Elected Bishop of Cahors around 752, Ambrois fought against the depravity of morals and the looting by Duke Walfre before retreating into solitude. After a pilgrimage to Rome and a stay in Tours, he ended his days as a hermit in Berry. His relics were transferred to Bourges where a monastery was dedicated to him.
Guided reading
4 reading sections
SAINT AMBROIS OR AMBROIX,
Election and pastoral failure
Elected Bishop of Cahors around 752 to restore the local Church, Ambrois encountered the depravity of morals and the hostility of Duke Walfre.
Around the year 752, after the death of Bishop Saint Capuan, the Church of Cahors was tried for fifty years by various calamities. Am brois w Ambrois Bishop of Cahors and later a hermit in Berry in the 8th century. as elected in the hope that he would remedy these evils. He was a man equal to his office, of proven virtue, possessing the knowledge of the Scriptures, embraced with zeal for the salvation of souls, and doing first what he taught to others; but the depravity of morals was such that he could not, neither by his speeches nor by his examples, bring his people back to a better state. Hoping therefore for no fruit from his labors, and persecuted moreover by Walfre, Duke of Aquitai Walfre, duc d'Aquitaine Duke of Aquitaine and persecutor of the saint. ne, who was plundering the goods of the Church, he withdrew into a cave located near Cahors, where he lived hidden, always in the austerities of penance, in tears and prayer. After three years he was discovered, but having refused to resume his seat, upon the offer made to him by his successor, he went on a pilgrimage to the threshold of the holy Apostles.
Retirement and pilgrimage
After hiding in a cave and refusing to resume his see, he went on a pilgrimage to Rome to the tombs of the Apostles.
Upon returning to France, he visited the tomb of Saint Martin in Tours, after which he retired to Seris, a town that subsequently took the name of the Saint (Saint-Ambroix, Cher, arrondissement of Bourges, canton of Charost), and located in Berry on the banks of the Auron. He remained there for a long time unknown, and ended his life very holily in the cell he had built with his own hands. After having long received the honors of the faithful in this place, his body, transferred to Bourges, was deposited in the church of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, near which a monastery was built dedicated in honor of Saint Ambrois, a m saint Ambrois Bishop of Cahors and later a hermit in Berry in the 8th century. onastery which was showered with privileges b y Gaufroy, Viscount of Bour Gaufroy, vicomte de Bourges Viscount of Bourges and benefactor of the monastery. ges, and which existed until the disastrous days of the French Revolu révolution française Period during which the saint's relics were hidden and lost. tion.
Eremitic life in Berry
Upon returning to France, he settled in Seris in Berry, where he led a life of solitary prayer until his death.
*Proper of Bourges.*
Cult and legacy in Bourges
His remains were transferred to Bourges where a monastery, founded by Viscount Gaufroy, perpetuated his memory until the Revolution.
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Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Election to the bishopric of Cahors around 752
- Retreated to a cave near Cahors to escape the persecutions of Walfre
- Pilgrimage to Rome (threshold of the holy Apostles)
- Visit to the tomb of Saint Martin in Tours
- Final retreat in Seris (Berry) in a cell built with his own hands
- Translation of his relics to Bourges