March 6 -- Feast of Saint Chrodegang of Metz

Anytime I get to include a comic book hero in this blog, I am happy to do it. Chrodegang is an unlikely hero, being a king's prime minister and a bishop, but then again what comic book hero is likely?

Chrodegang worked at the court of Charles "The Hammer" Martel, having started out as a page, then a private secretary, then a chancellor, and finally prime minister.  That alone would be a good career, though it might not qualify one for sainthood ((not even here).  Charles, who was the de facto ruler of the Frankish kingdom, held the titles duke, prince, and Mayor of the Palace, but he did not wear a king's crown.  [If you are a Lord of the Ring's fan, think Denethor -- all the power but not the title.]  The Hammer was an empire builder and left things so well set that his son Pepin claimed the title King of the Franks and his grandson Charlemagne promoted himself to Emperor of the Romans. 

Like many monarchs, Charles sought to consolidate his power by making one of his councilors a bishop.  Unlike the most famous of them, his appointment of Chrodegang paid off; the two jobs were well balanced because the interests in building up both state and faith were mutually supportive.  He served a diplomatic mission to Pope Stephen II (the third Stephen elected but second invested, not Pope Elect Stephen, who was really the second elected).  The Lombards were making moves on the Pope and Chrodegang showed up to reassure His Holiness that the Franks it would not stand.  But as a bishop, he was busy founding abbeys, instituting His Regula Canonicorum (Rule of Chrodegang) for his clergy, and integrating plainchants (Gregorian chants) into the liturgy.  He was eventually given the pallium of an archbishop, though his successors in Metz did not get to keep the title.