Florentius of Anjou
Florentius of Anjou was a 4th century Christian hermit, priest, abbot and saint. According to legend he evangelised the region around Saumur and was brother to Florain of Lorch. The Angevin monasteries of Saint-Florent-le-Vieil (formerly Mont-Glonne and now in Saint-Florent-le-Vieil) and Saint Florent-le-Jeune (now in Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent) and the collegiate church in Roye, Somme are all named after him. The abbey of Saint-Florent in Saumur commissioned a tapestry around 1524 showing scenes from the saint's life, still held in Saumur.
It is difficult to find historically trustworthy sources on him. It seems he was initially a hermit living on the île d'Yeu in the 4th century. So many disciples gathered around him there that he established a monastery. His feast day is 22 September, recorded as the day of his burial on Mont Glonne, now in the town of Saint-Florent-le-Vieil. Over time a pilgrimage to his tomb developed and the monks rewrote his biography around the end of the 900s to make his sanctity and influence more popular.
In the Martyrology
- September 22 Saint Florent, priest