Faro (or Burgundofaro; died 675 AD), Count of

Guînes Guînes (; ; ) is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. Historically, it was spelt ''Guisnes''. On 7 January 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a French pioneer in hydrogen-balloon flight, completed the first aerial crossi ...

, was bishop of Meaux. The family to which Faro belonged is known as the Faronids and is named after him. He is canonized as a

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 ...

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 ...

and

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History

Burgundofaro was of an ancient noble Burgundian family. His father, Ageneric, was one of the principal lords at the Court of Theodebert II.Monks of Ramsgate. "Faro". ''Book of Saints''
1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 23 February 2013 His brothers were Waldebert, count of Guines,

Ponthieu Ponthieu (; ; ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville. History Ponthieu p ...

and Saint-Pol who became abbot of

Luxeuil Luxeuil-les-Bains () is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Saône Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté west of Mulhouse in eastern France. History Luxeuil (sometimes rendered Lux ...

, and Chagnoald, who was

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 ...

, while his sister was Burgundofara,''Fara'' in Lambert, ch. 3. who founded the convent of Faremoûtiers. They were the children of Chagnoric,

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Dagobert I Dagobert I (; 603/605 – 19 January 639) was King of the Franks. He ruled Austrasia (623–634) and Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dynasty to wield real royal power, after which the ...

.Butler, Alban. "St. Faro, Bishop of Meaux", ''The Lives of the Saints'', Vol.X, 1866
/ref> Faro spent his youth at the court of King Theodobert II. He served his successor, Theodoric, and then

Clotaire II Chlothar II, sometimes called "the Young" (French language, French: le Jeune), (May/June 584 – 18 October 629) was king of the Franks, ruling Neustria (584–629), Kingdom of Burgundy, Burgundy (613–629) and Austrasia (613–623). The son of ...

. At court he employed his credit with the king to protect the innocent, the orphan, and the widow; and to relieve and comfort all that were in distress. On one occasion, when provoked at the insolent speeches of certain Saxon ambassadors, Clothaire had them cast them into prison, and swore he would cause them to be put to death. Faro first prevailed on him to defer the execution twenty-four hours, and afterwards not only to pardon them, but also to send them home loaded with presents. His sister, Burgundafara, had become an abbess, and in speaking with her, Faro formed the idea of giving up court life. Blidechilde, his wife, whose consent he asked, was in the same dispositions; and they parted by mutual consent. She took the religious veil, and retired to a solitary place upon one of her own estates. Faro received the tonsure and joined the clergy of Meaux. Faro, who inherited lands in Guines from his brother, Count Waldebert, succeeded

Gundoald Gundoald or Gundovald was a Merovingian usurper king in the area of southern Gaul in either 584 or 585. He claimed to be an illegitimate son of Chlothar I and, with the financial support of the Emperor Maurice, took some major cities in southe ...

, probably a kinsman of his, as bishop of Meaux at some time between 625 and 637. He built a monastery at Estrouanne, near the English channel port of Wissant, destroyed and burnt by Gormond and Isembart. Fiacre approached Faro, as he had a desire to live a life of solitude in the forest. Faro assigned him a site at Breuil, in the region of Brie. Here Fiacre built an oratory in honour of the Virgin Mary, a hospice in which he received strangers, and a cell in which he himself lived apart.

Notes

External links

Saints of October 28
7th-century Burgundian bishops Bishops of Meaux 675 deaths 7th-century Frankish saints Year of birth unknown Colombanian saints {{France-saint-stub