Saints Modestinus, Florentinus and Flavianus are three
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
s of
Campania
Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, martyred in 311. Their relics were re-discovered in 1167 by Gugliemo, bishop of Avellino.
Like others, they had taken refuge on
Monte Vergine.
Holweck considers the "acts of Modestinus" as "untrustworthy". According to tradition, Bishop Modestinus, the priest Florentinus , and the deacon Flavianus were captured in Antioch in the persecution under Emperor Diocletian, but miraculously escaped the prison and fled to Calabria. They were re-captured near
Epizephyrian Locris
Epizephyrian Locris, also known as Locri Epizephyrii or simply Locri (), was an ancient city on the Ionian Sea, founded by Greeks coming from Locris at the beginning of the 7th century BC. It is now in an archaeological park near the modern town ...
, but after Modestinus had healed the Governor's daughter of a serious illness, they were freed and went to
Pozzuoli
Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula.
History
Antiquity
Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia ...
. From there they went to
Abellinum
Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento.
...
, where Modestinus converted many people before the three were arrested and executed.
They are the patron saints of the
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
and
diocese of Avellino, and of the city of
Mercogliano Mercogliano is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy.
Geography
Mercogliano is a hill town located near the western suburb of Avellino and below the mount Partenio (or Montevergine). The municipality ...
.
They are also joint patron saints of the city of
Locri
Locri is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. Its name derives from that of the ancient Greek region of Locris. Today it is an important administrative and cultural center on the Ion ...
and of the
Diocese of Locri-Gerace in
Calabria
Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
.
Avellino Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Modestinus.
[ His feast day is 14 February, the date of his death.][ Florentinus and Flavianus, respectively deacon and priest, died on 15 February but are celebrated with Modestinus on 14 February.
There is a relic of Saint Modestinus at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist (Savannah, Georgia).]
References
Sources
Santiebeati.it: Santi Modestino, Fiorentino e Flaviano
Diocese of Avellino official website
{{Authority control
Saints from Roman Italy
4th-century Christian martyrs
311 deaths