Saint Aldric of Le Mans

Aldric remained in this office for only four months: he was appointed to occupy the episcopal see of Le Mans, which had become vacant upon the death of Francon the Younger; as much as the court he was leaving was saddened, so much were the people and clergy of Le Mans joyful. Landramn, Archbishop of Tours, consecrated him on December 22, 832. Three days later, the Emperor went to Le Mans to celebrate the feast of Christmas with him. Aldric received him worthily; he came to meet him with the clergy and introduced him into the church by taking him by the hand; he then led him successively to all the altars, reciting specific prayers at each to draw down the blessings of heaven upon this prince: choirs of clerics formed a procession, carrying crosses, banners, and torches, while singing hymns and psalms. The Emperor remained in Le Mans for eight days, during which the festivities were brilliant and magnificent. In consideration of the new bishop, his friend, he restored by diploma to the church of Le Mans the estate of Le Breuil which had been taken from it (and which included within its vast territory the current parishes of Neuville-sur-Sarthe and Saint-Pavace). He could not bring himself to do without the counsel of this holy bishop, and often obliged him to leave his diocese to come to court.

Hence it is that this great man left unfinished many works he had undertaken for the glory of God, in his episcopal city, in the monasteries, and in the rest of his diocese. However, the things he did accomplish are still too numerous for us to recount them all. From the beginning of his episcopate, according to an ancient tradition, he built on the left bank of the Mayenne the monastery of Saint-Martin, since replaced by the parish of that name; he had an aqueduct dug and constructed at great expense, which brought water from the springs of Isaac to near the cathedral, to the fountain that today bears the name of Saint-Julien (previously water was so scarce that one paid a silver denarius for it, that is to say about 2 fr. 65 c. per muid or sixty-eight liters). Following the inspiration he received one night, while speaking with God about the needs of his flock, he formed the project of establishing among his canons the beautiful order he had seen practiced in Metz by the disciples of Saint Chrodegang. Thanks to his munificence and his care, one soon saw a most magnificent cloister rise in place of his episcopal palace (from the Rue du Doyenné to the Rue des Chanoines); he moved this palace from the south and east of the cathedral church to the west, where it remained until the spoliation of the church at the end of the 18th century. The domestic chapel of the bishops of Le Mans, the ancient church of Saint-Michel, was enclosed within this cloister. Aldric built another which he dedicated, with great pomp, to Saint Stephen, first martyr, patron of the cathedral of Metz, and to all the saints, on November 9, 835. Several miracles were accomplished on this occasion: a deaf man received the use of his hearing, a mute that of speech, a possessed person was delivered from the evil spirit that tormented him, and a blind man recovered his sight.

Aldric, who seemed entirely devoted to these vast undertakings, meditating on the restoration of his cathedral church, restoring monasteries, and increasing the revenues of the Church, still found time to attend the councils of his province, and even others further afield. And yet the greatest troubles seemed to hinder the works of peace. The sons of Louis the Pious, for reasons that would be too long to set forth here, had taken up arms against their father. Their partisans did everything in their power to stir up Maine against the holy bishop, who remained faithful to his king, to his friend, even when all seemed to abandon him: this country had to suffer all the evils of civil war.

Driven from his episcopal city by armed factions or by popular uprising, Aldric saw himself further deposed from his see by the prelates hostile to Louis, who were the most numerous. But, sure of his innocence, he appealed to Pope Gregory IV, who ha d come to the Ga pape Grégoire IV Pope who instituted the feast of All Saints in France in 837. uls to work for the reconciliation of Louis the Pious with his sons, and was at that moment in Colmar.

The Sovereign Pontiff, although surrounded by Aldric's adversaries, received his request favorably, and to prevent any machinations that might be made against him, he wrote to all the bishops of the Catholic world a letter in which he declared that, according to the decrees of the Fathers, the bishop of Le Mans having had recourse to the tribunal of Saint Peter, no one should be so rash as to forestall this judgment: "If the grievances alleged against him were found to be of such a nature that they could not be endured, it is still to us," says the Pontiff, "that it belongs to pass judgment: for nothing can be decided against him who has taken refuge in the bosom of the Roman Church and who has once implored its help; it is she, indeed, who has granted to other churches the management of a part of her authority, but she has not conceded to them the fullness thereof (July 8, 833)."

The voice of the Vicar of Jesus Christ calmed the storm, and our holy bishop, having returned to his episcopal city, worked with renewed ardor to procure the good of his people and his diocese. The cathedral church, due to its lack of size, was insufficient for the needs of the population: Aldric had undertaken to restore it; he had called upon all the arts to adorn it. When the works were completed, he dedicated one part on November 21, 834, and the other on June 21, 835. Furthermore, he compiled for his clergy a Collection of Canons which has not reached us. Thanks to his care, the school of Le Mans could rival the most renowned; there, the Deeds of Saint Aldric himself were written, as well as those of the bishops of Le Mans, Legends of Saints full of charm and unction, and poems whose language is not always pure, but which are nonetheless, amidst the barbarism of those centuries, like precious flowers in a wild desert. The learned bishop took part in the liturgical discussions of that era; he conducted, with his clergy, serious studies on Gregorian chant, the ceremonies, and the very words of the divine offices, and restored the customs of the Church of Rome, which Saint Julian had brought to the church of Le Mans. At the Council of Aachen (836), he distinguished himself so much by his wisdom and ability that he was entrusted, along with Erchanrade, Bishop of Paris, with the difficult mission of going to see Pepin, King of Aquitaine, to present to him a memorandum of the abuses that it was desired that this prince should remedy.

Some time after his return, he received a famous deputation from Badurad, Bishop of Paderborn, who requested relics of Saint Libori us from him, saint Liboire Saint whose relics were transferred from Le Mans to Paderborn. so that the miracles he expected from them might convert the pagans of his diocese. These deputies arrived in Le Mans on April 27 in the year 836. The bishop received them with the greatest courtesy, and, learning that their request came from heaven, and that it concerned the salvation of an entire newly converted nation, granted them a large part of the body of Saint Liborius. When these holy relics were raised, handed over to the deputies, and escorted outside the city with the greatest solemnity and by a large crowd; when they crossed France and arrived in Paderborn, they performed the greatest miracles; we will speak of them in the life of Saint Liborius. Thus were established, between the two churches of Le Mans and Paderborn, bonds of fraternity that still endure today. It would be too long to simply enumerate the other religious feasts that took place under the pontificate of Aldric: he instituted five solemn feasts, in order to consecrate five anniversaries particularly dear to his piety; one of his birth and his episcopal consecration, and the others of various dedications of churches or altars.

His liberality, in those days, provided the most abundant distributions of bread, meat, and wine to all the clerics who lived in common, and to a great number of the poor. Neighboring bishops often attended these great solemnities. There were a great number of them on Easter day in the year 837; there were also many when he performed the dedication of Saint-Sauveur, built and founded by his care, on the banks of the Sarthe, less than a mile from the city of Le Mans. He had undoubtedly displayed great magnificence in this edifice, since the basilica had fifteen altars dedicated to different saints whose relics rested there. In the year 840, he transported there the entire body of Saint Pavace and the right arm of Saint Liborius. The monks he called followed the rule of Saint Benedict; they depended on the bishop of Le Mans, except for the election of their abbot, which belonged exclusively to them. The Saint, to ensure the existence of a house that was so dear to him, united it to the abbey of Les Fossés, in the diocese of Paris. The solicitude of the holy prelate was not limited to the abbey he had founded: he made all the other monasteries of his diocese flourish, among others that of Saint-Marie, founded by Saint Ténestine; he raised it almost from its ruins, enlarged it, built a church there, and called upon nuns from Entrames who followed the rule of Saint Benedict.

He likewise restored the monastery of Saint-Vincent, which he brought back under the dependence of the cathedral, as well as those of Saint-Aubin and Saint-Ouen: the agents of the imperial treasury had usurped these ecclesiastical goods and many others; Aldric discovered the titles that established the rights of his church, and had them renewed by imperial diplomas. In all this, Aldric worked for eternity; he constantly had death before his eyes, his testament was made before he was forty years old. He declares therein that all the wealth that would be found, in money or in clothing, in his houses at the moment of his death, as well as all provisions of wine and others, would be divided into several parts and distributed to his clerics, whether regular or secular, and to the poor; he does not forget the tenant farmers, serfs, and bondsmen who cultivated his domains, nor the widows and orphans. He says that he makes these liberalities to obtain prayers and the forgiveness of his sins. He bequeaths, with as much equity and prudence, the revenues of the domains of his cathedral church, which he had in large part recovered. At the time he made this testament, he had founded one hundred and fifty-two very flourishing farms. But this number was much more considerable at his death; for he continued until the end to cultivate with untiring zeal, to improve his double temporal and spiritual domain. In the last years of his life, he founded an abbey at Connerré and another at Teloché, which he endowed magnificently, according to his custom. If he pursued and won an unjust lawsuit against the monks of the abbey of Saint-Calais, it is because he was deceived by false titles, according to which he believed that this house belonged to his church; he acted according to his conscience, and thus committed an error, not a fault. But he further increased his rights to the gratitude of his country by the foundation of seven hospices, two of which were in his episcopal city; one on the banks of the Sarthe, outside the surrounding walls, at the head of a bridge then named Sainte-Marie, and today Isoir: it was intended to receive bishops, abbots, counts, and other personages of the first rank who came to visit the sanctuaries of the city of Le Mans; the other near the cathedral church, at the entrance of the street that still bears the name of the Hopitau today: this latter was for the poor, the sick, and the indigent of every kind. He assigned as an endowment for these beautiful establishments, domains and tithes that belonged to the cathedral church; he did this only with the consent of the bishops of the province, the clergy, and the free men of the whole diocese; he convened assemblies for this purpose, and charters were drawn up there that recorded the resolutions decided in common.

The church of the holy Apostles, where the body of Sa int Julian r saint Julien First bishop of Le Mans and uncle of Saint Romanus. ested, and other sanctuaries, once very frequented by the piety of the faithful, had fallen into a state of ruin and desolation; on the advice of his clergy, Aldric had excavations carried out in these holy places; the relics that remained without honor were removed, and they were transferred, either to the cathedral or to other churches worthy of these venerable remains. The translation of the relics of Saint Julian took place on July 25 of the year 840, and its memory is still celebrated today. Great and numerous miracles occurred on this occasion. Our Saint continued at the same time to restore the splendor of worship and divine offices in his church. He had twelve bells cast and placed them in several bell towers that decorated the venerable edifice. He also promulgated a very detailed constitution on lighting and incense; regulations of more general interest were adopted in a synod he held in the month of May of the same year. One admires above all this charitable provision worthy of being restored: "When any priest happens to die, the dean in whose district he is located shall be responsible for taking note of it and giving notice of it to the next synod, so that the priests may celebrate twelve masses for his intention, and that they may recite the vigils of the dead composed of nine psalms, nine lessons and as many responsories, and that they may join to them the office of Lauds."

These assemblies of the diocesan clergy were held every year, or even twice each year; all the clergy and even the deacons and monks were summoned to them. Saint Aldric did not preside over them as often as he would have wished, because of the great affairs that often called him outside his diocese. He was replaced in this important function, not by the chorepiscopus or the suffragan bishop, who took his place whenever the episcopal character was required, but by the abbot of Saint-Vincent, who had possessed this right since the episcopate of the venerable Aiglibert. We also see from the acts of these synods that the diocese of Le Mans was administered by rural deans, of whom it is probable that Aldric was the founder: above them were the archpriests, who seem to have long been two in number in this diocese. If most of these acts were not lost, one would undoubtedly find there, as in those of Tours, a host of recommendations in favor of the people, such as establishing schools in each parish. Indeed, the archbishop of Tours, Hérard, had proposed our holy prelate as a model in the government of his church. Having the greatest veneration for the usages of the Roman Church, Aldric introduced or consolidated at Le Mans the custom of stations; the people and clergy would go in crowds to the different churches to celebrate the feasts proper to them, for example the anniversary of a dedication; and God authorized these pious solemnities through miracles. The contemporary historians and disciples of Saint Aldric say that two or three notebooks could not have contained the history of the miraculous healings of all kinds of diseases, performed in the mother church, during the episcopate of the holy bishop. He also received a great distinction, the dearest after those that come directly from God: Pope Gregory IV, who knew his zeal for the good of his church, his labors for the maintenance of ecclesiastical discipline and all his great qualities, sent him the priestly ornaments he had used himself in the solemnity of Easter, then a crozier which he had also gifted to him, and finally a letter filled with tenderness, inviting him to come and see him, and promising him all sorts of favors and blessings.

However, Louis the Pious had died on June 20, 840. Immediately, war broke out between his sons: Lothair planned to invade the entire paternal inheritance; he incited the Aquitanians and the Bretons against Charles, who ravaged the counties of the Loire and Maine as far as the Mayenne, then he advanced to the city of Chartres, forcing the people to recognize his authority, and confiscating the property of the lords who refused to obey him. There were many defections, even on the part of the bishops. But Aldric did not forget that his friend Louis the Pious had entrusted his young Charles to him, and that he had sworn an oath of fidelity to the latter. Lothair's emissaries, it is true, spared nothing to win him over; but neither promises nor threats could shake his constancy. The two counts who governed Maine in the name of Charles the Bald were n o less devoted to Charles le Chauve Emperor who confirmed the rights of the priory in the 9th century. him. But the petty tyrants raised the standard of revolt everywhere; under the pretext of joining Lothair's party, they worked to make themselves independent. The greatest troubles broke out in Maine; the property of the Church and the monasteries was soon given over to pillage, and Bishop Aldric was forced to flee. He took refuge with King Charles, sharing his fate and his designs. Charles, whether by his arms or by his bad faith, for he promised everything without keeping anything to those who submitted, promptly reconquered Neustria, won, with his brother the German, a decisive victory over Lothair on June 25, 841, between Thury and Fontenay-en-Puisaye, in the Auxerrois, and came for the second time to restore the holy bishop to Le Mans himself. Peace was not thereby restored to this region: Lothair launched bands of pagan Normans there, who abandoned themselves to every excess. Even the Treaty of Verdun, which in 843 put an end to all division between the three princes Lothair, Louis, and Charles, did not appease the troubles of Neustria, where the authority of the weak Charles the Bald was ignored by the petty sovereigns. Nominoe declared himself independent, took the title of King of Brittany, and pushed his invasions as far as Maine, which he ravaged in 844 and the following years. Until the end of his life, our holy bishop saw his church become the prey of either the Bretons or the Normans; he struggled with constancy against these disasters, rebuilding the ruins as they were made.

The internal administration of his diocese did not prevent him from attending several councils, where the Church fought the barbarism that threatened to engulf what remained in France of light, human dignity, and rights. Paralysis did not allow him to go to the one in Soissons; he excused himself in a letter to the bishops who composed it, conjuring them to pray for him during his life and after his death, which he regarded as near. It arrived indeed two years later, on January 7, 856, after an episcopate of twenty-four years and sixteen days. He was buried in the abbey church of Saint-Vincent and Saint-Laurent, which he had repair ed. The wonders that occurred at église abbatiale de Saint-Vincent Burial place of Saint Aldric. his tomb were striking signs of the glory he enjoyed in heaven. These miracles have not ceased to attract a large crowd of pilgrims to his sanctuary, until the French Revolution, whether from Maine or from more distant lands. Our fathers, says Dom Piolin, still saw a marvelous oil flowing from the marble that covered his holy relics, which restored health to the sick. The church of Le Mans celebrates his memory on the fourth day of January, although he is honored in other places on the day of his rest in the Lord, the seventh of the same month.

In recounting the actions of this holy prelate, instead of praising his virtues, we have wanted to show, through facts, how he was the father of his people, and how much he contributed to the prosperity of his province. To his zeal for preaching the truths of religion, his constancy in defending orthodoxy, his love for the poor, and his tenderness for the clergy and religious, must be added another virtue: his solicitude for the redemption of captives. He was one of the holy figures who did the most for the abolition of slavery.

We have composed the summary of his life with the History of the Church of Le Mans, by the Reverend Father Dom Piolin.