Saint Phal was a monk known for his long retreat and numerous miracles. His relics, initially kept at the Abbey of La Celle near Troyes, were dispersed among several churches in Champagne and Poitou. Some authors consider him to have been the coadjutor of Saint Vincent, Bishop of Troyes.
Guided reading
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MONASTERY OF SAINT-PHAL; — HIS RELICS.
Posthumous reputation and first translations
After his death, the renown of Saint Phal grew through miracles, leading to the renaming of his monastery and the transfer of his relics to La Celle, near Troyes.
It was undoubtedly after his death that his monastery took the n ame of Sai Saint-Phal Monk and saint whose cult is centered on Troyes and Poitou. nt-Phal, when many miracles, succeeding those he had performed during his long retreat, made his reputation for holiness shine all the more. One hundred years after this event, his relics were transported to the monastery of La Celle, which had just been built in the suburbium of Troyes. This w Troyes Episcopal see of Manasses. as, perhaps, a consequence of the ruin of his own, which the troubles of those difficult times must have exposed, like so many others, to frequent and decisive invasions. After this setback, the importance of the establishment diminished, but it survived through the centuries despite its decline, and, in 1779, Saint-Phal was still a priory o f the Abbey of Mo abbaye de Molesme Benedictine abbey upon which the priory of Saint-Phal depended. le sme, Order of Saint B Ordre de Saint-Benoît Religious order occupying the monastery of Honnecourt. enedict, in the diocese of Langres.
Expansion of the cult in Champagne and Poitou
The saint's name spread throughout Champagne, Burgundy, and as far as Poitou, where a church is dedicated to him near the Gartempe.
Today, the memory of the pious dwelling continues to live on the soil it had blessed. Having become the seat of a parish, the village of Saint-Phal has multiplied its name for other churches in Champagne and Burgundy. We do not know how this venerated name came to be established in the vicinity of the Gartempe, in Poitou, unless it was that at an uncertain but very distant time, the possession of some relic of the Saint, or an act of pious gratitude for some favor from heaven obtained through him, caused the church that bears his name to be built there.
This church still exists in part on a street in the town, the exit of which to the west leads back toward the river. It was a charming transitional building, abandoned and sold as national property in 1792, and repurchased in 1811 to serve as the chapel for a girls' school, run by the humble Daughters of the Cross. The na filles de la Croix Religious congregation that purchased the church of Maillé in the 19th century. ve was divided into classrooms and other annexes suitable for this purpose; the elevation, cut by a floor, allowed the former sanctuary to be preserved as a sacred space, whose elegant vault lets its light ribs fall onto perfectly treated foliate capitals that crown solid Gothic columns.
The benefice of Saint-Phèle of Maillé
Description of the revenues, dependencies, and chaplaincies attached to the church of Maillé before the French Revolution.
Saint-Phèle of Maillé Saint-Phèle de Maillé Monk and saint whose cult is centered on Troyes and Poitou. was, in 1789, a benefice-cure under the collation of the Bishop of Poitiers; a fairly large income was attached to it, and the presbytery adjoined it with its garden and several other dependencies, of which the teaching sisters have only a very small share. One of these dependencies, very vast and still existing, is still designated by the name of the Bishop's Barn.
Finally, two chaplaincies, one of Notre-Dame, the other of Saint-Roch, were served in Saint-Phèle of Maillé. They were also under the collation of the parish priest of Saint-Pierre. The latter was worth twenty-five livres of income, for which a mass was owed by the chaplain.
Peregrinations and recognitions of the relics
Chronology of the movements of the relics between Troyes and Saint-André-lès-Troyes, including the episcopal recognitions of the 19th century.
The relics of Saint Phal were, for long centuries, kept in the abbey of Meutier-la-Celle.
On January 5, 1640, his head was given to the parish that bears his name, in the diocese of Troy es: this relic wa diocèse de Troyes Episcopal see of Manasses. s visited on May 23, 1842, and placed in a new reliquary.
On August 24, 1791, the revolutionary district granted his reliquary to the church of Saint-André-lès-Troyes: on May 11, 1802, this reliquary having been opened, the authentic documents were found inside. In 1828, they were again recognized by the episcopal authority.
In 1863, Mgr de la Tour-du-Pi Mgr de la Tour-du-Pin Bishop who enriched his cathedral with a relic of the saint in 1863. n had enriched his cathedral with a bone extracted from the reliquary of the Saint-André church.
Identity and historical sources
Mention of his supposed role as coadjutor to Saint Vincent of Troyes and presentation of documentary sources.
Some authors suggest that Saint Phal was a coadjutor to Saint Vincent, Bishop of Troyes. Cf. the Ancien Propre de Troyes; Probationes cultus Sanctorum dioecesis Treirecis: there is in this memoir, presented in Rome by Mgr Ravinet, a whole mine of precious information; Soincis et Soincies d'Auvergne, by J. Branche; Notes d'un voyage archéologique à Saint-Pierre de Maillé (Vienne), by Saint-Pierre de Maillé Locality in Poitou housing a church dedicated to the saint. Abbé Auber, etc.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Long monastic retreat
- Translation of relics to the monastery of La Celle one hundred years after his death
- Donation of his head to the parish of Saint-Phal on January 5, 1640
- Recognition of relics in 1802, 1828, and 1842
- Enrichment of Troyes Cathedral with a relic in 1863
Miracles
- Miracles during his retreat
- Posthumous miracles that increased his reputation