Clarus of Albi

Saint Clarus of Albi (also called Clarus of Aquitaine) is venerated as the first bishop of Albi, in France. The years of his life are not known. His commemoration is on 1 June. He is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church; our sources mention no Orthodox veneration.

No writings of his own time about his life are known. The story rests on tradition. Among the written sources are a manuscript of a monastery, as well as the breviaries of Albi and of Tulle. According to tradition, Saint Clarus and his companions came from Africa. It is related that a group of seven companions went to Rome, and from there was sent to Gaul, to bring the people to Christianity.

Saint Clarus was appointed bishop for his great experience. He settled at Albi, of which he became the first bishop. His arrival at Albi was marked by several miracles. The Bollandists say that he stopped at Cologne, but more probably it was not so, and he stopped at a place called Colonne, on the road from Toulouse to Lectoure. Then he went to the wastelands of Gascony, where he preached with his companions, among whom was Saint Severus. In the end he settled in the city of Lectoure. There he and a companion were required to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, who were then held in great honour on the site of an old temple. After they refused, they were beaten with sticks and thrown into prison, where an angel appeared to them to comfort them. In the end they were beheaded at the foot of the ramparts, in the place that still bears the name Saint-⁠Clar and where a memorial cross stands.

The relics of Saint Clarus are kept in the church and cathedral at Lectoure, which is believed to be built on the site of the pagan temples. During the great invasions of the ninth century the relics were taken to Bordeaux, hence the title Clarus of Aquitaine, which is mentioned most often. A part of the relics was received in 1700 by the diocese of Albi. The rest of the relics remained at Bordeaux until October 1858, when their solemn translation to Lectoure took place, where a considerable number of people gathered after the ceremony. Then, in November of the same year, another part of the relics was taken to Saint-⁠Clar, in the presence of six thousand people. Saint Clarus should not be confused with Clarus of Nantes, the first bishop of that city, at the end of the third century.