Saint Leontius (french: Léonce de Fréjus) (d. 488) was a

bishop of Fréjus 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 ...

, in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

. He was probably born at

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

, towards the end of the fourth century;Clugnet, Léon. "St. Leontius." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 20 October 2017 he died in his episcopal town in 488, according to some authorities, though others say 443 or 448. 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 ...

is 1 December. The date of his episcopal ordination is uncertain, but most likely it took place between the years 400 and 419. He was clearly a man of eminent sanctity, and an episcopate marked with important results, or else he would not have been from an early date associated with the

Blessed Virgin Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

as patron of the cathedral church of Fréjus. There is reason to believe that he was a brother of Saint Castor,

Bishop of Apt The former French Catholic diocese of Apt, in southeast France, existed from the fourth century until the French Revolution. By the Concordat of 1801, it was suppressed, and its territory was divided between the diocese of Digne and the diocese o ...

, and that consequently like him he was a native of Nîmes. At times he has been mistaken for other persons of the same name, especially for Leontius,

Bishop of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal see in the city of Arles, in southern France.Lérins Abbey Lérins Abbey () is a Cistercian monastery on the island of Saint-Honorat, one of the Lérins Islands, on the French Riviera, with an active monastic community. There has been a monastic community there since the 5th century. The construction ...

at the beginning of the fifth century. The name of this bishop is inseparably united to that of

Honoratus Honoratus (french: Saint Honorat; c. 350 – 6 January 429) was the founder of Lérins Abbey who later became an early Archbishop of Arles. He is honored as a saint in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Life Honoratus was born in the ...

, the founder of the monastery, who was ordained by Leontius. Leontius seems to have played an important part in the development of the monastic life in the south-east of Gaul. Honoratus called him his superior and his father, whilst

John Cassian John Cassian, also known as John the Ascetic and John Cassian the Roman ( la, Ioannes Eremita Cassianus, ''Ioannus Cassianus'', or ''Ioannes Massiliensis''; – ), was a Christian monk and theologian celebrated in both the Western and Eastern c ...

who governed the numerous religious of the

Abbey of St. Victor, Marseille The Abbey of Saint-Victor is a former abbey that was founded during the late Roman period in Marseille in the south of France, named after the local soldier saint and martyr, Victor of Marseilles. History The crypts of the abbey contains artefa ...

, dedicated most of his "Conferences" to him. Frejuscathedrale

The relations of Lérins Abbey to the diocesan bishop were very cordial. Some writers believe that this was due merely to the common custom of the age, but others hold, and not without reason it would seem, that it was the result of special privileges granted by Leontius to Honoratus, with whom he was intimately united in the bonds of friendship. Be that as it may, these regulations, which, while safeguarding the episcopal dignity, assured the independence of the monastery, and were confirmed by the Third Council of Arles, seem to have been the beginning of those immunities which from then on were enjoyed in an increasing degree by the religious communities.

Relationship with papacy

Moreover, the most cordial relations existed between the saint and the sovereign pontiffs. This is proved by the fact that Saint Leo I, after his memorable quarrel with Hilary, Bishop of Arles, deprived the latter of the prerogatives which gave him a kind of primacy over the district 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.Teutonic tribes, and returned to his diocese in 442 dying only in 445 or even 448. Unfortunately no very solid proof of this apostolate can he adduced. Consequently, it is still quite uncertain whether or not the Diocese of Fréjus had more than one bishop called Leontius. Another tradition, making Saint Leontius a martyr, does not seem older than the beginning of the thirteenth century, and merits no credence. Earlier and better authenticated documents give him the title of

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Fréjus Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Leontius, and was the seat of the

Bishop of Fréjus 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 ...

from the 5th century to 1957,except for 1801–1822 when the Diocese of Fréjus was united with that of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

to form the present

Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. The seat of the new diocese is

Toulon Cathedral Toulon Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Seds de Toulon; Notre-Dame-de-la-Sède de Toulon), also known as Sainte-Marie-Majeure, is a Roman Catholic church architecture, church located in Toulon, in the Var (department), Var departmen ...

; Fréjus Cathedral is a co-cathedral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leontius Of Frejus 488 deaths 5th-century bishops in Gaul 5th-century Christian saints Bishops of Fréjus Gallo-Roman saints People from Nîmes Year of birth unknown