Pancras of Port-⁠Vendres

Pancras of Port-⁠Vendres is a legendary hermit, the teacher of Saint Eudald. The source regards him as a fictitious figure, but several Christian confessions honour him as a saint. He is said to have been born in Lombardy and to have lived in the fourth or fifth century; he died at Port-⁠Vendres in Roussillon.

His life rests on legends and is tied to that of Eudald. The fact that his feast coincides with that of Saint Pancras of Rome suggests a hagiographic doubling, made to complete the legend of Eudald. According to the story, Pancras was a Christian who withdrew to a hermit's life in Italy, probably in Lombardy. A wounded doe is said to have led the young Eudald to the hermitage; Eudald, seeing where the animal went, understood the holiness of the anchorite and asked to stay with him. Pancras accepted him as a disciple but, to shelter him from his pagan relatives, left with him far from Italy.

They took ship and reached the coast of Gaul, at Port-⁠Vendres, around the year 423 (other traditions place the story later, in the eighth century). They settled in a cave on a nearby mountain and lived in solitude, given to contemplation and prayer. They began to preach in the region in order to convert it, and became known for their holiness. Soon afterwards Pancras died, and Eudald went on preaching in the lands of Toulouse and elsewhere.