Erkembode of Thérouanne

Saint Erkembode of Thérouanne was a monk and abbot of the monastery of Sithiu at Saint-⁠Omer in northern France, then bishop of Thérouanne for twenty-⁠six years, who died in 714 (the year is uncertain). Nothing is known of his youth; it is supposed that he was an Irish monk who came with other brethren to Sithiu. He was a disciple of Abbot Bertin, himself a disciple of Saint Columbanus of Luxeuil, and succeeded him in the leadership of the monastery. The clergy and people elected him bishop of Thérouanne, and he remained also abbot. The diocese was very large, from Ypres in present-⁠day Belgium to the valley of the Somme, so he travelled widely. He was buried in the cathedral of Saint-⁠Omer, where his tomb remains. Pilgrims used to leave their shoes at the tomb as an offering of their journeys; in modern times, parents of lame children leave pairs of children's shoes, praying for healing. He is a saint of the undivided Church, commemorated on 12 April (new style; 25 April in the old style).