Saint Patroclus, a native of Berry in the 6th century, left the court of King Childebert to embrace the clerical life in Bourges. After founding a monastery at Colombiers and an oratory at Néris, he lived for eighteen years as a recluse at La Celle in extreme austerity. Dying an octogenarian in 577, he is famous for his miracles of exorcism and the fervor of his cult in Berry and Bourbonnais.
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SAINT PATROCLUS, RECLUSE IN BERRY (circa 577).
Youth and clerical vocation
Born in Berry, Patroclus trained at the court of King Childebert before refusing marriage to enter the clergy of Bourges under Bishop Arcadius.
Saint Patroclu Saint Patrocle Recluse of Berry and founder of the monastery of Colombier. s, born in Berry to a humble family, tended his father Ethereus's flocks in his youth. Having applied himsel f to s Éthère Father of Saint Patroclus. tudy, he made great progress. He completed his training with a lord attached to the court of Childebert, King of Paris. His mother, h Childebert King of the Franks who supported the saint. aving become a widow, called him back and proposed that he marry. But he replied that he had other intentions, without explaining them to her. He went to ask for clerical status from Arcadius , Bish Arcade Bishop of Bourges who ordained Patroclus. op of Bourge s. The Bourges City where Leopardin received his episcopal blessing. prelate, who knew his virtues and enlightenment, agreed to his request, and some time later, he ordained him a deacon. Patroclus lived at first in the community of clerics. He applied himself greatly to vigils, fasts, prayer, and the reading of Holy Scripture, and he already thirsted for solitude. Raised to the priesthood, and feeling the desire to lead a more perfect life, he retired near the town of Néris (Allier), wher e he Néris Site of the first retreat of Patroclus. built an oratory in honor of Saint Martin and occupied himself with the instruction of children. His holiness soon made him known, and possessed persons were brought to him from all sides, whom he delivered. Resolved to leave this place to find the solitude he no longer enjoyed, he established a community of nuns near his oratory and left Néris without taking anything other than the tools he needed to build himself a cell in the depths of some forest. He subsequently built the monastery of Colombier (Columberiense), about five leagues from his Colombier Site of the monastery founded by the saint and of his tomb. new dwelling, but he gave the governance of it to another, so as not to be obliged to abandon his retreat. He wore a hair shirt continually and never drank wine. He lived only on bread soaked in water with a little salt, and he only interrupted the exercise of his prayer to read Holy Scripture or to occupy himself with some work. He was one day tempted by the demon; then he had a vision, and, having climbed to the top of a high column that an angel pointed out to him, he saw the world unfold before his eyes as it was, with its homicides, its thefts, its wars, its adulteries, and all its shames; then he cried out: "I beseech you, Lord, that I may never return to this environment of perversities that I have forgotten since I have been in your service." He died at the age of about eighty, around the year 577. He was buried at Colombiers (Cher), and miracles occurred at his tomb.
First retreat at Néris
Having become a priest, he settled in Néris where he founded an oratory and a community of nuns while performing miraculous healings.
An ancient woodblock used to reproduce the image of the Saint is preserved at Colombiers. It depicts an abbot casting the demon out of a possessed woman. The Saint places his fingers in the mouth of the sick woman, and the demon escapes from it in the form of a monster surrounded by smoke. An angel mounted on a high column holds a book in his left hand, and with his right, he points to a banner on which these words can be read: *Desine ergo mundum quærere, ne pereas cum eo*.
The hermitage and monastery of Colombier
Seeking absolute solitude, he ventured into the forest to build the monastery of Colombier and led a life of extreme asceticism punctuated by visions.
Beneath one of these images, an abridged history of the pious hermit was placed; it is as follows: "Saint Patrocle was from Berry; he was ordained a priest by Saint Arcade, Archbishop of Bourges; he flourished in the 6th century; he resided at Néris, t hen at L La Celle Place of the saint's death. a Celle, for eighteen years; he died at the age of eighty, on November 18, around th e year 577. Richard Ier Archbishop of Bourges who oversaw the exhumation of the saint in 1076. Richard I, Archbishop of Bourges, had his body removed from the sepulcher on October 9 of the year 1076; people flocked from all parts to his tomb."
Death and cult of the relics
After his death in 577 at La Celle, his relics were the subject of disputes between cities before being solemnly transferred to Colombiers in 1076.
A circumstance which is not found there, but which is mentioned in a *History of the Desert Fathers*, is that Patroclus was held in honor at the court of the King of France. He escaped all these grandeurs to avoid their vices. It was then that his mother wanted to marry him off, but he refused, in order to give himself entirely to God. The place where he died, *Medi Mediocantus Place of the saint's death. ocantus*, in French Lachamp, is in the parish of La Celle, whose church is placed under the patronage of Saint Patroclus.
Patroclus had expressed the desire to be buried at Colombiers, where he had built the church. When his disciples set about transporting his body from La Celle to Colombiers, the inhabitants of Néris, who had kept his memory alive, set about taking it; but a miracle from heaven came to settle the matter. The garments that covered the holy body suddenly shone with an extraordinary light. The archpriest of Néris was so surprised by this that he immediately revoked his plan, and joining his voice to that of the assistants, they all went together to deposit the Saint in the very monastery of Colombiers. A popular tradition speaks of a real battle that took place on this occasion, between the inhabitants of Néris or La Celle and those of Colombiers. Everything leads one to believe that the battle, of which the children of Saint Patroclus residing in Colombiers are still proud, occurred, not on the day of the burial, since there is no mention of it in the legend of the Saint, but five centuries later, during the exhumation of the relics of the virtuous hermit. Many corpses, found on various occasions near the church, are said to be the result of this crusade which aimed to take a body that the faithful of Colombiers defended to the utmost.
Heritage and local devotion
The cult of Saint Patroclus endures in Colombiers through annual pilgrimages and a Romanesque church now dedicated to him.
The remains of the blessed hermit rest today in the church of Colombiers. They are placed in a double reliquary of lead and oak. Two feasts are held each year in honor of Saint Patroclus: the main one on November 18, the day of his death, and the other on October 9, the day of the translation of his relics. These two solemnities are still impressive; not only the local people, but pilgrims from the Marche and Berry come to venerate these precious remains.
Nothing remains in Colombiers of the monastery built by Saint Patroclus: it was destroyed by brigands who, in the Middle Ages, devastated the Bourbonnais. It was replaced by a priory whose incumbents were appointed by the prior of Souvigny. The priors did not exerc ise thei Souvigny Institution upon which the priory of Colombiers depended. r duties there; the priory was served by priests on a fixed stipend.
The church of Colombiers was rebuilt in the 12th century; it is one of the beautiful monuments of the province. It has three naves. Originally dedicated to Saint Peter, it is now under the title of Saint Patroclus. A very particular piety reigns in Colombiers; it is attributed to Saint Patroclus, who is regarded as an ancestor and a model. His memory is still alive in the region.
Sources of the saint's life
The account is based on the ancient Proper of Bourges, the History of the Desert Fathers, and notes from Abbé Bondant.
Ancient Proper of Bourges, supplemented by means of notes due to the extreme kindness of the late Abbé Bondant, parish priest of Chantelle.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Tended his father Éthère's flocks
- Education at the court of King Childebert
- Ordination as deacon by Bishop Arcade of Bourges
- Retirement in Néris and construction of an oratory to Saint Martin
- Foundation of a community of nuns in Néris
- Foundation of the monastery of Colombier
- Life as a recluse at La Celle (Lachamp) for eighteen years
- Died at the age of eighty
- Translation of relics on October 9, 1076
Miracles
- Deliverance of numerous demoniacs
- Vision of an angel on a column showing the vices of the world
- Extraordinary light emanating from his garments during the transfer of his body
Quotes
-
I beseech you, Lord, that I may never return to this environment of perversities that I have forgotten since I have been in your service
Words of the Saint during his vision -
Desine ergo mundum quærere, ne pereas cum eo
Inscription on the angel's scroll