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Eleutherius of Tournai
Frankish bishop (456-532)
SaintResearchedPre-congregation
Feast: 20 February (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
456
Died
532
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
Eleutherius was the first Bishop of Tournai, early in the sixth century, probably named when St Remigius organised the Church in northern Gaul after the conversion of Clovis in 496.
Before becoming bishop he lived at court with his friend St Medard. Little is known of him for certain; his later life is largely an invention of the twelfth century.
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 first bishop of Tournai.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Eleutherius
- Wikidata Q1848481 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Eleutherius of Tournai (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.