Kilian of Aubigny-⁠en-⁠Artois

Kilian of Aubigny-⁠en-⁠Artois was a hermit of Irish origin who settled in northern France in the seventh century. He is venerated in the Western Church.

He was close to Saint Fiacre. Saint Faro, Bishop of Meaux, sent him in the footsteps of Saint Vedast. He reached the western third of Austrasia in 645, settled at Aubigny-⁠en-⁠Artois and helped to carry on the evangelization of the surrounding region. He reposed on 13 November 669 (in 680 according to some sources) and was buried at Aubigny, where his feast is kept.

Local tradition tells that during a long drought that had brought the people to extremity, Kilian struck the ground with his staff and a spring burst from the hillside. The river named after him, the Kilienne, flows in the south of the Pas-⁠de-⁠Calais, and at its source at Warlincourt-⁠lès-⁠Pas stands a chapel with a statue of the saint. The church of Aubigny-⁠en-⁠Artois and its parish bear his name.