The life and the history of Saint Romain are known by the legend and the tradition. He would have lived under Dagobert Ier (which reigned from 629 to 639), but his exact birth date is unknown.

• Its life and its actions are known by the iconography (Rouen):

• Stained glasses of the cathedral (about 1521)
• Stained glasses of the church Saint-Godard (1555)
• Quatrefoils of the gate of the Calend (southern gate) of the cathedral
• And by old texts

Its birth

His/her mother, Happiness, deplored her sterility. One night, an angel appeared with his/her father announcing to him that a child was going to be born in his hearth.

Youth - Education

Very young person, Romain was sent in the king, like much of young aristocrats of his time, where they were nourished , which means that they carried out various domestic works there, there received some education, before being returned in their provinces with the title of bishop or count. Thus Romain met Saint Ouen, and holy Eloi.

The episcopal see of Rouen being vacant, the college of the canons wished that Romain is elected there. The king authorized, and offered a stick to it to Romain.

Its works - its miracles

• destruction of the Venus temple: Hardly it had taken its load that Romain was solicited by the faithful ones to make disappear a temple from Venus which was in the old Gallo-Roman amphitheater, located in the north of the city. In this temple, a furnace bridge carried the dedication to the goddess. Saint Romain there went, tore off the dedication, and the temple collapsed.

• the miracle of chrism : One day, holy Romain was on the point of devoting baptismal funds. He realized that he had forgotten the chrism. He sent a deacon to seek it, but this one, wanting to hurry, made choir the vase and chrism spread itself by ground. Romain saint while requesting, collected the piece, the vase was reconstituted and chrism reinstated the container.

• destruction of the pagan temple : Saint Romain left évangéliser the surrounding campaigns was one day vis-a-vis a pagan temple, with the paces of fortress, on which demons danced. He inveighed the demons, caused the chief of the devils, and the temple crumbled.

• the floods : They were frequent, and devastated the cultures. Saint Romain intervened when the flood threatened to be catastrophic, and the river moved back.

• temptation : At the end of his life, the saint man had withdrawn himself in a hermitage to request and meditate. A poor woman asked him for charity. Saint Romain hesitated to receive a woman but did not want to either miss with its duties hospitality. He makes enter the woman who dévêt and unties her hair. Saint Romain calls the Lord with the assistance, an angel intervenes and precipitates the demon in a well bottomless.

• the extase : Little time before dying, holy Romain was saying the Mass when it entered in extase, its body rising ground, while God announced the date of his death to him.

• the dragon : (also called the Waste-gas main ) Over left bank of the Seine marshes were spread out where an enormous snake prevailed which “ dévouroit and détruisoit the genz and bestes of feed ”. Saint Romain decided to drive out it these grounds, but only one found to help it condemned to dead which did not have anything any more to lose. They arrived all both on the territory of the snake (or dragon), holy Romain traced a sign of cross on him, the animal lay down with its feet, it took its stole like halter and condemned to dead brought back it thus held leaves some in the city where it was burned on the square of the cathedral (or pier in the Seine according to the authors).

This legend is at the origin of the privilege of the bishops of gracier one condemned to dead every year, privilege which will perdura several centuries after (until in 1790).

Patronage

• Of the town of Rouen. The Foire Saint-Romain takes place every year in Rouen in autumn.

Celebrates

The November 18th .

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