Agericus of Verdun (also known as Saint Agericus, Airy or Aguy; Latin: ''Agericus'', 521-588) was the tenth Bishop of Verdun and an advisor to King

Childebert II Childebert II ( – 596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his death, as the adopted son of his uncle Guntram. Childh ...

Austrasia Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...

Biography

Born to a modest

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

family in 521 in Harville near Verdun, whose parents had prayed for many years to be given a child. He was delivered in a wheat field where his mother was working. King Thierry I, who was hunting nearby, was present at his baptism and acted as his godfather. He was given the name Agericus, meaning "field" or "rural" (rendered in French as Airy). The king took an interest in Agericus' education, recognizing his intellectual promise in both humanistic and religious studies. At the age of 30, Agericus devoted himself to the ecclesiastical state. He was ordained as a priest by Saint Désiré of Verdun, the ninth Bishop of Verdun. At the age of 34, following the death of his mentor, Agericus became bishop. He became known for his charitable works, particularly in aiding the poor and educating the people. He was praised by

Venantius Fortunatus Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus ( 530 600/609 AD; ), known as Saint Venantius Fortunatus (, ), was a Latin poet and hymnographer in the Merovingian Court, and a bishop of the Early Church who has been venerated since the Middle Ages. ...

and

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...

. Agericus played a significant role at the court of King

Sigebert I Sigebert I ( 535 – 575) was a Frankish king of Austrasia from the death of his father in 561 to his own death. He was the third surviving son out of four of Clotaire I and Ingund. His reign found him mostly occupied with a successful civil ...

(561–575) and his son and successor,

(570–596). He died on 1 December 588.

Veneration

He was buried in Saint-Martin Chapel, which he had built and which was later renamed in his honor. His remains were later transferred to Verdun Cathedral, where, until the last century, several of his personal belongings were preserved, including a wooden spoon with an ivory-inlaid handle and two ivory-handled knives. The Benedictine Abbey of Saint Agericus in Verdun was established over his tomb in 1037. Hugh of Flavigny wrote a ''Vita Agerici'' Saint Agericus is also credited with founding Saint-Sauveur Hospital, the first hospice in Verdun, with the earliest known historical mention dating to 1093. His feast day is on 8 February in the Diocese of Verdun and on 1 December elsewhere.

Miracles

Miracles attributed to Saint Agericus include: * The legend of Saint Agericus' barrel, from where his device of a barrel derives * In

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 ...

, he miraculously freed a condemned prisoner, securing his pardon. * In Verdun, he rebuilt a chapel dedicated to

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. * After a divine revelation, he discovered the remains of previous bishops of Verdun, including Saint Maur, Saint Salvin, and Saint Arateur, buried in that same chapel. * He had their remains enshrined in

reliquaries A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported or actual physic ...

and ordered the construction of a new church dedicated to Saint Médard, the Bishop of Noyon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agericus of Verdun Bishops of Verdun 6th-century Frankish bishops 6th-century Frankish saints Medieval French saints Early Middle Ages 588 deaths