Saint Tenenan

He traveled to Armorican Brittany and sought a deserted place; having found one, he built a cell there in the ancient diocese of Léon, on the banks of the Elorn river, in the place that has since been called by his name Lan-Tinidor o r Lan-Derne Lan-Derneau Site of the saint's initial hermitage on the banks of the Elorn. au. He lived there for several years, known to few people, because the place was inaccessible due to the density of the forest of Benzic, in the middle of which he had chosen his dwelling. On the other side of the river, there was another forest just as thick, then called the forest of Thalamon. Despite the care the servant of God took to hide himself, his reputation pierced these dark forests, and, spreading on all sides, attracted a prodigious number of people who came from everywhere to ask him for the health of their souls and bodies.

The church of Léon having lost its bishop, the clergy and the people gathered in the cathedral to proceed with the election of a new pastor; and the Holy Spirit, whom they invoked, inspired them to choose Saint Tenenan, and to prefer him to all those whom they had thought could be considered for elevation to the honor of the episcopate. All sentiments united as soon as Tenenan was proposed, and everyone cried out that he alone was worthy to occupy the see of Saint Paul. He was the only one to disapprove of this unanimous choice, and he used all the lights of his mind and all the force of his eloquence to make himself appear contemptible, to persuade them of his alleged unworthiness, and to escape the burden they wished to place upon him. He finally gave his consent only when the will of God, fully known, left him no freedom not to obey. He was consecrated bishop, and the holy anointing, giving him more abundant graces, also gave his virtues a new luster, and made him appear as another man, as elevated by the sublimity of his perfection above the solitary Tenenan, as the solitary Tenenan had appeared e levated above oth Tenenan solitaire Bishop of Léon in the 7th century, hermit and founder. er men. It is presumed that he often frequented the church of Ploa-Bennec Ploa-Bennec Parish where the saint built a church and where his relics were kept. , which he had built during his stay in the forest.

It is impossible to say precisely where he died; Father Albert le Grand asserts that it was at Saint-Paul de Léon. The lessons of the Saint, published by the Bollandists, state the same. The Acts we have followed lead us to believe that it was at Ploa -Bennec, wh Ploa-Bennec Parish where the saint built a church and where his relics were kept. ere his relics were kept for some time. They were removed from there during the wars (it is not said which ones), and hidden in the pond of Meloïet with a bell. Th étang de Meloïet Place where relics and a bell were hidden. e bell remained in the pond, but the relics were removed from it and carried into the church. It appears that the Acts mean by this the church of Ploa-Bennec. It seems that the holy bishop ended his career around the year 635; this is at least the date indicated by the Proper of Léon. However, we cannot say exactly when Saint Tenenan lived. The ancient Breviary of his church marks his feast on July 16, with an office of nine lessons.

There are several parishes in the ancient diocese of Léon whose churches are dedicated to this holy bishop.

Near Locmaria (diocese of Quimper) is Notr e-Dame de Lesquellen, th Notre-Dame de Lesquellen Chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary founded by the saint. e work of Saint Tenenan, who believed he could not better begin his ministry than by raising a chapel to the Virgin on the height, next to the castle of Lesquellen, at the same time that he was building the church of Plabennec at the edge of the forest. Informed by divine inspiration of the approach of the barbarians who were coming to pillage the latter church, he carried away everything precious it contained to Notre-Dame de Lesquellen; and there, he began to pray, asking Mary to preserve the house of her divine Son from profanation. He was heard; the doors and windows resisted the rage of the barbarians. Furious to see their efforts powerless, they went up to Lesquellen to take revenge on Saint Tenenan; but at the moment they rushed upon the man of God, the plain appeared to them covered by a numerous army, commanded from the top of the hill, where, since then, people often come to invoke Mary, by a horseman mounted on a horse of dazzling whiteness, dressed in white himself, and sword in hand, encouraging his soldiers with a terrible voice. Frightened, they fled and left the country, never to return. Later becoming Bishop of Léon, Saint Tenenan received a visit from one of his priests, who could not be consoled for having dropped the holy host while carrying it to the sick, without being able to know where this misfortune had happened. The holy bishop turned to Mary, his usual refuge, and implored her to show him where the body of her Son was, to save it from profanation. A few hours later, while he was attending the office, a dove came to deposit on his prie-dieu a green oak branch, carrying in its branches a small wax tabernacle, made by a swarm of bees that were still surrounding it: he opened this tabernacle, found the host inside, and went to deposit it with joy in the ciborium while giving thanks to God. Les Saints de Bretagne, by Dom Lobineau. — Taken from the ancient Breviary and the Proper of Léon. See the Bollandists on July 16. — Cf. Notre-Dame de France.