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Albinus of Angers

Saint Albinus of Angers (French: Saint-Aubin; c. 470 – 1 March 550), also known as Saint Albin (/ˈælbɪn/) in English, was a French abbot and bishop. Born to a noble Gallo-Roman family at Vannes, Brittany, St. Albinus was a monk and from 504 A.D.

Born~Died 469 ~ Mar 1, 5500 views in 30 daysLast edited Oct 15, 2026, 5:28 PM

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Details

Born ~ Died: 469 ~ Mar 1, 550
Born: c. 470 AD, Vannes, Brittany
Died: 550 AD, Angers, France
Venerated in: Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church
Major shrine: fr:Abbaye Saint-Aubin d'Angers, Angers
Feast: 1 March
Patronage: invoked against pirate attacks
Location: 47.6550, -2.7617

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Contents

1.Episcopate
2.Death and burial
3.Veneration
4.Further reading
5.Notes

Saint Albinus of Angers (French: Saint-Aubin; c. 470 – 1 March 550), also known as Saint Albin (/ˈælbɪn/) in English, was a French abbot and bishop. Born to a noble Gallo-Roman family at Vannes, Brittany, St. Albinus was a monk and from 504 A.D. Abbot of Tintillac¹ His reputation spread during the 25 years in which he served as abbot. In 529, St. Albinus was elected, against his wishes, Bishop of Angers.²

Episcopate

He campaigned against incestuous weddings, such as those that occurred between members of the nobility.³ He participated in the Third Council of Orléans (538) after King Childebert granted permission for this council to take place.³ Albinus sought advice from St. Caesarius of Arles after seeing laxity in other bishops.

Tradition states that he helped all in distress, using diocesan funds to free hostages from pirates. Another tradition states that he clashed with King Childebert, who had imprisoned a woman called Etherie, from Douille near Angers. Unable to secure her release, Albinus visited her in prison and the soldier who tried to resist him fell dead at his feet. This so impressed the king that he allowed St. Albinus to bail her out.⁴

Another legend relates that St. Albinus once prayed far into the night for some men imprisoned in the Tower of Angers. Suddenly a great stone collapsed from the wall, allowing their escape.⁵

Death and burial

St. Albinus died in 550 and was buried in the church of Saint-Pierre at Angers. In 556, a church was dedicated to him and his body was reburied in its crypt; near to this church, an abbey arose, called Saint-Aubin.⁶

Veneration

St. Gregory of Tours remarks on the cult of St. Albinus, which later became diffused in Germany, England, and Poland, making St. Albinus a popular saint during the Middle Ages.³ St. Venantius Fortunatus, a near contemporary, wrote a life of this saint.⁷

Churches were dedicated to him right across the continent as far as Poland, and he was sometimes seen as the patron saint for protection from pirate attack. This may have been based on the tradition that he bought back parishioners who had been taken captive by pirates sailing up the Loire river. Later the tradition was reinforced by a miracle recorded in the 10th century, when the walled town of Guérande, near the mouth of the Loire, prayed to St. Albinus for help and found their attackers miraculously defeated.

In the Middle Ages, Nicholas Belfort notably wrote describing miracles performed at the tomb of St. Aubin after the year 1000 AD. Belfort was a Regular Canon in the monastery of St John the Baptist by the city of Soissons.⁸

Thus, his fame increased and many coastal villages chose Aubin as their patron saint; presumably this is the reason why St. Aubin in Jersey bears his name, preserving the name of an ancient chapel that has long since disappeared. St. Aubin is venerated there in the Anglican church of St Aubin on the Hill.⁹

St. Albinus' feast day is celebrated annually on 1 March. St. Albinus is the name of a song written by Henry Gauntlett to the hymn "Jesus lives! Thy terrors now" by Christian Furchtegott Gellert 1715-1769 (New English Hymnal #112).

Notes

This no longer stands; its location has not been satisfactorily identified. ↩
"Albinus". Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. ↩
"Saint Albinus, Bishop of Angers, Confessor". Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Hampton, Rosemary. "A Life of St. Aubin and His Times". Archived from the original on 10 January 2007. ↩
Fortunatus, Venantius. "The Life of St. Aubin". Archived from the original on 9 January 2007. ↩
"Cartulaire du Saint Aubin". Emory University Library. Archived from the original on 4 February 2007. ↩
Fortunatus, Venantius. "Saint Aubin". Archived from on 21 November 2008.

Episcopate

Another legend relates that St. Albinus once prayed far into the night for some men imprisoned in the Tower of Angers. Suddenly a great stone collapsed from the wall, allowing their escape.⁵

This page is based on “Albinus of Angers” from English Wikipedia, (r1373003919) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.

Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 5:28 PM · r137077 · Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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This no longer stands; its location has not been satisfactorily identified. ↩
"Albinus". Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. ↩
"Saint Albinus, Bishop of Angers, Confessor". Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Hampton, Rosemary. "A Life of St. Aubin and His Times". Archived from the original on 10 January 2007. ↩
Fortunatus, Venantius. "The Life of St. Aubin". Archived from the original on 9 January 2007. ↩
"Cartulaire du Saint Aubin". Emory University Library. Archived from the original on 4 February 2007. ↩
Fortunatus, Venantius. "Saint Aubin". Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. ↩
Dodd, John. "The Life of St. Aubin". Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. ↩
See Saint-Aubin article for other places named after him. ↩

This no longer stands; its location has not been satisfactorily identified. ↩
"Albinus". Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. ↩
"Saint Albinus, Bishop of Angers, Confessor". Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Hampton, Rosemary. "A Life of St. Aubin and His Times". Archived from the original on 10 January 2007. ↩
Fortunatus, Venantius. "The Life of St. Aubin". Archived from the original on 9 January 2007. ↩
"Cartulaire du Saint Aubin". Emory University Library. Archived from the original on 4 February 2007. ↩
Fortunatus, Venantius. "Saint Aubin". Archived from on 21 November 2008.

Albinus of Angers

Episcopate

Death and burial

Veneration

Further reading

Notes

Episcopate

Opinions 0

Death and burial

Veneration

Further reading

Notes

Other languages

Sub-pages

Nearby events

Episcopate

Death and burial

Veneration

Further reading

Notes

Opinions 0

Albinus of Angers

Episcopate

Death and burial

Veneration

Further reading

Notes

Footnotes

Episcopate

Opinions 0

Death and burial

Veneration

Further reading

Notes

Footnotes

Other languages

Sub-pages

Nearby events

Episcopate

Death and burial

Veneration

Further reading

Notes

Footnotes

Opinions 0