Germanus of Talloires

Saint Germanus of Talloires, a holy monk, was the founder and first prior of the Benedictine priory of Talloires on Lake Annecy in Savoy. He lived in the 11th century and reposed at an age of over a hundred.

The priory was built in 1018 by Rudolph III, king of Burgundy, and his wife Ermengarda. Germanus withdrew as a hermit to a cave hewn in the rock near the priory and came to the community only for the divine office. The fame of the holiness of Germanus and his companions (Rudolph, Ismio, Ismidon and Iorius) stayed alive after their death, and the first monks of Talloires were honored by the people.

Saint Francis de Sales, bishop of the place, had the hermitage of Germanus restored. On 28 October 1621 he visited the priory with his brother and placed the relics in a new chest on the altar. Pope Leo XIII confirmed his veneration by decree in 1889, and the Roman Martyrology commemorates him on 28 October, by the Western calendar (new style).