Saint Acarius (died 14 March 642) was a monk of

Luxeuil Abbey Luxeuil Abbey (), the ''Abbaye Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul'', was one of the oldest and best-known monasteries in Burgundy, located in what is now the département of Haute-Saône in Franche-Comté, France. History Columbanus It was founded circa 5 ...

, who became

bishop of Doornik and Noyon The Diocese of Tournai is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. The diocese was formed in 1146, upon the dissolution of the Diocese of Noyon & Tournai, which had existed since the 7th Century. It is ...

, which today are located on either side of the

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

border.

Life

Acarius was born to a noble family of Burgundy. He entered the Abbey of Luxeuil and was a pupil of Abbot Eustace.

Audomar Saint Audomar (died 670), better known as Saint Omer, was a bishop of Thérouanne, after whom nearby Saint-Omer in northern France was named. Biography He was born of a distinguished family of Coutances, then under the Frankish realm of Neust ...

, future

bishop of Thérouanne A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

was a classmate. While the date of his election is not known, it is assured that he was bishop of Doornik and Noyon in 627. He was an adviser to King

Clothar II Chlothar II, sometime called "the Young" ( French: le Jeune), (May/June 584 – 18 October 629), was king of Neustria and king of the Franks, and the son of Chilperic I and his third wife, Fredegund. He started his reign as an infant under the r ...

. Apparently, Acarius had great influence on the spreading of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

Belgic Gaul Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and Germany. In 50 BC, af ...

. It was Acarius that recommended to Dagobert that

be appointed

Bishop of Thérouanne A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. He was a strong supporter of the missionary

Amandus Amandus ( 584 – 679), commonly called Saint Amand, was a bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht and one of the great Christian missionaries of Flanders. He is venerated as a saint, particularly in France and Belgium. Life The chief source of details ...

, but despite his influence could not prevent King

Dagobert I Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; 605/603 – 19 January 639 AD) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dy ...

from banishing Amandus for chastising him. Amandus then went to Gascony. Along with Audomar and the King's counselor, Éloi, they were eventually able to persuade Dagobert to allow Amandus to return, and Acarius sent him to preach in the area of Tournai. As bishop, Acarius was especially attentive to the poor and afflicted, whose needs he enjoyed relieving and calming their suffering. He built a number of monasteries.

Veneration

Soon after his death in November 640, he was

venerated Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etymo ...

as a

Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

. He was succeeded as bishop by

Eligius Eligius may refer to: * Saint Eligius Saint Eligius (also Eloy, Eloi or Loye; french: Éloi; 11 June 588 – 1 December 660 AD) is the patron saint of goldsmiths, other metalworkers, and coin collectors. He is also the patron saint of veteri ...

. His memorial is 27 Nov. Acarius is invoked against a "cantankerous" mood."November 27", Abbaye Notre-Dame de Tomié
/ref> The Église Saints-Hugues-et-Achaire de Haspres File:Haspres (Nord, Fr) église, buste Saint Achaire.JPG, Buste of Acarius in

Haspres Haspres () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry French sartorial heritage The city was a pivotal center of mulquinerie See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of t ...

File:Haspres (Nord, Fr) église, vitrail Saint Achaire.JPG, Stained glass window of Acarius in

is dedicated to him.

Sources

* ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' - online version at

Wikisource Wikisource is an online digital library of free-content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project (each instance usually rep ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acarius 639 deaths Belgian Roman Catholic saints 7th-century Frankish bishops Bishops of Tournai Year of birth unknown 7th-century Frankish saints