Placidus (also known as Placid) was a

disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

Benedict of Nursia Benedict of Nursia (; ; 2 March 480 – 21 March 547), often known as Saint Benedict, was a Great Church, Christian monk. He is famed in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican Communion, and Old ...

. He was the son of the patrician Tertullus, was brought as a child to Benedict at Sublaqueum ( Subiaco) and dedicated to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

as provided for in chapter 69 of the

Rule of St. Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by Benedict of Nursia, St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up ...

(

oblate In Christianity (specifically the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person associated with a Benedictine monastery or convent who is specifically dedicated to God and service. Oblates are i ...

Life

Placidus was the eldest son of the patrician Tertullus. When he was about eight years old, his father placed him under the care of Benedict at Subiaco, to be educated.

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 ...

(''Dialogues'', II, vii) relates an account of Placidus being rescued from

drowning Drowning is a type of Asphyxia, suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Submersion injury refers to both drowning and near-miss incidents. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where othe ...

by his fellow monk, Maurus, who, at Benedict's order, ran across the surface of the

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

below the monastery and drew Placidus safely to shore. It appears certain that he accompanied Benedict when, about 529, he removed to

Monte Cassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...

, which was said to have been made over to him by the father of Placidus.Huddleston, Gilbert. "St. Placidus." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 4 November 2017 Of his later life nothing is known, but in an ancient ''psalterium'' at

Vallombrosa Vallombrosa is a toponym which indicates both a forest and a ''frazione'', located within this forest, in the territory of the Reggello, Commune of Reggello, in the Metropolitan City of Florence, in the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. The villag ...

his name is found in the

Litany of the Saints The Litany of the Saints (Latin: ''Litaniae Sanctorum'') is a formal prayer of the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Old Catholic Church, Lutheran congregations of Evangelical Catholic churchmanship, Anglican congregations of Anglo-Catholic c ...

placed among the confessors immediately after those of Benedict and Maurus; the same occurs in

Codex The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

CLV at Subiaco, attributed to the ninth century.

Veneration

Placid is venerated on October 5 in the 2001

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' () is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved appendices to it. It provid ...

and on the same date along with Placid in the ''Proper Masses for the Use of the

Benedictine Confederation The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict () is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict. Origin The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monastic congregations that nevertheless retain their own aut ...

''.

Patronage

He is the co-patron of

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

along with the Madonna of the Letter, and is the official patron of

Biancavilla Biancavilla () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It is located between the towns of Adrano and S. Maria di Licodia, northwest of Catania. The town was founded and historically inhabited by th ...

Castel di Lucio Castel di Lucio ( Sicilian: ''Castiddruzzu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Messina. Castel di Lucio borders the following munici ...

Montecarotto Montecarotto is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona, mostly known internationally for the annual Blackmoon festival, a renowned goa and psytrance happening. As of 31 De ...

, and Poggio Imperiale. :it:San Placido Because a large portion of

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

community originally came from Castel di Lucio, Placidus is given particular veneration with an annual parade through South Side on the Sunday before

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

. The Sunday after is the Feast of the Holy Cross, celebrated by immigrants from the neighboring town of

Santo Stefano di Camastra Santo Stefano di Camastra ( Sicilian: ''Santu Stèfanu di Camastra'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about 100 km east of Palermo and about 135 km west of Messina. ...

References

Sources

External links

St. Benedict's Abbey
- Benedictine Brothers and Fathers in America's Heartland

- Online translation by Boniface Verheyen of St. Benedict's Abbey
Benedictine College
- Dynamically Catholic, Benedictine, Liberal Arts, and Residential {{DEFAULTSORT:Placidus 6th-century deaths Benedictine saints Benedictine spirituality Italian Benedictines History of Catholic monasticism Italian Christian monks 6th-century Christian saints Medieval Italian saints Year of birth unknown