ALBINUS (AUBIN) OF ANGERS, ST.

Abbot and bishop; b. Vannes, France, 469; d. March 1, 550. He entered the monastery of Tincillac at an early age and was elected abbot in 504 at age 35. Under his rule the community prospered, and in 529 he was made bishop of Angers. In that office he proved himself zealous and capable as well as devout. As bishop, Albinus gave particular attention to the poor, spending large sums for the ransoming of captives. He was energetic in putting into effect the decrees of the Synods of Orléans (538 and 541), in which he had participated. His remains are enshrined in the church dedicated to his memory in 556, and his intercession is credited with many miracles, as a result of which he has become the object of popular veneration, not only in France, but throughout Europe. His vita was composed by fortunatus (Monumenta Germaniae Hisorica: Auctores Antiquissimi 4:27–33).

Feast: March 1.

Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum March 1:54–63. f. uzureau, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912) 5: 254–255. a. m. zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedictinum (Metten 1933–38) 1:273. r. aigrain, Catholicisme 1:1012–13. a. mercati and a. pelzer, Dizionario ecclesiastico (Turin 1954–58) 1:83. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, ed. h. thurston and d. attwater (New York 1956) 1:452. g. allemang, Lexicon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (Freiburg 1957–65) 1:289.

[j. f. fahey]