Severinus of Sanseverino and Victorinus of Camerino

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Saints Severinus of Sanseverino and Victorinus of Camerino
Died550 (Severinus); 543 (Victorinus)
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
FeastJune 8
PatronagePioraco[1]

Saints Severinus of Sanseverino (or of Septempeda) (d. 550 AD) and Victorinus of Camerino (d. 543 AD) were brothers who were both bishops and hermits of the 6th century.

Biography[edit]

The brothers were noblemen who had given away their great wealth to the poor and had become hermits at Monte Nero near Septempeda.[2]

Victorinus then withdrew to a cave near Pioraco.[3] Victorinus was prone to strong temptations, and he inflicted upon himself a difficult and painful penance: he had himself tied to a tree, with his hands clasped between two branches.[1] Victorinus’ particular method of self-mortification was depicted on a small panel in the church of San Venanzio, in Camerino, by the artist Niccolò da Foligno (called l'Alunno), who created the piece between 1478–80.[4]

However, in 540 Pope Vigilius appointed them each as bishops of two separate sees: Severinus became bishop of what was then called Septempeda, later called San Severino Marche after him, in the Marches of Ancona; Victorinus became bishop of Camerino.

Severinus died in 545. His remains were hidden in the Cathedral of St. Maria in Septempeda to protect them from looting; found in 590 during the restoration of the cathedral, they were brought to Monte Nero.

Veneration[edit]

There is a church dedicated to San Vittorino in Pioraco. Their joint feast day is June 8.[5]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Nardi, Elizabetta. "San Vittorino", Santi e Beati, June 7, 2002
  2. ^ Watkins, Basil. The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical Dictionary, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015, p. 675 ISBN 9780567664150
  3. ^ Holweck, Frederick George. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints, B. Herder Book Company, 1924, p. 1018
  4. ^ MFA Boston: Collections Search Results Archived 2007-02-24 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Martyrology of the Order of Preachers, (W. R. Bonniwell, O.P., trans.) Westminster, Maryland. The Newman Press, p. 121