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Cannat the Provençal saint and his green reed

Cannat's statue in St-Cannat | Georges Seguin (Okki) / CC-BY-SA
Miracle Parish church Saint-Cannat church in Marseille

Do you know Cannat? Well, he was one of Marseille first bishop, died at the end of the 5th century in the current town of Saint-Cannat (Bouches-du-Rhône).

He lived there as a hermit, alone, in an unspeakable peace.

But one day, people from Marseille came in his place, yelling and shouting: their own bishop was dead! And Cannat would be perfect to replace him!

Cannat, slightly upset by this clutter, by those people who came and disturbed his tranquility, answered them... NO!

He retired here far away from men: he didn’t want to come back, honestly, I ask you! He said to them, laughing: "Ok, ok, maybe I would become your bishop... the day this reed will turn green again!"

The reed was a piece of wood which looked like a staff, and Cannat planted it on the soil, in front of the attentive crowd.

And suddenly... the reed turned green! Oh, it looked like a miracle... so Cannat had to honour his promise, and became bishop of Marseille!

Since that day, people from Provence celebrate Cannat with big processions, each one with a green reed on his hand...

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!