A regional bishop of Auvergne in the 7th century, Saint Fleuret was an apostolic missionary who fought against heresies. He died in Estaing after an eight-day illness and is famous for his miracles, notably the healing of a blind man. His relics are still the object of a solemn cult every first Sunday of July.
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SAINT FLEURET OR FLOREZ,
REGIONAL BISHOP OF THE AUVERGNE REGION (7th century).
Origins and identity
The exact origins of Saint Fleuret are unknown, although he is traditionally linked to the 7th century and the noble family of Estaing.
Saint Fleuret Saint Fleuret Regionary bishop in Auvergne and local apostle. (Floregius) was adorned with the qualities of the mind and the gifts of grace in large measure. Neither his cradle, nor his genealogy, nor his existence are known to us, says Du Sa Du Saussaye Hagiographer cited as a source. ussaye. If one were permitted to express an opinion, we would believe we could advance that Saint Fleuret came into the world around the 7th century, that he saw the light of day in the very heart of the mountains of which he was later the apo stle, and that he was p noble famille d'Estaing Noble family claiming kinship with the saint. erhaps descended from that noble family of Estaing which made it an honor to place him among its relatives, and of which it has preserved the portrait in the gallery of its ancestors.
A regionary bishop
Although often associated with the bishopric of Clermont, he is more likely an itinerant regionary bishop acting as a missionary in Auvergne.
Legend claims that this Saint was a bishop in Auverg ne, whic Auvergne Region of the martyrdom of Saint Antolian. h seems to indicate Clerm ont; but Clermont City of origin of the two saints. the name of this prelate is not found in the lists of the bishops of that church. We believe, with a hagiographer from Rouergu e, that Rouergue Region of Gaul where the saint settled. Saint Fleuret was a regionary bishop of the Auvergne region and neighboring lands. In the 5th century, regionary bishops were instituted without a fixed see, but having a certain extent of territory under their jurisdiction, like apostolic missionaries, in order to provide for the pressing needs of the time and to extirpate the heresies that the misfortunes of the times allowed to be introduced.
Miracles and healings
During his lifetime, the saint was credited with miraculous healings, notably of the blind and the lame.
Even in this world, God glorified His servant with the gift of miracles. It is reported, among other things, that a blind man recovered his sight by washing his eyes with the water in which the holy prelate had washed his hands before celebrating the divine mysteries. Several lame people also owed their healing to him.
Passing at Estaing
The saint passes away in Estaing after an eight-day illness, leaving his remains in this small town in the diocese of Rodez.
When our Saint was ripe for heaven, God gently plucked him from the earth after an illness of eight days. While passing thr ough Es Estaing Town in the Diocese of Rodez where the saint rests. taing, a small tow n in the diocese diocèse de Rodez Diocese where the saint's feast day is celebrated on April 28. of Rodez, he left his mortal remains there.
Veneration and relics
His relics are kept in Estaing and are the subject of a solemn annual ceremony called the opening of the holy body.
Thus, his memory has always been held in veneration because of the holiness of his life, and the most brilliant miracles have come to recommend it, more and more, to the love of the people. His almost entire body rests in the church of Estaing: every year, on the first Sunday of July, it is the object of a solemn cult there that nothing has been able, to this day, to interrupt, diminish, or weaken. A gathering of strangers, having arrived from neighboring parishes and the borders of Upper Auvergne, presents to him the homage of their prayers, with the offerings inspired by the sentiment of faith that animates them.
At the gates of Estaing, a chapel was built under the name of Saint Fleuret and dedicated to this blessed patron; and, next to this same chapel, flows a fountain whose origin the religious populations of the country attribute to the fervent prayers of Saint Fleuret: they are even in the pious habit of drawing from this source as soon as they are visited by infirmities or some illness.
On the eve of the feast of Saint Fleuret, his relics are exposed to the veneration of the faithful: this pious ceremony, which takes place with solemnity amidst the chants of the Church and the I ste confessor, Iste confessor Liturgical hymn sung during the feast of a confessor saint. the liturgical hymn of confessors, is called the opening of the "holy body." The singing of a particular antiphon consecrates this touching ceremony.
Patronage and pilgrimage
Invoked for the protection of livestock and crops, he attracts pilgrims who have bread and salt blessed in his honor.
Saint Fleuret is invoked to obtain from God the preservation of livestock from various epidemics, the health of the sick, and the conservation of the fruits of the earth. The many pilgrims who travel to his tomb to ask God for these graces through his intercession are accustomed to having bread and salt blessed, which they take home to make holy use of, and they also offer a Mass to God in honor of Saint Fleuret. One of them said, during one of the last pilgrimages he made to the tomb of Saint Fleuret, 'that he had gone there every year for sixty years to remain faithful to the promise he had made to his old father on his deathbed; and that he had recommended to his son to follow his example after his death, because he had benefited from the devotion he had been constant in showing to Saint Fleuret.'
Sources and references
The account is based on the works of Abbé Bouaquet, Du Saussaye, and L. Servières concerning the saints of Rouergue.
Abbé Bouaquet, L'abbé Bouaquet Secretary General of the Bishopric of Rodez and author. Secretary General of the Bishopric of Rodez. — Excerpt from the Proper of the Church of Estaing, and the Proper of R odez; — Cf. L. Servières Author of the work 'Les Saints du Rouergue'. L. Servières, Les Saints du Rouergue.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.