| Saint Andeolus | |
|---|---|
Coat of Arms of Saint-Andéol-de-Clerguemort, showing St. Andeolus |
|
| Martyr | |
| Born | Smyrna |
| Died | 208 Bergoiata, Viviers, Gaul |
| Honored in | Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church |
| Canonized | Pre-congregation |
| Major shrine | Church of Bourg-Saint-Andéol, France |
| Feast | May 1 or May 4(Gregorian calendar) |
| Attributes | deacon, holding a book and palm of martyrdom, head pierced by a wooden knife |
Andeolus or Andéol was born in Smyrna in the 2nd century. A subdeacon, he was sent by Polycarp, along with Benignus, to evangelize southern Gaul. He went to the Vivarais. Septimius Severus, passing through that region, had him put to death; his head was stabbed with a gladius on May 1, 208, at Bergoiata, a Gallic settlement on a rocky peak over the Rhône River which would be later known as Bourg-Saint-Andéol. The body, thrown into the Rhone, was later found and placed in a sarcophagus by a rich Roman woman, Anycia or Amycia Eucheria Tullia (Blessed Tullie), daughter of senator Eucherius Valerianus (Eucherius of Lyon). His sarcophagus was rediscovered in 1865 during excavations in the St. Polycarp chapel of the eleventh century church of in Bourg-Saint-Andéol (Ardèche).