Roger of Élan, Bl.
ROGER OF ÉLAN, BL.
English Cistercian; d. Jan. 4, 1162–75. He joined the Cistercians at Lorroy-en-Berry, Diocese of Bourges, France, some time after 1129. In 1148 he was made first abbot of Élan, founded by Withier, Lord of Rethel, in the Diocese of Reims. His vita, written some time after his death, is based merely on tradition. It records that Abp. Henry of Reims (1162–75), brother of King Louis VII, not liking the bread offered to him on a visit to the abbey, granted as much land in Attigny as could be plowed by five yoke of oxen in a year to provide better grain. Miracles apart, no precise details of Roger's life or death are available. His relics, although partly dispersed during the French Revolution, are still the object of pilgrimage.
Feast: Jan. 4.
Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum Jan. 1:182–185. Bibliotheca hagiographica latina antiquae et mediae aetatis, 2 vol. (Brussels 1898–1901) 2:7288. Cistercienser-Chronik 27 (1915) 13. g. mÜller, ibid. 33 (1921) 161–164. j. l. baudot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienheureux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes, 12 vol. (Paris 1935–56) 1:73.
[c. h. talbot]