In this summer and in two parts (2/2), here are the saints celebrated as well as a brief biography, in the diocese of Nîmes.
Saint-Césaire-de-Gauzignan is a small town located about twenty minutes from Alès, Uzès and Nîmes. (Photo Corentin Migoule)
It is on November 8 that the diocese of Nîmes, Uzès and Alès celebrates all its saints whose worship is attested at various times and in various places and those whose relics are kept in altars or local churches.
An evocation of his elders in faith to live as a call to make our life a living offering in praise of his glory “. But what are the saints celebrated in Nîmes? In total, like the 24 hours of the day, there are 24 dates celebrated each year by the diocese of Nîmes. This is the second of two articles.
The July 9th, it is the Blessed Religious Martyrs of Orange who are celebrated. Of the 32 nuns guillotined in Orange in 1794 and beatified by Pius XI in 1925, the diocese of Nîmes can claim five! One, of the Ursulines of Bollène (Sister Claire of Sainte Rosalie), was born in Laudun and four belonged to the convent of the Ursulines of Pont-Saint-Esprit, including Sister Sainte Sophie, born in Saint-Laurent-de-Carnols, Sister Saint Bernard and Sister Catherine of Jesus, born in Bollène, without forgetting Sister Saint Basile born in Livron. Having refused to take an oath which in conscience they rejected, they had to take refuge in a house in Bollène where they were arrested. Again refusing to take the oath, they were sentenced to death. They joyfully ascended the scaffold, singing and praying for their persecutors who admired their courage.
The August 16 it is the turn of the pilgrim Saint Roch. He, whose family lived in Montpellier in the 14th century, took on the habit of a pilgrim after the death of his parents and headed for Rome. Along the way, he showed thaumaturgical gifts in favor of the sick. He died around 1379. His cult developed in southern France and from the 16th century extended far beyond.
In the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, in Rome, Pierre Subleyras left his Saint Basil on the right of the image (Photo Anthony Maurin Archives). • In the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, Pierre Subleyras left his Saint Basil Arien (Photo Archives Anthony Maurin).
The August 26, place to the celebration of Saint Césaire who was a bishop. Césaire was born in Cavaillon, became a monk in Lérins but had to retire to Arles for health reasons. The local bishop made him a priest and attached him to his Church, with the intention of making him his successor. To avoid this honor, Césaire hides. Discovered, he is obliged to accept. With him, Arles has a great bishop. A soul of prayer, a tireless preacher, he transformed his Church. Mistreated by the Goths, masters of the country, he experienced prison and exile. He creates near his church a monastery of nun under the direction of his sister Casarie. He took part in the second Council of Orange (529), against the Pelagians. Father of the poor and orphans, he was the admirable defender of the city in these times of public calamity.
The September 1st came the great moment of the celebration of Saint Gilles, an abbot with a very special life. Saint Gilles, whose cult has flourished since the Middle Ages, because of the abbey guardian of his relics, is a hermit whose history has often been erased in favor of legend. His tomb was an extremely popular place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, on the roads to Santiago de Compostela. A large number of places of worship are dedicated to him both in France and abroad.
The September 6, Blessed Bertrand de Garrigues, priest, will also be celebrated with honors. Bertrand de Garrigues was born near Uzès, in the village from which he took his name. He was the disciple and companion of Saint Dominic, founder of the order of Preachers. His eminent sanctity made him dear to Saint Dominic, who employed him in the conversion of the Albigenses. Many miracles are quoted from him. First appointed prior of the first monastery of the order in Toulouse, he worked powerfully for the extension of the Preaching Brothers and became provincial of the South of France (Alpes Pyrénées) in 1221. He died in 1230 at the Cistercian monastery of Bouchet whose tombstone is preserved in the church.
A morning at Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Castor Cathedral (Photo: Dominique Marck City of Nîmes Archives).
The September 25, Saint Castor, bishop whose pious life remained rooted in Nîmes. Castor, originally from Nîmes, was first a lawyer. Having renounced, with his wife, the state of marriage, he embraced the monastic life. To better understand this life, he asked Jean Cassien, abbot of Saint Victor of Marseilles, to write his lectures on monastic institutions. The inhabitants of Apt, deprived of a bishop, chose him in spite of himself to be theirs. He was the providence of the unfortunate and the defender of the city. He died around 420.
The October 12, Saint Firmin, another bishop, will be celebrated. In the Nîmes cathedral a chapel is reserved for him. Firmin, born in Narbonne, comes to Uzès with his relative Roricius, bishop of this city. A priest became his tutor there and instructed him at length in the divine and human sciences. He becomes dear to the old bishop because of his science and his holiness. Roricius raises him to the priesthood and finally takes him as coadjutor. The activity of Saint Firmin is exercised within the limits of the diocese and beyond, among the Gabales in particular. In turn, he raises Ferréol, his nephew, whom he will designate as his successor and who will be placed among the ranks of the saints, like him.
The holy Marys… of the sea (Photo Anthony Maurin Archives).
The October 22, Saint Marie Jacobé and Saint Marie Salomé, disciples of the Lord will not be forgotten. The worship of Saintes Maries Jacobé and Salomé is confirmed, in Provence, among other testimonies, by the assistance of many faithful in the church of Saintes Maries de la Mer, where abundant graces have been obtained by their patronage. They were among the women who accompanied Jesus during his apostolic life and came to his aid with their material goods. Marie Jacobé was the mother of Jacques le Mineur, of José and perhaps of Simon le Zélote and of Jude. Salomé was the mother of Jean and Jacques le Majeur. Faithful, with Mary and Mary Magdalene, at the time of the Passion, they came to the sepulcher on Easter morning, where an angel declared to them that Jesus is alive. They were thus the first witnesses of the Resurrection.
The October 26, a very important date for some, it is a dedication of the cathedral of Nîmes that must be seen. The ancient cathedral, consecrated by Blessed Urban II, had to suffer a lot during its history, in particular because of the fratricidal quarrels of the 16th and 17th centuries. It was restored in the 19th century under the episcopate of Monsignor Besson and received a solemn consecration on October 26, 1882.
Saint Basil celebrating the Greek Rite Mass before the Emperor Valens, protector of the Arian heresy in Rome (Photo Anthony Maurin Archives) • Saint Basil celebrating the Greek Rite Mass before the Emperor Valens, protector of the Arian heresy
The November 6th, it is Pope Blessed Urban V, who was born in the castle of Grisac near Pont-de-Montvert (Lozère), around 1310 who is celebrated. A member of the powerful Grimoard family and entered the Benedictines at a very young age, in Chirac then in Saint-Victor de Marseille, he continued his studies in Montpellier where he taught canon law. His prestige was so affirmed in the various apostolic missions with which he was charged that he was elected to the sovereign pontificate. The apostolic seat was then in Avignon, since the beginning of the century. Urban V was a very great pope, who showed prodigious activity in particularly troubled times. He has a passionate love for the Holy Church and added to it the virtues of a saint. After two years spent in Italy trying to restore peace there, he returned to die in Avignon (December 19, 1370). His body rests in Saint-Victor de Marseille, of which he had been the abbot.
The November 8th, all the saints of the Church of Nîmes will be celebrated. On this day, all the saints of the diocese whose worship is attested at various times and in various places as well as those whose relics are kept in the altars or churches of the diocese are celebrated. May this evocation of the elders in the faith, who have lived in union with Christ, be for the Catholics of Nîmes a call to ” make their life a living offering in praise of his glory ».
The crypt of the abbey church of Saint-Gilles, room where the body of Saint Gilles lies (Photo Anthony Maurin Archives).
The November 14th, another date of importance, it is the dedication of the consecrated churches of the diocese which is celebrated. Because of their antiquity, many parishes of the diocese have not retained the date of the consecration of their church. Today we celebrate the anniversary of this consecration. The church built by human hands is the sign of this construction of living stones that Christ sealed with his blood.
Finally, the 1st December it is Saint Léonce, bishop, who will be the ultimate saint celebrated each year in the heart of the diocese. Léonce was born in Nîmes, as well as his brother Saint Castor, who was bishop of Apt. Appointed bishop of Fréjus at the beginning of the 5th century, his role was very great in the advancement of the faith in the South of Gaul. An intimate friend of Jean Cassien and mandated by two popes to settle important matters, he knew how to attract Saint Honorat to Lérins, who founded the famous monastery of that name there, a monastery which soon became a veritable breeding ground for holy bishops.
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