Evasius
Encyclopedia
Saint Evasius is believed to have been a missionary
and bishop of Asti, in north-west Italy
. He was forced to flee to the great Padan forest known as the Selva Cornea, where he and numerous followers were beheaded by pagan, or alternatively by Arian
, enemies in the area of what is now Casale Monferrato
. He is venerated as a saint
of the Roman Catholic Church
and is the patron
of a number of towns in Piedmont
and Lombardy
. His cult is liveliest at Casale, where his remains are conserved in the cathedral
dedicated to him.
as reliable. According to the Historia e vita di Sant'Evasio Vescovo e Martire by the Augustinian Fulgenzio Emiglio, published in 1708, he was born in Benevento
, moved to Rome
in 260 and was sent as a bishop to Asti in 265. There he suffered persecution at the hands of pagan opponents of Christianity
and was forced to leave the town. The earliest account of the story, the anonymous Passio Sancti Evasii, which has been variously dated at early eleventh-century, tenth-century and ninth-century, sets it in the times of the Lombard
king Luitprand
, who reigned during the years 712–744. In the versions deriving from the latter Evasius’s opponents were Lombard adherents of Arian Christianity
, rather than pagans. Still other accounts place his life during the fourth century and have him consecrated as Asti’s first bishop around 330. Carbon dating of his relics (assuming that they are genuine) favours the third-century hypothesis.
It is said that following his flight from Asti, Evasius took refuge in the forest known as Selva Cornea along with two companions Proietto and Maliano and probably a third, Natale. At the site of today’s Pozzo Sant’Evasio, near Casale, a miracle occurred. The bishop, tired from his journey, pushed his crozier into the ground and lay down to sleep. The pastoral staff set root and blossomed and a spring appeared at its foot.
Evasius continued his work of conversion in Casale (then perhaps known as Sedula, or Sedulia), founded a small church dedicated to Lawrence the Deacon and attracted numerous followers. (The remains of such a church exist beneath the current cathedral.) In some accounts he is identified as the first bishop of Casale.
Again, however, the saint attracted fierce opposition and he was beheaded along with Proietto, Maliano and 143 companions, on the orders of the prefect
(or duke
or sculdascio) Atubolo. Skeletal analysis of his remains suggests that Evasius died at about the age of 60.
In the version of his life which sets it in the third century the date of Evasius’s martyrdom is given as 1 December 292, during the reign of Diocletian
whose later persecution
of Christians is well-known. For the version of the story which places it in the first part of the eighth century, the context is that of the struggle between those Lombards who remained attached to their Arian beliefs and the soon-to-be-victorious Trinitarian new guard, associated particularly with the Catholic Theodolinda who had been Lombard queen from 588 to 628, and to which King Luitprand belonged.
Casale, now itself named after the saint as "Casale di Sant’Evasio", grew up around the church during the middle ages
. A new and much larger church was consecrated by Pope Paschal II
in 1107.
In 1215 Ghibelline Casale was sacked by the anti-Imperial forces of Alessandria
and Vercelli
together with the support of Milan
. The saint’s remains were removed to Alessandria along with other booty. In 1403 Casalese condottiere Facino Cane
brought the relics back from Alessandria
, following a military victory over that town.
The church of Sant’Evasio became a cathedral with the establishment of the Diocese of Casale in 1474.
At Pozzo Sant’Evasio (literally "Saint Evasius’s Well") in 1670 a church was erected over the miraculous spring, which had been turned into a well whose waters were reputed to cure diseases.
as 1 December, and it is on that day that he is celebrated in Asti. He is also the patron saint
of Rocchetta Palafea
in the Langhe
, of Pedrengo
in the Province of Bergamo
(who were given some relics—part of a leg, and a bone from the foot—in 1609), and of Bizzarone
in the Province of Como
.
In Casale Monferrato in the Province of Alessandria
he is the patron saint both of the Diocese and of the Commune
. Here his feast is kept on 12 November in memory of the day on which Facino Cane returned the relics to the town.
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
and bishop of Asti, in north-west Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He was forced to flee to the great Padan forest known as the Selva Cornea, where he and numerous followers were beheaded by pagan, or alternatively by Arian
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
, enemies in the area of what is now Casale Monferrato
Casale Monferrato
Casale Monferrato, population 36,058, is a town and comune in the Piedmont region of north-west Italy, part of the province of Alessandria. It is situated about 60 km east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrato hills. Beyond the river lies the...
. He is venerated as a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and is the patron
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of a number of towns in Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
and Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
. His cult is liveliest at Casale, where his remains are conserved in the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
dedicated to him.
Life
No account of Evasius’s life is regarded by scholars of hagiographyHagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
as reliable. According to the Historia e vita di Sant'Evasio Vescovo e Martire by the Augustinian Fulgenzio Emiglio, published in 1708, he was born in Benevento
Benevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
, moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 260 and was sent as a bishop to Asti in 265. There he suffered persecution at the hands of pagan opponents of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and was forced to leave the town. The earliest account of the story, the anonymous Passio Sancti Evasii, which has been variously dated at early eleventh-century, tenth-century and ninth-century, sets it in the times of the Lombard
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
king Luitprand
Liutprand, King of the Lombards
Liutprand was the King of the Lombards from 712 to 744 and is chiefly remembered for his Donation of Sutri, in 728, and his long reign, which brought him into a series of conflicts, mostly successful, with most of Italy. He profited by Byzantine weakness to enlarge his domains in Emilia and the...
, who reigned during the years 712–744. In the versions deriving from the latter Evasius’s opponents were Lombard adherents of Arian Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, rather than pagans. Still other accounts place his life during the fourth century and have him consecrated as Asti’s first bishop around 330. Carbon dating of his relics (assuming that they are genuine) favours the third-century hypothesis.
It is said that following his flight from Asti, Evasius took refuge in the forest known as Selva Cornea along with two companions Proietto and Maliano and probably a third, Natale. At the site of today’s Pozzo Sant’Evasio, near Casale, a miracle occurred. The bishop, tired from his journey, pushed his crozier into the ground and lay down to sleep. The pastoral staff set root and blossomed and a spring appeared at its foot.
Evasius continued his work of conversion in Casale (then perhaps known as Sedula, or Sedulia), founded a small church dedicated to Lawrence the Deacon and attracted numerous followers. (The remains of such a church exist beneath the current cathedral.) In some accounts he is identified as the first bishop of Casale.
Again, however, the saint attracted fierce opposition and he was beheaded along with Proietto, Maliano and 143 companions, on the orders of the prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
(or duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
or sculdascio) Atubolo. Skeletal analysis of his remains suggests that Evasius died at about the age of 60.
In the version of his life which sets it in the third century the date of Evasius’s martyrdom is given as 1 December 292, during the reign of Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
whose later persecution
Diocletian Persecution
The Diocletianic Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman empire. In 303, Emperor Diocletian and Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding the legal rights of Christians and demanding that they comply with traditional Roman...
of Christians is well-known. For the version of the story which places it in the first part of the eighth century, the context is that of the struggle between those Lombards who remained attached to their Arian beliefs and the soon-to-be-victorious Trinitarian new guard, associated particularly with the Catholic Theodolinda who had been Lombard queen from 588 to 628, and to which King Luitprand belonged.
Legacy
Saint Natale is held to have escaped the massacre and to have become priest of the church which was newly dedicated to Evasius and in which his remains were sepulchred. At the same time the church was perhaps rebuilt on a larger scale with the support of Luitprand.Casale, now itself named after the saint as "Casale di Sant’Evasio", grew up around the church during the middle ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. A new and much larger church was consecrated by Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II , born Ranierius, was Pope from August 13, 1099, until his death. A monk of the Cluniac order, he was created cardinal priest of the Titulus S...
in 1107.
In 1215 Ghibelline Casale was sacked by the anti-Imperial forces of Alessandria
Alessandria
-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...
and Vercelli
Vercelli
Vercelli is a city and comune of about 47,000 inhabitants in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around the year 600 BC.The city is situated on the river Sesia in the plain of the river...
together with the support of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. The saint’s remains were removed to Alessandria along with other booty. In 1403 Casalese condottiere Facino Cane
Facino Cane
thumb|Facino Cane.Facino Cane da Casale , born Bonifacio Cane, was an Italian condottiero.-Biography:Cane was born in Casale Monferrato to a noble family....
brought the relics back from Alessandria
Alessandria
-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...
, following a military victory over that town.
The church of Sant’Evasio became a cathedral with the establishment of the Diocese of Casale in 1474.
At Pozzo Sant’Evasio (literally "Saint Evasius’s Well") in 1670 a church was erected over the miraculous spring, which had been turned into a well whose waters were reputed to cure diseases.
Feast days
Evasius’s feast day was entered into the Roman MartyrologyRoman Martyrology
The Roman Martyrology is the official martyrology of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. It provides an extensive but not exhaustive list of the saints recognized by the Church.-History:...
as 1 December, and it is on that day that he is celebrated in Asti. He is also the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of Rocchetta Palafea
Rocchetta Palafea
Rocchetta Palafea is a comune in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southeast of Asti...
in the Langhe
Langhe
The Langhe is a hilly area to the south and east of the river Tanaro in the province of Cuneo in Piedmont, northern Italy....
, of Pedrengo
Pedrengo
Pedrengo is a comune in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about 50 km northeast of Milan and about 5 km east of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 5,321 and an area of 3.6 km².Pedrengo borders the following municipalities: Albano...
in the Province of Bergamo
Province of Bergamo
The Province of Bergamo is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It has a population of 1,098,740 , an area of 2,722.86 square km, and contains 244 comuni...
(who were given some relics—part of a leg, and a bone from the foot—in 1609), and of Bizzarone
Bizzarone
Bizzarone is a comune in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 45 km northwest of Milan and about 11 km west of Como, on the border with Switzerland...
in the Province of Como
Province of Como
The Province of Como is a province in the north of the Lombardy region of Italy and borders the Swiss cantons of Ticino and Grigioni to the North, the Italian provinces of Sondrio and Lecco to the East, the Province of Milan to the south and the Province of Varese to the West...
.
In Casale Monferrato in the Province of Alessandria
Province of Alessandria
The Province of Alessandria is an Italian province, with a population of some 430,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont. The provincial capital is the city of Alessandria....
he is the patron saint both of the Diocese and of the Commune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
. Here his feast is kept on 12 November in memory of the day on which Facino Cane returned the relics to the town.
Further reading
A short article which favours a fourth-century life and Arian opponents.- The article in Volume 2 of The Catholic Encyclopedia (1907) places him in the eighth century. Part of an altarpiece from the church of S. Francesco in Casale Monferrato by an artistGiovanni Martino SpanzottiGiovanni Martino Spanzotti was an Italian painter active in Lombardy....
himself probably born in that town.