Ursinus of Bourges

The portal on the far right shows the life story of Ursinus.

Ursinus von Bourges ( French Ursin , also Ours , 'the bear', from Latin ursus ; † in the 3rd century) is considered the first bishop of Bourges (then Avaricum) . He is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church . According to the martyrology of Ado von Vienne (799–875), his feast day is November 9th . In Bourges, however, the day of remembrance is celebrated on December 29th , since according to church documents in Bourges Ursinus died on December 29th. According to tradition, Ursinus had the original Bourges cathedral built and the relics of St. Stephen transferred there . One of the portals on the west facade of Bourges Cathedral shows the life story of Ursinus.

Lore

Pilgrimage site of St. Ursin in Villers-sur-le-Roule ( Eure )

St. Martin (around 316 / 317–397) equated Ursinus with Nathanael († 1st century). Based on the report of St. Martin's life story was written down in the 10th or 11th century. Gaspard Thaumas de La Thaumassière saw the equation with Nathaniel in his work, written in 1689, critical, since a person cannot live that old. He believed there was a mistake in the text.

Gregory of Tours (538-594) ascribes the foundation of the parish of Bourges in his History of the Franks (Volume 1) to a student of the seven bishops whom the Pope sent to Gaul during the reign of Decius (249-251) . The bishops should evangelize . In the local interpretation, the seventh bishop was equated with Ursinus. In Liber in gloria confessorum , Gregory wrote that Ursinus was the first bishop of Bourges.

When Ursinus arrived in what was then the Gallo-Roman Avaricum, he converted residents to Christianity and baptized them. When the circle of believers expanded, he was driven out of the city with stones thrown. According to legend, he stayed in a neighboring town and built a chapel there , which was later placed under his patronage . The village was named after him La Chapelle-Saint-Ursin ( Cher ). However, Ursinus soon returned to Bourges and convinced the city councilor Leocadius there to convert a building for the new Christian community into a church. The church was the current Bourges Cathedral. Ursinus is supposed to have the relics of St. Brought Stephen to Bourges, so the church was the Stephen ordained .

Relics

Entrance portal of the destroyed Saint-Ursin collegiate church in Bourges.

His bones were found around 565 under Bishop Probianus and transferred to the Saint-Symphorien church, which was then consecrated to Ursinus. It is said to have been the Saint-Ursin collegiate church, of which only the entrance portal has been preserved. When the Normans invaded Normandy in the 9th century , the relics were brought to a safe place in Cour-Saint-Maurice . When the relics were later returned, parts of the relics remained there. 1055 the relics were transferred to the church of Saint-Jacques of Lisieux transferred to the population of St. Anthony's fire cure. On October 23, 1239 the relics were transferred again. In the meantime the relics have been lost except for a few parts. After the French Revolution (1789–1799), around 1810, the collegiate church was destroyed.

Patronage

• The Saint-Ursin church of Épron ( Calvados )
• The Saint-Ursin church of La Chapelle-Saint-Ursin
• The Saint-Ursin church in the former parish of Saint-Ursin, now Saint-Jean-des-Champs ( Manche )
• The Saint-Ursin church in Villers-sur-le-Roule

Web links

Commons : Ursinus von Bourges  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Guerin:  Ursinus . In: Stadler's Heiligenlexikon . 5th volume, Augsburg 1858-1882,, Augsburg 1882, p.  615 .
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Ursinus von Bourges in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
3. ↑ ^{a b} Jacques Baudoin: Grand livre des saints: culte et iconographie en Occident . Créer, Nonette 2006, ISBN 978-2-84819-041-9 , chap. 571 , p. 473 (French).
4. ^ ^{A b} Louis Duchesne : L'Aquitaine et les Lyonnaises . In: Fastes épiscopaux de l'ancienne Gaule . tape 2 . A. Fontemoing, Paris 1910, p. 26 (French, online ).
5. ↑ ^{a b} Gaspard Thaumas de la Thaumassière : Histoire de Berry . Ed .: Revue du Berry. tape 2 . A. Jollet Fils, Bourges 1865, chap. 13 , p. 23–26 (French, online - based on the 1689 edition).
6. ↑ Saint Ursin. In: nominis. Église Catholique en France, accessed June 18, 2013 (French). 
7. ↑ Roland Narboux: Portail Saint Ursin de Bourges. In: Encyclopédie de Bourges. 2010, accessed June 19, 2013 (French). 

predecessor	Office	successor
-	Archbishop of Bourges 251–280	Senecianus