Amabilis, St.

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AMABILIS, ST.

Priest of Auvergne; b. probably Riom (Auvergne), France c. 397; d. Nov. 1. c. 475. In the sixth century, gregory of tours (In gloria confess. 33) described the popular belief in this saint's power over serpents as well as the veneration at his tomb. Gregory reports that he himself witnessed two miracles there. Amabilis served as precentor at Clermont and later as parish priest at Riom where, in 1120, a church was dedicated to him. In the seventh century his relics were transferred to Riom; in the eighteenth century a dispute occurred over these relics between neighboring Clermont and Riom, where Amabilis is patron. Public processions in his honor have been traditional in Riom, where he is invoked against fire and snakes.

Feast: June 11; Oct. 19 (Clermont).

Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum June 2:460467. l. bernet-rollande, Saint Amable: Sa vie, son église, son culte (Clermont-Ferrand 1891). m. prevost, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912) 2:913. r. aigrain, Catholicisme 1:387388.

[l. m. coffey]