Saint of the Day – 19 October – Saint Veranus (Died 589) Bishop of Cavaillon, France, Hermit, a protector of monastic life and Monasteries, apostle of the poor and ill, Miracle-worker. Born in Vaucluse in France and died in Arles, France in 589 of the Plague. Patronage – Cavaillon and Saint-Veran and Saont-Verain, in France; Abbadia Alpina and Peccioli, 2 Citiess in Italy. Also known as – Uranus, Verain, Veranus, Verà del Gavalda, Vrain of Cavaillon, Wrain of Cavaillon.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “In the Diocese of Orleans, the departure from this world of St Veranus, Bishop.”
The little information known about his life are sufficient to provide a portrait. A contemporary of St Gregory of Tours, Veranus was Ordained a Priest in 540. Having retired to his hermitage in Vaucluse, he undertook a pilgrimage to Rome passing through Embrun , Briançon Ravenna, Milan and, on his return, through Albenga and Cassis, of which City he is now the Patron.
In 568, Sigebert I , who had created the chose him as the Bishop of Cavaillon, as we learn from the ‘Orléans Manuscript.’
The following year, 569, Fredegonda, having had Praetextatus, the Archbishop of Rouen assassinated during a Sunday Office, Veranus reproach him for the murder. This earned him the position of Godfather of the future Merovingian King Theodoric II, son of Childebert II. In 577, the Baptism took place, in Orléans.
St Gregory of Tours writes of miracles performed by Veranus, including the expulsion of a dragon. He is also remembered as a leader in charitable works and as a patron of local Monasteries, not only in France but also in Italy, particulaly in the City of Albenga, where he was instrumental in the conversion of the people to Christianity.
In the early 11th Century, some of his Relics were transferred from his place of burial to Orléans. In the 13th Century, most were transferred again, to Cavaillon Cathedral which is dedicated to him but some were sent to Albenga Cathedral in Liguria, where they are still preserved in a Shrine dedicated to him as the Patron of that City.
The French Villages of Saint-Véran and Saint-Verain are named after him. In Fontaine de Vaucluse, there is a Church dedicated to our Saint. It was the place of his birth and in the small Church there is a Tomb reputed to be his.
AnaStpaul 