Serenicus Explained

Serenicus
Birth Place:Spoleto, Italy
Death Date: (aged approx. )
Death Place:Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei, France
Feast Day:May 7

Serenicus (French: link=no|Céneri or French: Sérène;) was an Italian Benedictine monk. He was an early evangelist in Normandy, and founded a monastery and a chapel in a village in Orne that later took the name of Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei.

Serenicus is venerated as a saint. His feast day is celebrated on May 7 with his brother Serenidus of Saulges, or locally on August 16. He is a patron against skin diseases, colic, and infertility.[1]

Background

Born into a noble family in Umbria around 620, Serenicus travelled to the province of Maine in 649 during the reign of the Merovingian king Clovis II with his brother, Serenidus, to live a life of contemplation and penance.[2] At first, he lived with Serenidus as a hermit and an ascetic near Saulges in the diocese of Le Mans.[3]

At some point, Serenicus departed Saulges and began to live near a village in Orne near the Sarthe river. He started accepting disciples and found a church dedicated to Martin of Tours and an accompanying monastery. He ended up accepting a few disciples and built a church dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours and a monastic establishment.[3] The church was completed by Bishop, and saint, Milehard de Sées.[1]

It is said that after a long journey Serenicus settled in Orne, where he experienced a miracle in answer to his prayer for water to quench his thirst. According to legend a spring, located near the banks of the Sarthe, sprang up in answer to his prayer. It is believed that the water from the spring has the ability to cure eye problems.[4]

Serenicus is thought to have died around 669.[5]

Further reading

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Bargellini, Piero . Mille santi del giorno. 978-8884270993 . Vallecchi . Florenz . 1977 . 255 . it .
  2. Web site: Saint Céréné . 2009-08-15 . Nominis . fr.
  3. Web site: Sts. Serenicus and Serenus of Spoleto . City Desert . 2014-05-08.
  4. Web site: Visit Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei . 2021-06-07 . Normandy Tourism, France . en-GB.
  5. Book: Manoëlle Miquel-Regnauld . Les saints normands au Moyen Âge . 2003 . 2-84706-017-0 . fr.