| Saint Ferreolus and Ferrutio | |
|---|---|
Statue of Ferreolus of Besançon. Basilique Saint-Ferjeux, near Besançon. |
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| Died | ~212 AD |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Major shrine | Basilica of Saint-Ferjeux |
| Feast | June 16 |
| Patronage | Besançon |
Saints Ferreolus and Ferrutio (French: Ferréol and Ferjeux; Italian: Ferreolo e Ferruccio) (died ca. 212 AD) are venerated as martyrs and saints by the Catholic Church. Their legendary acts state that they were converted to Christianity by Saint Polycarp.[1] They were brothers who were ordained as a priest and deacon, respectively, by Saint Irenaeus of Lyons. They were sent to the area around Besançon as missionaries. They are called natives of Asia Minor;[2] Alban Butler believed that they have been Greeks from Athens, "but it is more probable that they were natives of Gaul who had studied in Asia Minor and come under Christian influence."[1]
After working as missionaries amongst the Sequani for 30 years, in 212, during the persecution of Alexander Severus, they were arrested, tortured and beheaded.
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According to their legend, their relics were discovered in a cave near Besançon in 370 by a military tribune whose dog was chasing a fox. The relics were enshrined by Bishop Anianus of Besançon in the 4th century.[1] Saint Gregory of Tours writes that miracles were attributed to their relics in his time; he says that his brother-in-law was cured of a dangerous distemper at the saints' intercession.[2] The Missale Gothicum (ca. 700 AD) contains a full proper of the Mass in their honor.[1] In the sixteenth century, they were invoked in Besançon against sickness, along with Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch.[3]
Ferreolus appears in a catalogue of the 17th century as a bishop of Besançon, but the liturgy of Besançon has always remembered Ferreolus as a priest, and Ferrutio as a deacon.[4] Ferreolus and Ferrutio, as patrons of Besançon, are considered to have appeared on the city walls in times of danger.[4] The two saints have been represented in stained glass, paintings, and statues in many churches and chapels in the two dioceses of the Franche-Comté: Saint-Claude and Besançon.[4]
The Basilique Saint-Ferjeux is a basilica that is situated in the neighborhood of Saint-Ferjeux, Besançon.
They are depicted on a French lantern slide dating from 1900.[5]