Saint Mansuetus (; died 375) was the first

Bishop of Toul The Diocese of Toul was a Roman Catholic diocese seated at Toul in present-day France. It existed from 365 until 1802. From 1048 until 1552 (''de jure'' until 1648), it was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire. History The diocese was erect ...

Life

Mansuetus is thought to have been of Irish or

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

origin. After religious studies in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, he was sent by

Pope Damasus I Pope Damasus I (; c. 305 – 11 December 384), also known as Damasus of Rome, was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death in 384. It is claimed that he presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list ...

to evangelize

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

, becoming the first Bishop of Toul in 365. Mansuetus built in the woods a dwelling of interwoven twigs, where he spent his days in prayer and meditation. Near this he raised an oratory dedicated to St. Peter. It was believed that he had the gift of healing. Tradition holds that he was responsible for the healing of lepers and for restoring the life of the drowned son of the prince of Toul.Rev. S. Baring-Gould, ''The Lives of the Saints'' (John Hodges: 1875), 36 He erected two churches in Toul: one in honor of St. John the Baptist, and the other dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and Saint Stephen. The latter became the cathedral, later rebuilt by

Gerard of Toul Gerard (; German ''Gerhard''; c. 935 – 23 April 994) was a German prelate who served as the Bishop of Toul from 963 until his death. His entrance into the priesthood came about due to his mother being struck dead in a lightning strike which he ...

.O'Hanlon, John. ''Lives of the Irish saints''
Ireland, p. 36 et seq, 1873 Mansuetus spent nearly four decades preaching in the

Leuci The Leucī (Gaulish: ''Leucoi'', 'the bright, lightning ones') were a Belgic tribe dwelling in the southern part of the modern Lorraine region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Leucos'' (acc.) by Caesar ...

region, which efforts were met with considerable success. He is regarded as the "Apostle of Lorraine". According to most accounts, he died on 3 September 375. He was initially buried in the oratory of St. Peter, which became a site of pilgrimage. It is said,

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...

visited the shrine.

Veneration

Mansuetus is recognized as a saint according to the

Pre-Congregation In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pas ...

standards for

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...

. His

Feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is celebrated on September 3 in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Toul The Diocese of Toul was a Roman Catholic diocese seated at Toul in present-day France. It existed from 365 until 1802. From 1048 until 1552 (''de jure'' until 1648), it was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire. History The diocese was erect ...

and on August 31 in Saint-Dié. Various versions of St Mansuy's life were composed in the Middle Ages, the earliest was written by

Adso of Montier-en-Der Adso of Montier-en-Der (; 910/920 – 992) was abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Montier-en-Der Abbey, Montier-en-Der in France, and died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Biographical information on Adso comes mainly from one single source and ha ...

at the request of Gerard of Toul in the mid tenth-century. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries a shorter version and a metrical version were written. According to the ''Vita Sancti Gerardi'', Bishop St. Gerard I of Toul (r. 963–994) had the relics of both Mansuetus and Aprus brought into Toul and placed in the church of St. John the Baptist while he was ill.Karl Leyser, Timothy Reuter, ''Warriors and Churchmen in the High Middle Ages: Essays Presented to Karl Leyser'' (Continuum International Publishing Group: 1992), 56. Later, in 1790, Mansuetus' relics were divided among the canons of the church of Toul, to prevent them from being destroyed by

revolutionaries A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

Gallery

Fontenoy en 200 photo 004.JPG, Église Saint Mansuy de Fontenoy-le-Château. Saint-Mansuy.jpg, Statue. Cathédrale relique Mansuy 01912.jpg, Reliquary. Cathédrale gisant Mansuy 01915.jpg, Funeral statue. Iconography is found on the shrine of Vittel and a brotherhood statue, belonging to the Church of Fontenoy-le-Château. There are

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

es dedicated to St. Mansuy in Bouvron,

Fontenoy-le-Château Fontenoy-le-Château () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. In January 2013 it merged with the former commune of Le Magny. Personalities The poet Nicolas Joseph Florent Gilbert was born on December 15, ...

, Loisey-Culey, Nancy, Serécourt. The village of Dommary-Baroncourt had a church of that name, but it was destroyed in 1974.

Life

Veneration

Gallery

References

Further reading