Saint Blitmund of Bobbio

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

3 January

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.