18th December - Gatien was, according to tradition, the first bishop of Tours. Historians are not unanimous as to the period when Gatien announced the Gospel. Some say that Saint Gatien lived from 251 to 304, i.e. in the third and fourth centuries.
There are, however, documents which indicate that he was a disciple of the apostles, i.e. exercising his apostolate shortly before this period, in the first and second centuries.
These various documents, however, suggest that Gatien was the first bishop of Tours. Thus, it is said that he was sent to preach the Gospel, at the same time Saint Trophime of Arles, Saint Martial of Limoges, Saint Saturnin of Toulouse, and Saint Denis of Paris. Society was still in the darkness of idolatry at that time. Gatien realised that the inhabitants of this city were indulging in superstition by worshipping the various Roman deities and the emperor. So Gatien did everything he could to bring them out of this darkness.
He began by explaining the futility of the idols, the inaccuracy of the existence of many deities and the error of the practice of their cults. When this was done, he showed them the light of faith in the Gospel, revealing to them the true God, his communion and union, and the truth of faith. He made known to them the existence of three persons in the Holy Trinity and explained to them the importance of the mystery of the Incarnation and the coming of Jesus Christ on earth, and the return of the Saviour, to judge by rewarding those who had done good in their lives, and to condemn and punish those who had done wrong. Gatian also trained the people of Tours in the worship of the true God in the face of their idolatrous habits. It was difficult for Gatien to achieve this because there were those who opposed him: his teachings were interrupted, he was denounced to the authorities, his hands were raised on him with the threat of death. While Gatien was thinking and listening to what the Lord had told him, he hid in a cave, which he himself dug out of a rock on the banks of the Loire, where a monastery was later built. Through the power of the Word of God, Gatian also performed miracles by signing himself, pushing the pagans to convert, thus weakening persecution. He then obtained permission to found churches, a total of eight, for worship. Gaetano, as a prudent man, also built a cemetery outside the city to bury dead Christians, because at that time the emperor forbade the burial of Christians within the city. When he fulfilled all his duties in this mission entrusted to him by God, he had no other desire than heaven. In his illness, the Lord appeared to him, bringing the Eucharist himself to comfort Gatien. A week later, he died.
