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Apostolic & Patristic · Saint
St Remigius of Reims
Bishop of Reims
ConfessorMissionary
c. 437 – 533
unknown
Ordained
c. 459
Consecrated Bishop
Reims
Diocese
France
Country
The Life
Born c. 437 near Laon in Gaul, Remigius was elected Bishop of Reims while still a young man, traditionally in his twenty-second year, and governed the see for some seven decades — one of the longest episcopates in Church history.
His enduring fame rests on the conversion and baptism of the Frankish king Clovis, an event that bound the Frankish realm to Catholic Christianity and shaped the future of France. He died at Reims in 533.
Notable Actions
- Baptized King Clovis I of the Franks at Reims on Christmas Day, 496, with great numbers of his army
- Secured the Frankish kingdom for Catholic rather than Arian Christianity ('Apostle of the Franks')
- Erected new bishoprics including Tournai, Cambrai, Arras, and Laon
- Held a synod (517) that won over a bishop of Arian views
- Associated with the Holy Ampulla of chrism used thereafter to crown the kings of France
Bow thy head meekly, Sicamber; adore what thou hast burned, burn what thou hast adored.
Words to Clovis at his baptism (Gregory of Tours)Portrait: Master of Saint Giles / Wikimedia Commons