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Saint Fronto of Périgueux (Saint Front), legendary first bishop of Périgueux, is venerated as the evangelizer of the Périgord. Tradition links him to the apostolic age and to Saint Peter, who sent him as a missionary priest and bishop into Gaul. He is remembered for founding the local Church, overcoming pagan resistance, and remaining the patron of the cathedral and region that still bear his name. His feast is kept on 25 October.
According to the pious legends preserved in medieval hagiography, Fronto (Frontus or Front) was born in Lanquais in Gaul. He studied letters in the Périgord and devoted himself especially to the psalms. Oppressed by a local official named Squirius, he left the region, journeyed to Egypt, and then to Rome. There he met the Apostle Peter, who ordained him priest and later consecrated him bishop. Peter sent him back to Gaul accompanied by some seventy disciples, among them a priest named George.
On the journey George died. Tradition relates that Peter then gave Fronto a pastoral staff by whose power George was raised to life, so that the mission could continue. Fronto advanced along the Roman road from Lyon toward Bordeaux, preaching Christ and baptizing. He is said to have cast down a statue of the god Mars in Périgueux and to have subdued a dragon or serpent that terrorized the countryside—an image of the triumph of the Gospel over paganism. Local tradition also attributes to him the discovery of healing springs and a miraculous bilocation that allowed him to take part in the funeral rites of Saint Martha of Bethany, where he is said to have left a glove.
He established the see of Périgueux and spent the remainder of his life as its first bishop and hermit-apostle. He died in Périgueux, traditionally about the year 100. His tomb became the heart of the great cathedral that still bears his name. In 1261 Bishop Pierre de Saint-Astier solemnly inventoried the relics, confirming that the Norman raids of 845 had not carried them away. The relics remained in the cathedral until 1575, when Huguenots seized them, took them to the château of Tiregand, and cast them into the Dordogne.
From the early Middle Ages his cult spread through Aquitaine; churches, fountains, and villages were placed under his patronage. He is still honored as the evangelizer of the Périgord and the heavenly protector of its cathedral and people.
May Saint Fronto obtain for us missionary courage and steadfast love of the Gospel in our own day.
Fontes: Wikidata Wikipedia Causes of Saints Etiam relatus Wikidata
Calendarium Romanum Generale · Liturgical Calendar API
