Saint Nicasius of Rouen (french: Nicaise de Rouen; d. perhaps 260), often known as the Apostle of the Vexin, was a 3rd-century saint and martyr in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

. He is sometimes considered the first

Bishop of Rouen The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Arc ...

, although probably incorrectly.

Life

Nicasius evangelized the

Vexin Vexin () is an historical county of northwestern France. It covers a verdant plateau on the right bank (north) of the Seine running roughly east to west between Pontoise and Romilly-sur-Andelle (about 20 km from Rouen), and north to south ...

, although he was apparently never in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

and despite tradition, was probably never bishop there. He spent a year at Mousseaux and evangelized

Rolleboise Rolleboise () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. See also *Communes of the Yvelines department An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to hav ...

nearby. He performed several miracles and evangelized numerous places along the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

(among them Conflans,

Andrésy Andrésy () is a commune in the Yvelines department in north-central France. Population Twin towns – sister cities Andrésy is twinned with: * Haren, Germany * Międzyrzecz, Poland * Oundle, England, United Kingdom * Westerwolde, Nether ...

, Triel,

Vaux Vaux may refer to: People * Antoine-Alexis Cadet de Vaux (1743–1828), French chemist and pharmacist * Bernard Carra de Vaux (1867–1953), French orientalist who published accounts of his travels in the Middle East *Clotilde de Vaux (1815–184 ...

Meulan Meulan-en-Yvelines (; formerly just ''Meulan'') is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It hosted part of the sailing events for the 1900 Summer Olympics held in neighboring Paris, and would d ...

Mantes Mantes-la-Jolie (, often informally called Mantes) is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of north-central France. It is located to the west of Paris, from the centre of the capital. Mantes-la-Jolie is a subpre ...

and

La Roche-Guyon La Roche-Guyon () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the . The commune grew around the Château de La Roche-Guyon, upon which historically it depended for its existence. The commun ...

) but was

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

ed with his companions on the banks of the

Epte The Epte () is a river in Seine-Maritime and Eure, in Normandy, France. It is a right tributary of the Seine, long. The river rises in Seine-Maritime in the Pays de Bray, near Forges-les-Eaux. The river empties into the Seine not far from Givern ...

Gasny Gasny () is a commune in the Eure department in northern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas ...

before reaching Rouen. He was believed to have been buried in Gasny. Saint Mellon, possibly the next bishop, is traditionally said to be a disciple of Nicasius.

Cultus

Nicasius is a saint, listed 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 ...

on 11 October, his feast day. He is represented in art as a

cephalophore A cephalophore (from the Greek for "head-carrier") is a saint who is generally depicted carrying their own severed head. In Christian art, this was usually meant to signify that the subject in question had been martyred by beheading. Depicting the ...

, referring to his martyrdom, and as a bishop.

References

Sources

Sanctoral.com: Saint Nicaise et ses Compagnons