Abbo of Metz, St.
ABBO OF METZ, ST.
Bishop; b. Aquitaine; d. 647. Abbo, or Goericus, was a member of the prominent family of Ansbertina. When St. Arnulf of Metz, a kinsman, resigned from the See of Metz in 629, Abbo succeeded him. The medieval Vita Goerici that gives other details of his life is wholly unreliable. Among the letters of St. Desiderius of Cahors, there is a letter to Abbo and one from him (PL 87:253, 262). It is in the will of King Dagobert (d. 639) that he is called Abbo. He built St. Peter's in Metz.
Feast: Sept. 19.
Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum Sept. 6:48–55. Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores 2:267–270. Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 2:417–425, 442. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, ed. h. thurston and d. attwater (New York 1956) 3:597.
[b. l. marthaler]