Saint Siffredus of Carpentras () was a
bishop of Carpentras
Carpentras (''Lat.'' dioecesis Carpentoratensis) was a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Provence region (later part of France), from the later Roman Empire until 1801. It was part of the ecclesiastical province under the Metropolitan ...
who is venerated as 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 ...
by 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 ...
.
Siffredus was a
monk
A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
in
Lérins Abbey
Lérins Abbey () is a Cistercian monastery on the island of Saint-Honorat, one of the Lérins Islands, on the French Riviera, with an active monastic community.
There has been a monastic community there since the 5th century. The constructio ...
before becoming bishop of
Carpentras
Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the ...
at the beginning of the seventh century.
Not much is known of his life and Siffredus does not appear to have participated in any church council.
However, during his episcopate, he ordered the construction of many churches in Carpentras and in
Venasque
Venasque (; ; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association.
The area has many ...
.
Religious and popular tradition holds that Siffredus led an austere life and was zealous in his pastoral duties, caring for the poor and exorcising demons.
Veneration
The traditional date of his death, 27 November, was fixed as 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 ...
as early as the eleventh century, when his name appears in local martyrologies.
Siffredus’ body was
translated
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
sometime before the thirteenth century from Venasque to Carpentras.
His
relics
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...
were saved from destruction during the
French Revolution by a priest in 1793, and are still preserved in
Carpentras Cathedral
Carpentras Cathedral (''Cathédrale Saint-Siffrein de Carpentras'') is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral in Carpentras, Provence, France.
The church was built in the 15th century by the order of Benedict XIII. The site used to be a Rom ...
, which is dedicated to him.
Further reading
*Reyne, André, 1983: ''Saint Siffrein: évêque et patron de Carpentras''. Avignon: Aubanel
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siffredus Of Carpentras
7th-century Frankish saints
Bishops of Carpentras