Abraham, Abbot of Clermont, Saint

ABRAMO, abbot of CLERMONT, saint. – Born in a place on the Euphrates and died in 485. Having undertaken a journey to visit the solitaries of Egypt, he was arrested, beaten, and imprisoned by the Persian persecutors. Freed after five years, he visited not only Egypt but also the West, and settled in Auvergne, in the city later called Clermont, where in 473 he erected a monastery beside the basilica of S. Ciriaco or Quirico, commonly called Cyr. His feast is celebrated on the 16th and, in the Roman Martyrology, on 15 June. In the early Middle Ages his name was invoked in the blessing of the eyes.