Desideratus of Bourges

Saint Desideratus of Bourges was bishop of Bourges in Gaul and reposed on 8 May 550. He is commemorated on 8 May. He came from a family of saints of Soissons: his father Auginus, his mother Agia and his brothers Desiderius and Deodatus are all saints. His parents taught the boys to care for the poor and to use their possessions to help others.

He became chancellor to King Clotaire and sought to eliminate simony and heresy in his lands. He then became archdeacon at Bourges. He wished to retire to a monastery, but the king argued that he should put the needs of his subjects before his own wish. In 549 he succeeded Arcadius as bishop of Bourges. He often mediated disputes and succeeded in reconciling Anjou and Poitou. At the Fifth Council of Orléans and the Second Council of Auvergne he combated Nestorianism. He is invoked for rain.