Quick Facts
Biography
Saint Felix of Nantes (514-584) was a 6th century catholic bishop and saint of Nantes, France.
Life
Felix was married, but when in 551, at the age of 37, he was made Bishop of Nantes, his wife became a nun. He then sold his patrimony on behalf of the poor. He also built a cathedral within the walls of the city, as planned by his predecessor, Evemer. His municipal improvements at Nantes were praised in the poems of Venantius Fortunatus. He often mediated between the people of Brittany and the Frankish kings. Guerech II, Count of Vannes, plundered the dioceses of Rennes and Vannes and repulsed the troops which King Chilperic sent against him but, at the entreaties of Bishop Felix, withdrew his forces and made peace.
Felix was in attendance at the Council of Paris in 557 and the Council of Tours in 567, at which it was noted that some Gallo-Roman customs of ancestor worship were still being practiced.
He died at the age of 70 on January 8, 584, having served as Bishop of Nantes for 33 years. His feast is July 7.
