Born in France in the early third century, his father was the Roman prefect. 

Hilary had a relative, Honoratus, who was the Bishop of Arles. Hilary developed a desire to follow in his footsteps, joining the monastic life and eventually replacing Honoratus as Bishop, when he was not yet thirty years old. 

He was very much a “hands-on” Bishop. 

When he needed money to help the poor, he went out and did manual labor himself to help raise the funds. When Christians were taken captive, he sold religious vessels to raise the money needed to buy back their freedom. 

And, he was an outstanding preacher, traveling everywhere he went in simplicity and on foot. 

However, Hilary’s journey was not without its challenges. Some of the Bishops he was supposed to be leading were not all that willing to follow and, at one point, when one of them became very ill, Hilary replaced him only to find himself with two Bishops for the same town when the first one recovered. 

As a result, Pope Leo the Great removed some of Hilary’s authority, while retaining as Bishop of Arles. 

He died at the young age of forty-nine. 

St. Hilary of Arles, please pray for us.