Germanus, one of the glories of the Church in France, was born near Autun, in 496. From his early youth he was exceedingly pious, never missing midnight vespers at a church a mile from his home, regardless of the weather.
Germanus was ordained by St. Agrippinus, Bishop of Autun, and was made Abbot of St. Symphorian on the outskirts of the town. A contemporary of his records that at that time, he was already favored with the gifts of prophecy and miracles.
One night in a dream he saw an elderly man who presented him with the keys of the city of Paris, telling him to look after the Parisians and to save them from perishing.
In 554, Germanus was elevated as the Bishop of Paris. Though a bishop, he continued to lead a life of austerity and assiduous prayer, receiving the poor continuously at his residence and having them at his own table where he not only nourished their bodies but also their souls with holy exhortations.
God granted to the holy prelate’s sermons a great power to move the hearts of people of every rank. Under his influence, the spiritual life of the city changed: frivolous dances and profane amusements were abolished, enmities were extinguished and sinners reconciled to the Church.
Even the king, Childebert, son of Clovis and St. Clothilde, until then a worldly, ambitious prince, converted to a life of piety, building religious houses, and placing his coffers in the hands of the holy bishop for the aid of the poor.
Germanus had a reputation for holiness and healing. He cured Childebert in body and converted him from a licentious life.
Throughout his episcopate, Germanus strove to reprove the behavior of wayward nobles, and even excommunicated King Charibert, nephew of Childebert, for his wicked, immoral life. During the fratricidal wars that followed by the nephews, he made every effort to reconcile them, but was unsuccessful.
Germanus died in 576 at the age of eighty and his remains were interred in a decorated tomb in the chapel of Saint Symphorien, next to the abbey church in 635 and then shifted to the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. He was Canonised in 754 by Pope Stephen II.
Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint Accidia
2. Saint Emilius
3. Saint Justus of Urgel
4. Saint Paul Hanh
5. Saint William of Gellone
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