Saint of the Day – 8 March – Saint Probinus (Died 420) Bishop of Como, disciple of St Ambrose, Patronage – against deadly fevers, of Agno, Switzerland. Also known as – Probino, Probinus, Provino. Some writers and hagiographers write ‘Provino’ but there is no doubt that the exact form is Probinus, a name in use among the Latins and frequent in the 4th Century.
Probinus was a disciple of St Ambrose, who sent him to assist the 1st Bishop St Felix in Como. When St Felix died in 391, Probinus became his successor. He was thus the 2nd Bishop of the See of Como until his death in 420.
His Episcopate shone for wisdom and sanctity and after his death, he enjoyed an uninterrupted cult, The Relic of his head was preserved in a small Church outside the City, built by himself and dedicated to Saints Gervasius and Protasius, whose bodies had been discovered in Milan by St Ambrose a few years prior to his being appointed as the Bbishop, in 386.
The Relic remained there until 1118, when, to protect it from enemy raids, it was moved within the City walls of Como, to the Church of St Anthony which took the name of St Probinus.
There are records of subsequent examinations of the Relics, which took place in 1504, 1618, 1836 and 1933; the influx of the faithful to his Tomb was constant, especially those suffering from fevers, of which St Probinus is believed to be a healer.C
In 1096, a portion of his skull was donated to the collegiate Church of Agno in the Canton of Ticino and placed in a silver bust. A very intense cult developed there,and every year, on 8 March his Liturgical Feast is celebrated with a large attendance of the faithful, even from other areas. A major fair, renowned throughout Ticino, is held for the occasion.
AnaStpaul 