Theodard of Maastricht

Theodard of Maastricht (also Theodard of Tongeren) was a 7th-century bishop of Maastricht-Liège, in present-day Netherlands. As Theodard was murdered while on his way to protest the plundering of his diocese by Frankish nobles, he is considered a martyr. His feast day is 10 September. Theodard was uncle to his successor Lambert of Maastricht, and therefore brother or brother-in-law to Robert II, Lord Chancellor of France.

Saint Theodard of Maastricht
Saint Theodard, St-Paul's Cathedral, Liège
Born	c. 618 Speyer, Germany
Died	c. 670 Rülzheim, Germany
Venerated in	Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches
Canonized	Pre-canonical
Feast	10 September
Attributes	Sword
Patronage	Drover, cattle dealers

Sources

What little we know about Theodard comes from a seventh century biography, probably written by Heriger of Lobbes. There is also a later biography by Anselm of Liège.^[1]

Life

Theodard (known as also Diethardt or Dodart) was born around 602 in the area of Speyer in the Palatinate. He is thought to have been a disciple of Remaclus at the monastery of Stavelot in Belgium. When Remaclus became bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht in around 653, Theodard succeeded him as abbot of the double monastery of Stavelot-Malmedy. When Remaclus retired to Stavelot in 663, Theodard succeeded him as bishop of Maastricht.^[2] His biographers describe him as a cheerful and likeable person who performed his role as bishop with great energy and pastoral care.^[1] As bishop, he built and restored churches, founded monasteries, promoted evangelization, and charity.^[3]

He was murdered, probably c.670, while on a journey through the forest of Bienwald south of Speyer, close to the village of Rülzheim, on his way to seek justice from Childeric II of Austrasia in a legal dispute regarding Frankish nobles plundering the diocese.^[4] It is generally suspected that the murder was carried out on behalf of the nobles.

At first buried at the scene in Rülzheim, his body was later transferred to Liege by his nephew and successor, Lambert of Maastricht.^[5]

Veneration

Because he was murdered on his way to defend the rights of the Church, he was honored as a martyr. A chapel was built at his place of death and original burial in Rülzheim, called the "Dieterskirchel". The place became an important pilgrimage site and is one of the oldest in the diocese of Speyer. Baronius added his name to the Roman Martyrology when it was revised in the late 1500s. Theodard is venerated as the patron saint of drovers, cattle dealers and the city of Maastricht.^[6]

Dieterskirchel

The chapel was built on the eastern edge of a vast forest south of the town of Rülzheim, and attracted pilgrimages and processions from Rülzheim, Rheinzabern, and elsewhere. Anselm of Liège mentions a church built in honor of St. Theodard in the eleventh century. A larger church replaced it the fourteenth century but was demolished in the 19th century. The current chapel, built in 1957, replaced its predecessor. Its exterior is reminiscent of the pilgrimage church of Ronchamp in the southern Vosges. The building consists of a church interior covered by a slightly domed flat roof, which serves as a canopy in the entrance area. The hall ends in the east, behind the altar, with a semicircular arch. At the southeast corner of the building is a small tower with a visible bell. A sandstone slab dating from 1517 was embedded in the north side of the exterior façade. It features, among other things, an incised drawing of a church, presumably the predecessor building.

See also

• Theodard