Saint of the Day – 4 March – St Leodevaldus (Died c614) Bishop and Confessor

Saint of the Day – 4 March – St Leodevaldus (Died c614) Bishop and Confessor of Avranches in France, Penitent. Patronages – farmers and farm labourers. Also known as – Leonard, Léodowald, Keidevakdi, Leudeuald,

Leodovaldus was a Bishop of Avranches who lived between the 6th and 7th Centuries, remembered as a tireless Confessor.

In the list of Bishops, he is ranked 7th (or in some cases 8th) after Saint Synerius and before Ildoald.

Although some 12th Century manuscripts contain a very deficient and imprecise Episcopal catalogue of the Diocese of Avranches, regarding Bishops before the end of the 10th Century, Saint Leodevaldus is mentioned by St Gregory of Tours in the text ‘Virtutes Martini II’.

We know very little about his birth and Episcopate. Tradition holds that he led a reckless life during his youth, so much so that his excesses frightened good people. At a certain point in his life, he converted and repented, completely changing his ways, became a Priest, and was then appointed as a Bishop.

His devotion to Saint Martin is proverbial and his cult spread throughout Normandy, to which region he dedicated as many as 31 Churches.

Saint Leodevaldus, is mentioned after 576, in some cases gives the year of his death as 630, while others more likely date it to 614.