| Saint Alban | |
|---|---|
 Alban of Mainz |
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| Born | 4th Century, Greece or Albania |
| Died | c. 406, Hanum, Mainz |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Feast | June 21 |
| Attributes | Depicted holding his head in his hands (beheaded) |
| Patronage | hernia, epislepsy, gravel, kidney stones |
 Saints Portal |
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Saint Alban of Mainz (b. unknown, Greece or Albania; d. c. 406 in Mainz) was a priest, missionary, and martyr. Rabanus Maurus wrote in his Martyrology about Alban, who was sent to Gallia as a missionary by Ambrose of Milan. In Mainz, Alban helped bishop Aureus of Mainz to regain his bishopric. But in 406, during a Vandals attack, Aureus was slain and Alban was beheaded while praying. The legend says Alban carried his head on his hands to the place where he wanted to be buried. A Church was built at his gravesite. It became the centre of a large Benedictine monastery, which was renovated by Charlemagne in 806. The monastery was devastated in 1552 and never renewed. Sometimes St Alban is confused with another St Alban, who was martyred at Verulamium (now St Albans, Hertfordshire, England). Alban is represented in art as carrying his head between his hands, having been beheaded.
