Saint Equitius () was an

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of the 6th century. He was born between 480 and 490 in the region of Valeria Suburbicaria (present-day

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of the Province of L'Aquila and the Abruzzo region in Italy. , it has a population of 69,902. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the A ...

Rieti Rieti (; , Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina region. T ...

- Tivoli).

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...

refers to Equitius in his ''Dialogues'' (I,4 in PL, LXXVII, coll. 165–77), and states that Equitius was a follower of Saint Benedict of Nursia. Equitius worked to spread

monasticism Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Chr ...

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 ...

and the West but was never ordained as a priest. However, Gregory writes that Equitius’ reputation for sanctity was such that the saint was able to recruit many new monks in the region of Valeria, many of whom later acquired high office within the Church. The pope initiated an investigation into Equitius when complaints were made regarding the saint's standing. The pope sent a priest named Julian to investigate Equitius, but the pope ended the investigation after receiving a vision concerning Equitius. Equitius died at his monastery of San Lorenzo di Pizzoli. His monks were absorbed into the

Benedictine Order The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

References

{{Authority control Christian hermits 5th-century Italo-Roman people 6th-century Italo-Roman people 6th-century Christian saints Medieval Italian saints 570 deaths Year of birth unknown