Saint Eucharius

[peter116]

I was helping my daughter with a Saint of the Day project at school and she started with Saint Eucharius. What I was able to find was quite confusing. Four seperate resources indicated that he was one of the Seventy Two disciples of Christ and was sent to Gaul as Bishop by Saint Peter. However, these same sources seem to place him as Bishop during the second half of the third century.

What gives with the almost 200 year gulf? If there is such a discrepency, then how can the story of his sainthood be of any use for cannonization, historical reference, example, etc.?

Here is one of the sources I used (the other three basically copy this)

newadvent.org/cathen/05594a.htm

Thanks in advance for the attempt at helping

 

[peter116]

So no love for this question in Ask an apologist or in the regular forums? There’s gotta be someone that can answer this one.

Peace

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Peter,

I think (I don’t know for sure) that the Catholic Encyclopedia hints at the solution when it states:

Saint Eucharius is venerated as the first bishop of Trier. He lived in the second half of the third century. According to an ancient legend, he was one of the seventy-two disciples of Christ. . .

It seem to me the first part is asserted as historical (he lived in the second half of the third century) while the second part is pious legend (he was one of the seventy-two).

If you look here you can see a brief discussion regarding this. (footnote “f” on page 5).

I suspect that Eucharius was a holy and revered Bishop of Trier (the first?) in the Third Century. Subsequently pious legends grew up around him including being an actual disciple of Christ. It’s a little difficult to see how the inhabitants of Trier could somehow hold the two inconsistent thing at the same time (i.e. forgetting when Eucharius actually arrived in Trier) but perhaps we chalk it up to a quirk of historical records, popular memory, piety, and civic boastfulness.

Does that help at all?
VC

 

[peter116]

Thanks. That does help.