Paul of Narbonne

Saint Paul of Narbonne
Died	3rd century AD
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church Roman Catholic Church
Feast	March 22

Saint Paul of Narbonne (3rd century AD) 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 AD) to Christianize Gaul after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian communities. According to the hagiographies, 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.

Gregory of Tours (Historia Francorum I, 30), using the of Saturninus, affirms that Paul was among those priests consecrated at Rome and sent to replant the Christian communities in Gaul. Saturninus of Toulouse and Dionysius (Denis) of Paris were martyred, but Paul survived to establish the church at Narbonne as its first bishop and die in peace. The claim of Prudentius that Paul's association with the city of Narbonne had made it famous may be read as literary hyperbole. There is a brief Vita Antiqua perhaps of the 6th century, which has been edited by the Bollandists. It tells that Paul converted the inhabitants of Béziers, setting over them a bishop, Aphrodisius, before turning his attention to Narbonne, where he founded two churches. An anecdote recounts how two of his acolytes set a woman's slippers at the foot of his bed, to accuse him of improprieties, but Paul was able miraculously to confound and pardon them.

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