Saint of the Day – 8 April – St Perpetius (Died c490) Bishop of Tours. He was the 6th Bishop of Tours, serving from c460 to c490, Apostle of the needy and poor in his Diocese, Miracle-worker, Founder of many Monasteries and Churches. Born Also known as – Perpet, Perpetus, Perpetue, Perpetuus.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Tours, the holy Bishop, Perpetius, a man of wonderful sanctity.”
Born of a senatorial family of the Auvergne, Perpetius became the Bishop of Tours around 460. He succeeded his relative, possibly an uncle, Eustochius and was succeeded by another close relative, Volusian.
He was a student of sacred literature and a friend of the poet Sidonius Apollinaris.
He dedicated his considerable wealth to the relief of those in need. He guided the Church of Tours for thirty years, developing and consolidating Christianity in the region.
In 461, Perpetius presided at a Council in which eight Bishops, who were united and participated, in Tours on the Feast of St Martin and at this assembly, an important Decree was promulgated relative to Ecclesiastical discipline. He maintained a careful surveillance over the conduct of the Clergy of his own Diocese and mention is made, of Priests who were removed from their office because they had proved unworthy. In 465, he presided over the Council of Vannes, which condemned the use of the Sortes Sanctorum (a pagan means of decision making be means of dice).
Perpetius actively promoted the Cult of Saint Martin of Tours. In 470 he replaced the little Chapel of sts Peter and Paul, with a beautiful Basilica, to protect the Tomb of Saint Martin. This Basilica Perpetius constructed to receive a portion of the roof of the old Chapel, as it was of elegant workmanship. St Euphronius of Autun sent marble for the cover of St Martin’s Tomb. Perpetius commissioned murals for the walls and inscriptions which eilluminated them. Sidonius contributed a poem for the apse. Built 550 paces from the City, St Martin’s body was translated with great ceremony in July 473. Perpetius effectively popularised the Cult by making it more accessible, both to the educated classes “… and to ordinary people who could visit the Church, view its murals, participate in the festivals and listen to readings about the Saint.”
St Gregory of Tours states that Perpetius decreed that all of the members of his Diocese should fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, except for a few Church Feasts. He set aside several Mondays as fasts as well, especially from the Feast of St.Martin until the Nativity, a precursor of Advent. These fasts were still being observed in the 7th Century.
At his death, Perpetius bequethed his vineyards, gold and houses to benefit the poor. He was buried in the Church of St Martin which he had built.
AnaStpaul 