Lycerius of Couserans

Saint Lycerius (also Glycerius) was bishop of Couserans, in the French Pyrenees, in the later fifth and the sixth century. He died in 548 and is commemorated on 27 August.

Little is certain about his life. The Roman Martyrology describes him as a bishop of Spanish origin and a disciple of Saint Faustus of Riez. According to a tradition that cannot be verified, he was born at Civitas Bigorra, now Saint-⁠Lézer, near Tarbes. He studied with the bishop of Tarbes and then with Quintianus, bishop of Rodez, who ordained him priest. For the holiness of his life he was elected bishop of Couserans and, again by tradition, also governed the diocese of Tarbes while it was without a bishop, from 506 to 541.

The records mention him at the Council of Agde in 506, called on the initiative of the Gothic king Alaric II and presided over by Saint Caesarius of Arles. After the war between the Visigoths and the Franks in 507-509, his small diocese became part of the Frankish kingdom of Clovis. Many miraculous healings are attributed to him, and the Roman Martyrology says that by his prayers he protected the city that now bears his name from the invasion of the Visigoths (other sources say the Vandals).

He was buried in the church that is now the cathedral of Saint-⁠Lizier, and his veneration has remained alive. He is patron of several places in south-⁠western France, above all Saint-⁠Lizier, and of Saint-⁠Lizier d'Ustou (Ariège) and Saint-⁠Lizier-⁠du-⁠Planté (Gers). In Catalonia, at Lleida, there is an undocumented tradition of a bishop of the same name in the third century. It is not known how far the Catalan traditions confuse two different persons. At Lleida he is celebrated on 1 September as a secondary patron of the city, and he is the patron of Sant Antoni de Vilamajor. In images he is shown in episcopal vestments, standing between two bulls.