St. SaturninusFeast day: Nov 29

St. Saturninus was the first bishop of Toulouse. It is not known if there were Christians in the town previously, or if his preaching won many converts, but whatever the case, he founded a small church there not long after his arrival. To reach his parish, he had to pass in front of the capitol, where there was a pagan temple. The pagan priests there ascribed the silence of their oracles to his frequent passings. One day they seized him, and when he refused to sacrifice to their idols, they tied his feet to a bull which dragged him around the town until the rope broke. Two devout women gathered his remains and buried them in a deep ditch so that they wouldn't be profaned by the pagans. His successors, Sts. Hilary and Exuperius, gave him a more honorable burial. A church was erected where the bull stopped, after dragging the dead bishop around the town. It still exists, and is called the church of the Taur (the bull). The body of the saint was transferred at an early date and is still preserved in the Church of St. Sernin (or Saturninus), one of the most ancient and beautiful of Southern France.