Saint Rusticus (c. 455 – 25 April 501), the successor of Saint Lupicinus of Lyon (491-494), served as

Archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Lyon''), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Archbishops 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 s ...

and venerated in the

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 ...

, his feast day 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 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 t ...

'' of a province in

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 durin ...

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 of an unknown year, 430 – 481/490 AD), was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius is "the single most important surviving author from 5th-century Gaul ...

(c. 400).

Bishop

Rusticus served for many years as a magistrate. Around 494 he succeeded Lupicinus of Lyon 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 19 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, who was on his way to Gaul to see to the ransom of certain captives held by the Burgundian king

Gundobad Gundobad ( la, Flavius Gundobadus; french: Gondebaud, Gondovald; 452 – 516 AD) 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 Empi ...

. 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, Bishop of Limoges (then Augustoritum) and his wife Ommance. 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 * 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 chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

, who were the parents of: **

Gondulf of Provence Duke Gondulf ( la, Gondulphus, Gondulfus, Gundulfus), 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 sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...

Bishop of Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est r ...

** Arthemia, wife of Munderic Vitrey, Pretender of

Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of th ...

** St. Nicetius, Archbishop of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

Odden, Per Einar. "Den hellige Niketius av Lyon (513-573)", Den katolske kirke, July 29, 2018
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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 Frankish bishops Archbishops of Lyon Gallo-Roman saints 6th-century Frankish bishops 5th-century archbishops 6th-century Christian saints Pippinids