Vincent of Collioure

Holy Martyr Vincent of Collioure is venerated in Roussillon in southern France, and his relics are kept at Collioure. There is no sure historical trace of his existence, and he is often confused with Saint Vincent of Saragossa or Vincent Ferrer.

According to tradition he was martyred in 303 or 304, in the persecution of Diocletian, on the islet where he lived and where the chapel stands today. He is said to have been married to Saint Eladia. The praetor Dacian, who led the persecution in Gaul and Hispania, is said to have arrested him as a Christian. Vincent refused to sacrifice to the gods and endured many torments: he was scourged, hung on iron hooks and thrown onto sharp stones. In prison his wounds were healed overnight; Dacian took this for sorcery and had him burned on a platform on 19 April. Many who had taken part in the tortures and the execution are said to have become Christians afterward.

His remains were kept at Collioure, of which the saint is patron. During the siege of 1642 they were moved to the castle and were lost in the war. In 1700 Abbé Prats brought a small relic from Rome, which arrived on 16 August, and a month later another came; both are kept in the church of Notre-⁠Dame-⁠des-⁠Anges. In 1701 a chapel was built on a rocky islet. He is patron of the fishermen of Collioure. He is commemorated on 19 April, and at Collioure also on 16 August, by the Western calendar (new style). He is honored as a saint of the undivided Church.