Patiens of Lyon was

bishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Lyon''), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Archbishops o ...

in the 5th century and recognized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. He succeeded Bishop Eucherius (November 16 † 449), and died on September 11 before 494, the year in which his second successor Rusticius began his

episcopate 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 ...

. It was Bishop Patiens who commissioned

Constantius of Lyon Constantius of Lyon (fl. c. AD 480) was a cleric from what is now the Auvergne in modern-day France, who wrote the ''Vita Germani'', or Life of Germanus, a hagiography of Germanus of Auxerre. The hagiography was written some time during the second ...

to write the''Vita Germani'' (Life of Germanus), a hagiography of

Germanus of Auxerre Germanus of Auxerre ( la, Germanus Antissiodorensis; cy, Garmon Sant; french: Saint Germain l'Auxerrois; 378 – c. 442–448 AD) was a western Roman clergyman who was bishop of Autissiodorum in Late Antique Gaul. He abandoned a career as a h ...

. He also built a new

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, dedicated to Saint Stephen. Later, in the seventh century, a baptistery dedicated to Saint John was constructed as an accessory building to the church. This later became the site of the '' Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Lyon''. His contemporary,

Sidonius Apollinaris Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, better known as Sidonius Apollinaris (5 November of an unknown year, 430 – 481/490 AD), was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius is "the single most important surviving author from 5th-century Gaul ...

, admired Patiens and said that, despite the austerity of his life, he made himself "all things to all men." He played his part zealously in repressing the heresies of his time; but is especially remembered for his great dedication to the poor, not only of his own Diocese, but of other parts of Gaul. He devoted all his resources to their relief.Monks of Ramsgate. “Patriens”. ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 16 August 2016
/ref> During a

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

, he arrived in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

with

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, by the Rhone and the Saone rivers to feed the population. 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 celebrated on September 11.

References

Bishops of Lyon 5th-century bishops in Gaul Year of birth unknown Year of death missing 5th-century Gallo-Roman people {{France-RC-bishop-stub