Honoratus (french: Saint Honorat; c. 350 – 6 January 429) was the founder of

Lérins Abbey Lérins Abbey () is a Cistercian monastery on the island of Saint-Honorat, one of the Lérins Islands, on the French Riviera, with an active monastic community. There has been a monastic community there since the 5th century. The constructio ...

who later became an early

Archbishop of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal see in the city of Arles, in southern France.Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

to a consular Roman family. Butler, Alban. ''The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints'', Vol. I, D. & J. Sadlier, & Company, 1864
/ref> He received an outstanding education.
/ref> He converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

with his brother Venantius, and embarked with him from Marseilles about 368, under the guidance of a holy person named Caprasius, to visit the holy places of Palestine and the lauræ of Syria and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. But the death of Venantius, occurring suddenly at Methone,

Achaia Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. T ...

, prevented the pious travellers from going further. They returned to Gaul through

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and, after having stopped at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Honoratus went on into

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

. Encouraged by

Leontius of Fréjus Saint Leontius (french: Léonce de Fréjus) (d. 488) was a bishop of Fréjus, in Provence. He was probably born at Nîmes, towards the end of the fourth century;Lérins Island today called the

Île Saint-Honorat The Île Saint-Honorat is the second largest of the Lérins Islands, about off shore from the French Riviera town of Cannes. The island is approximately in length (East to West) and wide. Since the fifth century, the island has been home to ...

, with the intention of living there in solitude.Clugnet, Léon. "St. Honoratus." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 17 Jul. 2013
/ref>

Lerins

Numerous disciples soon gathered around Honoratus, including

Lupus of Troyes Saint Lupus (french: Loup, Leu, ( cy, Bleiddian) ( 383 – c. 478 AD) was an early bishop of Troyes. Around 426, the bishops in Britain requested assistance from the bishops of Gaul in dealing with Pelagianism. Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus were ...

Eucherius of Lyon Eucherius (c. 380c. 449) was a high-born and high-ranking ecclesiastic in the Christian church in Roman Gaul. He is remembered for his letters advocating extreme self-abnegation. From 439, he served as Archbishop of Lyon, and Henry Wace ranked h ...

, and Hilary of Arles. Thus was founded the Monastery of Lérins, which has enjoyed so great a celebrity status and which was, during the 5th and 6th centuries, a nursery for illustrious bishops and remarkable ecclesiastical writers. His Rule of Life was chiefly borrowed from that of St.

Pachomius Pachomius (; el, Παχώμιος ''Pakhomios''; ; c. 292 – 9 May 348 AD), also known as Saint Pachomius the Great, is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. Coptic churches celebrate his feast day on 9 May ...

. It is believed St. Patrick trained there for his missionary work in Ireland.

Archbishop of Arles

Honoratus's reputation for sanctity throughout the southeastern portion of Gaul was such that in 426 after the assassination of Patroclus, Archbishop of Arles, he was summoned from his solitude to succeed to the government of the diocese, which the Arian and Manichaean beliefs had greatly disturbed. He appears to have succeeded in re-establishing order and orthodoxy, while still continuing to direct from afar the monks of Lérins. He died in the arms of Hilary, one of his disciples and probably a relative, who was to succeed him in the See of Arles. Hilary wrote the ''Sermo de Vita Sancti Honorati'' probably around 430. Honoratus' various writings have not been preserved, nor has the Rule which he gave to the solitaries of Lérins.

John Cassian John Cassian, also known as John the Ascetic and John Cassian the Roman ( la, Ioannes Eremita Cassianus, ''Ioannus Cassianus'', or ''Ioannes Massiliensis''; – ), was a Christian monk and theologian celebrated in both the Western and Eastern c ...

, who had visited his monastery, dedicated to him several of his "Conferences". Saint Honorat d'Arles

''La Vida de Sant Honorat''

In the Middle Ages, Honaratus was the object of a pilgrimage in the

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

region, especially around

, because of the writings in

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

of Raymond Féraud (or Raimon Feraud), a monk who composed a

hagiographical A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies mig ...

life for him around 1300 in Roquesteron.Un Dragon réapparaît en Provençe... (fin)
. Retrieved 2012-03-04.

Legacy

One of the Lérins islands near the Antibes off the French Riviera is now called St. Honorat in his honor.

Gallery

Image:Honoratus.jpg, Saint Honoratus Image:Vitrail-Arles3.jpg, Saint Honoratus is on the left, Cathedral of Saint Trophimus, Arles.

References

Sources

*Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints''. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Honoratus, Saint 350 births 429 deaths Hermits Abbots Archbishops of Arles 5th-century bishops in Gaul 5th-century Christian saints Gallo-Roman saints Burials at the Basilica of St. Sernin 5th-century Latin writers