Vitalis of Savigny (ca. 1060 – 16 September 1122) was the

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of Cult (religious practice), public veneration and enterin ...

founder of

Savigny Abbey Savigny Abbey (''Abbaye de Savigny'') was a monastery near the village of Savigny-le-Vieux (Manche), in northern France. It was founded early in the 12th century. Initially it was the central house of the Congregation of Savigny, who were Benedi ...

and the

Congregation of Savigny The monastic Congregation of Savigny (Savigniac Order) started in the abbey of Savigny, situated in northern France, on the confines of Normandy and Brittany, in the Diocese of Coutances. It originated in 1105 when Vitalis of Mortain established a ...

(1112).

Life

He was born in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

at Tierceville near

Bayeux Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...

about 1060–5. His parents were Rainfred le Vieux and Rohais. We know nothing of his early years; after ordination he pursued advanced studies before becoming

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to Duke

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

's brother,

Robert of Mortain Robert, Count of Mortain, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (–) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hasti ...

(died 1090). The ''Vita'' of Vitalis, tells of Robert beating his wife and Vitalis, intervening, threatened to end the marriage if Robert did not repent. In yet another entry Vital leaves Robert's service abruptly and after being escorted back to him, Robert begged for Vital's pardon for his actions. Vitalis gained the respect and confidence of Robert, who bestowed upon him a

canonry A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

in the collegiate church of Saint Evroul at

Mortain Mortain () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Mortain-Bocage. Geography Mortain is situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the C ...

, which he had founded in 1082.Webster, Douglas Raymund. "St. Vitalis of Savigny." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 31 Jan. 2015
/ref> Vitalis felt a desire for a more perfect state of life. He gave up his canonry in 1095, settled at Dompierre, 19 miles east of Mortain, and became one of the leaders of the

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

colony of the forest of Craon. Here for seventeen years he lived an ascetic life, and was called Vital le Vieux ("Vitalis the Old") taken from his father's name. At the same time he concerned himself, like his mentor

Robert of Arbrissel Robert of Arbrissel ( 1045 – 1116) was an itinerant preacher, and founder of Fontevraud Abbey. He was born at Arbrissel (near Retiers, Brittany) and died at Orsan Priory in the present department of Cher. Sources The first ''Vita'' was writt ...

, with the salvation of the surrounding population, giving practical help to the outcasts who gathered round him. He was also an itinerant preacher, remarkable for zeal, insensible to fatigue, and fearlessly outspoken; he is said to have attempted to reconcile

Henry I of England Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...

with his brother,

Robert Curthose Robert Curthose, or Robert II of Normandy ( 1051 – 3 February 1134, french: Robert Courteheuse / Robert II de Normandie), was the eldest son of William the Conqueror and succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 1087, reigning until 1106. ...

. He seems to have visited England and a considerable part of western France, but Normandy was the chief scene of his labours. Between 1105 and 1120 he founded a monastery of nuns,

Abbaye Blanche The Abbaye Blanche ("White Abbey") was a nunnery founded in 1112 in Mortain, France.Shortly after establishing an abbey for men called Holy Trinity of Savigny, Saint Vitalis, founder of the monastic order of Savigny, set up the Abbaye Blanche for ...

, at Mortain, with his sister Adeline—later canonized—as abbess.Mayo, Hope. ''Speculum'', vol. 62, no. 1, 1987, pp. 215–17. JSTOR
/ref> He died at Savigny, on 16 September 1122.

Notes

Founders of Catholic religious communities 1122 deaths French hermits Year of birth uncertain {{France-saint-stub