Saint Vitonus (died 525), also called Vanne or Vaune, became a monk as a young man and was later made Bishop of Verdun by King Clovis I.
In 486, following the decisive Frankish victory at the Battle of Soissons, Verdun refused to yield to the Franks and was besieged by King Clovis I.
Vitonus was canonised around 850 by his successor Hatton, when local bishops governed the veneration of holy men and women within their own dioceses.
The Benedictine Abbey of St-Vanne, dedicated to Vitonius, was established on the site in 952;[6] today its ruins are within the city's citadel.
Since 1976, the diocese of Verdun has celebrated his memorial day on 12 October together with an earlier bishop, Saint Sanctinus.