Avitus, St

Avitus, St.

was born about 490 in Perigord. He was of a patrician family, and Bollandus, in his Acta Sanctorum, informs us that in his youth he served, in the army of Alaric II, king of the Visigoths, and in the battle of Vonille against Clovis he was taken prisoner, but his conduct so gained the confidence of his masters that he was liberated. A vision which he had determined him to preach the Gospel, and he accordingly entered the monastery at Bonneval, in the diocese of Poitiers. He went into a desert place and built a chapel and a cell, and dwelt there forty years as a hermit; this gained for him a: high reputation for sanctity, and some have attributed to him certain miracles. He died in 570, and his anniversary is celebrated June 17. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.