Étienne of Apt

Étienne of Apt (also Stephen of Apt or of Agde, in Latin Stephanus) was bishop of Apt in Provence in the first half of the 11th century. He was born at Agde in 975 and died on 6 November 1046 (according to one historian, in 1046 or 1047). He is honored as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and remembered on 6 November.

He succeeded Bishop Thierry. He is mentioned in several charters of the cartulary of the church of Apt. A bull of Pope Sergius IV (1009 to 1012) invited him to consecrate the church of Correns. In 1022 he went to Spain, where he took part in the consecration of the monastery of Santa Maria de Roses. He was at the council of Narbonne of 1031 or 1032 and consecrated the church of Saignon around 1032. During his episcopate he wanted to go to the Holy Land, but, because of obstacles, he reached only Rome. On the way back he fell ill and was cared for by the bishop of Volterra. On his return he wanted to build a cathedral, in answer to a divine vision, but before that he wished to fulfill his vow of pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

The cathedral of Apt was in ruins, and Stephen gave up rebuilding it on the spot. He built a new cathedral outside the walls, west of the town, on the remains of an early Christian church. He consecrated it on 15 August 1038, under the patronage of Saints Peter, Mary and Castor, and it is better known as Sainte-⁠Marie Nouvelle. It was demolished in the 18th century. His body was buried in the new cathedral. He was canonized and became the first bishop of Apt declared a saint whose existence is known with certainty.

He is a saint of the West, who died before 1054; no Orthodox synodal canonization is known.