{{short description|French Christian martyr and saint}} {{for|the French hermit and saint who died 430 AD|Caprasius of Lérins}} {{Infobox saint | honorific_prefix = Saint |name = Caprasius of Agen |birth_date = |death_date = 303 AD |feast_day = October 20 |venerated_in = Roman Catholic Church<br />Eastern Orthodox Church |image = (Agen) Cathédrale Saint-Caprais - Statue de Saint Caprais 1844 - Louis Rochet PalissyPM47000501.jpg |imagesize = |caption = Statue of Caprasius of Agen, in the cathedral of Agen. |birth_place = |death_place = Agen |titles = |beatified_date = |beatified_place = |beatified_by = |canonized_date = |canonized_place = |canonized_by = |attributes = |patronage = |major_shrine = |suppressed_date = |issues = }}
'''Saint Caprasius of Agen''' ({{langx|fr|Saint Caprais}}) is venerated as a Christian martyr and saint of the fourth century. Relics associated with him were discovered at Agen in south-west France in the fifth century.<ref name="Alban Butler 2000">Alban Butler, David Hugh Farmer, Paul Burns, ''Butler's Lives of the Saints'' (Liturgical Press, 2000), 139.</ref> Local legends dating from the 14th century make him the first bishop of Agen, though, as Alban Butler writes, the only evidence to support his existence is the dedication of a church to him in the 6th century.<ref name="Alban Butler 2000"/>
During the 9th century, his cult was fused with that of Saint Faith and Alberta of Agen, also associated with Agen.<ref name="Alban Butler 2000"/><ref>[http://www.stfaith.com/saint%20faith.htm Saint Faith of Aquitaine<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517100118/http://www.stfaith.com/saint%20faith.htm |date=May 17, 2008 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.stfaithslee.org/stfaith.htm St Faith<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612134413/http://www.stfaithslee.org/stfaith.htm |date=June 12, 2008 }}</ref> His cult was also fused with that of Primus and Felician, who are called Caprasius' brothers.<ref name="catholic.org">[http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2593 St. Caprasius - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
thumb|Cathédrale Saint-Caprais d'Agen In the year 866, Faith's remains had been transferred to Conques, which was along the pilgrimage route to Compostela. Her cult, centered at the Abbatiale Sainte-Foy de Conques, spread along the pilgrim routes on the Way of St. James. The Church of San Caprasio, built in the beginning of the 11th century, is a First Romanesque church located at Santa Cruz de la Serós, which was on the Way of St. James.
==Legend== During the persecutions of Christians by the prefect Dacian, Caprasius fled to Mont-Saint-Vincent, near Agen. He witnessed the execution of Faith from atop the hill. Caprasius was condemned to death, and was joined on his way to execution by Alberta, Faith's sister (also identified as Caprasius' mother<ref name="catholic.org"/>), and two brothers, named Primus and Felician. All four were beheaded.
==Dedications== * San Caprasio, a church in Santa Cruz de la Serós, Jacetania, Spain * San Caprasio, a church in Suellacabras, province of Soria, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.christianiconography.info/caprais.html St. Caprasius, Martyr] at the [http://www.christianiconography.info Christian Iconography] web site
<!-- Navboxes go here --> {{Subject bar |portal1= Saints |portal2= Biography |portal3= Catholicism |portal4= France}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Caprasius Of Agen}} Category:People from Agen Category:Bishops of Agen Category:303 deaths Category:4th-century Christian martyrs Category:4th-century Romans Category:Gallo-Roman saints Category:Year of birth unknown