Vitonus of Verdun

Holy Hierarch Vitonus of Verdun (also called Vanne or Vaune) was a monk as a young man and was made bishop of Verdun by King Clovis I, serving from 500 to 525; he reposed around 525. He is a saint of the undivided Church.

In the Franco-⁠Roman war of 486, after the Frankish victory at Soissons, Verdun refused to yield and was besieged by Clovis. Bishop Firminus died during the siege, and the citizens sent the revered priest Euspicius to the king. Clovis wished to make him bishop, but he declined and proposed his nephew, the monk Vitonus, whom the king accepted. Vitonus converted all the pagans of the region and was known for miracles; legend has it that he drowned a terrible dragon in the Meuse, a traditional image of the struggle against paganism. He also founded a college for priests. He was buried at the church of Saints Peter and Paul.

He was venerated as a saint immediately after his death and was canonised around 850 by his successor Hatton. A church dedicated to him existed in Verdun as early as 701; in 952 the Benedictine abbey of Saint-⁠Vanne was founded on the site, and its ruins are today within the city's citadel. In 1147 Pope Eugene III solemnly translated his bones to the new cathedral; the relics have since been lost.

He is commemorated on 9 November, the liturgical date in the Orthodox calendar (the same day number on the old and new calendars).