Erkembode

Tiny pairs of shoes on Saint Erkembode's tomb in Saint-Omer Cathedral.

Of the early life of Erkembode, who lived in the late 7th and first half of the 8th centuries, nothing is known. It has been surmised that he was an Irish monk In later times that abbey of Sithiu became part of the Order of Saint Benedict after the Carolingian reforms of Benedict of Aniane.

Erkembode, means "recognised envoy" The region is now called French Flanders. The name of the see of Erkembode, Thérouanne, was already quoted as the capital of the Morini by Julius Caesar in his Gallic Wars.

After 26 years of episcopacy, in a diocese that extended far into the mainland, Erkembode died on 12 April, though the exact year is unknown. and was buried in Saint-Omer Cathedral, where his tomb remains.

Veneration The diocese of Therouanne was immense: it went from the current Belgium (Ypres) to the Valley of the Somme. Consequently, Erkembode traveled widely. Initially, pilgrims to his tomb left their shoes as ex votos in testament to their own travels. The older shoes are periodically cleared away by the cathedral authorities.

Erkembode's liturgical feast day is 12 April.

An early vita by Jean Lelong, called Joannes Iperius, a 14th-century Abbot of St-Bertin, is published in Acta Sanctorum.