Saint Gondelbert (also Gondelbertus, Gundebert, Gumbert, Gombert, or Gondeberg; ) was the founder of the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

Senones Abbey Senones Abbey (''Abbaye de Senones'') was a Benedictine abbey located in the valley of the Rabodeau, in the present village of Senones in Grand Est, France. History The abbey was founded in the middle of the 7th century by Saint Gondelbert, bish ...

in the Rabodeau ( :fr:Rabodeau) valley of the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

mountains around 640 AD.

Life

The life of Saint Gondelbert was written by one Richer, a monk of Senones, composed three later centuries."Saint Gondelbert", Diocèse de Saint-Dié
/ref> The Benedictine monks of Senones Abbey preserved the tradition, dating from the eleventh century, that Gondelbert was the

archbishop of Sens The Archdiocese of Sens and Auxerre (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Senonensis et Antissiodorensis''; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Sens et Auxerre'') is a Latin Church, Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archdiocese co ...

before he founded the abbey. Gondelbert arrived in the Rabodeau valley and named his monastery after the diocese of Sens (''Senonis'' in Latin).Goyau, Georges
"Sens"
''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company (1912). Retrieved 2012-03-20. In 661,

Childeric II Childeric II ( 653 – 675) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks in the 7th century. He ruled Austrasia from 662 and Neustria and Kingdom of Burgundy, Burgundy from 673 until his death, making him sole king for the final two years o ...

, king of Austrasia, donated the Val de Senones to "Gumbertus Episcopus". Childeric's donation was both generous and self-serving. It pleased him to thus oblige a man of God and to favor the extension of the Christian faith in this region. But he also knew that the founding of an abbey would open a center of civilization in the most deprived part of his kingdom. Gondelbert's first cares was to provide his community with a church, which he dedicated to Notre-Dame. Subsequently, there developed monastic buildings which he placed under the patronage of Saint Peter. The group followed the ''

Rule of Saint Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of th ...

''. He was the confessor of

Itta of Metz Itta of Metz, O.S.B. (also ''Ida'', ''Itte'' or ''Iduberga''; 592–8 May 652) was the wife of Pepin of Landen, Mayor of the Palace of the Kingdom of Austrasia. After his death, she founded the Abbey of Nivelles, where she became a Colombania ...

, and is credited with building the first church in

Itteville Itteville () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Itteville's twin town has been Newick in the United Kingdom since 1988. The distance between both towns is . Origin of the town name The original name ...

. He died around 676 while making a pilgrimage to Moyenvic. He is a Catholic saint and his feastday is 21 February. The parish church in Senones is dedicated to St. Gondelbert."Eglise Saint-Gondelbert", Diocèse de Saint-Dié
/ref>

References

External links

Diocèse de Saint-Dié (Vosges)

Diocèse de Saint-Dié (Vosges)

{{authority control 676 deaths Bishops of Sens 7th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown 7th-century Frankish bishops