Magnus of Oderzo

Saint Magnus of Oderzo with the risen Jesus and the “unbelieving” Apostle Thomas, painting by Cima da Conegliano

Magnus von Oderzo (* 580 in Altinum ; † around 670) was an Italian bishop and church founder. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church .

biography

There are hardly any contemporary sources about his life. According to tradition, he was born into a noble family in Altino . After a thorough humanistic training, he prepared himself as a hermit for the priesthood. He was an avid fighter against Arianism , which was promoted by the Lombards . In 630 he succeeded Saint Tiziano as bishop of the Diocese of Oderzo . At that time Oderzo was formally still under the rule of Byzantium . Rothari , king of the Lombards, exploited the weakness of the Byzantines and conquered Oderzo. Most of the inhabitants fled under the leadership of the bishop to the nearby lagoon island of Melidisa and founded a city that was named in honor of the Byzantine emperor Herakleios Heraclea . Pope Severinus allowed Magnus to move the bishopric to the island. In 667, Grimoald finally destroyed Oderzo and a second wave of refugees arrived on the island. Bishop Magnus is considered to be the founder of eight early churches in what is now Venice :

Santi Apostoli, San Pietro di Castello , Santa Maria Formosa , Santa Giustina, San Giovanni in Bragora , San Zaccaria , San Salvador and Angelo Raffaele.

Eraclea lost importance compared to Venice in the 9th century and was finally abandoned because of the encroachment of the lagoon. The Doge Pietro Ziani transferred the bones of the saint on October 6, 1206 to Venice in the church of San Geremia . In 1459 the Senate decided to declare this day a public holiday. In 1563 an arm of the saint was brought to the Basilica of San Marco , where it was shown to the Doge and the faithful in a splendid reliquary for veneration on October 6th. In 1956 the bones returned to the new Eraclea. Cima da Conegliano depicted the saint together with the apostle Thomas in a painting that is now in the Accademia (Venice) .

Web links

• St. Magnus (English)