Saints In Central Italy
First Class Relics
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NEAR FLORENCE
Andrew, apostle (November 30th), John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor (September 13th), John the Baptist, martyr (June 24th, August 29th), and Philip, apostle (May 3rd)
St Andrew (Relics: Amalfi, Italy; Florence, Italy; Patras, Greece; Edinburgh, Scotland; Cologne, Germany; Kiev, Ukraine)
St John Chrysostom (d. 407, NE Turkey) (Relics: Rome, Italy; Florence, Italy; Istanbul, Turkey; Moscow, Russia; Mount Athos, Greece)
St John the Baptist (Relics: Rome, Italy; Florence, Italy; Siena, Italy; Amiens, France; Munich, Germany; Damascus, Syria)
St Philip (Relics: Rome, Italy; Florence, Italy)
Duomo di Firenze
(Florence Cathedral)
*Relics of the following four saints are said to be within the sacristy of this church.
*The skull of St John Chrysostom (Acquired in 1360), an arm of St Andrew the Apostle (Acquired in the 14th century), an arm of St Philip the Apostle (Acquired in 1205), and a finger of St John the Baptist (Acquired in 1419).
*It is said that this is the same finger that St John the Baptist used to point at Jesus when he proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God.”
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
(Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed)
Piazza del Duomo 8
53100 Siena, Italy
*In May of 1464 Pope Pius II presented to this church the right arm of St John the Baptist. This relic now rests on the left side of the nave behind the Chapel of St John the Baptist. Each year this relic is presented for public veneration prior to the saint’s feast day on June 24th.
Bernardine of Siena, priest – May 20th
St Bernardine of Siena (d. 1444, d. L’Aquila, Italy) (Relics: L’Aquila, Italy)
Basilica di San Bernardino
(Basilica of Saint Bernardine)
Via San Bernardino
67100 L’Aquila, Italy
*On April 6, 2009 an earthquake hit the Italian city of L’Aquila and severely damaged the Basilica of San Bernardino. As a result the relics of St Bernardine of Siena were removed from this church. At present they rest within a church dedicated to St Bernardine of Siena at Piazza d’Armi along Via Ugo Piccinini in L’Aquila. However, once the necessary repairs to the basilica are completed the relics will be returned to their original resting place within the basilica.
Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor – April 29th
St Catherine of Siena (d. 1380, Rome, Italy) (Relics: Rome, Italy; Siena, Italy; Venice, Italy)
Basilica di San Domenico
(Saint Dominic’s Basilica)
Piazza San Domenico
53100 Siena, Italy
*The head of St Catherine of Siena rests within a chapel on the right side of the nave.
*Also a finger of the saint is venerated within a reliquary case just to the right of this chapel. This relic has traditionally been used to impart a blessing on the Italian military.
Santuario di Santa Caterina (Sanctuary of St Catherine)
Via Costa di Sant’Antonio 6
53100, Siena, Italy
*This church is built over the family home of St Catherine of Siena. She was born and raised at this location.
Clare, virgin – August 11th
St Clare (d. 1253, Assisi, Italy) (Relics: Assisi, Italy)
Basilica di Santa Chiara
(Basilica of Saint Clare)
Piazza Santa Chiara
06081 Assisi, Italy
*The remains of St Clare are enshrined within the crypt of this church.
*Also within the large chapel on the right side of this church is the San Damiano Crucifix that spoke to St Francis of Assisi. (This is the chapel where Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer are prayed.)
Elizabeth Ann Seton, religious* – January 4th
St Elizabeth Ann Seton (d. 1821, Emmitsburg, Maryland, USA) (Relics: Emmitsburg, Maryland, USA)
Livorno, Italy holds a special place for St Elizabeth Ann Seton as it was here that she was introduced to the Catholic Faith after her husband’s illness and death.
Parrocchia Santa Elisabetta Anna Seton
(Church of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton)
Piazza Giovanni Maria Lavagna 15
57125 Livorno, Italy
*William, the husband of St Elizabeth Ann Seton, is buried under a small gravestone in front of this church.
Francis of Assisi – October 4th
St Francis (d. 1226, Assisi, Italy) (Relics: Assisi, Italy)
Basilica di San Francesco D’Assisi
(Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi)
Piazza San Francesco 2
06081 Assisi, Italy
*St Francis is buried in the crypt of this church.
Chiesa Nuova (The New Church)
Piazza Chiesa Nuova
06081 Assisi, Italy
*This church preserves part of the house where St Francis grew up. This includes the small room where he was temporarily imprisoned by his father.
San Damiano (Saint Damian)
Via San Damiano 85
06081 Assisi, Italy
*It was at this church that the San Damiano Crucifix miraculously spoke to St Francis the words, “Go repair my church which you see is falling into ruins.”
*Later this church was given to St Clare. A room inside marks the location where she died in 1253.
Eremo delle Carceri (Hermitage of the Prisons)
Via Eremo delle Carceri
06081 Assisi, Italy
*St Francis would often come here for extended silent prayer.
Gemma Galgani
St Gemma Galgani (d. 1903, Lucca, Italy) (Relics: Lucca, Italy)
Monastero/Santuario di Santa Gemma
(Monastery/Sanctuary of Saint Gemma)
Via Tiglio 271
55100 Lucca, Toscana, Italy
*The body of St Gemma Galgani is enshrined beneath the main altar of this church. As a young woman she strongly desired to become a nun; however, her poor health prevented her from fulfilling this wish. Nevertheless, God bestowed upon her many incredible graces by uniting her to his passion and cross. At the age of twenty-one she received the stigmata and later she would go on to experience the scourging and the crowning of thorns. She embraced all of these sufferings for the conversion of sinners. At the age of twenty-five she passed away on the afternoon of Holy Saturday after a long fight with tuberculosis.
Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, virgin – May 25th
St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi (d. 1607, Florence, Italy) (Relics: Florence, Italy)
Monastero di Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi a Careggi
(Monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi at Careggi)
Via di Careggi / Via dei Massoni
50139 Florence, Italy
*The remains of St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi are located in the main sanctuary of the church at this monastery.
Rita of Cascia, religious – May 22nd
St Rita of Cascia (d. 1457, Cascia, Italy) (Relics: Cascia, Italy)
Santuario di Santa Rita da Cascia
(Sanctuary of Saint Rita of Cascia)
Viale Santa Rita 13
06043 Cascia, Italy
*The body of St Rita of Cascia is enshrined on the left side of the nave of this church. She was a wife and mother who later in life upon her husband’s death joined an Augustinian convent. In marriage she suffered greatly from her abusive husband. Thus today she is the patroness for all who suffer from abusive relationships.
Romuald, abbot – June 19th
St Romuald (d. 1027, Val di Castro, Italy) (Relics: Fabriano, Italy)
Chiesa di San Biagio e Romualdo
(Church of Saint Blaise and Romuald)
Piazza Daniele Manin 12
60044 Fabriano, Italy
*St Romuald was originally buried near the monastic cell in which he died in Val di Castro. In 1466 his body was found still incorrupt; therefore, in 1481 his remains were brought to the nearby city of Fabriano. Today his relics rest within the crypt of this church.
The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order – February 17th
In 1233 seven young Florentine men gathered together to begin the Servite community. They first gathered in a house in the outskirts of Florence near the convent of the Friars Minor at La Camarzia. Later they moved eleven miles north of Florence to Monte Senario.
NEAR ROME
Benedict, abbot (July 11th) and Scholastica, virgin (February 10th)
St Benedict (b. 480, Norcia, Italy) (d. 547, Monte Cassino, Italy) (Relics: Monte Cassino, Italy; Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, France; Brescia, Italy)
St Scholastica (b. 480, Norcia, Italy) (d. 547, Monte Cassino, Italy) (Relics: Monte Cassino, Italy; Juvigny-sur-Loison, France)
It is uncertain if the relics of Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica are still at Monte Cassino or if they were moved in the seventh century to Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, France.
Abbazia di Montecassino
(Abbey of Monte Cassino)
Via Montecassino
03043 Cassino, Italy
*The remains of St Benedict and St Scholastica are said to rest under the main altar of the church at this monastery. Following the tragic destruction of this church during World War II the relics were exhumed and analyzed. This study, conducted in 1950, did not produce conclusive evidence to either confirm or deny the authenticity of these relics.
Monastero di San Benedetto
(Saint Benedict’s Monastery)
Via Reguardati 22
06046 Norcia, Italy
*This monastery is built over the house where St Benedict and St Scholastica were born.
Monastero di San Benedetto
(Saint Benedict’s Monastery)
Piazzale San Benedetto
00028 Subiaco, Roma, Italia
*Subiaco is where St Benedict lived as a hermit. It is also from this city that he began establishing monasteries. In total he spent 25 years of his life in this city.
Bonaventure, bishop and doctor – July 15th
St Bonaventure (d. 1274, Lyon, France) (Relics: Bagnoregio, Italy)
Cattedrale San Bonaventura
(Cathedral of Saint Bonaventure)
Piazza Cavour
01022 Bagnoregio, Italy
*The only remaining relic of St Bonaventure, his right arm, rests within a chapel on the right side of the nave of this church. This relic was brought to Bagnoregio in 1491 as a gift since the saint’s birth home is in the nearby hill city of Civita di Bagnoregio. This transfer was providential because a little less than a century later, in 1562, his tomb in Lyon, France was plundered by French Huguenots and his remains were burned in the public square. During this event his incorrupt head was preserved; however, several centuries later during the French Revolution it disappeared and has remained missing ever since.
Justin, martyr – June 1st
St Justin (d. 165, Rome, Italy) (Relics: Rome, Italy; Sacrofano, Italy)
San Giovanni Battista e Biagio
(Saint John the Baptist and Saint Blaise)
Piazza San Biagio 10 / Via di Mezzo
00060 Sacrofano, Italy
*This church is located about 10 miles north of Rome.
*Some bones of St Justin the Martyr are said to rest in an urn under the main altar.
*Note: The parish San Giovanni Battista e Biagio has two churches in the center of Sacrofano. The larger church with a piazza claims to have some small relics of St Blaise. The smaller church, which is located in the historic part of the city and is simply called Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista, has the relics of St Justin the Martyr.
Maria Goretti, virgin and martyr – July 6th
St Maria Goretti (d. 1902, Le Ferriere / Ferriere di Conca, Italy) (Relics: Nettuno, Italy)
Santuario di Nettuno
(Sanctuary of Nettuno)
Viale Matteotti
00048, Nettuno, Italy
*The church is next to the sea.
*The remains of St Maria Goretti rest below the main altar in the lower chapel of this church.
Casa del Martírio di Santa Maria Goretti
(House of Saint Maria Goretti’s Martyrdom)
*This is where St Maria Goretti was martyred. It is in the small town of Le Ferriere which is 11 kilometers outside of Nettuno.
Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor – January 28th
St Thomas Aquinas (b. 1225, Roccasecca, Italy) (d. 1274, Fossanova, Italy) (Relics: Toulouse, France; Aquino, Italy; Naples, Italy)
Cattedrale di Aquino
(Cathedral of Aquino)
Piazza San Tommaso d’Aquino
03031 Aquino, Italy
*In 1963 the Archbishop of Toulouse, Gabriel Marie Garrone, gave to this church a small rib bone of St Thomas Aquinas. This relic is carried in procession every year on the evening of March 7th.
Parrocchia Santa Annunziata
(Parish of the Holy Annunciation)
Via della Chiesa 6
Roccasecca, Italy
*This church is just below the castle where St Thomas Aquinas was born. Presently this castle is in a state of ruin. However, a nice boardwalk allows easy access to the area.
Abbazia di Fossanova
(Abbey of Fossanova)
Via San Tommaso D’Aquino 1
04015 Priverno, Latina, Italy
*St Thomas Aquinas was passing through this area on his way to the Council of Lyon. As he approached Fossanova he became deathly ill and was forced to stop. The monks at the Abbey of Fossanova took St Thomas in and cared for him until his death. For some years after his death his bones remained at this abbey and rested in the main sanctuary of the church. They were later moved in 1369 to Toulouse, France.
*Note: The Memorials and Feasts listed above with an asterisk are specific to the National Calendar of the United States of America as requested by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and approved by the Holy See.
