Clement of Metz

Saint Clement of Metz is famous being the first bishop of Metz. It is thought that he lived in IIIe or the 4th century. It is celebrated the November 23rd.

A tradition returns the foundation of évêché of Metz much older. According to it Clément would have been a disciple of Saint-Pierre and the uncle of the pope Clément Ier. Sent of Rome with Celestial priest and the deacon Felix, it would have exerted his Metz-native ministry about the year 95.

Caption and belief popular

These legends were collected according to the Bénédictins:
Metz had been for twenty-two years in prey with a large plague: a dragon - the “Graoully” - devastated the area and caused damage on which even the conspiracies of the priests of Jupiter were impuissants.
It had established its residence under the vaults of the imperial amphitheater, from where it exhaled a breath pestilentiel.
This monster left every during the night its den and decimated in detail the population of our city. It inspired such a terror, that the Lender, Orgus, transported his government in his villa of Gorze.
Saint Pierre then occupied the papal throne of Rome and chaired, in its capacity as prince of the apostles, with the conservation of the monde.
Metz, the oldest city of the Europe, was the object of its first solicitudes, and, as of year XV of our era, it sent three of its disciples to him:
Clement, Felix and Céleste.
The three delegated of the vicar of JC solved to prepare with their mission by the retirement, and God guided their steps towards the forest of Gorze.
While seeing by one perforated of the forest, the imposing one quoted which trônait in the valley, Clément fell to knees on a rock which preserved since the print of those, because it returned several days of continuation in this place to request with the conversion of noble the cité.
One day that they were in speech, a stag lay down humbly with their feet; it was continued by the pack of the préteur.
Clement, that holy Pierre had devoted bishop of Metz, blesses the beautiful animal and, at the moment, the dogs fell in défaut.
The stitchers returned account to their Master of the power of the anchorite; they affirmed it by the so large ones and solemn oaths that Orgus wanted to realize by itself of the veracity of its servants. The stag was thus launched again and found derechef a refuge close to the apôtre.
- “Which are you, asked him for the praetor imperiously, to exert a so great power? ” - “Clement, wire of a senator of Rome, that God withdrew from the way of the error and admitted with his divine communion; I thus gave up the worship of the idols to follow that of the redeemer of the men; Pierre, the prince of the apostles, condescended to impose the hands to me and to undertake to announce to the people entrusted to your care the Gospel of God died on the cross for the safety of all” - “Thus, you are Nazaréen, exclaimed Orgus! and, throwing a scornful look on the son of the senator, it took again the way of its villa.
But the miracle of Gorze had had a great repercussion in the area and the Residents of Metz conceived the hope to be delivered dreadful dragon. They sent emissary and accommodated the three missionaries like envoys of the ciel.
On the entrefaite, the girl of the praetor died suddenly; the father, to the roof of the pain, runs to the nazaréen, prostrate with its knees and entreats it to only recall to the life its and single child. The apostle leaves for Gorze, humiliates himself in front of the sign of his mission and orders with the girl of Orgus to leave his funeral layer; it rises and confesses with her parents the divinity of Jesus-Christ.
Orgus, regenerated by water of the baptism, then begged the saint bishop to purge Metz of the plague which, for twenty seven years, had covered it deuil.
Clement, after being itself prepared with the combat by the fast and the prayer, walks towards the amphitheater with cross and banners: he goes right to the monster and its stole around the neck passes to him. It orders to him to follow it, and the dragon crawls with the docility of a dog at the sides of the saint prelate who walks it in leaves by all the city and the conduit in an small island of the Pail where, on the order of the apostle, it was inserted in the entrails of the terre.
Clement sealed of an enormous stone, still visible today, the entry of the tunnel which opened to receive the hell-hound and to return it to the eternal flames. It is in memory of this bright victory of the first bishop of Metz on the infernal powers, that one walks to the processions of Marc saint and the rogations, a species of crocodile called (phonetically) “Graoully” or “dragon of Clément saint”,

“Effigy monstrous, ridiculous, hideous, and terrible garlics small children, having the œilz more grants that the belly and tests it larger than all the remainder of the body avecqueamples, broad, and horrificques maschouères well endentelées so much with the top as in dessoubs which has faict clicqueter terrificquement one against the avecque aultre the machine of small a chorde hidden in the baston with the boust of which is the effigy. ”

Walk opens by the body of the wet coopers, arrives then that of the wig makers, the sword at the side, then the various brotherhoods and corporations of the city with their armoiriées banners. Immediately before the clergy the mayor of Woippy advances carrying Graully. This magistrate enjoys the right to raise a cake on all the shops of bakers and pastrycooks in front of whom the procession passes. The chief of the municipality of Woippy is surrounded by six vigorous well embastonnés churls and is followed of a priest holding a stole intended for garrotter the monster if he wanted to throw himself on the popular one. The procession, after having made it tower of the city, leads Graully in the courses of the Abbaye Saint-Arnould, where he is whipped by a troop of children before being returned with the vault of the cathedral”.
One also makes go up with Clément saint the use to burn thirteen cats the saint day before Jean.
It is claimed that about the year 25 of our Christian era, Metz was reached of a forced dance that neither remedies, nor exorcism could stop. One saw by the streets and crossroads only the middle-class men and craftsmen jumping on a leg, jumping on another, while priests and magistrates officiated and judged in gambadant.
One was with strongest of these strange saturnales when a knight in high reputation of piety placed in an attacked hotel trade of the contagion. Hardly the valiant knight was it with the bed, which he saw appearing an enormous cat of which the eyes scintillated like escarboucles. The knight signs himself and jumps to his weapons, but the cat escapes by uttering dreadful blasphemies and carries with him the principle of forced dance, because it is certain that as from this moment there, the district was disencumbered at the moment of this plague to jump and from gambader to all goes! With these marks, holy Clément recognized the presence of the devil and ordered an auto-da-fe of all the cats of the ville.
- “It is to me opinion, known as the wise prelate, that Satan, extremely couard of its nature, will fear to be seized in its borrowed form and will be run away in the eternal flames to be withdrawn from those of this world”.
The forecasts of the saint bishop were carried out and its flocks found their gravity caractéristique.
But, in the apprehension, of a resumption of the forced dance, it was established that a brûlade annual and commemorative of thirteen cats, quantifies always fatal with the demon, would take place with perpetuity day before Jean the saint….“An annual brûlade which was done in large pump and simple apparatus; the Master alderman, covered with his costume and the badges of his load, accompanied by MM the advisers, from the “thirteen”, the three mayors (mayors) and the representatives of the five paraiges, of the major assistance of the middle-class militia, the six halberdier and policemen, goes initially to the hotel of the government, called “of High Pierre” (with the angle of the current street of the Clerks and the street of Small Paris), where it is received by the governor of the place to the sound of the most brilliant brass bands and the noise of the gun of the Place. Walk opens by the music of the garrison town, come then the Swiss guard, the particular guard of the governor, the six halberdiers of the Master alderman and two policemen carrying a white wax torch. The governor and the Master alderman appear then, walking on the same line and followed civil authorities and military. Arrived on the place of the execution (the current esplanade), the two chiefs of our city make three times the turn of the Bûcher surmounted of the thirteen victims in a wood cage, receive the torches of the hands of the policemen and put fire at the wick of artifice. The flame springs, burns the cage, and the cats with half roasts fall into the blazing inferno from where sometimes they escape. During this time, the commun run and the people shout: “Christmas”! Dance in circle around roughing-hew it by singing the round of Jean saint until wood is entirely consumed. The firebrands which come from this “burre” have, as well as coals of the stock of Christmas, the property to protect from the lightning. This second victory of the bishop of Metz, carried a mortal blow to the idolatry. Its last traces were little by little extirpated our walls by the demolition of the public baths of Métius and the amphitheater of Octave. Saint Clément used their remains in constructions of the churches of “Holy Cross” and “Saint Pierre Viel”. Then, the apostle fell asleep glorieusement in the lord, after having controlled his diocese since twenty five years and three months.

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