Biography
Born near Autun to noble Gallo-Roman parents, he studied at Avallon in Burgundy and also at Luzy under the guidance of his cousin Scapilion, a priest. At the age of 34 he was ordained by St. Agrippinus of Autun and became abbot of Saint-Symphorien near that town. He was hard-working and austere, and his alms-giving was so generous that his monks, fearing he would give away everything, rebelled. As he happened to be in Paris, in 555, when Eusebius, bishop of Paris, died, King Childebert detained him and he was consecrated bishop of Paris.
Under his influence Childebert is said to have led a reformed life. In his new state the bishop continued to practise the virtues and austerities of his monastic life and laboured hard to diminish the evils caused by the incessant wars and the licence of the nobles. He attended the Third and Fourth Councils of Paris (557, 573) and also the Second Council of Tours (566). He persuaded the king to stamp out the pagan practices still existing in Gaul and to forbid the excess that accompanied the celebration of most Christian festivals.
He died at Paris in 576. For nine centuries, in times of plague and crisis, his relics were carried in procession through the streets of Paris.
Read more about this topic: Germain Of Paris
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