Saint Hesychius or Isicius (french: Isice; died 565) was a

bishop of Vienne The Archbishopric of Vienne, named after its episcopal seat in Vienne in the Isère département of southern France, was a metropolitan Roman Catholic archdiocese. It is now part of the Archdiocese of Lyon. History The legend according to whi ...

from about 545 to his death. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic church.

Life

According to the historian Bernard Bligny (1979), Hesychius belonged to "one of the principal Gallo-Roman families of 'Bourgogne', the Hesychii, a branch of the

Syagrii The Syagrii were an aristocratic family in late antique Gaul during the fourth and fifth centuries. The family was particularly associated with Gallia Lugdunensis (Lyons), and their family seat was located in the area of Augustodunum (Autun). Impo ...

", of whom several members were bishops of either Vienne and Grenoble. Archbishop Leger of Vienne recorded in his ''Liber Episcopalis Viennensis Ecclesiae'' (1060) that Hesychius took part in the

Fifth Council of Orléans The Fifth Council of Orléans (28 October 549) assembled nine archbishops and forty-one bishops. Sacerdos of Lyon presided over this council. The presence of these bishops indicates both the wide spread of Christianity in Gaul by the sixth century, ...

in 549 (noted as "Eutychius") and in the

Council of Paris The Council of Paris ( French: ''Conseil de Paris'') is the deliberative body responsible for governing Paris, the capital of France. It possesses both the powers of a municipal council (''conseil municipal'') and those of a departmental counc ...

in 552. He is believed to have died in about 565. He was buried by his sister Marcellina near the tomb of

Saint Avitus Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus (c. 450 – February 5, 517/518 or 519) was a Latin poet and bishop of Vienne in Gaul. His fame rests in part on his poetry, but also on the role he played as secretary for the Burgundian kings. Avitus was born of a promi ...

.Filippo Caraffa, BSS, vol. V (1964), col. 90. According to his epitaph he had been a

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

before being elected bishop.

Cultus

Hesychius' cultus as a saint was attested in the 15th-century calendar of

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

by decree dated 9 December 1903. His eulogy is in the ''

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved ...

'' for 12 November, his feast day. He is also celebrated together with Saint Martin and all the bishop saints of Vienne on 1 July.Diocese de Grenoble-Vienne: Histoire
/ref>

References

Sources

*{{cite book, last=Bligny, first=Bernard, date=1979, title=Histoire des diocèses de France:Grenoble, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hzep0qQ9bk0C&pg=PA22, language=fr, volume=12, location=Paris, publisher=Éditions Beauchesne, page=22 * ''Il martirologio romano. Riformato a norma dei decreti del Concilio ecumenico Vaticano II e promulgato da papa Giovanni Paolo II'', LEV, Città del Vaticano 2004 * Congregatio de Causis Sanctorum, ''Index ac status causarum'', Città del Vaticano 1999 * Filippo Caraffa and Giuseppe Morelli (eds.), ''Bibliotheca Sanctorum'' (BSS), 12 vols., Istituto Giovanni XXIII nella Pontificia Università Lateranense, Roma 1961-1969 Bishops of Vienne Year of birth unknown 565 deaths Gallo-Roman saints 6th-century Christian saints

Life

Cultus

See also

References

Sources