Saint Leodegar, priest

Summary

A priest at Porthe characterized by his gentleness and humility, Saint Léger performed healings and exorcisms during his lifetime. Having died at an advanced age, his cult was marked by the healing of a blind man in 805 and by processions against drought. A well he dug himself remains a place of pilgrimage for the sick.

Chronology

Contemporaries

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Guided reading

5 reading sections

SAINT LÉGER, PRIEST (1st, 3rd, or 6th century).

Life 01 / 05

Life and priestly virtues

Leger, priest at Porthe, distinguished himself by his great humility and gentleness towards his subordinates.

Leger , a priest in charge of the cle rgy of Porthe, led a heavenly life on earth. He possessed such gentleness and humility that he was more the servant of his subordinates than their master.

Miracle 02 / 05

First miracles

The saint performed miraculous healings, notably an exorcism and the healing of a paralytic through the sign of the cross.

With a sign of the cross, he delivered a possessed man from the demon that was within him; through his prayers, he healed a man suffering from a contraction of the limbs.

Legacy 03 / 05

Passing and fate of the church

After his death at an advanced age, he was buried at Porthe; the church, destroyed by the barbarians, was later rebuilt by the bishop of Châlons.

He died happily in a very advanced old age: he was buried in the church of Port he. This church, d evastated and burned by the barbarians, was subsequently restored by the bishop of Châlons.

Cult 04 / 05

Recognition and posthumous miracles

The healing of a blind man in 805 led to the elevation of his relics, which were finally destroyed at the end of the 18th century.

A blind man, named Hayber t, recovered his sight at his tomb around the year 805. And this miracle was the cause for the Saint's body to be raised from the earth and plac ed hon orably in a reliquary behind the altar. It was burned at the end of the 18th century by the impious.

Devotion to the holy priest was revived by various signs of his power. In the 9th cen tury, his reliquary was carried in procession through the countryside, which was desolate from a long drought, and the heavens poured the desired rain upon the furrows.

Cult 05 / 05

The well and the pilgrimages

A well dug by the saint remains an important place of pilgrimage, renowned for its healing waters and celebrated every year in June.

One can see, near the church of Porthe, a well tha t Saint Lég er, uniting the work of his hands with constant prayer, dug himself. The pilgrims, who flocked to his tomb, drank from this water, which was regarded as salutary against illnesses: many people still have the same confidence today. Every year, on June 23, a procession is held to the well of Saint Léger.

Propre de Langres et Saints de la Haut e-Marne.