Mederic (monk)

After the gospel, the oblate approached the altar carrying a host and a chalice with a little wine which the priest received as a deposit to the Lord.

Herald, abbot of Saint-Martin, having died about 680, it is quite naturally that the brothers elected him, following the advice of the bishop of Autun, Hermenarius, who recommended them to choose a pastor able to save the flock of the Christ of the Wolf Tooth.

[5] After three days of fasting the monks assembled at the church, sang the Mass of the Holy Ghost, intoned the Veni Creator, and proceeded to the election of their abbot by designating Mederic unanimously.

Instruis-les par tes conseils et tes préceptes et mérites d'entendre ces paroles du juge miséricordieux : O bon fidèle serviteur, parce que tu as été fidèle en peu de choses, je t'établirai sur beaucoup d'autres, entre dans la joie de ton Seigneur" (Math.25.11)The more he was raised, the more he faded away.

He built a cell there some distance from Autun but this secret was quickly broken because the monks, plunged in sadness by his disappearance, went in search of him.

Among his clergy the young monk Frodulphe, also known as Saint Frou, was close to the master who had held him on the baptismal font and had educated himself to raise him to the highest degrees of perfection.

The aging Mederic had great difficulty in making this journey on foot, and fell ill on arriving at the Collegiate Church of Saint-Martin de Champeaux, near Melun, where they stopped for several months.

Sometimes they went to Melun to exercise charity; hearing some of the prisoners moaning from the depths of their cell, Mederic moved his heart and asked God for their deliverance.

It was in this uninhabited place that a chapel was erected[6] to honor its memory, and that some houses were grouped around the building which was at the origin of the village of Saint-Méry, in the diocese of Paris.

The bones of the saint were raised and placed above the altar in a silver shrine enriched with precious stones and supported by two angels.

Adalard, former Count of Autun, made for the occasion rich gifts to the new church which was placed under the name of St. Peter and St. Merry.