EUSTACE OF LUXEUIL, ST.

Abbot; b. Burgundy, c. 560; d. Luxeuil, France, April 2, 629. A nephew of Miget, bishop of Langres, he became a monk at the Abbey of luxeuil toward the end of the sixth century and was placed in charge of the monastic school there. He followed his abbot, the Irish missionary columban, into exile (c. 610), but was sent back to take his place as abbot (c. 612). Chlotar II later requested him to convince Columban to return to Luxeuil from bobbio, but Eustace was unsuccessful. He preached throughout the countryside around the abbey and was a companion of agil on a missionary journey to Bavaria. Upon his return (c. 617), he found himself forced to oppose the monk Agrestius, who had left the monastery to preach, but now was speaking in open support of the heresy of the three chapters and in opposition to the severity of the abbey's rule. At the Synod of Mâcon the abbot promoted the condemnation of Agrestius and his adherents (626–627). The benedictine rule, which Agrestius had advocated, was introduced at Luxeuil only by Eustace's successor, Abbot Waldebert. Eustace was buried at Luxeuil, where his relics remained until c. 966, when they were transferred to the Abbey of Vergaville in Lorraine. The body disappeared in 1670, but the site remained a center of pilgrimage until the French Revolution. Eustace's life was written by a contemporary, jonas of bobbio (Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum, 4:119–130); he has been mentioned in the martyrologies since the 10th century.

Feast: March 29.

Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum (Paris 1863–), March 3:781–787. Bibliotheca hagiographica latina antiquae et mediae aetatis (Brussels 1898–1901) 2773–74. c. perry, La Vie de Saint Eustase, 2 ^e abbé de Luxeuil (Metz 1649). p. a. pidoux de maduÈre, Vie des saints de Franche-Comté, 4 v. (Lons-le-Saunier 1908–09) 2:178–185. a. m.. zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedictinum: Die Heiligen und Seligen des Benediktinerorderns und seiner Zweige (Metten 1933–38) 1:385–389. j. l. baudot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienheueux selon l'ordre du calen-drier avec l'historique des fêtes (Paris 1935–56) 3:624–626. g. bardy, Catholicisme. 4:714–715. t. de morembert, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques (Paris 1912–) 16:12. Patrologia Latina, ed. j. p. migne (Paris 1878–90) 87:1045–56.

[b. j. comaskey]