Galactorius of Lescar

Saint Galactorius of Lescar, hierarch and martyr, was bishop of Lescar in Béarn at the beginning of the 6th century. He is venerated in the Western Church as a saint and martyr and remembered on 27 July in the Western calendar.

His episcopate is attested by history: in 506 he took part in the council of Agde, signing as bishop of Benarnum alongside Bishops Gratus of Oloron and Gratian of Dax. His diocese was well governed.

The legend told in the breviary of Lescar, printed in 1541, says that he fought the Visigoths at Mimizan at the head of an armed band, coming to the aid of King Clovis. Taken prisoner, he is said to have met a martyr's death because he refused to renounce the Catholic faith. Tradition recalls a chapel raised in his honor, later replaced by the belltower of the church of Mimizan. Historians think it more likely that he was at Mimizan around 507 to meet the bishop of Bordeaux, and that he was killed by the Visigothic army retreating toward the Pyrenees after the defeat at Vouillé.

His relics were kept until the Reformation in a casket beneath the high altar of Lescar cathedral; it is not known when or how they disappeared. The old breviary of Lescar celebrated his memory twice a year.