St. Prosper of Aquitaine

Prosper was a learned Christian from Aquitaine who settled in southern Gaul. Butler describes him as a layman whose literary education served the Church. With his friend Hilary, he defended St. Augustine when disputes arose over grace and the beginning of faith.

The question concerned whether the first movement toward salvation could come from human effort without God’s help. Prosper wrote to Augustine about the controversy. After Augustine’s death, Prosper and Hilary appealed to Pope Celestine, whose response commended the African bishop’s teaching.

Prosper continued the defence through letters, argument and verse. His poem on the ungrateful insists on the need for divine grace, including the grace by which a person begins to love God. Butler distinguishes him from Prosper, bishop of Orleans, and discusses the difficulties in assigning some works and later events to the right author. His June 25 remembrance honours learning placed at the service of the faith.