About Saint Victor
Victor was a Roman soldier who refused to sacrifice to false idols. During the persecution, he was quartered, crushed by a millstone, and his body thrown in the Vieux-Port.
About the Abbey of Saint Victor in Marseille, France:
An open-air quarry once stood on the site of the abbey, whose excavated blocks were used to build the Ancient Port. The quarry was located outside the city walls and sheltered a necropolis very early on. The body of Victor, the Christian martyr, was laid in this quarry. Pilgrimages were organized around Victor’s tomb soon after his death and many inhabitants of Marseille wished to be laid to rest near his body.
The Abbey of Saint Victor, one of Marseille’s oldest churches, was completely restored to its former glory in the 1960s. The main church has sarcophagi, fine altars and stained glass windows, and a superb 4th-century stone carving of Saint Victor himself astride a horse.
About Saint John Cassian:
You will find the tomb of Saint John Cassian (c. 360 AD– 435 AD) here in Marseille at the Abbey of Saint Victor. Sometimes called John Cassian the Roman, he originally was educated in the middle East, later went to Rome and finally ended up in Marseille, where he founded the Abbey. He was never formally canonized a Saint, since that process had not yet been formalized at the time of his death, but he is still considered a Saint.
The Feast Day of Saint John Cassian is July 23.
Traveling to the Abbey of Saint Victor in Marseille:
Saint Cassian’s relics can be found in the underground chapel, but his head and right hand are in the main church. Guided visits are available on certain days, and for self-guided tours you can download an app on your smartphone.
Address: Abbaye Saint-Victor, Place Saint-Victor, 13007 Marseille
GPS coordinates: 43° 17′ 24.2196” N, 5° 21′ 55.0908” E
Tel: +33 04 96 11 22 60
There is no official website of the Abbey of Saint Victor (Basilique St-Victor) in Marseille.
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