John of Chinon

John of Chinon, also called John of Moutiers or John the Recluse, came from the British Isles and chose a life of solitude, as a priest, at Chinon in the diocese of Tours, in the 6th century (some sources say the 5th). He is mentioned by Gregory of Tours in the Liber in Gloria confessorum, by Rabelais and by the nun and hagiographer Baudonivia. He made a small hermitage in a cave above the town, near the church of Saint-⁠Étienne, arranged a cell there with an oratory, and then an orchard and a small garden in which he planted a laurel. He fed on the little he grew and more abundantly on the reading of the Holy Scriptures.

He was spiritual counsellor of Saint Radegund, who visited him on her way to Tours, where she was going to venerate the tomb of Saint Martin, and stayed three days with him. From him she asked a blessing to found a hospice on the land of Saix, one of the first in France. He died very old and was buried on the very site of the hermitage. Many were healed through his intercession, especially of gout. In the 12th century a chapel dedicated to Saint Radegund was begun. The story also records the miracle of the laurel: a poor man, wanting a handle for his axe, cut down the laurel the saint had planted, and John appeared to him by night and reproached him. He is commemorated on 27 June by the Catholic and the Orthodox Church, in the Western calendar (new style).