List of Breton saints
Breton saints refers to one of two groups, the innumerable people who lived, died, worked in, or came to be particularly venerated in the nine traditional dioceses of Brittany (Cornouailles, Dol, Leon, Nantes, Rennes, Saint-Brioc, Saint-Malo, Treguier, Vannes) who were accepted as saintly before the establishment of the Congregation of Rites (now the Congregation for the Causes of Saints), or those saints, blesseds, venerables, and Servants of God who have come to be recognized since that time.
Armorican Saints
Before the Bretons came, the land now known as Brittany was known as Armorica within the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. The earliest saint associated with this region is Saint Anne, mother of Mary (mother of Jesus), said by tradition to have been Armorican, and she is the patroness of Brittany. She also appeared to Yves Nicolazic, to whom she spoke in Breton.
After her, the earliest saints in what is now Brittany have dates which are sometimes unclear, but tradition holds they go back to the earliest days of the Church. One Saint Maxime, said to have been the disciple of Saint Philip the Apostle, was sent to preach among the Gauls and was made the first Bishop of Rennes. He may have been accompanied by saints by the names of Clarus and Justus. Pope Saint Linus, the second Bishop of Rome, sent Saints Clair and Adeodatus; this is said to be the Saint Clair who became the first Bishop of Nantes around AD 280 and died early in the third century, though the dates make this suspect, and Saint Adeodatus preached especially in the area of Vannes. Other Armorican saints include Saint Similien, the third Bishop of Nantes in the early fourth century, and the brother-martyrs saints Donatian and Rogatian. Saint Palladius may also have had an Armorican connection.
The Seven Founders
The Bretons, coming from the British Isles, brought Christianity with them. With the coming of the Bretons, the seven ancient dioceses were established by the seven founding saints.
- Tudwal founded Tréguier
- Pol Aurelian founded Saint-Pol-de-Leon
- Brioc founded Saint-Brieuc
- Malo founded Saint-Malo
- Patern founded Vannes
- Corentin founded Cornouailles
- Samson founded Dol
The other two dioceses of Brittany were founded by Saint Clair de Nantes and Saint Maxime de Rennes.
Medieval Saints
Monarchs
Bishops
- AEmilien, Bishop of Nantes
- Alain, fourth Bishop of Quimper
- Alori, Bishop of Quimper
- Amand, Bishop of Rennes
- Amandus, Bishop of Maastricht, born near Nantes
- Armand, fifth Bishop of Vannes
- Armel, sixth Bishop of Dol
- Aubin (or Albinus), Bishop of Angers (529-550), born near Vannes
- Bilius I, sixteenth Bishop of Vannes
- Bilius II, thirty-third Bishop of Vannes (891-908)
- Budoc, third Bishop of Dol
- Budoc, twelfth Bishop of Vannes
- Catuodus, fifteenth Bishop of Vannes
- Clement, third Bishop of Vannes
- Didier, Bishop of Rennes
- Dominius, second Bishop of Vannes
- Enogat, seventh Bishop of Saint-Malo
- Felix, sixth century Bishop of Nantes
- Gaud, Bishop of Évreux
- Germanus of Man, first Bishop on the Isle of Man
- Genevee, fourth Bishop of Dol
- Gobrien, twenty-first Bishop of Vannes (720-725)
- Goennoc, Bishop of Quimper
- Gouesnon, Bishop of Leon
- Goulven, Bishop of Leon
- Guenin, tenth Bishop of Vannes
- Hinguethen, thirteenth Bishop of Vannes
- Ignoroc (or Vigorocus), eleventh Bishop of Vannes
- Jumael, seventh Bishop of Dol
- Justoc, twenty-second Bishop of Vannes
- Magliore, second Bishop of Dol
- Maelmon, Bishop of Aleth
- Melaine, Bishop of Rennes
- Meldroc, seventeenth Bishop of Vannes
- Meriasek, fourteenth Bishop of Vannes (650-666)
- Moran, Bishop of Rennes
- Oudoceus, Bishop of Llandaff
- Pasquier, twentieth Bishop of Nantes
- Pergat, third Bishop of Treguier
- Restoald, fifth Bishop of Dol
- Ruelin, second Bishop of Treguier
- Saturnin, sixth Bishop of Vannes
- Tenenan, Bishop of Leon
- Turian, eighth Bishop of Dol
Others
- Aaron of Aleth
- Abran
- Alanus de Rupe
- Armel
- Austol
- Baglan
- Benedict of Masserac
- Branwalator
- Cadfan
- Cadoc
- Cadou
- Canna
- Cenydd
- Columba of Cornwall (not Bretish, but patroness of a Bretish village)
- Conwoïon
- Creirwy
- Elwen
- Felix of Rhuys
- Friard d'Indret
- Gildas the Wise
- Gildas the Albanian
- Gilduin, canon of Dol
- Goeznovius
- Goustan (or Sulstanus), lay brother, died c. 1009
- Guénolé
- Guirec
- Gurthiern
- Guyomard, martyr at Ploudery in 499
- Gwen Teirbron
- Gwenhael
- Gwinear
- Hermeland d'Indre
- Herve
- Illtud
- Jacut
- Judoc
- Justinian of Ramsey Island
- Kea
- Lunaire
- Magloire
- Martin of Vertou
- Maudez
- Maurice, a Cistercian and first abbot of Carnoet (1117-1191)
- Mawgan
- Mechell
- Méen
- Melor
- Miliau
- Non
- Osmanna, seventh century Irish princess
- Ronan of Locronan
- Sadwrn
- Secondel, companion of Friard d'Indret
- Senara
- Sithney
- Tanguy
- Tremeur, sixth century martyr
- Tysilio or Suliac
- Tudy of Landevennec
- Viaud
- Victor of Cambon
- Winnoc
- Winwaloe
Modern Saints
The "modern" in modern saints refers to the process, not the person, and groups those whose status has been recognized by Rome.
Saints
- Benedetto Menni, priest, canonized in 1999
- Gohard of Nantes, Bishop, canonized in 1096
- Louis de Montfort, priest, canonized in 1947
- Marie of the Cross (Jeanne Jugan), religious, canonized in 2009
- Mother Theodore, religious, canonized in 2006
- Vincent Ferrer, Dominican priest, canonized in 1455
- William Pinchon, Bishop, canonized in 1247
- Yves Helory, priest, canonized in 1347
- Of the One Hundred Twenty Martyrs of China
- Marie of Saint Natalie (Jeanne-Marie Guerguin)
- Marie of Saint Just (Anne-Françoise Moreau)
Blesseds (by beatification)
- Cassien of Nantes, Capuchin, beatified in 1905
- Charles of Blois, duke, beatified in 1904
- Julian Maunoir, Jesuit priest, beatified in 1951
- Marcel Callo, layman, beatified in 1987
- Mary of the Passion, religious, beatified in 2002
- Marie-Louise-Élisabeth de Lamoignon, religious, beatified in 2012
- Pierre-Rene Rouge, Vincentian priest, beatified in 1934
- Of the Twenty Martyrs of Capuchin Tertiary Fathers and Brothers of Our Lady of Sorrows in Spain, beatified in 2001
- Carmen Marie Anne Garcia Moyon
- Of the Fifteen Martyrs of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul and the Ursulines of Valenciennes, beatified in 1920
- Therese-Madeleine Fantou
- Of the One Hundred Ninety-One Martyrs of the September Massacres, beatified in 1926
- Charles-Francois le Gue
- Claude-Antoine-Raoul Laporte
- Francois-Hyacinth le Livec de Tresurin
- Henri-August Luzeau de la Mulonniere
- Jean-Charles-Marie Bernard du Cornillet
- Joseph Becavin
- Louis-Laurent Gaultier
- Mathurin-Nicolas de la Villecrohain le Bous de Villeneuve
- Nicolas-Marie Verron
- Rene-Joseph Urvoy
- Rene-Julien Massey
- Rene-Marie Andrieux
- Vincent-Joseph le Rousseau de Rosencoat
- Yves-Andre Guillon de Keranrun
- Yves-Jean-Pierre Rey de Kervisic
Blesseds (by confirmation of cult)
- David, cult confirmed in 1120
- Françoise d'Amboise, cult confirmed 1863
- John of the Grating, Cistercian Bishop, cult confirmed in 1517
- Yann Divotou, Franciscan priest, cult confirmed in 1989
- Ralph de la Futaye, unclear when cult confirmed
Venerables
- Alain-Marie Guynot de Boismenu, religious Bishop, proclaimed in 2014
- Jean-Marie Robert de la Mennais, religious priest, proclaimed in 1966
- Marie-Amelie Fristel, religious, proclaimed in 1976
- Michel le Nobletz, priest, proclaimed in 1915
Servants of God
- Alano Maria du Noday
- Catherine de Francheville
- Claude-Francois Poullart des Places
- Francois-Marie-Benjamin Richard de la Vergne
- Jacques Cathelineau
- Jean of Saint Samson
- Marie-Yvonne-Aimee of Jesus
- Pauline-Louise Pinczon du Sel
- Pierre Quintin
- Pierre-Joseph Picot de Cloriviere
- Robert of Arbrissel
- Simon Brute
- Victor Lelievre
- Yves Nicolazic (Ivon Nikolazig in Breton)
- Of the Fifty Martyrs of France of the Apostolate Within the Service du Travail Obligatoire
- Eugene Lemoine
- Maurice-Philippe Bouchard
- Roger (Paul) le Ber
- Of the Thirty-Eight Martyrs of the Revolutionary Tribunal of Paris
- Francois-Georges Cormaux
- Therese Guillaudeu du Plessis
- Victoire Conen de Saint-Luc
- Of the Nineteen Martyrs of Algeria
- Alain Dieulangard
- Celestin Ringeard
- Michel Fleury
- Of the Fifteen Martyrs of Laos
- Jean-Baptiste Malo
- Joseph Boissel
- Vincent L'Henoret
- The Eighty-Five Martyrs of Rennes
Other Saintly Bretons
- Fr. Corentin Cloarec, OFM, killed by the Nazis
- Joachim Nio, OMI, killed by the Gestapo
See also
- List of Welsh saints, many of whom shared Breton connections.
References
- "The Catholic Encyclopedia"
- "Hagiography Circle"
- M. de Garaby, Vie des bienheureux et des saints de Bretagne, éd. J.-M. Williamson, Nantes, 1839. Réédition 1991.
- P.T. de S. Luc, C. L'Histoire de Conan Mériadec Qui Fait le Premier regne de l'histoire generale des souverains de la Bretagne Gauloise, dite Armorique. Paris, 1664.