Ansbert of Rouen

Saint Ansbert of Rouen
Portrait of Ansbert in stained glass at Rouen Cathedral
Born	Chaussy-sur-Epte
Died	c. 695 Hautmont
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Canonized	Pre-Congregation
Feast	9 February

Saint Ansbert, called Ansbert of Rouen or sometimes Ansbert of Chaussy (? – c. 695), is a saint from northern France. In the 7th century, he served the Christian Church as a monk and an abbot, and ultimately as the archbishop of the city of Rouen.

Ansbert was born at Chaussy-sur-Epte, a village in the Norman historical area known as the Vexin. He was born to a noble family, and was highly educated. He had a significant professional career, and is said to have served as a senior member of the court of the Merovingian king, Clotaire III. As such, he was both Lord Chancellor of France and Référendaire of France.

Ansbert was engaged to be married to another future saint, Angadrisma. Her father, said to have been another of Clotaire's chancellors,arranged for her to wed his colleague, but Angadrisma – later a patroness of nuns – prayed for release from this obligation. Tradition states that dispensation was given to her after she was "struck down with leprosy", a disfiguring malady which only disappeared when she joined a convent. Some sources state that Ansbert later took a different bride.

In 673, the same year Clotaire died, Ansbert renounced his secular pursuits and became a monk of the Benedictine order. Six years later, he was elevated to abbot of his monastery, the illustrious Fontenelle Abbey. He followed two other saints in that office: Wandrille, the abbey's founder and first abbot, and Lambert, the second abbot, who vacated the office when he was named bishop of Lyons. Under his leadership, Fontenelle prospered. His enterprises included a great expansion and refinement of the abbey's library, and the establishment of local hospitals for the poor.