Saint Gibrian

Saint Gibrian was the eldest of ten children born in Ireland in the late 5th century A.D. There were 7 brothers and 3 sisters, all of whom traveled from Ireland to France where they first settled in Brittany before moving to the Chalons-sur-Marne region where there still exists a small commune named for St. Gibrian.

At the seat of the diocese, in Reims, the siblings were received by St Remigius who gave them permission to settle in the region. They each established a hermitage in the forests near the Coole and Marne rivers. While they lived in isolation, they were close enough to occasionally visit each other.

Along with Gibrian, his brothers and sisters were also venerated as saints. Their names are Helan, Tressan, German, Veran, Abran, and Petran, Francla, Pomptia, and Posemna.

St. Gibrian died in 509 A.D. While a small chapel was built over his grave, it was destroyed by Normans in the 9th century. The saint’s body, however, remained intact. Due to many miracles that occurred near his tomb, including someone being cured of blindness, his relics were moved and placed at an alter in Reims.

In the mid-12th century St. Gibrian began to attract a cult there due to the Abbot of St. Remi, Odo, who moved the relics to a new shrine in 1145. There were up to 102 miracles recorded from the time these were moved on April 16th until August 24th.

After that, enthusiasm faded until a revival occurred in 1325. That year, a replacement of the saint’s reliquary with a finer one created renewed interest for pilgrims and for a time they flocked to see these relics.

St Gibrian is the Patron saint of Peace and Reconciliation in Ireland.