery depicted the patron saint, holding a book in one hand and a beaded crozier in the other, with the legend: Sancta Austreberta. She is standing; a mantle, which covers her head, falls over her shoulders and descends to her feet.

Saint Austreberte is mentioned in the Roman Martyrology, and Surius reports her life in his first volume. Father Giry also wrote an entire book on this saint in the year 1633, in which the reader will see the miracles and wonders that God performed through her merits and intercession. We have completed and rectified this life by means of the work of M. Corblet on Saint Austreberte.