Saint Mommolin
Second abbot of Fleury-sur-Loire in the 7th century, Saint Mommole is famous for having organized the transfer of the relics of Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica from Monte Cassino to France. Renowned for his gentleness and total absence of anger, he died in Bordeaux in 677 during a monastic reform mission in Aquitaine.
Contemporaries
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SAINT MOMMOLE, CONFESSOR,
The translation of the relics of Saint Benedict
Under divine order, Mommole organizes the transfer of the remains of Saint Benedict from Monte Cassino, devastated by the Lombards, to the Abbey of Fleury.
Saint Mommole Saint Mommole Second abbot of Fleury-sur-Loire, famous for the translation of the relics of Saint Benedict. , second abbot of Fleury-sur-Loir Fleury-sur-Loire Abbey of which Mommolus was the second abbot. e (Loiret), is famous for his monastic virtues, but above all for the incomparable treasure he procured for France; we speak of the body of Saint Bened ict, which r saint Benoît Founder of the Benedictine Order, cited as a chronological reference point. ested at Monte Cas sino (Terra Mont-Cassin A location in Italy where the relics of Saint Scholastica were kept. di Lavoro). The Lombards, who were ravaging Italy, having destroyed the monastery of Monte Cassino, Mommole received from heaven the order to have the remains of the holy patriarch, exposed to profanation, transported to Fleury. He entrusted this affair Aiguighe Disciple of Mommolus and future abbot of Lérins. to Aiguighe, his disciple, who was later a bbot of Saint-Honorat d Saint-Honorat de Lérins Famous monastery where Domitian stayed. e Lérins, in the former diocese of Grasse, the current diocese of Fréjus. The latter, under the guidance and with the help of God, successfully carried out this mission.
Virtues and final journey to Aquitaine
Renowned for his exceptional gentleness, Mommole traveled to Aquitaine at the end of his life to reform a monastery before falling ill in Bordeaux.
The life of Saint Mommole was adorned with every kind of virtue; but nothing equaled his kindness and gentleness. He confessed, at the point of death, that, with the help of God, he had never been troubled by the slightest movement of anger. To add new laurels to the crown that awaited him in heaven, he came, though burdened with years, to Aquitaine, with the intention, it is believed, of reviving the spirit of regularity in a monastery that had been placed under the dependence of the Abbey of Fleury. But he fell ill in Bordeau x, and d Bordeaux City and diocese of which Amand was bishop. ied in the monastery of Sainte-Croix, of the monastère de Sainte-Croix Benedictine monastery where Mommolus died and was buried. Order of Saint Benedict, where they lavished upon him, as the rule of this Order required, all the care of the most charitable hospitality. The monks had him piously buried.
Death, miracles, and cult in Bordeaux
Died in 677, he was buried at the Sainte-Croix Abbey in Bordeaux, where his tomb became a site of miraculous healings.
His tomb soon became the destination of a religious pilgrimage, because of the miracles that occurred there. The possessed, the paralyzed, the crippled, and the sick of all kinds obtained their healing there by praying to God through the intercession of Saint Mommole. He died in the fifth year of the reign of Clovis II King of the Franks under whom Aquilin served in the army. Clovis II (677), as indicated by an epitaph engraved on a marble slab and fixed to the wall next to his tomb. His feast is celebrated in the diocese of Bordeaux under the double rite on August 8.
Iconography and sources
The saint is depicted with a reliquary recalling his role in the transfer of the relics of Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica.
He is depicted holding a reliquary in his hand. This is to recall that it was he who brought the relics of Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica to France.
*Proper of Bordeaux.*
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Narrative network
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The supernatural in their life
The miracles of Saint Mommolin
Annexes & related entities
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Key Events
- Election as second abbot of Fleury-sur-Loire
- Received a heavenly command to transfer the remains of Saint Benedict
- Organization of the mission to translate relics from Monte Cassino
- Journey to Aquitaine to restore monastic regularity
- Died at the monastery of Sainte-Croix in Bordeaux