Saint Genebald (''Genebaldus, Genebandus'') () (died 550 AD) was a
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties
* Francia, a post-Roman ...
bishop of Laon
The diocese of Laon in the present-day département of Aisne, was a Catholic diocese for around 1300 years, up to the French Revolution. Its seat was in Laon, France, with Laon Cathedral. From early in the 13th century, the bishop of Laon was ...
. He was a contemporary of
Saint Remigius
Remigius ( or ; – 13 January 533) was the Bishop of Reims and "Apostle of the Franks". On 25 December 496, he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. The baptism, leading to about 3000 additional converts, was an important event in the Christ ...
,
bishop of Rheims
The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims (; French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese was elevated to a ...
,
and according to ''
The Golden Legend
The ''Golden Legend'' ( or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of 153 hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in Europe during the Late Middle Ages. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary Maddo ...
'', was married to Remigius' niece.
Legend
Because the
diocese of Rheims
The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims (; French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese was elevated to a ...
was too large, Remigius had decided to create a separate
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
centered at
Laon
Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
History
Early history
The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...
, and chose Genebald to be Laon’s first bishop.
A married clerk, Genebald left his wife to become bishop around 499 AD. However, according to Canon
Flodoard’s 10th-century account, ''Flodoardi Historiae Remensis Ecclesiae'', and repeated by ''The Golden Legend'',
[Christian Cochini, ''Apostolic Origins of Priestly Celibacy'' (Ignatius Press, 1990), 111.] Genebald, after he became bishop, slept with his wife, who became pregnant with a boy.
Genebald asked that his son be named
Latro (“Thief”), “because he had engendered it by theft.”
So that it would not appear that his wife had borne a child out of wedlock, Genebald had her visit him again. Again they slept together, and this time his wife became pregnant with a girl, whom they named Vulpecula (“she-fox”).
[In French, ''Volpille''.]
Confessing his sins to Remigius, Genebald offered to leave his diocese. However, Remigius comforted Genebald and received his confession, and gave Genebald
penance
Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession.
The word ''penance'' derive ...
. Remigius had him shut in a small cell near the church of St. Julian
for seven years. Remigius fed Genebald on only bread and water during this time, and took over Genebald’s duties as bishop of Laon.
According to ''The Golden Legend'', an
angel
An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
came to Genebald after the end of the seven-year term and gave Genebald permission to leave the cell. Genebald could not open the door as it had been sealed from the outside; however, according to the ''Legend'', the angel opened the door after declaring: “Know thou that the door of heaven is opened to thee; I shall open this door without breaking of the seal which Saint Remigius hath sealed.”
However, Genebald still wanted Remigius’ permission to leave the cell. The angel brought Remigius to him, and the bishop of Rheims reinstated Genebald as bishop of Laon.
According to Christian Cochini, “this legendary narrative probably has a kernel of truth.”
[
Reinstated as bishop, Genebald is said to have remained chaste for the rest of his life.]
References
{{authority control
Angelic visionaries
6th-century Frankish bishops
Bishops of Laon
550 deaths
5th-century births
6th-century Frankish saints