VANDREGISILO (WANDRILLE), saint. - Benedict, son of Duke Valchise and a relative of Pipino di Landen, born about 600 in the territory of Verdun and died at the monastery bearing his name on 22 July 663.
He was educated at court and made “count of the palace” under Dagoberto. Drawn, together with his wife, to the monastic life, they separated in order to devote themselves to the service of God. Vandregisilo first stayed at Bobbio, whose strict rule well suited his tastes. He subsequently spent ten years in the monastery of St-Claude, after which he was summoned to Rouen by the bishop of St-Ouen, who ordained him priest. In 649 he founded, on the banks of the Seine at Fontenelle, the monastery which would later bear his name. Thanks to royal benefactions, Fontenelle, with its 300 monks, was in no way inferior to the neighboring monastery of Jumièges, nor to the other, likewise very numerous, foundations of the seventh century. The Rule of St Benedict, then fully in vogue, was nevertheless supplemented by certain practices of greater rigor (such as frequent Confession), which bear witness to the influence exercised by St Colombano upon his disciple Vandregisilo. Feast day: 22 July.