St. Caesarius of Arles, Archbishop & Father of the Church

St. Caesarius of Arles, Archbishop: 470-543 A.D.

Latin Father of the Church

Entering the monastery at Lérins

St. Caesarius was born at Chalon-sur-Saone, Burgundy, in 470 A.D., of a good Gallo-Roman family. He decided to pursue an ecclesiastical career by entering the monastery of Lérins when he was about 18 to 20 years of age. As a cellarer in the monastery, he incurred the enmity of some of the monks. Then, an illness caused him to leave the monastery to go back to Arles to recuperate. While recuperating at Arles, he came to the attention of his uncle Eonus, the bishop of Arles. His uncle had him transferred from Lérins to the episcopal see of Arles, and then ordained him.

Elected bishop of Arles by succeeding Eonus

St. Caesarius spent three years reforming a monastery that was located nearby in Arles. He was elected then, against his wishes, to succeed his uncle Eonus as bishop of Arles in 503 A.D. As bishop, St. Caesarius played a prominent role in the ecclesiastical administration of southern Gaul and campaigned for Arles to be the prime diocese of Gaul.

Accomplishments as bishop of Arles

St. Caesarius put into effect numerous reforms. He also fought against Arianism and ordered the Divine Office to be sung in the churches of Arles every day of the week. He was known to have preached frequently and was very successful in this ministry. He also founded a convent at Arles, with his sister, Caesaria, as abbess. He then wrote a Rule for the nuns of this convent - a Rule which has remained as basis for the way of life of a number of religious. One of the provisions of the Rule was the right of the nuns to choose their abbess. Another provision was the need for every nun to learn how to read and write.

Falsely accused of annexing Arles to Burgundy

In 505 A.D., St. Caesarius was banished to Bordeaux by King Alaric II of the Visigoths, because of the king's mistaken belief that St. Caesarius was trying to make Arles part of the Burgundian kingdom (where St. Caesarius was born). But as the falsity of St. Caesarius' accuser was discovered, King Alaric recalled St. Caesarius back to Arles.

The siege of Arles by Burgundy

Arles was eventually besieged by the King of Burgundy. St. Caesarius aided the victims of this siege. Then he was again arrested when Theodoric the Ostrogoth seized Arles. But then, as with King Alaric before, charges against St. Caesarius were dropped at a meeting with Theodoric at Ravenna in 513 A.D.

Receiving the pallium from Pope St. Symmachus

St. Caesarius then traveled to Rome, was made apostolic delegate in Gaul, and received the pallium from Pope St. Symmachus. This is reportedly the first instance in which the pallium was granted to any Western European bishop.

Political achievements and last years

In 536 A.D., Arles was captured by the Franks. St. Caesarius spent most of his time at St. John's convent, where he died on August 27, 543 A.D., at the age of seventy-three. At the time of his death, St. Caesarius had administered the episcopal see of Arles for forty years and was the most famous bishop in Gaul. He was noted for his holiness, charity, and devotion. He was also instrumental in securing the condemnation of semi-Pelagianism at the Council of Orange in 529 A.D. He was noted to have published an adaptation of Roman law, largely based on the Theodosian code - a code which was to be the civil code of Gaul.

St. Caesarius of Arles was one among many strong bishops, who managed their episcopal sees, so that the Christian faith may survive the Germanic flood during the fourth and fifth centuries. The other strong Gallic bishops were: St. Martin of Tours (d. 397 A.D.), St. Liborius of Le Mans (d. 397 A.D.), Severinus of Cologne (d. ca. 400 A.D.), St. Avitus of Vienne (d. 518 A.D.), and St. Remigius of Reims (d. ca. 533 A.D.)

Father of the Church

St. Caesarius of Arles is one of the Latin Fathers of the Church. The Fathers of the Church were saintly writers of the early centuries. St. Caesarius was known to have written his sermons. Several of them have survived to this day. His feast is celebrated by the Church on August 26 or 27.

References of this series

• Pocket Catholic Dictionary, by John A. Hardon, S.J.
• A Year with the Saints, by Don Bosco Press Inc.
• Dictionary of Saints, by John J. Delaney
• A Concise History of the Catholic Church, by Thomas Bokenkotter
• A History of the Church, by Franzen and Dolan