Family and Formation at Lérins
Salonius belonged to a family of notable Gallic sanctity. His father was Saint Eucherius of Lyon and his mother was named Galla; his brother Veranus likewise became a bishop, of Vence. Both sons were born around the year 400.
After Galla's death, Eucherius retired with his sons to the monastery of Lérins, where the whole household practiced an ascetic life in which, as it is described, daily needs were reduced to the minimum in order to support prayer and devotion. The brothers were also sent to visit Paulinus of Nola.
At Lérins, Salonius and Veranus were educated together under a sequence of teachers of the age: Hilary of Arles, and then Salvian and Vincent of Lérins. Their father Eucherius addressed theological works on the allegorical interpretation of Scripture to his two sons.
Bishop of Geneva and the Gallic Councils
Salonius was elected Bishop of Geneva around 440. Early in his episcopate he took part in the councils of the fifth-century Gallic Church, being recorded among the bishops present at the Synod of Orange (441), the Synod of Vaison (442), and the Synod of Arles (451).
The Council of Orange, at which he appears soon after his election, issued thirty canons touching such matters as extreme unction, penance, rights of sanctuary, ordination practice, celibacy, and restrictions on ordaining those with physical or mental defects. Salonius's presence marks his active engagement in the synodal governance of the Church in Gaul.
Some sources also attribute to him a bishopric of Genoa, though this identification is uncertain.
Writings
Salonius is described as an accomplished Latin ecclesiastical writer. He composed mystical and allegorical interpretations of the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, continuing the exegetical interest that his father Eucherius had cultivated in the family.
Veneration
His feast is observed on 28 September, the day of his death. He is commemorated as a patron of Lyon and is depicted with the attributes of a bishop: vestments, miter, and crosier. His canonization is classified as pre-Congregation, that is, predating the later formal Roman process.
