Saint Gregory of Tours

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Saint Gregory of Tours
Feast Day	November 17
Liturgical Class
Patronage
Birthplace	Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne, Frankish Kingdom
Death Place	Tours, Neustria, Frankish Kingdom
Cause of Death	natural causes
Primary Shrine	Basilica of Saint-Martin, Tours, France

Saint Gregory of Tours (Latin: Gregorius Turonensis; 30 November 538 – 17 November 594) was a 6th-century Gallo-Roman bishop of Tours and historian, best known as the author of the Ten Books of Histories (Historia Francorum), the primary source for Merovingian Gaul. Born Georgius Florentius in Clermont-Ferrand to a prominent senatorial family, he succeeded his cousin Saint Eufronius as bishop of Tours in 573 and served for 21 years, defending Nicene orthodoxy against Arianism, promoting the cult of Saint Martin, and mediating between Merovingian rulers.

His extensive writings—including On the Glory of the Martyrs, On the Glory of the Confessors, and eight books of miracles—preserve invaluable hagiographic and historical material for the transition from late antiquity to the early Middle Ages. Venerated from the earliest centuries without formal canonization, Gregory’s feast is 17 November. While hagiographic traditions attribute miracles of healing and protection to his intercession, these derive from later medieval accounts rather than contemporary evidence.

Biography

Birth

Saint Gregory was born Georgius Florentius on 30 November 538 in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne, to a leading Gallo-Roman senatorial family.

Early Life

Orphaned young, Gregory was raised by relatives, receiving clerical formation under his uncle Saint Gallus of Clermont and Saint Nicetius of Lyons.

Occupation

Deacon in Clermont, then bishop of Tours from 573.

Vocation

Gregory’s episcopal vocation involved pastoral care, liturgical reform, and historical writing to preserve Christian memory in a turbulent age.

Death

Saint Gregory died on 17 November 594 in Tours, aged 56, after a long illness.

Saint Gregory of Tours met his end peacefully in old age.

Significant events

• Consecrated bishop of Tours, 573.
• Presided over the Council of Paris, 577.
• Completed the Ten Books of Histories, c. 594.

Significant locations

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Legend

• Birth location: Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne, Frankish Kingdom
• Death location: Tours, Neustria, Frankish Kingdom
• Notable location: Episcopal seat and burial church (Basilica of Saint-Martin, Rue Descartes, 37000 Tours, France)
• Notable location: Modern cathedral on site of his cathedral (Cathedral of Saint-Gatien, Place de la Cathédrale, 37000 Tours, France)
• Notable location:
• Notable location:
• Notable location:

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Parishes

Saint Gregory of Tours
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Shrines

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Canonization

As a 6th-century bishop, Saint Gregory was venerated immediately after death without formal canonization processes.

Miracles

No authenticated miracles are recorded beyond later medieval traditions.

Patronage

No official patronage.

Feast day

November 17

Veneration

Saint Gregory of Tours is venerated on 17 November, especially in the Diocese of Tours.

External links

• New Advent: St. Gregory of Tours
• Catholic Online: St. Gregory of Tours