Leonard, Saint

LEONARD, Saint. - Abbot of Noblac. He probably lived in the 6th century; but nothing precise can be established about his life, since the earliest accounts date only from the first half of the 11th century and are interwoven with fanciful legends.

According to the account of his first biographer (BHL, 4862-62a), he was born into a most noble Frankish family at the time of Clovis I and had as his baptismal sponsor and educator St. Remigius (437-553), bishop of Reims. After obtaining from the king the release of many condemned prisoners and having refused the episcopate offered to him by the same king, he withdrew to the monastery of Micy, near Orléans, under the abbot Maximinus. But shortly afterward he headed toward Aquitaine, preaching the Gospel and performing miracles. Since through his intercession the queen had been freed from the pains and danger of a difficult childbirth, L. obtained from the king an estate at Noblac, near Limoges, where he founded a monastery, which later became the destination of extraordinary pilgrimages.

The date of his death is unknown. From the 11th century the fame of this saint and of his astounding prodigies kept spreading ever more widely, so much so that churches dedicated to his name arose everywhere, not only in France but also in Belgium, England, Italy, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, and Spain. His feast is celebrated on November 6.