Before the
Bretons came, the land now known as Brittany was known as
Armorica within the Roman province of
Gallia Lugdunensis. The earliest saint associated with this region is
Anne, mother of
Mary (mother of Jesus), said by tradition to have been Armorican, and she is the patroness of Brittany. She also appeared to
Yves Nicolazic, to whom she spoke in Breton.
After her, the earliest saints in what is now Brittany have dates which are sometimes unclear, but tradition holds they go back to the earliest days of the church. Maxime, said to have been the disciple of
Philip the Apostle, was sent to preach among the Gauls and was made the first Bishop of
Rennes. He may have been accompanied by saints by the names of Clarus and Justus.
Pope Linus, the second
Bishop of Rome, sent
Clair and Adeodatus; this is said to be Clair who became the first Bishop of
Nantes around AD 280 and died early in the third century, though the dates make this suspect, and Adeodatus preached especially in the area of
Vannes. Other Armorican saints include
Similien, the third Bishop of Nantes in the early fourth century, and the brother-martyrs
Donatian and Rogatian.
Palladius may also have had an Armorican connection.
The Seven Founders
The Bretons, coming from the British Isles, brought Christianity with them. With the coming of the Bretons, the seven ancient dioceses were established by the seven founding saints.
Of the Fifteen Martyrs of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul and the Ursulines of Valenciennes (of the Martyrs of the
French Revolution, beatified in 1920
M. de Garaby, Vie des bienheureux et des saints de Bretagne, éd. J.-M. Williamson, Nantes, 1839. Réédition 1991.
P.T. de S. Luc, C. L'Histoire de Conan Mériadec Qui Fait le Premier regne de l'histoire generale des souverains de la Bretagne Gauloise, dite Armorique. Paris, 1664.