Saint Louans

He died full of grace and virtue, cherished by God and mourned by men. But his tomb became glorious. It is the privilege of the Saints to survive themselves after their death. A parish church was raised on the site of his burial, and as the gathering of people at his tomb was considerable, Count Thibault gave this chu comte Thibault A plowman from Lorraine who welcomed the saint and made her his heir. rch to the Abbey of Sain t-Florent de Saumur. Monks came t abbaye de Saint-Florent de Saumur Abbey that was entrusted with the custody of the tomb of Louans. o settle there, with the consent of Hardouin, Archbis hop of Tours, and every day t Hardouin, archevêque de Tours Archbishop of Tours at the time of the monks' installation. he canonical office was celebrated there.

Things continued in this way until the infamous era of our French Revol ution. The monks of Révolution française Period during which the saint's relics were hidden and lost. Saint-Louans were driven out and the church was destroyed from top to bottom. The cult of Saint Louans had survived the ruins of his sanctuary. Christian souls still remembered his virtues and his standing before God, and in our day this cult has seen a new increase through the discovery of his body.

A few years ago, the Hospitaller nuns of Chinon had purchased the former dependencies of the priory of Saint-Louans to establish a retreat house intended to receive ladies who desire to live quietly and far from the world. The memory of Saint Louans undoubtedly played a part in the purchase of this land. But the healthiness of the air and the enchanting beauty of the site made it especially well-suited to their purpose. Providence undoubtedly had other views.

It was known from the writings of Dom Martène and Dom Rousseau that the body of Saint Louans ha d been plac dom Martène Author whose writings allowed for the location of the body. ed under the high altar; the location of the old church was known; the choir was indicated in a precise manner by the foundations that still existed; therefore, as soon as the Hospitaller sisters were installed, they began excavations. They were led to the discovery of four sarcophagi, arranged in a single line, almost intact, and placed immediately under the altar, as indicated by the documents drawn from the authors we have known.

who have shed great light on Oriental literature. It is from this school that Abraham Ecchellensis, Messrs. Joseph, Stephen Evodius, and Louis Assemani emerged. The first two produced excellent works on ecclesiastical antiquity. We owe to the third judicious writings on the ceremonies of the Church.

Several authors of the highest merit, such as William of Tyre and Cardinal Baronius, adopt the highly suspect sentiment of the Arab annalist Eutychius, stating that the Maronites derive their name from a heresiarch named Maron, whose errors they supposedly followed for five centuries; but that in the year 1149, this entire nation, composed of more than two hundred and fifty thousand souls, returned to the bosom of the Church. The Maronites reject this opinion, which was victoriously combated by another of their writers from the 15th century, F. Malron. According to this author, before the birth of the heresies that devastated the Orient, all Christians spread throughout the vast province extending from Egypt to Cilicia were called *Syrians*; but when different sects were formed, they took the names of their leaders: it was in this way that the Syrians, separated from the Church, took the names of Nestorians, Jacobites, and others similar. The Christians who remained faithful to the faith of Rome grouped themselves around the disciples of Saint Maron: it is from this that the heretics designated the Catholics of Syria by the name of Maronites.

themselves. The three sarcophagi that accompanied that of Saint Louans contained the bodies of S aint Salique, saint Salique Saint whose body was found with that of Louans. Sain t Corémar, an saint Corémar Saint whose body was found with that of Louans. d Saint Lachie.

The authenticity of these precious relics was legally verified. The Archbishop visited the site and, by an episcopal act, permitted the veneration that the Church accords to the relics of the Saints.

Today a charming little church, in the Romanesque style, has taken the place of the one that was destroyed in '93, and the precious tombs rest, as in the past, in a crypt dug under the main altar.

The pilgrimage has taken on a new momentum. It is no longer the good monks of Saint-Benoît who serve this church, but venerable priests who have aged or who have contracted early infirmities in the labors of the holy ministry, who make up the clergy of the former priory of Saint-Louans.

The solitude once chosen and inhabited by Saint Louans is still consecrated by prayer and by the practice of Christian virtues. The sick come once again to pray at his tomb: it is thus that these words from our holy books are constantly verified: The memory of the just shall not perish.

Abbé Holland, chaplain of the Brothers, in Tours.