Saint Maximinus of Aix () was believed to have been the first bishop of Aix-en-Provence in the 1st century.

Louis Duchesne Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne (; 13 September 1843 – 21 April 1922) was a French priest, philology, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions. Life Descended from a family of Bri ...

indicates that this part of the legend only developed later in the eleventh century. His feast day is June 8.

Legend

According to his legend, he was the steward of the family at

Bethany Bethany (,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac language, Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā''), locally called in Palestinian Arabic, Arabic Al-Eizariya or al-Aizariya (, "Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba,

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

of Lazarus (name), L ...

and one of the seventy-two disciples of Jesus.Butler, Alban. "St. Maximinus, First Archbishop of Aix, Confessor", ''The Lives of the Saints''. Vol. VI: June, 1866
/ref> Around the year 42 or 43, he is said to have been put on a ship without rudder and sails by anti-Christian Jews together with Lazarus,

Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...

and Mary. Other versions say that his traveling companions were "The three Marys", that is, Mary Magdalene and the holy Mary, the wife of Cleophas and Mary, the mother of James. They were put out to sea and left to their fate, but on their mythical journey from Palestine they came to Provençe.Odden, Per Einar. "Den hellige Maximin av Aix (d. 46?)", Den katolske kirke
/ref> (Mary of Bethany is routinely conflated with Mary Magdalen.) Maximin established his headquarters in the Roman colony of Aquae Sextiæ Salluviorum, the present

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

. He began the evangelisation of the area together with

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

. He was visited by Saint Alexander of Brescia and strengthened his faith. He is traditionally named as the builder of the first chapel on the site of the present

Aix Cathedral Aix Cathedral () in Aix-en-Provence in southern France is a Roman Catholic church and the seat of the Archbishop of Aix-en-Provence and Arles. The cathedral is built on the site of the 1st-century Roman forum of Aix. Built and re-built from the ...

. Mary Magdalene later withdrew to the solitude of a cave, which later became a Christian pilgrimage site

Sainte-Baume The Sainte-Baume (Provençal dialect, Provençal: ''Massís de la Santa Bauma'' according to classical orthography and ''La Santo Baumo'' according to mistralian orthography) is a mountain ridge spreading between the Departments of France, depart ...

. On the day she knew she was to die she descended into the plain so that Maximinus could give her communion and arrange her burial. Her sarcophagus is now at the Basilica of St Mary Magdalene at

Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume (; ) is a commune in the southeastern French department of Var, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Located east of Aix-en-Provence, the town lies at the foot of the Sainte-Baume mountains. ''Baume'' or ''b ...

, along with that of Marcella, Suzanne and Maximinus, after whom the place was subsequently named. He died on 8 June, now the day of his feast. Sidonius (Saint Sidoine) succeeded him as bishop of Aix. In the 3rd or 4th century his remains were placed in a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

. The Abbé Duchesne says that this saint, the object of a very ancient local cult, was not considered the first bishop of Aix, or connected with the life of St. Mary Magdalen, except in comparatively recent legends, devised towards the middle of the eleventh century by the monks of

Vézelay Vézelay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Yonne in the north-central French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is a defensible hill town famous for Vézelay Abbey. The town and its 11th-century Ro ...

.Goyau, Georges. "Archdiocese of Aix." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907 Maximinus may have been a bishop of Aix in the 4th or 5th century, but there is no mention of him in the list of bishops of Aix. Dom Basil Watkins says that the legend of Maximinus traveling to France with Mary Magdalen is "worthless".Watkins OSB, Basil, ''The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical Dictionary'', Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015, p. 514
Maximin was canonized by the confirmation of his cult on 24 November 1900 (the group " Niketius of Besançon and his 10 Companions") by Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903). In art he is depicted as a bishop giving the last sacraments to Mary Magdalene. He is also depicted in a boat with Mary Magdalene, Martha and Lazarus, as an elderly bishop with miter and staff. He has been confused with Saint Maximin of Trier.

Notes and references

Sources

''Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon'' (1858)

Catholic Online
{{authority control Archbishops of Aix Gallo-Roman saints 1st-century Gallo-Roman people 1st-century Christian saints Lazarus of Bethany