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- Saint Leudwinus, Count of Treves (Leodewin, Liutwin, Ludwin) (c. 660 - †29. September, 722 in Reims) founded an abbey in Mettlach. He was Archbishop of Treves and Laon. His feast day is September 23. He is the patron saint of Mettlach parish and his relics are carried by procession at the annual Pentacost celebration through the town.
He is the son of Saint Warinus, the paternal grandson of Saint Sigrada and his uncle was Saint Leodegarius.
Early Life
Leudwinus was born a Frankish nobleman and was a member of one of the most powerful clans in Austrasia.[3] He was the son of Warinus, Count of Poitiers and Gunza of Metz. Lambert of Maastricht was his kinsman. His Frankish name is Liutwin.
Leudwinus spent his early life at the royal court of Austrasia. He was styled Count of Treves.
He received his education from his maternal uncle, Saint Basinus, Archbishop of Treves. In 697, Leudwinus signed the Deed of Echternach with his uncle.
Marriage
Leudwinus was initially uninterested in an ecclesiastical career. Instead he married Willigard von Bayern, a descendant of Charibert I, the Merovingian King of Paris. They had issue:
Milo, Count of Treves
Gui Wido, Count of Hornbach
Chrotrude of Treves (Rotrude), who married Charles Martel and became Duchess of Austrasia.
Mettlach Abbey
According to legend, it all began when Leudwinus went hunting near Saar. He grew tired and and fell asleep under the shade of a tree. As he slept the sun changed positions exposing him to its scorching hot rays. An eagle swept down and sat on Leudwinus with its wings spread out. When Leudwinus awoke, his servant told him how the eagle had protected him from being burned by the sun. Coincidentally, Leudwinus happened to be napping at the site of the Miracle Eagle near the chapel of St. Denis of Paris. Leudwinus saw this as a God-sent sign to establish a Benedictine monastery at that site. Dionysius the Chapel soon developed into a Christian missionary center. In its place now stands the parish church of St. Gangolf in Mettlach.
When Leudwinus became a widower, he joined the monastery he founded at Mettlach as a simple monk.
Bishop of Triers
In 697 Leudwinus was appointed coadjutor of his uncle Basinus von Trier.[5] In 698, he cofounded the Echternack Abbey at Mettlach.
When Archbishop Bastinus died on 4 March 705, Leudwinus succeeded him and was consecrated Archbishop of Treve.[5][3][6][2] Leudwinus was also appointed bishop of Laon.[2][5] This made Leudwinus one of the most important church dignitaries in the Frankish kingdom.
Death
Leudwinus died 29 September 722 at Reims. He was succeeded as Archbishop of Treve by his son, Milo, who brought his father's remains to Treve to be buried. However local customs prevented this and Leudwinus' family decided to let the dead saint choose his own place of burial. His coffin was placed alone on a ship that was sailed by itself, first to Moselle, then Saar and finally docked at Mettlach where the church bells began to ring.
Leudwinus was buried in St. Mary's Church at the Abbey at Mettlach. In 990, St. Mary's Church was replaced by a new structure called the Old Tower, the oldest preserved stone building in Saar.
In 1247, Leudwinus' relics were transferred to the newly constructed Leudwinus Chapel (Liutwinuskapelle). About 200 years later, his remains were reburied again in a new chapel connected to the Church at the Abbey. During the French Revolution, the monastery was purchased by the Boch family. He had the building demolished and built Liutwinus Cathedral in Mettlach, where the relics of the saint are located today.
Reports of miracles at Leudwinus' grave in Mettlach made it a popular pilgrimage site over the centuries.
Records from Leudwinus' time as bishop are collected in the Gesta Treverorum.
Feast Day of St. Leudwinus
Leudwinus' original feast day was September 29th, the day of his death. However this is also the feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel. After the Second Vatican Council, the Feast of Saint Leudwinus was moved to September 23 and it's also the feast of his uncle, Saint Basinus.
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Abt 660 - 722 (~ 62 years)
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