An African priest fleeing Vandal persecutions, Alban traveled to Rome before being sent to evangelize Gaul. Settled in Mainz, he combated Arianism through his eloquence before being beheaded by heretics. Tradition recounts that he carried his own head to his burial site.
Guided reading
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SAINT ALBAN, MARTYR IN MAINZ (1st century).
Exile and mission in Germania
Fleeing the persecutions of the Vandals in Africa, Alban went to Rome before being sent to evangelize Mainz, where he fought the Arian heresy.
Alban Alban Priest and martyr, evangelizer of Mainz. , a priest, fleei ng Ilume Ilumérie King of the Arian Vandals and persecutor of Catholics. rius, king of the Arian Vandals and a fierce persecutor of Catholics, lef t Afric Afrique Region of origin of Pope Gelasius. a, his homeland, w ith Theon Thénonate Bishop accompanying Alban in his exile. ate, his bishop, and came into exile in Rome. From this city, he was sent to Gaul to proclaim the Gospe l. Main Mayence Site of the assassination of Emperor Alexander Severus. z being at that time without a pastor, he seized this opportunity to come there and exercise his apostolic ministry. He encountered the Ar ian heresy ther hérésie arienne Heresy opposed by Columbanus in Italy among the Lombards. e as well, and to its perfidies he opposed the sword of the divine word. Gifted with a lively and ardent genius and strong eloquence, he attacked the heretics without restraint and entangled them in the indissoluble knots of his argumentation. It was by this means that he excited their anger and their rage.
Martyrdom and Cephalophory
Arrested and beheaded by his opponents, the saint reportedly picked up his own head to carry it to his burial place.
This rage finally broke out, and Alban, seized in the midst of his brothers, was overwhelmed with mistreatment. But, unmoved by these cruelties, he remained firm in the Catholic faith and motionless amidst the insults, like a rock in the midst of angry waves. Finally, after having suffered all kinds of mistreatment from a senseless multitude, he was beheaded outside the city. A constant tradition reports that his tongue still murmured the praises of Jesus Christ after his head was detached from his trunk; it adds that the Martyr picked up his head and carried it with a firm step to the place where he was subsequently buried with honor.
Posterity and Carolingian Abbey
In 804, Archbishop Riculf and Charlemagne founded a Benedictine abbey on the site of the martyrdom to honor his memory.
In 804, a famous monastery was founded in the city of Mainz which took the name of our Saint and was called Sanctus-Albanus Magnutinensis. It was an abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict, due to the pious zeal of Riculf, Archbishop of Mainz, and the liberalit y of Charle Charlemagne Emperor of the Franks and uncle of Saint Folquin. magne. It was built outside the city walls, on the very site of Saint Alban's martyrdom.
Historical confusion
The text specifies that Saint Alban of Mainz should not be confused with his namesake, the first martyr of England.
Some hagiographers have wrongly confused our holy Martyr of Mainz with the one of the same name, the first Martyr in England premier Martyr en Angleterre English martyr to whom Maximus dedicated a basilica. , whose feast we celebrate and whose Life we provide on the following day. Proper of Mainz.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.