Severus of Avranches was born to a poor peasant family in France. According to historian

Georges Goyau Georges Goyau (31 May 1869 – 25 October 1939) was a French historian and essayist specializing in religious history. Biography Pierre-Louis-Théophile-Georges Goyau was born in Orléans 31 May 1869, and attended the Lycée d'Orléans before mov ...

, Severus was a sixth century shepherd, "...who was perhaps Bishop of Avranches" He was a shepherd in his youth. After joining the priesthood, he rose through the ranks of

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

, priest and later

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

. He eventually became bishop of Avranches. It appears that he was dragged by the local clergy from his forest cell to undergo consecration.Walther, Matthew. "Severus of Avranches", ''Catholic Herald'', January 28, 2018
/ref> In his later years, he resigned his

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

and returned to monastic life.

References

External links

Catholic Forum: Severus of Avranches
{{DEFAULTSORT:Severus of Avranches Bishops of Avranches 7th-century Frankish bishops 7th-century Frankish saints