Aurelius of Velay

Aurelius of Velay was bishop of Le Puy-⁠en-⁠Velay in the second half of the sixth century, roughly between 555 and 600. He is honoured as a saint by several Christian confessions. Gregory of Tours mentions him in an account set in the year 590, saying that he lived in the place they call Anicium.

In 590 the plague that was striking part of Aquitaine and Languedoc spread toward the Vivarais and southern Provence, together with a great famine. People were drawn to certain would-⁠be prophets, the best known of whom was the so-⁠called Woodcutter, a humble woodcutter from Berry. He had been attacked by bees so furiously that for two years he lost his mind from the pain. When he recovered, he settled at Arles and presented himself as a man inspired by God, dressed in skins and boasting that he knew the future. He then went to the Gévaudan with a woman who followed him and called herself Mary, and drew many followers, among them many ignorant clerics, convinced above all by his fame as a healer. He accepted gifts but shared them among the poor, for whom he thought himself entitled to dispose of the herds of the region. His predictions were gloomy but accompanied by long prayers, and he let himself be adored as a holy man.

After a time he passed into the Velay and camped with his followers by Mount Anis, near the town of Le Puy, where he took control of the rural churches. Then Bishop Aurelius went to meet him. The Woodcutter gathered his men, waiting for the prelate as if he meant to fight, and sent some to meet him; they presented themselves to the bishop leaping and dancing naked. Aurelius sent several nobles of the country. One of them approached the Woodcutter, who ordered his men to seize and strip him; the nobleman drew his sword and struck the would-⁠be prophet, who fell dead. The followers fled in terror. Mary was captured and put to the torture, and under it declared that the Woodcutter had been an impostor. Many followers stayed faithful to the dead prophet, comparing him to Christ and asserting that he was divine, but the movement died out.

Aurelius was honoured as a saint in the Velay. His tomb is in the church of Saint-⁠Vosy at Le Puy, beside that of Saint Benignus, who is said to have been his successor and of whom only the name is known.