Saint Canius

Last updated

Saint Canius (Italian : San Canio or San Canione) was a Roman Catholic bishop and martyr, and patron saint of the cities of Calitri, Acerenza and its archdiocese. He may have been a descendant of the Roman gens Cania . He is venerated on 25 May.

Contents

Life and persecution

The principal source of information on the life of Canius is the Passio San Canionis, a document preserved in Acerenza Cathedral.

According to this, Canius was born in Iulia (near Carthage) in the first half of the 3rd century and later became bishop of Acerenza. During the Persecution of Diocletian he refused in the presence of the prefect Pigrasius to worship idols and to acknowledge the divinity of the Emperor. He was thereupon put to torture and then imprisoned, on the assumption that hunger and his injuries would erode his resistance. He continued nevertheless to proclaim the Gospel and with his words and long-suffering converted to Christianity all who came near him.

When the prisoner's resistance was reported to him the prefect ordered him to be decapitated. A violent storm accompanied by an earthquake scattered the soldiers, and in the confusion Canius, with some of the faithful, was able to escape in a boat to Volturno. [1]

Miracles

At Atella (on the site of the present hamlet of Sant'Arpino), where he preached the Gospel, many miracles were attributed to him. In the amphitheatre of Atella, a man was healed in the middle of a heart attack by the touch of Canius' hand; a blind woman named Eugenia regained her sight; and a boy was cured of demonic possession.

When he was old and ill, Canius retired to a hermitage, where he died. Bishop Elpidius, when he learnt miraculously of Canius' death, built a little shrine on the site to protect the saint's body.

Veneration

In about 800 bishop Leone of Acerenza built a cathedral on the ruins of an old shrine and translated the body of Canius there from Atella. In 1080, according to the chronicler Lupo Protospata, the body of Canius was re-discovered, and the newly rebuilt cathedral and diocese were put under his protection.

In 1543, on the occasion of a pastoral visit by Cardinal Saraceni it was observed that it was not possible to see the body of Saint Canius, because it was under a large altar.

In the ambulatory of the present Acerenza Cathedral beneath the altar of Saint Canius his crozier is still preserved, a relic which is displayed and venerated, and considered as a testimony to the Diocese of Acerenza's calling to the mission of evangelisation.

Saint Canius is also venerated in the parish that bears his name, San Canione in Sant'Arpino, in the province of Caserta, where an ancient structure, now known as the Romitorio di San Canione, [2] is dedicated to him. It is believed to be an ancient Christian oratory of the Atellan era, and seems to have been the place where Canius' body was preserved before its translation to Acerenza. [3]

See also

Sources

  1. ↑ Francesco Lanzoni, Le origini delle diocesi antiche d'Italia: studio critico, Volumi 35-36, Tip. Poliglotta Vaticana, 1923
  2. ↑ AA. VV., Raccolta Rassegna Storica dei Comuni, vol. 30, 2016
  3. ↑ Pina Belli D'Elia, Clara Gelao, La Cattedrale di Acerenza: mille anni di storia, Edizioni Osanna, 1999

Related Research Articles

Anthony of Padua Franciscan friar and Doctor of the Church

Anthony of Padua, or Anthony of Lisbon, was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. He was born and raised by a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, and died in Padua, Italy. Noted by his contemporaries for his powerful preaching, expert knowledge of scripture, and undying love and devotion to the poor and the sick, he was one of the most quickly canonized saints in church history. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on 16 January 1946. He is also the patron saint of lost things.

Relic Physical remains or personal effects of a saint or venerated person

In religion, a relic usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Shamanism, and many other religions. Relic derives from the Latin reliquiae, meaning "remains", and a form of the Latin verb relinquere, to "leave behind, or abandon". A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics.

Vincent of Saragossa Saint and martyr

Saint Vincent of Saragossa, the Protomartyr of Spain, was a deacon of the Church of Saragossa. He is the patron saint of Lisbon and Valencia. His feast day is 22 January in the Roman Catholic Church and Anglican Communion and 11 November in the Eastern Orthodox Churches. He was born at Huesca and martyred under the Emperor Diocletian around the year 304.

Atella was an ancient Oscan city of Campania, located 20km directly north of Naples.

Zenobius of Florence

Saint Zenobius (337–417) is venerated as the first bishop of Florence. His feast day is celebrated on May 25.

Cesa Comune in Campania, Italy

Cesa is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 15 kilometres (9 mi) north of Naples and about 14 kilometres (9 mi) southwest of Caserta.

Ubald

Ubald of Gubbio was a medieval bishop of Gubbio, in Umbria, today venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. Saint Ubaldo Day is still celebrated at the Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo in Gubbio in his honor, as well as at Jessup, Pennsylvania.

Pancras of Taormina

Saint Pancras or Pancratius is said to have been born in Antioch in Cilicia.

Saint Agrippinus (Arpinus) of Naples was a bishop of Naples and is venerated in that city as a saint. According to tradition, Agrippinus was the sixth bishop of Naples. He lived at the end of the 3rd century, and seems not to have been a martyr.

Evasius

Saint Evasius is believed to have been a missionary and bishop of Asti, in north-west Italy. He was forced to flee to the great Padan forest known as the Selva Cornea, where he and numerous followers were beheaded by pagan, or alternatively by Arian, enemies in the area of what is now Casale Monferrato. He is venerated as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church and is the patron of a number of towns in Piedmont and Lombardy. His cult is liveliest at Casale, where his remains are conserved in the cathedral dedicated to him.

Caesarius of Terracina

SaintCaesarius of Terracina was a Christian martyr. The church of San Cesareo in Palatio in Rome bears his name.

Emygdius

Saint Emygdius was a Christian bishop who is venerated as a martyr. Tradition states that he was killed during the persecution of Diocletian.

Eleutherius and Antia

Eleutherius (or Eleut erus or Eleftherios; sometimes called Liberalis or Liberator, the former transliterations and the latter translations of his and his mother Antia are venerated as Christian saints and martyrs in Albania.

Acerenza Cathedral

Acerenza Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to Saint Canius in the town of Acerenza, in the province of Potenza and the region of Basilicata, Italy. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Acerenza.

Saint Crispoldus is venerated as a 1st-century Christian martyr. He is the patron saint of Bettona, in Umbria, and said to have been the first bishop of that city, although the dioceses of Nocera and Foligno also include his name in episcopal lists.

Pontianus of Spoleto

Pontianus was a second century Christian martyr. He was martyred during the reign of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He is honored as a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church, the Old Catholic Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. In Spoleto, Italy, he is invoked for protection against earthquakes.

Leucius of Brindisi Missionary and martyr

Saint Leucius was initially a missionary from Alexandria, Egypt, who later founded the Diocese of Brindisi, as the first Bishop in 165. It is believed that he later suffered martyrdom in 180.

Matera Cathedral

Matera Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Matera, Basilicata, Italy. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the designation of the Madonna della Bruna and to Saint Eustace. Formerly the seat of the Bishops, later Archbishops, of Matera, it is now the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Matera-Irsina.

The gens Cania was a Roman family during the late Republic and in imperial times. None of its members obtained any important magistracies.

Mario Miglietta was an Italian Roman Catholic archbishop. He served as the Bishop of Nusco, as Archbishop of Conza-Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi-Bisaccia, and then as Archbishop-Bishop of Ugento-Santa Maria di Leuca.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.