c. 551 – 624
Bishop of Bourges renowned for his gentleness and asceticism, under whose direction St. Amand of Maastricht lived for some years before his own missionary labours.
Our Father among the Saints Austregisilus, Bishop of Bourges and Confessor
Austregisilus (also rendered Outrille or Aoustrille) was a bishop of Bourges in Merovingian Gaul, born about 551 and dying in 624. Educated for court service, he was trained as a courtier and served King Gontram (Guntram) at Chalon-sur-Saône before turning to the monastic life.
He entered the abbey of Saint-Nizier at Lyon, where he was eventually made abbot, and was ordained priest before his election as bishop of Bourges in 612. He held the see for twelve years, until his death, and took part in the Council of Paris in 614.
He is remembered particularly for the disciples formed under his direction: Saint Amand of Maastricht studied under him as a young ascetic at Bourges, and Sulpicius the Pious, whom he ordained and appointed to head the episcopal school, succeeded him as bishop. He is venerated as a saint in both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions.
Austregisilus was educated and trained as a courtier, and served at the court of the Merovingian king Gontram at Chalon-sur-Saône. He afterward left royal service for the monastic life, entering the abbey of Saint-Nizier at Lyon.
At Saint-Nizier he rose to become abbot and was ordained priest. In 612 he was elected bishop of Bourges, and he governed the see until his death twelve years later. In 614 he was among the bishops who attended the Council of Paris.
Austregisilus is remembered above all as a former of clergy and ascetics. Saint Amand of Maastricht (born about 584 in Lower Poitou), after time as a monk on the Île d'Yeu, came to Bourges and became his pupil; sources relate that Amand lived for some years in a cell near the cathedral on a diet of bread and water before his own missionary labours.
He also ordained Sulpicius the Pious as cleric and then deacon, and appointed him director of the episcopal school. When Austregisilus died about 624, Sulpicius was recalled to Bourges to succeed him as bishop, suggesting Austregisilus had prepared him for that leadership.
His memory is kept in France, especially at Bourges and Lyon. Two French villages bear his name, Saint-Outrille and Saint-Aoustrille, and a statue of him stands in the church at Frontenas.
Austregisilus is honoured by both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches on 20 May; Orthodox communities following the Old Calendar commemorate him on 2 June. He is listed among the pre-schism Western saints in the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar.
In iconography he is depicted as a knight on horseback wearing a religious habit over his armour, with a figure falling from a horse before him.
Browse other saints who share his calling and place.