St. Cloud was the son of French royalty—caught up in political machinations that cost his brothers their lives, he fled the court to spend his life handing on the faith.

Clodoald—or “Cloud” as we know him in English—was the youngest of four grandsons of the great king Clovis, and his grandmother was St. Clotilde. After Clovis died, his kingdom was eventually split among his grandsons, and because they were too young to rule, the country was governed by an uncle.

When Cloud was 8 years old, the ruling uncle fell into a scheme to dispose of these heirs and to assume the kingship for himself. Cloud escaped, but his brothers were killed.

When he matured, Cloud made no claims to the throne, and sought out the life of a hermit. He became a follower of St. Severinus, a hermit who lived near Paris. Later, Cloud moved to Nogent and the place where he settled is now called “Saint-Cloud” (a sister city in Minnesota bears the same name). He spent the rest of his life teaching the faith to people who lived nearby and was sought out for his advice. When it was clear that his attempts at solitude were not working, he followed the wishes of the people and returned to Paris, where he was ordained a priest and led the faithful. St. Cloud died in 560 when he was 36.

St. Cloud, you fled a murderous, political family and found a life of faithfulness and service—pray for us!