Saint Corentin of Quimper

Saint Corentin of Quimper
St Corentin, pictured on the banner of the parish church of Locronan, Brittany.
Died	~460 AD
Venerated in	Tikhonites, and other True Orthodox Christian jurisdictions, Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church and others
Major shrine	Quimper
Feast	December 12
Attributes	fish; episcopal attire

Saint Corentin (Corentinus; in Breton, Sant Kaourintin) (d. 460 AD) is a Breton saint. He was the first bishop of Quimper. Corentin was a hermit at Plomodiern and was regarded as one of the seven founding saints of Brittany. He is the patron saint of Cornouaille, Brittany, and is also the patron saint of seafood. His feast day is December 12.

The life of this saint is told in the book Vita de saint Corentin, written by Dom Plaine around 1220–1235. This publication was revised and comments were added to it, particularly after the discovery of a book called The Ancient Life of Saint Corentin. The song of Aiquin also evokes his life.

According to Albert le Grand (), Saint Corentin was born in a region called Cornouaille armoricaine (). He became a hermit in the city of Plomodiern, adjacent to Ménez-Hom, where he was already changing lives through his devotion to people. His selflessness was renowned across France, and through the medium of scriptures and word of mouth, his humanitarianism was recognised in Europe also.

Legend has it that near where he was living, a miraculous fish would present itself to Saint Corentin in a fountain. He would cut a small piece of the fish to feed himself, and that piece would regrow (he would otherwise feed himself with herbs and roots found in the forest). Corentin also fed the king Gradlon and his court, on a day when they had gotten lost during a hunt and had stumbled across Corentin.

When King Gradlon decided to create the diocese of Quimper, he called on Corentin and asked him to become the first bishop. He sent Corentin to the city of Tours so that he could be consecrated by Martin, who later become Saint Martin.