Saint Maxentius

Adjutor, Adjuteur Abbot of Gaulish origin, spiritual founder of the Abbey of Saint-Maixent. also named Maxence and commonly Maixent, was born in Ag de, Agde Birthplace of the saint in Gallia Narbonensis. in Gallia Narbonensis, to a noble family around the year 448. His parents, who were pious, placed him under the guidance of the holy Abbot Seve rus. H Sévère Abbot who oversaw the education of Maxentius in Agde. is progress drew attention and excited the admiration of some and the jealousy of others. But the applause, even more than the contempt of the world, led him to take the path of retreat. He sheltered his humility there for two years, after which, obliged to return among his own, he seemed to bring back the abundance that was lacking for want of rain. This was a new reason to honor him as an angel descended from heaven, and as the fame of his holiness continued to grow, he left his country a second time and went to Poitou, with the in tentio Poitou Region of origin and veneration of the saint. n of hiding his life from the world. After praying at the tomb of Saint Hilar y, he went to saint Hilaire Bishop of Poitiers and Doctor of the Church, patron of Triaise. find the venerable priest Agapitus wh o, on Agapit Eldest son of Saint Eustace. the banks of the Sèvre Niortaise, twelve leagues from Poitiers, in a great valley known by the name of Vauclair, was guiding Vauclair Valley on the banks of the Sèvre Niortaise where the monastery was located. some servants of God in the ways of holiness.

Agapitus received him with kindness and admitted him among his disciples. To forget as much as possible his homeland, his family, and even himself, he changed his name from Adjutor to that of Maxence Abbot of Gaulish origin, spiritual founder of the Abbey of Saint-Maixent. Maxentius. His holiness soon shone in the eyes of his brothers, so much so that they, along with Agapitus, elected him as their abbot by common consent (around 500). He ate only barley bread and drank only water; he was so assiduous in prayer that his body remained bent, and his knees became calloused. The miracles he performed during his life and after his death sufficiently show how pleasing his conduct was to God.

During the war that Cl ovis, Clovis King of the Franks, mentioned to date the existence of the church. King of the Franks, waged ag ainst Alaric King of the Goths who conquered Touraine. Alaric, King of the Visigoths, a troop of soldiers advanced as far as the monastery. The frightened religious begged their abbot to save them from the sword of the barbarians. Maxentius advanced boldly toward the soldiers, and as one of them was already raising his sword to strike off the head of this monk whom he saw before him, his arm suddenly became stiff and remained motionless, pulled back behind his ear. Then the soldier threw himself at the feet of the Saint and implored his forgiveness. Maxentius blessed some oil with which he anointed the afflicted arm and healed it perfectly. He received numerous benefits from King Clovis. He died a septuagenarian in the monastery that subsequently bore his name and which his mir acles have made illus Ordre de Saint-Benoît Religious order occupying the monastery of Honnecourt. trious, in the year 515. It was an abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict.

He was buried in the church of Saint-Saturnin, under whose patronage his monastery was built. The latter, then of little importance, subsequently developed enough to become one of the foremost in the diocese of Poitiers. It is around these venerated walls and the church to which the sacred remains of the holy Confessor were transferred, around 940, that the current town of Saint-Maixent (Deux-S èvres) was fo Saint-Maixent Town formed around the saint's abbey. rmed.

In 1562, the Protestants scattered the precious relics of the man of God; what could be recovered after their departure did not escape the revolutionaries of '93, and the tomb of the Saint, which remained under the high altar of the church that had become a parish church, no longer contains more than a very small portion of him.

The Roman Martyrology indicates the feast of Saint Maixent on June 26, but the Church of Poitiers anticipates it on the previous day, the 26th being dedicated to celebrating the translation of the relics of Saint Hilary.

He is depicted with a dove above his head, which may signify divine intervention in the Saint's words. He is also painted in prayer in his cell, and surrounded by birds that come to visit him.

Proper of Poitiers. — Cf. Lives of the Saints of the Church of Poitiers, by Abbé Auber.