# Vitonus

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{{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](/source/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](/source/Verdun), [France](/source/France)
|major_shrine= 
|suppressed_date=
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}}

'''Saint Vitonus''' (died 525), also called Vanne or Vaune, became a [monk](/source/monk) as a young man and was later made [Bishop of Verdun](/source/Bishop_of_Verdun) by King Clovis I.

==Narrative==
In the [Franco-Roman War of 486](/source/Franco-Roman_War_of_486), following the decisive [Frankish](/source/Franks) victory at the [Battle of Soissons](/source/Battle_of_Soissons_(486)), Verdun refused to yield to the Franks and was besieged by King [Clovis I](/source/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](/source/Religious_conversion) all the [pagan](/source/pagan) residents in the area, and was known for performing [miracles](/source/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](/source/Canonization) 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](/source/Verdun_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](/source/Sanctinus_of_Meaux).

== References ==
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Category:525 deaths
Category:Bishops of Verdun
Category:Year of birth unknown

{{France-saint-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Vitonus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitonus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitonus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.