Saint Avertin

When the great and illustrious martyr for the rights of the Church, Sain t Thomas, came to Tours to attend the Council of 1163 held in that city by Po pe Alexander III t o depose the ant ipope Victor, h e was accompanied by his pious archdeacon. Avertin visited all the places that recalled the memory of Saint Mar tin; he desi red, no doubt following the example of so many Saints, to fix his dwelling near the tomb of the great wonder-worker; but he did not wish to abandon his holy bishop, and as long as his exile lasted, he shared its bitterness and sorrows. He returned with him to his homeland, but it was not for long. After the glorious martyrdom of Saint Thomas, he left England and returned to Touraine. He retired to the woods of Cangé, a few kilometers from the city of Tours, near the village of Saint-Pierre de Vencay. He ha d reso lved to live there in solitude, like the disciple of Saint Martin and the hermits of the caves of Marmoutier. Touched by his merit and his holiness, the inhabitants of the village of Vencay did not allow him to carry out his pious design: they surrounded him with veneration, entrusted him with the care of their souls, listened to his words with avidity, and had recourse to his prayers and his counsel; and God, through his intercession, favored them with extraordinary graces. The pious hermit died in 1180. He was buried in the church of Saint-Pierre de Vencay, where he performed numerous miracles. Pilgrims came in crowds to pray at his tomb, and the village changed its original name to that of Saint-Avertin .

His body was burned by the H uguenots in 1562. In the beginning of the 17th century, Father Guillaume Guérin, vi siting the church of Saint-Avertin, found no relics of the Saint there; but he saw a highly venerated statue surrounded by numerous ex-votos, among which one could especially see wax heads, for the Blessed one had received from heaven the gift of healing all headaches. The devotion towards this Saint was so great that in the past all the houses of the village were transformed into inns to receive pilgrims. The great pilgrimages took place on Easter Tuesday and May 5th, the day of his feast. This devotion has significantly diminished over time, however, a few rare pilgrims still go to Saint-Avertin today to pray to the holy confessor. — He is also the patron saint of Bungival , in the diocese of Versailles.

Abbé Rolland, honorary canon, chaplain of the Boarding School of the Brothers of the Christian Schools of Tours.