Laetus, St.
LAETUS, ST.
Hermit; fl. at Micy, sixth century. The sole primary source for his life is the largely legendary vita composed in the 10th century on the model of the vita of St. Viator of Sologne (sixth century) written in the ninth century. Whether Laetus was ever ordained or remained a deacon is uncertain. He was a monk in the monastery at Micy under the abbot avitus, and then went into a forest area north of Orléans as a hermit. The place where he died was later called Saint-Lié in his honor. In 943 Ermentheus, bishop of Orléans, transferred his relics to Pithiviers, France. In the late Middle Ages he was venerated, among other places, at Laon, Paris, and Orléans.
Feast: Nov. 5.
Bibliography: Bibliotheca hagiographica latina antiquae et mediae aetatis (Brussels 1898–1901) 2:4672. Acta sanctorum Nov. 3:67–79. a. m. zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedictinum (Metten 1933–38) 3:264–265. a. poncelet, "Les Saints de Micy," Analecta Bollandiana 24 (1905) 1–104, esp. 61–71, 98–103.
[m. r. p. mcguire]