The only documented Severus of Barcelona was known as Severus II of Barcelona and lived in the 7th century. He was represented by a priest at the Fourth Council of Toledo in 633, but died shortly thereafter.[4] This Severus is not known to have suffered a violent death.
The 3rd-4th-century Severus is, in any case, a traditional or legendary figure in Catalonia and one of the "lesser patron saints" of the Cathedral of Barcelona.[5][6] For centuries his saint day was a festivity in Catalonia.
Legend
Severus and Emeterius (Medir). The miracle of the fields. Hermitage of Sant Medir, Sant Cugat
According to his legend, he was born in Barcelona to a noble family and received a good education. In a hymn associated with his office, it is stated explicitly that he was a citizen of Barcelona.[3] A variant of the legend status that he was a humble weaver upon whose head a dove landed. The people of the city saw this as a sign and elected him bishop.[7]
He was chosen bishop of Barcelona around 290. During the persecution of Diocletian, Severus fled to Castrum Octavianum (Sant Cugat del Vallès). As he crossed the Collserola Mountains, he encountered a fellow Christian, named Emeterius (Catalan: Sant Medir, Medí, Spanish: San Medir, Medín), sowing broad beans[8] in the field. Severus instructed the man that if the soldiers sent to kill him asked the farmer where he had gone, to tell them that he had passed this way.[9]
A miracle made the beans he was cultivating sprout immediately after Severus left. When the soldiers came across Emeterius and asked him if he had seen the bishop, Emeterius replied that he had and it was when he was sowing the fields. Angry at this lie and believing that Emeterius was mocking them, the soldiers arrested the man[10] and took him to Castrum Octavianum.
Severus meanwhile appeared to the soldiers, along with four other priests from Barcelona who had fled with him. Severus and the four priests were beheaded; Emeterius also suffered this fate.[10]
Another tradition says that Severus was martyred by later Arian Visigoths who drove a nail into his head.[11]
Some sources state that Severus' relics were buried at Sant Cugat, where a church dedicated to him was built. A monastery, the one that stands there today, was built alongside the church. When that church was destroyed, Severus’ relics were translated to the monastery. In the fifteenth century, some of the relics were taken to Barcelona, to which were attributed various miracles, including curing King Martin I of gangrene in his leg.[3] The Baroque church of Sant Sever, near the Cathedral of Barcelona, was dedicated to him.
The Church of Sant Pere Nolasc, in Barcelona was originally dedicated to Saints Severus and Charles Borromeo but renamed when the Mercedarians took it over.
Saint Medir
The hermitage of Sant Medir, near Sant Cugat, is dedicated to Emeterius. It dates back to the tenth century. It is a small Romanesque church with a bell tower above the entrance. Every year on March 3 la festa més dolça —the sweetest festival- is celebrated in various neighborhoods of Barcelona in honor of Saint Medir. The tradition started in 1828 with a pilgrimage to l’ermita de Sant Medir. A statue of Sant Medir is brought from the church in Sant Cugat and paraded to the Barcelona neighborhood of Gràcia. As they return, the pilgrims toss candy in lieu of broad beans to the crowds that line the streets.[10]
Saint George, also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier in the Roman army. He was of Cappadocian Greek origin and a member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman emperor Diocletian, but was sentenced to death for refusing to recant his Christian faith. He became one of the most venerated saints and megalomartyrs in Christianity, and he has been especially venerated as a military saint since the Crusades. He is respected by Christians, Druze, as well as some Muslims as a martyr of monotheistic faith.
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The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, also known as Barcelona Cathedral, is the Gothic cathedral and seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The cathedral was constructed from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, with the principal work done in the fourteenth century. The cloister, which encloses the Well of the Geese, was completed in 1448. In the late nineteenth century, the neo-Gothic façade was constructed over the nondescript exterior that was common to Catalan churches. The roof is notable for its gargoyles, featuring a wide range of animals, both domestic and mythical.
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Sant Cugat del Vallès is a town and municipality north of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Known as Castrum Octavianum in antiquity and as Pins del Vallès during the Second Spanish Republic, it is named after Saint Cucuphas, who is said to have been martyred on the spot now occupied by its medieval monastery. The final part of its toponym, del Vallès, is a reference to the historical county where the town is situated, Vallès.
Saint Fructuosus of Tarragona was a Christian saint, bishop and martyr. His is an important name in the early history of Christianity in Hispania. He was bishop of Tarragona and was arrested during the persecutions of Christians under the Roman Emperor Valerian. Along with him were two deacons, St. Augurius and St. Eulogius. In 259, he was questioned by the praeses Aemilianus and burned at the stake in the local amphitheatre in Tarraco. The Acta of the martyrdom of the bishop Fructuosus and his deacons Augurius and Eulogius document his legend; they are the earliest Hispanic Acta, "marked by a realistic simplicity which contrasts very favourably with many of the Acta of Diocletian's persecution".
Victor the Moor was a native of Mauretania and a Christian martyr, according to tradition, and is venerated as a saint.
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Saint Cucuphas is a martyr of Spain. His feast day is 25 July but in some areas it is celebrated on 27 July to avoid conflict with the important feast day of Santiago, the patron saint of Spain. His name is said to be of Phoenician origin with the meaning of "he who jokes, he who likes to joke."
Saint Emygdius was a Christian bishop who is venerated as a martyr. Tradition states that he was killed during the persecution of Diocletian.
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Saint Severus was a bishop of Naples during the 4th and 5th centuries. He is considered the twelfth bishop of Naples, succeeding Maximus. His episcopate ran from February 363 to April 29, 409, the traditional date of his death. Maximus is actually considered the 10th bishop by the Catholic Church; between the episcopates of Maximus and Severus was the episcopate of Zosimus, who was Arian and thus considered heretical by the Catholic Church.
Saint Baudilus is venerated as a martyr by the Catholic Church. His cult is closely associated with the city of Nîmes but also spread into Spain.
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The casket of Sant Cugat is a reliquary of gold from the beginning of the fourteenth century. It is made with embossed silver plates engraved and partly superimposed on a golden casket of wood, depicting scenes from the life and death of the martyr Saint Cugat. Its makers were Joan de Gènova and Arnau Campredon. During the seventeenth century, it was dismantled and built in a smaller size in which the plates were reused from the previous silver.
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