Godfrey of Amiens
Encyclopedia
Godfrey of Amiens (1066–1115) was a bishop of Amiens. He is a saint in the Catholic Church.
.
At the age of 25, he was ordained priest by the bishop of Noyon and became the abbot of the Abbey of Nogent-sous-Coucy.
In 1104, Godfrey was named the bishop of Amiens
. While serving as bishop, he came across many problems. Shunned by the nobles and bourgeois because of his teachings advocating better relations with the poor, menaced by the revolt of peasants against the feudal lords and worried about the menaces of civil war, he preferred to spend his time at the Grande Chartreuse
to maintain a life of penitence. However, in 1115, he was called back to his post by the people of Amiens, where the same problems awaited him.
He fell sick and took refuge in the abbey of Saint Crépin in Soissons
, where he died November 8, 1115.
Life
Godfrey was born in 1066 in Moulincourt, in the diocese of Soissons. The third child in a noble family, he was taken in at a young age by his uncle, the bishop of Soissons, who sent him to be educated in a monastery close to PéronnePéronne, Somme
Péronne is a commune of the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It is close to where the Battles of the Somme took place during World War I...
.
At the age of 25, he was ordained priest by the bishop of Noyon and became the abbot of the Abbey of Nogent-sous-Coucy.
In 1104, Godfrey was named the bishop of Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
. While serving as bishop, he came across many problems. Shunned by the nobles and bourgeois because of his teachings advocating better relations with the poor, menaced by the revolt of peasants against the feudal lords and worried about the menaces of civil war, he preferred to spend his time at the Grande Chartreuse
Grande Chartreuse
Grande Chartreuse is the head monastery of the Carthusian order. It is located in the Chartreuse Mountains, north of the city of Grenoble, in the commune of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse , France. Originally, the château belonged to the See of Grenoble...
to maintain a life of penitence. However, in 1115, he was called back to his post by the people of Amiens, where the same problems awaited him.
He fell sick and took refuge in the abbey of Saint Crépin in Soissons
Soissons
Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones...
, where he died November 8, 1115.
Veneration
- Godfrey of Amiens is celebrated on November 8.
- A street in AmiensAmiensAmiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
is named after him.
Sources
- (fr) Essai sur Saint Geoffroy, évêque d'Amiens - Guérard - 1843
- (fr) Histoire de la ville d'Amiens depuis les gaulois jusqu'à nos jours - R.de Hyacinthe Dusevel - 1848 - Amiens (France) - Page 259 - (Gallica)
- (fr) Le livre des saints et des prénoms - Alain Guillermou - 1976 - Page 146