Adérald (died 20 October 1004) was a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

venerated by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. His feast day is celebrated on 20 October.

Biography

Adérald was born around the mid-10th century to a father named Walon and a mother named Odrade. Well-versed in Christian teachings, his parents entrusted his education to religious scholars. He studied the

Holy Scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and l ...

and soon became an

acolyte An acolyte is an assistant or follower assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession. In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone performing ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In others, the term is used f ...

under Manasses of Montdidier,

Bishop of Troyes The Diocese of Troyes (Latin: ''Dioecesis Trecensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Troyes'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Troyes, France. The diocese now comprises the ''département'' of Aube. Erecte ...

. Over time, his passion for the scriptures and the lives of the saints led him toward the priesthood. After being ordained as a priest, Adérald became known for his commitment to the poor and the sick. His social efforts gained widespread recognition, despite his own humility, and many sought him out in hopes of receiving healing. He was a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

and

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

when he undertook a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

. Upon his return, he brought back a relic from the

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchat ...

. With this relic he then founded a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

in Villacerf, a small village near Troyes, known at the time as Samblières which was later renamed Saint-Sépulcre. Adérald died on 20 October 1004, only a few years after establishing the monastery. He was buried there according to his wishes.

Veneration, relics, and desecration

His remains were venerated for several centuries and were transferred in 1791 to the parish church to protect them from the French Revolution. However, during the period of the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

, his relics were desecrated, and his bones were thrown into a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

. Saint Adérald continues to be honored by Catholics on 20 October. He is also venerated as a saint in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

.http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/saintsa.htm

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aderald 1004 deaths Medieval French saints 11th-century French Roman Catholic priests Canons (priests) Holy Land travellers Clergy from Troyes Archdeacons