Saint of the Day – 7 September – St Cloud

Saint of the Day – 7 September – St Cloud (also known as Clodoald, Clodoaldus, Claud) – (522 in Gaul (modern France) – 560 in France of natural causes).   Priest, Hermit, Confessor and Abbot.   Patronages – • nail makers,  •against carbuncles, • Saint Cloud, Minnesota, diocese of.   Attributes – a Benedictine abbot giving his hood to a poor man as a ray of light emanates from his head; with royal insignia at his feet or instructing the poor.

St Cloud was the son of King Chlodomer of Orléans and his wife Guntheuc. On his death , in the year 511 his kingdom was divided between his four sons, of whom the second was Clodomir.   Thirteen years later he was killed fighting against his cousin, Gondomar, leaving three sons to share his dominions.   The youngest of these sons of Clodomir was St. Clodoald, a name more familiar to English people under its French form of Cloud from the town of Saint-Cloud near Versailles.   When Cloud was eight years old, his uncle Childebert plotted with his brother, to get rid of the boys and divide their kingdom.   The eldest boy, Theodoald was stabbed to death.   The second, Gunther fled in terror but was caught and also killed.   Cloud escaped and was taken for safety into Provence or elsewhere.
Childebert and his brother Clotaire shared the fruits of their crime and Cloud made no attempt to recover his kingdom when he came of age.   He put himself under the discipline of St Severinus, a recluse who lived near Paris and he afterwards went to Nogent on the Seine and had his heritage where is now Saint-Cloud.

Visited by many for counsel and healing, Clodoald in effect gained nothing by keeping himself remote from society.   He therefore returned to Paris, where he was received with joy.   At the people’s request, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Eusebius of Paris in 551 and served the church for some time.

Clodoald established a holy place at Nogent-sur-Seine that is now a collegiate church of canons regular called Saint Cloud wherein his relics are kept.   The village hosting his tomb was renamed Saint-Cloud accordingly.