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Donat de Besançon
26th archbishop of Besançon and saint
SaintResearchedFrancePre-congregation
Feast: 7 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
594
Died
656
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
At Besançon in Burgundy, in present-day France, Saint Donat, bishop, who composed a rule for virgins following the teachings of Saints Benedict, Columban and Caesarius.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 7 August as a bishop of Besançon who wrote a rule for virgins.
Sources
- Roman Martyrology, 7 August (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q3036196 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Donatus of Besançon (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.