Hi, Emily —
I didn't find much on this specific
saint except for the following:
- I fell upon a Google book:
Under the Its Conquest
and its conquerors chapter,
Page 19 it states:
St. Armand was the patron
saint of Thorigny, sometimes
called
St. Amand de Thorigny.
Thorigny-sur-Marne is a French
commune located in the Seine-et-Marne
département, in the Île-de-France
région in France, near
Paris.
Inhabitants of Thorigny-sur-Marne
are called Thorigniens.
Here is a Google
map of the place; it looks
about 15 miles north of Paris.
So it appears that this saint
may have been well known for addressing
the pastoral, spiritual and physical
needs of the people of Thorigny-sur-Marne.
- Wikipedia also had this
entry, where it stated
it could be several people.
Under Saint
Amand, they said:
The 7th-century Saint Amand has
given his name to numerous places named Saint-Amand, (as well as
variations Saint-Amans and Saint-Amant)
With this in mind, I found the
founding entry in my Pocket Dictionary
of Saints by John J. Delaney for St. Amand:
St. Amand (also Amandus)— (c.
584 A.D. — c. 679 A.D.) Born
at Nantes, Lower Poitou, France
he became a monk around 604
at a monastery on the island
of Yeu, was ordained at Tours,
then lived as a hermit for
fifteen years at Bourges.
On his return from a pilgrimage
to Rome, he was consecrated
a missionary bishop in 629,
with no sea, and devoted himself
to missionary activities in
Flanders, Carinthia, and probably
Germany. He was banished for
censuring King Dagobert I,
was recalled, then despite
initial difficulties, was highly
successful in evangelizing
the area around Ghent. He
founded numerous monasteries
in Belgium, may have been chosen
bishop of Maestricht, but after
three years resigned to return
to missionary work. He spent
the last years of his life
an abbot of Elnon where he
died February 6.
Another article said:
As well as being a great missionary,
St. Amand was a father of
monasticism in ancient Belgium,
and a score of monasteries
claimed him as founder.
He found houses at Elnon(e)
(Saint-Amand-les-Eaux),
near Tournai, which became
his headquarters, St. Peters on Mont-Blendin at Ghent.
It is said, though possibly
apocryphal, that in 646
he was chosen bishop of
Maestricht, but that three
years later, he resigned
that See to St. Remaclus
and returned to the missions
which he had always had
most at heart. He continued
his labors among the heathens
until a great age, when,
broken with infirmities,
he retired to Elnon. There
he governed as Abbot for four years, spending his
time in preparing for the
death which came to him
at last soon after 676.
That St. Amand was one of
the most imposing figures
of the Merovingian epoch,
is disputed by no serious
historian; he was not unknown
in England, and the pre-Reformation chapel of the Eyston family
at east Hendred in Birkshire
is dedicated in his honor.
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If the saint you are looking for
(St. Amant) is just a variation like Amand or Amandus,
then based on CatholicSaints.Info St. Amant would be a patron of:
- bar staff
- barkeepers
- bartenders
- Boy Scouts
- brewers
- hotel keepers
- innkeepers
- merchants
- vine growers
- vintners
- wine-makers
- wine merchants
This surprises me a bit. After reading
his biography, you think he would
be the patron of:
- Monasticism in ancient Belgium
- Belgium missionaries
- Evangelization in current day
Belgium,
or
- Abbots
Just my humble opinion.
Hope this helps,
Mike
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