Fulgentius of Ruspe
6th-century Bishop of Ruspe
Feast: 1 January (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Fulgentius, of a senatorial family of Carthage, was a gifted scholar and tax official when, moved by St Augustine's words, he entered a monastery, giving his goods to his mother and practising great abstinence.
As Bishop of Ruspe in Africa he was exiled by the Arian Vandal king, and returned when liberty was restored in 523. Eminent among the Fathers for holiness, eloquence and learning, he gave his goods to the poor and died on 1 January 533.
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
A monk-bishop and Father of the Church who suffered exile for the faith.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Fulgentius
- Wikidata Q380089 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Fulgentius of Ruspe (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.