Severus of Avranches

Holy Hierarch Severus of Avranches was born to a poor peasant family in the Cotentin in Normandy, France. In his youth he was a shepherd, then entered the priesthood and rose through the ranks: monk, priest, abbot and finally bishop of Avranches. It seems that he was dragged from his forest cell by the local clergy to be consecrated. In his later years he resigned the episcopal see and lived again as a simple monk. He reposed around 690.

Severus is regarded as a patron of hatters, milliners, silk and wool makers, cloth makers and fullers, and is invoked against fever and migraine. He is depicted as a bishop beside a horse. His relics rest at Rouen, in a church consecrated in his name. He is not to be confused with other saints named Severus. He is commemorated on 1 February, by the Western calendar (new style), as a saint of the undivided Church.