Braulio (), 585 – 651 AD, was

bishop of Zaragoza The Archdiocese of Saragossa (; ) is a Latin Church, Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in north-eastern Spain, in the Provinces of Spain, province of Zaragoza (province), Zaragoza (Saragossa in English), part of the autonomous communit ...

and a learned cleric living in the

Kingdom of the Visigoths The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to the ...

. Both as pastor and writer, he is one of the most celebrated of saints of the

Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

that lasted from the 5th to the 8th century (see

History of Spain The history of Spain dates to contact between the List of the Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, pre-Roman peoples of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula with the Greeks and Phoenicians. During Classical A ...

Life

Braulio was born of a noble Hispano-Roman family. His father, Gregory, was

Bishop of Osma The Diocese of Osma-Soria () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Spain. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Burgos. Its cathedral ...

. His sister and two brothers were all to hold key posts 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 ...

. In 610 Braulio took the habit of a monk, and was later to study at Isidore's school in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. Archbishop Isidore faced a rising threat of Gothic barbarism. His strategic thrust was teaching. Braulio was ordained by Isidore in 624, and joined the clergy serving Seville. The next year, Braulio returned to Zaragoza where his brother John was then bishop, and served as his

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

. Upon his brother's death in 631, Braulio succeeded him as bishop. Known for his personal austerity, almsgiving and preaching, he was an advisor and confidant of several Visigoth kings, including

Chindasuinth Chindasuinth (also spelled ''Chindaswinth'', ''Chindaswind'', ''Chindasuinto'', ''Chindasvindo'', or ''Khindaswinth''; Latin: ''Chintasvintus'', ''Cindasvintus''; 563 – 30 September 653) was Visigothic King of Hispania, from 642 until his death ...

. The king's son

Recceswinth Recceswinth (died 1 September 672) was the Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania in 649–672. He ruled jointly with his father Chindaswinth until his father's death in 653. Name His Gothic name is believed to have been *𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌺 ...

was installed as associate king on Braulio's recommendation.Weber, Nicholas. "St. Braulio." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 23 April 2020 Braulio worked with Isidore to convert the Visigoths from

Arianism Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...

. He is said to have encouraged Isidore in his encyclopaedic ambitions, and to have had a hand in the revision of his works. Bishop Braulio, to whom Isidore dedicated it and sent it for correction, divided it into its twenty books. Braulio dubbed it , "Practically everything that it is necessary to know". Braulio was present at the

councils of Toledo From the 5th century to the 7th century AD, about thirty synods, variously counted, were held at Toledo (''Concilia toletana'') in what would come to be part of Spain. The earliest, directed against Priscillianism, assembled in 400. The "thir ...

in 633, 636 and 638. He wrote a life of San Millan. Braulio responded on behalf of all the

Iberian Iberian refers to Iberia. Most commonly Iberian refers to: *Someone or something originating in the Iberian Peninsula, namely from Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. The term ''Iberian'' is also used to refer to anything pertaining to the fo ...

clergy to

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Honorius I Pope Honorius I (died 12 October 638) was the bishop of Rome from 27 October 625 to his death on 12 October 638. He was active in spreading Christianity among Anglo-Saxons and attempted to convince the Celts to calculate Easter in the Roman fa ...

's charge that they might have been neglectful of their duties. One headache was

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

who had been baptised, but who had subsequently lapsed. Whether their handling by the Iberian bishops might have been somewhat lax had been among the Rome's concerns. Towards the end of his life, he lost his eyesight. He was buried in what is now the church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Zaragoza. Braulio was succeeded as bishop of Zaragoza by Taius (Taio), who had been his pupil. He is buried in

La Seo Cathedral The Cathedral of the Savior () or La Seo de Zaragoza is a Catholic cathedral in Zaragoza (also known as Saragossa), in Aragon, Spain. It is part of the World Heritage Site ''Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon''. The cathedral is located on the Pla ...

, Zaragoza, and is the patron saint of Aragon and of the

University of Zaragoza The University of Zaragoza, sometimes referred to as Saragossa University () is a public university with teaching campuses and research centres spread over the three provinces of Aragon (Spain). Founded in 1542, it is one of the List of oldest u ...

References

Sources

* Thompson, E. A. ''The Goths in Spain''.

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, 1969. * Iberian Fathers ''Writings of Braulio of Saragossa, Fructuosus of Braga'', translated by Claude W. Barlow.

Catholic University of America Press The Catholic University of America Press, also known as CUA Press, is the publishing division of The Catholic University of America. Founded on November 14, 1939 and incorporated on July 16, 1941, the CUA Press is a long-time member of the Associ ...

(1969)

External links

*
1601 ''Editio princeps'' of Braulio's ''Life'' of Emilian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braulio Of Zaragoza 590 births 651 deaths 7th-century bishops in the Visigothic Kingdom Clergy from Zaragoza 7th-century Christian saints 7th-century writers in Latin 7th-century jurists