Saint Modoald, also known as Romoald, was the
Frankish archbishop of Trier
The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.[patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholic Church, Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocacy, advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, ...]
of the
Reichsabtei
Princely abbeys (german: Fürstabtei, ''Fürststift'') and Imperial abbeys (german: Reichsabtei, ''Reichskloster'', ''Reichsstift'', ''Reichsgotthaus'') were religious establishments within the Holy Roman Empire which enjoyed the status of impe ...
Helmarshausen and his liturgical feast is on 12 May.
Modoald was born in
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Januar ...
,
[Arduino, Fabio. "San Modoaldo", ''Santi e Beati'', May 3, 2006]
/ref> the son of Arnulf
Arnulf is a masculine German given name.
It is composed of the Germanic elements ''arn'' "eagle" and ''ulf'' "wolf".
The ''-ulf, -olf'' suffix was an extremely frequent element in Germanic onomastics and from an early time was perceived as a mere ...
, later Bishop of Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est r ...
.["St. Severa of Villeneuve, France", Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese]
/ref>
He had been at the Court of the Merovingian King Dagobert I
Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; 605/603 – 19 January 639 AD) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dy ...
, when the King had him made Archbishop of Trier.[ ]Germanus of Granfelden
Saint Germanus of Granfelden (* ca. 612 in Trier; † 675 near Moutier (today in canton of Bern, Switzerland) was the first abbot of Moutier-Grandval Abbey.
''Vita''
The "Life" of Saint Germanus appears in the eleventh century " Codex of Saint-Ga ...
was from a wealthy senatorial family of Trier
Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...
. His father entrusted him at a young age to Bishop Modoald, for his education.[Boillon, Claude. "Saints Germano and Randoaldo", Santi e Beati, February 19, 2018]
/ref>
Modoald established the community of Saint-Symphorien, on the Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
; and placed it under the supervision of his sister Saint Severa.Schulenburg, Jane Tibbetts. ''Forgetful of Their Sex: Female Sanctity and Society, ca. 500–1100'', University of Chicago Press, 1998
/ref>
Family
References
Medieval German saints
7th-century Frankish bishops
7th-century archbishops
Roman Catholic bishops of Trier
Pippinids
7th-century Frankish saints
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