A count of Amiens, Valois, and Vexin who renounced his title to become a Benedictine monk, dying in Rome in 1082.

Saint Simon de Valois de Vexin was a French nobleman, count of Amiens, Valois, and Vexin, who renounced his secular titles and inheritance to enter the Benedictine order. He died in Rome on September 30, 1082, at about thirty-three years of age, and his cause was formally recognized in 1900, honoring a life that turned decisively away from power toward religious poverty.

Quick Facts

• Died: September 30, 1082, at Rome, Italy, around age 33
• Canonized: 1900
• Venerated as: Benedictine religious; Count of Amiens, Valois, and Vexin
• Region: France and Italy

Who Was Saint Simon de Valois de Vexin?

Born into significant French nobility as count of Amiens, Valois, and Vexin, Simon set aside his inheritance and political power to become a monk of the Benedictine order, a decision that placed spiritual poverty above the considerable worldly status he was born to.

Historical Setting

Eleventh-century France saw a wave of monastic reform and renewed fervor for religious life, with Benedictine monasteries expanding in influence and drawing members from all social classes, including, on occasion, the nobility itself, who sometimes chose the cloister over inherited titles.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Simon

Simon is remembered chiefly for the dramatic contrast between the power he was born to and the humble religious life he freely chose, a renunciation the Church has long honored as a striking witness to the primacy of spiritual over worldly goods.

Canonization and Feast Day

The Church formally recorded the canonization of Simon de Valois de Vexin in 1900, confirming a veneration that had grown since his death in Rome in 1082 as word of his renunciation and religious life spread.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Simon’s choice to abandon considerable inherited wealth and power for monastic poverty challenges any assumption that status and security are prerequisites for a meaningful life. His example calls believers to weigh worldly advantage against spiritual freedom.

A Prayer to Saint Simon de Valois de Vexin

Saint Simon, count who chose poverty over privilege for Christ’s sake, free our hearts from attachment to status and possessions, that we may seek first the kingdom of God. Amen.

Sources

• Roman Martyrology
• Local Benedictine monastic tradition