Feast Day 16 January: Algaida
c. 350 – 429 AD
Thought to be born of prosperous parents in Northern Gaul, he and his brother
Venantius were converted to Christianity and, almost immediately, they set
off to visit the holy places of Palestine. His brother died en-route and
Honoratus returned to France. Seeking a life of solitude, he established
himself on the Isle of Lérins in Provençe and was soon surrounded by
like-minded monks. This was the beginning of the famous monastery at Lerins.
It is said that St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland studied here in the fifth
century. Nowadays, the island is known as Île Saint Honorat.
On the assassination of Patroclus, Archbishop of Arles, protesting
vehemently and unwilling, he was appointed Archbishop. He re-established
orthodoxy and eradicated the prevalent Arian and Manichaean heresies.
He died three years later; in ill health from the austerities he practiced.
His tomb is shown empty under the high altar of the church which bears his
name at Arles; his body having been translated to Lerins in 1391.
His patronage is sought against drought, misfortune and for and against rain.
The second of three monasteries on the road up to the summit of Randa is known
as the Sant Honorat Hermitage. Arnau Desbrull, a knight who became a hermit,
lived here for 30 years. In 1394 the Bishop of Mallorca granted him permission to
build a chapel to St Honorat. It was finished in 1397 and rebuilt in 1661.