Saint Rusticus (c. 455 – 25 April 501), the successor of Saint

Lupicinus of Lyon Lupicinus of Lyon was the first Archbishop of Lyon (491–494) Bishop of Lyon.Catholic Forum
, accessed February 8, ...

(491-494), served as

Archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (; ), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archbishops of Lyon are also called Primate o ...

from 494 to April 501. Later

canonized 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 sa ...

and venerated in the

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 ...

, his

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 ...

is 25 April.

Family

He and his brother St. Viventiolus were the sons of Aquilinus (c. 430-c. 470), a nobleman at Lyon. Aquilinus was the son of Tullia (born 410), the daughter of Saint Eucherius and his wife Gallia. Tullia's husband, whose name is unknown, was the son of

Decimus Rusticus Decimus Junius Rusticus (sometimes Rusticus Decimus) of Treves (then ''Augusta Treverorum'') and Lyon (''Lugdunum'') (c. 370 – before 423) was a Master of the Offices and the praetorian prefect of Gaul between 409 and 410 or 413. He was one ...

and his wife Artemia, and was a ''

vicarius ''Vicarius'' is a Latin word, meaning ''substitute'' or ''deputy''. It is the root of the English word "vicar". History Originally, in ancient Rome, this office was equivalent to the later English " vice-" (as in " deputy"), used as part of th ...

'' of a province in

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

between 423 and 448 under Apollinaris, the father of Aquilinus' schoolfellow and friend,

Sidonius Apollinaris Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, better known as Sidonius Apollinaris (5 November, 430 – 481/490 AD), was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Born into the Gallo-Roman aristocracy, he was son-in-law to Emperor Avitus and was appointed Urb ...

(c. 400).

Bishop

Rusticus served for many years as a magistrate. Around 494 he succeeded

Lupicinus of Lyon Lupicinus of Lyon was the first Archbishop of Lyon (491–494) Bishop of Lyon.Catholic Forum
, accessed February 8, ...

as bishop. Shortly after his consecration, Rusticus sent some financial aid to

Pope Gelasius I Pope Gelasius I was the bishop of Rome from 1 March 492 to his death on 21 November 496. Gelasius was a prolific author whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.The title of his biography by Walter Ullma ...

. Gelasius wrote back in February 494, recommending to the bishop's good offices

Epiphanius of Pavia Epiphanius of Pavia (438–496), later venerated as Saint Epiphanius of Pavia, was Bishop of Pavia from 466 until his death in 496. Epiphanius additionally held the offices of lector, subdeacon and deacon. During his lifetime, Epiphanius undert ...

, who was on his way to Gaul to see to the ransom of certain captives held by the Burgundian king

Gundobad Gundobad (; ; 452 – 516) was King of the Burgundians (473–516), succeeding his father Gundioc of Burgundy. Previous to this, he had been a patrician of the moribund Western Roman Empire in 472–473, three years before its collapse, suc ...

. According to Ennodius, among those freed were 400 from Lyon.

Marriage and issue

Married before 480 to Hiberie de Limoges (born c. 460), daughter of

Ruricius Ruricius I (c. 440c. 510) was a Gallo-Roman aristocrat and bishop of Limoges from c. 485 to 510. He is one of the writers whose letters survive from late Roman Gaul, depicting the influence of the Visigoths on the Roman lifestyle. He should not ...

Bishop of Limoges The Diocese of Limoges (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lemovicensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Limoges'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the '' départments'' of Haute-Vienne and Creuse. After the Concordat ...

(then Augustoritum) and his wife Hiberia, daughter of an Arvernian senator Ommatius. Rusticus and his wife had three children: * St. Sacerdos,

Heinzelmann, Martin. ''Gregory of Tours: History and Society in the Sixth Century''
United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press, 2001. p, 21 ** Aurelianus of Arles * Leontius, Archbishop of Lyon * Artemia, the wife of Florentinus, born in 485, a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

, who were the parents of: **

Gondulf of Provence Duke Gondulf (), was also known as Gundulf. He is thought to have been a patrician of Provence who later became Bishop of Metz in the year 591. There is some evidence that he was only a chorbishop.Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Bishop of Metz This is a list of bishops of the Roman Catholic diocese of Metz, which now lies in eastern France. To 500 * Clement of Metz (c. 280–300) * Celestius * Felix I * Patient * Victor I 344–346 * Victor II * Simeon * Sambace * Rufus of Metz * Ad ...

** Arthemia, wife of Munderic Vitrey, Pretender of

Austrasia Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...

. ** St. Nicetius,

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Odden, Per Einar. "Den hellige Niketius av Lyon (513-573)", Den katolske kirke, July 29, 2018
/ref>

References

Sources

, ''The Letters of Sidonius'' (Oxford: Clarendon, 1915) (orig.), pp. clx-clxxxiii; List of Correspondents, Notes, V.ix.1. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rusticus 450s births 501 deaths Year of birth uncertain 5th-century bishops in Gaul Archbishops of Lyon Gallo-Roman saints 6th-century Frankish bishops 5th-century archbishops 6th-century Christian saints Pippinids