Official feasts used to be an important part of the human community. People would gather together to remember something sacred, express their faith and hope for the future, and / or just be together formally, recognizing each other as being part of a shared community. Few things express a desire for shared companionship and social intimacy more than dining together. Sadly, the gathering together for feasting is increasingly a relic of the past – at least here in the West.
It need not be so! Today we will remember the ancient feasts.
The Feast Day of St. Cloud
This is a Christian religious celebration of Clodoald (more commonly Cloud), a 6th century Merovingian prince, grandson of Clovis I and son of Chlodomer, who preferred to renounce royalty and became a hermit and monk.
He is a patron saint against carbuncles, nail makers, and the Diocese of Saint Cloud, Minnesota.
Biography and Tradition – Feast Day Recipe – Prayer – Celebration Date
Who is Saint Cloud?
Clodoald (Latin: C(h)lodoaldus, Cloudus; reconstructed Frankish: *Hlōdōwald; 522 – c. 560 AD), better known as Saint Cloud (French: [klu]), was a Merovingian prince, grandson of Clovis I and son of Chlodomer, who preferred to renounce royalty and became a hermit and monk. Clodoald found a hill along the Seine, two leagues below Paris, in a place called Novigentum (the present commune of Saint-Cloud). Here, among the fishermen and farmers, he led a life of solitude and prayer, and built a church, which he dedicated in honor of Martin of Tours.
He is venerated as a saint in both the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church.
Background
Upon the death of Clovis, his sons, Chlodomer, Childebert, Clothaire, and their half-brother Thierry shared the kingdom. In 523–524, at Clotilde‘s instigation, her sons joined in an expedition against King Sigismund‘s Burgundians. After the arrest of Sigismund and his family, Chlodomer returned to Orléans. Sigismund’s brother, Godomar III, supported by his ally and relative, the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great, slaughtered the garrison the Franks had left in Burgundy. In retaliation, Chlodomer then had Sigismund and his sons, Gisald and Gondebaud, murdered. On May 1, 524, Chlodomer set out on a second expedition against the Burgundians and was killed at the Battle of Vézeronce on June 25 of the same year.
Early life
Clodoald was the son of King Chlodomer of Orléans and his wife Guntheuc. He was one of three brothers, raised in Paris by their grandmother, the queen dowager Clotilde. Salic law required the division of the kingdom among the sons of Chlodomer. However, the boys’ uncles, Childebert I, king of Paris, and his brother Clotaire I, king of Soissons, coveted the kingdom of Orléans and determined to murder the nephews.
By one account, in 525, Childebert and Clotaire asked their mother Clotilde to send them the children so that they might be proclaimed their father’s successors. She clothed the brothers in their best clothes and sent them with confidence, unaware of her sons’ plans. The two uncles then had the children of Clodomir killed. Some claim that they killed the two older boys, Thibault and Gonthaire, aged ten and seven, with their own hands, to the great despair of Saint Clotilde, who saw her grandchildren killed by her own sons. Only the youngest, Clodoald, was saved by the dedication of a few of the faithful. He found sanctuary with Remigius, the Bishop of Rheims, and thus escaped his uncles’ searches.
Another account states that Childebert and Clotaire considered cutting children’s hair, because long hair was a sign of nobility in Frankish culture. But as the hair would inevitably grow back, they asked Clotilde what they had to do. She replied that she would rather see them dead than sheared. They first killed Gonthaire, before Thibault threw himself at their feet to beg them to leave him alive. So Childebert hesitated, and his brother reminded him that it was his idea. Thus ended the short life of Clodomir’s descendants, at least two of the three since Clodoald had been able to escape.
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Adulthood
Clodoald renounced all claims to the throne and lived as a studious hermit and disciple of Séverin of Paris, who led a solitary and contemplative life in a hermitage at the gates of Paris (on the site of the present Saint-Séverin Church in the 5th arrondissement). The young prince became his disciple and received from his hands the religious habit. Clodoald preferred a humble and quiet life of solitude, to a bright, but perilous life in a royal palace. For some time he remained in his company, to be trained in all the monastic virtues. At the age of twenty, Clodoald left his hermitage and appeared before the Bishop of Paris surrounded by religious and civic leaders and members of the royal family. The bishop cut Cloud’s long hair, which was a symbol of his royalty. Childebert and Clotaire, who saw him as no threat, left him undisturbed and even gave him some inheritances to live more comfortably in the place of his retirement.
After Séverin’s death, Clodoald left the surroundings of Paris and secretly retired to Provence. The inhabitants of the surrounding area came to him because they learned that Cloud had the gift of healing. Clodoald remained there eleven years, and then went back to his first hermitage, where the people greeted his return with joy.
At the people’s request, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Eusebius of Paris in 551 and served the Church for some time. His humility and his charity were praised. Clodoald could not endure these honours for long, and to avoid them, retired to a hill along the Seine, two leagues below Paris, in a place called Novigentum (the present commune of Saint-Cloud). Here among the fishermen and farmers, he led a life of solitude and prayer, and built a church, which he dedicated in honor of Martin of Tours.
As soon as the place of his retreat was known, disciples came to place themselves under his direction. Some cells were first built, soon a monastery became necessary. According to tradition, Clodoald had a monastery with a chapel built and endowed with the goods that the kings, his uncles, gave him. He lived seven years in his monastery, among his brothers, giving them an example of all the virtues. He died there on September 7, 560, at the age of thirty-eight.
Veneration
According to legend, Clodoald predicted his death in advance, which was followed by several miracles, which occurred near his tomb. Clodoald was then canonized and the hamlet quickly transformed into a place of pilgrimage, where huge crowds flocked. Novigentum then changed its name to “Sanctus Clodoaldus” (Saint-Cloud) in his honour. The abbey is now a collegiate church of canons regular called Église Saint-Clodoald [fr] wherein his relics are kept. St. Cloud, Wisconsin, St. Cloud, Florida, and St. Cloud, Minnesota, are in turn named after the French town.
Clodoald’s feast day is September 7.
In art
- There is a statue of St. Cloud on the portal of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois in Paris.
- In his History of the Franks, Gregory of Tours recounts the struggles for power between the children of Clovis, and after having mentioned the murder of his two brothers, dedicates a few lines to Clodoald: “They could not take the third, Clodoald, who was saved by the help of brave warriors; despising an earthly kingdom, he consecrated himself to God, and, having cut his hair with his own hand, he was made a cleric. He persisted in good works, and died a priest.”
- A painting by Sébastien-Melchior Cornu (1804–1870) depicting Saint-Clodoald decorates the chapel of the Elysée Palace.
What is something you can eat to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Cloud?
When I was looking into a feast day meal to celebrate this famous French saint, I saw several places recommending the same French dish. AS is often the case with French cuisine, this is an adventurous recipe:
Kalbscoteletten à la Saint Cloud (Veal Cutlets St. Cloud)
Ingredients
- 4 veal cutlets, about 5 ounces each
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 bacon strips
Directions
- Tenderize the veal cutlets by pounding them thin with a meat hammer.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- In a skillet, melt the butter and brown each side of the veal cutlets but do not cook through.
- Transfer to a baking dish and top with a bacon strip.
Ingredients for the gravy
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons sherry
Directions
- In the same skillet where the veal cutlets were browned, melt the butter.
- Stir in the flour.
- Pour in the chicken stock, scraping the brown bits from the sides.
- Keep stirring until thick.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Mix in the sherry.
- Pour the gravy over the veal cutlets.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until the veal cutlets are cooked through yet tender.
- Serve the veal cutlets immediately with a side of rice or potatoes, spooning the gravy over them.
What is a prayer you can say on the Feast Day of Saint Cloud?
There is a novena prayer to Saint Cloud that you can say.
(via stcdio.org)
First Day
A LOVING PROVIDENCE
LIFE OF ST. CLOUD (lector)
St. Cloud, born in 522, was the grandson of Clovis, founder of the Kingdom of the Franks, and St. Clothilde. Following the death of his parents, he and his two brothers were cared for by St. Clothilde, the widowed queen. Upon his father’s death his uncles sought to seize his father’s throne by plotting the murder of St. Cloud and his two brothers. They succeeded in killing his brothers, but St. Cloud escaped and sought sanctuary with St. Remigius, the Bishop of Rheims. St. Cloud grew from childhood into young manhood under the guidance and protection of the holy bishop and his sainted grandmother.
THE EVER-PRESENT GOD (All)
O Lord, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know the whole of it.
Behind me and before, you hem me in
and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.REFLECTION (Leader)
In considering the life of St. Cloud we might ask, “Why were his brothers killed and why did he escape? Why did he find sanctuary in the home of a bishop and not in the castle of some king more powerful than his uncles? Why was his grandmother granted a long life? Why did she succeed in fostering the love of God in her young grandson?” In our lives, too, we are often confronted with the same question: WHY? We look back at many events that happen to us and sometimes say, “Isn’t that strange?”, or, “Why did it happen that way?.” Too often we forget that the loving providence of our heavenly Father guides and directs all our ways. The poet, Paul Claude}, reminds us: “God writes straight with crooked lines.”
JESUS SAYS: (Lector)
“Take the lilies: they do not spin, they do not weave; but I tell you, Solomon in all his splendor was not arrayed like any one of them. If God clothes in such splendor the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown on the fire tomorrow, how much more will he provide for you, O weak in faith! It is not for you to be in search of what you are to eat or drink. Stop worrying. The unbelievers of this world are always running after these things. Your Father knows that you need such things. Seek out instead his kingship over you, and the rest will follow in tum.” (Lk 12:27-31)
LET US PRAY: (Leader)
Heavenly Father, grant us confidence in Your loving providence. Help us to see in our lives, as in the life of St. Cloud, Your loving care in everything that happens to us. This we ask through Christ our Lord.
AMEN
Days 2 through 9 are at the link above!
When is the Feast Day of St. Cloud celebrated?
This feast is celebrated annually on 7 September.
I hope that everyone who celebrates has a wonderful day!
