Amadour is the legendary founder of the shrine of Our Lady of Rocamadour in France. He is believed to have been a hermit. 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 20 August.

Legend

In 1166, an ancient tomb containing an unidentified body was found at Rocamadour near the entrance to the Notre-Dame chapel. Popular piety gave him the name of Amator, “lover”, “friend” of God, typical of courtly literature of the time."Saint Amadour", Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Rocamadour
/ref> The legend of Amadour began to develop about this time. He was identified with

Zaccheus Zacchaeus (sometimes spelled Zaccheus; grc, Ζακχαῖος, '; he, זכי, "pure, innocent") was a chief tax-collector at Jericho in the Bible. He is known primarily for his faith in climbing a sycamore tree to see Jesus, and also his gen ...

of the Gospel, and husband of St. Veronica. Driven forth from Palestine by persecution, Amadour and Veronica embarked in a frail skiff and, guided by an angel, landed on the coast of Aquitaine, where they met Bishop St. Martial, who was preaching the Gospel in the southwest of Gaul. After journeying to Rome, where he witnessed the martyrdoms of Sts.

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

. Amadour, having returned to France, on the death of his spouse, withdrew to a wild spot where he built a chapel in honour of 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 ...

, near which he died a little later.Clugnet, Léon. "Rocamadour." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 6 December 2021 Like similar legends, this account does not appear till long after the age in which the chief actors are deemed to have lived. The name of Amadour occurs in no document previous to the compilation of his Acts, which cannot be judged older than the twelfth century. The mention of the third century St. Martial in a first century tale would tend to prove the "Acts of St. Amadour" a forgery. It is considered probable that the story of Amadour is completely unfounded, and that he himself may be a wholly imaginary person. There is no factual foundation for identifying him with

Saint Amator Amator Amadour or Amatre was bishop of Auxerre from 388 until his death on 1 May 418 and venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Amator's feast day is celebrated on 1 May. Amator of Auxerre Amator studied theology under Valerian, Bishop ...

, a

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, ...

Present day

The Shrine of Our Lady of Rocamadour is under the auspices of the

Diocese of Cahors The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cahors (Latin: ''Dioecesis Cadurcensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Cahors'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the whole of the department of Lot. In the begi ...

which holds that the remains could be those of one of the hermits established in the Alzou canyon from the 7th century, and whose cave could have been the first chapel of the site. Since 2016, which marked the 850th anniversary of the discovery of the body of Saint Amadour, the relics are exhibited in a reliquary in the basilica.

References

Sources

*Holweck, F. G. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1924.
catholic.org

External link

* Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Christian saints in unknown century Gallo-Roman saints {{saint-stub