{{short description|French monk and bishop}} {{Infobox saint |name= Saint Vitonus |birth_date= |death_date=525 |feast_day= November 9 |venerated_in= Roman Catholic Church |image= |imagesize= |caption= |birth_place= |death_place= |titles= |beatified_date= |beatified_place= |beatified_by= |canonized_date=Pre-Congregation |canonized_place= |canonized_by= |attributes= |patronage=Verdun, France |major_shrine= |suppressed_date= |issues= }}
'''Saint Vitonus''' (died 525), also called Vanne or Vaune, became a monk as a young man and was later made Bishop of Verdun by King Clovis I.
==Narrative== In the Franco-Roman War of 486, following the decisive Frankish victory at the Battle of Soissons, Verdun refused to yield to the Franks and was besieged by King Clovis I.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bachrach |first1=Bernard S. |title=Merovingian Military Organization, 481-751 |date=1972 |publisher=U of Minnesota Press |isbn=9780816657001 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jbz9IyOvfPoC&q=Merovingian-Military-Organization |language=en}}</ref> Firminus, bishop of Verdun, died during the siege. The citizens sent the revered priest Euspicius to treat with the king.<ref>[https://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/firverdun Odden, Per Einar. "Den hellige Firminus av Verdun (d. 502)", Den katolske kirke, August 9, 2015]</ref> After entering the city peacefully, Clovis wished to appoint Euspicius as bishop. He declined, but suggested his nephew, the monk Vitonus, whom Clovis accepted as alternate.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=wm9khNwHYtAC&dq=Saint+Vitonus&pg=PA72 Butler, Alban, Thomas, Sarah Fawcett. "St. Vitonus, bishop", ''Butler's Lives of the Saints'', Volume 11, Liturgical Press, 1995, p. 72] {{ISBN|9780814623879}}</ref>
Vitonus converted all the pagan residents in the area, and was known for performing miracles.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://saints.sqpn.com/saintv0d.htm |title=Patron Saints Index: Saint Vitonus |access-date=2008-08-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829163025/http://saints.sqpn.com/saintv0d.htm |archive-date=2008-08-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Legend has it that he drowned a terrible dragon in the Meuse - which is a traditional description for fighting paganism. Vitonus also founded a college for priests. He died about 525 and was buried at the church of Ss. Peter and Paul.
==Veneration== Vitonus was venerated as a saint immediately after his death. Vitonus was canonised around 850 by his successor Hatton, when local bishops governed the veneration of holy men and women within their own dioceses.<ref>[https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienV/Vitonus_von_Verdun.html Schäfer, Joachim. "Vitonus von Verdun", ''Ökumenischen Heiligenlexikon'']</ref>
A church dedicated to him in Verdun was mentioned in documents as early as 701. The Benedictine Abbey of St-Vanne, dedicated to Vitonius, was established on the site in 952;<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15350c.htm Goyau, Georges. "Diocese of Verdun." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 15 January 2023 {{PD-notice}}</ref> today its ruins are within the city's citadel. In 1147, Pope Eugene III carried out the solemn transfer of Vitonius' bones to the new cathedral. The relics have since been lost. Since 1976, the diocese of Verdun has celebrated his memorial day on 12 October together with an earlier bishop, Saint Sanctinus.
== References == {{Reflist}}
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Category:525 deaths Category:Bishops of Verdun Category:Year of birth unknown
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