Saint Vindicianus (''Vindician'') () ( 632 – 712) was a

bishop of Cambrai-Arras This is a List of bishops and archbishops of Cambrai, that is, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai. Bishops For the first bishops of Arras and Cambrai, who resided at the former place, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras. On the death ...

. 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 11 March. He is called a spiritual follower of

Saint Eligius Eligius (; 11 June 588 – 1 December 660), venerated as Saint Eligius, was a Frankish goldsmith, courtier, and bishop who was chief counsellor to Dagobert I and later Bishop of Noyon–Tournai. His deeds were recorded in ''Vita Sancti Eligii' ...

(Saint Eloi).

Life

Traditionally, his birthplace is given as

Bullecourt Bullecourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department department in the Hauts-de-France region region of northern France. Geography Bullecourt is situated on the Upper Cretaceous plain of Artois between Arras and Bapaume, east of the A1 ...

, near

Bapaume Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region of northern France. Geography Bapaume is a farming and light indus ...

. This is the birthplace indicated in the documents dating much later than the saint's death, but which claim to reproduce an ancient local tradition. Nothing is known of his early years.Van der Essen, Léon. "St. Vindicianus." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 2 December 2021 On the death of St. Aubert, Bishop of Cambrai-Arras (about 668), Vindicianus was elected his successor. He was bishop of this see in the reign of

Theuderic III Theuderic III (also spelled Theuderich, Theoderic or Theodoric; , 651–691) was King of the Franks in the 7th century. He ruled Neustria and Burgundy on two occasions (in 673 and again from 675 to 691), as well as Austrasia from 679 until his ...

of Neustria (about 673). In 673 Vindicianus supervised the translation of the body of St. Maxellende to

Caudry Caudry () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Its inhabitants are called theCaudrésiens. The town is mostly known as the Capital City of French Lace (along with Calais). Caudry station has rail connections to Douai, Cambr ...

. In the same year he consecrated the monastery of

Honnecourt-sur-Escaut Honnecourt-sur-Escaut (, literally '' Honnecourt on Escaut'') is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord departmen ...

, which was given in 685 to St.

Bertin Bertin (; 615 – ''c''. 709 AD), also known as Saint Bertin the Great, was the Frankish abbot of a monastery in Saint-Omer later named the Abbey of Saint Bertin after him. He is venerated as a saint by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The ...

. In 675 he signed a charter of donation in favour of the abbey at Maroilles, rendered illustrious by St. Humbert (Emebertus). In the same year he consecrated the church at

Hasnon Hasnon () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The commun ...

. He was probably in relation with St. Arnaud of Tongeren, since his signature appears on the latter's testament in 679. In 681 he claimed for his diocese the honour of possessing the body of St. Léger, but he did not succeed, the remains of St. Léger being confided to

Ansoald Ansoald () was the bishop of Poitiers from 676 until about 696.This is according to . , write that his dates are unknown. Ansoald was probably a Burgundian from the region around Autun. He inherited land from both his parents near Chalon-sur-Sa� ...

Bishop of Poitiers The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Poitiers (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Pictaviensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse Metropolitain de Poitiers'') is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archepiscopal see is in the city of ...

. His predecessor, St.

Aubert of Cambrai Aubert of Cambrai () or Aubertus was a Merovingian Bishop of Cambrai and Arras and a Frankish saint. Biography Aubert of Cambrai was born around 600 AD in Austrasia, Francia. Aubert was consecrated as the bishop of the united sees of Arras an ...

, had founded the

Abbey of Saint-Vaast The Abbey of St Vaast () was a Rule of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery situated in Arras, ''département in France, département'' of Pas-de-Calais, France. History The abbey was founded in 667. Saint Vedast, or Vaast (c. 453–540) was ...

, the building of which he had been unable to complete; Vindicianus finished it, apparently in 682, and placed it temporalities under the protection of Thierry III, who conferred numerous gifts on the monastery. In 685 a certain Hatta was placed at its head by Vindicianus. In the following year Vindicianusr dedicated the church at Hamaye-les-Marchienne, and acted at the exhumation of the bodies of Sts. Eusebia and Gertrude of Hamage, who had been abbesses of the monastery of that name.Cristiani, Léon. "Liste chronologique des saints de France, des origines à l'avènement des carolingiens", ''Revue d'histoire de l'Église de France'', 1945, p. 82
/ref> The events of his life after this date (686) are unknown. The first recorded reference to Brussels ("Brosella") in 695 is attributed to him. He died about 695 and was buried at Ecoivres wood on

Mont-Saint-Éloi Mont-Saint-Éloi (; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France northwest of Arras, on the banks of the river Scarpe. Population Mont Saint-Éloi Abbey The monastery was founded in the 7th centur ...

. The region was ravaged by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

in the ninth century, and on more than one occasion the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

of the saint were in danger, until in 1030 Bishop

Gerard I of Cambrai Gerard of Florennes (ca 975, bishop 1012 – 14 March 1051), bishop of Cambrai as Gerard I, had formerly been chaplain to Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, and helpful to the latter in his political negotiations with Robert the Pious, King of France. I ...

had his body removed to the episcopal city. After having been at

Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...

and

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

, the relics were returned to Mont-St-Eloi in 1453. After still further translations, especially in 1598 and 1601, the body was finally placed in the cathedral at Arras.

References

External links

Vindician at ''Patron Saints Index''
{{Authority control 8th-century Frankish saints 632 births 712 deaths Bishops of Arras Bishops of Cambrai 7th-century translators 7th-century Frankish writers 7th-century writers in Latin