Saint of the Day – 12 October – Saint Monas of Milan (Died c249) the 15th Bishop of Milan, who occupied the Seat for 59 years. Died on25 March in c249 of natural causes. Additional Memorial – 25 March on some calendars.
The Roman Martyrology reads: “At Milan, St Monas, Bishop. He was chosen as head of that Church because a miraculous light from Heaven surrounded him whilst they were deliberating on the choice of a Bishop.”
As we know, a large group of Shepherds who have alternated on the Episcopal Seat of Milan, have deserved the halo of sanctity. Among these we find St Monas, Fifteenth Bishop of the Lombard Capital.
His Episcopate is placed between those of St Calimerius and St Mirocles. The latter appears to have participated in the Synods of Rome in 313 and of Arles, in 314. The narrative of the History of the Church of Milan which places the date of his death around 249, after fifty nine years of Episcopacy.
Bishop Monas, therefore, would have founded what are now considered the oldest Parishes scattered throughout the Milanese countryside.
As for the day of death, the ancient records of the Milanese Bishops indicate 25 March, an anniversary still reported today, while the Ambrosian liturgical calendar, to avoid the concomitance with the Lenten season, moved the Saint’s Feast day to 12 October, the Anniversary of recognition of the Relics, which apparently took place in the 11th Century by Archbishop Arnolfo. St Monas was initially buried in the Basilica Fausta, then known as the Church of St Vitales but, St Borromeo transferred his Relics to the Cathedral on 6 February 1576, where they remain today.
AnaStpaul 