Germanus of Auxerre, Saint

Germanus of Auxerre, Saint (jərmā`nəs, ōsĕr`), d. 448, Gaulish churchman, bishop of Auxerre (after c.418). St. Patrick was under his tutelage for 12 years. Popes Celestine I and Leo I sent him to England (429, 447) to combat Pelagianism; on the first occasion he was accompanied by the deacon Palladius, first recorded missionary to Ireland. On his second trip, Germanus led the Britons in the defeat, located by tradition near Mold, Wales, of an Irish and Pictish marauding party. As it was Easter, the war cry was Alleluia, and the battle is called the Alleluia Victory. Germanus was popular in Celtic Britain. Feast: July 31.