According to legend, Rufinus of Assisi (), was the first bishop of this city and a martyr. Sources concerning the life of Saint Rufino are a sermon of eleventh century

Peter Damian Peter Damian (; or '; – 21 or 22 February 1072 or 1073) was an Italian Gregorian Reform, reforming Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine Christian monasticism, monk and cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal in the circle of Pope Leo ...

, (''Miracula Sancti Rufini Martyris''), and a ''Passio Sancti Rufini'' of the 14th century. The Acts of the martyrdom of this Rufinus are purely legendary. He is probably identical with the "episcopus Marsorum" (bishop of the

Marsi The Marsi were an Italic people of ancient Italy, whose chief centre was Marruvium, on the eastern shore of Lake Fucinus (which was drained in the time of Claudius). The area in which they lived is now called Marsica. They originally spoke a l ...

) noted in the

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 ...

under 11 August.Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Sts. Rufinus." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 18 November 2021

Legend

Rufinus was responsible for converting Assisi to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, but at what date is disputed. He and his son came from

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

to preach the Gospel. At some point, the Roman proconsul, Aspasius, had him arrested, tortured, and drowned in the

Chiascio The Chiascio is a river of Umbria, central Italy. It is a left tributary of the Tiber. It is 95 km long, and its drainage basin covers 1962 km2. Its largest tributary is the Topino The Topino is a river in Umbria, central Italy. It was ...

River near Costano. His body was recovered and buried near where he was found. A church was built on that spotSchäfer, Joachim. "Rufinus von Assisi",''Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon''
/ref> from whence, according to Petrus Damiani, his relics were

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 ...

to Assisi in the 8th century. His remains were put to rest in a Roman

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

. The front is sculpted in low relief with the myth of

Selene In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Selene (; , meaning "Moon")''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (), she is traditionally the daughter ...

and

Endymion Endymion primarily refers to: * Endymion (mythology), an Ancient Greek shepherd * ''Endymion'' (poem), by John Keats Endymion may also refer to: Fictional characters * Prince Endymion, a character in the ''Sailor Moon'' anime franchise * Ra ...

. It is now located under the main altar of the

Cathedral of San Rufino Assisi Cathedral ( or ''Cattedrale di San Rufino di Assisi''), dedicated to San Rufino (Rufinus of Assisi), is a major church in Assisi, Italy. This stately church in Umbrian Romanesque style was the third church built on the same site to cont ...

, which is the third church to have been erected over his remains. Rufinus is the patron saint of Assisi. Each year, the "Palio of St. Rufinus (Palio Di San Rufino)" is held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the last week of August. It's a traditional competition in the bow to win the Palio (pennant).

References

Sources

* Ekkart Sauser, ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'', vol. XXI (2003) pp 1284f Year of birth missing 3rd-century deaths Bishops in Umbria 3rd-century Italian bishops People from Assisi 3rd-century Christian saints {{Italy-RC-bishop-stub