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Venerable (Monastic)5th century

Saint Caprasius of Lérins

d. c. 434

Also known as Caprasius of Lérins · Caprais

A hermit who guided St. Honoratus on his eastern pilgrimage and shared with him in the founding of the island monastery of Lérins, of which he later became abbot.

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Life

Saint Caprasius of Lérins (French: Caprais) was a hermit of fifth-century Gaul who is counted, with Saint Honoratus of Arles, among the founders of the island monastery of Lérins off the Mediterranean coast of Provence. Born in the fourth century into what a source describes as a rich and distinguished Gaulish family, he set aside worldly prospects to take up the solitary life on the Lérins islands.

He became the spiritual teacher of the young Honoratus, who together with his brother Venantius sought the hermitic life under his guidance. The three set out on a pilgrimage toward the Holy Land to visit the holy places of Palestine and the monastic settlements of Syria and Egypt, but the death of Venantius at Methoni in Messenia cut the journey short and returned Caprasius and Honoratus to Gaul.

Settling first in the hills near Fréjus and then on Lérins itself, they sought to imitate the Desert Fathers, and the community that gathered around them grew into the influential Lérins Abbey. Caprasius later served as abbot; he is venerated in both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions, with a feast day on June 1.

Timeline5 momentsReadHide
  1. 4th centuryBirth in GaulCaprasius is born in Gaul into a family described as rich and distinguished, later giving up worldly prospects to live as a hermit on the Lérins islands.
  2. early 5th c.Guides Honoratus eastwardHe leads Honoratus and his brother Venantius on a pilgrimage toward the holy places of Palestine and the monastic lavras of Syria and Egypt; the journey is cut short when Venantius dies at Methoni in Messenia.
  3. c. 410Foundation of LérinsReturning to Gaul, Caprasius and Honoratus settle near Fréjus and then on Lérins, where the community that gathers around them grows into Lérins Abbey; Caprasius later serves as abbot.
  4. c. 434ReposeCaprasius reposes; Hilarius of Arles composes a laudatio in his honor, the main source for his life.
  5. 1077Dedication of San CaprasioThe Abbey of San Caprasio in Aulla, Tuscany, is dedicated to him; his relics are preserved there and he is honored as patron of the town and of pilgrims.

Contributions & Legacy

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Founding of Lérins

After returning from the interrupted eastern pilgrimage, Caprasius and Honoratus first established themselves in the hills near Fréjus before withdrawing to the island of Lérins, where they wished to imitate the Desert Fathers. The community that formed there was shaped by the monastic rule of Saint Pachomius the Great and developed into Lérins Abbey.

Sources present the foundation as a hermit-to-abbot progression: Caprasius the established hermit and teacher, and Honoratus his disciple, whose spiritual reputation drew followers from across Roman Gaul and Brittany until a monastic community formed around him. The abbey's foundation on the island is placed at around the year 410. According to later scholarship, Caprasius may not have been the community's official leader, possibly on account of his advanced age or of Honoratus's greater charisma; the anchor tradition nonetheless records that he served as abbot of Lérins.

Sources and Legacy

The principal historical source for the life of Caprasius is a laudatio composed after his death by Hilarius of Arles, himself a former monk of Lérins and later bishop of Arles.

Caprasius reposed in the first half of the fifth century (c. 434). His memory is preserved especially through Lérins, which became one of the formative monastic centers of the Western Church.

Relics & Shrines

The relics of Caprasius are preserved at the Abbey of San Caprasio in Aulla, in Tuscany. The abbey was dedicated to San Caprasio in 1077, and he is honored there as patron of the town and as a patron saint of pilgrims.

Companions1 figureShowHide
Whom he guided on his eastern pilgrimage and with whom he founded Lerins.
Honoratusof Arles
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Sources: OrthodoxWiki; Wikipedia (Caprasius of Lérins)