Saint Remigius
Remigius | |
|---|---|
Saint Remigius baptizes Clovis I, by the Master of Saint Gilles, c. 1500 (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.) | |
| Bishop and Confessor | |
| Born | c. 437 Cerny-en-Laonnois, Picardy, Roman Empire |
| Died | 13 January 533 (aged 95–96) Rheims, Champagne, Kingdom of the Franks |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Anglican Communion Eastern Orthodoxy |
| Feast | 13 January 1 October (translation of relics) |
| Attributes | dove, book, lamp |
| Patronage | France |
Remigius (French: Remy or Rémi; c. 437 – 13 January 533) was the Bishop of Reims and "Apostle of the Franks". On 25 December 496, he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. The baptism, leading to about 3000 additional converts, was an important event in the Christianization of the Franks. Because of Clovis's efforts, a large number of churches were established in the formerly pagan lands of the Frankish empire, establishing a Nicene Christianity for the first time in Germanic lands, most of whom had been converted to Arian Christianity.