Saint Blitmund of Bobbio
Also known as
- Blitmund of St-Valéry
- Blitmund of Leuconay
- Blitmund of Picardië
- Blidmundus
- Blimond
- Blimont
- Blimundus
- Blithmundus
- Blithumund
- Blitmond
- Gogus
Profile
Born to the nobility, as a young man, Blitmund moved to northern France to live as a hermit along the River Somme in Leuconay. In 611 he built a chapel and two cells in the area. He brought a hanged man back to life, which caused the spread of his reputation as a miracle worker and holy man. This, in turn, led to would-be spiritual students gathering around him and living in a nearby monastery.
For unexplained reasons, Blitmund lost the use of his legs; he was healed of this paralysis c.615 by his friend and spiritual teacher Saint Valery of Leucone. Blitmund then became a monk at Valery‘s monastery. When the house was destroyed by local pagans c.620, Blitmund led a group of the monks to Bobbio, Italy where they established the community in a monastery established by Saint Columban, spiritual teacher of Valery. Spritiual student of Saint Attalas of Bobbio.
Around 627, Blitmund returned to the area of Leucone, France where he lived for a year as a hermit before receiving permission to build another abbey. He served as its abbot, and made Leucone a site of pilgrimage, piety and learning, and a hub for evanglization that eventually converted the region. The area was later known as Saint-Valéry, and now the village of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme.
Born
- late 6th-century in the Dauphiné region of modern France
MLA Citation
- “Saint Blitmund of Bobbio“. CatholicSaints.Info. 3 January 2017. Web. 27 April 2018. <>