The Baptism of Clovis

The baptism of Clovis, king of the Franks, stands as a defining moment in the Christian history of Europe. Taking place on Christmas Day, likely in the year 496, this event marked not only the personal conversion of a powerful ruler but also the beginning of a new chapter for Christianity in the West. Clovis was baptized in Reims, a city that would become central to the religious and royal life of France for centuries. The ceremony was performed by Saint Remigius, the bishop of Reims, and according to later accounts, over three thousand of Clovis’s warriors were baptized alongside him.