This saint had a losing streak

By Tony Staley
Compass Editor

	St. Romaric When: Seventh century What: Monk and abbot Feast: Dec. 8

St. Romaric (also known as Romaricus) might be considered a three-time loser.

This seventh century nobleman began life as the son of wealth. But his father lost the family estate when Queen Brunehilda had him killed. After that, Romaric became a homeless wanderer. Eventually, he regained his position as a Merovingian nobleman in the first Frankish dynasty that ruled from the fifth to eighth centuries in what is now part of France and Germany.

He held an important position in the court of King Clotaire II and owned a large estate in the Vosges, a mountain range in northeast France. But all that changed when St. Amatus of Remiremont met Romaric and converted him to Christianity. Again, Romaric lost all his possessions. Except this time, he gave them up freely for the religious life as a monk at Luxeuil, Gaul.

When Romaric joined the community, he gave up his possessions and his serfs, many of whom responded to their new freedom by following him into the monastery.

Eventually, in 620, Amatus and Romaric established a monastery at what had been Romaric's estate. The abbey later was known as Remiremont. Amatus was the first abbot.

Romaric succeeded Amatus as the abbot in 623 and recruited St. Arnulfus of Metz to join the monastery. For 30 years, Romaric served as the abbot. Then in 653, Romaric learned that Grimoald was plotting to keep Prince Dagobert - the son of his old friend, Blessed Pepin of Landen - from becoming the next king of Austrasia (an area that includes parts of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands).

Despite age and poor health, Romaric went to Metz to convince Grimoald to change his mind and warn the other nobles not to follow Grimoald's plan. After receiving their assurances, Romaric returned to his abbey where he died three days later.

That brings us to his third loss. Because his feast falls on Dec. 8, which is also the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Romaric receives virtually no attention.

But, if asked, St. Romaric would probably quote Jesus and say that by losing what the world considered important, he ended up gaining what was really important - salvation.