Martial of Limoges
| Saint Martial | |
|---|---|
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Saint Martial receives the pastoral staff from Saint Peter.
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| Bishop | |
| Died | 1st or 3rd centuries prob. Limoges |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church, Roman Catholicism |
| Major shrine | Shrine of St Martial in the church of St Michel des Lions, Limoges. |
| Feast | June 30 |
| Attributes | episcopal attire |
Saint Martial (3rd century), called "the Apostle of the Gauls" or "the Apostle of Aquitaine", was the first bishop of Limoges. His feast day is June 30.
There is no accurate information as to the origin, dates of birth and death, or the acts of this bishop. According to Gregory of Tours, during the time of the Emperors Decius and Gratius (AD 250-251), Pope 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. He succeeded in converting the inhabitants to Christianity, and his memory has always been venerated there.
Martial died in Limoges and was buried outside the Roman town. As his tomb became progressively more important as a pilgrimage site, the monks found patronage in the Benedictine order in the 9th century. The site became the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Martial, a great library (second only to the library at Cluny) and scriptorium. The 12th-century chronicler Geoffroy du Breuil of Vigeois worked in its library.
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