Saint Aurelian of Limoges () is venerated as a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

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 ...

. Christian tradition makes him the second

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 ...

, and the successor of St. Martial. According to tradition, Aurelian was originally a

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

priest who wanted to throw Martial into prison. However, Aurelian was struck dead as he attempted to do so. Martial brought him back to life,

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

him as a Christian,

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

him as a priest, and consecrated him as bishop. A biography of Martial, the ''Vita Aureliana'', is attributed to Aurelian. However, the work was written much later, perhaps by the chronicler Adhémar de Chabannes or earlier, around 955, before the birth of Adhémar. The work was designed to 'prove' that Martial had been present at

the Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, '' The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic, 700 x 880 cm (22.9 x 28.8 ...

and at the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

, and was indeed one of the original

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

. Aurelian’s

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 ...

are at the church known as the Chapelle Saint-Aurélien (built between the 14th-17th centuries), in

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

. It is the property of the Confrérie Saint Aurélien, the successor organization to the ancient

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

butchers of Limoges.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aurelian Of Limoges Bishops of Limoges Gallo-Roman saints