Monas () was
Bishop of Milan
The Archdiocese of Milan (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has long maintained its own Latin liturgical rite usage, the Ambr ...
from the end 3rd-century to early 4th-century. He is honoured as a
Saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
in the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and his feast day is on October 12.
Life
Almost nothing is known about the life and the episcopate of Monas. He was elected as bishop of Milan in some year at the end of the 3rd-century (tentatively in
283
Year 283 ( CCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carus and Carinus (or, less frequently, year 1036 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 283 for this y ...
), and his episcopate lasted until some time before the year
313
__NOTOC__
Year 313 ( CCCXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinianus (or, less frequently, year 1066 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denom ...
, when
Mirocles was the bishop of Milan.
Monas died on 25 March (the exact year was not recorded) and his corpse was buried near the church of Saint
Vitalis of Milan
Vitalis of Milan () was an early Christian martyr and saint.
Biography
His legend relates that Vitalis was a wealthy citizen of Milan, perhaps a soldier. He was married to Valeria of Milan. They are supposed to have been the parents of the (perh ...
(''Basilica Fausta''), in the area where now stand the
Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio
The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, officially known as ''Basilica romana minore collegiata abbaziale prepositurale di Sant'Ambrogio'', is an ancient Romanesque-style, Roman Catholic church located in the center of Milan, in the region of Lombardy, ...
. Under the episcopate of
Arnulf II (998-1018), on 12 October (the year was not recorded), his relics were discovered and
translated
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
into the church of Saint Vitale near the Basilica Naboriana (now demolished). On 6 February 1576 his relics were translated by Saint
Charles Borromeo
Charles Borromeo (; ; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archdiocese of Milan, Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal in 156 ...
to the
Cathedral of Milan
Milan Cathedral ( ; ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary (), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Dedicated to the Nativity of St. Mary (), it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Archbi ...
where they are today.
A late tradition, with no historical basis, associates Monas with the Milan's noble family of the Borri. To Monas is attributed the foundation of the parish church of
Corbetta. Monas is also venerated in a chapel, renovated in the 17th century by the Borri family, in the ''Santuario della Beata Vergine dei Miracoli'' of Corbetta.
[''Il Santuario di Corbetta'', a cura di Maria Luisa Gatti Perer, testi di Giuseppe Moreno Vazzoler, Giuliana Algeri, Andrea Spiriti, Istituto per la Storia dell'Arte Lombarda, 1995.]
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monas 01 Of Milan, Bishop
Archbishops of Milan
4th-century Christian saints
Italian saints
Burials at Milan Cathedral