:''Another St. Liberalis was bishop of Embrun from 920-940. He died in 940 at

Brive Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of ), commonly known as simply Brive, is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglome ...

, his birthplace. It is also another name for Saint Eleutherius, venerated with Saint Antia.'' Saint Liberalis of

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

() is 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 ...

of the 4th century. Tradition states that he was a priest who opposed

Arianism Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...

and that he was persecuted at

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

Legend

A legend, composed around the 10th century and incorporating elements from other saints’

hagiographies A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

, states that Liberalis was a native of

Altinum Altinum (in Altino, a ''frazione'' of Quarto d'Altino) was an ancient town of the Adriatic Veneti, Veneti 15 km southeast of modern Treviso, close to the mainland shore of the Lagoon of Venice. It was also close to the mouths of the rivers D ...

, born to a noble

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

family. According to the legend, he was educated in the Christian faith by

Heliodorus of Altino Heliodorus (; died c. 410 AD) was the first bishop of Altinum in the 4th century. He was born in Dalmatia. Like Chromatius, he was a disciple of Valerianus, the bishop of Aquileia. He accompanied Jerome on his voyage to the Holy Land, and is ...

(Eliodoro), first Christian bishop of the city.Banks Hinds, Allen. "Saint Liberale". ''A Garner of Saints''
1900. CatholicSaints.Info. 21 April 2017 Liberalis practiced extreme mortifications and fasts after his conversion. Faced with growing opposition from both Arianism and paganism in the see, Heliodorus retired as bishop and lived as a

hermit 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 Chr ...

on a

desert island An uninhabited island, desert island, or deserted island, is an island, islet or atoll which lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes ...

in the lagoons near Altino, entrusting the see to a man named Ambrose. Worried about Ambrose's ability to handle the rise of Arianism in the see, Liberalis decided to look for Heliodorus and attempt to convince him to come back to his see. On the way, Liberalis fell asleep in a church and experienced a strange dream, in which an

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

, resplendent in white, encouraged him in his mission and also announced his imminent death. Liberalis traveled onward to Castrazone where there was a church dedicated to

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, persecution of the Christians that the Roman Empire, Rom ...

. He was unable to find a way to reach Heliodorus’ island and decided instead to lead the life of a hermit. However, he fell ill and died on April 27. He was buried in the Castrazone church in a marble

sepulcher A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immurement'', althou ...

.San Liberale, Santi e Beati
/ref>

Veneration

His relics were carried to Treviso from Altinum around 452 to safeguard them against the Hunnish invasions, or perhaps later, when the threat came from the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

rather than the Huns. Liberalis' relics may have been enshrined with those associated with the martyrs Theonistus, Tabra, and Tabratha (''Teonisto, Tabra e Tabrata'') at the cathedral of

Torcello Torcello (; ) is a sparsely populated island at the northern end of the Venetian Lagoon, in north-eastern Italy. It was first settled in 452 AD and has been referred to as the parent island from which Venice was populated. It was a town with ...

after 639 AD. However, the presence of these martyrs’ relics in Treviso is also attested, and a strong cultus took hold there, with documentation attesting to the cultus dating from 1082 onwards. In the twelfth century, Liberalis was proclaimed patron saint of Treviso, and was patron of the cathedral, along with

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

and

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. Liberalis became patron of

Castelfranco Veneto Castelfranco Veneto () is a town and (municipality) of Veneto, northern Italy, in the province of Treviso. It is the third largest municipality in the province by population after the capital Treviso and Conegliano. It is centrally located betwe ...

as a result of the fact that citizens of Treviso founded that town in 1199. In art he is either depicted with a

dalmatic The dalmatic is a long, wide-sleeved tunic, which serves as a liturgical vestment in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, United Methodist, and some other churches. When used, it is the proper vestment of a deacon at Mass, Holy Communion or other ...

or in a soldier's cloak. Duomo (Treviso) - Interior - reliquary of St Liberal.jpg, Reliquary of Liberalis of Treviso in

Treviso Cathedral Treviso Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Treviso, Veneto, northern Italy, dedicated to Saint Peter. It is the seat of the bishop of Treviso. History The church originates from the 6th century and stands in an area where during the An ...

Saint Libéral MBAD.jpg, Leonardo Boldrini, 1475,

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon is a museum of fine arts opened in 1787, in Dijon, France. It is one of the main and oldest museums of France. It is located in the historic city centre of Dijon and housed in the former ducal palace which was ...

Duomo (Treviso) - interior - Capella della Madonna - San Liberale.jpg, Marble statue, sixteenth century, Treviso Cathedral Museo Civico (Treviso) - San Liberale.jpg, late fifteenth century, Civic Museums of Treviso Lotto, pala di santa cristina.jpg,

Lorenzo Lotto Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian Renaissance painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other north Italian cities. He painted mainly altarpie ...

, ''

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

Saint Christina of Bolsena Christina of Tyre, also known as ''Christine of Bolsena'', or in the Eastern Orthodox Church as ''Christina the Great martyr'', is venerated as a virgin martyr of the third century. Archaeological excavations of an underground cemetery construct ...

, Saint Liberalis and

Saint Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known for his translation of the Bible ...

''. Accademia - San Sebastiano tra i SS. Liberale e Gregorio, Francesco e Rocco, Tavola,203x201, Cat.97 Giovanni Mansueti.jpg, Giovanni Mansueti,

Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...

and Saints Liberalis of Treviso,

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...

and

Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79; traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327), also called Rock in English, was a Majorcan Catholic confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he was especially invoke ...

, 1494,

Gallerie dell'Accademia The Gallerie dell'Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th-century art in Venice, northern Italy. It is housed in the Scuola della Carità on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro. It was originally the gallery o ...

References

External links

Sources

Saint Liberalis

San Liberale
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberalis Italian saints 400 deaths 4th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown