 Helier was a Belgian saint who lived as a hermit for some ten years on an islet in St Aubin's Bay, about three-quarters of a mile off the south coast of Jersey.In AD 555 he was martyred by Saxon pirates, beheaded by their leader who feared his men would be converted by Helier's preaching.In consequence Helier soon came to be venerated by the Islanders, and eventually was adopted as the Patron Saint of both Jersey and its capital.