{{short description, None A number of religious figures in Brittany have contributed to its history.

The Seven Founder Saints of Brittany

Each of the

Seven Founder Saints Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

was eventually ordained bishop. The only native Breton was St Tudwal. The other founders came from Wales, Ireland and Cornwall. * St.

Tudwal Saint Tudwal (died c. 564), also known as Tual, Tudgual, Tugdual, Tugual, Pabu, Papu, or Tugdualus (Latin), was a Breton monk, considered to be one of the seven founder saints of Brittany. Life Tudwal was said to be the son of Hoel Mawr (Hoel ...

– traditionally the son of King Hoel I and cousin of the King of

Domnonée Domnonée is the modern French form of Domnonia or Dumnonia (Latin for "Devon"; br, Domnonea), a historic kingdom in northern Armorica (Brittany) founded by British immigrants from Dumnonia (Sub-Roman Devon) fleeing the Saxon invasions of Britai ...

; made Bishop at insistence of Childebert * St. Pol – created Bishop by Childebert; student of Saint

Illtud Saint Illtud (also spelled Illtyd, Eltut, and, in Latin, Hildutus), also known as Illtud Farchog or Illtud the Knight, is venerated as the abbot teacher of the divinity school, Bangor Illtyd, located in Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Major) in Gla ...

* St.

Brieuc Saint Brioc ( Breton: ''Brieg''; cy, Briog; kw, Breock; french: Brieuc; died c. 502) was a 5th-century Welsh holy man who became the first abbot of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany. He is one of the seven founder saints of Brittany. Life Very lit ...

– student of Saint Germanus of Auxerre * St.

Malo Mal, which in Spanish means ''bad or evil'', may also refer to: Places * Malo, Italy, a town *Malo Island, formerly known as St. Bartholomew, Vanuatu * Malo (Solomon Islands), an island *Malo, Washington, Ferry County, Washington, United States * ...

– disciple of Saint

Brendan Brendan may refer to: People * Saint Brendan the Navigator (c. 484 – c. 577) was an Irish monastic saint. * Saint Brendan of Birr (died 573), Abbot of Birr in Co. Offaly, contemporaneous with the above * Brendan (given name), a masculine given na ...

* St.

Padarn 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 ...

– a friend of Saint David; made Bishop by the Patriarch of Jerusalem; his life story evidence of the existence of King Arthur * St.

Corentin of Quimper Saint Corentin (Corentinus; in Breton, ''Sant Kaourintin'') (d. 460 AD) is a Breton saint. He was the first bishop of Quimper. Corentin was a hermit at Plomodiern and was regarded as one of the seven founding saints of Brittany. He is the patr ...

– first bishop of

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography Th ...

* St.

Samson of Dol Samson of Dol (also Samsun; born late 5th century) was a Cornish saint, who is also counted among the seven founder saints of Brittany with Pol Aurelian, Tugdual or Tudwal, Brieuc, Malo, Patern (Paternus) and Corentin. Born in southern Wal ...

– student of Saint

; ordained Bishop by Bishop

Dubricius Dubricius or Dubric ( cy, Dyfrig; Norman-French: ''Devereux''; c. 465 – c. 550) was a 6th-century British ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the evangelist of Ergyng ( cy, Erging) (later Archenfield, Herefordshire) and much ...

Monasteries of Brittany

* Mont Saint-Michel - lost to Normandy when conquered by William I, Duke of Normandy * Monastery of St. John at

Gaël Gaël (Gallo: ''Gaèu'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It lies southwest of Rennes between Saint-Méen-le-Grand and Mauron. In the 18th century, a fair was held twice a year in August and ...

* Monastery of

Paimpont Paimpont (; ; Gallo: ''Penpont'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. The name is a compound of Old Breton ''pen'' "head" and the Latin borrowing ''pont'' "bridge" and is first attested in the 9th ...

Other Saints and other Holy Persons

*St Yves -

Ivo of Kermartin Ivo of Kermartin, T.O.S.F. (17 October 1253 – 19 May 1303), also known Yvo, Yves, or Ives (and in Breton as Erwan, Iwan, Youenn or Eozenn, depending on the region, and known as Yves Hélory (also ''Helori'' or ''Heloury'') in French), was a p ...

- patron saint of lawyers *Saint

Darerca of Ireland Saint Darerca of Ireland was a sister of Saint Patrick. Life Much obscurity is attached to her history, and it is not easy to disentangle the facts of her history from the network of legend which medieval writers interwove with her acts. Her fame ...

- Saint (recognized), Queen of Brittany *Saint Salomon - Saint (by tradition), King of Brittany * Saint Judicael - son of a Hoel; King of Domnonia & then Brittany; declared a saint at death *

Saint Armel Saint Armel ( cy, Arthfael, "Wolf-Prince"; la, Armagilus) was an early 6th-century holy man in Brittany. Armel is said to have been a Breton prince, born to the wife of King Hoel while they were living in Glamorgan in Wales in the late ...

- dragonslayer; a son of a Hoel; Breton prince of the 6th century. * Saint Méen- Abbott *Saint Austol - an associate of Saint Meen *Saint

Judoc Saint Judoc, otherwise known as Jodoc, Joyce or Josse ( la, Iudocus; traditionally 600 – 668 AD)Alban Butler, (Michael Walsh, ed.) ''Butler's Lives of the Saints'' (1991) ''s.v.'' "December 13: St Judoc, or Josse (AD 688)". was a seventh-c ...

- never canonized; by tradition, son of Saint Judicael; renounced the Breton Crown to live as a hermit * Saint Winnoc- Abbott of

Wormhout Wormhout (; before 1975: ''Wormhoudt''; vls, Wormout) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Several people in Wormhout still speak West Flemish, a local dialect of Dutch and the traditional language of the region, while Frenc ...

in Wales, by tradition, son of Saint Judicael *Saint

Louis de Montfort Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was a French Roman Catholic priest and confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI. As well as preaching, Montfort ...

- Saint; canonized in 1947 *The Blessed

Charles de Blois Charles of Blois-Châtillon (131929 September 1364), nicknamed "the Saint", was the legalist Duke of Brittany from 1341 until his death, via his marriage to Joan, Duchess of Brittany and Countess of Penthièvre, holding the title against the cl ...

- once canonized a saint, Pope Leo set this aside at the request of John V Duke of Brittany; beatified in 1904 *The Blessed

Julian Maunoir Julien Maunoir (1 October 1606 – 28 January 1683) (also Julian; br, Juluan Maner), was a French-born Jesuit priest known as the "Apostle of Brittany". He was beatified in 1951 by Pope Pius XII and is commemorated by the Catholic Church on 29 ...

- beatified in 1951

Bishops and Dioceses

*Ancient Metropolitan of Tours -

Archbishop of Tours The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tours (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Turonensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Tours'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The archdiocese has roots that go back to the 3rd centu ...

- Archdiocese of Tours - All Breton Dioceses were subordinate to Tours until Rennes was raised to an archdiocese. The Duke of Brittany attempted to make Dol the archdiocese in charge of Breton Dioceses, but this was rebuffed by Rome in favor of Tours, and eventually the Diocese of Dol ceased to be an archdiocese. * Ancient Archbishop of Dol - The

Ancient Diocese of Dol The Breton and French Catholic diocese of Dol existed from 848 to the French Revolution. It was suppressed by the Concordat of 1801. Its see was Dol Cathedral. Its scattered territory (deriving from the holdings of the Celtic monastery, and incl ...

reached the peak of its ecclesiastical powers around the 10th century, but lost the privileges of an archdiocese. The Bishop ceased to use the title archbishop in the 1700s. The diocese was subsequently split between the Archdiocese of Rennes and the Diocese of St. Brieuc and Treguier. * Archbishop of Rennes - Held the privilege of crowning the new Duke of Brittany. Currently the highest-ranking dioceses within the Roman Catholic Church's organization for Brittany. The archdiocese has 8 suffragans: Outside of Brittany: Diocese of Angers, Diocese of Laval, Diocese of Le Mans, Diocese of Luçon; Within Brittany: Diocese of Nantes, Diocese of Quimper, the Diocese of Saint-Brieuc and Treguier, and the Diocese of Vannes. *Ancient Bishop of Kerne - Diocese of Kerne ( Diocese of Cournouaille);merged into Dioceses of Quimper *Ancient Bishop of Saint-Brieuc for the Ancient

Diocese of Saint-Brieuc The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Brieuc and Tréguier (Latin: ''Dioecesis Briocensis et Trecorensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Saint-Brieuc et Tréguier''; br, Eskopti Sant-Brieg ha Landreger) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholi ...

; merged into the modern diocese of Saint-Brieuc and Tréguier *Ancient Bishop of St Pol de Leon - Diocese of Saint-Pol-de-Leon- merged into the modern Diocese of Quimper *Ancient Bishop of St. Malo - Ancient Diocese of Saint-Malo also known as the Diocese of Poutrocoet; divided amongst the modern Dioceses of Rennes, St Brieuc and Trequier, and Vannes. *Ancient Bishop of Treguier - Diocese of Treguier; parts are merged into the modern diocese of Saint-Brieuc and Tréguier and the modern Diocese of Quimper *

Bishop of Nantes The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nantes ( la, Dioecesis Nannetensis; french: Diocèse de Nantes; br, Eskopti Naoned) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Nantes, France. The diocese consists of the department of Loire- ...

Diocese of Nantes The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nantes ( la, Dioecesis Nannetensis; french: Diocèse de Nantes; br, Eskopti Naoned) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Nantes, France. The diocese consists of the department of Loire-At ...

Bishop of Quimper The Diocese of Quimper (–Cornouaille) and Léon (Latin: ''Dioecesis Corisopitensis (–Cornubiensis) et Leonensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Quimper (–Cornouaille) et Léon'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholi ...

- Diocese of Quimper (Formerly part of the Diocese of Cornouailles); the modern Diocese includes the former Diocese of Cornouailles, St-Pol-de-Leon and parts of Treguier *Bishop of St Brieuc and Trequier - Diocese of Saint-Brieuc and Tréguier *

Bishop of Vannes The Roman Catholic Diocese of Vannes (Latin: ''Dioecesis Venetensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Vannes'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected in the 5th century, the Episcopal see is Vannes Cathedral in ...

Diocese of Vannes The Roman Catholic Diocese of Vannes (Latin: ''Dioecesis Venetensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Vannes'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected in the 5th century, the Episcopal see is Vannes Cathedral in t ...

- the modern diocese covers the

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastl ...

History of Brittany