Honorific Prefix: | Saint |
Austol | |
Feast Day: | 28 June |
Venerated In: | Eastern Orthodox Church[1] Roman Catholic Church Anglican Communion |
Major Shrine: | St Austell |
Austol (Welsh: Austel; Latin: Austolus) was a 6th-century Cornish holy man who lived much of his life in Brittany.
He was a friend of Mewan, who founded the Saint-Méen Abbey in Brittany. Mewan is said to have been his godfather. The parish and town of St Austell in Cornwall is named in his honour. He is regarded as a saint and is honoured with a Breton feast day on 28 June and a Cornish feast day on the Thursday of Whitsun. According to the "Life" of St Mewan, Austol died within a week after the death of Méen. Before the Reformation, the parishes of St Austell and St Mewan celebrated together because of the friendship between the two saints.[2]