Saint Adon de Vienne
Archevêque de
Vienne (+ 875)
Moine bénédictin qui,
chassé de son monastère de Trèves, s'en fut à Rome puis à Lyon et devint évêque
de Vienne en Dauphiné où il rédigea l'un des premier 'martyrium'. Il joua un
rôle dans la politique religieuse de son temps. Du Pape Nicolas
Ier, nous avons une lettre à saint Adon où l'évêque de Rome écrit à
l'évêque de Vienne 'son très saint confrère'.
À Vienne, alors dans le
royaume de Provence, en 875, saint Adon, évêque, qui fut moine auparavant et
composa un Martyrologe, où il inscrivit pour chaque jour des éloges de saints.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saints_265.html
Saint ADON de VIENNE
Adon, né vers l'an 800, était d'une des familles les plus riches et les plus nobles du Gâtinais, au diocèse de Sens. Ses parents, qui étaient fort religieux, le formèrent à la piété dès son enfance. Ils le mirent dans le monastère de Ferrières en Gâtinais, afin qu'il y apprît en même temps les sciences et les saintes maximes du christianisme. Il y donna des preuves de la vivacité de son esprit, et de la solidité de son jugement. Il joignait à ces heureuses qualités une grande docilité et un amour tendre pour la religion. Ses maîtres voyaient avec plaisir qu'il faisait tous les jours de nouveaux progrès. Quelques-uns de ses amis, animés de l'esprit du monde, cherchèrent à lui inspirer la passion des hommes et des plaisirs ; ils applaudissaient à ses talents, et l'exhortaient à entrer dans la carrière où l'appelait sa naissance. Mais il découvrit les pièges qu'on lui tendait, et sentit le danger du parti qu'on lui proposait. Pour rompre entièrement avec le monde, et se consacrer sans retour au service de Dieu, il prit l'habit dans le monastère de Ferrières.
Il était encore jeune, lorsque Marcuard, abbé de Prùm, qui avait été lui-même moine de Ferrières, le demanda pour enseigner les saintes lettres à ses religieux. Adon, en inspirant l'amour de l'étude à ses disciples, leur apprenait en même temps à éviter l'écueil où la science conduit quelquefois, et à profiter pour leur sanctification des connaissances qu'ils acquéraient. Son objet principal était de faire de vrais serviteurs de Dieu. Mais il plut au Ciel de l'éprouver pour perfectionner sa vertu.
Après la mort de Marcuard, la jalousie lui suscita des ennemis. Ils employèrent contre lui les outrages et la calomnie, et le chassèrent de Prùm [1]. Il alla visiter les tombeaux des apôtres à Rome, et passa cinq ans dans cette ville. De là il vint à Ravenne. Il y trouva un ancien martyrologe dont il tira copie, et qu'il publia vers l'an 858, avec des additions et des corrections. Il donna aussi une chronique, avec les vies de saint Didier et de saint Chef.
A son retour d'Italie, il vint à Lyon, et s'y arrêta quelque temps. Saint Rémy, archevêque de cette ville, le retint auprès de lui, et le chargea du gouvernement de la paroisse de Saint-Romain, près de Vienne, après avoir obtenu le consentement de l'abbé de Ferrières. C'était le célèbre Loup, dont nous avons un recueil de lettres, et plusieurs petits traités. Il prit avec zèle la défense d'Adon contre ses ennemis, et le siège de Vienne étant devenu vacant, notre Saint fut élu pour le remplir. On le sacra au mois de Septembre de l'année 860. Le Pape Nicolas lui envoya le pallium, avec les décrets d'un concile de Rome, lesquels avaient pour objet de remédier à différons abus qui s'étaient glissés dans plusieurs églises de France.
Le même Pape écrivit encore à notre Saint quatre autres lettres, sur divers sujets. On lit entre autres dans la seconde, que les églises subordonnées ne doivent pas s'écarter dans leurs usages de ce qui se pratique dans l'église de Rome[2]. Il reçut en outre plusieurs autres lettres flatteuses, notamment du Roi Charles, qui lui témoignait beaucoup de considération.
Adon ne changea rien à sa première manière de vivre ; il conserva la même humilité, la même modestie, le même amour pour la mortification. Il annonçait avec un zèle infatigable les vérités du salut. Sa coutume était de commencer ses instructions par ces paroles : « Écoutez la vérité éternelle qui vous parle dans l’Évangile, ou, écoutez Jésus-Christ qui vous parle, etc. ». Son clergé attirait sa principale attention ; il n'admettait aux saints ordres que ceux qu'il avait bien éprouvés et bien examinés ; il exigeait qu'ils réunissent à la science toutes les vertus qui caractérisent les vrais ministres de Jésus-Christ. Il fit aussi de sages règlements pour la décence du culte public. La réformation des mœurs parmi le peuple était encore un objet dont il s'occupait avec beaucoup de zèle. Il avait soin que ceux qui se présentaient pour être mariés ou pour recevoir les autres sacrements, fussent suffisamment instruits des principes du christianisme. Il travaillait sans relâche à bannir toutes les pratiques vicieuses, et tous les abus qui pouvaient porter atteinte à la pureté des mœurs. Ses exemples ajoutaient une nouvelle force è ses instructions.
Sa vie était fort austère ; il se traitait en tout avec une grande sévérité, et les ecclésiastiques attachés à sa personne avaient ordre de l'avertir de ses moindres fautes. S'il était inflexible envers les pécheurs opiniâtres, il recevait avec bonté ceux qui se convertissaient sincèrement. Il regardait les pauvres comme ses enfants ; il pourvoyait à tous leurs besoins ; il fonda des hôpitaux où ils étaient admis et entretenus à ses dépens. Pour achever de caractériser Adon, nous dirons qu'il connaissait parfaitement tous ses devoirs, et qu'il n'y en avait aucun qu'il ne remplît avec la plus grande fidélité. Il parut avec éclat dans divers conciles ; il en tint lui-même plusieurs à Vienne pour maintenir la pureté de la foi et des mœurs. Mais les actes de ces conciles sont perdus, et il ne nous reste plus qu'un fragment de celui qui fut tenu par le Saint en 870.
Lorsque le Roi Lothaire, dégoûté de la Reine Thietberge, voulut la renvoyer, Adon s'éleva contre ce divorce, et fit au prince les plus fortes représentations pour l'en détourner. Il eut beaucoup de part aux affaires publiques qui se traitèrent de son temps, et la religion trouva toujours en lui un zélé défenseur. Le Pape Nicolas I, Charles-le-Chauve et Louis de Germanie l'estimaient autant pour sa prudence que pour sa sainteté, et déféraient avec confiance à ses avis. Mais l'embarras des affaires ne nuisait point à son recueillement. Il priait avec la même persévérance et s'assujettissait aux mêmes mortifications. Il aimait à lire les vies des Saints, afin de se pénétrer de leur esprit, et de s'exciter à imiter leurs actions. Il mourut le 16 Décembre 875. Il est honoré dans l'église de Vienne, et nommé en ce jour dans le martyrologe romain.
Cette vie mortelle est un pèlerinage rempli de peines, de difficultés, de dangers ; nous avons à traverser un désert que mille routes détournées rendent presque impraticable, et où nous avons beaucoup à craindre des bêtes féroces qui se rencontrent de toutes parts. La multitude de ceux qui s'égarent devant nous est souvent le plus grand danger dont nous soyons menacés ; nous suivons leurs traces sans réflexion, nous nous égarons avec eux, et nous finissons par nous précipiter dans cet abyme où brûle un feu qui ne s'éteindra jamais. La seule route qui soit sûre, est étroite ; elle paraît semée de ronces et d'épines, et n'est fréquentée que par un petit nombre d'âmes courageuses : mais elle mène au bonheur. Parmi ceux qui y entrent, il en est encore plusieurs qui s'en écartent, et qui ont le malheur de se perdre. Voulons-nous un guide assuré ? Ouvrons les yeux à la lumière de la révélation, écoutons Jésus-Christ, marchons sous la direction de son esprit, laissons-nous conduire par ses maximes et ses exemples. Il est la voie, la vérité et la vie. C'est en suivant cette règle que les Saints ont échappé aux dangers qui les environnaient comme nous. Ils semblent nous crier : « La voie étroite est celle où nous avons marché ; vous devez y marcher après nous. » Quel motif de consolation et d'encouragement que de les avoir sans cesse devant les yeux ! Chacun d'eux nous dit avec saint Paul : Imitez-moi, comme j'ai imité Jésus-Christ. Le souvenir de leurs combats nous soutiendra, la vue de leur couronne nous animera, leur exemple en un mot nous empêchera d'être submergés dans le torrent rapide de ce monde. Quoi de plus propre à nous consoler dans cette vallée de larmes, que de penser que nous avons les mêmes moyens qu'eux pour obtenir la gloire dont ils jouissent ? Nous touchons en quelque sorte à ce moment. La vie la plus longue est bien courte : à chaque heure, l'éternité peut commencer pour nous. Pourrions-nous soupirer après le bonheur des Saints, sans les aimer, sans les honorer, sans penser fréquemment à eux ?
SOURCE : Alban
Butler : Vie des Pères, Martyrs et autres principaux Saints… – Traduction :
Jean-François Godescard.
[1] Les
couvents de Ferrières et de Prùm avaient alors de fréquentes relations
ensemble. On envoyait souvent des moines de la première de ces abbayes à Prùm,
pour y apprendre l'allemand, langue qui n'était pas moins nécessaire en France,
dans l'état des choses de cette époque, si on en croit Loup de Ferrières, Epist. 70
et 71.
[2] Ces lettres se trouvent dans la Collection de conciles de Labbe, tome VIII, ainsi qu'une cinquième, d'Anastase le Bibliothécaire, sur la mort du Pape Nicolas. On possède encore un fragment d'une lettre de Nicolas, dans laquelle il reproche au saint archevêque d'avoir permis, contrairement aux canons, au sous-diacre Albëric de se marier. On trouve dans la même Collection de conciles deux lettres du Pape Adrien II à Adon, dans la première desquelles le Pape, accusé par notre Saint de s'être écarté des décrets de son prédécesseur, justifie sa conduite.
SOURCE : http://nouvl.evangelisation.free.fr/adon_de_vienne.htm
16 décembre : Saint
Adon de Vienne
Il naquit probablement
dans le Gâtinais vers l’an 799, dans une famille noble. Son éducation fut faite
d’abord à l’abbaye de Ferrières, en Gâtinais, par l’abbé Sigulf, puis à
l’abbaye de Prüm, au nord de Trêves, par l’abbé Marcward.
Entré dans les ordres à
l’abbaye de Prüm puis ordonné prêtre, il partit pour Rome en 853, après la mort
de Marcward. Il y demeura près de 5 ans, puis se rendit à Ravenne. Il fut
ensuite nommé curé de la paroisse Saint-Roman, près de Vienne, en Isère.
En 860, il fut nommé
archevêque de Vienne malgré l’opposition du comte de Paris Gérart de Roussillon
et de sa femme Berthe. Il participa au concile de Toucy, près de Toul, en 860,
et réunit un concile à Vienne en 870, qui porta sur les privilèges monastiques.
Homme d’une grande influence,
Adon écrivit plusieurs ouvrages, notamment un martyrologe et une étude des
miracles de saint Bernard. Il mourut à Vienne le 16 décembre de
l’année 875 ou 876.
SOURCE : https://reinformation.tv/16-decembre-adon-vienne-calendrier/
Also
known as
Adon
Adone
Adonis
Profile
Born to the French nobility. Educated at Ferrières
Abbey. Ado renounced his title and inheritence, and became a Benedictine monk at Ferrières.
He taught at Prüm Abbey at
the request of its abbot, but
dissension among the brothers forced
him to return home. Pilgrim to Rome, Italy for
two years. He moved to Ravenna, Italy where
he revised and published a version of the Roman
Martyrology in 858. Pastor of
Saint Romanus church at Lyon,
appointed by the archbishop, Saint Remigius. Archbishop of Vienne, France in 859,
appointed by Pope Saint Nicholas
I. Noted reformer in his diocese.
He wrote biographies
of Saint Desiderius
and Saint Theuderius,
and a world history text. He opposed the efforts of Lothair II of Lorraine to
put aside his wife,
Theutberga, in favour of his mistress, and he led the effort to annul the synod
of Metz’s approval of Lothair’s actions.
Born
875 in Vienne, France of
natural causes
relics destroyed
by the Huguenots
monk studying
Scripture in a library
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Francis
Xavier Weninger
Roman
Martyrology, 1914 edition
Short
Lives of the Saints, by Eleanor Cecilia Donnelly
The
Child’s Name, by Julian McCormick
books
Dictionary of Saints, by John Delaney
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Oxford Dictionary of Saints, by David Hugh Farmer
Universal Dictionary of
Biography and Mythology, by Joseph Thomas, 1887
other
sites in english
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
websites
in nederlandse
nettsteder
i norsk
MLA
Citation
“Saint Ado of
Vienne“. CatholicSaints.Info. 20 November 2023. Web. 16 December 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ado-of-vienne/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ado-of-vienne/
Profile
ADO (St.) Bp. (Dec. 16)
(9th cent.) Born in Burgundy of rich and noble parents (a.d. 799), St. Ado was
educated in the Benedictine Abbey of Ferrieres in the Diocese of Sens. Ordained
priest, he taught sacred and profane science in the Schools of the Abbey of
Brum, near Treves. He next spent four years in Rome, engaged in literary
researches, and returning to France, discovered at Ravenna much important
material from which he published his famous Martyrology. He worked on this at
Lyons as the guest of St. Remigius, Archbishop of that city. On the death of
Agilmar, Archbishop of Vienne in Dauphine, St. Ado was consecrated his
successor and received the Ballium from Fope Nicholas I. He died in the year
875. In art, he is usually represented studying the Scriptures in a library.
Besides the Martyrology. we have several others of his writings. Ado’s
Martyrology has largely influenced the compilers of later revisions of the
Roman Martyrology itself, and full account must therefore in the study of the
latter be taken of the shortcomings of Ado’s work. The valuable volume of the
erudite Dom Quentin (issued in 1908) should be consulted for details.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Ado”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 2 May 2012.
Web. 16 December 2025. <http://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-ado/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-ado/
New Catholic
Dictionary – Saint Ado
Article
(c.800-875) Archbishop of
Vienne. Benedictine.
Author of the “Martyrology” which bears his name. Feast,
at Vienne, 16
December.
MLA
Citation
“Saint Ado”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info. 27
July 2012.
Web. 16 December 2025.
<http://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-ado/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-ado/
St. Ado of Vienne
Feastday: December 16
Death: 875
An archbishop and
scholar, Ado was born in Sens and
educated at the Benedictine abbey of
Ferrieres. Abbot Lupus Servatus,
an outstanding humanist of the time, trained Ado, and was impressed with the
obvious holiness of
the young man. A noble by birth, Ado renounced his inheritance and became a
Benedictine, in time assigned
to the monastery of Prum, near Trier, Germany. Ado's holiness made
him enemies, and he was forced to leave Prum. He went to Rome on
a pilgrimage and remained there for two years. He then went to Ravenna, where
he found an old copy of the Roman Martyrology. Using this, Ado wrote a new
version, published in 858. In Lyons, Ado was welcomed by St. Remigius, the
archbishop. He served as a pastor in
Lyons until 860, when he became the archbishop of
Vienne, appointed by Pope Nicholas I. Ado reformed the clergy in Vienne and
wrote the lives of St. Desiderius and
St. Theuderis. He also opposed the actions of Lothair II, the king of Lorraine,
who tried to set aside his lawful wife to marry his mistress. Lothair bribed
officials to get a divorce from his queen, Theutberga, but was undone when Ado
went to Rome and
denounced the plot to the pope. Ado remained in Vienne until his death in 875.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=1139
St. Ado of Vienne
An archbishop and
scholar, St. Ado was born in Sens and educated at the Benedictine abbey of
Ferrieres. Abbot Lupus Servatus, an outstanding humanist of the time, trained
St. Ado, and was impressed with the obvious holiness of the young man.
A noble by birth, St. Ado
renounced his inheritance and became a Benedictine, in time assigned to the
monastery of Prum, near Trier, Germany.
St. Ado’s holiness made
him enemies, and he was forced to leave Prum. He went to Rome on a pilgrimage
and remained there for two years. He then went to Ravenna, where he found an
old copy of the Roman Martyrology. Using this, St. Ado wrote a new
version, published in 858.
In Lyons, St. Ado was
welcomed by St. Remigius, the archbishop. He served as a pastor in Lyons until
860, when he became the archbishop of Vienne, appointed by Pope Nicholas I. St.
Ado reformed the clergy in Vienne and wrote the lives of St. Desiderius and St.
Theuderis.
He also opposed the
actions of Lothair II, the king of Lorraine, who tried to set aside his lawful
wife to marry his mistress. Lothair bribed officials to get a divorce from his
queen, Theutberga, but was undone when St. Ado went to Rome and denounced the
plot to the pope. St. Ado remained in Vienne until his death in 875.
SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-ado-of-vienne/
St. Ado of Vienne
Born about 800, in
the diocese of Sens;
d. 16 December, 875. He was brought up at the Benedictine Abbey
of Ferrières, and had as one of his masters the Abbot
Lupus Servatus, one of the most celebrated humanists of
those times. By his brilliant talents and assiduous
application Ado gained the esteem of his masters and schoolmates,
while his ready obedience, deep humility,
and sincere piety foreshadowed
his future holiness.
Though urged on all sides to enter upon a career in the world, to which his
nobility of birth and great intellectual abilities
entitled him, he consecrated himself
entirely to God by
taking the Benedictine habit at Ferrières.
When Markward, a monk of Ferrières,
became Abbot of Prüm near Trier,
he applied for Ado to teach the sacred
sciences there. His request was granted. Soon, however, certain envious monks of Prüm conceived
an implacable hatred against Ado,
and upon the death of Markward, turned him out of their monastery.
With the permission of his abbot, Ado now
made a pilgrimage to Rome,
where he remained five years. He then went to Ravenna,
where he discovered an old Roman martyrology which
served as the basis for his own renowned martyrology published
in 858, which is generally known as the "martyrology of Ado".
At Lyons he
was received with open arms by the Archbishop, St.
Remigius, who, with the consent of
the Abbot of Ferrières,
appointed him pastor of
the Church of St. Roman near Vienne.
In 860 he became Archbishop of Vienne,
and a year later received the pallium from Nicholas
I. By word and example he began reforming the laxity of his priests,
and he gave them strict orders to instruct the laity in
the necessary doctrines
of Christianity. His own life was a model of humility and
austerity. When Lothaire II, King of Lorraine,
had unjustly dismissed
his wife Theutberga and the papal
legates at the Synod of Metz had
been bribed to sanction the
King's marriage to his concubine Waldrada, Ado hastened
to Rome,
and reported the crime to the Pope,
who thereupon annulled the acts of the synod. Besides the
"Martyrology" mentioned above Ado wrote a chronicle from
the beginning of the world to A.D. 874, "Chronicon de VI ætatibus
mundi", and the lives of St. Desiderius and St.
Theuderius. Ado's name is in the Roman martyrology and
at Vienne his feast is
celebrated on 16 December, the day of his death.
Sources
Butler, Lives of the
Saints, 16 Dec.; for his praise Mabillon, Acta SS. Ord. S. Bened. (1680),
IV (2), 262-275; Ebert, Gesch. der lat. Litt. des Mittelalters (1880),
II, 384-387; Lechner, Martyrologium des Benediktiner-Ordens (Augsburg,
1858); H. Achelis, Die Martyrologien ihre Geschichte und ihr Wert (Berlin,
1900). For his martyrology P.L., CXXIII, 9 sqq.
Ott, Michael. "St.
Ado of Vienne." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New
York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 16 Dec.
2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01145b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Richard E. Cullen.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01145b.htm
December 16
St. Ado, Archbishop of
Vienne, Confessor
From his life collected
by Mabillon, t. 6. Act. Ben. p. 281. See Ceillier, t. 19, p. 247.
A.D. 875
ADO was born in the
diocess of Sens, towards Gatinois, about the year 800, and was of one of the
richest and most noble families of that country. It was the principal care of
his religious parents to seek tutors, masters, and companions who should concur
together by their maxims, example, interior spirit, and prudent and earnest
instructions to form the morals of their son, and inspire into his soul the
most tender and perfect sentiments of Christian piety. All this they happily
found in the monastery of Ferrieres in Gatinois, at that time famous for
learning and discipline. The pregnancy of his wit, the solidity of his
judgment, his assiduity at his studies, and, above all, his humble obedience
and docility, and his sincere piety, gained him the esteem and affections of
the abbot Sigulph, and all his masters; and engaged them to redouble their care
and attention in lending him every assistance to adorn his mind with all useful
science, and to form the most perfect Christian spirit in his heart. Their
pains were abundantly recompensed by the great progress which he made. Many
great and powerful friends sought, by soothing flatteries, and by setting
before him the lure of worldly honours and pleasures, to engage him in the
career which his birth and abilities opened to him. But the pious young
nobleman was not to be imposed upon by specious words or glosses. He saw
clearly the dangers which attended such a course, and the cheat of that false
blaze of shadowy greatness which seemed to surround it; and, dreading lest in
such a state any thing could cause a division in his heart, or slacken his
ardour in the entire consecration of himself to the divine service, he took the
religious habit in that house, resolving never to serve any other master but
God alone.
The saint was yet young
when Marcvard, abbot of Prom, who had formerly been himself a monk of
Ferrieres, begged of the abbot of Ferrieres as the greatest of favours that Ado
might teach the sacred sciences in his monastery. The request could not be
refused. Ado so taught as to endeavour to make his hearers truly sensible that
if studies, even of morality and religion, entirely terminate in a barren
knowledge of those truths, without acquiring the interior habits, sentiments,
and dispositions which they inculcate, though they may sometimes be serviceable
to others, they are not only useless, but pernicious to those who are possessed
of them. Science, without advancing at the same time in humility and virtue, serves
only to heighten vanity, and to swell and puff up the mind. For men who study
only to furnish themselves with materials to shine in conversation, and to fill
their heads with a set of notions which never sink deep into or influence the
heart, fall into an overweening conceit of themselves, and are as much under
the bias of pride as worldly libertines are enslaved to an inordinate love of
riches, honour, or pleasures. Our saint, therefore, instructed his scholars how
to form rules for the conduct of their lives, to examine into themselves, to
subdue their passions, and, by conversing continually in heaven, to put on a
heavenly spirit. Thus he laboured to make all that were under his care truly
servants of God; and it pleased God to suffer him to fall under grievous
trials, that by them he might complete the work of his own sanctification, and
the entire sacrifice of his heart. After the death of Marcvard, he was, through
envy and jealousy, expelled the house, treated with great contempt, and
oppressed by outrageous slanders. Ado took this opportunity to visit the tombs
of the apostles at Rome, and stayed five years in that city. From thence he
removed to Ravenna, where he found an old Martyrology, of which he took a copy,
which he improved by many additions and corrections, and published about the
year 858. 1 He
also compiled a chronicle, and wrote the lives of St. Desiderius and St. Chef.
When he returned out of Italy, he made a halt at Lyons, and St. Remigius,
archbishop of that see, detained him there, and, having obtained leave of the
abbot of Ferrieres, gave him charge of the parish church of St. Romanus, near
Vienne. The celebrated Lupus, who had been chosen abbot of Ferrieres, and who
is well known by his hundred and thirty letters, and several little treatises,
became his zealous advocate, and, the see of Vienne falling vacant, he was
chosen archbishop, and consecrated in September, 860. The year following he
received the pall from Pope Nicholas, with the decrees of a Roman council, the
purport of which was to check certain disorders which had crept into several churches
in France.
Ado’s promotion made no
change in his behaviour: he was still the same humble, modest, mortified man as
when in a cloister, and endeavoured to inspire his flock with the like
sentiments and dispositions. He was indefatigable in pressing the great truths
of salvation. He usually began his sermons and exhortations with these or the
like words: “Hear the eternal truth which speaks to you in the gospel;” or,
“Hear Jesus Christ, who saith to you,” &c. It was a principal part of his
care that all candidates for holy orders should be rigorously examined, and he
would be present at these examinations. He regulated the public service of the
church with much zeal and wisdom, and made strict inquiry into the conduct of
all those who were called to serve in the ministry of the altar, not only with
regard to their progress in sacred learning and the regularity of their
manners, but also with regard to their spirit of devotion and assiduity in
constant prayer. The saint laboured without intermission for the reformation of
manners, and establishing good discipline among the people. He took great care
that all that were ignorant of the principles of Christianity should be forbid
to be sponsors at baptism, or to be joined in matrimony, or admitted to any of
the sacraments till they were better instructed. By his vigilance no quarter
was given to all those who indulged themselves in any vicious practice, in
pleasures that enervate the soul, or in amusements and diversions which are
dangerous to innocence. What enforced his instructions, and gave them weight
and efficacy, was his example. His life was most austere; he was in everything
severe to himself, and all the clergymen that were about him were enjoined to
apprize him of the least slip in his behaviour. Though he was inflexible
towards obstinate sinners, and employed every means to bring them to
repentance, when he found them sincerely desirous to return to God, he received
them with the greatest tenderness and indulgence, imitating the Good Shepherd,
who came down from heaven to seek the lost sheep, and carried them back to the
fold on his shoulders. By his care the poor were every where tenderly assisted
with every corporal and spiritual comfort and succour they could stand in need
of, and many hospitals were raised for their reception and entertainment at his
expense. It was his earnest desire to see all Christians seriously engaged in
the noble contest, which of them should best fulfil his obligations in their
full extent, which are all reduced to those which tie him to his Creator; for
on a man’s concern for them depends his regard for all others. Religion alone
can make mankind good and happy; and those who act under its influence are
steady in the disinterested pursuit of every virtue, and in the discharge of
every duty, even towards the world, their families, and themselves. To sum up
the whole character of this good prelate in two words, Ado knew all the
obligations of his post, and discharged them with the utmost exactness and
fidelity. He distinguished himself in many councils abroad, and held himself
several councils at Vienne to maintain the purity of faith and manners; though
only a fragment of that which he celebrated in 870 is extant. When King
Lothaire sought pretexts to divorce his queen, Thietburge, our holy prelate
obliged him to desist from that unjust project; and he had a great share in
many public transactions, in which the interest of religion was concerned. For
Pope Nicholas I., King Charles the Bald, and Lewis of Germany had the greatest
regard for him, on account of his prudence and sanctity, and paid a great
deference to his advice. In the hurry of employments his mind was as
recollected as if his whole business lay within the compass of his own private
concerns. The multiplicity of affairs never made him the less constant in
prayer, or less rigorous in his mortifications. To read the lives of the
saints, and to consider their edifying actions, in order to imbibe their
spirit, and quicken his own soul in the practice of piety, was an exercise in
which he always found singular comfort and delight, and a great help to
devotion; and, like the industrious bee, which sucks honey from every flower,
he endeavoured to learn from the life of every saint some new practice of
virtue, and to treasure up in his mind some new maxim of an interior life. From
thus employing his thoughts on the saints, studying to copy their virtues, and
affectionately and devoutly honouring them in God, he happily passed to their
glorious society, eternally to enjoy God with them, on the 16th of December,
875, having been bishop fifteen years, three months. He is honoured in the
church of Vienne, and named in the Roman Martyrology on this day.
This mortal life is a
pilgrimage, full of labours, hardships, and perils, through an inhospitable
desert, amidst numberless by-paths, and abounding with howling wild beasts. And
the greatest danger frequently is the multitude of those who go astray before
us. We follow their steps without giving ourselves leisure to think, and are
thus led into some or other of these devious broad roads, which unawares draw
all that are engaged in them headlong down the dreadful precipice into eternal
flames. Amidst these, one only narrow path, which seems beset with briers and
thorns, and is trodden by a small number of courageous souls, leads to
happiness; and amongst those who enter upon it, many in every part fall out of
it into some or other of the devious tracts and windings which terminate in
destruction. Amidst these alarming dangers we have a sure guide: the light of
divine revelation safely points out to us the strait way, and Christ bids us
follow him, walk by his spirit, carefully tread in his steps, and keep always
close to his direction. If ever we forsake his divine guidance, we lose and
bewilder ourselves. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Many
saints have followed this rule, and escaped all dangers, who seem to cry out to
us: “this is the right way: walk you in it.” Can we have a greater comfort,
encouragement, or assistance than to have them always before our eyes? The
example of a God made man for us is the greatest model which we are bound
continually to study in his divine life and precepts. Those who in all stations
of the world have copied his holy maxims and conduct, sweetly invite us to this
imitation of our divine original: every one of them cries out to us, with St.
Paul: 2 Be
ye followers of me as I also am of Christ. Their example, if always placed
before our eyes, will withhold us from being hurried away by the torrent of the
world, and its pernicious maxims, and the remembrance of their heroic
conflicts, and the sight of the crowns they now enjoy, will be our comfort and
support. What can give us greater joy in this valley of tears than to think
often on the bliss which these glorious conquerors already possess, and on the
means by which they attained to it? We ourselves press close after them, and
even now are not far from the same glory; for we live on the borders of it. The
longest life is very short: and every moment in it may, by the least unexpected
incident, ingulf us suddenly in the abyss of eternity, and remove us into the
society of these glorious saints. Can we desire this bliss, and not love,
honour, and always bear them in mind?
Note 1. The best
edition of Ado’s Martyrology was that of Rosweidus, before Monsignor Georgi,
secretary to Benedict XIV. favoured us with a new one far more correct, and
enriched with notes and useful dissertations. [back]
Note 2. Cor. xi.
1. [back]
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume XII: December. The Lives of the
Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/12/161.html
Weninger’s
Lives of the Saints – Saint Ado, Archbishop of Vienne
Article
In the year 875, Saint
Ado, Archbishop of Vienne, in France, rested in the Lord. Descended from a
noble family, he passed his youth in the monastery of Ferrieres, where his
pious parents had placed him that he might be thoroughly instructed and led in
the path of virtue. Young as he was in years, he was so earnest, modest and
retiring, that he resembled an old religious more than a youth of the nobility.
With years he increased in wisdom and piety in such a manner, that he was
admired by every one. The sweetness and delight that he had tasted in the
service of God, determined him to remain for the remainder of his life within
the walls that had sheltered his youth. No flatteries of his relatives, no
persuasions, could change his resolution. He took the habit and endeavored to
live as a true religious in accordance with the rule. At the end of a few
years, he was to all a shining example of spiritual perfection. The fame of his
virtues, wisdom and erudition became known in other monasteries; and Marquard,
Abbot of Prom, in the diocese of Treves, asked for him as master of the
novices. This office Saint Ado discharged with admirable care and industry, to
the great joy of the pious Marquard. At the death of the latter, Ado went, with
the permission of his superior, to Rome, where he remained nearly five years
giving excellent proofs of his virtues and talents. Returning to France, he
went to Lyons, where the bishop soon became acquainted with his knowledge and
wisdom. Desiring to keep him, he asked the permission of the Saint’s abbot,
saying that he wished to make use of his piety and wisdom for the benefit of
the Church. The abbot gave the desired permission, and the bishop charged Saint
Ado with the administration of the parish of Saint Romanus, not far from Vienne.
How zealous he was in the fulfillment of his duties is plainly to be perceived
in the high esteem that he won from the entire clergy, who after the death of
the Archbishop of Vienne, unanimously elected him as successor. The humble
servant of the Lord, deeming himself unworthy of so high a dignity, would have
fled, but he was intercepted; and, notwithstanding all his objections, Ado was
compelled to accept the episcopal dignity.
So unexpected an
elevation did not cause the Saint to change in the least his pious conduct, but
gave it new and brighter lustre. The same spirit of humility, modesty,
mortification and devotion, which formerly had made him an example to all,
still kept their sway over him. He labored so earnestly and with such success
to instruct the ignorant, to reform morals, to abolish abuses, and restore
piety, that in one year his whole archbishopric was entirely renewed. The aim
of most of his exhortations and sermons was to impress on his flock the hatred
of sin, and the necessity of penance; for he considered nothing more dangerous
than to remain long in sin, or to make even a habit of sinning, and hence,
almost constantly to remain in iniquity. To arouse sinners to repentance, he
erected, at the entrance of the cathedral, a little chapel in the form of the
sepulchre of our holy Redeemer, and built an altar in commemoration of the
three great penitents, Saint Magdalen, Saint Paul and the good thief, Dismas.
This admonition effected much good and converted many hardened sinners. The Almighty
afterwards made this chapel famous by many miracles. With his zeal to convert
sinners, Saint Ado combined true compassion for the poor and fatherly love for
them. His income was spent mostly for their comfort, and for the building of
several houses for the maintenance of the needy. His servants were ordered to
admit the poor even when he was at table; for he used to say: “It is one of the
first duties of a bishop to give admittance to his sheep at all times; that
they may find comfort and help in their cares.” Towards himself he was
extremely severe, never permitting himself the slightest relaxation, scarcely
even the necessary rest at night, as he occupied the greater portion of it in
prayer and study. Notwithstanding his many and important affairs, he was always
the first in the Cathedral choir, because it was his belief that prayer and the
praise to the Most High, should always be preferred to all other business. In
this manner, Saint Ado had reached the age of 75 years, during sixteen of which
he had been bishop, when it pleased the Almighty to call this faithful and
unwearied servant to receive his eternal reward, by a happy death, on the 16th
of December, 875.
Practical Considerations
• You observed how Saint
Philogonius acted towards those who, during their martyrdom or for fear of it,
departed from the true faith. Endeavor to imitate him. There are persons who,
while they were young, or later in life, committed great iniquities, but who
afterwards did penance, and now lead an edifying life; while others, to the
scandal of their neighbors, still live in sin. If you can do anything to
convert the latter, leave it not undone. “Reprove,” says Saint Paul to his
disciple Timothy; “entreat, rebuke;” but he adds, “in all patience.” (Timothy
6) or, as he says elsewhere,” in the spirit of meekness.” (Galatians 6) Take
care that you do not despise the penitent for what is past; never reproach them
with their former evil deeds; do not even mention them; otherwise, you sin
against charity. Rather pity them in your heart, and rejoice in their penance,
as the Angels in heaven rejoiced at it. If you had been in their circumstances,
or been tempted as they were, who knows that you would not have fallen much
deeper than they did? You have God alone to thank for your escape. And who
knows whether you will not today or tomorrow commit greater iniquities than
they did? And if it should happen, tell me, would you like that every one
should therefore despise you and reproach you with your crimes? Surely not;
hence, do not so to others. The Almighty does not despise a sinner who repents;
how then do you dare do so? In the whole Gospel you cannot find that Christ
reproached the repentant Magdalen, or Peter, with the sins they had formerly
committed; what then gives you the right to reproach others? God promises by
His prophet, that if the wicked do penance, He will forgive his iniquities.
(Ezekiel 18) Why then will you remember them and frequently refer to them? Take
to heart the beautiful admonition of the Wise Man: “Despise not a man that
turns away from sin, nor reproach him therewith. Remember that we are all
worthy of reproof. (Eccles. 8)
• Saint Ado deemed
nothing more dangerous than to remain long in sin, or to live almost
continually in it. The Saint judged rightly; for, such a man has every reason
to fear that he will die in sin, and Hence go to eternal destruction. We
generally die as we have lived; if we live in continual sin, it can hardly be
expected that we shall not die in it. It would be a miracle of divine mercy not
to die in sin after having continually lived in it. Whoever makes a habit of
doing evil, and almost continually lives in it, generally dies without penance;
because either he has no time for penance, being suddenly called away from the
world, or he does not recognize, at the approach of death, the danger he is in,
or because the disturbance of his mind and the violence of his pain allow him
not to think of penance. But even should it happen that he does penance before
his end, it is much to be feared that this penance is not satisfactory for want
of true sorrow 7 , of earnest resolution, or of a sincere confession. In these
cases it is very plain that a man is in danger of going to eternal destruction.
Besides this, Holy Writ assures us, that a man without fear cannot be justified
(Eccles. 1); meaning, that because he does not do true penance, he cannot
obtain pardon for his sins. A man who makes a habit of sin and almost
continually lives in it, shows that he is without fear, that he fears neither
God, nor His disfavor, His menaces, nor the punishment that awaits the
impenitent sinner. How can true penance be expected from such a person? How can
we imagine that he will obtain the pardon of his sins? If he had the least
fear, he would most assuredly not offend the Lord so recklessly; he would
appease Him without delay by true penance, and thus save himself from the
danger of eternal damnation. Heed this lesson. Avoid all sin; but if you have
sinned, remain not in so dangerous a condition; do penance, and make not a
habit of doing wrong. Should you, however, already have done so, tear yourself
away from the brink of the precipice on which you are standing. Be sure that
evil habits must be uprooted, if you wish to go to heaven. Be sure also that
they can be uprooted. The manner in which this can be done I have elsewhere
pointed out to you. If you live almost continually in sin and do not overcome
the evil habit, the words, with which Christ menaced the Pharisees, will become
true of you: “You shall seek me, and shall not find me; and you shall die in
your sins.” (John 8)
MLA
Citation
Father Francis Xavier
Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Ado, Archbishop of Vienne”. Lives
of the Saints, 1876. CatholicSaints.Info.
3 June 2018. Web. 16 December 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-ado-archbishop-of-vienne/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-ado-archbishop-of-vienne/
Sant' Adone di Vienne Vescovo
Sens, c. 800 - 875
Entrato nell’abbazia di
Ferrieres-en-Gatinais, dopo anni di vita monastica venne proposto da S. Remigio
quale vescovo di Vienne dove rimase fino alla morte. Importante vescovo della
Francia Medievale, restaurò la disciplina ecclesiastica e regolò l’ufficiatura
divina tenendo vari sinodi ed esercitando una benefica influenza sulla vita
politica del tempo.
Etimologia: Adone =
signore, padrone, dall'ebraico
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale
Martirologio Romano: A
Vienne in Burgundia, nell’odierna Francia, sant’Adone, vescovo, che da monaco
fu eletto vescovo e onorò degnamente la memoria dei santi componendo un
martirologio.
Nessuna memoria di Santo è prevista per questo giorno, ma il nuovo Calendario della Chiesa, con le vicende che hanno accompagnato la sua revisione, non sempre facile, ci incoraggia a parlare di un Santo, ricordato a questa data, che ha un posto importante proprio nella storia interessantissima dei Martirologi, cioè degli elenchi dei Santi e dei Martiri secondo l'ordine del Calendario.
1 primi Martirologi ebbero carattere locale, limitato cioè ai Santi di una certa Chiesa, e vennero redatti come calendari: ad ogni giorno corrispondeva il nome di un Santo, o meglio di un Martire, e nulla più.
Presto però si tentarono Martirologi " generali ", con Santi cioè di tutti i paesi, elencati secondo la data della morte. Il più antico fu quello siriaco, e il più complesso quello attribuito, a torto, a San Girolamo. Poi si passò ai Martirologi " storici ", nei quali, accanto al nome del Santo, si davano notizie della sua vita e della sua morte. Nell'Alto Medioevo, i più celebri furono quello inglese del venerabile Beda e quello lionese del monaco Floro.
Ma i Martirologi di Beda e di Floro non erano completi. Alcuni giorni erano rimasti senza un Santo, e i monaci che iniziavano l'Ufficio quotidiano con la lettura dell'" elogio " di un Martire, in quei giorni si trovavano imbarazzati. Adone pensò così di completare il Martirologio, dando ad ogni giorno il suo Santo. Poi aggiunse altri nomi anche ai giorni che già ne avevano uno. Finalmente, trovandosi in mano un ampio materiale agiografico, pensò di rimpolpare le scarne notizie sui Santi con " estratti più numerosi e un po' più lunghi ".
Adone era francese, nato nella contea di Vienne, da nobile famiglia. Accolto giovinetto nel monastero di Ferrères, non vi restò a lungo, per dissapori con l'Abate. Fu a Roma, a Ravenna, e finalmente si fissò a Lione, centro di studio sui Martirologi.
Imparato il mestiere, lo mise rapidamente in opera, preparando frettolosamente il suo nuovo Martirologio. Purtroppo, alle buone intenzioni non corrisposero altrettante buone attuazioni. Per riempire i vuoti, egli si valse di una folla di personaggi, spesso degni della santità, ma più spesso sconosciuti, tratti dall'Antico e dal Nuovo Testamento e dalle opere di molti scrittori sacri. La sua fu anche un'opera di carità verso i fedeli. Infatti scriveva: " I fratelli più deboli, e quelli che hanno meno mezzi di lettura, troveranno qui, sul conto dei Martiri, tutto un insieme di letture riassunte, e avranno così, in un volume di piccola mole, l'equivalente di ciò che altri sono obbligati a cercare con fatica tra molti libri ".
Per allungare e colorire gli " elogi ", ricorse a tutte le fonti accessibili, buone o cattive. Peggio ancora, confuse e spezzettò le notizie già poco sicure; ripeté e mescolò i nomi; equivocò sulle località e sulle date, e aggiunse di sua iniziativa molti particolari che gli premevano.
Nonostante questi difetti, o forse proprio grazie a questi difetti, l'opera di Adone ebbe molto successo. Si diffuse rapidamente, soprattutto nelle comunità benedettine. Non piacquero però i commenti troppo lunghi che il monaco Usuardo ridusse all'essenziale. Il Martirologio di Adone, così sveltito, si diffuse ancor più largamente, propalando anche inesattezze storiche e fantasie devote.
Per fortuna i meriti di Sant'Adone non si limitarono a questa, e ad altre
simili, opere di storico. Eletto Arcivescovo di Vienne, nel Delfinato, resse
quella chiesa con ferma autorità in tempi di contese politiche. Morto nell'875,
pochi secoli dopo era tra i Santi. E bisogna dire - a scanso di sospetti
maliziosi - che egli venne incluso nei Martirologi da compilatori più
scrupolosi di quanto non fosse stato egli stesso!
Fonte : Arhivio
Parrochia
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/81700
Ado van Vienne (ook van
Prüm) osb, Frankrijk; aartsbisschop; † 875.
Feest 16 december.
Hij werd rond 800 in
Bourgondië geboren. Voor zijn opvoeding werd hij als kind toevertrouwd aan de
abdij van Ferrières. Vandaar kwam hij als leider van de kloosterschool naar het
benedictijner klooster van Prüm in de Eifel; dat was ten tijde van abt Markward
(† 853; feest 27 februari). Naar het schijnt moest hij daar de wijk nemen,
omdat jaloerse monniken op hem gebeten waren...
Hij schijnt in Rome (en
Ravenna?) geweest te zijn. Vervolgens komen we hem tegen als priester verbonden
aan de St-Romanuskerk te Lyon. In 860 wordt hij aartsbisschop van Vienne. Hij
komt op voor de goede zeden; zo verdedigt hij de heiligheid en
onverbreekbaarheid van het kerkelijk huwelijk tegenover keizer Lothar.
Hij is vooral bekend
dankzij zijn 'Martyrologium',
een boek waarin alle heiligen met een korte beschrijving worden opgesomd. Het
vormt een uitbreiding ten opzichte van het Martyrologium van
Beda Venerabilis († 735; feest 25 mei). Daarnaast bezorgt hij een
wereldkroniek, die de geschiedenis beschrijft vanaf het begin van de schepping
tot in zijn dagen.
Zijn relieken werden door
de Hugenoten met
die van anderen op een hoop gegooid.
[101a; 102; 103; 111a; 122; 143; 500; Dries van den Akker s.j./2007.11.27]
© A. van den Akker
s.j. / A.W. Gerritsen
SOURCE : https://heiligen-3s.nl/heiligen/12/16/12-16-0875-ado-vienne.php
Saint Adon, archevêque de
Vienne : http://orthodoxievco.net/ecrits/vies/synaxair/decembre/adon.pdf