Saint Oricle de Reims

Saint Oriculus (also known as Saint Oricle) is a legendary martyr from Reims who is said to have lived in the 5th century. The only ancient author to mention him is Flodoard in his 10th-century History of the Church of Reims (Book 1, Chapter 8). According to Flodoard, Oriculus, a "servant of God," lived with his sisters Oricula and Basilica in Senuc, in a church he had built. They were massacred there by the Vandals (understood to be the Huns) at the time when those same barbarians martyred Saint Nicaise. The legend of Saint Oricle is a cephalophoric account. After being decapitated, he washed his head in a fountain, then, carrying it in his hands, he walked to the tomb he had prepared for himself in advance. He had also traced a cross on a stone with his blood, which some claimed was still visible in Flodoard's time. The revelation of the saint was also miraculous: a peasant received an order in his sleep to cover the fountain where the saint had washed his head with a roof. Although the order was repeated, he neglected to do so. He fell ill and remained bedridden for an entire year. He finally vowed to obey, recovered immediately, and built a wooden hut around the fountain. Those who drank the water were cured of all kinds of illnesses. Conversely, a local priest named Betto, who showed such disrespect that he had a bath prepared with water from a well dug by the saint below the church (the well appears to be distinct from the fountain), fell into a decline; his illness lasted a year, like the peasant's, but he never fully recovered his strength. The saint's tomb was opened during the time of Archbishop Seulfus (922–925)—or rather, the earth opened of its own accord and a sarcophagus rose from it before the laborers could begin their work. The bodies of Oricle and his two sisters were discovered buried together inside. Oricle never enjoyed more than a very localized cult.