St. Medard
Feast 06-08 · Canonized Pre-Congregation
Patron of
About
Medard was born around 456 in Salency, Picardy, into a noble Frankish family. He was ordained a priest and became bishop of Vermand, later moving the see to Noyon, and around 530 he also served as bishop of Tournai. He was known for his charity to the poor and his care for the people of the countryside.
Many legends grew up around Medard, the most famous telling how an eagle sheltered him from a sudden storm with its wings while he was a boy, leaving him dry while the rain fell all around. This story made him the saint to invoke for good weather, and farmers long looked to his feast day, June 8, as a weather marker.
Medard died around 545 and was buried at Soissons, where the abbey of Saint-Médard became a place of pilgrimage. He is a patron of farmers, vineyards, and good weather.
Prayer
St. Medard, whom an eagle sheltered from the storm with its wings, pray for farmers and for all who depend on the weather, that the seasons may be kind and the harvest sure. Amen.