Peregrine (Peregrinus) of Auxerre (french: Saint Pèlerin, it, San Pellegrino) (d. ca. 261 AD or ca. 304 AD) is venerated as the first

bishop of Auxerre The diocese of Auxerre ( la, dioecesis Antissiodorensis) is a former French Roman Catholic diocese. Its historical episcopal see was in the city of Auxerre in Burgundy, now part of eastern France. Currently the non-metropolitan Archbishop of Sens, ...

and the builder of its first

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 ...

. A strong local tradition states that he was a priest of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

appointed by

Pope Sixtus II Pope Sixtus II ( el, Πάπας Σίξτος Β΄), also written as Pope Xystus II, was bishop of Rome from 31 August 257 until his death on 6 August 258. He was martyred along with seven deacons, including Lawrence of Rome, during the persecutio ...

to evangelize this area at the request of the Christians resident in that part of Gaul. He preached at

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

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 ...

, and converted most of the inhabitants of

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 ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. At ''Intaranum'' –present-day

Entrains-sur-Nohain Entrains-sur-Nohain () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France. Demographics On 1 January 2019, the estimated population was 748. Sister cities Entrains fosters partnerships with the following places: * Saranac Lake, New York ...

– Peregrine angered the governor after he appealed to the populace to abandon pagan idols; the inhabitants had been dedicating a new temple to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

. 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 ...

'' states that he was tortured and

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

at ''vicus Baiacus'' (

Bouhy Bouhy () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France, in the natural region of Forterre. Population See also *Communes of the Nièvre department The following is a list of the 309 communes of the Nièvre department of France. ...

) (in present-day

Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

. His

lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as french: lecteur, en, lector, pl, lektor and russian: лектор. It has various specialized uses. ...

Jovinian, venerated as a saint, was also martyred with him. Other companions included Marsus, his priest; Corcodomus, his

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

; and Jovian his

subdeacon Subdeacon (or sub-deacon) is a minor order or ministry for men in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed between the acolyte (or reader) and the deacon in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...

Veneration

Historians postulate that he was probably not a bishop at all, but rather a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

who had been sent to the rural areas of this region. In the ninth century, churchmen of Auxerre made this local

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 ...

the first bishop of their city. In the 7th century, some of his relics were translated from Bouhy to the

Abbey of Saint-Denis The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...

Pope Leo III Pope Leo III (died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position b ...

ordered the construction of the church of

San Pellegrino in Naumachia The Church of San Pellegrino in Vaticano ( en, Saint Peregrine in the Vatican) is an ancient Roman Catholic oratory in the Vatican City, located on the Via dei Pellegrini. The church is dedicated to Saint Peregrine of Auxerre, a Roman priest app ...

dedicated to Saint Peregrine in

near the ''Hospitale Francorum'', which served French

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

s. A street near the church was named San Pellegrino after the saint; it later gave its name to the Porta San Pellegrino. In 1645, while work was being carried out underneath the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

of the church of Bouhy, a

human cranium The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...

was discovered. After an investigation, this was declared a

relic 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 ...

of Peregrine and it was solemnly brought back to Auxerre.

Notes

External links

Saints of May 16: Peregrine of Auxerre

Saint Pèlerin, considéré par la tradition comme le premier évêque d’Auxerre

San Pellegrino d'Auxerre

Ὁ Ἅγιος Περεγρίνος ὁ Μάρτυρας τῆς Ὡξέρρης
ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. {{DEFAULTSORT:Peregrine Of Auxerre 3rd-century Christian martyrs 3rd-century bishops in Gaul Bishops of Auxerre Gallo-Roman saints Year of birth unknown