Saint Aprunculus of Trier (also known as Abrunculus) (died probably 526) was

Bishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Fibicius Fibicius (otherwise Fibitius or Felicius) was Bishop of Trier from around 502 to 525 or so. Life Fibicius' tenure as bishop in the first quarter of the 6th century fell in the politically troubled times during the expansion of Frankish power into ...

, whether in 511 or 525, and served in that capacity until his own death, which is presumed to have occurred before the appointment of his successor

Nicetius Saint Nicetius (french: Saint Nizier) (c. 525 - c. 566) was a bishop of Trier, born in the latter part of the fifth century, exact date unknown; died in 563 or more probably 566. Nicetius was the most important bishop of the ancient see of Trie ...

. Aprunculus is venerated 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 ...

; his

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

at Trier is 22 April. His

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

are preserved at

Springiersbach Abbey Springiersbach Abbey is a former Augustinian (Canons Regular) monastery, and currently a Carmelite monastery in Bengel municipality, in the Eifel region of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was founded in 1102 by Bruno of Lauffen, archbishop of T ...

. He is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Bruchsal Bruchsal (; orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle, historically known in English as Bruxhall; South Franconian: ''Brusel'') is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Life

Aprunculus may have belonged either to the disempowered pre-

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

clergy of Trier or to the clergy sent to Trier from

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

Theuderic I __NOTOC__ Theuderic I (c. 485 – 533/34) was the Merovingian king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia—as it is variously called—from 511 to 533 or 534. He was the son of Clovis I and one of his earlier wives or concubines (possibly a Franco- ...

. There is a widespread story that

Saint Gall Gall ( la, Gallus; 550 646) according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. Deicolus was the elder brother of Gall. Biography The ...

was active in Trier at the same time as Aprunculus but this is unhistorical, as Gallus lived a century later. The absence of information on the bishops of Trier in the late 5th and early 6th centuries in contemporary sources suggests that the church in Trier was not significant politically in this period.

Veneration

Aprunculus was probably buried in a small oratory on the site of St. Symphorian's Abbey in Trier. Since the end of the 6th century he has been venerated as a saint. He is recorded in the

Martyrologium Hieronymianum The ''Martyrologium Hieronymianum'' (meaning "martyrology of Jerome") or ''Martyrologium sancti Hieronymi'' (meaning "martyrology of Saint Jerome") is an ancient martyrology or list of Christian martyrs in calendar order, one of the most used a ...

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

mentions him. There are reports of his veneration in Trier from the 10th century onwards, and also in

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

Autun Autun () is a subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum to give a Ro ...

and Gellone in

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

. A portrait of him is found in the

Egbert Psalter The Egbert Psalter (also known as the Gertrude Psalter or Trier Psalter) is a medieval illuminated manuscript Psalter preserved in the municipal museum of Cividale, Italy (Ms. CXXXVI). The psalter is an example of the illuminated manuscripts assoc ...

. In 1047 his remains were transferred to

St. Paulinus' Church, Trier Saint Paulinus (german: St. Paulinskirche) is a Baroque church in the city of Trier, Germany. Constructed between 1734 and 1753, the interior was designed by Johann Balthasar Neumann. The ceiling of the nave features a painting by the artist Christ ...

, where his grave was in a small crypt under the altar of St. Clement in front of the choir. In 1107 some of the relics were taken, along with those of

Saint Modoald Saint Modoald, also known as Romoald, was the Frankish archbishop of Trier from 626 to 645. He is the patron saint of the Reichsabtei Helmarshausen and his liturgical feast is on 12 May. Modoald was born in Aquitaine, the son of Arnulf, later Bis ...

, by Abbot Thietmar for

Helmarshausen Abbey Helmarshausen Abbey (german: Kloster Helmarshausen) was a Benedictine monastery situated in the small town of Helmarshausen, now part of Bad Karlshafen in Hesse, Germany. History The abbey was founded here near the River Diemel in 997 by the n ...

North Hesse North Hesse (german: Nordhessen) describes the northern part and historical heart of the German federated state of Hesse. The region is – unlike the name Lower Hesse – not a historical territory and also has no established, standard and offic ...

. Others came in 1136 to

. At this time other bones may have been translated to the Aprunculus Chapel in the immediate vicinity of

Trier Cathedral The High Cathedral of Saint Peter in Trier (german: Hohe Domkirche St. Peter zu Trier), or Trier Cathedral (german: Trierer Dom), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the oldest church in Germany and the lar ...

. The remaining bones in St. Paulinus' were brought into the city in 1674 before the destruction of the church. An inscribed lead plaque was removed from the coffin and placed in the reliquary. In the area round Trier Aprunculus is patron of churches in Beßlich in

Newel A newel, also called a central pole or support column, is the central supporting pillar of a staircase. It can also refer to an upright post that supports and/or terminates the handrail of a stair banister (the "newel post"). In stairs having str ...

Roscheiderhof.de: Beßlich
/ref> and Itzig (in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

). His feast day is 22 April.

References

*Holweck, F. G. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924.

Literature

* Franz-Josef Heyen, 1972: ''Das Stift St. Paulin vor Trier'' (''Germania Sacra'' NF 6, 1; v.a. 291-294). Berlin, New York * Hans Hubert Anton, 1987: ''Trier im frühen Mittelalter'', pp. 86–88. Paderborn, München u.a.

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20140417094536/http://www.saarland-biografien.de/Abrunculus * http://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienA/Abrunculus_von_Trier.html * http://www.palomnik.org/Svjatii/Abrunculus/Abrunculus.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Aprunculus of Trier 6th-century Christian saints 520s deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Trier Medieval German saints Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain