Saint Tigre of Maurienne
Also known as
- Tecla
- Thecla
- Thècle
- Tigride
- Tigris
- 25 June (based on following the Solemnity of the birth of Saint John the Baptist
Profile
Lay woman in the late 6th or early 7th century from Maurienne, Gaul (in modern France) swore that she would obtain a relic of the body of Saint John the Baptist, to whom she had a great devotion, and bring it back to her city. Having travelled to a shrine that was supposed to contain such relics (possibly in Sebaste or Alexandria, Egypt or somewhere in the Holy Lands; records vary), she was told that she could not have any of them. Rather then give up, she took up a life of fasting and prayer in front of the shrine, asking that Saint John provide her with a relic. After three years of this, a shining thumb suddenly appeared over the altar. Tigre put it in a small, golden reliquary, and went home. She gave the relic to the keeping of the cathedral (today Saint-Jean-de-Mauirenne), gave away her remaining possessions, and lived the rest of her life as a hermit, seeing other people only when she went to Mass. Saint Gregory the Great recounts her story as an example of perseverance, as described in Luke 11:8 – “I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.”
Born
- Valloires, Mauirenne, Gaul (in modern France)
MLA Citation
- “Saint Tigre of Maurienne“. CatholicSaints.Info. 7 November 2022. Web. 20 April 2024. <>