Saint Ismeon or Ismidon of Sassenage

The canons of this church followed an austere rule at that time and formed a community of true religious. Ismidon found among them models of perfection, which he made it his duty to imitate, and which he soon surpassed by his angelic fervor. His talents, his virtues, and his holiness did not take long to attract the gaze and admiration of the people and clergy of Lyon; his reputation spread far and wide; but by signaling his merit everywhere, it hastened the moment that was to tear him away from the solitary life of the cloister. There was then on the see of Di e a Die Episcopal city of which Ismidon was bishop for twenty years. venerated prelate named Bernar Bernard Predecessor of Ismidon on the see of Die and former prior of Portes. d, former prior of the Charterhouse of Por chartreuse de Portes Monastery of which Bernard was the former prior. tes, to whom his old age and great infirmities no longer allowed him to bear the burden of pastoral care. Bernard needed a coadjutor. He cast his eyes on the young canon, whose zeal and eminent piety he had heard praised many times. The clergy of Die, informed of this happy choice, testified to the liveliest satisfaction, and the people loudly blessed heaven for having inspired it. All voices having united in this way in favor of Ismidon, they hastened to notify him. In vain did he appear saddened by this news; in vain did he strive to distance from his person an honor of which he did not believe himself worthy, no regard was paid to the alarms of his humility; the bishop did everything in his power to overcome his resistance; the people joined their prayers to those of the prelate, and shortly after, that is to say around the year 1099, Ismidon finally consented to receive episcopal consecration, and headed toward Die, where he entered to the applause of the entire city.

The holy old man who had chosen him as coadjutor was so consoled by his presence, so amazed by his virtues, that he thought only of preparing himself for death. God, in fact, called him to Himself before he could have appreciated at its true value the treasure with which he had just enriched his Church. Ismidon mourned him as a father, and was immediately carried to the episcopal seat, which he was to illustrate by twenty years of labors and wonders.

Soon, the hopes that had been conceived of his high wisdom and incomparable piety were seen to be realized. Never did a prelate have more solicitude and love for his flock; he was more than a pastor, say the historians of his time, he was the best of fathers. His faith, his modesty, his patience, his gentleness delighted everyone; his devotion worked wonders; his examples and his discourses touched hearts with such effectiveness that soon the city and the diocese of Die had changed their face. Thus, Ismidon's flock was tenderly attached to him: it would have been difficult at that time, in the Church of the Gauls, to find a people more devoted to their bishop, more docile to his voice, more faithful imitators of all his virtues. The labors and virtues of this blessed bishop excited the admiration not only of his flock, but also of all the neighboring provinces, and everyone was so convinced of his holiness that they did not hesitate to place him in the first rank among the most distinguished prelates of his era.

However, only a few memories of Ismidon's long episcopate remain to us. The documents charged with transmitting the history of his life perished during the troubles which, in the 16th century, devastated his Church.

Around the time when our holy bishop was raised to the see of Die, most of the French lords, barons, and knights had abandoned their castles and families to go to war in the Holy Land. The crusade had been resolved at the famous Council of Clermont in 1095. Peter the Hermit and Pope Urban II, through their b urning eloquen pape Urbain II Pope who preached the First Crusade. ce, had so electrified our valiant nation that from one end of France to the other, nothing was heard but this war cry: "God wills it! God wills it!" Dauphiné provided this expedition with numerous soldiers and illustrious leaders. Adhémar, of the ancient and noble family of the lords of Grignan, was placed at their head and distinguished himself so much at the siege of Antioch that all the crusaders attributed to him the glory of the capture of that city. Isoard, Count of Die, signaled no less valor in this memor Isoard, comte de Die Count of Die and crusader who accompanied Ismidon to Palestine. able affair by commanding the eleventh battalion of the Christian army on the day of the final battle that secured victory for the crusaders. These successes were the sole preoccupation of minds in the West; all eyes were turned toward Palestine.

Priests and bishops, lords and vassals, everyone aspired to the honor of enlisting under the banner of the cross and filling the numerous gaps that the plague and the enemy's sword had made in the ranks of the Christian army. Ismidon was still young at that time; he too burned with the desire to march for the deliverance of the Holy Places, and he would have undertaken the journey overseas then and there, had his parents not opposed the execution of his plan. He was therefore forced to obey and postponed his project; but the capture of Antioch, and especially that of Jerusalem, which took place the very year of his consecration, excited in him once again such a violent desire to take up the cross and go visit the Holy Sepulcher that he almost regretted having accepted the leadership of a Church that imperiously demanded his presence in its midst. He therefore provided in all haste for the needs of his flock; and as soon as he had ensured that nothing in his diocese would suffer from his absence, he departed from Die and headed toward Palestine, where he arrived safely, despite the fatigues and dangers of such a long pilgrimage.

It is easy to imagine the happiness our holy bishop felt when he finally saw places illustrated by so many wonders; when, led no doubt by the lord Isoard, his noble diocesan, he visited the to seigneur Isoard Count of Die and crusader who accompanied Ismidon to Palestine. mb of Jesus Christ, whose deliveranc e had cost the crusader tombeau de Jésus-Christ Holy city where the Cross was lost and subsequently recovered. s so dearly; when, traveling through the various towns of Palestine, he encountered at every step so many religious monuments whose sight recalled a host of memories, all so apt to touch the heart of a bishop and console his faith.

Ismidon took advantage of his stay in the Holy Places, not to gather laurels in the wake of the Christian army, but to seek treasures which, in his eyes, were of inestimable price. He obtained a great quantity of relics, with which he later enriched his cathedral church, and in honor of which he established a solemn feast, which was formerly celebrated in Die on the 7th of the month of September.

The return of the blessed bishop to the midst of his flock was a true triumph, so much had they feared losing him, and so much had his absence caused alarm and regret. From that day on, his zeal and paternal devotion knew no bounds; his life was nothing but a continuous chain of labors, prayers, and miracles. To instruct his people, always so eager to hear him, to catechize children and the ignorant, to console and assist the poor, to visit monasteries, to provide for the needs of all parishes, to excite the zeal of pastors, to become, in a word, all things to all men to win his flock for Jesus Christ—such was, for twenty years, the conduct of Saint Ismidon: thus God was pleased many times to manifest the holiness of his servant through numerous wonders. One day, a furious wolf having descended from the mountains in the midst of which the city of Die is located, a child happened to be in its path and was about to become its prey; the cruel animal had already seized him, when Ismidon, having seen it, began to pray and blessed the unfortunate child. Suddenly, the wolf, struck with terror, took flight, leaving him on the ground without having inflicted the slightest wound. Another time, an assassin having furtively entered the episcopal palace, Ismidon came calmly to meet him, and presenting himself before him, he saw him fall backward, struck by sudden death. Finally, the tomb itself obeyed the holy prelate, for it is asserted that he resurrected two dead men who had already been buried, and whose shrouds were long preserved in his cathedral church as two precious relics.

A life so full of wonders and good works was to be crowned by a holy death. Ismidon died, indeed, the death of the just, in the year 1120, amidst the tears of his people who, from then on, honored him with a public cult soon justified by new miracles; for, a few days later, a corpse having been lowered into the tomb of our Saint, recovered life there by a prodigy similar to that which occurred at the sepulcher of the prophet Elisha. A church was built in honor of Saint Ismidon, and his body was preserved there preciously until the year 1567, a time of sinister memory, when the city of Die was sacked b y the Huguen ville de Die Episcopal city of which Ismidon was bishop for twenty years. ots. These vandals rui ned the c Huguenots Group that ransacked Die and destroyed the saint's relics in 1567. hurch dedicated to the holy Bishop, burned his relics, and cast their ashes to the wind. Those of Saint Stephen, one of Ismidon 's successors saint Étienne Successor of Ismidon whose relics were also burned. , met the same fate; but this act of mad impiety did not erase from the hearts of the people of Die the memory of the benefits and virtues of their holy Pontiffs. Their feast is still celebrated each year in their cathedral church, and the city that had the happiness of possessing them formerly as pastors, still regards them today as its patrons, and will always invoke them as the most powerful intercessors it has before God.

Excerpt from the Hagiological History of the Diocese of Valence, by Abbé Nudal. — Cf. Colombi, De rebus gestis episc. Diensium.