Saint Clotilde 6th C Queen

Saint Clotilde was born about 474, and she died June 3, 545. Saint Clotilde is the patron saint of the lame in Normandy and the patron saint of Les Andelys. She is famous because she married Clovis I, perhaps you have heard of the first king of the Franks, in 492 or 493. Clotilde is the patron saint of the lame in Normandy and the patron saint of Les Andelys and has been “invoked against sudden death and iniquitous husbands.” She was able to convince Clovis to convert to Christianity; the Franks, due to her influence, were Catholics for centuries. She was very important. Why do you think she is anonymous?

Saint Clotilde Biography

Saint Clotilde, born around 474 in the Burgundy region of France. Saint Clotilde’s grandfather was Gondioc, who had four sons: Gundobad, Clotilde’s father, Chilperic II of Burgundy, Gondemar, and Godegisel. After Gondioc’s death, Burgundy was divided up among them, but Gundobad gained power over Burgundy when he murdered his brothers.  Saint Clotilde and her sister, Sedeleuba (or Chrona), who became a nun and founded the church of Saint-Victor in Geneva, were raised at the court of Gundobad.

Shortly after Caretena’s death, Saint Clotilde and Clovis I, the first king of the Franks, were married in 492. Clovis was impressed “by her beauty and wisdom.” Their marriage, from the 6th century on, “was made the theme of epic narratives, in which the original facts were materially altered.” Saint Clotilde’s story fascinated later generations because it was “the centerpiece of a struggle between the old Catholic, Roman population against the Arianism of the Germanic tribes,” although there is no evidence that Clovis was an Arian sympathizer before his marriage and conversion to Catholicism.

Saint Clotilde influenced Clovis and actively encouraged him to convert to Catholicism. He allowed the baptism of their oldest son, Ingomir, who died in infancy, and of their next son, Clodomir, but he blamed their oldest child’s death on Clotilde’s faith and resisted her attempts to convert him. Clodomir also became ill, but recovered and they had five children in all: four sons and one daughter.

Clovis was baptized by Saint Remigius at Reims in 496, along with 3,000 of the Frankish people, after a battle with the Alemanni. According to tradition, while Saint Clotilde was in prayer, and as Clovis began to win a key battle he was fighting, an angel brought her three white lilies; Clovis later substituted lilies for the three frogs on the insignia on his battle shield.

Clovis died in 511, and Saint Clotilde had him buried at the Basilica of the Holy Apostles, which later became the Church of Sainte-Geneviève, which they built together as a mausoleum honouring Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. Genevieve might have been the first to suggest that Clovis build a church honouring Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which he built in deference to Saint Clotilde’s wishes; she completed the church after his death.

After the death of Clovis and her grandchildren, Saint Clotilde left Paris and moved to Tours, where she spent most of her time near the tomb of Saint Martin of Tours and became closely associated with the diocese of Tours. She became detached from politics and power struggles except through prayer.  A month later, Saint Clotilde died in Tours on June 3, 545, and was buried at the feet of St. Genevieve and beside Clovis and her older children, at the Basilica of the Holy Apostles. She was a widow for 34 years.

Conclusion

Saint Clodtilde was an important political figure, and her faith resulted in the conversion to Catholicism by a king and several thousand Frankish soldiers. Her praying for victory in battle is reminiscent of Emperor Constantine. He won too (Clovis won) and both converted and placed a religios symbol on their shields. Following the death of Clovis, she lived for a long time, 34 years, and did a lot of good.