Saint Lubin of Chartres

However, a war had broken out between the Franks and the Burgundians. The latter were defeated: the sons of Clovis became masters of Burgundy in 525. The abbey of Île-Barbe was invaded by soldiers, eager for plunder: they found only Lubin there with an old man, who had not been able to flee with the other monks. The old man, when asked where the community's treasures were, replied that Lubin knew better than he; the soldiers addressed themselves to Lubin, first by means of gentleness, then, finding him incorruptible, they resorted to the violence of torments; among other tortures, they tightened his head with ropes, bound his feet, and plunged him in this state several times into a chasm, says the historian: they left him for dead without having been able to obtain anything. God restored his health, and, having joined some solitaries he met, Lubin led them with him into the Perche to dwell together under the discipline of Saint Avitus; Saint Lubin fulfilled the office of celebrant there. Upon the death of Saint Avitus, our three hermits (430) withdrew into the desert of Charbonnières, at the edges of the forest of Montmirail, which separates the Beauce from the Maine. They built three cells there and spent nearly five years together serving God far from the world. But the holiness of Lubin became known through miracles: his prayer stopped a hurricane that was destroying the harvests, and a fire that was devouring the forests. The Bishop of Chartres, named Etherius, learning of this, ordaine d him de Éthérius Bishop of Chartres who ordained Lubin. acon and established him as abbot of the monastery of Brou, in the Perche; he later raised him to the priesthood to give him more authority over the religious: what gave him no less, however, were his virtues and his miracles. By the sign of the cross, he delivered two demoniacs, so tormented and rendered furious by demons that they broke their chains. His religious begged him to heal himself of a cancer he had in his nostrils: he contented himself with applying blessed wax to it, waiting with patience for the will of God; at the end of twelve years, he obtained, without any other remedy, a complete healing of this ailment, generally considered incurable.

One of the brothers saw him during the night conversing familiarly with a personage all resplendent with light: he asked the Father who this inhabitant of celestial glory was, and learned that it was Saint Avitus. Saint A lbinus, Bis Saint Aubin Bishop of Angers, traveling companion of Lubin. hop of Angers, going to visit Sain t Caesarius, saint Césaire Abbot of Lérins and later Bishop of Arles, mentor to Siffrein. Bishop of Arles, asked Saint Lubin to accompany him (536); the holy abbot consented. When he found himself in Provence, he was strongly tempted to retire to Lérins to escape his duties as superior: but Saint Caesarius strongly rebuked him for it, showing him that he should not thus abandon a house that God had entrusted to his care through the ministry of his bishop. Lubin, by this remonstrance, became anxious about the fate of his flock: he came to rejoin them as soon as possible, and had the consolation of finding them in the best of states.

However, in 544, Etherius passed from this life to a better one, and immediately everyone turned their eyes toward our holy religious to raise him to the episcopal dignity. Thus, he was elected Bishop of Chartres by the almost unanimous suffrage of the entire clergy, with the approval roi Childebert King of the Franks who supported the saint. of King Childebert. The Saint did everything in his power not to be burdened with such a heavy load, judging himself incapable of bearing it. Never did a prelate take more care of his church. It is said that he, to represent the disciples of Jesus Christ, increased the number of canons to seventy-two. He prescribed very holy rules for them to advance in virtue and to celebrate the divine offices; he also provided them with sufficient income for their maintenance. Through his efforts, he reformed several abuses that had crept in among the people and led them to the exact observance of the commandments of God and the Church. In this, he was greatly assisted by Saint Avitus, of whom he had been a disciple; this Saint, although already in glory, visited him often to warn him of the faults of his clergy and to prescribe the method he should follow to govern them holily.

What made him more commendable was that he found no sick person in his diocese whom he did not heal through the influence he had with God. By his prayer alone, he restored to health a dropsical man whom the doctors had despaired of; and a blind man, who had lost his sight for eight years, recovered it as soon as he had prayed for him. A girl, possessed by the evil spirit, was delivered by touching the hem of his garment with faith. Two young boys, also possessed by the demon, were likewise delivered by taking food that the Saint had blessed; he also healed several feverish people and other kinds of sick people; and, by the sign of the cross, which he made in the presence of King Childebert, he extinguished a great fire that had broken out in Paris; the Breviary of Chartres says that he resurrected a girl from Châteaudun, and returned her in full health to her father, named Baudelin. A priest of Chartres, Caletr icus, a yo Caletricus Bishop of Chartres in the 6th century. ung man of eminent holiness, fell dangerously ill; they were only waiting for the hour of his last breath. Saint Lubin wished to visit him: seeing him in peril, he himself administered the sacrament of Extreme Unction to him: but he soon recognized that this sacrament had produced in him its double effect, which is to give the health of the body as well as that of the soul; then, by a prophetic spirit, he predicted to this good priest that not only would he recover from this illness, but that he would also succeed him on the episcopal see. The event verified this prophecy, for he was indeed elected in his place, and governed his people so well that he earned the title of Saint after twelve years of prelacy.

Saint Lubin attended the fifth Council of Orleans, one of the most famous in France (549), and the second Council of Paris (551). By this latter time, he already had an illness that purified his virtue through long sufferings until the end of his life. He was called by God to receive the crown of immortality in the year 557; his body was buried in the church of Saint-Martin du Val, in the suburb of Chartres, where it was religiously preserved until the day when the new iconoclasts of the 16th century, the Calvinists, burned his sacred bones and scattered his ashes to the wind; however, his venerable head remained, which was kept very devoutly in the great church of Notre-Dame de Chartres, in a reliquary enriched with precious stones; but the French Revolution stripped the church of Chartres of this holy relic: it is found today in the church of Saint-Nicolas, in Blois. Since then, bones have b een r Blois City where the relics of Calais were transferred during the Norman invasions. etrieved from a cemetery where they had been thrown at that time; some of Saint Lubin's are certainly among them, but they have not been identified.

The memory of Saint Lubin is particularly honored in the Blésois region, where several parishes have adopted him as their patron. One of the oldest churches in the city of Blois was dedicated to him; this edifice has disappeared for many centuries, but the street where it stood has retained the name of Saint-Lubin. He is also the patron of Rouvray, in Normandy.

Saint Lubin has been depicted 1° healing a possessed person; 2° Resurrecting the daughter of a man who had received him into his home during one of his travels. He is painted, in this circumstance, near the bed of the deceased, although in truth the Saint had performed this miracle without knowing it. He had only noticed a profound sorrow in the family and began to pray that God might console them. Scarcely had he finished his prayer, when the dead girl rose full of life and health.

The Roman Martyrology and that of Bede, along with the Breviary of Chartres, commemorate Saint Lubin on September 15, the day of his translation; but, because that day will be occupied by other Saints, we have placed him on this day, which is that of his death. Father Giry drew this life from the lessons of the Masters of his office, from the martyrology of the Saints of France, and from the Remarks of the continuators of Bollandus. We have completed it with the Acts of Saint Lubin (Act. Sanct., morté) and the Saints of Blois, by M. Dupré.