Verus II

Who they were

Vero II, a man of faith and charity, was the twenty-fifth bishop of Vienne, appointed by King Guntram; born into a senatorial family, he was ordained a priest and known for his eloquence and deep knowledge of Scripture, and as bishop devoted himself to the poor and the marginalised and worked to reconcile the different religious groups of his diocese.

He appears in the list of bishops of Vienne drawn up by Bishop Ado in the second half of the 9th century, which places him as a contemporary of the emperors Tiberius and Maurice, near the time of the Visigothic martyr Hermenegild, who died in 585, and he is also mentioned by Saint Gregory of Tours as a priest of senatorial rank chosen by King Guntram. Nothing is known of how he governed his diocese, but he was certainly bishop before 596, the year Pope Gregory the Great was corresponding with his successor, Bishop Desiderius; there is no ancient trace of veneration, since he does not appear in the old martyrologies, though his feast is now kept on 13 January.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.

Why that counted as sanctity

Bishop of Vienne under King Guntram, in office before 596; feast 13 January.

Connected on this site

• Gregory of Tours Saint
  “He appears in the list of bishops of Vienne drawn up by Bishop Ado in the second half of the 9th century, which places him as a contemporary of the emperors Tiberius and Maurice, near the time of the Visigothic martyr Hermenegild, who died in 585, and he is also mentioned by Saint Gregory of Tours as a priest of…” — this site's research