Aurelian of Limoges

Saint Aurelian was, according to tradition, the second bishop of Limoges in Gaul, successor of Saint Martial. He is commemorated on 10 May.

According to tradition, Aurelian was at first a pagan priest who wished to throw Martial into prison. At that moment he fell dead, but Martial raised him, baptized him a Christian, ordained him priest and then consecrated him bishop. This story is legend, not secure history, and very little is known of the real life of Aurelian.

A life of Martial, called the Vita Aureliana, is attributed to him. The work was, however, written much later, perhaps by the chronicler Adhémar de Chabannes or somewhat earlier, around 955, before Adhémar was born. Its purpose was to show that Martial had been present at the Last Supper and the crucifixion and was therefore one of the first apostles, which history does not support.

The relics of Saint Aurelian are at Limoges, in the Chapelle Saint-⁠Aurélien, built between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. The chapel belongs to the Confrérie Saint Aurélien, the successor of the ancient guild of the butchers of Limoges.