Saint Clair

Clair, opening his heart to the sweet influence of grace, said farewell to his homeland, and went to lead a very austere life for some time in a forest located near Cherbourg. He then directed his steps tow ard the monastery o monastère de Maudun Monastery where Clair was admitted as a religious. f Maudun, where he was admitted into the nu mber of Odobert Abbot of the monastery of Maudun. the religious. Odobert, abbot of this convent, recognizing in the Blessed one all the marks of a certain vocation to the eremitic life, permitted him to live in a cell separated from the community, near a watercourse that later bore his name. The Solitary would only leave his retreat to attend the holy offices and receive the divine Eucharist. His knowledge and his virtues soon earned him elevation to the priesthood.

Clair's humility had to endure harsh trials. The devil did everything in his power to inspire him with thoughts of pride and to make him fall into sin: he stirred up flatterers who spoke to him incessantly of his holiness and virtues. As the servant of God had already performed several miracles, the sick were brought to him from all sides so that he might heal them. Clair escaped the temptations of his enemy by flight; he left the monastery of Maudun and traveled through various lands that have preserved the memory of his virtues and miracles. He left traces of his passage in Saint-Lô, in Carentan, in Vire, in the Pays d'Auge, and in several regions. Scarcely had he appeared in a place when the power with which God had clothed him manifested itself; then, to escape the praises of which he was the object, he would go to places where his name was unknown. Such was the reason for the numerous journeys undertaken by the Saint. After various stays in the vicinity of Nantes, Paris, Pontoise, and Forges, "He spent some time," says Father Giry, "in a small wood between the parishes of Flavacourt and Sancourt, which subsequently placed themselves under his patronage." It was then that he settled in the Vexin, on the bor ders Vexin Region of the martyrdom and apostolate of Saint Nicaise. of the diocese of Beauvais. A small cell that he built with his own hands served as his dwelling. He lived there in great destitution; but the hope of gaining heaven made him happier than worldly people are in abundance and riches. From time to time, the Blessed one would leave his retreat and go to snatch souls from the devil to populate the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Clair died in this final refuge, a victim of his love for chastity. A wretched woman, whose criminal advances he had rejected with indignation, entrusted his vengeance to infamous hired killers who cut off his head, after having overwhelmed him with outrages. The generous confessor earned the double palm of virginity and martyrdom on November 4, in the year 886. It is said that, like Saint Lucien of Beauvais, Clair took his head in his hands and carried it to the place where he wished to be buried. The land that received his precious relics took and still preserves today the name of S aint-Clair-sur-Epte. Saint-Clair-sur-Epte Site of the martyrdom and principal center of the cult.

He is sometimes found depicted with eyes near him, as if they had been plucked out; but this is simply a popular way of expressing that he was invoked against eye ailments. — He is also depicted carrying his head; but to recall the devotion of which he was the object, he is shown covering his eyes with the hand that is not supporting the burden.

## CULT AND RELICS.

The body of the Blessed one, illustrated by several miracles, was raised from the earth and exposed to the veneration of the faithful. His cult soon became very famous. The blind and those afflicted with eye ailments invoked him, and were often cured of their infirmities. A famous pilgrimage was established in his honor at Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. Every year, on July 18, a large number of pious visitors from the neighboring regions are seen arriving, and in particular from the part of the Vexin included today in the diocese of Beauvais. These pilgrims go to pray, not only in the church where the relics of Saint Clair rest, but in a chapel built, according to the tradition of the region, on the very site of the cell that served as his dwelling.

One sees, at the entrance of this chapel, a stone bearing this inscription: "On this stone, Saint Clair was beheaded." — In the diocese of Beauvais, besides the church of Flavacourt, two chapels are dedicated to him: one at Tourly, in the canton of Chaumont; the other at La Fosse-Saint-Clair, in the parish of Biendonné, in the deanery of Chambly. — He is the patron of Saint-Clair, an annex of Ilescampes, in the diocese of Amiens. The church of Fricamps possesses some of his relics.

Excerpt from the Life of the Saints of Beauvais, by Abbé Sabatier, and from the Hagiography of the Diocese of Amiens, by Abbé Corblot.