Luperculus (''Lupercus, Lupercius'') (, ) is venerated as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

tradition states that he was a bishop of Eauze and was martyred by the governor Dacian during the reign of

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius ( 201June 251), known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius (), was Roman emperor from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops a ...

.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.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 (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), 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 ...

region. He was also venerated at

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of southwestern France. It is ...

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

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

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 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 does n ...

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 1,240 pu ...

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

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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

Saint Engratia Engratia (, ) is venerated as a virgin martyr and saint. Tradition states that she was martyred with eighteen companions in 303 AD. History Although her martyrdom is traditionally placed around 303 during the Diocletianic Persecution, more rec ...

, 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 () (c. mid 3rd century – 298 AD) was a Roman people, Roman centurion who is today venerated as a Christian martyr, martyr-saint in both the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox and ...

, and was martyred at

León, Spain León (; ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the province of León, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León, in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. It has a population of 124,303 (2019), ...

with his brothers Claudius and Victoricus.Santi Claudio, Luperco e Vittorico
/ref>

Saint-Loubert Saint-Loubert (; ) 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 534 communes of the Gironde department of Fr ...

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