Volusianus of Tours, St.
VOLUSIANUS OF TOURS, ST.
Eighth bishop of Tours; d. Toulouse, France, c. 498. Of senatorial rank, married and related to his two predecessors, perpetuus and Eustochius, he occupied the see from 488 to 496. A letter to him from Ruricius, Bishop of Limoges, makes reference to his bad-tempered wife, and Gregory of Tours reported that, suspected of sympathy for the Franks, Volusianus was exiled to Toulouse by the Visigoths and died there, possibly martyred by decapitation. His relics were brought to Foix, where a celebrated Augustinian church was erected in his honor.
Feast: Jan. 18.
Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum Jan. 2:558–559. gregory of tours, The History of the Franks, ed. and tr. o. m. dalton, 2 v. (Oxford 1927) 2:65, 473. l. duchesne, Fastes épiscopaux de l'ancienne Gaule, 3 v. (2d ed. Paris 1907–15) 2:301–304. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, rev. ed. h. thurston and d. attwater, 4v. (New York 1956) 1: 116. p. de la coudre, La Vie de St. Volusien (2d ed. Foix 1893). a. mercati and a. pelzer, Dizionario ecclesiastico, 3 v. (Turin 1954–58) 3:1358.
[l. m. coffey]