Saint of the Day – 14 February – Saint Eleuchadius (2nd Century) Bishop and Confessor

Saint of the Day – 14 February – Saint Eleuchadius (2nd Century) Bishop of Ravenna and Confessor, Philosopher. Born in Greece and died in Ravenna, Italy of natural causes.

According to the very authoritative Episcopal list of Ravenna, Eleucadius was the second successor of Saint Apollinaris and, therefore, his Episcopate probably took place towards the middle of the 2nd Century.

He did not die as a Martyr, however, a small Cemetery area developed around his tomb which took its name from him. These are the only certain facts about him.

In the 6th Century the Passio of Saint Apollenaris says that Eleucadius was a Philosopher and that he was Ordained a Deacon by the First Bishop himself, St Apollinaris. In the 9th Century it was added that he was of oriental origin, that he died on 14 February, that he wrote many works on the Old and New Testaments, on the Incarnation and Death of Our Lord. In the 11th Century, St Peter Damian laments the loss of these works.

Among these and other reports offered to us by medieval literary sources, we can, at most, piously accept what St Peter Damian tells us about a vast and enlightened pastoral activity carried out by the Saint. All these testimonies, however, are worth proving how lively his cult was among the Bishops of Ravenna, in addition to the cults of St Apollinaris and St Severus. St Peter Damian dedicates only one sermon to Eleucadius which is an outstanding testimony to the celebration of 14 February today’s feast, in which the venerable Confessor Eleuchadius is solemnly praised. His Relics are enshrined in Pavia having been translated there after being rediscovered during some construction work.

The Saint’s praise also appears in the Roman Martyrology on the traditional date of 14 February.