Saint Saturnin
The Martyrdom of Saint Saturnin, from a 14th century manuscript
Apostle to the Gauls Bishop and Martyr
Born	third century, Patras, Greece
Died	ca. The 3rd century is the period from 201 to 300 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Patras ( Demotic Greek: Πάτρα, Pátra, ˈpatra Classical Greek: Πάτραι, Pátrai, Patrae is Greece Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία 257, Toulouse, France
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Feast	29 November
Attributes	A bishop's mitre, a bishop being dragged by a bull, a bull
Patronage	Toulouse, France
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Saint Saturnin of Toulouse (in Latin, Saturninus; Sernin in Modern French; in Galicia, Sadurninho; in Navarra, Cernin; and, in Spain, Saturnino or Serenín), with a feast day entered for November 29, was one of the "apostles to the Gauls" sent out (probably under the direction of Pope Fabian, 236 - 250) during the consulate of Decius and Gratus (250-251) to Christianize Gaul after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian communities. Events By Place Roman Empire Valerian I recovers Antioch from Shapur. Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a Liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more Saints Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe Christianity has used symbols from its very beginnings Each Saint has a story and a reason why he or she led an exemplary life The mitre (sometimes also spelled miter from the Greek μίτρα, 'headband' or 'turban' is a type of headgear now known as the traditional ceremonial head-dress of Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family The patron saint of a particular group of people is a Saint who would protect and 'love' the group and its members Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Galicia (occasionally Galiza) is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. The Calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a Liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more Saints Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Pope Events By Place Roman Empire Emperor Maximinus Thrax and Marcus Pupienus Africanus become Roman Consuls Events By Place Roman Empire A group of Franks penetrate as far as Tarragona in Spain (approximate date Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Fabian sent out seven bishops from Rome to Gaul to preach the Gospel: Gatien to Tours, Trophimus to Arles, Paul to Narbonne, Saturnin to Toulouse, Denis to Paris, Austromoine to Clermont, and Martial to Limoges. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Gatianus ( Catianus Gatianus Gratianus; Cassien Gatien Gratien ( 3rd century CE was the founding Bishop of the See of Tours. Tours is a city in France the Préfecture (capital city of the Indre-et-Loire département, on the lower reaches of the river According to Catholic lore, Saint Trophimus of Arles (also called Trophime) was the first Bishop of Arles, in today's southern France. Arles (aʁl̥ Provençal Occitan: Arles in both classical and Mistralian norms is a City in the south of France, Saint Paul of Narbonne (3rd century CE was one of the "apostles to the Gauls " sent out (probably under the direction of Pope Fabian, 236 - Narbonne ( Narbona in Catalan and in Occitan, the Roman Narbo) is a commune in southwestern France in the Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest Saint Denis (also called Dionysius, Dennis, or Denys) is a Christian martyr and Saint. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Stremonius or Saint Austremonius or Saint Stramonius or Austromoine the "apostle of Auvergne," was the first Bishop of Saint Martial was the first Bishop of Limoges in today's France, according to a lost Vita of Saturnin, first Bishop of Toulouse

Background

Saturnin is styled the first bishop of Tolosa (Toulouse). Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest The lost Acts of Saturninus were employed as historical sources by the chronicler Gregory of Tours. Saint Gregory of Tours ( November 30, c 538 &ndash November 17, 594) was a Gallo-Roman historian and bishop of Tours The martyrology gave a genealogy for Saturnin: the son of Aegeus, King of Achaea, by his wife Cassandra, who, herself, was the daughter of Ptolemy, King of the Ninevites. The Acts placed Saturninus in the 1st century, made him one of the 72 disciples of Christ, placed him at the Last Supper. In the Christian Gospels the Last Supper (also called the Lord's Supper or Mystical Supper) was the last meal Jesus shared with his Legends associated with Saturninus state that after Saint Peter consecrated him a bishop, “he was given for his companion Papulus, later to become Saint Papulus the Martyr. Saint Papulus (Papoul was according to Christian tradition a Priest who worked with Saturninus of Toulouse to evangelize southern Gaul. ”^[1] Legend states that besides Papulus, Saturninus also had Saint Honestus as a disciple. Saint Honestus (San Honesto Saint Honest was according to Christian tradition a disciple of Saturninus of Toulouse and a native of Nîmes.

The detail from the Acts that is selected for remembering today describes his martyrdom: to reach the Christian church Saturninus had to pass before the capitol (still the Capitole de Toulouse), where there was an altar, and according to the Acts, the pagan priests ascribed the silence of their oracles to the frequent presence of Saturninus. The Capitole de Toulouse is the seat of the municipal administration of the French city of Toulouse. One day they seized him and on his unshakeable refusal to sacrifice to the images they condemned him to be tied by the feet to a bull which dragged him about the town until the rope broke. (Tellingly, the identical fate was ascribed to his pupil Saint Fermin whose site of martyrdom is at Pamplona. Saint Fermin of Amiens (also Firmin, from Latin, Firminus; in Spanish, Fermín) is one of many locally venerated Catholic saints For other meanings see Pamplona (disambiguation. Pamplona ( Basque: Iruñea or Iruña) is the capital city of Navarre )

The bull, it is said, finished at the place since named Matabiau (that is, matar ("the killing") and biau or bœuf ("bull"). An inversion of this martyrdom, the tauroctony, the "killing of the bull," is precisely the central rite of Mithraism, the most important icon in the mithraeum, a depiction of Mithras in the act of killing a bull. The Mithraic Mysteries or Mysteries of Mithras (also Mithraism) was a Roman mystery religion which became popular among the military in the late Mithraeum is a place of worship for the followers of the Mystery religion of Mithraism. The tauroctony was either painted or depicted in a sculptural relief, sometimes on the altar. Two Christian women (puellae remembered as "les Puelles") piously gathered up the remains and buried them in a "deep ditch", that they might not be profaned by the pagans. It is not beyond possibility, in this part of Gaul, where even today the greatest bell among many in Toulouse is honored with the name "Le Grand Taur," that the deep ditch was in fact a mithraeum. Mithraeum is a place of worship for the followers of the Mystery religion of Mithraism.

The site, said to be "where the bull stopped" is on the rue du Taur ("Street of the Bull"). The street with the Mithraic name is one of the original Roman cross streets running straight from the Capitole now to the Romanesque basilica honoring St. The Mithraic Mysteries or Mysteries of Mithras (also Mithraism) was a Roman mystery religion which became popular among the military in the late Regional characteristics of Romanesque architecture|Romanesque art Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Middle Ages Europe which The Latin word basilica (derived from Greek, Basiliké Stoà, Royal Stoa) was originally used to describe a Roman Saturnin ("St Sernin").

'Notre-Dame du Taur"

Saturnin's successors at Toulouse, Hilary (bishop 358 - 360) and Exuperius (Exupère) (400-?), gave him more honorable burial, once Christian rites were no longer illicit, by erecting a simple wooden oratory over the "Roman crypt" (as modern guides describe it) where he had been interred. For other uses see Exuperius (disambiguation. Saint Exuperius (also Exsuperius) (Saint Exupéry Saint Soupire (died c The noteworthy 14th century Gothic church that eventually replaced earlier buildings is Notre-Dame du Taur ("Our Lady of the Bull").

At the end of the century, the press of pilgrims to the cramped site encouraged bishop Silvius (360 - 400) to build a larger church, finished by his successor Exuperius (Exupère) (400 - ?) in 402. The body of the saint was translated to the new church, which now forms the crypt of the present Romanesque Basilica, one of the buildings that defines the Romanesque style in southern France. The Basilica is not the cathedral, which is dedicated to Saint Stephen. The reburial place was at the crossing, before the altar, where the saint's relics remained until 1284.

At the same time the Bishop took the official Acts of Saturnin, the Passio antiqua, and rewrote them as a panegyric that took the place of the originals embellishing them with colorful details, and with pious legends linking Saturnin to the founding of the churches of Eauze, Auch, Pamplona, and Amiens. Eauze is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France. This article is for the French town For the bird see Great auk. Even so, they are among the oldest documents of the Gallican Church. ^[2]

Places named after him

• Burgo de San Cernín, Navarre, Spain. It was the Languedocian borough of Pamplona.
• In Catalonia, Spain.
  • Sant Sadurní d'Anoia
  • Sant Sadurní d'Osormort
  • Sant Sadurní de l'Heura
• In Provence, France
  • St Saturnin les Apts

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: St Saturninus

References