St. Brice of Tours

November 13

According to legend, Brice was an orphan. He was rescued by Bishop Martin and raised in the monastery at Marmoutier. He became Martin's pupil, although the ambitious and volatile Brice was rather the opposite of his master in temperament. Brice became a monk and later, Martin's archdeacon. In one account, when Martin prophesied that Brice would become his successor as bishop, but would have many difficulties, the clerics of Tours, where the thought of such a bishop did not arouse enthusiasm, asked Martin to send the troublemaker away; but Martin replied: "If Jesus could come to terms with Judas, then I can certainly come to terms with Brice."

When Martin died in 397, Brice succeeded him as Bishop. As Bishop of Tours, Brice performed his duties, but was also said to succumb to worldly pleasures. He was repeatedly accused of secular ambition, and various other mistakes during this time, but Church official investigations each time released him. In the thirtieth year of his episcopate, a nun who was a washerwoman in his household gave birth to a child that owing to calumny, was rumored to be his. He submitted to a ritual of carrying hot coals in his cloak to the tomb of St. Martin, showing the unburned cloak as proof of his innocence. The people of Tours, however, did not believe him and forced him to leave Tours or be stoned by them. He could return only after he had travelled to Rome and been absolved of all his sins by the Pope. After seven years of exile in Rome, Brice returned to Tours, completely exonerated by the pope. During his absence several other bishops had been appointed to Tours; but when he came back, the last of them had just died and Brice resumed his duties. He served with such humility that on his death seven years later he was venerated as a saint.