VICTRICIUS (Victoric), Bishop of Rouen, Saint. - Born ca. 330 on the farthest frontiers of the Empire (Britain or Gaul?), bishop of Rouen from ca. 385 to ca. 407-409. Feast on 7 August.
He embraced a military career, but once converted to Christianity he dramatically abandoned his weapons, putting his life at risk; he miraculously escaped the death penalty, pardoned by the caesar Julian (361) or by the emperor Valentinian (366-67), on the occasion of one of their stays in Gaul. He enjoyed the friendship of St. Ambrose, of St. Martin of Tours and of St. Paulinus of Nola, with whom he met at Vienne ca. 386. The Christian community of Rouen chose him as bishop ca. 385, and V. became one of the most famous prelates of Gaul both for his apostolic zeal for the conversion of the pagans (he extended his missionary activity as far as Morinia and probably to Menapia and Nervia in Belgica II), and for the struggle against Arianism. In 396 he was summoned to Britain by the bishops of that region to make peace among them. He introduced the monastic life into his diocese, for men and women, founded several rural churches and rebuilt his Cathedral, which he endowed with a considerable number of relics that he received on two occasions. The solemn reception of the second group of relics (15, between Apostles and martyrs; 8 the first time) offered him in ca. 396 the occasion for the composition of the De laude sanctorum (PL 20, 443-58; the ed. of E.-P. Sauvage-A. Tougard, Paris 1895, does not give a better text; the variants pointed out by A. Wilmart, Un ms. oublié de l'opuscule de s. Victrice, in Rev. bénéd., 31 [1914-19], pp. 333-42, should be kept in mind). In it V. sets forth with elegance of style and sure doctrine, above all the question of the cult of the saints and of relics. Nothing remains of his correspondence. In 403 he had to appear in Rome to clear himself of an accusation of a doctrinal character; Pope Innocent I, fully satisfied with his justification, addressed to him shortly afterwards the important decretal of 15 February 404 (PL 20, 470-81; Jaffé-Wattenbach, 286) which V. widely disseminated. V. has also been named as the author of the symbol Quicunque (v.), whose concepts and expressions are found in the beautiful profession of faith placed at the beginning of the De laude sanctorum (PL 20, 446-47).
Episodes of V.'s life, besides the autobiographical hints of the De laude sanctorum, are known from the letters: XVIII, of 399, and XXXVII, of 403, of Paulinus of Nola (ed. G. v. Hartel, in CSEL, XXIX [1894], pp. 328-37, 316-23) and from the Dialogus (III, II: PL 20, 213) of Sulpicius Severus.
Bibliography11 works
A. Pietro Frutaz