St Saturninus of Toulouse was also known as Saturnin, Saturnino, or Sernin.
He was an Apostle to the Gauls and the first bishop of Toulouse.
He was born in the 3rd Century AD in Patras, Greece, and died as a martyr in 257 AD in Toulouse, France.
We celebrate his feast day on November 29 every year in the Catholic Church.
| St Saturninus of Toulouse Biography | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | Mid 3rd Century AD |
| Place of Birth | Patras, Greece |
| Place of Work | France |
| Date of Death | 257 AD |
| Place of Death | Toulouse, France |
| Feast Day | November 29 |
| Canonization | Pre-Congregation |
| Patron Saint of | Toulouse, France |
St Saturninus of Toulouse Life History
St Saturninus of Toulouse, born in Patras, Greece to Roman nobility in the third century, dedicated his life to missionary work.
He spread the Christian faith in Gaul, the Pyrenees, and the Iberian Peninsula, collaborating with Saint Papoul.
Among those he converted was a farmer, now known as Saint Honestus, who joined him in his missionary endeavors.
At one point, Saturninus and his group were imprisoned in Carcassone under the prefect Rufinus, but they were miraculously freed by an angel.
Saint Saturninus eventually became the first bishop of Toulouse, in modern-day France. While in Toulouse, he joined forces with Saint Martial, and together they performed remarkable healings. He also played a crucial role in converting and baptizing Saint Firminus of Amiens.
Notably, when Saturninus began his mission in Toulouse, the local pagan priests lost their ability to receive oracular messages from their gods.
Frustrated, they blamed the bishop and incited a crowd of heathens to capture him and force him to make sacrifices to their gods.
However, as Saturninus passed by in the street, the idols shattered in front of him. In retaliation, the crowd killed him.
Saint Saturninus met his demise in a gruesome manner, being dragged to death by a bull around the year 257 in Toulouse, France.
Two Christian women gathered his remains and buried them in a ditch. A church known as the Taur (bull) was constructed at the location where the bull finally stopped. His relics are venerated in the basilica at Toulouse.
Saint Saturninus is the patron saint against a range of issues, including ants, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease), death anxiety, fraud, headaches, nausea, pain, plague, smallpox, syphilis, and is also the patron of bullfighters.
In artistic depictions, he is often represented as a bishop being dragged by a bull, or as a bishop with a bull at his feet, along with symbols such as a bull, cross, and mitre.
Related Links
Other Saints Whose Feast Days are in November
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