Feast Day: September 7
Century: 6th Century (d. c. 560)
Royal Birth and Early Peril
Saint Cloud, known in Latin as Clodoaldus, was the grandson of Clovis I, the first Christian king of the Franks, and Saint Clotilde, that pious queen whose tears and prayers obtained the conversion of her husband. His father, King Chlodomer of Orléans, fell in battle against the Burgundians in 524. The three young sons—Theodebald, Gunther, and Clodoaldus—became heirs to their father’s realm.
But ambition soon revealed itself: their uncles, Chlothar and Childebert, desiring to unite all the Frankish dominions, treacherously ordered the children to be shorn of their royal locks, a sign of forfeiting their right to the throne. Two of the brothers were murdered outright, but Clodoaldus was rescued by faithful servants and brought to the protection of Queen Clotilde.
Renunciation of Earthly Glory
Raised in the court of his grandmother, the boy grew in wisdom and in the love of Christ. As he came of age, he was pressed by nobles to claim his inheritance. But Clodoaldus, taught by the bloody fate of his brothers and inspired by grace, recognized that a temporal crown is fleeting, whereas the crown of life is eternal.
At a solemn assembly, before the bishops and the nobility, he cut off his own royal hair, the emblem of Frankish sovereignty, and declared his irrevocable choice to forsake earthly kingdom for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Religious Life and Holiness
Having renounced the world, Clodoaldus retired first to the monastery of Nogent, near Paris. There he embraced the life of poverty, prayer, and penance, exchanging purple for a simple habit. His humility was as profound as his lineage was illustrious. Later he was ordained a priest by Saint Eusebius, Bishop of Paris.
Saint Cloud devoted himself to the pastoral care of souls in the region near Paris. In his charity, he consoled the afflicted, relieved the poor, and reconciled sinners to God. His holiness was so esteemed that the faithful flocked to him for counsel and blessing.
Death and Veneration
Saint Cloud died about the year 560, having lived a life hidden in Christ, though born to kingship. He was buried in the church he himself had built, around which a town grew up that still bears his name: Saint-Cloud, near Paris.
Miracles were wrought at his tomb, and devotion to him spread quickly throughout France. He has ever been honored as a confessor of the faith, one who bore witness not by martyrdom, but by a life of heroic renunciation, chastity, and pastoral charity.
Legacy and Spiritual Lesson
Saint Cloud teaches us that true nobility lies not in blood or earthly rank, but in the imitation of Christ. In forsaking a crown, he gained a greater kingdom. He shows that detachment from honors and riches, embraced for the love of God, brings a freedom and joy that the world cannot give.
His example remains a call to all Christians—whether of royal or humble birth—to prefer the things of Heaven over the fleeting possessions of earth.