Saint Restituta | |
---|---|
Born | ? Carthage or Bizerte, (Tunisia) |
Died | AD 255 or 304 Tunisia |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
Feast | 17 May |
Patronage | Lacco Ameno |
Restituta (Restituta of Africa; died in AD 255 or 304) is a Berber saint and martyr of the Roman Catholic [1] and Eastern Orthodox [2] Churches. She was said to have been born in Carthage or Teniza (presently Ras Djebel, Tunisia) and martyred under Roman Emperor Diocletian. The location and date of her martyrdom are not precisely known. [3] She sometimes is considered one of the Martyrs of Abitinae, Roman Province of Africa, a group of North Africans including Dativus, Saturninus, et alia, who were martyred in AD 304. [3]
A later medieval legend, recounted by Pietro Suddiacono in the 10th century [4] and similar to legends associated with Devota, Reparata, and Torpes of Pisa, states that after being horribly tortured, Restituta was placed in a blazing boat loaded with oakum and resin. Restituta was unharmed by the fire, and asked for aid from God. God sent an angel to guide her boat to the island of Aenaria (present-day Ischia), and she landed at the present-day site of San Montano. The legend further states that a local Christian woman named Lucina had dreamt of the angel and the boat. When she walked to the beach, she found the resplendent and incorrupt body of Restituta, who was now dead. Lucina gathered the population together and Restituta was solemnly buried at the foot of Monte Vico in Lacco Ameno, where a paleochristian basilica was dedicated to her, and is now the site of a sanctuary dedicated to her. [3]
However, the spread of her cult from North Africa to Italy is historically associated with the expulsion of Catholics from North Africa by Genseric, king of the Vandals, who followed the Arian sect. Her relics may have been brought to Naples in the fifth century by Gaudiosus of Naples when he was exiled from North Africa. [5]
A church, Santa Restituta, was built in her honour in Naples in the sixth century.
The church was then incorporated into the Cathedral of Naples built on the same site in the 13th century.
She is the patroness saint of Lacco Ameno. [6] She is especially venerated on the island of Ischia and at Lacco Ameno, where she is celebrated in a three-day celebration running from May 16 to May 18. [5]
A crypt associated with Restituta can be found even in Sardinia at Cagliari, in the neighborhood of Stampace. [3]
Lamartine, inspired by the legend of the saint, composed in 1842 “Le lis du golfe de Santa Restituta dans l’ìle d’Ischia.” [3]
The largest city square in the Italian town of Sora, the Piazza di San Restituta, is named after the saint.
Philomena, also known as Saint Philomena or Philomena of Rome was a virgin martyr whose remains were discovered on May 24–25, 1802, in the Catacomb of Priscilla. Three tiles enclosing the tomb bore an inscription, Pax Tecum Filumena, that was taken to indicate that her name was Filumena, the English form of which is Philomena. Philomena is the patron saint of infants, babies, and youth, and is known as "The Wonderworker".
Saint Lawrence or Laurence was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman Emperor Valerian ordered in 258.
Lucia of Syracuse (283–304), also called Saint Lucia was a Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. She is one of eight women explicitly commemorated by Catholics in the Canon of the Mass. Her traditional feast day, known in Europe as Saint Lucy's Day, is observed by Western Christians on 13 December. Lucia of Syracuse was honored in the Middle Ages and remained a well-known saint in early modern England. She is one of the best known virgin martyrs, along with Agatha of Sicily, Agnes of Rome, Cecilia of Rome, and Catherine of Alexandria.
Ischia is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about 30 kilometres from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately 10 km east to west and 7 km north to south and has about 34 km of coastline and a surface area of 46.3 square kilometres (17.9 sq mi). It is almost entirely mountainous; the highest peak is Mount Epomeo, at 788 metres. The island is very densely populated, with 60,000 residents.
Agathaof Sicily is a Christian saint. Her feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred c. 251. She is one of several virgin martyrs who are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass.
May 26 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - May 28
Saint Anastasia is a Christian saint and martyr who died at Sirmium in the Roman province of Pannonia Secunda. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, she is venerated as St. Anastasia the Pharmakolytria, i.e. "Deliverer from Potions". This epithet is also translated as "One who Cures (Wounds)" in Lampe's A Patristic Greek Lexicon.
Reparata was, according to a later tradition, a third-century virgin, who was martyred for her Christian faith in her hometown of Caesarea, Roman Province of Palestine, and later canonised by the Catholic Church.
Saint Juliana of Nicomedia is said to have suffered Christian martyrdom during the Diocletianic persecution in 304. She was popular in the Middle Ages, especially in the Netherlands, as the patron saint of the sick.
Lacco Ameno is a town and comune situated in the northwest of the island of Ischia, in the Metropolitan City of Naples off the west coast of Italy. The town has a population of around 4,800 inhabitants.
The Naples Cathedral, or Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, is a Roman Catholic cathedral, the main church of Naples, southern Italy, and the seat of the Archbishop of Naples. It is widely known as the Cathedral of Saint Januarius, in honour of the city's patron saint.
Agrippina of Mineo, also known as Saint Agrippina was venerated as a virgin martyr in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Christianity.
Saint Praxedes, called "a Roman maiden", was a saint and virgin who lived in the Roman Empire during the 2nd century. Along with her sister, Saint Pudentiana, she provided for the poor and gave care and comfort to persecuted Christians and martyrs. Her veneration began in the 4th century and many churches have been dedicated to her.
Felicitas of Rome, also anglicized as Felicity, is a saint numbered among the Christian martyrs. Apart from her name, the only thing known for certain about this martyr is that she was buried in the Cemetery of Maximus, on the Via Salaria on a 23 November. However, a legend presents her as the mother of the seven martyrs whose feast is celebrated on 10 July. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates their martyrdom on 25 January.
Saints Victoria, Anatolia, and Audax are venerated as martyrs and saints by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. Victoria and Anatolia are mentioned in the Roman Martyrology under the date of 10 July. Anatolia was first mentioned in the De Laude Sanctorum composed in 396 by Victrice (Victricius), bishop of Rouen (330–409).
The Martyrs of Abitinae were a group of 49 Christians found guilty, in 304, during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian, of having illegally celebrated Sunday worship at Abitinae, a town in the Roman province of Africa. The town is frequently referred to as Abitina, but the form indicated in the Annuario Pontificio is Abitinae. The plural form Abitinae is that which Saint Augustine of Hippo used when writing his De baptismo in 400 or 401.
Aspren or Asprenas was a 1st-century Christian saint and venerated as the first Bishop of Naples.
Gaudiosus of Naples or Gaudiosus the African was a bishop of Abitina, a village near Carthage in present-day western Tunisia, in the Roman Africa Province.
Christina of Bolsena, also known as Christine of Bolsena, or in the Eastern Orthodox Church as Christina the Great martyr, is venerated as a virgin martyr of the third century. Archaeological excavations of an underground cemetery constructed over her tomb have shown that she was venerated at Bolsena by the fourth century.
Christianity and religion in general has always been an important part of the social and cultural life of Naples. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Naples, and the Catholic faith is highly important to the people of Naples and there are hundreds of historic churches in the city. The Cathedral of Naples is the most important place of worship in the city, each year on September 19 it hosts the Miracle of Saint Januarius, the city's patron saint. In the miracle which thousands of Neapolitans flock to witness, the dried blood of Januarius is said to turn to liquid when brought close to relics said to be of his body: this is one of the most important traditions for Neapolitans.