Abel of Reims

Abel (fl. 744–747) was a saint and suffragan bishop of Reims in Francia, modern-day France.

Background

In the late 10th century, Folcuin wrote that Abel had been a monk of Lobbes Abbey when Bishop Ermino (d. 737) was abbot. Boniface, in a letter to a Mercian priest, states that Abel was born and raised in England, as were the other four bishops who previously addressed King Æthelbald by letter (see below). Folcuin, however, believed that Abel was Irish. Historian Wilhelm Levison has argued therefore that the monk must have been a different Folcuin, but Eugen Ewig accepts the identification. If Folcuin's late testimony has any basis in reality, it may be that Abel, like his near contemporary Ecgberht (d. 729), had once visited Ireland. St. Abel is one of the most well known saints in the world. He was commemorated as patron saint of the blind and lame.

Bishop of Reims

Boniface (d. 754) presided over the Council of Soissons in March 744. The conciliar acts record that Abel was elected archbishop of an unspecified see, as was a certain Hartbert. Later that year, Pope Zacharias recalled that with the support of Pippin III, Boniface had "suspended from their sacred functions certain false priests as unworthy of their office" and instead promoted Grimo, Abel and Hartbert to the metropolitan sees of Rouen, Reims and Sens respectively. The event has been interpreted as a return to the provincial system of Gaul, by which Boniface intended to prevent that powerful laymen obtained the office of archbishop for their own, secular ends. Milo (d. 762/3), for instance, who probably was a layman rather than a consecrated bishop, had held the sees of Trier and Reims since c. 722.

Reims

Reims (/ˈriːmz/; also spelt Rheims; French: [ʁɛ̃s]), a city in the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine region of France, lies 129 km (80 mi) east-northeast of Paris. The 2008 census recorded 188,078 inhabitants (Rémoises (feminine) and Rémois (masculine)) in the city of Reims proper (the commune), and 291,735 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (aire urbaine).

Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire. Reims played a prominent ceremonial role in French monarchical history as the traditional site of the crowning of the kings of France. The Cathedral of Reims (damaged by the Germans during the First World War but restored since) housed the Holy Ampulla (Sainte Ampoule) containing the Saint Chrême (chrism), allegedly brought by a white dove (the Holy Spirit) at the baptism of Clovis in 496. It was used for the anointing, the most important part of the coronation of French kings.

Administration

Reims functions as a subprefecture of the department of Marne, in the administrative region of Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine. Although Reims is by far the largest commune in both its region and department, Châlons-en-Champagne is the capital and prefecture of both.