Second Bishop of Tours in the 4th century, Saint Lidoire succeeded Saint Gatien after a long vacancy of the see. He developed the Church of Touraine by building the first church within the city walls and transforming a senator's residence into a basilica. His relics, long venerated in Tours, were destroyed by Protestants in 1562.
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SAINT LIDOIRE OR LITOIRE,
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF TOURS AND CONFESSOR.
Accession to the Episcopal See
After a vacancy of thirty-seven years following the death of Saint Gatien, Lidoire, a citizen of Tours, became the second bishop of the city in the 4th century.
After the death of Saint Gatien who, as we shall relate on December 18, founded the Church of Tours in the 1st century and governed it for fifty years, the see remained vacant for thirty-seven years, after which Saint Lidoire, a c saint Lidoire Second bishop of Tours in the 4th century. itizen of the city, was ordained the second bishop of Tours.
Ministry and first churches
The zeal of Saint Lidoire allowed him to build the first church within the walls of Tours and to transform a senator's residence into a basilica.
The apostolic labors of Saint Gatien had been poorly rewarded; but Saint Lidoire had the good fortune to be considered a prophet in his own country; his zeal was rewarded with brilliant successes, and he had the consolation of building the first church within the interior of the city, once the number of Christians had multiplied, and of transforming the house of a senator into a basilica.
The Basilica of Saint Lidoire
The bishop had a basilica built near the cemetery of the poor where he would himself be buried, in accordance with Roman laws prohibiting burials within the city.
The body of Saint Gatien had been buried in the cemetery of the poor, in the place where a respectable tradition recognizes his tomb, almost opposite the western portal of the current church of Notre-Dame la Riche. This cemetery soon became a residential center, and Saint Lidoire built a basilica in the vicinity (rue Saint-Lidoire) which bore his name, and whose foundations could still be seen in the second half of the 18th century. He was buried there, as Roman law, rigorously observed in Gaul, as we learn from the Council of Braga of the y ear 563, forbade the establis concile de Brague de l'an 563 Council cited to justify burial practices outside the walls. hment of burials within the interior of the city.
Action of Saint Martin
Saint Martin, successor and admirer of Gatien, transfers the remains of the first apostle of Touraine to the basilica built by Lidoire.
A few years later, Saint Ma rtin, who ha saint Martin Dedication of the church where the body of Saint Firmin was found. d a particular veneration for Saint Gatien, the first apostle of Touraine, raised his body and transferred it to the basilica of Saint-Lidoire, where, according to the account of Gregory of Tours, it see Grégoire de Tours Bishop of Tours, contemporary historian, and friend of Palladius. ms that it was still located in the 7th century.
Fate of the relics and destruction
After various peregrinations due to the Norman invasions, the relics were transferred to the cathedral before being burned by the Protestants in 1562.
The Norman invasions appear to have led, for the two precious remains of Gatien and Lidoire, as for many other relics, to various peregrinations. In 871, they were in the monastery of Saint-Médard, built on the site of the former Christian c monastère de Saint-Médard Place of refuge for relics during the Norman invasions. emetery (current Brothers' school). On February 4, 1374, they were transferred to the metropolitan church, where they remained until 1562, the time at which they were burned by the Protestants. The memory of this translation of February 4 is still celebrated today.
Documentary Sources
The account is based on the Proper of Tours, and the works of Mgr Jager and Abbé Chevalier.
Drawn from the Proper of Tours; and supplemented, regarding the cult and relics, with the History of the Catholic Church in France, by Mgr Jage Mgr Jager Author of the History of the Catholic Church in France. r; and the Origins of the Church of Tours, by Abbé C. Chevalier.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Elected as the second bishop of Tours after a 37-year vacancy of the see
- Construction of the first church inside the city of Tours
- Transformation of a senator's house into a basilica
- Construction of a basilica near the cemetery of the poor
- Translation of his relics to the metropolitan church in 1374
- Destruction of his relics by the Protestants in 1562