Quiriacus of Trier

Saint Quiriacus of Trier was a priest-⁠monk of the abbey of Saint Maximin at Trier and reposed on 6 March 350. He was born in Aquitaine and, according to tradition, at Poitiers; he came to Trier to study and was ordained priest by Bishop Agritius.

When his friend Maximin was elected bishop of Trier in 330, he made Quiriacus his special helper in pastoral work and entrusted him with the care of the poor, the helpless and children. He was buried in the church of the abbey of Saint Maximin. In 768 the Frankish king Pepin the Short brought his sick grandson Kunibert to the saint's tomb, and the child was healed. In thanks, Pepin gave Abbot Odilradus parts of the royal estates at Zabern (today Taben-⁠Rodt) and Remich, where the monks founded a settlement the same year. In 769 the greater part of the remains is said to have been taken to Taben, and in 1674 half of the body was found at Saint Maximin. The marble sarcophagus was hidden during the Napoleonic wars and found again in 1833; since 1890 the bones have been kept in a wooden shrine.

He is regarded as a patron against children's illnesses, and at Taben-⁠Rodt a pilgrimage is held every year on 20 September. He is commemorated on 6 March, by the Western calendar (new style). He is honored as a saint of the undivided Church.