Luperculus (''Lupercus, Lupercius'') (french: Luperc, Loubert, es, Lupercio) is venerated as a saint by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played 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'' (Χρ ...

tradition states that he was a

bishop of Eauze The former Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Eauze (Latin Elusa), in Aquitaine, south-west France, existed from circa 300 to 879. Its Ancient cathedral was so utterly destroyed it hasn't even been located. The present Eauze Cathedral, de ...

and was martyred by the governor Dacian during the reign of

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was pro ...

.Sabine Baring-Gould, ''The Lives of the Saints'' (J. Hodges, 1874), 410. He was traditionally the second in that episcopal see, the first bishop being

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 ...

.Luperculus, S. - Zeno.org
/ref> His legend states that his steadfastness led to the conversion of several pagans to Christianity, including a man named Anatolius, captain of the guard.

Eauze Cathedral Eauze Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Luperc d'Eauze) is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Eauze, France. The former cathedral is a national monument. It was the ecclesiastical seat of the former Diocese of Eauze, which was merg ...

(Cathédrale Saint-Luperc) at Eauze is dedicated to him. Eauze is his principal place of veneration, but he was widely venerated in the

Armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionall ...

region. He was also venerated at

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turb ...

. There is a saint of that name who was martyred at

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tribut ...

around 304 AD, who is mentioned by

Prudentius Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He probably died in the Iberian Peninsula some ...

. This Saint Luperculus had the feast day of April 16.

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1, ...

writes that the two saints are the same person: "Probably S. Luperculus preached t Eauze and thence traveled to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, where he suffered." A tradition in Spain makes this Lupercus (''San Lupercio'') an uncle of the virgin martyr

Saint Engratia Saint Engratia ( pt, Santa Engrácia, es, Santa Engracia) is venerated as a virgin martyr and saint. Tradition states that she was martyred with eighteen companions in 303 AD. She should not be confused with the 8th-century Spanish martyr of t ...

, who shared the same feast day of April 16. Some sources state that the two saints are not the same person. Another saint Lupercus was said to have been a son of

Marcellus of Tangier Saint Marcellus of Tangier or Saint Marcellus the Centurion ( es, San Marcelo) (c. mid 3rd century – 298 AD) was a Roman centurion who is today venerated as a martyr-saint by the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. His feast day ...

, and was martyred at León, Spain with his brothers Claudius and Victoricus.Santi Claudio, Luperco e Vittorico
/ref>

Saint-Loubert Saint-Loubert (; oc-gsc, Sent Lobèrt) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Gironde department The following is a list of the 535 communes of the Giron ...

takes its name from him.

References

External links

Luperculus
{{authority control Saints from Hispania 3rd-century bishops in Gaul 3rd-century Christian martyrs Gallo-Roman saints Year of birth unknown