Quinidius (; died 15 February c. 579) was a French hermit, deacon, and bishop, who acquired the reputation of being 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 ...

Life

He was born at

Vaison-la-Romaine Vaison-la-Romaine (; ) is a town in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southeastern France. Vaison-la-Romaine is famous for its rich Roman ruins and mediaeval town and ca ...

to a noble Christian family. When his mother was pregnant with Quinidius, she made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Trophimus of Arles, where an angel reportedly appeared to her and prophesied that her son would lead many people to beatitude. As a young man, he became a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

near

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

and then at Lérins Abbey to devote himself to a life of

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

and

asceticism Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...

. For a time, he lived as a hermit near Camps-la-Source.Schäfer, Joachim. "Quinidius von Vaison", Ökumenischen Heiligenlexikon
/ref> Esteemed for his piety, he was recalled to his natal town by Theodosius, Bishop of Vaison. He was made an

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 ...

. As such, he signed the resolutions of the 5th Synod of Arles on behalf of his bishop in 552; shortly afterwards, with the approval of King

Childebert I Childebert I ( 496 – 13 December 558) was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clo ...

, he became coadjutor to the aged Theodosius with the right of succession. After the death of Theodosius in 556, Quinidius became Bishop of Vaison, and achieved a reputation for charity and fairness. The Avignon martyrology presents him as a charitable and zealous pastor. He spent a good deal of his time taking care of the sick, children, the elderly and prisoners. He had churches and hospices built, and participated in the Councils of Paris of 558 and 573. He resisted the claims of the patrician Mummolus, conqueror of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

, who felt that the bishop had not shown him sufficient respect.

Death and veneration

At his death, his body was placed under the main altar of the cathedral of Vaison. Quinidius' sarcophagus in the Old Cathedral in

was soon the scene of numerous reported miracles. As a result,

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

came to Vaison and built an abbey on the site of today's St-Quenin chapel. The

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

seems to date from the 8th century; it is one of the oldest in France. When the Saracens invaded, the monks took the head to the monastery in Mauriac in the Auvergne, the rest of the relics were hidden and thus saved. 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 ...

unearthed in the cathedral in 1950 likely contain the possible relics of Quinidius. He was officially registered in the catalogue of saints in 1205 during the papacy of

Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

at the request of Rambaud Flotte, bishop of the city. Quinidius is a patron saint of the town of Vaison-la-Romaine; his feast day is 15 February."Den hellige Quinidius av Vaison ( -~579)", Den katolske kirke
/ref>

References

External links

Saints of February 15: Quinidius

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinidius 579 deaths People from Vaucluse French hermits Bishops of Vaison 6th-century Burgundian bishops 6th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown