Peregrine of Auxerre

Infobox Saint
name= Saint Peregrine of Auxerre
birth_date=
death_date=~304 AD
feast_day= May 16
venerated_in= Roman Catholic Church


imagesize=
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birth_place= Rome
death_place= Bouhy, France
titles=
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date=December 27,1726
canonized_place=
canonized_by=
attributes=converting pagans; overturning idols; founding Auxerre cathedral [ [http://catholique-sens-auxerre.cef.fr/auxerre/article.php3?id_article=20 La cathédrale Saint-Etienne d’Auxerre - 2. Saint Pèlerin ] ] ; sometimes in the dress of a pilgrim in reference to his name ("peregrinus" means pilgrim in Latin); snake [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90598 San Pellegrino d'Auxerre ] ]
patronage=against snake bites [ [http://catholique-sens-auxerre.cef.fr/auxerre/article.php3?id_article=20 La cathédrale Saint-Etienne d’Auxerre - 2. Saint Pèlerin ] ]
major_shrine=
suppressed_date=
issues= Saint Peregrine (Peregrinus) of Auxerre ( _fr. Saint Pélérin, _it. San Pellegrino) (d. ca. 261 AD or ca. 304 AD) is venerated as the first bishop of Auxerre and the builder of its first cathedral. A strong local tradition states that he was a priest of Rome appointed by Pope Sixtus II to evangelize this area at the request of the Christians resident in that part of Gaul. He preached at Marseilles, Lyon, and converted most of the inhabitants of Auxerre to Christianity. [ [http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/medmil/pages/non-mma-pages/text_links/st_peregrine.html st_peregrine ] ]

At "Intaranum" –present-day Entrains-sur-Nohain– Peregrine angered the governor after the saint appealed to the populace to abandon pagan idols; the inhabitants had been dedicating a new temple to Jupiter.

The "Martyrologium Hieronymianum" states that he was tortured and beheaded at "vicus Baiacus" (Bouhy) (in present-day Nièvre) during the persecutions of Diocletian.

His lector Jovinian, venerated as a saint, was also martyred with him. [ [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintjbm.htm Patron Saints Index: Saint Jovinian of Auxerre ] ] Other companions included Marsus, his priest; Corcodomus, his deacon; and Jovian his subdeacon. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90598 San Pellegrino d'Auxerre ] ]

Veneration

Historians postulate that he was probably not a bishop at all, but rather a missionary who had been sent to the rural areas of this region. In the ninth century, churchmen of Auxerre made this local martyr the first bishop of their city. [ [http://catholique-sens-auxerre.cef.fr/auxerre/article.php3?id_article=20 La cathédrale Saint-Etienne d’Auxerre - 2. Saint Pèlerin ] ]

In the 7th century, some of his relics were translated from Bouhy to the Abbey of Saint-Denis. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90598 San Pellegrino d'Auxerre ] ] Pope Leo III ordered the construction of a church dedicated to Saint Peregrine in Rome near the "Hospitale Francorum", which served French pilgrims. A street near the church was named San Pellegrino after the saint; it later gave its name to the Porta San Pellegrino. [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90598 San Pellegrino d'Auxerre ] ]

In 1645, while work was being carried out underneath the altar of the church of Bouhy, a human cranium was discovered. After an investigation, this was declared a relic of Peregrine and it was solemnly brought back to Auxerre. [ [http://catholique-sens-auxerre.cef.fr/auxerre/article.php3?id_article=20 La cathédrale Saint-Etienne d’Auxerre - 2. Saint Pèlerin ] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0516.htm#pere Saints of May 16: Peregrine of Auxerre]
* [http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/medmil/pages/non-mma-pages/text_links/st_peregrine.html ST PEREGRINE BISHOP OF AUXERRE, MARTYR]
*fr icon [http://catholique-sens-auxerre.cef.fr/auxerre/article.php3?id_article=20 Saint Pèlerin, considéré par la tradition comme le premier évêque d’Auxerre]
*it icon [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90598 San Pellegrino d'Auxerre]