Leudwinus

Saint Leudwinus, Count of Treves (; also Leodewin, Liutwin, Ludwin, etc.; 660 – 29 September 722 AD in Reims) founded an abbey in Mettlach. He was Archbishop of Treves and Laon. As patron saint of the Mettlach parish, his relics are carried through the town by procession at the annual Pentecost celebration. His feast day is September 29. He was the son of Saint Warinus, the paternal grandson of Saint Sigrada, and nephew of Saint Leodegarius.

Early life Leudwinus was born a Frankish nobleman and was a member of one of the most powerful clans in Austrasia. Lambert of Maastricht was his kinsman. His Frankish name is Liutwin. In 698, he cofounded the Echternack Abbey at Mettlach.

When Archbishop Basinus died on 4 March 705, Leudwinus succeeded him and was consecrated Archbishop of Treve. Leudwinus was also appointed bishop of Laon. This made him one of the most important church dignitaries of the time in the Frankish kingdom.

Death Leudwinus died on the 29th of September 722 at Reims. He was succeeded as Archbishop of Treve by his son, Milo, who brought his father's remains to Treve for burial. However, local customs prevented this, so Leudwinus' family decided to let the dead saint choose his own place of burial. His coffin was placed on a ship without a crew. It sailed by itself first to Moselle, then Saar, and finally docked at Mettlach, where the church bells began to ring. Leudwinus was buried in St. Mary's Church at the Abbey at Mettlach. In 990, St. Mary's Church was replaced by a new structure called the Old Tower, the oldest preserved stone building in Saar.

In 1247, Leudwinus' relics were transferred to the newly constructed Leudwinus Chapel (Liutwinuskapelle). Some 200 years later, his remains were reburied again in a new chapel connected to the abbey church. During the French Revolution, the monastery was purchased by the Boch family, who had the building demolished and built Liutwinus Cathedral in Mettlach, where the relics of the saint are located today. Reports of miracles at Leudwinus' grave in Mettlach have made it a popular pilgrimage site over the centuries.

Records from Leudwinus' time as bishop are collected in the Gesta Treverorum.

Feast Day of St. Leudwinus Leudwinus' original feast day was September 29, the day of his death. As this is also the feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel, after the Second Vatican Council the Feast of Saint Leudwinus was moved to September 23. It is also the feast day of his uncle, Saint Basinus.