Saint Fraternus of Auxerre

Fraternus (died Auxerre, September 29, 5th century) was Bishop of Auxerre in the second half of the 5th century. He is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. The Diocese of Auxerre preserves an ancient text, the Gesta pontificum Autissiodorensium, which dates to the end of the 9th century and was composed in the style of the Liber pontificalis of the Church of Rome. In this text, Fraternus appears 9th in the list of bishops of this ancient diocese, between the bishops Alodius and Censurius. No contemporary documents exist regarding his episcopate, which must be placed between 448, the year of the death of Saint Germanus, and 475, when his successor Censurius is documented. The Gesta report information that cannot be historically verified and which various authors tend to dismiss: upon the death of Alodius, the successor of Germanus, the see of Auxerre allegedly remained vacant for 10 years due to barbarian invasions; eventually, Fraternus was elected, but he was killed by barbarians on the very day of his consecration. According to the Gesta, he died on September 29 and was buried in the Church of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre. He is commemorated on the same date in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum. In 1634, the Bishop of Auxerre, Dominique Séguier, conducted an examination of the saint's remains preserved in the crypt of Saint-Germain. Mentioned as a martyr in the Roman Martyrology compiled by Baronius, the current martyrology, reformed according to the decrees of the Second Vatican Council, commemorates the holy bishop with these words: