Litany of Saints
Picture: Book of Hours, c. 1450-1460. Jean le Tavernier (illuminator). · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Germain of Paris

Bishop of Paris

SaintResearchedFranciaBenedictinesDocumented cause

Feast: 28 May (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)

Born
496
verified
Died
28 May 576
verified
Beatified
not on record
Canonised
754
unverified

Who they were

Germain, born near Autun about 496, was ordained at thirty-four and became Abbot of Saint-Symphorien; his love for the poor was so great that his monks feared he would give everything away.

Made Bishop of Paris in 555, he kept his monastic austerity, reformed King Childebert's life, worked to lessen the evils of war, and had the courage to excommunicate King Charibert for immorality. He died in Paris on 28 May 576.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.

Why that counted as sanctity

A bishop whose love of the poor knew no limits.

Sources

Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.

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