Elzéar of Sabran, T.O.S.F., Baron of Ansouis, Count of Ariano, was born in the castle of Saint-Jean-de-Robians, near Cabrières-d'Aigues in Provence, southern France, in 1285. He died in Paris, France, on September 27, 1323. He was a tertiary of the

Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

as well as a ruler,

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and military leader. He was recognised as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

in the Catholic Church.

Biography

In his youth, Elzéar was given a thorough training in the Christian faith as well as in the sciences under the supervision of his uncle, William of Sabran, at the Abbey of St. Victor in Marseille, where his uncle ruled as the Abbot.Carr, Gregory. "St. Elzéar of Sabran." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 30 September 2021 Acceding to the wish of King

Charles II of Naples Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (french: Charles le Boiteux; it, Carlo lo Zoppo; 1254 – 5 May 1309), was King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier (1285–1309), Prince of Achaea (1285–1289), and Count of Anjou and Maine ( ...

, at the age of ten, Elzéar was betrothed to the twelve-year-old

Delphine of Glandèves Delphine of Glandèves (or of Sabran) was born in 1284 in region of Provence, now part of France. She died on 26 November 1358, having lived as a Franciscan tertiary for most of her life. Delphine was the daughter and heiress of the Count of Pu ...

, daughter and heiress of the Count of Puy-Michel. Three years later they were married at the castle of Puy-Michel. Upon their wedding night, Delphine advised her new husband that she had taken a private

vow A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise, a promise solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedd ...

of chastity. Having grown up together, they regarded each other as brother and sister, rather than husband and wife. Even though he had the right in canon law to make her abandon this commitment, Elzéar chose to respect her desire to live in virginity and even copied her example in making the same vow. Together they joined the Third Order of Saint Francis. Elzéar and Delphine lived at a castle in Ansouis where they vied with one another in the practice of prayer,

mortification of the flesh Mortification of the flesh is an act by which an individual or group seeks to mortify or deaden their sinful nature, as a part of the process of sanctification. In Christianity, mortification of the flesh is undertaken in order to repent for s ...

and in charity towards the unfortunate. At the age of twenty he moved with his wife from Ansouis to

Puimichel Puimichel (; oc, Puegmichèu) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Depart ...

for greater solitude, and formulated for his servants rules of conduct that made his household a model of Christian virtue. Upon the death of his father in 1309, became Count of Ariano in Italy. There he gained by kindness the trust and support of his subjects, who had despised their Norman conquerors. In 1312 he marched to Rome at the head of the army of King Robert of Naples, which was mobilized to aid in expelling the Emperor Henry VII from that city. Returning to Provence after the war, he again set up a household in which

piety Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among ...

and faithful practice of the Catholic faith were expected of all the members of his house. In 1317 Elzéar went to Naples to become the tutor of Duke Charles, son of King Robert, and later became Charles'

castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

, when Charles became Vicar General of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

. He was sent as ambassador to the

King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...

in 1323 to obtain the hand of Marie of Valois in marriage for Charles, edifying a worldly court by his heroic virtues. While serving in that post he died, shortly after accomplishing his mission. His body was returned to his

domain Domain may refer to: Mathematics *Domain of a function, the set of input values for which the (total) function is defined **Domain of definition of a partial function **Natural domain of a partial function **Domain of holomorphy of a function * Do ...

, and he was buried in the Franciscan habit in the church of the Friars Minor at Apt, Vaucluse. The tomb was destroyed during the French Revolution."Saint Elzéar", The Met
/ref> The decree of his

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

was signed by his

godson In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelo ...

, Pope Urban V, and was carried out by his successor, Pope Gregory XI about 1371. Countess Delfine was also beatified by Pope Urban at that time. Their liturgical

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 ...

, which they share, is celebrated by the Franciscan Third Order on 26 September.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elzear of Sabran 1285 births 1323 deaths People from Provence People from Vaucluse Medieval French saints Medieval French nobility French Roman Catholic saints Members of the Third Order of Saint Francis Franciscan saints Counts of France 14th-century Christian saints History of Catholicism in France 14th-century French people Elzéar