A nephew of Saint Wandrille and allied to the kings of Austrasia, Saint Gaon renounced worldly greatness for monastic life at Fontenelle and later solitude in Oye. After a journey to Rome to enrich the Church with relics and books, he ended his days as an anchorite. His cult is particularly vibrant in Langres and Franche-Comté, where he became the patron saint of glovers through paronomasia.
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SAINT GAON, ANCHORITE (7th century).
Origins and early commitments
Coming from a noble family of Austrasia, Gaon followed the example of his uncle Saint Wandrille by renouncing the world for the monastic life at Saint-Romain and then at Fontenelle.
Saint Gaon Saint Gaon 7th-8th century anchorite, co-founder of Fontenelle and hermit at Oye. was born in the territory of Verdun to a family allied by blood to the kings of Austrasia. Following the example of his m aternal uncle, saint Vandrille Abbot of Fontenelle and mentor of Erembert. Saint Wandrille, he despised the pleasures and grandeurs of the world that had seduced him for some time, distributed his goods to the poor, and applied himself in solitude to prayer and the practices of penance. He spent several years with his uncle at the monastery of Saint-Romain, on Mount Jou, in Franche-Comté. He followed him into the Pays de Caux and built with him the l'abbaye de Fontenelle Abbey where Giraud spent his final days as a reformer and martyr. abbey of Fontenelle, on an estate they held fro m their co Archambaut Mayor of the palace of Clovis II and cousin of Gaon. usin Archambaut, mayor of the palace of Clovis II.
Journey to Rome and cultural contributions
Gaon traveled to Rome where he was received by Pope Vitalian; he brought back relics and sacred texts essential to religious and scientific development.
After building four churches there, Saint Gaon traveled to Rome in order to obtain relics. Pope V italian received Le pape Vitalien Pope from 657 to 671, defender of discipline and orthodoxy against Monothelitism. him with extreme kindness and fulfilled his desires. Gaon brought back precious relics, copies of the Bible, liturgical books, and several works by the ancient Fathers of the Church: such that such journeys were useful not only to religion, but also to the progress of science.
Retreat and life as an anchorite
Seeking absolute solitude, he left Fontenelle to found a hermitage at Oye, near Sézanne, where he died at the end of the 8th century.
There were soon up to three hundred religious at Fontenelle. Saint Gaon, who preferred absolute solitude above all else, withdrew, with the consent of his uncle, to a wild place named Oye Oye Site of the hermitage of Gaon near Sézanne. , Augia, located two leagues from Sézanne-en-Brie. He built a hermitage there, where he ended his days in holiness at the decline of the 8th century.
History and posthumous devotion
The monastery of Oye, devastated by the Normans and then restored by a noblewoman named Eve, became a priory dependent on Montier-la-Celle.
On September 16, 1621, his body was solemnly recognized at the monastery of Saint-Gaon established at the place where the hermit had died.
Augie, or Oye in Champagne, was at first only a simple cell, for it does not appear that Gaon held the title of abbot. This place, laid waste in the ninth century by the invasions of the Normans, was raised from its ruins by a lady named Eve, who founded a monastery there. This new establishment bore the title of abbey until 1334, the time at which it was reduced to a priory, under the dependence of Montier-la-Celle. It was called the priory of Saint-Gand.
Regional cult and patronage of glovers
Venerated in Franche-Comté and Champagne, his name, distorted into 'Gand', led glovers to choose him as their patron saint.
Some memory of this religious saint has remained in Franche-Comté, and a parish in the diocese of Besançon still bears his name today and honors him as its special protector. This is Saint-Gand, near Gray. He is venerated with a particular cult in some provinces on this side of the Loire. His name has been altered in the common tongue. He has been called Saint Gon, and especially Saint Gand, and it is by allusion to this latter denomination that the glove rs or ta gantiers Professional guild that chose Saint Gand as its patron. wers chose him as their patron.
The procession of Langres
An annual procession was established in Langres in 1632 following a vow to end the plague, durably linking the saint to the city.
Every year, on May 26, a solemn pro cession Langres City of origin of the cleric Warnahaire and several cited martyrs. is held in Langres through the streets of the city in honor of Saint Gaon. It is the fulfillment of a vow that dates back to the year 1632. It was prompted by a plagu e tha peste Epidemic that prompted the vow of the city of Langres. t combined with the misfortunes of war and carried off a third of the population in Langres and its surroundings. It was only the renewal of an initial vow made at the beginning of the 17th century. During this procession, relics of the anchorite, which were preciously enshrined, were carried. They were in the treasury of the church of Saint-Pierre. The feast of Saint Gaon is celebrated throughout the diocese, although he does not belong to it by his birth nor by any circumstance of his life.
Cf. Baillet, Boll., Saints de Franche-Comté, Saints de la Haute-Marne.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Distribution of his goods to the poor
- Stay at the monastery of Saint-Romain on Mont Jou
- Foundation of the Abbey of Fontenelle with Saint Wandrille
- Journey to Rome to visit Pope Vitalian to obtain relics and books
- Retreat in solitude at Oye (Augia) near Sézanne-en-Brie
- Solemn recognition of his body on September 16, 1621
Miracles
- Cessation of the plague in Langres following a vow and a procession in his honor