Perpetuus of Tours

Saint Perpetuus of Tours was the sixth bishop of Tours, from 460 to 490, who died on 30 December 490 (our record gives around 490). He came of a senatorial family of Auvergne and succeeded a relative, possibly an uncle, Eustochius; after him another close relative, Volusian, held the see. He loved sacred literature and was a friend of the poet Sidonius Apollinaris. It is said that he gave his considerable wealth to the needy. He guided the Church of Tours for thirty years, developing and consolidating Christianity in Touraine.

In 461 he presided over a council at Tours, held on the feast of Saint Martin, at which an important rule of ecclesiastical discipline was promulgated; he kept careful watch over the conduct of the clergy and removed unworthy priests. In 465 he presided over the council of Vannes, which condemned the use of the Sortes Sanctorum. He promoted the cult of Saint Martin: he built the church over his tomb. He is a saint of the undivided Church, commemorated on 8 April (new style; 21 April in the old style).