Saint Vigor (french: Saint Vigor, Vigeur; la, Vigor, Vigorus) (died circa 537 AD) was a French bishop and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

missionary.

Life

Born into the nobility in

Artois Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...

, he studied at

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

under

Saint Vedast Vedast or Vedastus, also known as Saint Vaast (in Flemish, Norman and Picard) or Saint Waast (also in Picard and Walloon), Saint Gaston in French, and Foster in English (died ) was an early bishop in the Frankish realm. After the victory of ...

. His father would not grant approval for him to become a priest, so he ran away from home, taking nothing with him, accompanied by an acolyte, Theodimir. Thereafter, he became a hermit preacher at

Reviers Reviers () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region, in northwestern France. It lies 4 km south of Courseulles-sur-Mer and 15 kn northwest of Caen. It lies at the confluence of the rivers Seulles and Mue. There ...

, Calvados, and worked as 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 ...

. Vigor was named

bishop of Bayeux The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Baiocensis et Lexoviensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Bayeux et Lisieux'') is a diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is coextensive with the Department of Calvados and is ...

in 514. He fervently opposed

paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...

and reputedly founded a monastery, later known as Saint-Vigor-le-Grand. In

Bayeux Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...

, Normandy, he destroyed a pagan temple that was still in use and built a church on the grounds. Saint vigor

Veneration

Vigor was venerated from an early date in Bayeux, where he had been bishop. His cult as a saint is attested in 834 by mention of a relic at

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

. Around 987 Vigor's relics came to the Abbey of Saint-Riquier in Ponthieu.

Saint-Ouen Abbey, Rouen Saint-Ouen Abbey, (french: Abbaye Saint-Ouen de Rouen) is a large Gothic (architecture), Gothic Catholic Church, Catholic church and former Benedictines, Benedictine Monastery, monastic church in Rouen. It is named for Audoin (bishop), Audoin (fren ...

held a copy of the ''Vita Vigoris''; John Howe dates the "vita"s composition to the beginning of the eleventh century. In 1032 Robert the Magnificent, Duke of Normandy, founded an abbey dedicated to Saint Vigor on the site of an older monastery destroyed by the Normans during their invasion. The successful

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

brought his cult to England. His name appears in an eleventh-century breviary at Worcester, possibly introduced by bishop

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

or Theulf, both of whom had been canons at Bayeux. Two English churches have been dedicated to Vigor; one in Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire, the other in

Stratton-on-the-Fosse Stratton-on-the-Fosse is a village and civil parish located on the edge of the Mendip Hills, south-west of Westfield, north-east of Shepton Mallet, and from Frome, in Somerset, England. It has a population of 1,108, and has a rural agricultu ...

, Somerset. His feast falls on

All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are know ...

(November 1), and as a result is often moved to another date. Saint Vigor is mentioned in the life (''vita'') of

Saint Paternus Padarn ( la, Paternus, Padarnus; cy, Padarn; br, Padern; ? – 550 AD) was an early 6th century British Christian abbot-bishop who founded St Padarn's Church in Ceredigion, Wales. He appears to be one and the same with the first bishop of Bra ...

. Image:Eglise St Vigor Neau.JPG, Église St Vigor Neau, French

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. Image:Fresques 1 St Vigor Neau.JPG, Fresco at the Church of St Vigor de Neau. Image:Marly-le-Roi Église Saint-Vigor.JPG, Église Saint-Vigor at

Marly-le-Roi Marly-le-Roi () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the administrative region of Île-de-France, France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Marly-le-Roi was the location of the Château de Marly, t ...

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

Image:Cmglee Fulbourn High Street All Saints.jpg, Church of St Vigor with All Saints at Fulbourn, England

Notes

External links

6th-century Frankish saints Bishops of Bayeux 537 deaths Year of birth unknown {{France-saint-stub