Salvius (bishop)
Salvius, Salvi or Sauve (died 584) was a bishop of Albi in Francia between 574 and 584, later venerated as a saint.[1]
Saint Salvius of Albi
 St. Gregory and Salvius in front of King Chilperic I, from the Grandes Chroniques de France de Charles V (14th-century illumination) | |
|---|---|
| Born | Albi |
| Died | 584, while helping sick people during an epidemic |
| Occupation | Bishop of Albi; also a lawyer, monk, abbot, and hermit |
| Years active | 580-584 |
Family
He came from a powerful family within the church, which contributed many bishops in the south of France through the end and fall of the Roman Empire. He was a distant relation of Gregory of Tours who wrote his life.[2] He was also a relative of Saint Didier of Cahors.
Early life
Salvius was educated in law and humanities, before becoming a lawyer in Albi. Later he became a monk and a hermit and was made bishop in 574.
As bishop he intervened with the powerful Chilperic I and stayed in Albi to take care of his flock during a famine and a plague epidemic to which he succumbed in 584.
He was buried in his monastery but his remains were later moved to the church of Saint-Salvi in Albi. Their exact location is now lost because of renovation in the 18th century.[3] After this he was venerated in the city and was later declared to be a saint.
References
- Clément Compayré, Études historiques et documents inédits sur l'Albigeois, le Castrais, et l'ancien diocèse de Lavaur (Albi, 1841)
- Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum, Book V, 44 and 50; Book VI, 29; Book VII, 1; and Book VIII, 22
- "Saint-Salvi". Site de la cité épiscopale d'Albi. Retrieved 12 February 2016..
External links
- Histoire des Francs: Livre VII by Gregory of Tours (in French)
- Book Seven of History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours (in English)