St. Agricolus

St. Agricolus, also known as St. Agricol of Avignon, was born around the year 630 in southern Gaul, the son of St. Magnus, a nobleman who became bishop of Avignon. As a young man Agricolus entered the monastery of Lérins, the great school of holiness on an island off the coast of Provence, where he was formed in monastic discipline and prayer before being called by his father to assist him in the governance of the Church of Avignon.

He was made bishop of Avignon around 660 and served his people for some four decades, building churches and a monastery, caring for the poor, and giving an example of gentleness and zeal. Beloved traditions credit his prayers with delivering the region from a plague of storks and with obtaining rain in time of drought, and he came to be honored as a patron of Avignon, invoked for good weather and against misfortune. He died around the year 700 and is commemorated on 2 September.