Saint Venantius of Camerino | |
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 Venantius is hung upside-down over a fire, and then thrown to the lions. Wallmural from St. Venantius Church,Horgenzell. | |
| Died | ~250 AD |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church[1] |
| Majorshrine | Camerino and Raiano (AQ) |
| Feast | May 18 |
| Attributes | young man crucified upside-down with smoke coming from his head; young man holding the citadel of Camerino; young man holding the city of Camerino, a palm, and a book; young man with a banner holding a city wall |
| Patronage | Camerino and Raiano (AQ) |
Venantius of Camerino (Italian:San Venanzio, also known as Saint Wigand[2]) (died 18 May 251 or 253)[3] is thepatron saint ofCamerino,Italy and Raiano, Italy.Christian tradition holds that he was a 15-year-old[3] who was tortured, and martyred bydecapitation at Camerino during the persecutions ofDecius. Martyred with him were 10 other Christians,[3] including the priest Porphyrius, Venantius' tutor; and Leontius, bishop of Camerino.
Before Venantius was killed, he was scourged, burned with flaming torches, hanged upside-down over a fire, had his teeth knocked out and his jaw broken, thrown to thelions, and tossed over a highcliff. His 11th centuryActs state additionally that he managed to briefly escape from Camerino and hide at Raiano, where a church was later dedicated to him.[3]
Venantius was buried outside the city walls of Camerino, where abasilica was built in the fifth century, and later rebuilt many times in succeeding centuries. The cult of Venantius became popular: his image appeared oncoins and his name inlitanies; springs near the basilica, which were associated with the saint, were used bylepers and people withpeptic ulcers to cure their afflictions. Venantius subsequently replacedSaint Ansovinus as the city's patron saint.
In 1259, during the destruction and sacking of Camerino by the troops ofManfred of Sicily, therelics of Venantius were transported to safety to theCastel dell'Ovo atNaples. They were restored to Camerino in 1269 by order ofPope Clement IV, an opponent of Manfred.
In the 17th century,Pope Clement X, who was a formerbishop of Camerino, further contributed to the spread of his cult: he raised the saint's feast to the level of a double rite and composedhymns for Venantius' office.
In theGeneral Roman Calendar of 1670–1969 he has a third-class feast on 18 May.
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