Saint Gaudentius of Rimini, also known as Gaudenzo, Gaudenzio, martyr and bishop. Gaudentius was born in Ephesus in around 280 and fled to Rome in 308 because his parents were killed by Manichaeans. Consecrated a bishop, he evangelised Rimini, Italy in 346. He ordained Saint Marinus as deacon and attended the Council of Rimini in 359 which condemned Arianism.
To to flee Arian violence in the city, with seventeen other bishops, Gaudentius retreated to a nearby town, which tradition says was renamed Cattolica (‘Catholic’) after their retreat. On his return to Rimini, Gaudentius was arrested for condemning Arianism. A mob snatched him from the hands of the city’s magistrates: he was lynched or stoned to death by Arians on 14 October 360.
Saint Gaudentius performed several miracles during his life: he exorcised a man possessed by the devil and he transformed the waters of the Misa river into wine for his travelling companions.
As well as being the patron saint of Rimini, Gaudentius is celebrated in Ostra, in the Marche region, Garaguso, in Basilicata, both of which host some of his relics. In 1857, Pope Pius IX donated a silver reliquary to Rimini’s Tempio Malatestiano to house Gaudentius’ skull.
Besides, although this might otherwise appear to be a punishment, yet in causes and sentences of this kind, which we suffer for the trial of the proof of our virtue, it is not a punishment, because it is a glory.
The Life and Passion of St Cyprian
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