The table was simple and plain. The food laid out upon it was humble and spare, prepared without luxury or excess, shared without pretense or ceremony. It was Good Friday, and Bishop Lambert of Vence and his canons had gathered around the table in the late afternoon for a modest meal. Lambert was tired after a long week of services and prayer. A small meal and some wine were served to the other clerics, but Lambert declined both, requesting only a cup of water. Such restraint was not unusual for the bishop, who often deprived himself of comforts in his constant quest for purity and humility. He ate very little and drank even less. He would often practice strict and continuous fasting, especially during Lent.
On this particular day, a cup of water was placed before Lambert, and, as he always did, following the Benedictine custom, he blessed the water by making the sign of the cross over it. When he lifted the cup to his lips, he found that it was filled not with water, but with wine. Surprised and convinced that he had accidentally been served wine, he handed the cup back to the servant who had brought it and, firmly this time, instructed him to bring water, as he had requested, not wine.
The servant was confused. He knew that he had brought water to the bishop, but he now held a cup of wine in his hands. He went to fetch water for the bishop a second time. Word had already spread throughout the refectory, where Lambert and the others were dining, of this miraculous occurrence, and other clerics had come to see what was happening. Lambert took the second cup of water, blessed it, and raised it to his mouth, only to find that, once again, the cup was filled with wine.
Now the bishop became a bit annoyed, thinking that the servant was being careless or even disrespectful. Though Lambert was a kind and gentle man, he could not help but show a small measure of displeasure and disapproval. “It seems that you are mocking me and trying to test my patience,” he said to the servant. “Why do you bring me wine once again when I have asked for water twice now?”
The servant, who in truth was deeply devoted to serving the bishop, answered in frustration that he had indeed brought water, just as he had the first time. Unwilling to believe that what had twice been served to him as water had actually been water, Lambert for a third time ordered that water be brought to him. This time, he demanded that it be brought in a basin rather than a cup.
A basin full of water was brought to the table. Lambert poured some into the cup before him, but refrained from drinking it immediately. To the amazement of everyone present, as soon as he blessed it in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, a third miracle occurred, and the water once again turned to wine. This time, it was plain for everyone to see; there was no mistaking the miracle that had just occurred, and the room was filled with wonder and reverence.
Where another man might take this as a sign of his own holiness, this humble bishop said simply, “See what power there is in the sign of the cross,” taking none of the glory for himself. He thanked God for his grace and drank some of the wine before offering it to everyone present. This event was later recorded in writing by a man who not only knew Lambert personally but also met and spoke with several who had been present at the time and had tasted the wine.
In his unpublished manuscript from the 1600s titled La Vie & les Miracles de Saint Lambert (The Life & Miracles of Saint Lambert), Jacques Barcillon attributes this miracle in part to God’s desire to convince Lambert that he must ease his regime of extreme self-discipline. Barcillon writes: “From that moment on, Saint Lambert decided to do just that. For the rest of his life, he treated himself more gently and took better care of his health. He understood that fasting is not perfection itself, but only a means and a path toward it. And for someone who had already reached a state of deep grace and holiness, such strict fasting was no longer necessary.”
The Life of Saint Lambert
Saint Lambert, who is today one of the two patron saints of Vence (along with Saint Véran), was a quiet monk from Lérins who governed the see of Vence for forty years, from 1114 to 1154. Known sometimes as Lambert Pelloquin of Bauduen, Saint Lambert of Bauduen, or Saint Lambert of Riez, his legacy endures in the Vence Cathedral, where his tomb remains, in a small rural chapel just outside of Vence that bears his name, and in the stories and legends still told about his works of charity and the many miracles attributed to him.
What shines through every account of Saint Lambert’s life is his kindness, compassion, and quiet grace. Lambert believed a bishop’s wealth should be measured not in silver or gold but in generosity. He cared deeply for the poor and those in need. He gave food and clothing to the destitute, paid their debts, and welcomed travelers to his table. He organized charitable works to support widows and orphans. According to local tradition, he also founded a small hospital near the city gates of Vence, a place of rest for the sick and for pilgrims on the road to the coast. In an age when episcopal authority often mixed with politics and pride, Lambert’s humility stood out.
Under Lambert’s guidance, the diocese he oversaw remained at peace through times of turbulence elsewhere. Letters of the period speak of his advice being sought by neighboring bishops and by the counts of Provence. Yet he remained, in essence, the gentle and soft-spoken monk of Lérins — a pastor who preferred simplicity to pomp.
When age and illness overtook him, he withdrew more and more into prayer. He died in 1154, after receiving the sacraments, surrounded by his clergy. His body was laid to rest in the cathedral he had served so long.
By the seventeenth century, devotion to Saint Lambert had become firmly rooted in the local life of Vence and in his hometown of Bauduen. Alongside Saint Véran, Lambert was honored each year in processions that wound through the narrow streets of Vence’s old town.
Saint Lambert: Between History and Hagiography
When it comes to the historical Lambert, certainty is hard to come by. Almost everything we know about him comes from a very small body of hagiographical material (writings about the lives of saints, usually written to honor them and promote devotion rather than to provide strictly factual biography), above all the 12th-century Vita sancti Lamberti Ventienensis episcopi, listed as BHL 4695, and the much later 17th-century unpublished La Vie & les Miracles de Saint Lambert by Jacques Barcillon.
These texts are important because they preserve the memory of Lambert’s sanctity, his association with the Abbey of Lérins and Vence, his reputation for holiness, and the miracles attributed to him. But they were not written as modern historical biographies. Their purpose was devotional: to honor a saint, strengthen his cult, and present his life as an example of Christian virtue.
The medieval Vita was composed close enough to Lambert’s lifetime to be important, but even so, it is shaped by the conventions of medieval saints’ lives, while Barcillon’s manuscript, written several centuries later, appears to depend heavily on earlier tradition. For this reason, the broad outlines of Lambert’s memory may be accepted as part of Vence’s religious history, but the specific episodes, speeches, miracles, and character portraits must be read with caution. They tell us at least as much about how Saint Lambert was remembered and venerated as they do about the verifiable facts of his life.
This article on Saint Lambert should not be understood as a firmly established historical biography. It is better read as a sacred tradition preserved by the Church and by the people of Vence: a portrait shaped by devotion, memory, and the literary conventions of saints’ lives. Some details may well rest on genuine historical memories, but in most cases, we can no longer separate fact from pious embellishment with any confidence.
His Early Years
Lambert was born around the year 1084 in the tiny village of Bauduen, a settlement in the Var perched on the edge of what was then the Verdon River and is now the Lac de Sainte-Croix, part of the former diocese of Riez. Though he was born into a family of minor Provençal nobility, the Pelloquin family, his life began with tragedy and sorrow: his mother died giving birth to him. Her pregnancy was apparently complicated, and she often experienced intense and unusual pain. Surgeons were forced to perform a cesarean operation to deliver Lambert after she died in labor.
Barcillon interpreted his birth as an early sign of his destiny, writing, “… we can say that Saint Lambert, born of a dead mother and in such a miraculous way, was already detached from worldly desires and vanities before even entering the world, destined to live a life entirely set apart, pure and holy.”
We know almost nothing of his parents, not even their names. His father, a soldier, found it difficult to raise the child alone. At an early age (some accounts say when he was twelve years old, others say as early as eight or nine), his father entrusted him as an oblate (a child dedicated to a monastery) into the care of the monks of the Abbey of Lérins, on the island of Saint-Honorat near Cannes, where he grew up in the shadow of the cloister. Lérins, then under Adalbert’s direction, was at the time a powerhouse of medieval spirituality, famous for producing bishops, scholars, and saints. As abbot from 1066 to 1102, Adalbert strengthened and expanded Lérins, erecting a fortified monastery and shaping it into a noted center of learning and spiritual life. Young men from around the world came to study under the guidance of the holy and learned monks.
It was there, at the Abbey of Lérins under the direction of Adalbert, that Lambert received his education, his faith, and his quiet love of study and solitude. Before long, he surpassed all his companions, not only in learning, but in virtue as well. His kindness, together with his gentle manner, won the affection of everyone around him. He was as beloved for his goodness as he was admired for his wisdom. He came to love solitude so deeply that he felt a profound calling to embrace the monastic life and devote himself entirely to the order. Inspired by his teachers’ example, he longed to become a monk himself.
At first Lambert’s father was opposed to this path, but after the young boy prayed for guidance and the acceptance of his father, the elder Pelloquin eventually gave his consent. In 1089, at the age of just fourteen, Lambert became a monk.
It is said that for many years he blamed himself for his mother’s death and that it was extremely difficult to console him on this subject. Barcillon writes that, “Though he had often heard the story of her death, it had never deeply moved him, until one day when the full weight of it struck his heart. He was overcome with grief so intense it might have been unbearable. He saw himself as guilty of a terrible crime.” Barcillon goes on to suggest that this was a trial sent by God, through which Lambert, moved by a profound awareness of sin and guilt, laid the foundation for his deep humility and a complete rejection of pride, which led to a deep understanding of himself.
The young monk was drawn to prayer, to the Psalms, to charity, and to the gentle sea winds that swept across the island. Historians agree that he would have been perfectly content to live out a quiet life of prayer and solitude in the Abbey of Lérins. It was not to be. Despite his determination to live a peaceful life of meditation and faith, his reputation for learning, holiness and compassion became known throughout the area. When the bishop’s seat at Vence fell vacant around 1114, the clergy and townspeople of Vence called upon the Abbot of Lérins to send them the gentle, steadfast monk to lead them. Being barely thirty years of age, Lambert was at first reluctant to accept these new duties and commitments, and he did, in fact, refuse the position three times. He felt himself unworthy of so great and sacred a responsibility.
In the end, Lambert’s love for the people and his sense of duty prevailed. He came to see the plea of the humble citizens of Vence as a clear sign of God’s will. The monk became a bishop.
Bishop Lambert
At that time Lambert came to Vence it was a modest hill town of farmers and artisans, its cathedral was even smaller than it is today, and its bishopric one of the humbler in the region. Barcillon wrote that, “Just as spring brings beauty and new life to the earth through flowers, plants, and living creatures, the presence of this holy man brought spiritual renewal to the hearts of his people. When he arrived in Vence, he was welcomed with joy that matched both his worth and their love for him, as though he were an angel sent by God.”
In his small book from 1914, Vence – Ses Monuments – Ses Saints – Ses Évêques – Ses Curés – Son Église – Son Trésor – Ses Reliques – Ses Chapelles, Jacques Daurelle, a well-known historian of Vence from the early 1900s, describes Lambert: “Of tall stature, handsome appearance, and distinguished manners, he impressed everyone with his dignified demeanor when he came to take possession of his see.”
He was consecrated by Guillaume, Archbishop of Embrun, assisted by Mainfroy, Bishop of Digne, and Pierre, Bishop of Nice. Lambert took the task seriously. He continued to model his life on the monastic rule he had followed at Lérins, living a humble, prayerful, and disciplined life, keeping the habits of a monk even while serving as a bishop. He showed no interest in the honors and prestige that came with his position. Barcillon writes that, “He believed that he should exercise the authority of a bishop with moderation, fearing that such a high honor might lead him into pride and cause him to misuse power that was meant for sacred purposes.”
He fasted often and recited the monastic offices every day, the cycle of daily prayers, psalms, and readings said by monks at specific times throughout the day, such as Matins, Lauds, and Vespers. Barcillon also writes that before eating, Lambert would recite the 150 Psalms of David on his knees. This is a good example of why Barcillon’s account must be read with caution. His purpose was not simply to record historical facts, but to present Lambert as a model of extraordinary holiness. The claim that Lambert recited all 150 Psalms on his knees before eating is probably best understood in that spirit, since it would take the average person five or six hours to do this. We should therefore read the details less as a literal biography than as a way of glorifying the saint and emphasizing the severity of his ascetic life.
Lambert also worked to restore the cathedral and reestablish order in the cathedral chapter, imposing communal life and introducing the Rule of Saint Augustine to the canons. He encouraged his clergy to live a common life of prayer and discipline and to be content with little.
He became known as a serious and determined man, fair in judgment and compassionate in spirit. Firm in principle but gentle in tone, he was a man who could calm quarrels as easily as he could inspire devotion. Because of his kindness, integrity, and impartiality, he was often called upon as an arbitrator and peacemaker when disputes and conflicts arose. We have records of one such dispute between Bishops Arnaud of Nice and Laugier of Gréolières in 1152, where Lambert was called to mediate. Still, his kindness toward the virtuous should not be mistaken for softness toward those who did wrong. When justice demanded it, he disciplined offenders with fairness and discernment. Everyone recognized and accepted his authority with respect and trust.
Guided by the Scripture, “Omnis gloria filiæ regis ab intus” (“All the glory of the king’s daughter is from within”), Saint Lambert lived a life of quiet humility. While the crusades stirred Europe and nobles and bishops gathered in great assemblies across Provence, he stayed within his modest diocese, visiting various villages and leading his congregation in all matters of faith and salvation, teaching them through his actions as well as his words. He devoted himself to prayer, fasting, and self-denial. Though austere toward himself, he was gentle and compassionate toward others, and his kindness became legendary in Vence.
A supporter of the common people and the peasants, Lambert didn’t just preach morality. He looked for real and tangible ways to improve the lives of ordinary people and give them a measure of freedom, championing their causes against the feudal lords.
At that time, Vence was divided into four seigneurial shares. The Church held one quarter of the temporal jurisdiction, even before a formal cathedral chapter existed, while the other three quarters belonged to the houses of de Vence, Aymonet (Monnet) de Malvans, and de Flotte, each with varying influence. The Count of Provence retained high justice (haute justice), whereas the three families were limited to low justice (basse justice), judging only minor cases with fines not exceeding ten sous. The Church, by contrast, exercised medium justice (moyenne justice), hearing civil cases at first instance; in criminal matters, its powers depended on local custom, never extending to the death penalty, but including fines and certain corporal punishments.
In the 12th century, mills were often controlled by local lords, and peasants had to pay to use them, keeping them economically dependent. Lambert publicly encouraged the construction and use of new water-powered mills to grind grain instead of relying on manual labor or the equipment of the feudal lords. This would have reduced the physical burden on serfs (who often ground grain by hand) and weakened the economic control of the feudal class.
Saint Lambert and Saint Véran
During Lambert’s lifetime, Saint Véran was already deeply venerated in Vence. His remains were kept in the cathedral, and the many miracles attributed to his intercession had strengthened popular devotion to him. For Lambert, Véran represented an especially powerful example. He had also been bishop of Vence, and, like Lambert, he had followed the monastic life at Lérins in the tradition of Saint Honorat.
For Barcillon, Véran was more than one of Lambert’s predecessors. He was a saint whose example Lambert tried to follow. According to tradition, this devotion also reached Bauduen, Lambert’s birthplace, where relics of Saint Véran were preserved in the parish church. These relics were said to have been given to the people of Bauduen by Lambert himself, apparently to encourage devotion to Véran in the diocese of Riez, just as it was already well established in the diocese of Vence.
You can read a more in-depth account of the life of Saint Véran in this article: Faith and Legends – Uncovering the 5th-Century Mystique of Saint Véran of Vence.
Peter of Bruys and the Petrobrusians
In the early twelfth century, religious unrest took root in Provence. The preacher Peter of Bruys (Pierre de Bruis) and his followers, later known as Petrobrusians, launched a reformist and anti-clerical movement that challenged the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and was soon condemned as heresy. Active roughly between 1117 and 1131, mostly in southeastern France, the Petrobrusians were among the earliest of several popular reformist or heretical movements that the Church sought to suppress in southern France during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
The Petrobrusians rejected infant baptism, arguing that only those capable of personal faith should be baptized; dismissed the need for church buildings, believing that true worship was spiritual and that God was everywhere; urged the destruction of crosses, which they viewed as instruments of torture; and rejected the Catholic belief that the Mass was a sacrifice and that the bread and wine of the Eucharist truly became the body and blood of Christ. Peter the Venerable of Cluny condemned these teachings in a treatise written against them, and Peter of Bruys was eventually seized and burned by a mob at Saint-Gilles around 1131.
According to Laurent Dailliez, a writer and historian, traces of these teachings may have reached Vence, where sympathizers appeared within the diocese. Dailliez wrote in his 1957 book, Vence – Un Diocèse, Une Cité, Une Canton, that these events added to a troubling climate of religious dissent that some see as foreshadowing later Cathar ideas.
Bishop Lambert, deeply concerned by the spread of such doctrines, responded with energy and conviction. Traveling on foot or horseback through the remote parishes of his small mountain diocese, he personally visited villages, summoned the faithful to open-air sermons, and spoke with clarity and fervor against the Petrobrusian teachings. He reminded his clergy of their duty to instruct the people soundly and to guard the sacraments from abuse.
His firmness in doctrine was matched by an insistence on pastoral care: he sought to bring back those led astray through persuasion rather than punishment, emphasizing confession, baptism, and unity with the Church. In doing so, Lambert helped reinforce orthodox belief in this corner of Provence at a time when independent preachers, lay prophets, and dissenting movements were beginning to unsettle Christian communities throughout southern France.
Miracles Performed by Saint Lambert During his Lifetime
News of Saint Lambert and the miracle of the wine spread quickly throughout the region. Soon, people from nearby towns and villages, suffering from various illnesses and afflictions, came to Vence in the hope that Lambert’s prayers might heal them. Barcillon presents him as a man of such charity and compassion that he never turned away those who sought his help. By laying his hands on them and praying with deep devotion, Lambert was said to have restored them to health, one after another. This, however, is one of the curious features of Lambert’s story. Although he is remembered as a saint who performed many miracles during his lifetime, both the medieval Vita and Barcillon’s later Vie give very few specific examples. Apart from the miracle of the wine, they both describe only one healing miracle in any detail.
The story is told of one woman from Nice who had been completely blind for five years. One night, she dreamt that she was in Vence, standing near Saint Lambert. She asked for his blessing, and he granted her request. Taking his hand, she kissed it, and when she placed it over her eyes, her sight returned. Hoping that her dream was in fact a vision of the future, she made her way to Vence to visit the Saint and ask for his blessing to heal her. He granted her request but assured her that, “It is from God, my good friend, that you must hope for your healing, and from me, only prayer.” When he offered her his hand, she kissed it and then placed it over her eyes, just as she had in her dream. At once, her sight was completely restored.
The Death of Saint Lambert
In May of 1154 Lambert was struck with a devastating fever and weakness in his limbs. Despite all treatments and the devoted attention of those around him, his sickness worsened day by day and his strength faded to the point where he was unable to stand, forcing him to remain in bed. Before long hope of his recovery diminished. Barcillon writes how this sad news affected the congregation saying that, “People from every town, village, and nearby diocese came to visit him, moved by deep affection and reverence, as though all humanity shared in the sorrow of losing him.”
A popular legend (which originated from the Vita and was later recounted by Barcillon in greater detail) says that when the end was close, the canons, who already held him in saintly esteem, ordered the construction of a tomb worthy of his stature inside the cathedral. On the verge of death, Saint Lambert, resting in the tower attached to the cathedral we now know as the Lambert Tower, heard hammering noises coming from inside the church. When he asked what was causing the noise, he was told, after repeated inquiries, that workers were preparing his tomb. He proclaimed that he wished to see it. Though weak and feeble, he was assisted to the spot where the tomb was being prepared. Overjoyed at the sight of the tomb, he blessed it, then was carried back to his room.
After settling his affairs, Lambert gave what little he possessed to his church, left alms for the poor, and turned his thoughts entirely toward eternity. Arnauld (Arnaud), bishop of Nice, and Pierre (Geoffroy II), bishop of Antibes, both of whom were especially devoted to Lambert, were at his side during his final moments. As his strength faded, one of them spoke of his coming journey to join other Saints in heaven. “Bene me habeo, et credo me videre bona Domini in terra viventium,” he replied—“I am well, and I hope soon to see my God in the land of the living.” Soon after, surrounded by his canons and clergy, he passed away peacefully.
Saint Lambert died at the age of seventy on May 26, 1154, and the people of Vence immediately rushed to see him one last time and to seek his intercession, believing his holiness continued even after his death. Crowds filled the cathedral, so large that order had to be maintained during his funeral two days later, on May 28. Seven days after his funeral, the priests celebrated Mass at his tomb, and soon reports of miracles began to spread. So many pilgrims came to pray at his resting place that the church doors had to be closed each evening to manage the throngs of the faithful.
From the moment of his death, devotion to Saint Lambert flourished in Vence. His sanctity, already recognized during his lifetime, seemed confirmed by the wonders that followed, and his tomb quickly became a place of prayer and healing for all who sought his aid.
Barcillon describes how the town of Vence reacted to the death of their beloved bishop: “The grief that fell upon the diocese of Vence after his death was beyond words. When the light of this holy bishop was taken from them, every heart was covered in tears and sorrow. Nothing like it had ever been seen in Vence before or since. His holy body was carried into the church, dressed in his full bishop’s vestments. After the service, which was conducted with all the solemn honors due to such a great man, the bishops themselves lifted the bier onto their shoulders and personally buried his body. In this final act, they showed their gratitude to the one whose life had offered them so much wisdom, comfort, and spiritual guidance.”
An early reference to Saint Lambert by Cardinal Caesar Baronius (1538-1607) in his monumental work, the Annales Ecclesiastici (Ecclesiastical Annals), published between 1588 and 1607, places the date of Lambert’s death as June 26th, not May 26th. Other important early modern Catholic scholars who specialized in the study and cataloguing of saints’ lives and feast days, such as Pietro Ferrarius (Catalogus Generalis Sanctorum – General Catalogue of Saints – 1601) and André du Saussay (Martyrologium Gallicanum – Gallican Martyrology – 1637), followed Baronius’ dating out of deference to his authority. The editors of a publication known as Acta Sanctorum corrected the date to May 26th when they republished the 12th-century Vita manuscript in 1688.
Several sources state that Lambert’s birthplace in Bauduen was converted into a chapel sometime after his death. It is unclear whether this is the same chapel known today as the Chapelle Saint-Lambert or if that original chapel no longer exists.
The Tomb of Saint Lambert
The original tomb of Saint Lambert, which can still be seen today in the Vence cathedral, features an epitaph of six verses from 1154 carved in the plain, Romanesque style of the age, with a Latin inscription praising him as a shepherd who ruled his flock for forty years and that “Neither prosperity elevated him nor adversity swayed him.” Edmond Blanc, a noted historian and writer from the late 19th century, claims that this epitaph was “incorrectly transcribed” by earlier historians and that it should read as follows:
Orignal Latin:
“Discat qui nescit, quod episcopus his requiescit
Nomine Lambertus multa bonitate refertus
Quique quaterdenis huic sedi præfuit annis
Non hunc erexit res blanda nec aspera flexit
Parcat peccatis illius fons pietatis
Et lucescat ei lux perpetuæ requiei”
French Translation:
“Apprenne qui ne sait qu’en cette sépulture,
Gît l’évêque Lambert, d’une rare bonté
Qui durant quarante ans tint cette prélature
Egal dans le bonheur et dans l’adversité
Que lui soient pardonnés ses péchés en pitié
Et que repos du ciel lui soit enfin donné”.
English Translation:
“Let those who do not know learn that a bishop rests here,
By name Lambert, filled with great goodness,
Who presided over this see for forty years.
Neither prosperity elevated him nor adversity swayed him.
May the fountain of mercy pardon his sins,
And may the light of eternal rest shine upon him.”
His tomb was venerated almost immediately after his death. Pilgrims came to pray, candles were left burning, and stories spread of cures and blessings obtained through his intercession. Shortly after his burial, the tomb was raised and transformed into an altar. For hundreds of years, Mass was celebrated there every day without fail.
Historical records indicate that Saint Lambert’s tomb was opened on several occasions over the centuries. The earliest known reference comes from Barcillon, who reports that the first opening took place in the year 1400 (“la première fut au commencement de l’année 1400”). According to him, Lambert’s head was then placed in a reliquary adorned with a silver miter, the cost of which was covered by a canon named Antoine Malamaire (or possibly Malemaire).
This account, however, stands apart from all others. No additional sources confirm Barcillon’s version of events, and he remains the only writer to mention such an episode. Dailliez, in his book Vence – Un Diocèse, Une Cité, Un Canton, does refer to an “Antoine Malamaire, prebendary canon,” active around 1422, which may well be the same person. Yet, as we will soon see, other records attribute the funding of the gilded copper bust made toward the end of the 15th century to another canon, Christophe Malamaire.
It’s difficult to believe that Barcillon would have mistaken one canon for the other, yet he never refers to the creation of a second reliquary at the close of the century—the date supported by every other known source. No other writer places the making of this reliquary in the early 1400s. It therefore seems reasonable to conclude that Barcillon was in fact describing the later reliquary commissioned through the generosity of Christophe Malamaire.
Denis Ghiraldi, in his 1993 article La Curieuse Destinée des Reliques des Saints Véran et Lambert de Vence (“The Curious Fate of the Relics of Saints Véran and Lambert of Vence”), cites archival evidence from 1431 indicating that a certain Master Milon Berthon of Avignon “returned several bones of Saint Lambert to the cathedral which had been stolen from his tomb.” Ghiraldi offers no further explanation, but it is clear that these relics had been taken some time earlier.
You can read a more in-depth account of the busts and relics of Saint Lambert (and Saint Véran) in this article: Devotion, History and Art: The Relics, Reliquaries and Busts of Saint Véran and Saint Lambert of Vence.
Miracles that Occurred After the Death of Saint Lambert
In the months following the death of Saint Lambert, travelers came from all the surrounding villages to pay tribute to his memory and to offer prayers and sacrifices to God for the repose of his soul. The poor of the diocese also gathered to receive the alms that their bishop had provided for them in his will. The cathedral remained open day and night to receive the many visitors and pilgrims who came to Vence. Among them were countless people suffering from illness or infirmity, hoping to be healed through the saint’s intercession. Stories and legends abound of the many miracles that took place at his tomb. Most of these accounts were originally published in the Vita and later recounted by Barcillon.
A poor man, blind and of unsound mind, received a double miracle: after praying before the saint’s tomb, his sight was restored and his reason returned. A woman brought her blind son to the cathedral and spent the entire night in prayer before Lambert’s tomb. As soon as she ended her prayers her son’s sight returned. A young man, said to be possessed by a demon, was brought and placed before the tomb, where he immediately fell into a deep sleep. After several hours the demon left his body and he awoke, completely cured.
A man from Vence named Foluques, who had been deaf for many years, hung a small lamp before the saint’s tomb and prayed there through the night. At dawn, he suddenly regained his hearing. He later described the moment by saying that he heard a sharp noise within his ears, like the tearing of dry parchment or skin. When the sound ceased, he realized that he could hear once again, and, he claimed, even better than before.
In his Life & Miracles of Saint Lambert, Barcillon lists numerous other miracles that were attributed to Saint Lambert after his death, some of which occurred in Bauduen after a relic of the saint was given to the town. A woman who had been mute and paralyzed in one arm was healed of both afflictions. Numerous blind, deaf, and mute people regained their senses. A woman who suffered from severe sciatica and a boy who was paralyzed were cured. Dysentery, fever, and even epilepsy were healed by Saint Lambert. In fact, Barcillon goes on to say with regard to the miracles of Saint Lambert, “I will not attempt to describe them all here, for that is not my purpose, and in truth, one single book would not be enough to contain all the miracles that this great Servant of God has done, and continues to do, constantly for these people.”
The Fountain Which Flowed From the Tomb of Saint Lambert
Perhaps the most enduring and beloved legend concerning the miracles of Saint Lambert is that of the fountain said to have sprung from his tomb. Members of the clergy and a large crowd of people gathered at the Vence Cathedral to commemorate the anniversary of his death. Just as the ceremonies were about to begin, water suddenly began to flow from the top and sides of the tomb. Those who were present claimed it was the freshest, purest, clearest water they had ever seen. It poured from the tomb in such quantities that they were left to wonder if a spring had suddenly emerged from under the tomb. Unable to comprehend or believe what they were seeing, the witnesses were left stunned and amazed.
Barcillon attributed this incredible event to God’s wish to “show through this extraordinary wonder that the blessings He intended to give to mankind through His servant Saint Lambert would be poured out abundantly, like heavenly rain, upon all who seek his help.”
Once again, numerous stories have been passed down to us of the miracles attributed to Saint Lamber and this water. One tells of a blind man who wet his eyes with the water, and to the amazement of all who were present, his sight was immediately restored. A young man named Jean, who had been mute since birth, was able to speak after drinking the water. A woman known only as Suzanne is said to have preserved some of this miraculous water, and every sick and suffering person she gave it to was healed instantly and completely.
Barcillon explains that as time passed and the devotion of the people towards Saint Lambert began to fade, “this visible favor was withdrawn from them, though not the Saint’s help itself, as has been proven by all who sincerely pray to him and call upon him in their need.”
We should note two things: 1. a similar story exists about the tomb of Saint-Véran where water suddenly flowed from it; and 2. there is also a legend about the spring that Lambert would often visit when he was alive, where the current Chapelle Saint-Lambert in Vence can be found, having similar healing powers. It’s quite possible that over the centuries these legends and stories have become intertwined and have mingled together.
The Pilgrimage of 1634
In the years after his death, Lambert’s influence reached far beyond Vence. His native village of Bauduen always took great pride in being the place of his birth and young childhood, claiming him as its patron. Sometime after his death, Jean Pellaquin, a member of the noble family from which Lambert came, established a Mass in the church of Bauduen, which was celebrated every year on the Saint’s Feast Day, May 26.
An event took place in 1634, of which Barcillon was a direct participant and which he recounted in detail in his manuscript. He says he was passing through Bauduen when the villagers implored him to help them obtain a relic (a bone) of Saint Lambert. Happy to help them, Barcillon conveyed the request to Pierre du Vair, the then-current bishop of Vence. Barcillon noted the “deep devotion and heartfelt desire of those good people to receive such a blessing among them,” and it is said that Bishop du Vair happily granted their wishes. The people of Bauduen were overjoyed with the news because it seemed they had made similar requests and appeals over the years without success.
One serious complication nearly brought the entire plan to a halt. For years, it had been assumed that the relics of Saint Lambert were preserved together with those of Saint Véran inside a cypress chest. When the moment arrived to choose a relic to be sent to Bauduen, the chest was opened, only to reveal an unfortunate surprise. It appeared that over the centuries, whether through neglect or simple mistake, the remains of the two saints had become mixed and had not been labeled. No one could now distinguish with confidence which bones were Saint Véran’s and which were Saint Lambert’s.
This left Bishop du Vair in a difficult position with no easy answer. Refusing the people of Bauduen a relic of Saint Lambert at this point, after previously promising them one, would have been harsh and unfair. Yet sending them one without being able to confirm it truly belonged to Saint Lambert risked misunderstanding and disappointment.
Fortunately, Barcillon had a part in the resolution of this dilemma. He writes, “At that moment, I was inspired with the thought and the words that, according to a long-standing religious custom throughout the Church, the tombs of saints are never left entirely empty of their relics. This ensures that the devotion of the faithful who come to venerate them is not misplaced. Therefore, I suggested that if we opened the tomb of our Saint, we would surely find some of his relics there, allowing the promise to be fulfilled with full certainty and without any fault of refusal.”
When Lambert’s tomb was opened on May 18, 1634, his body was found to be almost completely intact. Only the skull had been removed centuries earlier, when it was placed in a reliquary during the 1400s. The remaining remains were carefully wrapped in two separate cloth bundles—one holding the larger bones, the other the smaller ones. Each bundle was secured in three places with a red wax seal bearing the image of a castle with three towers rising from a rock, the coat of arms of Bishop Raphaël Monso, who had commissioned the silver bust reliquary of Saint Véran in the late 1400s.
It was later concluded that when Lambert’s tomb was opened to remove the skull for placement in the new reliquary, Bishop Monso had carefully arranged the saint’s remaining relics just as they were found nearly two centuries later. His intention had been to transfer them to a different resting place, but he died before his plan could be carried out, and so the relics remained undisturbed in the original tomb.
A few days later, the relics contained in the cypress chest were laid out upon an altar for examination by the physicians and surgeons of Vence. Their inspection confirmed that the remains belonged entirely to Saint Véran, after which his relics were respectfully returned to the chest. The body of Saint Lambert was then placed on the same altar, examined in turn, and transferred to a new chest positioned beside that of Saint Véran. Some of the smaller bones were enclosed in a small box and reinterred within his tomb, while a single bone from his right arm was set aside and carefully wrapped in white taffeta. This would become the relic destined for the people of Bauduen.
On September 9, 1634 (the day before the feast of Saint Véran was celebrated), a joyful celebration took place in Vence when a delegation of more than 150 people, men and women alike, from Bauduen arrived to receive the relic and carry it home to their village. Among them were direct descendants of the saint, other members of the Pelloquin family, the bailiffs representing the lords of Pontevès, and several other local dignitaries. Accompanied by banners and torches, the pilgrims entered the Vence Cathedral with deep humility and faith. As they passed before the tomb of Saint Lambert, where his reliquary had been placed upon the altar, the church organ resounded with the Te Deum.
The pilgrims spent the remainder of the day and much of the following morning going to confession and receiving communion. At noon, the Vence chapter convened in the cathedral sacristy, with Barcillon himself standing in for Bishop du Vair, who was unable to attend due to illness. By unanimous decision, they granted a portion of Saint Lambert’s right arm to the village of Bauduen. This act of donation was formally written and recorded by two Vence notaries, Pierre de Guigues and Louis Blaas.
A document in the Historical Archives of the Diocese of Nice records that: “Namely, the bone of the right arm of the said Saint Lambert, called the radial bone, radius or small focillon, which they promised, both in their own name and in the name of the community, to carry to their church of the said Bauduen these holy relics, having for this purpose been enshrined by the said lord grand vicar in a shrine, or silver reliquary, previously blessed by the said most reverend lord bishop, made in the form of an arm.”
The delegation from Bauduen had arrived in Vence with a specially made silver reliquary shaped like an arm. The official French Ministère de la Culture on the Plateforme Ouverte du Patrimoine (an online database managed by France’s Ministry of Culture) provides this description of the reliquary: “This reliquary contains a bone from Saint Lambert’s arm. The ring finger has a gold-plated silver bishop’s ring with a glass setting. The little finger has a silver ring. In the middle of the forearm there’s a small glass-covered opening with a clasp. The left hand is jointed to the forearm, which rests on a kind of rectangular box with slightly cut-off corners and ornate animal-shaped feet. On one side of this box is the bust of a mitered bishop; on two of the angled corners are decorative arabesques, and on the other two are coats of arms. On two of the beveled corners of the box are the coats of arms of Bauduen and of Saint Lambert, decorated with a hat with cords, a miter, and a pelican. On the back side of the box, this engraved Latin inscription can be read: SANTVS LAMBERTVS PELLAVQVINVS DE BAVDIANO DIOCESIS REGIENSIS EPISCOPVS VENCIENSIS 1634 (Saint Lambert Pelloquin of Bauduen, from the Diocese of Riez, Bishop of Vence, 1634.)”
With the church bells ringing, the relic was placed in the reliquary and carried through the town of Vence beneath a ceremonial canopy held by the officers of Vence, including the town’s second consul, Antoine Mars, and the treasurer, Laurent Guérin. They were led by 150 musketeers from notable families in Vence who fired salutes as they walked. They were followed by the canons of the Chapter of Vence, wearing their ceremonial vestments. The confraternities of the White Penitents and the Black Penitents followed behind with the pilgrims from Bauduen, seven or eight priests and the Vence music corps leading the singing of the “Hymn of the Confessors” (“Iste Confessor Domini colentes”).
At the Sainte-Croix chapel, a blessing and short speech were given by the Grand Vicar of Vence, and the holy relic was placed into the hands of Sir (Abbot?) Guichard, the Vicar of Bauduen, and the two groups parted ways. The delegation from Bauduen continued on towards Grasse. Barcillon says, “It would take too long to describe all the honors shown to the holy relic along the way. People came from every direction to greet it, and everywhere it was received in solemn processions marked by deep respect and devotion.”
When Scipion de Villeneuve-Torenc, the bishop of Grasse, heard that the holy relic was nearing Grasse, he went out to welcome it at the city gates, dressed in his ceremonial vestments. With great reverence, he carried it into his church himself, accompanied by his clergy, members of several religious orders, and most of the townspeople. Afterward, it was carried through the streets of Grasse with joy and celebration.
As the procession continued back to Bauduen, it passed through the small village of Seillans, where a violent storm erupted, and torrential rain poured down on the entire group. Everyone, that is, except those who were carrying the reliquary of Saint Lambert under the canopy. They remained untouched by the rain. Barcillon describes the scene this way: “It was said that the rain, which they could see falling in front of them, behind them, and on both sides, had parted like another Red Sea for the children of Israel, allowing them to pass freely so that this devout group could carry their sacred treasure without setting foot in the mud.” Everyone was astounded by the miracle they had just witnessed, and all of them signed a testimony to what they had seen. This document has been preserved and is kept in the official church archives of Bauduen to this day.
On September 14th, four days after leaving Vence, the delegation arrived in Bauduen. All of the townspeople came out to meet it and accompany it in a joyful procession through the village. Once the people received this sacred treasure, their thoughts immediately turned to building a chapel within their church dedicated to their protector, Saint Lambert. They devoted great care and attention to its construction and adornment. It is there, in the Église Saint Pierre, where the relic remains today.
Barcillon recounts numerous miracles that occurred in the years after the relic of Saint Lambert was sent to Bauduen. A baby girl named Anne Allamand was cured of swelling on her face, a little girl named Anne de la Ville was cured of paralysis and smallpox, and a man wounded by a sword blow was healed after all hope had been lost. Numerous other people were cured of fevers, epilepsy, kidney stones, and more. The list goes on and on. Barcillon says that all these events were confirmed by an official sworn statement and signed by the people involved, and that he reviewed the original document.
On Saint Lambert’s feast day (May 26th) one year later, the diocese of Riez printed the following notice on the daily lesson for their congregation: “In the year of Christ 1634, a distinguished portion of his relics was transferred from Vence to Bauduen, amid a great concourse of devoted people. There he is still honored by the neighboring peoples, and Almighty God continues to grant many favors to those who call upon Him through the merits of His saint.”
Almost three hundred years later, in 1924, a group of Vence residents made a pilgrimage to Bauduen. They gifted the village a rich silk banner painted by Commander Chamard. In return, they were given a gold-embroidered cloth known as a “pente,” which was used on Saint Lambert’s feast day to adorn the front of his altar.
Bishop Antoine Godeau
Antoine Godeau, bishop of Vence in the 17th century, seems to have had a particular attachment to Saint Lambert. This is not surprising. For Godeau, Lambert was not simply a distant medieval saint, but one of his own predecessors in the episcopal seat of Vence. Godeau himself was both a bishop and a writer, one of the first members of the Académie française, and he brought together in his work the two sides of his life: literary ambition and religious devotion. Saint Lambert gave him a subject in which both could meet. He was a local saint, a former bishop of Vence, a monk of Lérins, and a model of pastoral holiness. In honoring Lambert, Godeau was also honoring the sacred history of his own diocese.
Godeau returned to Lambert several times in his writings. Saint Lambert appears in his large Histoire de l’Église (History of the Church), and Godeau also included him in his Éloges des évêques (Eulogies of the Bishops), a work devoted to bishops who had distinguished themselves by learning and holiness. This is significant because Lambert is placed there not merely as a local figure of Vence, but among a wider company of exemplary bishops from the history of the Church.
Godeau also wrote a long hymn in Lambert’s honor, included in his Poésies chrétiennes (Christian Poems). In the 1663 edition of that work, the table of contents lists “Saint Lambert Evesque de Vence, Hymne X,” beginning on page 237. The book contains hymns and poetry dedicated to several saints, including Sainte Cecile, Saint Boniface, Saint Augustin, Sainte Geneviéve, Saint Lambert, and more. This 13-page hymn retells episodes from Lambert’s life in poetic and devotional language, including the famous miracle in which water is changed into wine on Good Friday.
Here is a stanza recalling the water changed into wine on Good Friday:
“On this happy and dreadful day,
When the King who judges kings,
By his cruel death, upon the altar of the cross,
Appeased his heavenly Father,
Lambert desires for his nourishment
Only bread and water,
As the sun sets.
But, O power of the divine arm!
As soon as he put the water to his lips,
By nature it changed and took the taste of wine.”
Cf. Poésies chrétiennes by Antoine Godeau, Paris, 1660, vol. II, p. 157, hymn 10.
The stanza on the wine miracle is especially revealing. Godeau imagines Lambert on the solemn day of Christ’s Passion, wishing to take only bread and water as the sun sets. But when the saint raises the water to his lips, divine power changes it into wine. The episode is drawn from the hagiographical tradition, but Godeau turns it into a carefully staged devotional scene. The miracle is not presented as a historical problem to be investigated, but as a spiritual image: Lambert’s austerity, humility, and union with Christ are rewarded by a sign of divine favor. In this way, Godeau’s poem does more than repeat the old story. It transforms Lambert into a poetic model of episcopal sanctity.
This repeated attention suggests that Lambert held a special place in Godeau’s understanding of Vence. As bishop, Godeau inherited a diocese with its own saints, relics, memories, and local traditions. By writing about Lambert in historical, biographical, and poetic forms, he helped preserve and renew that memory for the 17th-century Church of Vence. At the same time, his treatment of Lambert should be read in the same cautious spirit as Barcillon’s later Vie. Godeau was not trying to produce a modern critical biography. He was presenting Lambert as a holy predecessor, a protector of Vence, and an example of the kind of bishop he himself wished to honor.
The Chapel and the Spring
In a small forest on the outskirts of Vence is a small spring where tradition holds that Lambert would often retreat to meditate, pray, and quench his thirst. One account of his life says that, “Prayer was the source of all his actions.” After his death, the spring quickly gained a reputation for miracles. It was known as the “Puits Saint-Lambert,” and people would come from near and far to drink the water with special virtues.
A small chapel was built that became a very popular place of pilgrimage for hundreds of years, especially on his feast day in May. The original chapel no longer exists. It was replaced in 1881 when virtually the entire population of Vence banded together to build a new chapel in less than three months, an incredible sign of their devotion and love for their patron saint. The Saint-Lambert Chapel was inaugurated in May 1881 by Bishop Terris, Bishop of Fréjus, a ceremony that drew several thousand participants.
Devotional Music for Saint Lambert
Several sources attest to devotional music for Vence’s patron saints. Daniel Petite, a writer and historian known for his 2001 book, Vence parcourue pour vous…(Vence Explored for You), notes a local cantata honoring Saints Véran and Lambert, attributed to a composer named Richard, which praised their pastoral work as the “springtime of souls.”
During the plague of 1629–1630, when Nice and much of the region were struck, Vence was reputedly spared. Abbé Tisserand, author of the first real history of Vence, Histoire de Vence (History of Vence) in 1860, reports that during that time a senator of Nice, Honoré Léotardi de Saint-Agnès, withdrew to Vence and there composed a “Hymn of Saint Lambert,” a piece Tisserand says “was still sung” in his own day. Tisserand’s account situates the hymn squarely within a moment of collective prayer to the town’s patrons and links it to the early growth of Lambert’s local cult.
Léotardi later included the Latin text in his 1648 volume Hymnorum lib. II (Book Two of Hymns), the second of his published collections of sacred verse. Listed as Hymn 30 under the title “On Saint Lambert, Bishop of Vence,” the composition is relatively short, extending over just two and a half pages.
In his unpublished manuscript La Vie & Les Miracles de Saint Lambert, Barcillon appended Léotardi’s hymn in honor of Saint Lambert to the end of his text, and translated the original Latin into French. The evidence suggests that the two men knew one another personally and were friends. Barcillon included a short introduction to the hymn which reads, in part:
“Monsieur Honoré Léotardy, known as the Lord of Sainte-Agnès and a senator in the Senate of Nice, is a man whose devotion equals the learning that made him worthy of that office. Just as he occasionally presents the public with works worthy of his scholarship, he has also produced one worthy of his piety, which he composed in the year 1631 while taking refuge in the countryside during the plague in Nice. It is a book of hymns concerning several saints, among which is one in honour of Saint Lambert, which I have placed here.
You can read more about this hymn and download copies of it in this article: A Hymn in Time of Plague: Honorati Léotardi and Saint Lambert.
The 12th Century Manuscript
A 12th-century manuscript recounting the life of Saint Lambert, held for many years in the cathedral treasury, now resides in the parish archives of Vence, which are held in the Archives of the Diocese of Nice. Written in Latin by an unknown author, it is officially known as Vita sancti Lamberti Ventienensis episcopi. It is said to have been written a few years after his death, possibly by someone at the Abbey of Lérins.
This work is listed in the Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina, the standard catalog of all known Latin texts about saints, as BHL 4695. The Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina is a massive scholarly catalog, a reference index created by the Bollandists, a group of Jesuit scholars in Belgium who have studied and edited saints’ lives for centuries. The BHL number serves as a unique identifier used by historians to distinguish this specific work from other saints’ lives and to trace its various manuscript and printed versions.
Written in a clear southern Gothic script on four parchment leaves, it presents a concise moral portrait of Bishop Lambert, including his birth at Bauduen, education at Lérins, election to the see of Vence, and many of the miracles attributed to him. It highlights his exemplary virtues of almsgiving, chastity, patience, humility, prayer, and miracle-working, and ends with his peaceful death on May 26, 1154, and the veneration of his relics.
The first known reference we have to this document is from Cardinal Caesar Baronius (1538–1607), an Italian church historian and member of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri. One of the most influential Catholic scholars of his time, he wrote the monumental Annales Ecclesiastici (Ecclesiastical Annals), published between 1588 and 1607, which presents a year-by-year account of Church history from the time of Christ onward and was intended as a Catholic response to the Protestant Magdeburg Centuries.
Baronius, in his Ecclesiastical Annals for the year 1154, number 7, writes: “In this same year, on the sixth day before the Calends of July [June 26], Saint Lambert, Bishop of Vence in Gaul, departed this life for heaven. Having been a monk of Lérins, he was called by God to govern that church, and became illustrious for holiness; many miracles made his life and the church itself shine forth. His noble deeds were written down by one of his contemporaries who personally witnessed many of them.” (Note that Baronius has the date of Lambert’s death wrong; it’s actually May 26th.)
We know that the original medieval manuscript of the Vita Sancti Lamberti was still preserved in the archives of the Cathedral of Vence at the end of the 16th century. In 1596, four church officials from Vence verified and compared this old manuscript with a later copy. After authenticating the text, they sent a transcript to Vincent Barralis, a monk of Lérins Abbey, who published it in 1613 as part of his Chronologia sanctorum et aliorum virorum illustrium, ac abbatum sacrae insulae Lerinensis (A Chronology of the Saints, Other Illustrious Men, and Abbots of the Holy Island of Lérins) (Lyon, 1613, pp. 180–183a), a Latin chronicle that records the saints, notable figures, and abbots of the Abbey of Lérins, preserving important accounts of early Provençal saints.
The Vita manuscript was later reprinted, almost unchanged, in Acta Sanctorum (Antwerp, 1688, Maii vol. VI, pp. 458–460), a monumental scholarly series begun in the 17th century by the Bollandists, compiling historical accounts of saints arranged by their feast days. They included a note saying that their text follows Barralis.
The original 12th-century manuscript is the oldest known copy of this particular local story about a saint’s life, and it’s also one of the very few remaining biographies of bishops from twelfth-century Provence.
Modern scholarship, notably Eliana Magnani (2010), identifies the Vita Sancti Lamberti Episcopi Venciensis as a genuine 12th-century Provençal hagiography composed shortly after Lambert’s death in 1154. It portrays him as a noble-born child oblate of the monastery of Lérins who preserved chastity and humility throughout life before becoming bishop of Vence. Magnani treats this Vita as a key example of the “monk-bishop” ideal—an ecclesiastical model in which sanctity is rooted in early monastic formation. The text, she notes, reflects both enduring hagiographic conventions and the continuing reality of child oblation in Provence during the 11th–12th centuries, making Lambert’s life an emblem of that spiritual and institutional world.
You can read a more in-depth account of the Vita Sancti Lamberti Episcopi Venciensis in this article: Uncovering the Life of a Beloved Saint – The 12th-Century Manuscript Behind the Legacy of Saint Lambert.
Download various versions and translations of the Vita sancti Lamberti Ventienensis episcopi.
The Life of Saint Lambert by Canon Jacques de Barcillon
Jacques Barcillon was a doctor of theology and a canon of the Cathedral Chapter of Vence in the first half of the seventeenth century and one of the most learned clerics of his diocese. Although little is known of his personal life, his surviving manuscripts reveal a man of erudition, piety, and deep attachment to the history of his Church. Barcillon composed at least two known works: La Vie de Saint Véran and La Vie & les Miracles de Saint Lambert. Neither is dated, but the Lambert manuscript, dedicated to Bishop Antoine Godeau, was most likely written sometime around 1650. The Véran manuscript came shortly thereafter. Both texts form part of a wider current of post-Tridentine devotion in Provence, in which the lives of local saints were rewritten to inspire reform and spiritual renewal among the clergy and faithful.
Barcillon’s writing combines historical diligence with theological meditation. His style reflects the influence of ecclesiastical Latin rhetoric and the humanist prose cultivated in cathedral schools of southern France. While his works were never printed, they most likely circulated within the diocese and were cited in later local histories. His manuscripts, preserved today in the Archives of the Diocese of Nice, remain valuable witnesses to the religious culture and episcopal identity of seventeenth-century Vence. Through them, Barcillon emerges as a humble yet eloquent servant of the Church, dedicated to safeguarding the memory of her saints and the spiritual prestige of his city.
Antoine Godeau appointed him Grand Vicar (the chief deputy of a bishop) on January 7, 1654. When Godeau officially took possession of the see on May 26 of the same year, Barcillon presented him with the biography of Saint Lambert he had just written and the new reliquary he had commissioned from Thomas Merlin, the King’s goldsmith. Barcillon died on April 16, 1664, and was buried in the Vence Cathedral in the Chapel of the Holy Relics.
You can read an in-depth article about Barcillon’s biography of Saint Lambert in this article: Jacques Barcillon’s Seventeenth-Century Life of Saint Lambert: An Unpublished Manuscript
Download various versions and translations of The Life & Miracles of Saint Lambert by Jacques Barcillon.
The Busts of Saint Véran and Saint Lambert
In 1465, the plague struck Vence. It was neither the first nor the last time the Black Death swept through the region. When the outbreak finally subsided, the townspeople attributed their relative safety to the intercession of Saints Véran and Lambert. While nearby communities suffered devastating losses, Vence was spared the worst, and many believed that the fervent prayers offered to their patron saints had protected them. This episode reinforced Saint Véran’s long-standing reputation as the “Defender of Vence.”
To express their gratitude, the people of Vence had busts made to honor the two saints for their protection. In Vence – Ses Monuments – Ses Saints – Ses Évêques – Ses Curés – Son Église – Son Trésor – Ses Reliques – Ses Chapelles, Jacques Daurelle recounts that Bishop Raphaël Monso commissioned an artist named Laurent de Pardis, or possibly Laurent Parisis, from Paris to create a gilded silver bust of Saint Véran. However, Laurent Dailliez, in Vence – Un Diocèse, Une Cité, Un Canton, identifies the artist as Paridis of Nice rather than Paris.
The work was completed and dedicated in Vence, either by Bishop Jean de Vesc on October 10, 1491, or by his brother Aymard de Vesc four years later, in 1495; sources differ on this point. Around the same period, a bust of Saint Lambert was also commissioned. Less ornate than that of Saint Véran, it was fashioned from gilded copper instead of silver. Dailliez records that Canon Christophe Malamaire personally financed the creation of Saint Lambert’s bust, which was likewise produced by Laurent de Paridis. The relics of both saints were exhumed and placed in metal reliquaries topped with these busts, which were later described in detail in the 1507 inventory of the Vence church treasury.
In his 2001 book Vence – parcourue pour vous…, Daniel Petite offers a slightly different account. He writes that the relics of the saints “were exhumed and then displayed in metal reliquaries topped with wooden busts.” He makes no reference to the gilded silver-and-copper versions described by earlier authors. It’s possible, of course, that more than one set of busts existed during that period, though it seems more plausible that Petite was simply mistaken.
When the French Revolution erupted more than three centuries later, the clergy of Vence feared the worst. Sacred treasures were being seized or destroyed throughout France, and the priests worried that their beloved busts would be melted down and the relics lost forever. To protect them, the relics were removed and hidden away. What ultimately happened to the original reliquaries and busts remains uncertain. The precise location of the relics was forgotten, and for over a century, they disappeared from sight.
In 1825, Father Antoine Blanc, then parish priest of Vence, ordered new busts from a Parisian silversmith named Mr. Choiselat. These replacements were crafted in copper and coated in silver. The bust of Saint Véran was blessed on September 10, 1825, while Saint Lambert’s, completed somewhat later, was inaugurated on May 26, 1826.
You can read a more in-depth account of the relics, reliquaries and busts of Saint Lambert (and Saint Véran) in this article: Devotion, History and Art: The Relics, Reliquaries and Busts of Saint Véran and Saint Lambert of Vence.
The 1592 Siege of Vence and how Saint Lambert (along with Saint Véran) Saved the City Once Again
The latter half of the 16th century was a turbulent and uncertain time for Vence. As the Protestant Reformation spread across Europe, religious divisions deepened, and violence became commonplace. In France, the long and bitter Wars of Religion (1562–1598) pitted the Calvinist Reformers against Catholics in a conflict that would claim countless lives. Vence, though small, did not escape the turmoil. The town endured raids, destruction, and famine as fighting and unrest spread throughout the region.
Even within the Church of Vence itself, divisions emerged. Two successive holders of the see of Vence became associated with the Protestant Reformation: Jean-Baptiste Rambaud de Simiane, bishop of Vence from 1555/56 to 1560 and later bishop of Apt, openly declared himself Protestant in 1571; his successor at Vence, Louis Grimaldi de Beuil/Bueil, bishop from 1560 to 1576, also embraced Reformed ideas before later recanting before Pope Gregory XIII in 1573. Protestant influence also reached the surrounding countryside. Gourdon became an important Calvinist stronghold, and smaller Reformed communities were present in places such as nearby Coursegoules and Tourrettes. Vence, however, remained almost entirely Catholic. Those who had converted were excluded from the fortified town and permitted to worship only beyond its gates.
At the same time, Claude de Villeneuve, Lord of Vence from 1556 to 1592, also converted to Protestantism, a move that inflamed tensions between the seigneur and his subjects. Once he embraced the new religion, he was barred from entering the town altogether. Whether his conversion reflected sincere conviction or was simply a political maneuver against powerful Catholic rivals is unclear. In any case, loyalties during this era were rarely fixed—one of the five French kings who reigned between 1547 and 1589 is said to have changed his religion four times during these wars.
In 1590, King Henry IV sent the Protestant commander François de Bonne, Duke of Lesdiguières, to retake Provence. Some see these events primarily as another chapter in the struggle between Catholics and Protestants, while others argue they were driven more by politics than faith. Henry IV, they point out, was reclaiming his kingdom’s territory, and Lesdiguières served less as a religious crusader than as a soldier-for-hire in the king’s service. Many of his troops were, in fact, Catholic, and large Protestant communities still existed across Provence—making it difficult to view the conflict as purely religious.
On May 13, 1592, Claude de Villeneuve—the Lord of Vence who had long opposed the town—drowned while attempting to cross the Argens River. His son, Scipion de Villeneuve, inherited his title and resided in Cagnes-sur-Mer. Aware of the city’s history of defiance toward his family, he quickly demanded the submission of the people of Vence. When they refused, he turned to Lesdiguières for help, who set up camp on the Saint-Michel plateau, the same spot where Vence’s stadium stands today.
Lesdiguières soon began his assault on Vence. The defenders answered as best they could, firing their lone cannon against overwhelming odds. As the enemy pressed closer, despair spread among the townspeople. At that desperate hour, Canon Laure, a cleric of the Cathedral, took decisive action. He carried the busts of Saints Véran and Lambert to the top of the Cathedral tower, calling upon the citizens to gather below. There, he urged them to hold fast to their faith and not surrender to fear. If they stood firm, he promised, their patron saints would protect them and save the city from ruin.
The townspeople, reinvigorated by Canon Laure’s display of faith, rallied to defend their city with extraordinary determination. Enemy cannon fire rained down upon the walls, shaking the very foundations of Vence, yet its defenders held firm. The citizens manned the ramparts, inspired by the presence of their patron saints watching over them from the cathedral tower. As the attackers advanced with ladders and battering rams, the people fought back with everything they had—stones, boiling oil, and molten lead—driving the enemy back again and again.
According to local tradition, once the busts of Saints Véran and Lambert were placed atop the tower, every cannonball aimed at the city miraculously rebounded off the walls and struck the besieging army instead, killing many of their own men.
By the end of the battle, more than five hundred of Lesdiguières’ soldiers were said to have fallen. On June 2, he lifted the siege, claiming Vence was not worth the effort and turning his army toward the Estérels. The little city had triumphed. To its people, there was no doubt that their deliverance came through the intercession of Saint Véran and Saint Lambert. Word of this miraculous defense spread far and wide, and over time the story became a cherished part of local legend, a lasting symbol of courage and faith.
Even today, near the Porte d’Orient, one of the main gates to Vence’s old town, a large stone beneath a window still bears the date 1592. It marks the very spot where Lesdiguières’ cannon breached the walls, a silent reminder of the siege and of the saints the people believed had saved them.
You can read a more in-depth account of the 1592 Siege of Vence in this article: Faith, Fire, and Betrayal in the French Wars of Religion.
The Second Reliquary
In 1654, a new reliquary was made that was large enough to hold the entire remains of Saint Lambert. It was composed of two sections, the main chamber and a supporting base. Barcillon describes it as being “enclosed in beautifully carved woodwork.” On May 26th of that year, exactly five hundred years to the day since Saint Lambert had died, the old reliquary holding Lambert’s skull and the cypress chest containing the rest of his remains were opened. Bishop Antoine Godeau, in the presence of his clergy, transferred the bones himself to the new reliquary. The “Hymn of the Confessor” was sung by all present, and Godeau concluded the event with a blessing of the new reliquary.
The reliquary was then carried through the streets of Vence beneath a ceremonial canopy for all the townspeople to see. Barcillon described it as a jubilant event, saying, “It could be said that the body of the glorious Saint himself was passing in triumph through the town, a sight not seen since the day of his funeral, when he had been carried to his burial amid the tears and sorrow of all the inhabitants. From that same tomb, the Blessed Saint seemed to come forth once more, appearing again to the people of Vence as a sign that his protection would continue for as long as they kept their faith and devotion toward him.”
The French Revolution and the Lost Relics
The years of the French Revolution were a time of chaos throughout the land. But never more so than for the Catholic Church. Revolutionaries across the country were determined to desecrate, eradicate, and annihilate everything they could get their hands on that was related to the church. Thousands of priceless artifacts were destroyed. During these years, the precious relics of both Saint Véran and Saint Lambert went missing. No one knew if they had fallen into the hands of the revolutionaries or if, as the people of Vence whispered to each other, someone had hidden them away for protection, maybe somewhere in the cathedral. What seemed certain is that they were gone, perhaps forever. One particularly ominous rumor said that if anyone found these relics and touched them, they would die within a year.
On January 19, 1913, Abbé Marius-Emile Baude, the former dean of the parish of nearby Le Bar, took over the parish of Vence as the new priest. As he was reviewing documents in the parish archives, he came across the Vita sancti Lamberti Ventienensis episcopi. At the bottom of the document, Baude discovered a remarkable handwritten addition, written in Latin.
“I affirm and testify that, for the greater glory of Almighty God, on December 10, 1793, I removed the holy relics of Saint Véran and Saint Lambert placed in a silver reliquary, and respectfully gathered them in a gilded wooden chest, in the presence of Paul Pons, priest, and Pierre Geoffroy, who also act as witnesses, and we have signed with our own hand in Vence on December 10, 1793.” It was signed by Pierre Abou (priest and steward of this church), Paul Pons (priest), and Pierre Geoffrou.
Abou and the others had hidden the relics of Saint Véran and Saint Lambert to prevent them from falling into the hands of the revolutionaries who would most certainly have destroyed them. But where had they placed this chest? Where were the relics now? Baude discovered a second document, hidden away among a volume of baptismal, marriage and burial records with more information.
“In the year 1814, on the 30th of April, I received from Mr. Pierre Abou, priest, former beneficiary, and capiscol of the cathedral chapter of Vence, the gilded wooden chest containing the relics of Saint Véran, which he assured me were the same that existed before 1792, the time of the Revolution in France. He had removed this chest from the Chapel of the Holy Relics, now the Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so that they would not be desecrated by the impious during the Revolution. We have returned the same chest to its secure location in an iron grille where it was previously deposited and preserved at the back of the said chapel, behind what is now the painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In witness whereof, in my capacity as parish priest delegated in this ecclesiastical district, now part of the diocese of Aix, and responsible for the recovery and verification of the relics, I have signed in Vence, on the year and day above. SAVORNIN, parish priest, ABOU, priest.”
More evidence was found in the parish register of 1825 through 1865. On page 98, there is a report signed by Mr. Blacas (vicar general), Chaix (canon and parish priest), and J.-B. Blacas (vicar) stating that on September 9, 1839, they had verified the relics of Saint Véran and Saint Lambert and then returned them to the wooden chest. Saint Véran’s relics were placed in five white silk pouches, and Saint Lambert’s in three.
It was clear that several men had been aware of the whereabouts of the relics over the last century, namely Father Savornin, Father Chaix, and the Vicars Blacas. They had verified them and held them in their hands. Why had they kept them hidden? Why had they not restored the relics to a public place in the cathedral for all to see? Why had they told no one where these precious relics were? No one knew. Father Baude was determined to locate the relics and bring the saints home.
On June 7, 1913, Father Baude, along with the mayor of Vence, Mr. Bougearel, two parish vicars, and a few others, had the large painting hanging above the altar in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart in the cathedral removed. Behind it was the door of a cupboard. When the cupboard was opened, a large gilded wooden box was removed along with two other wooden chests and wooden busts of Saint Véran and Saint Lambert.
The bust of Saint Lambert includes a miter (the tall, pointed hat traditionally worn by bishops), while the bust of Saint Véran does not. A metal miter was added later for Véran. In his book Vence – Ses Monuments – Ses Saints – Ses Évêques – Ses Curés – Son Église – Son Trésor – Ses Reliques – Ses Chapelles, Jacques Daurelle says that, “These busts are not mentioned in inventories or archives but are nonetheless old.”
Three days later, on June 10th, the three chests were opened in a public ceremony attended by the Bishop of Nice, numerous civil and religious authorities, and a large contingent of the faithful public. Five white silk pouches containing the relics of Saint Véran and three containing those of Saint Lambert were removed. Other relics were also found. Certificates attesting to the authenticity of the relics had been placed in one of the smaller wooden chests.
Another note, this one from Father Bruny, revealed that he had taken a relic of Saint Lambert from one of the pouches and sent it to the priest of Vidauban. So, here was yet another man who knew all along where the relics were hidden and had kept it a secret for some unknown reason.
For days and weeks, the small town of Vence was abuzz with excitement, energy, and lively chatter. All anyone could talk about was the discovery of Father Baude. The faithful filled the church, and more people gathered in the streets and squares, all eager to hear stories about the two patron saints of Vence. Children who had never heard of these saints before were suddenly captivated with the legends. Jacques Daurelle says that, “Even the most skeptical and unbelieving felt stirred by the memory of the past, by the evocation of all the marvelous events that, over the centuries, had marked the history of Vence.”
In April of 1914 a grand procession was organized to celebrate the discovery of the relics. The Archbishop of Aix presided over the ceremonies which were attended by a cardinal and the Abbot of Lérins.
It is worth mentioning that there is also a legend in Vence regarding the missing relics. In this version of the story, an upholster from Aix-en-Provence who specialized in repairing religious ornaments, named Mr. Baunaud, had arrived at the cathedral to offer his services. This was after Father Baude had discovered the documents about the relics, but before he had removed the painting to find them.
Mr. Baunaud told Father Baude that he had had a strange dream the night before in which he found some important relics behind a painting in a church. Father Baude took Mr. Baunaud into the Vence Cathedral, where he had never been before. He was able to identify the Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the painting hanging there as the ones he had seen in his dream. No one really takes this “story” seriously.
You can read a more in-depth account of the “lost” Saint Véran and Saint Lambert relics in this article: The “Lost” Relics of Saint Véran and Saint Lambert – The Story of their Rediscovery and the Historic Celebrations in Vence.
Saint Lambert in the Vence Cathedral
Like Saint Véran, the other patron saint of Vence, Saint Lambert is represented prominently in the Vence Cathedral. In the center of the southern side nave his tomb rests beneath a simple marble slab in the Chapel of Saint Lambert.
Next to the Chapel of Saint Véran is a wall showcase that contains the two gilded wooden busts of the saints recovered in 1913 by Father Baude. Daurelle thinks it is possible, “given the crude sculpting,” that these busts predate the gilded silver ones from the 1400s. He says they were restored in the 1600s, with Lambert’s receiving a layer of silvering over the plaster and Véran’s receiving a layer of gilding over the plaster.
The two silver-plated copper busts made in 1825 and 1826 (described earlier) sit behind the altar in the niches of the chancel. In a small box beneath each bust rest the relics and remains of each saint.
Just past the choir is the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, which occupies the bottom level of the cathedral’s bell tower. On the north wall, painted on wood, are portraits of both saints dating from the 18th century.
Was Saint Lambert Ever Officially Canonized?
Saint Lambert of Vence lived and was venerated long before the modern process of canonization was established in the Catholic Church. In the earliest centuries of Christianity, saints were not declared by popes but by the people themselves. Those who died for their faith or lived lives of great holiness were honored by popular devotion, especially at their tombs, where miracles were often reported. This early recognition, called popular canonization, was later confirmed or regulated by local bishops, who had the authority to approve such cults within their dioceses.
It was not until the 10th and 12th centuries that popes began to take control of the process, introducing more formal investigations and, eventually, strict legal procedures. The first papal canonization took place in 993, but it was not until 1170 that Pope Alexander III issued a decree stating that no one could be venerated as a saint without papal approval. Therefore, Lambert was never canonized in the official, papal sense of the word. Yet his holiness of life, the miracles attributed to him, and the enduring devotion of the people of Vence and Bauduen firmly established his status as a saint in the traditional, ancient sense recognized by the Church of his time.
In short, Saint Lambert was declared a saint not by decree but by faith, through the witness of the people, the testimony of miracles, and the confirmation of his local clergy. His veneration was authentic, continuous, and fully legitimate under the customs of the Church as it existed in the 12th century.
The Legacy of Saint Lambert
Lambert’s story might seem modest compared to some of the grand saints of medieval France. There was no great monastery founded in his name. He was not martyred. Yet it is precisely that modesty that makes him such an enduring figure in the history of Vence. He represents the everyday sanctity that quietly shaped communities like Vence: service rather than spectacle, charity rather than conquest.
Over the centuries, his cult has ebbed and flowed. Revolutions, wars, and modern secular life have dimmed many local devotions, yet the people of Vence have never forgotten their two patron saints. Each year their names still appear together on parish bulletins — Saint Lambert and Saint Véran, patrons of Vence — and in the annual procession that winds through the medieval streets. The wooden busts are carried once more through the sunlight, accompanied by prayers and hymns, linking present-day worshippers to generations past.
For visitors, learning about Saint Lambert offers more than a footnote in ecclesiastical history. It opens a window onto what Vence once was — a small, independent town, proud of its bishops, rooted in faith, and conscious of its identity. Lambert embodies that spirit. He was born in death, became a monk by necessity, a bishop by duty, and a saint by the quiet force of his goodness. Nine hundred years later, his story continues to echo in the cathedral stones, in the chapel by the spring, and in the hearts of those who pause to listen.
Access
Vence can easily be reached from just about anywhere in France by taking the A8 until you get to Cagnes-sur-Mer. If you are coming from the east get off on Exit 48 and if you are coming from the west you’ll want Exit 47. Take the M336, then the M36 and finally the M236 north into Vence. The most accessible parking is in the Parking du Grand Jardin, right next to the old town. Parking Toreille and Marie Antoinette Parking are both close by as well.
There are two buses which run from Nice to Vence: #9 and #655. Just be careful with the #9, it can be a bit confusing because it has two routes leaving from Grand Arenas in Nice. One route stops at the Polygon Riviera mall which is still about 8kms from Vence. Look at the route displayed on the front of the bus at the top. It should say “L’Ara” which is the last bus stop in Vence. All the #9 buses returning to Nice from Vence go all the way to Grand Arenas.
There is no train service directly to Vence. You can take the train to Cagnes-sur-Mer and then take either the #9 or #655 bus from Cagnes-sur-Mer to Vence.
The Vence Office de Tourisme is just across the street from the Grand Jardin. While you can visit the old town at any time, on any day of the year, I would suggest that you try to come on any day but Sunday or Monday so that you might enjoy some of the shops and boutiques that will otherwise be closed.
What: Grace, Miracles, and Mercy – Exploring the Life and Legacy of Saint Lambert of Vence
Where: Vence (Alpes-Maritimes) (Google Maps)
When: All year
Phone: Vence Office de Tourisme: 04 93 58 06 38
Website: vence-tourisme.com
Facebook: vencetourisme