Saint Viventiolus

This is the testimony rendered to him by one of the greatest prelates of his c entury, Sai saint Avite Bishop of Clermont in the 6th century, initial founder of Notre-Dame du Port. nt Avitus, Bishop of Vienne, whose esteem and affection he had managed to earn. He composed learned works which the ravages of time have destroyed, but which still existed three centuries after him, and which led A gobard, Agobard Bishop of Lyon in the 9th century who praised Viventiolus. one of the greatest bishops of Lyon, to say: "Viventiole was famous for his own works and celebrated by those of others."

After the death of Saint Oyend, which occurred on January 1, 510, some disturbances arose in the monastery of Condat, perhaps due to the appointment of his successor. Viventiole, who may have feared that the votes would be cast for him, chose the time of the election to undertake a journey to Lyon. He was in that city when he received a letter from Saint Avitus, Bishop of Vienne, thanking him for a wooden stool that had been very artistically crafted. Saint Avitus, in gratitude, wished him an episcopal chair soon, and exhorted him to take over the government of the monastery of Saint-Oyend, in order to prepare himself for the fullness of the priesthood. This wish of Saint Avitus was a kind of prediction. The Church of Lyon having shortly after lost its bishop Saint Stephen, Viventiole was placed on the see o f that city, around siège de cette ville Episcopal see of Saint Eucher. the year 514, and the friendship that united him with Avitus became even closer. It was Avitus himself who had chosen and designated him to be Bishop of Lyon. Saint Viventiole attended the Council of Agaune, today Saint-Maurice in Valais (Switzerland), which assembled on May 1, 516, through the efforts of Sigismund, King of Burg Sigismond, roi de Bourgogne King of Burgundy to whom Pelade predicted his ruin. undy, in the monastery newly built by that prince. He delivered, in this Synod, a speech which has been preserved for the most part, and which attests to the deep knowledge the holy bishop had of the ways of God and monastic discipline, and the zeal with which he sought to keep ignorance and the slightest disorders away from the cloisters.

In concert with Saint Avitus, he convened th e Council of Epa concile d'Epaone Provincial council held in 517 to organize the Church in the Burgundian kingdom. one, which assembled on September 6, 517. Twenty-four bishops of Burgundy were seen gathered there, among whom was Claudius I, Bishop of Besançon. Forty canons were made there regarding ecclesiastical discipline and the rule of morals. The thirtieth canon condemned marriages between a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law. It applied to Stephen, steward of the finances of King Sigismund, who had married Palladia, the sister of his first wife. Sigismund took up the defense of the culprit, but the resistance of the bishops could not be overcome, and in another council held in Lyon (518) by Viventiolus, eleven bishops confirmed the thirtieth canon of Epaone. Sigismund exiled the bishops, but without gaining anything, and they returned to their churches shortly after.

Viventiole died in Lyon in the year 524, according to the most probable opinion. He was buried in the Church of the église des Apôtres Burial place of Saint Viventiolus in Lyon. Apostles, which became that of Saint-Nizier, where an altar was later erected over his tomb. An ancient manuscript, discovered by Severt, a historian of the Church of Lyon, reports part of the inscription engraved on the tomb of the holy bishop. It read: "Our pontiff Viventiole, a man powerful in his works, rests in this tomb. He was the organ of the Church, the preacher of the Word, the honor of his brothers, the example of the peoples, and knew how to fulfill with merit all the degrees of the ministry... May this feast day be one of the most solemn for you among the feasts of the Saints of Lyon. Good Father, crown of all bishops, be propitious to our prayers, and remember us who invoke you."

Excerpt from the Lives of the Saints of Franche-Comté and the Gallia christiana nona.