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Saint Eligius
Popular devotion December 1Bishop

Saint Eligius

Gifted goldsmith and royal treasurer who became a bishop, the patron saint of goldsmiths and jewelers.

Petrus Christus, A Goldsmith in His Shop (traditionally Saint Eligius), 1449 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art (public domain)

Who was Saint Eligius?

Eligius (Eloi) was born around 588 near Limoges, in Gaul, and trained as a goldsmith under the master of the local mint. King Clothar II gave him gold to make a throne, and according to tradition Eligius honestly made two from the material meant for one, winning the king's trust. As treasurer and adviser to King Dagobert I he crafted reliquaries and shrines, gave generously to the poor, ransomed slaves and founded the monastery of Solignac. In 641 he was made bishop of Noyon-Tournai and spent his last years preaching in Flanders, dying on December 1, 660.

Feast day and traditions

Goldsmiths' and metalworkers' guilds across Europe kept his feast with Mass and processions, and he is often shown with a hammer, anvil or a chalice he made. A popular legend says he removed the leg of a restless horse to shoe it and then miraculously put it back.

Prayer

Saint Eligius, you shaped gold with skill and honesty; help us use our gifts to serve God and our neighbor. Amen.

Novena

To pray a novena that ends on the eve of the feast, begin on November 22 and finish on November 30.

Mass readings

Read the Mass readings for December 1 from the US bishops (USCCB).

Open readings →

Celebrate as a family

Look at a family piece of jewelry together, share the story behind it, and thank God for the work of those who made it.

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