Venerable (Monastic) 5th century

Carissima of Albi

5th century

Also known as Carissima the Anchoress

An anchoress in a forest near Albi in Gaul, later of the convent of Vious (5th c.)

Feast Day

September 7

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Life

Carissima of Albi was a fifth-century anchoress associated with the region of Albi in Gaul, in what is now the Tarn department of southern France. According to surviving accounts she lived for a period as a solitary in a forest near Albi before entering monastic life at a convent traditionally identified with Vieux (rendered in various sources as Vious, Viants, or Vioux).

She is commemorated as a pre-schism Western saint venerated in the Orthodox tradition. Her feast day is observed on September 7. Surviving records are sparse, and her dates and details rest on later hagiographical tradition.

Contributions & Legacy

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Life

The traditional account presents Carissima as a native of Albi who withdrew to live as an anchoress in a nearby forest, adopting the eremitical life of a solitary. In her later years she is said to have moved to a monastery or convent, identified in the sources with Vieux in the present-day Tarn department of southern France.

Beyond this outline little biographical detail survives. Her commemoration places her in the fifth century, though the records of her life are late and limited, and her story is preserved chiefly through entries in saints' calendars rather than a detailed early vita.

Veneration

Carissima is venerated in the region of Albi and is included among the pre-schism saints of the Western Church honored in the Orthodox tradition. Her feast is kept on September 7.

Sources: Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome