Donatus of Besançon, St.

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DONATUS OF BESANÇON, ST.

Bishop; d. c. 660. Donatus, descendant of a ducal family, was educated at luxeuil. As bishop of Besançon, he established the famous Saint Paul's Cloister (Palatium ) and gave it a rule drawn from benedict and colum ban. Donatus's mother, Flavia, founded the monastery of Jussa-Moutiers or Saint-Marie, for which Donatus wrote a rule (Regula ad virgines; Patrologia Latina 87:27398). Donatus assisted at the councils of Clichy (627) and Chalon-sur-Saône (c. 650). He is also mentioned in a charter of Clotaire III (658).

Feast: Aug. 7.

Bibliography: j. mabillon, Acta sanctorum ordinis S. Benedicti (Venice 17331740), 2:320322. Acta Sanctorum Aug. 2: 197200. jonas, Vita s. Columbani, Patrologia Latina, ed. j. p. migne, 217 v. (Paris 187890) 87: 1024. j. l. baudot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienheureux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes (Paris 19351956), 8: 123124. r. aigrain, Catholicisme 3:101517. t. de morembert, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques (Paris 1912), 14:648649.

[b. f. scherer]

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