Peregrine of Auxerre

Veneration St. Peregrine is said to have founded Auxerre's cathedral, Saint-Etienne. Historians postulate that he was probably not a bishop at all, but rather a missionary who had been sent to the rural areas of this region. In the ninth century, churchmen of Auxerre made this local martyr the first bishop of their city.

In the 7th century, some of his relics were translated from Bouhy to the Abbey of Saint-Denis. Pope Leo III ordered the construction of the church of San Pellegrino in Naumachia dedicated to Saint Peregrine in Rome near the Hospitale Francorum, which served French pilgrims. A street near the church was named San Pellegrino after the saint; it later gave its name to the Porta San Pellegrino.

In 1645, while work was being carried out underneath the altar of the church of Bouhy, a human cranium was discovered. After an investigation, this was declared a relic of Peregrine and it was solemnly brought back to Auxerre.