Saints Severinus of Sanseverino (or ''of Septempeda'') (d. 550 AD) and Victorinus of Camerino (d. 543 AD) were brothers who were both

bishops A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and

hermits A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

of the 6th century.

Biography

The brothers were noblemen who had given away their great wealth to the poor and had become hermits at

Monte Nero Krn (; ) is a mountain in northwestern Slovenia. It is the highest peak of the Krn Mountains, a sub-chain of the southwestern Julian Alps. Geography Krn is located about from the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic. The Soča River flows to the west of ...

near

Septempeda Septempeda was a Roman town in Picenum located near the modern San Severino Marche, Marche, Italy. Geography The town was situated on the left bank of the river Flosis (modern River Potenza), some 40 km inland from the Adriatic coast an ...

. Victorinus then withdrew to a cave near Pioraco. Victorinus was prone to strong temptations, and he inflicted upon himself a difficult and painful

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...

: he had himself tied to a tree, with his hands clasped between two branches. Victorinus’ particular method of self-mortification was depicted on a small panel in the church of San Venanzio, in Camerino, by the artist Niccolò da Foligno (called l'Alunno), who created the piece between 1478–80. However, in 540

Pope Vigilius Pope Vigilius (died 7 June 555) was the bishop of Rome from 29 March 537 to his death on 7 June 555. He is considered the first pope of the Byzantine papacy. Born into Roman aristocracy, Vigilius served as a deacon and papal ''apocrisiarius' ...

appointed them each as bishops of two separate sees: Severinus became bishop of what was then called ''Septempeda'', later called

San Severino Marche San Severino Marche is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona and about southwest of Macerata. History From prehistory to Roman age The oldest remains of human ...

after him, in the Marches of Ancona; Victorinus became

bishop of Camerino The Italian Archdiocese of Camerino-San Severino Marche () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest C ...

. Severinus died in 545. His remains were hidden in the Cathedral of St. Maria in Septempeda to protect them from looting; found in 590 during the restoration of the cathedral, they were brought to Monte Nero.

Veneration

There is a church dedicated to San Vittorino in Pioraco. Their joint

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is June 8.''Martyrology of the Order of Preachers'', (W. R. Bonniwell, O.P., trans.) Westminster, Maryland. The Newman Press, p. 121
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Notes

{{Italy-saint-stub Italian saints Bishops in le Marche Italian hermits 543 deaths 550 deaths Brother duos Saints duos 6th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown 6th-century Italian bishops