Saint of the Day – 22 April – St Leo (Died c547) Bishop and Confessor of Sens, in France. A shepherd of great wisdom and graced with diplomatic skills, he protected and defender his flock in Sens, reformed the Clergy and refused to allow even the King and fellow Bishops to deny the rights of the Church and his faithful sheep. This zealous Prelate served within his See for around 22 years.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Sens, St Leo, Bishop and Confessor.”
Leo was the 16th Bishop of Sens after Paul and was a a prominent figure in 6th Century Gaul. Leo emerges from the mists of time as a wise and zealous Prelate.
His presence at the Councils of Orléans in 533 and 538 testifies to the authority he enjoyed while his impassioned letter to King Childebert I, aimed at preventing the creation of a Diocese in Melun at the expense of Sens, reveals his diplomatic skill and concern for the good of his Church.
An intriguing letter of remonstrance to Saint Remigius of Reims, co-signed by 2 further Bishops, offers a glimpse of his intransigence in the face of internal disciplinary issues within the Clergy.
His death which occurred around 547, is commemorated today, a date found in the Roman and and in the Hieronymian Martyrologies and too, in ancient litanies of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
AnaStpaul 