Mansuetus (bishop of Toul)


Saint Mansuetus was the first Bishop of Toul.

Life

Mansuetus is thought to have been of Irish or Scottish origin. After religious studies in Rome, he was sent by Pope Damasus I to evangelize Gaul, becoming the first Bishop of Toul in 365. Little is known about the details of his life; he is believed to have erected a church dedicated to St. Peter and to have spent nearly four decades preaching in the Leuci region, which efforts were met with considerable success. He died in Thulium while serving as itinerant bishop of Belgian prim.

Veneration

Mansuetus is recognized as a saint according to the Pre-Congregation standards for canonization. Tradition holds that he is responsible for the healing of lepers and for restoring the life of the drowned son of the prince of Toul. His Feast day is celebrated on September 3 in the Roman Catholic diocese of Toul and on August 31 in Saint-Dié.
Various versions of St Mansuy's life were composed in the Middle Ages, the earliest was written by Adson of Montier-en-Der at the request of Gerard of Toul in the mid tenth-century. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries a shorter version and a metrical version were written.
According to the Vita Sancti Gerardi, Bishop St. Gerard I of Toul had the relics of both Mansuetus and Aprus brought into Toul and placed in the church of St. John the Baptist while he was ill. Later, in 1790, Mansuetus' relics were divided among the canons of the church of Toul, to prevent them from being destroyed by revolutionaries.

Gallery

Iconography is found on the shrine of Vittel and a brotherhood statue, belonging to the Church of Fontenoy-le-Château. There are parish churches dedicated to St. Mansuy in Bouvron, Fontenoy-le-Château, Loisey-Culey, Nancy, Serécourt. The village of Dommary-Baroncourt had a church of that name, but it was destroyed in 1974.