Saint Victricius (french: Victrice; it, Vittricio) also known as Victricius of Rouen ( 330 – c. 407 AD) was a
bishop of Rouen (393–407),
missionary, and author. His feast day is August 7.
Life
Victricius was Gallic by birth, the son of a Roman
legionnaire. He also became a soldier and was posted to various locations around Gaul.
[Villazala, David Natal. "Symbolic Territories: Relic Translation and Aristocratic Competition in Victricius of Rouen", Society for Classical Studies]
/ref> However, when he became a 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 ...
, he refused to remain in the army. He was flogged and sentenced to death, but managed to avoid execution. He proselytized amongst the tribes of Flanders, Hainault, and Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to:
Place names in Europe
* London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany
Belgium
* Province of Bra ...
. He became bishop of Rouen around 386 or 393.
He was accused of heresy but was defended by Pope Innocent I and received from Innocent the important decretal of the ''Liber Regularum''.
''De Laude Sanctorum''
In 396, Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...
of Milan sent Victricius (as well as Paulinus of Nola and others) some relics of Vitalis and Agricola. Victricius wrote a sermon, ''De Laude Sanctorum'' (''On the Praise of the Saints''), celebrating the arrival of the relics from Italy.Victricius, Saint, and Gillian Clark. "Victricius of Rouen: Praising the Saints." ''Journal of Early Christian Studies'', vol. 7 no. 3, 1999, p. 365-399. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/earl.1999.0071
/ref> He mentions that he had been away from Rouen (396), as he had been requested to travel to Britain to help resolve some doctrinal issues. Victricius describes Britain as a wild and hostile place dealing with paganism and heresy in contrast with Italy with its abundance of holy sites and relics of martyrs.[
]
References
Bibliography
* Gillian Clark, "Victricius of Rouen: Praising the Saints (Introduction and annotated translation)," ''Journal of Early Christian Studies'', 7 (1999), 365–399; = in Eadem, ''Body and Gender, Soul and Reason in Late Antiquity'' (Farnham; Burlington, VT, Ashgate, 2011) (Variorum collected studies series, CS978), art. XII.
* Gillian Clark, "Translating relics: Victricius of Rouen and fourth-century debate," ''Early Medieval Europe'', 10 (2001), 161–176; in Eadem, ''Body and Gender, Soul and Reason in Late Antiquity'' (Farnham; Burlington, VT, Ashgate, 2011) (Variorum collected studies series, CS978), art. XIII.
External links
Catholic Online: St. Victricius
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{{Authority control
Bishops of Rouen
330s births
407 deaths
4th-century Gallo-Roman people
5th-century Gallo-Roman people
5th-century Christian saints
Gallo-Roman saints
Year of birth unknown
Year of birth uncertain