Claudius of Besançon

Saint Claudius of Besançon , sometimes called Claude the Thaumaturge ( 607 – 6 June 696 or 699 AD), was a priest, monk, abbot, and bishop. A native of Franche-Comté, Claudius became a priest at Besançon and later a monk. Georges Goyau in the Catholic Encyclopedia wrote that “The Life of St. Claudius, Abbot of Condat, has been the subject of much controversy.” Anglican Henry Wace claimed that "on this saint the inventors of legends have compiled a vast of improbabilities."

Nevertheless, Wace did not find reason to doubt that Claudius had come from the nobility.

One of his biographers, Laurentius Surius, writes that Claudius was entrusted to tutors at a young age and that in addition to studying academic subjects, Claudius spent hours reading devotional works, particularly the lives of the saints. He obtained support from Clovis II (whose wife, Balthild, had persuaded him to do so), obtaining from the monarch an annuity. Saint-Claude Cathedral, in the town, was dedicated to him.

Claudius's relics were burned in March 1794, during the French Revolution.

Queen Claude of France, first wife to Francis I of France, was named after him.