Saint Patern the Elder

Of the various Propers of Vannes, that of 1669 is the most accurate, and it is the one that should primarily serve as a guide. Patern was bo rn in Arm orica to a noble family; his Latin name alone proves that he belonged to a Gallo-Roman family and not a Breton one; moreover, at the time of his birth (around 420), the insular Britons had not yet sought refuge in Armorica.

He embraced the religious life, and it seems he followed some monks who were leaving Armorica to settle in Great Britain. He helped build a monastery there, and, although the yo ungest of the group, he was elected abbot by his companions. From there he went to Hibernia, and, after restoring concord between two ki ngs of t he island who had long been divided by an inveterate hatred, he returned to visit the brothers he had left in Great Britain, and then crossed back into Armorica.

At that time (405), Co nan-Meriadoc f ounded the church of Vannes. Established as governor of Armorica by t he tyrant Ma ximus, Emperor of the West, and confirmed in this function by the Emperor Theo dosius, he administered the Bretons in this capacity until they, abandoned by the Romans, elected him to be their king. This religious prince, zealous for the interests of Jesus Christ, erected two bishoprics in Armorica, that of Dol and that of Vannes. He gave to Dol as its first bishop Saint Se nior, and to Vannes, Saint Patern, requested by the vows of the entire city and all the faithful.

Raised to the episcopal ministry, Patern the Elder not only did not diminish his accustomed austerities, but applied himself even more than before to prayer, fasting, vigils, and study. To the virtues with which he already shone, he added an unequaled charity in feeding the poor and sheltering pilgrims. He propagated Christian piety in an astonishing manner through the expulsion of demons, the healing of diseases, and other miracles.

To immerse himself once more in the interior life, he built a small hermitage near Vannes and placed monks there. But they, dazzled by the brilliance of his virtues and too slow to follow him on the path of perfection, very soon began to cause him trouble. The holy Bishop also had some unpleasantness from the faithful. These circumstances, and perhaps others, decided him to resign at a provincial synod and to retire into the interior of Gaul. He lived there for a f ew mo re years and died holily towards the end of the century, on April 16, the day on which his memory has always been celebrated: he was more than ninety years old.

Since the body of Saint Patern became the prey of the revolutionaries in Issoudun, the fragments of relics preserved in Vannes have acquired a new value. These precious remains have long been the ornament and wealth of the church of Saint-Patern. Here is what we read in a report of a visitation made to Saint-Patern, on May 31, 1791, by municipal officers of the city: "Mr. Croizier (rector) showed us, in a sma ll cabin et of the presbytery, the head of Saint Patern, in silver, containing a relic of the Saint... He declared to us that the said head and the relic had been entrusted to his care as well as to that of his predecessors." This proves that the possession of this relic is well prior to the French Revolution.

Mr. Le Mené, honorary canon in Vannes.