Polmars, French Wikipedia; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons
When Saint Cloud (sometimes called Clodoald) was born in the year 522 in France, he was the son of a prince. His father, Clodomir, was killed in battle when he was still young, so Cloud and his two brothers were raised by their doting and faithful grandmother, Saint Clotilda.
However, dysfunctional families are not a modern invention. Two of Cloud’s uncles recognized that the only thing standing between them and control of the entire country was a little thing called murder. The two men arranged a meeting with Clotilda and then brutally and personally killed two of their own nephews in front of her. Cloud somehow escaped and lived as a hermit. The evil uncles apparently considered him no longer a threat, perhaps because of Cloud’s decision to enter religious life or perhaps because he was only eight years old at the time. Either way, the two men continued to live and control the country as they pleased.
But Cloud is not acclaimed a saint because he narrowly escaped an undeserved death. He spent the rest of his life in solitude, having learned enough about “the ways of the world” to prefer a life focused on God and bringing the Gospel to others. According to tradition, Cloud became a hermit under the direction of Saint Severin, retired to a more remote location when Severin died, and then returned to Paris. He became a priest there, but then became a hermit again, dying he was only thirty-eight years old. The Church commemorates him on the date of his death, September 7, 560.
Saint Cloud, teach me about the peace of Christ.
